The Rings of Power: What is Valinor? What Are The Two Trees Of Valinor? Explained!
The story of The Rings of Power begins in a place called Valinor, which is the home of the elves before they arrive in Middle-earth, and where everyone dreams of returning once they have served their time in the world of the dwarves, humans and hobbits. But Valinor, which is also known as The Undying Lands, had already been mentioned before, it is the place Elrond wants to send his daughter, Arwen, during the events of Lord of the Rings, and where Galadriel, Gandalf, Frodo and the rest of the elves decide to travel once Sauron is destroyed and the battle is won.
In the case of The Rings of Power, we can see something happening in Valinor, which is part of what compels the elves to make the journey to Middle-earth, but we also know that their connection to their ancestral home remains strong. , and coming back is an honor, which is fulfilled when they take a boat trip towards sunset. The elves that travel to Valinor seem to be in a state of ecstasy and inner peace (they even sing a song that no one taught them), but what exactly is that place, what about the elves and characters that make the journey, and what are they? Those trees with light that Galadriel remembers?
The Rings of Power: What is Valinor?
We know that Toklien drew from many legends and traditions to create his stories, so Valinor could be something like Valhalla was to the Norsemen. Valinor means Land of the Valar (the Valar were the gods of the Tolkien world), and it is said to be a place where there is no pain or suffering. It was not a complete physical place, and it is said that only the elves could get there using special ships (Frodo and Bilbo were able to make the trip due to being granted special permission for the role they played in the destruction of the Sauron’s ring), this after the first battle against Melkor, who was a member of the Valar who was carried away by darkness.
This place was hidden and separated from all of Middle-earth so that the elves could live in peace and away from the problems of the world, but, as Morfydd Clark‘s Galadriel tells at the beginning of The Rings of Power, their happiness it did not last forever, and this led the elves to leave their home to face the enemy. In the Second Age, Sauron manipulates the immortality-obsessed humans of Númenor into trying to conquer Valinor, and that is the beginning of the end for the mightiest realm.
What Are The Two Trees Of Valinor?
According to the story, Melkor was not completely defeated in the first battle, the villain manages to survive and steals the Silmarils, forcing the elves to fight again in Middle-earth, where they dream of returning home, which is an honor they it is only granted to some (and only Galadriel rejects it). Galadriel mentions that in Valinor there are two trees with a special light (it is believed that this light gives Galadriel certain special abilities), which are the heart of Valinor and were created by the gods and kept the darkness away from this place, in addition, that they kept him protected.
Morgoth (Melkor) eventually decides to attack Valinor, and what you do is seek the destruction of those two sacred trees, forcing the elves to become part of a brutal war where millions die, including Galadriel’s brother, who as a result of that arrives to become commander of the elves, determined to put an end to the last trace of evil in the world. After the destruction of the trees, what remains is a flower and a fruit of each one, and these are rescued by the gods and become the sun and the moon.
What About The Elves Traveling To Valinor?
When Galadriel receives the invitation to travel to Valinor, she decides to reject it, apparently because traveling to Valinor means that she cannot return and that she will never be able to defeat the enemy who took her brother from her. While we know the elves have already gotten out of there once, so there could certainly be a way for them to do it again, the problem is that Valinor no longer has its two trees, and that could mean it’s not how Galadriel remembers it. , in addition to the fact that no one is known to have returned after crossing the sea to live there again. Apparently, Valinor is something like heaven or Valhalla in Tolkien‘s world, the last place where one lives without suffering or worries, as happens, for example, with Jane Foster at the end of Thor: Love and Thunder.
