Legolas

Legolas (Sindarin for "green leaf") is one of the main characters in the novel The Lord of the Rings, written by J. R. R. Tolkien. He is a Sinda elf, son of Thranduil, the king of the Wood Elves of Mirkwood. His main actions take place during the War of the Ring and after it.

He was part of the so-called Fellowship of the Ring, whose goal was the destruction of Sauron's One Ring. During these events, Legolas developed a close friendship with Aragorn, who would go on to be crowned King Elessar, and with Gimli the dwarf. In this way, Legolas personified the reconciliation of elves and dwarves, two peoples at odds since the Wars of Beleriand for the massacres committed for the possession of one of the Silmarils.

In these events, Legolas stood out as a warrior, due to his great strength and endurance. He also displayed diplomatic skills and a high sense of honesty and loyalty.

After the War of the Ring, he moved with many of his people to the forests of Ithilien, where he founded an elven principality; but, drawn by the sea, when Aragorn died in 121 of the Fourth Age, he assembled a ship and (with Gimli the dwarf) set course for the Undying Lands, on the continent of Aman.

Legolas was a tall, handsome elf with sharp, bright blue eyes, always dressed in brown and green, an excellent archer and prodigious, penetrating eyesight that allowed him to see great distances, which for the common man mortals was impossible, surpassing even that of many elves. He walked with agile steps and his feet hardly touched the ground. He seemed not to sleep, he just rested with his eyes half closed with his thoughts lost in beautiful things. For the fight he was always accompanied by a bow and a white knife.

History

In the Fellowship of the Ring

In TA 3018, he was sent by his father to the Council of Elrond in Rivendell to carry the information of Gollum's escape from his prison in Mirkwood due to an oversight of his guard, and the action of a host of orcs that attacked the elves, looking for the distraction; which was taken advantage of by Gollum to escape. This was dangerous as the fugitive could report the existence of the Ring to Sauron; since that ruse had been planned by someone more intelligent. When the Council decided that it was best to throw the ring into the fires of Orodruin, Legolas became a member of the Fellowship of the Ring representing the Elf-folk.

About the first leg of the journey

The natural abilities of this elf, whose name is not preceded by a history of previous great deeds, would soon manifest. On the ascent through the Red Horn Pass, at the moment of unleashing the great snow storm that blocked the pass. Legolas was the only one who could get past that blockade because his walk was so light that he was walking on the snow, and the cold didn't seem to affect him. The news he brought was encouraging as there was almost no snowpack ahead. But when the Company followed the course set by the elf, a cave-in made the passage impossible. There it became clear to everyone that it was not by chance, but because of the hatred of the cruel Caradhras; forcing them to turn back and seek the path most feared by Gandalf, the Mines of Moria.

Later, in Acebeda, his quality as an archer was seen when he exhausted the arrows shooting accurate darts against the wolves, Legolas's bow sang, and the last arrow killed a Wolf Chief; the next morning he recovered all the arrows as the carcasses of the wolves had disappeared.

In Moria

Despite being born and living in the vast caverns of Mirkwood, where his kingdom was based, Legolas loved nature, the outdoors and above all the forests. That is to say, like all good Elves, he had a symbiotic relationship with the environment, since this was the destiny prepared by Eru for all of his race. Therefore he should not surprise us his disagreement with Gandalf's idea of crossing to the east of the Misty Mountains through Khazad-dûm. In addition, the mistrust between the Dwarves and the Elves was always present, and at that point in the trip the relationship with Gimli had not been strengthened, and they were even about to discuss responsibility for the break in relations, after the events of Eregion. In any case, there was no other path left than that of the Mine and everyone was forced to undertake it; and Legolas was not intimidated, even more so he had an outstanding participation in the episodes within Moria. Only the appearance of the Balrog instilled terror in him, for the Balrog is the greatest enemy of the elves, & # 34; second only to the one who dwells in Mordor & # 34;, according to his own words.

Galadhon Faces

Sadness and sorrow seized him, like everyone else, with the death of Gandalf; only the sight of the Forest of Lothlórien, nearby, warmed his heart a little. Haldir gave them refuge in one of the flets. Haldir already had news of Frodo's journey and so he helped them. The next morning he led the Company towards Caras Galadhon to meet Galadriel and Celeborn. The conflict between the Dwarves and the Elves appeared again when they entered the territory of Lothlórien, Haldir asked Gimli to blindfold himself and kill him, to which the dwarf flatly refused. The magnitude of the discussion was such that to settle differences all the members of the company had to blindfold themselves, including Legolas. Of course the elf didn't like that decision at all, but Aragorn called him to order.

Arriving at Caras Galadhon, the first to meet Galadriel and Celeborn were Frodo and Legolas, then the others arrived and the king and queen greeted them one by one. During the time they were in Lothlórien, Legolas was not together with the rest of the Company, he spent a lot of time talking with the Galadhrim and visiting different places in the elven forest; and even he took, on several occasions, the dwarf on his tours; This surprised many, but it marked the beginning of that lasting and deep friendship between them. The farewell to the Golden Forest saddened everyone despite Celeborn's advice and the Lady's gifts: she gave Legolas a longer bow than the one the Wood Elves used to use. The Company departed with broken hearts, none would see Lórien again.

By the Anduin

On the journey down the Anduin, Legolas spied an eagle in the sky above the horizon heading north, unaware that it was Gwaihir taking Gandalf to Lothlórien after his confrontation with the Balrog. In the vicinity of the Sarn Gebir rapids, they were met by arrows fired by orcs, from the eastern bank of the river. Desperately they rowed to reach the other shore and get away from the arrows. When they reached the opposite shore, Legolas jumped ashore with his bow drawn, looking for a target, and his eyes caught sight of a winged creature that darkened the sky for a moment and rushed at them; the elf shot an accurate arrow that felled the creature, it was one of the Nazgûl horses whose rider guided the action of the Orcs.

Boromir's Death

The trip continued in the morning and after avoiding the rapids moving the boats by land, they arrived at Parth Galen where the dissolution of the Company took place. Legolas did not witness Boromir's death, he had gone with Gimli in search of Frodo and on the way they fought many Orcs, so much so that the Elf ran out of arrows. Hearing Boromir's horn, they went to the Seat of Sight, finding Aragorn embracing the corpse of the man from Gondor. They decided that it would take a long time to bury him, and Merry and Pippin were in danger of dying; so they took him to the banks of the river and put him in one of the boats with his finery and let him go downstream.

The Three Hunters

After Boromir's death, Legolas followed with Gimli and Aragorn in desperate pursuit of the host of orcs who had captured Merry and Pippin. Before leaving the elf had discovered that the arrows he had collected from the orcs at Amon Hen belonged not only to orcs of Mordor but also to Uruk-hai of Saruman, so they deduced that they were taking the hobbits to Isengard. The elf's skills in this race against time were of great importance, his eyesight allowed him to see the movements of the orcs at great distances and calculate the time they took; He never got tired of the race and when, due to the exhaustion of the others, they rested, Legolas did not sleep, he remained attentive and vigilant and was the first to start the march, inciting the others. He discovered the corpses of the orcs killed in the fray over the things Pippin had left behind. He again saw the eagle in the sky and the orc troop running towards the southwest. He realized that an evil force was erecting "an invisible barrier"; ahead of them, as if he didn't want them to catch up with the orcs. The persecution lasted four days; and on that morning the piercing eyes of Legolas, (five leagues away) beheld the Riders of Rohan coming towards them.

The meeting with Éomer was not entirely happy, at first, since Legolas, demonstrating his budding friendship with Gimli, almost killed the Captain of the Rohirrim, when he spoke words about the dwarf that bothered him.

Fangorn and the reunion with Gandalf

After receiving the news from him about the death of the Orcs, they continued towards the Forest of Fangorn mounted on horses lent by Éomer, Legolas riding with Gimli on Arod's back; horses that they lost at the edge of the Forest and although the elf was struck by the fact that the horses did not seem to have been frightened, they thought that the appearance of a strange figure in the woods had been responsible for the flight of the animals; Despite this, the three hunters continued to search for traces of the hobbits and therefore entered the Forest. The impression that the Fangorn forest caused in Legolas was such that he thought he had been transported to a past so distant that it made him feel young; he still more he reassured Gimli, when the dwarf felt afraid of the forest; he told him there was no evil in him, only anger and vigilance.

The reunion with Gandalf was one of the things that caused the most happiness in everyone. The arrow the elf had prepared for him flew through the air engulfed in flames and when his hood fell off Legolas recognized him, calling out his elven name. After receiving news about the hobbits from the wizard, Legolas learned from him about the existence of Treebeard. Gandalf was also the bearer of messages from the Lady Galadriel to all, and to Legolas he sent the following message: Legolas long under the tree in joy you have lived. Be careful of the Sea! If you listen to the seagull's voice on the shore, your heart will never rest in the forest again..."

The Battle of Helm's Deep

They proceeded to Edoras and from there, with a significant host of Rohirrim, to Helm's Deep to fight in the Battle of the Hornburg. In the battle Legolas fought bravely at the side of Aragorn and Gimli and with the dwarf they made a kind of competition of how many Orcs each had killed, the dwarf winning by an orc, 42 to 41. What disturbed him most about the battle was when he saw that the landscape had changed, where the Valle del Bajo was, covered with grass; there was a forest that had not been there the day before. and he saw how the army of Orcs and Dunledinos was annihilated by the trees when they tried to take refuge under his shadow; driven by Gandalf's triple advance, with Erkenbrand's men; of Éomer and Gimli, with the hosts that came forth from Aglarond; and of Théoden and Aragorn with the men of the Hornburgh. It was a phenomenon that not even the elf himself had an explanation for, and everyone thought it was a spell from the Wizard, but he explained to them that it was the host of Uhornos sent by Treebeard.

Next morning a small host led by Théoden and Gandalf, besides Éomer Gimli and Legolas, set out for Isengard, and as they passed through the wood the elf marveled at the army of trees, felt their anger against the orcs, he felt their lives and their thoughts flowing in the air, and he tried to comfort Gimli who was afraid, and he knew that they came from Fangorn Forest; and in front of them the elf and the dwarf swore to accompany each other to see the Entwood and Aglarond. Greater was his surprise and joy when he saw the Ents leading those Uhorns, he wanted to turn but Gandalf prevented him. And he admired those creatures and saw how they communicated with each other, cupping their hands and making guttural sounds and he felt like a child again.

She met Treebeard, the oldest Ent, one of the wonders of ancient times, when they came to Isengard. But previously, the reunion with Merry and Pippin filled his heart with joy and they told him many of the wonders of the Forest and how the Ents destroyed Saruman's power, surrounding him and locking him up in Orthanc. Facing the elder of the Ents, Legolas humbly asked him to let him visit the Fangorn forest with a friend. Treebeard did not like the idea of him being the dwarf, but Legolas convinced him by telling him that Gimli was his best friend and that his ax was not made to chop down trees.

The Gray Company

Back in Rohan and after Pippin's mistake of scrutinizing the Palantir of Orthanc, they received Halbarad and the Rangers of the North who brought them messages from Elrond and Galadriel. So Aragorn decided to separate along with Gimli and Legolas, plus the rangers; to attempt the Path of the Dead, since the dúnadan peered into the Palantir and revealed himself to Sauron and saw that an unexpected danger lay in wait for Gondor. On the way Aragorn revealed his plans to Legolas and Gimli and they agreed to accompany him. The three crossed the Paths of the Dead, the one who had the least fear on that journey was Legolas because he was not afraid of the dead; but he could not avoid, more than once, being overwhelmed by some visions, and more than once he had to use all his elven art to restrain the terrified horses that refused to receive orders. When they had crossed the horrible path and reached the valley of Morthond, the elf, looking back, saw and announced that the Army of the Dead followed them.

Aragorn's idea was to reach Pelargir, surprise the enemy that stalked the city, and take the Corsair ships with the help of the dead, summoned before the Stone of Erech, to come to the aid of Minas Tirith sailing down the river Anduin. Time later the elf would have to tell his friends in the Community about that journey. The certain thing is that they fulfilled the objective, they defeated and they took the ships of the Haradrim; in the battle led by Aragorn, The Dead kept their promise and the future king released them from their burden. Legolas was in awe of Aragorn: and they headed north up the "Great River" when the siege of Gondor had already begun, and they arrived just in time to take part in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and help turn the adverse outcome, which until then he had taken the battle.

The end of the War of the Ring

After the battle of the Pelennor Fields and in a moment of rest, while the captains decided the course of the actions; Legolas and Gimli set about touring the city; Observing the cold beauty of Minas Tirith, each decided to make their contribution after the war of the ring to beautify the city. Legolas promised new trees and birds of Mirkwood. On his journey they met Prince Imrahil who was going to meet with the other captains and recognized in the prince the elven blood of the people of Dol Amroth. They met up with Merry and Pippin at the Healing Homes and again caught up with the events that had transpired since the last parting.

After a few days of preparations the captains decided, in a council in Aragorn's tent, to march with an army to the Black Gate of Mordor and present battle there to the dark lord; again Legolas and Gimli would ride at Aragorn's side. On the way the elf was so amazed by the beauty of Ithilien, that he decided that, after the end of the war and with Aragorn reigning; he would come to live, with a group of his brothers in that land. He participated, fighting valiantly, in the Battle of the Black Gate as second in command of a host led by Imrahil.

The farewell

After the War of the Ring and Aragorn's coronation, Legolas and Gimli marched with the gray company that traveled to Théoden's funeral, then on to Fangorn. At a stop in the Hornburg they visited the Glittering Caverns together, as promised to Gimli. From there, the elf returned dumbfounded by the immeasurable beauty of these.

When Elessar Telcontar (Aragorn) died at the age of 210, they set out on their journey to Aman (Gimli and Legolas), where their story ends and nothing more is heard of them.

In the movie

In The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson, the role of Legolas is played by Orlando Bloom, who also reprises his role in the second and third films of The Hobbit trilogy.