Of the Lady's Star-glass...

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

The narrative in ROTK telling of Sam going inside the Mountain seems to indicate it was both Sauron and the volcano itself that caused the phial to diminish in power.

Although it's an unsolvable question, really, I'm going to be pedantic and note that that this passage still only speaks of Sauron's realm, and the forge of his might. Granted, it's a legitimate interpretation to put the source of the power in Sauron, given this context... at the same time I feel like noting that these are only references to the place... and as the thrust of my argument is that it was Orodruin, the place, that gave Sauron the power (hence, it's importance as the place of his forging). In other words, Sauron's realm is not powerful because it is his, but rather he made it his realm because of the extra power he derived from it.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

I feel like noting that these are only references to the place... and as the thrust of my argument is that it was Orodruin, the place, that gave Sauron the power (hence, it's importance as the place of his forging). In other words, Sauron's realm is not powerful because it is his, but rather he made it his realm because of the extra power he derived from it.

Well, why did Sauron decide upon Mordor as his 'western outpost'?

The Tale of Years says Sauron settled on Mordor in the Second Age:

c. 1000- Sauron, alarmed by the growing power of the Númenóreans, chooses Mordor as a land to make into a stronghold. He begins the building of Barad-dûr.

Two entries later in the year S.A. 1200, we have Sauron going about seducing the Eldar of Eregion.

The first entry makes no mention of Mt. Doom being one of the selling points for Sauron in picking Mordor. If I had to guess, I would think he would have chosen Mordor for its proximity to realms of his enemies, and the natural defences offered by the mountain ranges surrounding it. Perhaps it was only after he conceived of his plan to trap the peoples of Middle-earth by use of the Rings of Power that he realised what an aid Mt. Doom would have been. I don't know much about metal-working, but maybe the intense heat at the Mountain somehow made it possible to make the One as potent and durable as it was. After all, there were no other volcanoes mentioned in the books that I'm aware of, and the Nine and the Seven , made in Eregion, were subject to destruction by at least dragon-fire, whereas the One couldn't apparently be harmed even by that.

Here's a question, though. If there was something about Mt. Doom that gave it some sort of special potency against the forces of 'good', why didn't Sauron, or more likely Morgoth, have made use of it sooner? The indication from the Tale of Years is that there was nothing really notable about the land of Mordor before Sauron made it his primary realm in the Second Age, aside from the volcano.

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

Here's a question, though. If there was something about Mt. Doom that gave it some sort of special potency against the forces of 'good', why didn't Sauron, or more likely Morgoth, have made use of it sooner? The indication from the Tale of Years is that there was nothing really notable about the land of Mordor before Sauron made it his primary realm in the Second Age, aside from the volcano.

This tangent interests me more than the first part of your post, Zil, so I'm going to selfishly pursue it alone--though you made good points there (better ones, in my opinion, in terms of counter-argument with my theory than what I already addressed in my last post... but that's just me).

Anyway, this question intrigues me because it allows for a whole lot more speculation. The fact of the matter is that we don't know a whole lot about what went on in the First Age in Eriador, Rhovannion, Harad, Rhûn--or anywhere other than Beleriand. To go back to those much-favoured essays in "Myths Transformed," the comment is made that:

Originally Posted by Essay VII

...the whole of Middle-earth was Morgoth's Ring, though temporarily his attention was mainly upon the North-West

Later, in the same essay, Tolkien adds:

Originally Posted by Essay VII

If we consider the situation after the escape of Morgoth and the reëstablishment of his abode in Middle-earth, we shall see that the heroic Noldor were the best possible weapon with which to keep Morgoth at bay, virtually besieged, and at any rate fully occupied on the northern fringe of Middle-earth, without provoking him to a frenzy of nihilistic destruction.

[i]--emphasis mine

And again, shortly after,

Originally Posted by Essay VII

Morgoth though locally triumphant had neglected most of Middle-earth during the war.

(As an aside--I'm obviously a big fan of this essay)

My point in quoting here is that there is a twofold reason we do not see Morgoth or Sauron making any use of Orodruin prior to ca. 1000 S.A. Firstly, as noted, we don't see much action outside of Beleriand. Secondly, and equally importantly, Morgoth's attention was focused on Beleriand. If Orodruin had some sort of special "power"--that is to say, if there were a plan on Morgoth's part to it having a special power (rather than, say, having a vein of gold or some other especially susceptible element foaming in its lava), then this would probably date back to prehistory, of which the Silmarillion is really just a brief account, in which what Morgoth does is mediated through the Valar through the Elves.

It is quite possible, to my mind, that prior to the war between Melkor and the Valar that occurred after the Awakening and Discover of the Elves, that Orodruin was used or was being prepared for something--Melkor had sway over all Middle-earth, if he wanted--but was then left "dormant" (not in the volcanic sense but in the diabolic sense) when he was taken captive for three ages to Valinor, and then never reclaimed when he returned to Middle-earth and focused his attention on the war in Beleriand.

As for Sauron... why then did he take 1000 years to decide to move to Mordor? Well... that should be somewhat obvious from a glance at the Silmarillion: Sauron simply wasn't ready to start making himself into the next Dark Lord. He was also driven away into hiding by the defeat of Morgoth and the overthrow of Thangorodrim, and Sauron was never one to move out into the open before his plans were laid and well underway. I think it's more noteworthy that rather than being seen as 1000 year wait, it is significant that the first thing that Sauron did in the Second Age worth mentioning is his establishment of himself in Mordor.