Sauron expands his scheme to force the Elf Celebrimbor to forge the Rings of Power for Men. Episode 6 of Season 2 of Rings of Power shows how the dark lord goes about it. But a deception may not have been well seen.
In episode 6 of season 2 of Rings of PowerSauron tightens his already strong grip on the unfortunate Celebrimbor a little more. The Elf is reduced almost to the status of a slave, even if appearances suggest that he still has some control over events. His mind, in any case, is completely obsessed with his task.
While he is busy creating the magic rings, Celebrimbor may have been doubly deceived by Sauron — still disguised as Annatar, who claims to be benevolent. Trapped first by the magic he deploys at the end of the episode, to make him believe that everything is fine. But also on another level.
Warning, the following contains spoilers for The Rings of Power.
Sauron claims to have found mithril
In this episode, the city of Ost-in-Edhil, in Eregion, is about to be attacked by an orc army. However, this upcoming siege annoys Sauron: he urgently needs Celebrimbor to complete the manufacture of the magic rings intended for Men – a project for which the famous blacksmith is encountering significant difficulties.
Locked in his tower, Celebrimbor hears a commotion outside and decides to go and see. Sauron tries to stop him and, failing to do so, deploys what seems to be a vast illusion: when the Elf goes out into the courtyard, peace and joy reign. All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds. At least, in Celebrimbor’s eyes.
It is in this illusion that Sauron then hands over, to the surprise of the Elf, a container containing ” refined mithril ore powder “, by Narvi himself (who is also responsible for the Durin’s Gates). Problem: it’s impossible! Sauron can’t have any. When he went to the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm to get some, he was dismissed by the king.
The only known vein of mithril is beneath the realm of Khazad-dûm, deep within the mountain. Sauron could not find it anywhere else. As for the Elves’ stockpile from previous trade with the Dwarves, it has been exhausted. In other words, what Sauron’s container contains cannot be mithril.
So what? Are these just some pebbles Sauron picked up, turned into fake mithril by some dark magic? Or is it something else? Maybe it’s the latter that needs to be considered. Remember, earlier in the episode, Sauron holds a dagger and slices his palm.
We can then theorize: there is nothing “pure”, as Sauron suggests, in there, but possibly the blood, the black substance, the essence of Sauron. In fact, if there is something pure in this bottle, it is indeed the evil of the dark lord. It is with “that” that Celebrimbor will forge the nine rings intended for Men.
This is all the more plausible since the design of the rings for Men has never been really detailed. The only known ring that has mithril is the elven ring that Galadriel owns, Nenya, combined with diamond. The others are based on other metals and precious stones — gold, sapphire, ruby, etc.
It is also known that the rings of Men are those that were most corrupted by Sauron, if we rely on their later state. Indeed, the nine unfortunates will become specters, slaves of the One Ring — the Nazgûl. For them to drift to this point, only a contact with the “essence” of Sauron can provide a viable explanation.
For Sauron, this deception is also a way to corrupt the rings of Men without being directly in the vicinity. Relations with Celebrimbor are strained and disputes now arise. In the event that he is chased out of the forge by the Elf, Sauron can thus still act from a distance, without his “partner” knowing.
Retroactively, this also helps explain the corruption of the Dwarven rings, which was real but apparently less violent. During the process of creating these rings, Sauron only had time to touch the materials used in their manufacture for a short time. He may not have had time to slip enough darkness into them.
Source: www.numerama.com
