I've just finished reading The Return of the King and I have to say it's a great book, and a great trilogy overall. I read through the last book thouroughly and enjoyed it very much, but I have no idea what happened in the last few pages of the last chapter, The Grey Havens. For a start, what are the Grey Havens and why does Frodo, Gandalf, Galadriel etc. sail away to them? Also, why do all the characters, save Frodo, have their Rings on? Is there any mention of the Grey Havens throughout the book which I may have missed?

Thanks,

[ 08-23-2003, 10:19 PM: Message edited by: GokuZool ]

MAJOR BOOK ENDING SPOILERS
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The Gray Havens are where the elves take off from to go to the west (to the Undying Land). It is the area they launch their boats from for the journey. The reason everyone is leaving is because they are leaving Middle Earth, along with the rest of the elves. Frodo is invited to come as well, since he was the bearer of the One Ring; he of course does not have a ring because the one he bore is destroyed now. The other 3 (Elrond, Gandalf, and Galadriel) were the bearers of the elvish rings; he is just showing that the ring bearers are now leaving Middle Earth as magic dies and the age of men approaches.

<font color="gold">Spoilerish
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If you read the timeline in the appendices, you'll see that also Sam leaves Middle-Earth after many years, because he was also a ring-bearer. ;) </font>

<font color=skyblue>Hey..don't miss out on the appendix and you would do well to grab the Silmarillion (sp). It has alot of god history in that book, but it is like reading a history book and not as a novel that you may not enjoy it. Still...the info found there is more valuable than you would guess.</font>

<font color = lightgreen>I thought Gandalf stayed behind with Narya, the Ring of Fire. [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/erm.gif[/img] A quick check proves otherwise; I was thinking about when Cirdan gave the ring to Gandalf. oopsie. [img]graemlins/petard.gif[/img]

Sauron has been defeated, so why not wear the Rings openly? The Three are not themselves tainted by evil, but the lure of such power is why they are taking them away.</font>

Once the One Ring was destroyed the Three lost their power as well. Just as the Nine ceased to be when the One was destroyed. All of the Rings where bound to the fate of the Ruling Ring.

Also, Gimili was able to journey to the Undying Lands with Legolas. I believe that was mentioned in either the final chapter or in the appendices.