Emissaries to the East Cory Rushton

Wilt thou learn the lore that was long secret

of the Five that came from a far country?

Only one returned. Others never again... (UT 395)

This essay attempts to reconcile various writings found throughout the Tolkien corpus on

the subject of the Blue Wizards, the Istari Alatar and Pallando. In the Silmarillion they appear to

arrive with their more famous counterparts: Saruman, Gandalf and Radagast. Yet in later writings

we are told they came with Glorfindel in the mid-Second Age, when Sauron’s Ring had made him

extremely dangerous. Complicating matters is the ICE canon, wherein both traditions seem to be

active: the Wizards arrive together at the dawn of the second millenium TA, yet Alatar assists

Ringlin Sindacollo defeat his evil father near the end of the Second Age. I hope this essay will

present a workable solution to this and a number of related problems.

When Matters Became Very Dangerous The ‘other two’ came much earlier, at the same time probably as Glorfindel, when matters became very dangerous in

the Second Age. Glorfindel was sent to aid Elrond and was (though not yet said) pre-eminent in the war in Eriador.

But the other two Istari were sent for a different purpose (HoME XII.384)

In the mid-Second Age the Valar became deeply concerned with the growing power of the

renegade Maia Sauron. Sauron had disappeared into the East, fleeing the just judgement of the

Valar after the War of Wrath; a millenium later he began fortifying the land of Mordor. He had

fostered dissent in Eregion, winning many of the Eldar to his cause by disguising himself as

Annatar, Lord of Gifts. At last he revealed himself openly and attacked the Elves in their cities and

strongholds. The Valar heard their prayers, and around 1600 SA they sent emissaries to combat

Sauron’s ever-increasing might.

The first of these messengers was Glorfindel, a mighty hero of ancient Gondolin who had

slain a Balrog in single combat only to perish himself of his grevious injuries.1 He was asked to

attend Elrond, and was instrumental in the war which followed. Although Eregion was laid waste

and Eriador devestated, Sauron was unable to win total mastery of the north-west, in no small part

due to Glorfindel’s valiant efforts.

The Valar did not give thought to Elrond and the Elves of Eregion alone. The lands of the

distant East and the Utter South were also threatened, especially the Elven realms in those parts,

surrounded as they were by increasingly hostile Men. The Valar sought among the ranks of the

Elven heros in the Halls of Mandos for two more emissaries. At last, they decided upon Queen

Mormiresûl and Lord Laurrë Menelrana.

1 In the essay on the Istari which appeared in Unfinished Tales, Tolkien wrote that it should be

assumed that the Istari “were all Maiar, that is persons of the ‘angelic’ order, though not

necessarily of the same rank” (UT 394). His later insistence that Glorfindel of Rivendell and

Glorfindel of Gondolin (a hero of the First Age) were one and the same solved a lengthy debate,

even though it was based on happenstance: it was a case of “random names from the older

legends” being used in early drafts and somehow escaping “reconsideration” (HoME VI.214).

Mormiresûl had ruled distant Helkanen, an Avari Elven realm on the western slopes of the

northern Orocarni. There she had welcomed refugees from other Avari settlements throughout the

northeastern peninsula of Endor, a land quickly coming under the domination of the Womaw

peoples. The Womaw had been recently unified, partly through the spiritual teachings of a golden

drake named Utomkudor, or Kod Ultor. Her teachings seemed peaceful, even if her human

followers were becoming more aggressive with each century, so the Avari merely kept a wary eye

and did nothing. In 560 SA Mormiresûl had been horrified when Elven refugees from their ancient

home at Helcar Sael fled over the mountains with the news that the Womaw Hionvara (Old Wm.

“Chieftans”) had begun asking Utomkudor to attack their enemies. Entire villages had been

destroyed by the dragon’s might. Mormiresûl crossed the mountains with her warriors and slew

the drake in a long, terrible battle; at the end, she was wounded unto death herself. Ordering a

golden suit of armor made from the dragon’s scales in imitation of the Hionvari, she asked to be

buried in this trophy of war.2

Laurrë Menelrana had accompanied his father Chrys Menelrana from the court of Finrod

Felagund to the distant south in YS 41, where Chrys knew he would find powerful and dark forces

at work. Chrys formed the Guild of Elements, and personally led the assault on the Court of Ardor

at the time of their first ritual against the Sun and Moon. Although the Guild was victorious, four

of the inner Five Lords died, and with them Laurrë. Grief-stricken, Chrys delayed his journey to

the West long enough to form the Watchers, giving them orders to accept his son as their lord

should he return; for as with many of the Eldar, Chrys Menelrana was oft blessed with prophetic

visions.

Both Mormiresûl and Laurrë gladly accepted the new task proposed to them.3 As with

Glorfindel, they were now almost equal to some of the Maiar, because their “spiritual power had

been greatly enhanced by [their] self-sacrifice” (HoME XII.381). Mormiresûl was to return to her

people in the East and work to prevent Sauron’s power from becoming further entrenched among

the dark tribes of Lurs Vorganis and Rûbor, and to provide advice and comfort for the growing

Womaw Empire. Laurrë was to again disrupt the activities of the Court of Ardor, now reformed

under much the same leadership but with a greater number of servants and several hidden

fortresses. At the same time, Laurrë was to combat Sauron’s influence over the tribes and

kingdoms of the region, again through advice and hope. Mormiresûl was to be Rómestámo, the

East-helper; Laurrë became Morinehtar, the Darkness-slayer.

In this he was to be joined by Lord Fëatur, whom he met at Guinarnen in Harad in SA 1800.

The Lord Fëatur, like his twin sister Lady Fëatur, had entered the service of Morgoth in his youth;

the Black Enemy had found their similarity amusing, and cast dark spells that they might never

2 The brief description of the battle between Mormiresûl and Utomkudor in Creatures of

Middle-earth describes Mormiresûl as “evil” (CoME 52). In postulating her rebirth as the truly evil

“Dardarien,” the queen responsible for Khamûl’s corruption (LoME 91), I hope to provide more

background for Elven history in the East. At the same time, ICE (and the Lords series in

particular) had an unfortunate tendency to flood the East and South with evil Avari; merging the

“evil” Mormiresûl with Dardarien provides a rationale for Dardarien’s evil while limiting the total

number of evil Avari lords.

3 “Their task was to circumvent Sauron: to bring help to the few tribes of Men that had rebelled

from Melkor-worship, to stir up rebellion ... and after his first fall to search out his hiding (in which

they failed) and to cause [?dissension and disarray] among the dark East ...” (HoME XII.385).

remember their earlier separate names. Lord Fëatur, losing his way upon the Grinding Ice,

renounced his service and remorsefully offered his life to the Valar. His fëa was taken to Mandos,

and after a time of contemplation he was sent to disrupt the schemes of the Court of Ardor if he

could. Fëatur had infiltrated them in the guise of his sister and aided the Guild of Elements in

preventing the Fall of the Lights. In a sense, Fëatur was the first emissary, sent in a time of

darkness to aid the light.4

Laurrë Menelrana and Fëatur succeeded in their mission, although it took them many

centuries of waiting for the Court to make its move. After the fall of the Second Court, Fëatur

disappeared from the tales: some said he returned to the distant West. Laurrë Menelrana travelled

West, after giving his great sword Kirlhach to Nefertae, a princess of Hathor who had aided the

Guild and was dedicated to the destruction of the things of darkness.

Mormiresûl’s tale was darker. Returning to Helkanen, she took the name Daradêrien

(Beth. “Long Sojourn Beneath the Trees”) to celebrate her rebirth. She visited her own opulent

tomb, taking upon herself the golden armor created of Utumkodor’s scales. The dragon had long

given each successive leader of the Womaw a suit made of her scales, and each was buried with the

Hionvar when he died. Yet the armour had the effect of making the wearer aggressive and

war-like; only death had prevented each successive Hionvar from turning fully to evil.

Daradêrien, immortal, became twisted by the golden memento of her greatest deed, falling into

evil and allying herself with the Dark Lord, utterly abandoning her mission.

The Council of the Valar

The fall of Sauron at the end of the Second Age was neither complete nor final. All three of

the early emissaries to Middle-earth were still active: Glorfindel at the side of Elrond in Imladris,

Fëatur (aided by Laurrë Menelrana) in the distant south playing a deadly game against his former

companions in the Black Service, and Queen Daradêrien beginning to rule as a tyrant in the

forsaken East. Still, the mission was considered a success despite the Queen’s fall.5 It came into

the minds of the Valar to send three more emissaries (UT 393). Aulë chose his servant Curumo,

and Oromë chose Alatar; Manwë asked the reluctant Olórin. Two more were added to their

company: Yavanna begged Curumo to take her servant Aiwendil, while Alatar asked leave to

bring his friend Pallando, a servant of Mandos who nevertheless spent much time in the company

of Oromë.6

4 The sending of Fëatur did not break the Ban of the Valar because he was not to aid the Noldor on

their quest to recover the Silmarils. On the contrary, upon his re-arrival in Beleriand he stayed

aloof from that great conflict until it was time to journey south in the shadow of his sister. 5 ‘They must have had a very great influence on the history of the Second Age and Third Age in

weakening and disarraying the forces of East [sic] ... who would both in the Second Age and Third

Age otherwise have ... outnumbered the West” (HoME XII.385).

6 Tolkien assigns Pallando to both Mandos and Oromë in separate notes, and there is little

evidence to prefer one version over the other (UT 393). Christopher guesses that Oromë may have

sent two servants because he had greater knowledge of eastern Endor than any other of the Valar

(UT 394); but surely this might be said of Mandos as well. In any event, ICE chose to make

Pallando a follower of Mandos, and I have maintained the assignation in the interests of continuity.

The five either arrived at separate times or disembarked in small groups: Saruman

(Curunír) first, accompanied by Radagast (Aiwendil), followed by Alatar and Pallando. Last and

almost unheralded was Mithrandir (Olórin), most reluctant but in the end the greatest of them; it is

said that Glorfindel met him at the Grey Havens (HoME XII.384). It is soon afterwards that the

word Istari appears, derived from the Quenya verb ista- (“to know”), translated into Westron as

“wizard.” It later days they would come to be called “angeloi, ‘messengers’, emissaries from the

Lords of the West” (HoME VII.422). They were incarnate angels, “those who know” (Letters

202).

Of a higher order than the earlier emissaries, they were called the “chiefs” of their order

(UT 389). Glorfindel had come to the Havens after being directed by a vision, and he placed

himself at the service of the Grey Wizard. Fëatur, when Pallando eventually travelled as far as the

Mûmakan, often sought and took whatever counsel the Blue Wizard would offer. It is thought that

Pallando befriended Fëatur in the Halls of Mandos during his recovery from darkness. Laurrë

Menelrana was also an ally of Pallando, who called himself Lianis in the south; however, Laurrë

held some of his father’s visionary power and was never able to fully trust the Blue Wizard. Only

Alatar failed entirely to win the allegiance and respect of his particular trust, the cruel Queen

Daradêrien; their battles throughout the Third Age were legendary in the East, even when Men

failed to perceive their whole nature.

Radagast and the Blighted Places

For Radagast, the fourth, became enamoured of the many beasts and birds that dwelt in Middle-earth, and forsook

Elves and Men, and spent his days among the wild creatures (UT 390).

Saruman, a servant of Aulë, had been imposed upon by Yavanna (Aulë’s spouse) to bring

her servant Aiwendil, later known as Radagast. Saruman thought little of his companion, and there

is no record that they ever worked together closely (LOR 276). It seems that Radagast had close

dealings only with Gandalf.

His failure was different from that of the Blue Wizards, or of Saruman. Radagast never

turned to thoughts of ambition and power, but instead abdicated his responsibilities entirely,

preferring to spend all of his days among the kelvar and olvar. However, it was Yavanna, mistress

of the olvar and kelvar, who sent him in the first place, presumably with some sort of stewardship

of the earth in mind (UT 393). How then, did he fail?

Firstly, no matter what other tasks they had, the Istari were to counsel the Free Peoples;

Radagast clearly failed to do that. Furthermore, he seems to have failed even to enlist Mannish or

Elvish assistance in protecting the natural world.

Secondly, he seems to have remained a static presence on the eaves of Mirkwood,

protecting the forest. Mirkwood was the last great forest in northwestern Middle-earth, and was

actively being corrupted by various dark agencies. It may be that he was essential in preserving

enough of the forest that it could be cleansed in the Fourth Age.

However, it is my conjecture that Radagast had a wider purpose in the Middle-earth, one

which he neglected. The ICE module The Northern Waste shows Radagast, early in his mission,

visit the Elves of Evermist, giving them counsel from Yavanna which would eventually lead to the

healing of the blighted lands of the north. Perhaps it is his special task to visit and attempt to heal

all the blighted places of Middle-earth, those harmed by the actions of Sauron or Men in general.

To this purpose, he could have been intended to act as the emissary to the South, with its vast

deserts caused by the upheavals which accompanied the wars against Morgoth in the First Age.

This would solve a riddle associated with the Istari, that the Valar send three emissaries to

the northwest, and two to the East, but none to the south. If Radagast was sent to the South, and

perhaps failed to even visit the deserts, it would explain why (despite the good he does in

Mirkwood), his mission must be considered a failure.

The Coming of the Ithryn Luin Of the Blue little was known in the West, and they had no names save Ithryn Luin ‘the Blue Wizards’; for they passed

into the East with Curunír, but they never returned, and whether they remained in the East, pursuing there the

purposes for which they were sent; or perished; or as some hold were ensnared by Sauron and became his servants, is

not now known (UT 390).

The Blue Wizards journeyed across Middle-earth, taking fifty years to explore the lands

between Mordor and the eastern coasts, but always working towards the empires of the Womaw,

Lochans, Chy and Lynir. It was in these realms, which from ancient times had resisted the Shadow

in their own ways, that the Wizards hoped to find people willing to listen to a quiet call to arms

from a distant, half-doubted land beyond the Sea. In honor of those who had gone on a similar

journey centuries before, Alatar and Pallando adopted the names of two of the earlier messengers,

and became Alatar Róméstamo and Pallando Morinehtar. Saruman too travelled widely, at times

with the Blue Wizards but more often apart (Sil 361, UT 392).

Significant factors in the task facing the Wizards were the Nazgûl Dwar and Khamûl, the

latter the former pupil and lover of Daradêrien. Eventually the greatness of the task forced the

Ithryn Luin to go their separate ways, although their sadness was great upon the parting. Perhaps

in the mind of Pallando a doubt set in, that this parting was to prove the end of their ancient

friendship. Certainly they began to work at cross-purposes, even in pursuit of the same goal, and

eventually their friendship turned to hate. When they came into kingdoms of their own, their wars

would be long and bitter; yet this was still far in the future as Men see it.

Pallando Among the Womaw

Pallando concentrated his efforts in mighty Womawas Drus. Coming before the Hionvar,

Pallando tapped his black staff against the ground, slowly at first but with increasing strength and

speed. The sound began to fill the Hionvar’s court with an inexplicable terror. At last Pallando

ceased, and after a moment of total silence, he said: “Great Hionvar of the mighty Womaw, Lord

of All You See. You shall soon see All slip away before Your eyes grow too dark to see altogether.

Your empire is dying. The empire’s hated son Komûl sends his shikome (Wm. “Orcs”) down from

the Mountains of Wind to assail you, the Shay and other barbarians clog the mountain passes and

attack your cities with little fear. I come from a far place, the realm of the Shining Hionvar of the

West, the Eagle-King. He has for you a message. Resist, and know that the Eagle-King thinks

upon you, his fellow Hionvar.” He joined the Awg Uscurac, the ancient order of mages and seers

which advised the Womaw Hionvara. By the mid-Third Age, the Awg Uscurac was composed

primarily of imperial appointees and descendents of original members; few of them were mages,

and Pallando stood out accordingly. From this position of power he began to direct imperial

policy, becoming more enmeshed in mortal affairs with each passing century.

His efforts were integral in allowing the Womaw, often divided amongst themselves, to

resist the depredations of Khamûl, hidden in the high fortresses of Sart and Mang in the Orocarni.

If his efforts added to the daily burdens of the Womaw people, and if his policies often seemed

cruel and oppressive, Pallando knew his cause to be just and his heart pure. Thus the road to Udûn

is paved with the best of intentions. It is perhaps telling that when Saruman himself visited the

Womaw Empire (c. 1800 TA), he decided that Pallando Morinehtar was the only one of his

brethren whom he truly respected.

Pallando began to choose protégés within the Empire. One such was Li K’oyung, prince of

the Sha-t’o, a Shay tribe working as mercenaries for the ruling Tinglü Dynasty in an increasingly

divided Empire. Blind in one eye, Li K’oyung still became a great warrior and tactician. Pallando

arranged for him to take over the border kingdom of Khaeltan, the ancient Kael; he personally saw

to the development of the new Liao Dynasty. When Li K’oyung died, Pallando kept his spirit

bound to Middle-earth so that the warrior might continue to fulfil his oaths to the Blue Wizard. It

was the first of Pallando’s evil acts, but unfortunately not his last.

With Khamûl’s forces putting increasing pressure on the Empire’s dwindling resources, in

2125 TA Pallando convinced the Hionvar to persecute the various faiths in his domains,

appropriating their gold and lands. Pallando reasoned that they were deviations from the proper

worship of the Valar in any event. Despite a brief respite, Khamûl proved too implacable a foe,

and his victorious troops poured into the Empire in 2400, founding the brutal Shayün Dynasty.

Pallando had already fled the Womaw Empire.

Alatar: Everywhere and Nowhere

In the meantime, Alatar Róméstamo had turned south, travelling through Ralian and into

the Lochan Empire, and beyond into the lands of the Ormal Bay. He shared his wisdom with all

who would consult with him, and his efforts at first were directed to the cleansing of the Zurghôr,

an abomination to any true servant of Oromë. When he turned his attention to mortal realms, he

came first to King Kâsgharî of Gan’jag, a small border-kingdom between Lochas Drus and Ralian;

Gan’jag was a client-kingdom of the Lochan Hionvar. Kâsgharî’s support was necessary, for the

Lochan Hionvar would see no emissary not referred to him by a client-king. Kâsgharî further had a

reputation as a benevolent monarch with a spiritual bent. Alatar announced himself as Alutâr, the

“Messenger of the King”: “For I bring to you a message of hope from the realm of the spirit. The

forces arrayed against you are dark, but far across the western seas there lies a realm of light. I

have come from this golden kingdom to give you hope and to counsel you. You, O King, have

heard the tales of emissaries from heaven, sent to Men that they may see the truth and live without

fear. The kings of Lochas must abandon their quarrels and hearken unto me, for I shall guide you

to a greater understanding and a perfect peace.” Kâsgharî was impressed, and sent Alatar south to

the Lochan High Court.

Over the years Alatar visited kings and sages, oversaw battles against the forces of Dwar of

Waw. Alatar did his best in many causes, perhaps too many causes. Where Pallando chose one

realm (and one noble house) and concentrated all of his efforts therein, Alatar scurried from one

realm to the next, always giving a little of his time and then moving on. No single realm long

benefited from his presence, and although he generally found himself welcome wherever he went,

his counsel was often forgotten between visits. Monarchs would come and go without seeing him,

and the impatient Alatar would grow angry when the grandson of some king he had spoken with

knew nothing of their earlier decisions.

The greatest example of Alatar’s career as a travelling benefactor came in the early 18th

century TA. Alatar agreed to accompany the young Prince Ringlin Sindacollo of Ralian to

confront his father at Arxdukanga.7 His assistance proved invaluable, but in his absence on the

7 The entry for Ringlin in Lords of Middle-earth II is not dated, but the back story of Ringlin’s

distant islands the Lochan Empire disintegrated past the point of restoration. The Dral lord of

Brôd and his family died in a petty dispute with the lords of Tîrabhukti. Ironically, the dispute

arose over the terms of a marriage alliance between the two realms arranged by Alatar in the

interests of peace and unity. Without his counsel, the bickering lords fell to arms. Upon his return,

Alatar found that there were now at least five major states to add to his already large and seemingly

eternal itinerary.

On another such journey, Alatar came across the remains of a great red spruce-like tree,

resting along the shores of the Eastern Sea in Old Ka’ish. The root system spread 120 feet down

and 300 feet across. Curious about its nature and properties, Alatar sent forth his will and

awakened the slumbering spirit of the ancient Huorn. It had been planted by minions of Morgoth

from a seed of Telperion, poisoned by the foul secretions of Ungoliant the Spider. Alatar barely

escaped with his life, but in the battle he cut for himself a root, the fabled E Thrond. He fashioned

the root into a magnificent white staff, capable of great feats; yet when he bound it to his will, it

bound him as well, and the effort needed to control the evil spirit had wearied him. In his heart,

Alatar began to yearn for a place to rest from his long wanderings. He turned north, seeking to

found a realm from which to continue his fight.

Two Kingdoms in a Sea of Shayün I think they went as emissaries to distant regions, East and South, far out of Númenórean range: missionaries to

‘enemy-occupied’ lands, as it were. What success they had I do not know; but I fear they failed, as Saruman did,

though doubtless in different ways; and I suspect they were founders or beginners of secret cults and ‘magic’

traditions that outlasted the fall of Sauron (Letters 280).

In the dark days of the Shayün invasions, Khaeltan had fallen in 2114 to a Shay tribe called

the Jurkhaen, who came over the northern passes with Khamûl himself leading them. Yehlü Tashi,

a prince descended from Li K’oyung, led his people across the mountains by a smaller pass. Many

died before they reached a sparsely inhabited forest surrounding an extensive marsh. Calling the

new kingdom Liao-ga Krä after his old dynasty, Prince Yehlü accepted a life of exile.

When Pallando saw that the Womaw Empire was going to fall to Khamûl despite all his

efforts, he cast his eye across the mountains to the plains of Lurs Vorganis and saw Liao-ga Krä, a

kingdom founded by the grandson of his old protégé. Taking his spirits with him, Pallando set his

feet towards the forest. When he arrived, Prince Yehlü eagerly made him chief advisor. When

Yehlü died childless a scant three years later of a swamp influenza, Pallando took the reins of

power directly for the first time around 2300 TA. He called his new realm Fëamardi (Q. “The

birth is taken from a book dated 3190 SA. Furthermore, Ringlin’s sword, Luingurth, also appears

as Luingurth II in the entry for Randae Linvairë. Randae’s career stretches from 3241 SA- 130

TA, suggesting that he carries Ringlin’s sword (since reforged) on later adventures. However,

Alatar is mentioned as the most prominent of Ringlin’s allies, hinting that author Peter Fenlon had

access to the notes in which Tolkien places the coming of the Blue Wizards to the Second Age.

However, LoME II was released in 1986, four years after Christopher Tolkien wrote that he was

unable to decipher these notes, which were only published in 1996 after “longer scrutiny” (HoME

XII.384). It can be assumed that Alatar’s presence was a mistake; however, I have placed

Ringlin’s career in the mid-Third Age in order to provide a suitable adventure to accompany the

fall of the Lochas Drus. Others might come to different conclusions.

Dwellings of the Spirit”); it became known far and wide as Lygar Kraw.

Alatar knew of a place to the north of Lygar Kraw called Ŭster Kryl, a forest where many

refugees from Daradêrien’s court at Helkanen had settled. They lived in constant fear of

discovery, yet hesitated to move further west through the lands of the Chey and the Variags into an

unknown West which their people had earlier rejected. Alatar went to them and offered to live

among them as their chief counsellor and leader in war. The Avari accepted, and although Alatar

was never referred to as a king, he was in all respects their ruler. The realm became known as the

“Place of the Blue One,” Luinemar.

Luinemar became a beacon of hope to Avari throughout northeastern Endor, who flocked

to Alatar’s care. A summer palace was built and fortified on the shores of Lake Daldunair, almost

as far west as Rycolis. Whereas Pallando’s kingdom was increasingly dark and haunted, Alatar’s

realm was warm, pleasant and cultured. Alatar’s standing was further heightened when he adopted

a young Avari girl, orphaned in the persecutions which marked the end of the Shayün Dynasty.

Princess Lossiriel of Ŭster Kryl had been brought out of Helkanen by servants of her murdered

parents, and she was a symbol of resistance to the evil Daradêrien for the remainder of the Third

Age and beyond, learning the skills of Oromë’s Huntsmen from her new father and wielding his

great longbow Luinlúva in battle.

Despite their ancient friendship, contact was at first limited between the realms of Pallando

and Alatar. They briefly combined their forces in 2656 to defeat a Shayün army bent on

reasserting Womaw control over Lurs Vorganis and the ancient paths to the West. News of the

defeat helped weaken the Shayün at home, eventually leading to their overthrow and the birth of a

new dynasty, the Ōn. The Ithryn Luin had perhaps saved the West from having to face

reinforcements from Womawas Drus during the War of the Ring. If the routes to the West had

remained in Womaw or Shayün hands, Rhovanion would surely have fallen, and the forces arrayed

on Gondor’s northern borders would have been even greater than they actually were.

Despite their moment of co-operation, Alatar and Pallando increasingly found themselves

vying for power in the Lurs Vorganis region. The Shay and other tribes still living west of the

Orocarni, and those few Shayün refugees fleeing the fall of their dynasty in 2688, were lured by

both sides as the old friendship turned to open hostility and conflict. The Elves of Luinemar and

Fëamardi would never battle one another, leaving the wars to be fought exclusively by the Shay

and their fellow nomads. These conflicts continued well into Fourth Age, with various Shay tribes

switching from one side to the other, the Blue Wizards locked in continual strife. The Valair, the

‘Aża and other tribes alternately benefited and suffered from this state of affairs, but again the

actions of the Blue Wizards kept these nomads from migrating west and putting any pressure on

the early recovery of the Reunited Kingdom and its allies. If the kings of the West ever paused to

wonder why the East no longer seemed to produce threatening hordes, it might be imagined that

they would give little thought to the nameless Blue Wizards, who came not into the tales of

Gondor.