Here at TheOneRing.net we have a tradition of enjoying April Fools Day with some merriment. We hope you enjoyed our jokes today.
You’ll be glad to know that AI will not be creating more “Tolkien” works, nor updating the Professor’s language; at least, TORn is not aware of any such plan – yet…
Not today, Morgoth…
Alas, the more pleasant news of a Silmarillion stage show was also a joke. The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale IS a fabulous show (and is touring in Australia; it returns to the UK later this year). We heartily recommend seeing it if you can! AND composer Paul Corfield Godfrey HAS released recordings of his operas based on The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion; check them out here.
We should also note that TORn’s good friends are in fact producer Kevin Wallace (not Walrus) and Middle-earth Enterprises’ Fredrica Drotos (not Doritos); thanks to them for being great sports. And we still think the wonderful Donato Giancola could create amazing sets. Maybe we’ll get a Silmarillion stage show one day. (Staffer greendragon would like to volunteer to direct it…)
We now resume our regular programming. Don’t forget to vote in Middle-earth March Madness; Final Four launches TONIGHT!
Breaking news: rights to bring The Silmarillion to life have finally been released, but it’s not to any of the media giants you might have expected.
Ever since Prime Video started work on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, there has been much speculation and anticipation as to whether the Tolkien Estate would finally sell the rights to bring The Silmarillion stories to life. In an exclusive reveal, our friends at Middle-earth Enterprises have told us that it looks like that will happen now; but it is the folks behind The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale who have gained the long sought-after permission.
The recent revival of the musical, which features music by A.R. Rahman, Värttinä, and Christopher Nightingale, with book and lyrics by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus, has proved such a hit that it seems to have persuaded the Tolkien Estate that more live Middle-earth on stage could only be a good thing. The latest musical production began at The Watermill Theatre in the UK, in 2023; it has since played in Chicago, Auckland, and is currently touring in Australia, to great acclaim.
In addition, composer Paul Corfield Godfrey has in recent years been given permission by the Estate to release recordings of his operas based on The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. This indicated to some that there was a move towards allowing more performance work based on the Professor’s writings; but this most recent announcement will nonetheless no doubt take folks by surprise.
Kip Rasmussen’s Eru and the Gods singing the First Song of Creation
What we’ve been told
The same composition and libretto team who brought us The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale will now be creating The Silmarillion – An Adventure Three Ages in the Making (working title). It is as yet unconfirmed who the stage director and design team will be for this epic show, but we do know that producer Kevin Walrus is on board. He expressed his excitement to us, and hinted at the possibility for a series of shows:
We are thrilled to build on the global momentum that we’ve already seen in our world tour of The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale production, with this expanded opportunity to play in the realms that Professor Tolkien created. Our first task will be to decide how many shows these new landscapes allow us to produce!
Rumour is that the production will open in New Zealand, sometime in late 2027. Middle-earth Enterprises’ Fredrica Doritos told us:
We know that the epic stories of the early ages of Middle-earth, found in The Silmarillion, are beloved by fans. The great drama, romance, peril and poetry of these tales makes them perfect for the stage; and the track record of the team who created The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale means that we know these sagas are in safe hands. We can’t wait to see Eru Ilúvatar and Manwë brought to life on stage. What song of Lúthien Tinúviel was powerful enough to lull Morgoth to sleep? Perhaps we’ll hear such a song in this stage show. We hope the fans will be as excited as we are, to see Fëanor forge his gems on stage.
We’ve also heard that artists already known for their Tolkien-inspired paintings may be brought in to be part of the design team. Could some of the folks whose masterpieces we’ve been enjoying in Middle-earth March Madness be part of these future shows? Certainly TORn friend Donato Giancola would make epic scenery designs; and Kip Rasmussen’s ‘Eru and the Gods singing the First Song of Creation’ would make a wonderful show poster.
Donato Giancola’s Beren and Lúthien in the Court of Thingol and Melian
We here at TheOneRing.net are very excited by the news of this forthcoming stage production (or productions!), and staffers have started speculating as to exactly which stories will appear on ‘the boards’. Look for more content to explore our thoughts; and of course we’ll bring you updates as we receive them.
In an ambitious endeavor combining classic literature with modern technology, Middle-earth Enterprises today unveiled Bridging the Ages, an innovative initiative that employs a cutting-edge AI system—codenamed Silmadur—to compose new narratives and expand upon the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Drawing on decades of fan curiosity and meticulously sourced Tolkien archives, Silmadur’s mission is to fill the long-surmised gaps in Middle-earth lore, while offering subtle, modernized readings of the original texts.
To create Silmadur, a specialized team of Tolkien scholars, archivists—including staff from TheOneRing.net—and AI experts spent two years assembling a comprehensive digital library of source materials. The dataset encompasses The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, as well as early drafts, marginalia, personal letters, lecture notes, and lesser-known writings. Previously unreleased texts, once locked away in private collections, were added alongside appendices, genealogical charts, and decades’ worth of fan analyses. By drawing on this extensive treasury, the developers aimed to ensure that Silmadur faithfully mirrors the depth and tone of Tolkien’s original vision when crafting new passages.
EXCERPT 1: “At sunrise, a solitary figure stood at the borders of Fangorn, holding a single bloom of yellow niphredil. Some say it was Quickbeam himself, tending a secret garden of the Entwives—at last discovered across the river.” – Silmadur’s ‘lost chapter’ on the fate of the Entwives
“Our hope is to illuminate corners of the legendarium that Tolkien left tantalizingly unexplored,” says Thomas Cressman, a representative for Middle-earth Enterprises. “From the lost lineages of Elven lords to passing mentions of vanished cities, there are countless threads, begging to be woven into a fuller tapestry.”
The Bridging the Ages initiative also involves creating “light-touch” revisions to Tolkien’s original texts—expanding genealogies, clarifying linguistic nuances, and elaborating on references left intentionally vague. The team insists that all of this respects Tolkien’s style while carefully modernizing certain language choices.
EXCERPT 2: “In a letter addressed to Aragorn, just days after the coronation, Éowyn recounted how dreams of the Witch-king’s final shriek still haunted her… until Faramir reminded her that courage can live on beyond fear, lighting a path through any darkness.” – Silmadur’s exploration of Éowyn and Faramir’s early marriage
“Far too often, fans get locked into gatekeeping over what can and can’t be done with these stories,” reflects Calisuri, co-owner and co-founder of TheOneRing.net. “We live in an age of creativity and technology—why not use an advanced AI trained on the entire Tolkien corpus to bring hidden narratives to light? It’s not about replacing the original texts – nothing will ever do that – but about enriching them for a new generation of readers.”
While Bridging the Ages and Silmadur remain in early development, those involved hinted that future plans include an AI-generated supplement to The Silmarillion—complete with newly “unearthed” letters between legendary Elven figures—and additional chapters that reach beyond the conclusion of The Lord of the Rings. Middle-earth Enterprises will share select previews of these expansions exclusively on TheOneRing.net in the months ahead.
For more details on this evolving project, and for a first look at Silmadur’s creations, stay tuned to TheOneRing.net. Additional updates, including genealogical diagrams and in-depth explorations of minor characters, are expected soon.
Oaths hold an astonishing power in Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Here, TORn Discord member Narrative Epicure explores how Sauron and Elrond’s understanding of this fact drives each to behave very differently toward others.
~ Staffer Demosthenes
Concerning Oaths in Middle-earth
by TORn Discord member Narrative Epicure
In December 3018 of the Third Age, everybody’s lucky number was nine. After an involuntary white-water rafting trip down the Bruinen, Sauron’s Nazgûl returned to Mordor. These servants, so long bound to him by works he wrought in ages past, gathered once more in the dark shadow of Barad-dûr. In the Elven realm of Rivendell, Lord Elrond prepared a Fellowship whose journey would determine the fate of Middle-earth.
“The Company of the Ring shall be Nine;”1 he declared, “and the Nine Walkers shall be set against the Nine Riders that are evil.”2
Contrasts between the Ringwraiths and the Fellowship are legion, but in their preparations, one particular distinction reveals the nature of the hands that send them: while Sauron insists on sending servants bound to him by rings of power, Elrond demands nothing of anyone but Frodo (to not cast away the ring or deliver it to an Enemy). To the fellowship, he says, “no oath or bond is laid upon you.”3
As they depart on their journey south, he demands no promise from the nine he sent.
This difference between Elrond and Sauron is illustrative of each lord’s perspective on oaths and—to a larger degree—of the way each lord interacts with and treats the people of Middle-earth.
Concerning Oaths
Oaths and promises are fascinating subjects that could fill volumes on their own. On a surface level, an oath is a set of words promising some conduct or restraint. Yet, the way we treat an oath transforms it from a set of words to a power. In our own world, this power is usually subtle, intangible, and typically confined to the effects on psyche, trust, or the occasional legal ramification. In large part, oaths have over us what power we give them. In Middle-earth, this intangible power becomes tangible. Tolkien writes of oaths not only as if they have power, but as if they behave.
Oaths are living things that bless those who honor them, and occasionally impose consequences on oathbreakers. Tolkien describes the Oath of Fëanor (an oath that drives much of the action and conflict of the First Age) as “ever at work,”4 and on other occasions he says it has “slept now for a time.”5
In The Lord of the Rings, we see the terrible result of going back on your word when the Men of Dunharrow break oaths to fight Sauron and Isildur curses them to “rest never until [their] oath is fulfilled.”6
Tolkien’s writing ascribes another unique trait to oaths: they bind people to each other. Tolkien’s Legendarium offers many examples of this: the Oath of Eorl bound Rohan and Gondor together, the Oath of Finrod bound him to aid the kin of Barahir (at the cost of his life), and the sons of Fëanor were “bound by the oath”7 they swore.
But the people of Middle-earth can be bound even without oaths. When Melkor darkened the two Trees of Valinor, the Valar determined that the light of the Silmarils could restore the trees if Fëanor allowed their use. Fëanor refused. The Silmarillion describes him as “fast bound” to the Silmarils. Long before his oath, the love of his crafts bound him.
It was this binding power that Sauron would seek to replicate. In the Second Age, he bent the power of oaths back on itself, twisting it into the shape of rings, “for his desire was to set a bond upon the Elves.”8
Bound by Oaths
In Season 1 of the Rings of Power, young Elrond describes his outlook on oaths. “To some, [oaths] may now hold little weight, but in my esteem, it is by such things our very souls are bound.”9
He sees oaths as Tolkien wrote of them, and he uses them to build a web of collective strength. Elrond gives oaths. He enters them freely as a show of loyalty to those he cares about. Some may argue he enters them too freely.
Yet, despite the impetuous manner in which he binds himself to others, he’s hesitant to let others make oaths to him. When the Fellowship departs, and he asks no oath or bond, he explains some of his reasoning (paraphrased to just dialogue):
Gimli: “Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.” Elrond: “Maybe, but let him not vow to walk in the dark who has not seen the nightfall.” Gimli: “Yet sworn word may strengthen quaking heart.” Elrond: “Or break it.”10
He’s cautious to hold others to promises made without all facts. We see this again in the mines when he stops Durin from sharing his true name—an act that, while not an overt oath, would have bound the two together. And while he freely binds himself, he’s cautious with whom he makes such promises. Note that in Season 2, when Galadriel asks, he immediately refuses to swear any promise “whose asking is born of that ring.”11
But seconds later, he swears exactly what she wishes, only this time to her. He will not suffer himself to be bound to or by her ring, but holds no qualms for his friend. And despite his fears that she is bound to Sauron through that ring, he demands no similar oath from her lips.
At his core, Elrond believes oaths are about people. He cares much more about binding himself to others than binding them to him. He cares deeply about them. When he stumbled into Durin’s Mithril mine in Season 1, he wasn’t looking for mithril itself like Durin suspected. He was looking for his friend. He worried about Durin’s secrets and went there to maintain trust between them.
After swearing an oath to Durin, he’s given a nugget of mithril, which he immediately offers to return. His king sought that ore, but to Elrond, this was always about his friend. Incidentally, this outlook works to his favor. Durin never would have given him the mithril if it were why he came lurking.
Bound in Darkness
If Elrond is the give, Sauron is the take. Elrond builds strength, Sauron builds power. To the dark lord, the purpose of oaths is to ensure those beneath him remain subservient. We see this in the very terminology he uses. He almost always eschews the word “oaths” in favor of “binding.” He doesn’t want to forge webs like Elrond; he wants to forge chains.
Sauron is cautious about oaths he swears. When faced with no alternative, he tries to manipulate them in his favor. “I swear to serve the lord of Mordor”12 is the juicy example that springs to mind. He’s there to bind others to him, not the other way around. Oaths don’t show loyalty or closeness, they keep others in line.
In the finale of Season 1, he asks Galadriel to bind herself to him. What he wants from Galadriel is a promise—an oath—so he can make her a queen, fair as the sea and the sun, stronger than the foundations of the earth. But notice again his subtlety. He offers her effectively nothing. “You bind me to light, and I bind you to power.”13
In exchange for her legitimizing his “healing” of Middle-earth, he binds her to power. But in Sauron’s estimation, he is that power. He binds her to him, and in exchange, she validates his rule. But as Gandalf famously warned Saruman, “he does not share power.”14
He’s promised her only chains.
Since he cannot elicit true loyalty, Sauron must demand it. He can deceive and win hearts, but he cannot keep them. It is this inability to earn true loyalty that—in part—drives Sauron’s need for the rings. Elrond cares for people while Sauron seeks only what he can use from them.
Each ring of power is a literal manifestation of that search for utility. If the people of Middle-earth will not swear to him, he will find some other way to bind them to him.
Frodo observed that “the Shadow . . . can only mock, it cannot make: not real new things of its own.”15
Unable to make bonds and elicit oaths, Sauron mocks, imitating the power of an oath’s bond with his rings. That involuntary bond shreds trust, but he doesn’t need trust when he has control. Dominate some creatures, bind others, make empty promises, and—when your army is threatening enough—maybe some people will swear with less coercion and deception.
And so, nine walkers set out from Rivendell, each a hero, while nine riders set out from Mordor, each a thrall. Sauron told us his plan from a prison cell in Númenor: “identify what it is that [a person] most fears . . . [and] give them a means of mastering it so you can master them.”16
Elrond’s line of thinking would likely be more along the lines of “identify what it is that a person most fears, and swear to protect them from it.”
With that contrast laid out, it’s clear in which fellowship you’d find better company.
About the author:Narrative Epicure is an aspiring loremaster and practicing attorney longing to read or write things that aren’t legal. When he’s not buried in Tolkien’s Legendarium, he enjoys books, board games, and other activities with his Fellowship, which includes his wife and three daughters.
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
Welcome to The Great Hall of Poets, our poetry feature showcasing the talent of Middle-earth fans. So come and join us by the hearth, and enjoy!
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
“To Save a Friend”
by Caroline Flynn
Two red eyes, gleaming in the dark: Two eyes, filled with fiendish lust and desire. Not the light they hoped to pierce their prison stark! Not this end in torture and hellish fire.
Another gone, one more companion dead, In the dark dungeons of that accursed isle; Another werewolf cruelly fed While their master sits above with his triumphant smile.
At last, only two are left alive: Together, Beren and Felagund wait – Wait for the teeth and claws, sharper than knives. How can they escape their terrible fate?
Two red eyes appear in the night. To Felagund they rove, but on Beren they land. But lo! The evil dark is pierced by light As Finrod takes against evil a last stand.
Black blood mingling with the red, Black fur and golden hair, A terrible price Finrod pays in Beren’s stead, There in Tol-in-Gaurhoth, in evil’s lair.
The chains are rent, the dark wizardry spent, And league of love and trust unbroken Unto the Elven-king great strength lent So that in the darkness hope was awoken.
But no! Defeat seems all their prize! The Oath’s doom strikes the Oath-bound. And mortally wounded, Finrod slowly dies, His breath and Beren’s tears the only sounds.
Then Finrod speaks as he in torment lies, And he touches the ring upon Beren’s hand; The golden flowers, the serpents with emerald eyes Such a heavy weight, that small band!
“Namarie!” I go now to the halls beyond Valinor. Alas, that I could do no more upon this quest; But remember me, when I am no more. Namarie! I go now to my rest!”
Beren mourned, and called his name, Finrod Felagund – fair, beloved, and brave. But his last stand was not in vain: Blood for blood was rendered, a friend to save.
~~ * ~~
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
In January I was reading a skeet on Bluesky about how people feel after every re-reading of The Lord of the Rings. Do they still feel the same emotions, have the same reactions as they did when they first read it?
Some of the responses reflected that you can never feel or react the same way as you did during your first reading, as everything you were reading was new and fresh to you, which is very true. A much-shared readers lament is that you can never feel the way you did the first time you read a well-loved story.
Several responses went onto clarify that every re-read still affects them, though in different ways. Could this be due to being older? Having a greater understanding of world-issues? Being able to comprehend more nuances from Tolkien’s writing?
For myself it’s probably a combination of all of these, after all, I was only 8 years old when I first read LOTR. The complexities of the world-building have grown on me as I’ve gotten older, and I’m far more appreciative of these now than I was as a precocious 8-year-old. My main reason for reading LOTR back then was to join in with the discussions my mother and older brothers were having about LOTR. My mother tried to get me to read The Hobbit, but I just wasn’t interested: Mum and the boys were discussing LOTR, and I wanted to join in with that. I did say I was precocious 😉
This led to a life-long love of Tolkien’s work. Many of my fondest memories are related to LOTR. My brothers and I saved up to buy our mum a box set of Tolkien’s books when The Silmarillion was published, those books now live on my bookshelf, along with all my other copies. Many of my responses when re-reading LOTR reflect where I was at that time in my life. Re-reading the books my brothers and I bought our mum reminds me strongly of when I first read LOTR and how much I enjoyed discussing them with my mum and brothers. They also remind me of the wonder she introduced us to when she first shared her love of LOTR with us, and how excited we all were to buy her the box set, so she finally had her own copies.
Now, every time I re-read them; I’m constantly finding new insights. I’ve mentioned the world-building, something that all fans of Tolkien’s work love, the themes of friendship, fellowship, enduring love, and simple joys are what resound with me and lead me back to read these books over and over again.
I’ve mainly mentioned LOTR, as since that was the work that the fans over on Bluesky were discussing, but I also regularly re-read Tolkien’s other Middle-earth books. My favourite is The Silmarillion, probably because I’ve always been a bit of a history geek too, so I really love the deeper insight into Middle-earth that The Silmarillion provides. I’ve honestly lost count how many times I’ve read it, and LOTR. At one point I could quote whole sections of it from memory, but that was a few years ago, before children and other RL interests came along. Still, I can remember quite a bit of its lore. Every time I re-read The Sil I uncover deeper meaning, beauty, and sorrow and it draws me firmly into Middle-earth.
I must admit that I appreciate The Hobbit much more now I’m an adult, than I did as a child. Being a quite advanced reader from a very young age, I absolutely hated anything that I felt was “talking down” to children. As an 8-year-old, that’s how it struck me, I disliked the narrator talking directly to me and skipping things they felt I was too young to witness or understand. Now it just seems a quaint way of telling the story and doesn’t distract me from the tale. I find I can more fully enjoy Bilbo’s travels “there and back again” a lot more from an adult perspective, and I notice and enjoy the nuances far more than I did as a child. Maybe that’s just me.
I know many fans that have come to Tolkien’s works via Peter Jackson’s movies, and, more recently, via Amazon Studios’ The Rings of Power TV. One of the first questions I was asked when I finally crept out of Lurkwood and joined our Message boards was if I was a “book-firster or a movie-firster”. The question wasn’t asked to belittle me, it was asked out of genuine interest as to how I discovered Tolkien, and led to a truly enjoyable discussion about Tolkien’s work and how wonderful it was that more people were discovering his work due to the release of the films. That, while I enjoy the films, the books will always hold the number one spot in my heart, and it’s this first love that draws me back to Middle-earth over and over again.
We’re seeing this again with the TV series, with people finding out about Middle-earth for the first time and wanting to know more. We regularly have new members join our Discord chat, wanting to know about Tolkien’s books, which order they should read them in. Then they share their joy with us all as they read the stories. I have no doubt that we will see another influx after The War of the Rohirrim is released in December.
We are so lucky today to have so many more adaptations set in Middle-earth. As a child the only film I ever saw was the Bakshi Lord of the Rings. While I left the cinema with many questions for my mother, over changes and omissions, it didn’t rob me of my original love: the books. I did immediately re-read the books, and was surprised at how Bakshi’s film, while not perfect, led me to a greater appreciation of the written work.
It’s wonderful, and a privilege, watching others begin their journey into the wonder that is Middle-earth, and having new memories added to my own ongoing journey. As I, and others, have found, I am sure that those who have come to discover, and love, Middle-earth through the recent adaptations will discover the greater realm that awaits them within the written works. At least, this remains my belief and hope.
I wish them well as they embark on their own journey of discovery, of deeper understanding and wonder of the amazing world that we’ve been gifted by J.R.R. Tolkien. This wonderful Middle-earth. I envy their new discoveries, their first steps into this immense literary world, but rejoice that they are joining our Fellowship. Welcome!
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
