And even though the battle is won, it comes at a great cost, for many lives are lost, and great damage is sustained by the white walls of the city. During the battle, the enemy obliterates most of the lower walls with their counterbalance trebuchets which fling massive boulders at the turrets, and their destructive fire that burns down half of the houses on the bottom tiers of the citadel. So when Aragorn claims his right to the Throne of Gondor, he has many repairs to make, and many dwellings to rebuild. His first act is to replace the head of the Fallen King statue that had been maimed by orcs on the outskirts of the land, as a sign that the king of Gondor has returned, and that there will never again be hopelessness for the people of the land, for they will always have a strong monarch to protect them.
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Then, he begins to fix the wrong within the city walls, and help his people re-enter their fallen homes. But he cannot do this alone, for too much damage has been done, so he calls upon the help of two of his dearest friends, Gimli and Legolas, who have been by his side since the fellowship left Rivendell. Gimli ‘offers him the service of the stonewrights of the Mountain’ to ‘make this a town to be proud of.’ It is well known that dwarven craft smiths are some of the best in the world, and that they have a particular talent in stoneworks, making vast caves and halls such as those in the Mines of Moria deep below the earth. Therefore, he brings fellow dwarves from Erebor to recreate the fallen stone battlements of the city, and give both strength and artistry back into its walls.
Legolas, being a high-elf of the woodland realm, values all nature and things that live, and suggests that “The houses are dead, and there is little here that grows and is glad.” He therefore offers “the people of the wood shall bring birds that sing and trees that do not die.”
There is a particular magic in the realm of elves that brings all flora and fauna to strong life, which is why the woodland realm of Lothlorien is so famed for its outstanding beauty, and how the elves were able to wake up the trees of long ago and teach them how to talk. Therefore, it is a great pleasure and honor for the fair folk to bring more nature into the world, and especially as a gift to one who has banished a great evil from Middle Earth, and helped the Ringbearer’s Frodo and Sam to defeat Sauron and destroy the Ring of Power.
It is long known that the Fourth Age of Middle Earth, ruled by Aragorn in Gondor, and Eomer as King of Rohan, is an unprecedented era of peace for all, and a time when every good creature in the earth rejoiced to live in Middle Earth. And with the help of the dwarves and the elves, at the behest of Gimli and Legolas, “The city was made more fair than it had ever been, even in the days of its first glory, and it was filled with trees and fountains, and its gates were wrought of Mithril and steel, and its streets were paved with white marble.”
To make it more incredible than when the Numenorians first built it is a massive feat to say the least, and subsequently the people of Gondor, who had long suffered under the proud but failing rule of Denethor the Steward began finally to prosper, ‘and all was healed and made good, and the houses were filled with men and women and the laughter of children.’ Here Aragorn and Arwen rule long into old age, where Aragorn finally passes and hands down the throne to their son, and Arwen fades into Lorien and is buried upon a hill, where all the valleys of the trees look up to her from below.
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