THIS is why the last of the Elves are making ready to leave at the time of the films. These last bastions of true Elvish power will fade without that power- and those Elves in them who stayed behind know that their time is finally come after all, and they must go. Now, when the One Ring is destroyed, that power goes. It is on the power of these Rings that the security and power of the Elvish Havens was maintained- though to his credit, Cirdan simply gave his to Gandalf. These Rings could not be brought west and SOMEONE, of course, had to look after them. More importantly, each of these three took charge of one of the Three Elvish Rings. Cirdan, I think, stayed in the Grey Havens just so he could oversee the transfer of Elves wishing to leave (Elves going west catch a boat from the Havens).Įavh of these three Elven settlements, then, represents a bastion of the old times, settlements that no evil can touch until Sauron gets his Ring back where the old Elves still live. Elrond felt a responsibility for overseeing the fledgling human kingdoms since the disaster of the destruction of Numenor. Some, like Galadriel, had particualr attachment to their homes. Some Elves did stay for the Third Age, of course. And the Fourth Age to come after the War of the Ring is a modern age, where immortal creatures like the Elves no longer belong.īUT. And it was conceptually important as well- the Third Age is the Age where MAN takes the lead, not Elves. This long delayed move back west occurred at the start of the Third Age. Only a certain line of Elves (known as 'Avari', or 'Refusers') never really had much interest in going. Some of them are descended from tjhose who only came back to Middle-Earth in an attempt to fight evil (and got stuck there longer than planned), some are descended from those who never made it out West- but ALWAYS intended to go there.

It must be remembered that these lands to the West are the true home of MOST of these Elves.

This was called the Last Alliance- not because man and Elf would never be friend again, but because after that battle the Elves would no longer exist as a true culture on Middle-Earth as the bulk of them would be going west. Right, the Elves true time in Middle-Earth ended at the end of Second Age in the big battle we saw at the start of the first film.

Why are the elves leaving middle earth