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Quote 5

Elrond:   “As Sauron’s power grows, her strength wanes. Arwen’s life is now tied to the fate of the ring. . . . The man who can wield the power of this sword can summon to him an army more deadly than any that walks this earth. Put aside the ranger. Become who you were born to be.”
—The Return of the King

Elrond delivers this message to Aragorn in The Return of the King, as the fellowship travels with the riders of Rohan to Minas Tirith to defend Gondor against the forces of Sauron. One evening, Aragorn dreams that Arwen chooses immortal life and cannot marry him, and he wakes up to find Elrond, king of the elves and Arwen’s father, waiting for him. Elrond tells Aragorn that, contrary to Aragorn’s dream, Arwen has chosen mortal life, and her survival now depends on the defeat of Sauron’s army. Aragorn has been motivated all along to protect Middle-earth and restore balance and peace to all its realms, but Elrond’s news of Arwen gives Aragorn another reason to fight. Arwen has risked her life for the chance of being with him, and Elrond is entrusting Aragorn with the task of protecting her. Elrond gives Aragorn a sword, a sign that he now commits himself fully to supporting the human cause.

The sword Elrond gives Aragorn is Anduril, which was forged from the shards of the sword Narsil. Isildur used a shard of Narsil to fight Sauron and cut the ring from Sauron’s finger, and legend claimed that the sword would not be reforged until the ring was found and Sauron returned. By giving Aragorn this gift, Elrond anoints him as Isildur’s heir, finally ready to take over Isildur’s role as king of Gondor. This moment marks the final step in Aragorn’s embracing his status as king, and he uses his status to recruit the men of the mountain to join his army. Elrond says that Anduril can gather an army as great as any “that walks this earth.” In other words, at this moment, the forces of good finally have a weapon as powerful as Sauron’s ring, and final battle can begin. With the support of Elrond firmly behind him, Aragorn has no choice but to accept his destiny as king of Gondor and set out to save both Middle-earth and his love.

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