Quote:
Originally Posted by Belegorn
Supposing Melkor did create Orcs from some sort of process he engaged in with the Elves, did he have the power to change the Doom of a species?
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Professor Tolkien does speculate upon this in one of the passages found in
Morgoth's Ring:
It remains therefore terribly possible there was an Elvish strain in the Orcs. These may then even have been mated with beasts (sterile!) - and later Men. Their life-span would be diminished. And dying they would go to Mandos and be held in prison till the End.
So it is possible that Orcs lost their "immortality" by their interbreeding with Men and perhaps in their general corruption. As Professor Tolkien points out, Elves were not actually "immortal" in any event, only extremely longeval, so their corruption into Orcs may have simply hastened their natural (if extraordinarily long) mortality.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Belegorn
The idea of Melkor harvesting his essence to create mini-mes seems like it could work. He's not necessarily creating life but in some manner using chunks of himself as independent entities that do have some ties to him. Perhaps he found a way to get around the Flame Imperishable in this manner. This would seem to fit in well with Tolkien's idea of the Morgoth in Myths Transformed as Pitchwife has quoted. Melkor dispersed.
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I notice this idea actually does come up in
Morgoth's Ring as well:
It will there be seen that the wills of Orcs and Balrogs etc. are part of Melkor's power 'dispersed'. Their spirit is one of hate.
He doesn't really go into detail, however, so it's unclear exactly what "will" means. I might suggest, however, that this refers to the idea that their minds and purposes were directed by Morgoth, and this is something he expended great personal potency in doing, particularly by motivating them to a single purpose.
Perhaps it might be said that an Orc is an Eruhķn corrupted by the "will" of Morgoth. Professor Tolkien goes on to say that even long after Morgoth's defeat Sauron was able to use Orcs because of their "Morgoth-ness":
"Also Morgoth not Sauron is the source of Orc-wills. Sauron is just another (if greater) agent. Orcs can rebel against him without losing their own irremediable allegiance to evil (Morgoth)."