[Sirannon]

I was just reading "The Ring goes south" chapter in FOTR, where it states that:

"The sons of Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir, were the last to return; they had made a great journey, passing down the silverlode into a strange country, but of their errand they would not seak to any save Elrond"

Does anybody know where they went? And why would they not speak of it?

Earlier Mithrandir states that: "Aragorn has gone with Elrond's sons"


We know that it is very seldom, that Gandalf is mistaken, so is there any other explanation for this?

Maybe there is a nice plotbunny hidden here.

[Haleth]

My best guess would be that the strange country was Lorien and that Elrond was sending word of the Ring to Galadriel and Celeborn and asking their counsel.

[Sirannon]

That would seem a reasonable suggestion. I just find itt odd, that the twins would characterize Lorien as strange. Oh well.

[Haleth]

I read it as the hobbits characterizing it as a strange land, but that's just my interpretation.

An interesting plot bunny (which I've been assiduously ignoring for years) had a decoy group heading west while pretending to have the Ring. This might help explain why Glorfindel was not made part of the Fellowship; he was part of the decoy crowd.

I've heard the argument that Glorfindel was too powerful and Sauron would detect him the instant he set foot in Mordor, if not before then, but the same could be said of Gandalf and he went with the Fellowship.

[Sirannon]

Thanks Haleth! I makes much more sense to me now.

Perhaps Mithrandir was powerful enough to conceal himself.

[NancyBrooke]

Perhaps Gandalf never actually intended to go that far ...

I don't really have a theory on this, I'm just spinning yarn, but any plot hole is an open invitation to fic and I think you found a good one, Sirannon.

"Passing down the Silverlode" is an odd one, as the Silverlode doesn't really go anywhere except through Lorien to the Anduin. Things in that direction to include Dol Goldur (although that seems like the long way to get there), and the Brown Lands. Perhaps they were sent to see if Dol Guldor was actually empty and not being repopulated, or out to the Brown lands and beyond to see if any western men were joining with Sauron ...

So, plenty of plot holes there.

I wonder about Tolkien, sometimes, as if he wrote things and then worked out detals, later, as when Boromir suggests the Fellowship go through [the southern fiefs] to bring them around to Minas Tirith. That would definately be the long way 'round (sorry, can't find the exact quote), and doesn't really make sense ...

Also, as far as Gandalf is concerned, has he ever entered Mordor that we know of? Wasn't it Aragorn who went looking for Gollum? Perhaps he, Gandalf, knew/believed he would be detected.

[Sirannon]

Perhaps, though he says at some point in the ring goes south, that they will have to go through Hollin, then across Caradhras or the other option, and then to Lorien, and then he says, that there is no point in thinking too far ahead.

So I guess you could infer that he planned to go at least to Lorien. Perhaps he meant to fight the balrog from there? Anyway it is Aragorn that warns him, that he may not make it through Moria unscathed, so at least he had some inclination as to what would occur.

I don't think he has ever been to Mordor. At least he says that he is known as a bunch of names in every direction except east, because he doesn't go there. (Paraphrased of course) Indeed it was Aragorn who found Gollum.

[DarkElfChilde]

This really makes me want to read the books again.