Re: What if? | White Council Forum Archive - msg 1585

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Re: What if? | White Council Forum Archive - msg 1585

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Topic: Re: What if?
Reply to: Message 1551
Posted: October 08, 1998 at 08:23:39: by Padster
: BOROMIR- If he had taken it and put it on, it would almost certainly have been disastrous for the West. Sauron would have zeroed in on the fellowship and killed them pretty quickly.

I believe that Boromir would have been overcome, by the ring, just as Gandalf says to Denethor and although Boromir may have taken the battle to Sauron, he would have been beaten in the end, even if someone like Gandalf had to step in to overthrow him and set the Ring back on its course for destruction.

: ARAGORN- If it came to him one way or another, he would have the strength of will, and sense to keep it hidden and smuggle it into Mordor and destroy it. In fact this would have probably been the best plan anyway. It would have made the most sense really to entrust the job to him, and maybe Faramir as well. Between the two of them they could find a way to get into Mordor undetected and get to Orodruin and do the deed.

If Aragorn used the ring, then he would probably do exactly what Legolas said he would do, and become some 'great and terrible lord'. But we all know Aragorn was tough enough to resist the One's coercians so it would turn out as you have said. He would sneak into Mordor to attempt to destroy it!

: GALADRIEL AND ELROND- They already had their rings and they tend to stay put anyway. I don't think they'd march to Mordor and tell the big guy to get lost, but if anyone in Middle Earth could figure out how the darn thing works it would probably be one of them.

I believe Mind's I question was what would happen if one of those listed actually used the One Ring.

In the case of Elrond or Galadriel then there is little doubt that they would be able to topple Sauron from his position, thus taking his place as the Lord/Lady of Darkness, in some different, but ultimately just as corrupting way. And of course possessing one of the elven rings also would mean they would almost certainly know the location of and be able to gather the other two elven rings, something Sauron was never able to do. They would therefore become truely terrifying.

: SARUMAN- Sheesh, ya just know this guy would screw it up, don't ya? 10 to 1 he ends up giving it to the enemy anyway. He's already under Sauron's influence from the palantir. He's so weak minded and corruptible it would be a piece of cake for Sauron to get the ring back from this idiot.

Your assessment of Saruman is simply not right! Saruman was not exactly under the influence of Sauron, as is manifestly clear when Pippin looks into the Palantir of Orthanc. Saruman obviously had stopped reporting to Sauron, believe (possibly) that he could make it on his own! Saruman was the most learned in ring-craft in Middle Earth, short of Sauron himself, and he would be able to utilise the One, probably to its full potential. Then having already been corrupted he would certainly throw off and ignore his obligation to conceal his power (as set down by the Valar) and with the ring (doubling, tripling maybe quadrupling him power - who knows) he would proceed to bash Middle Earth into submission.

: SAURON- OK. Let's say big red does win. "Oh no! It's the end of the world!!!"..... I doubt it. He had it before and they Whupped him, remember?

Hardly! Sauron was recovering from having to reform after the fall of Numenor, which he was right in the middle of. Gil-galad and Elendil had the greatest force of the peoples of Middle Earth ever assembled, short of The War of Wrath (or the Fifth Battle - can't remember) and the two most potent weapons of the age at their disposal. So the weakened Sauron was up against the odds. He was far from full power so its not surprising that he lost! Although it is probably the case that Gil-galad and Elendil got lucky!

: So the ring isn't the be-all and end-all holy graille of magic powers. And he was an actual guy then instead of just this brooding, skulking, shapeless eye-guy. Well, he'd probably crush Minas Tirith and Rohan. But what then? How's he going to run the whole continent? Especially if his guys are a bunch of idiot orcs and mutton eating trolls? What kind of regional administrators are they gonna be? Look at Mordor, his own home turf, it's a stinking sty! And this guy, this quaking cloud of oily smoke, is going to centrally plan and administer to all of Middle Earth? He'd have his hands (if he had any... by the way, how's he going to wear the thing anyway?) full just keeping the stupid orcs in line. So even if he did manage to conquor most of Middle Earth, he wouldn't be able to hold it together for long.

Untrue! For a start the One Ring *was* the most potent artefact of all time, short of Morgoth's Iron Crown. And where do you get the idea that Sauron is some shapeless misty form from? He always had the ability to reform. OK after the fall of Numenor he could only take the form of some meanacy Dark Lord, but he could still take such a form. Gollum say that the Dark One has only nine fingers now (or maybe that's just in the BBC radio version - I haven't got LotR on me to check the small details). As for administrators - well we get an idea of the sort of people he would use to rule the far reaches of Middle Earth in The Black Gate Opens and the Mouth of Sauron trotts on out! Black Numenoreans! Powerful, Intelligent, cunning, etc, etc! You can be sure the The Mouth was not the last of his kind, and besides, Sauron's and the Ring's power was to dominate, by force, the minds of others. With the One Ring, it wouldn't matter who was in control of a particular area, Sauron would have total control of their minds and they would simply do as he commanded, if they were not intelligent enough to work on their own iniative.

If he did get the One back, he would not only conquer Middle Earth, but the world would be under his Iron heel until the end.

Cheers

Padster

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