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Elrond, a half-elf character in The Lord of the Rings, plays a significant role in Middle-earth’s history. He leads the Elves against Sauron, helps defeat him in the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, and advises the destruction of the One Ring. Elrond serves as a seer and father figure to Aragorn, and his daughter Arwen falls in love with him. With Sauron’s defeat, Elrond and his kind leave Middle-earth forever.
In the classic fantasy series The Lord of the Rings, written by JRR Tolkien, Elrond is a half-elf character who plays a significant role in the history of Middle-earth. An immortal, like all Elves in Tolkien’s world, Elrond is over 6000 years old and embodies a living link to the past. As described in The Silmarillion, the companion book to The Lord of the Rings, Elrond was born in the First Age to Eärendil and Elwing, his name Elven meaning “Star Dome”.
Toward the end of the First Age, Elrond accompanies the High Elf King, Gil-galad, leading the Elven armies against the evil lord Sauron in what was called “The War of the Elves and Sauron”. This conflict arose when Sauron, in secret, forged the “One Ring” to rule over all other rings of power held by Elves, Dwarves and Men. Unable to resist Sauron’s enormous forces, Elrond is forced to retreat to the port of Rivendell, and with the help of the Numenoreans, an ancient race of Men who possess greater power than ordinary humans, the Elves are able to defeat Sauron, forcing him to retreat to his stronghold in Mordor, greatly diminished. Subsequently, Elrond settles in Rivendell and becomes lord and protector of the kingdom.
During the Second Age of Middle-earth, Sauron is resurrected and this time assaults Gondor and Arnor, the realms of men founded by the remnants of the Numenoreans. Accompanied by Elendil, the king of Arnor and Gondor, Elrond as High Lord of the Elves marshals the forces of his people and sets out to fight against Sauron in what is termed the “Last Alliance of Elves and Men”. Sauron is defeated when the One Ring is cut from his hand by Isildur, son of Elendil, who against the wise advice of Elrond, claims the ring for himself. The One Ring is lost when it falls from Isildur’s hands into the River Anduin, during an ambush in which he is killed by Orcs.
In the Third Age of Middle-earth, Elrond once again emerges as a major player. As before, Sauron’s shadow threatens the land, and the dark lord raises a mighty army to subjugate all who oppose him. Seeking to restore himself to his former power, Sauron desperately seeks the One Ring, which he discovers has resurfaced upon the world.
It is Elrond who summons a council of Elves, Dwarves and Men, to meet in Rivendell to decide the fate of the One Ring, which Bilbo Baggins recovered during his adventures in The Hobbit. Elrond, whose wisdom and vision far surpass those around him, advises that the ring be taken to Mordor and destroyed in the flames of Mount Doom where it was originally forged. Only then, he argues, will Sauron’s power be defeated. The Lord of the Rings is the story of how Frodo and his companions accomplish this end.
Throughout The Lord of the Rings, Elrond plays the role of a seer, guiding characters through his foreknowledge to their rightful destinations. In the case of Aragorn, Isildur’s only living heir, Elrond helps him reconcile his past and ultimately embrace his own destiny as the rightful king of Gondor. In this capacity, Elrond serves more as a father figure, his wise counsel guiding Aragorn’s conscience to make the right choices for the greater good. Elrond’s daughter Arwen Undomiel falls in love with Aragorn and later gives up her elven immortality for a human existence to take her place as queen to her.
With the defeat of Sauron at the end of the Third Age, Elrond and his elven kind leave Middle-earth forever, sailing west to Aman, the “Blessed Realm”.
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