Death and the Afterlife

[Evisse the Blue]

Very interesting. I always wondered about the everlasting darkness and the Void, could it mean a state of non-being as in a 'timeout' (rather unfortunate choice of a word here [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] ). But could it be that those that are cast in the Void and are not in Arda anymore are dead to the world only, since their actions, thoughts, etc, have no consequence upon Arda - but practically they exist (in fea, or maybe both fea and hroa). They can also be summoned back to Arda, as Melkor will, before the Final Battle, while from death, no Man or Ainur can be summoned. The last idea is my personal impression, that I got from the books.

A question that has been in my mind for a while now: could the Elves that dwelt in the Halls of Mandos ever meet with the Elves that lived in Valinor? That is, without the former being reincarnated or the latter dying.