Of Cirdan and the Ring of Fire
by JimboBaggins
The
following
unfinished manuscript was found in the belongings of Samwise the
Second, son of Elanor the Fair and Fastred of Greenholm. The family
lived in the new country, Westmarch, between the Far Downs and The
Tower Hills, which was gifted to them by King Elessar at the start of
the Fourth Age.
The document was included in the last pages of the Red Book,
which was inherited by their family for safekeeping. Shire Reckoning
dated it 1457, as submitted to a class on The Histories of Middle Earth.
Titled: Outline; Of Arda, Cirdan and The Ring of Fire.
In the beginning there was Illuvatar, The One. Creator of the Holy
Ones, the Ainur
Through the music of the Ainur
The world was created, Arda, Aman, and Middle-Earth.
The Valar, Lords of the West are:
Manwe, Varda, Melkor, Ulmo, Nienna, Aule and Yavanna. These are the
Seven Great Ones of the Realm of Arda.
Lesser than the Seven but powerful still are Mandos, Vaire, Lorien
(Este), Tulkas, Nessa, Osse, Uinen, Orome and Vana.
They made way the beauty of all things good
Preparing Arda for the Awakening of the Children of Illuvatar.
Melkor, brother of Manwe, corrupted the lands and beings of Arda with
jealousy, hate and envy
as the battle of Good and Evil waged through the long ages.
The One had foresight of things that were not exposed to the Valar,
to allow the natural order of things to come.
The Awakening came and brought forth The Eldar.
These were the Vanyar, Teleri and Noldor.
From the Noldor came Finwe as Lord who begat Feanor who begat Curufin.
Feanor, son of Finwe was the master of crafts thereby creating the
Silmarils
These, stolen by Melkor were the cause of many wars and great deeds
recorded in the annals of Valinor.
From Curufin came Celembrimbor of Eregion, greatest of Jewel-Smiths who
with the help of the Mirdain, fashioned the three rings of Power.
Of the lesser Maiar were Curumo, known as Saruman, Olorin, known as
Gandalf
and Sauron, from the house of Aule the Smith. Sauron, corrupted by
Melkor, fashioned the Ring of Power and lesser rings to control the
peoples of Middle-Earth.
The Three Rings of Power were untouched by the hand of Sauron.
Of these are the Ring of Water, Nenya, Ring of Adamant, The White Ring.
Given to Galadriel to keep and protect Lorien.
Second is the Ring of Air. The Blue Ring, ring of sapphire, Vilya.
Borne on the hand of Elrond during the War of the Ring.
Third and most important is The Ring of Fire. Narya, the Red Ring
This was granted to Cirdan, the Shipwright by Gil-Galad in the
Second Age who had been entrusted with the ring from Celembrimdor at
the time of the fall of Eregion.
Cirdan with his wisdom and foresight, granted by the Valar, through
The One, passed the Ring of Fire to The Wizard Gandalf to bear in
secret.
Throughout the Ages, as Melkor (Morgoth as named by the Elves) and
Sauron’s evil grew, Cirdan and Gandalf were active in the fight against
evil in all matters.
Gandalf wielded the ring against the Balrog on the bridge of Khazad-dum
and against the Nazgul on The Field of Pelennor during the War of the
Ring.
Cirdan became master of The Grey Havens, crafting ships to allow
those that chose to fade into the West to the Shores of Aman, the
Undying Land.
During the last part of the Third Age, Cirdan was given knowledge
to build a ship to be harbored and kept safe for a time unknown but to
The One for the Ringbearers to pass into history and to the Blessed
Realm.
He chose the finest wood from the old growth primeval forests that grew
west of the Blue Mountains, north of the Gulf of Lune. There he had
maintained a secret grove of mallorn trees that had been blessed by
Varda with the dew from Teleperion at the time Nimloth, scion of the
White Tree of Valinor was gifted to the Numenoreans*. With the wood
from these trees he crafted beams and timbers unequalled in strength
and beauty. A pale white, iron-hard and glass smooth surface to honor
those that gave their all to bring peace to Middle-Earth and usher in
the Fourth Age, the age of Man, ruled by King Elessar.
* written in the histories of Numenor
from the library of The
Citadel at Minas Tirith as gifted to the family by Faramir, Prince of
Ithilien.
