The Rings of Power: What Is The Light Of The Eldar And How Does It Connect With Arwen
The Rings of Power Episode 5 slightly changes the story of Mithril, a valuable and powerful mineral in the Lord of the Rings story, which now seems to be the only way to save the elves, so they can stay in Middle-earth to fight the enemy. Elrond and Durin travel to Lindon, and it is there that King Gil-galad reveals to him the real reason why he was sent to Khazad-dûm accompanied by Celebrimbor. The High King of the elves wanted to find out if the dwarves had discovered a mineral containing the light of the Eldar (or light of the Valar) that comes from one of the trees of Valinor.
Celebrimbor, who is one of the most important elves, tells Elrond that the elves are losing their light and with that, they will lose their immortality, and the only way to save themselves (and that they can stay to fight against the evil that is growing) is if they become saturated with the light of the Valar, and for that, they need large amounts of Mithril, which is the same ore from which the protective mesh that Bilbo gives to Frodo during his journey to destroy Sauron’s ring is constructed.
The Rings of Power: What Is The Light Of The Eldar And How Does It Connect With Arwen
The elves are immortal thanks to the Valar and the light that came from the two trees of Valinor, which were destroyed during the first battle with Morgoth. The light of the Eldar also refers to the enormous wisdom of the inhabitants of the Blessed Realm, which is the land of the elves, and to goodness and beauty, making it the best “weapon” to fight against the evil that is growing. That light comes from the gods, and they give it to the elves, and that’s what makes them immortal, powerful and wise.
But the trees of Valinor were destroyed and evil is growing in Middle-earth, and that is beginning to affect the elves, filling everything with darkness and leading them to lose the light of the Eldar. The problem is that if that continues, the elves are going to lose their immortal souls, which means they’re going to start deteriorating and dying. So, the elves are faced with two options, either they return to Valinor to avoid losing their light, or they stay and die, but if they leave, then evil will win, and this will bring about the destruction of the entire world and all races.
Gil-galad talks about the roots song of Hithaeglir, where it tells of a battle where an elf gave his light to a tree to protect it during a fight against a Balrog of Morgoth, and this makes part of the light from that elf and that tree will filter down to the Misty Mountains and reach deeper, where it becomes the Mithril that is found by Durin and the dwarves of Khazad-dûm. And as Celebrimbor explains, the elves need all the Mithril they can find to “recharge their batteries” (regain the light of the Eldar) so they can stay and fight.
What Does This Have To Do With Arwen?
In Lord of the Rings, an older Elron tells Aragorn that Arwen is losing the light of the Eldar, that it is fading, and that means she is going to deteriorate and die, which we can understand as she is going to die to turn into a human. But, in the case of Arwen, this is a choice, she decided to give up the light of the Eldar to live a human life with the man she loves, and this confirms that the light of the Eldar is not only lost when evil increases but that the elves can decide to lose their immortality and live for a limited time. And it also confirms that Elrond may have helped her daughter with some Mithril, but he wanted her to be able to experience what it was like to live in Valinor, which is a realm without pain, doubt, and suffering.
