Of the Three and the Fading of the elves

[Gorthaur the Cruel]

Originally Posted by Ibrîniðilpathânezel

About the Elessar being a "lesser power": That's why I found it interesting that Tolkien wrote that Galadriel gave it away after getting Nenya because she thought she no longer needed it. This to me implies that there was more power in the Elessar than she had initially realized, or that Nenya alone was not going to prove to be as powerful as she hoped it would be. Galadriel may have wanted the Elessar because she realized that it had powers Nenya did not, or perhaps that it combined with a Ring of Power -- especially one bent toward preservation -- would be much stronger than either alone. Thus a realm having both the Elessar and one of the Three might be better preserved and protected than it would have been with either one alone. Nenya had the vulnerability of being linked to the One Ring (probably because it was made using methods learned from Sauron); the Elessar did not, and what was done with it may have not been subject to fading with the demise of the One. That could give Galadriel a very strong reason for wanting it back. Not that it necessarily would have worked in the long run, but one never knows unless they try.

I believe Nenya was far more powerful than the Elessar. The elf-stone was said to heal the hurts of the land, men, and beasts (havens of Sirion). Thus, it would make sense that the jewel came from/made by Celebrimbor, as the healing properties and principle are clearly brought back with pronounced potency in his creation of the Three.

I say the Elessar is weaker because to me, it seems the wielder (Earendil) cannot evoke an "enchanted" enclave. The lands about the weilder were merely refreshed, restored, and healed. Healing is natural if damage is present. But what if there was no damage? There would be nothing to heal. And what then? Decay must come inevitably. Can something be healed if it is merely following its natural course? I think not.

This is where I think the Elessar and the Three differed. The Elessar did not violate the natural law because it could not/did not hold back time (preserve). Whatever was done and wrought by the weilder of the elf-stone, it would still be subject to mortality, though rejuvenated and healed for a while, but ultimately still mortal. When Celebrimbor made the Three, he took the healing and growing properties of his essay (Elessar) and combined it with Sauron's lore (arresting time), I believe.

Hence why Galadriel gave up the Elessar after possessing Nenya. With Nenya, she could grow all fair things about her, just as the Elessar afforded, but with the added luxury of completely preserving her tree-hugging works from the ravages of time, thanks to Sauron's lore. The Three were blatant violations of nature in noble hands.

And I think I finally understand where her regret comes from. With Nenya, she was able to replicate some measure of the Blessed Realm, which she seemed satisfied with, regardless of how some view Lothlorien as a pale comparison. And I now understand why Nenya had 'a power upon her' (U.T.) that caused her to long for Valinor. It's not hard to imagine since she uses the Mirror. Remember that she wished, were it of any avail, that the One remained forever lost (FOTR). I think she already knew by her usage of her Mirror, that after she went all out in beautifying Lothlorien, Nenya (via Mirror) showed her the future that concludes a Galadriel shorn of her power. A regret that stems from her foreknowledge (via Mirror of Galadriel future events) that the Great Ring would be found and Sauron will awake, and her golden dream hastens to a greay awakening (whether the Ring is destroyed, or recovered by Sauron or she takes it for herself). Everything she wrought was in vain.

And even if she had kept the Elessar after the One's demise, it would not match up with the satisfaction that Nenya provided. She and other elves would still be touched by the weariness of the world. With the Elessar, she would be constantly healing and in vain, since she cannot preserve what she heals or creates with it. So why not give the elf-stone to mortal men since the Elessar fits their very nature (temporary guests of the world).