The sun rises over the mountains, and a stranger from distant lands approaches Eregion…
comic with @mrdaroga now in development
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The Forging of the Rings of Power by Alan Lee
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I was reading this (beautifully chilling) fic, and was struck by the idea of Sauron deliberately crafting his Annatar appearance to echo (mock) the lights of the Two Trees; to catch the eyes of the Exiles with the wistful memory of that lost beauty.
(But probably not exactly the same; both because he probably can't, because He's Evil And They're Holy etc etc and because he wouldn't, because Sauron is the type of person who thinks he can make anything better. So like the light of the Two Trees, but with more fire in the gold; with more ice in the silver. Enough alike to catch the eye, to snare the heart; but just enough different to look slightly off, on a level no one can quite articulate.)
Anyway, point is: Galadriel is known and admired for having hair that is said to have caught the light of the Two Trees; the last true echo of that light left in the world outside the now-lost Silmarils. And Galadriel does not. like. Annatar.
So what if Annatar puts about a sly little rumor that it's jealousy? That she dislikes him because she's vain about those storied locks of hers, and is put-out that anyone else should have the same beauty that she does. It's a believable rumor, isn't it? The Noldor do have a tendency towards pride, towards vanity. It would be easy to believe, if you liked Annatar and were disquieted by the fact that Galadriel doesn't trust him and you were looking for an excuse to ignore her opinion. Believable enough to undermine her just enough...
Especially when Galadriel leaves Ost-in-Edhil, not wishing to bandy words with him; not wishing to stoop low enough to answer such baseless rumors. But then she's gone, and there is no one left to oppose his efforts to seduce the Gwaith-i-Mírdain, to corrupt Celebrimbor; no one left to argue against the sly whispers he so carefully spreads about why she left.
Arrogant. Jealous. Vain. Yes, she is wise; but in this area, her pride has overcome her wisdom. In this one case, you do not need to listen to Galadriel; in this one case, in the case of Annatar alone, you do not need to give credence to her wisdom, because in this one case she has allowed herself to be a fool at the mercy of her pride. Do not listen to the warnings of Galadriel; they are empty.
And see, Annatar's hands are not; Annatar has brought gifts...
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