The figure of Elrond combines a fascinating allegory: that of those people who live the times of splendor and its decay. Characters between eras gather the best of each of them and assist the change, which is also an essential part of it.
Elrond Half-elven (nicknamed so because he descended from both elves and men) was born in 532 of the First Age, in the refuge of the Ports of Sirion, in Beleriand.
In those years, Melkor had eradicated most of the great Elven kingdoms, and the few remaining strongholds were struggling for survival.
The childhood of Elrond and his twin brother Elros was a continuous fight and flight.
The ports were destroyed during the Third (and final) Elf Slaughter. With their parents on the run, the twins are captured by Maedhros and Maglor, the only two sons left alive.
Despite all the hostilities between the families, the centuries of taunts, and various betrayals, Maglor decides to raise Elrond and Elros. Over the years, a significant relationship would form between them, and they would come to love each other as father and son.
However, the War of Wrath changed everything.
Elrond and his brother were released from captivity, and at the end of the war, several things happened:
Elrond and Elros were given the choice of being counted as elves or men, for both were descended from races. Their cases were exceptional since very few beings had had that exceptional condition throughout history.
Elros chose to be a man, thus becoming the first king of NĂºmenor, the island that the Valar gave to the Men who fought against Melkor. Elrond, on the other hand, chose to be counted among the Elves.
Elrond settled at the beginning of the Second Age in Lindon, the Elven kingdom located on the shores of the submerged Beleriand. There he remained under the tutelage of the new supreme king of the Noldor Elves, Gil-Galad.
Throughout the Second Age, Elrond became one of the most important figures among the Elves.
He first became Gil-Galad’s captain and herald in Lindon. As such, he was charged with guarding the entire Eriador area west of the Misty Mountains. There, to the southwest, was also Eregion, the other great elven kingdom ruled by Celebrimbor.
For centuries a stable peace reigned there. In time, however, evil began to rise in the east, a shadow that disturbed all elves sooner or later. But at first, hardly anyone noticed it.
For it was Sauron, the herald of Melkor, who had gone into hiding in the far east after the War of Wrath. Among his plans was to subjugate the elves, something he decided to do by trickery.
Under a new identity he had created, Annatar, he traveled to Lindon to try to persuade Gil-Galad. However, Elrond, Galadriel, and the king did not trust him and expelled him from the kingdom.
However, Annatar/Sauron was accepted in Eregion. For many years he dedicated himself to teaching and manipulating the elves. He encouraged them to create the Rings of Power, making them believe that they could keep their homes unchanged thanks to them and that the passage of time would not make a dent in the forests and the elven kingdoms.
Thus it was that, after Sauron betrayed the Elves and created the One Ring, the War of Eregion broke out. This ruined the Elves, for the kingdom of Eregion was razed to the ground, and Celebrimbor died. However, Sauron could not get hold of the three elven rings, one of which ended up in the custody of Elrond himself.
The war continued, and after the fall of Eregion, Sauron decided it was time to finish off all the Elves. He headed towards Lindon to destroy the kingdom, while Elrond (who had fought to save Eregion) founded Imladris (Rivendell) as an Elven stronghold during the fight against Sauron.
When it seemed that Lindon was going to fall, the arrival of the Numenoreans and a new offensive of Elrond’s army from Rivendell annihilated the army of the Dark Lord.
The war was over, but Eregion was gone forever. It was decided that Rivendell would be Elrond’s permanent home, a place from which he would watch over all of what was once Eregion to keep an eye on the enemy’s movements.
It was in those years that Elrond met CelebrĂan, the daughter of Galadriel and Celeborn.
Years passed, and Elrond heard the news of the bitter end of NĂºmenor. He witnessed the change in the world (from flat to spherical) and learned that Sauron had been to blame for it all.
He watched the roads and forests of Eregion as he watched the two great kingdoms of the survivors of NĂºmenor rise up: Arnor to the north and Gondor to the south.
Sauron, long hidden but scheming in the shadows, rose again and claimed dominion over all of Middle-earth. He declared war on all the free peoples, who united in the so-called Last Alliance:
The Elves of Lindon, Rivendell, LĂ³rien, and the Greenwood.
The men of Gondor and Arnor.
Dwarves of the clan of Durin IV, inhabitants of Khazad-dûm.
The majestic army advanced to Mordor and laid siege for seven years to the tower of Barad-dûr, where Sauron dwelt. There were many losses among the allies until the Dark Lord himself finally came out to fight.
He slew many before engaging in combat with Gil-Galad and Elendil, king of Gondor and Arnor. Sauron annihilated both, but he, too, was defeated, falling to the ground. At that moment, Isildur, son of Elendil, cut off the finger on which the Dark Lord wore the One Ring, making the enemy’s body disappear.
Elrond urged Isildur to destroy the Ring in the Orodruin, where it was created. However, the NĂºmenĂ³rean disregarded his advice and kept it for himself as a treasure of the kingdom and a reward for all the pain Sauron had left behind.
After Sauron’s defeat came many years of relative peace, and Elrond played little part in the events of the Third Age.
Many centuries after the War of the Last Alliance, Elrond returned to his role as protector of Eriador and Eregion.
He tried to save the kingdom of Arnor. Still, he failed to repel the realm of Angmar, ruled by the Witch King (secretly sent by Sauron to destabilize the heirs of NĂºmenor in the north), seeing how Eriador became an uninhabited and unsaved place.
Elrond knew that the time of the Elves was ending, and it was up to Men to preserve and win the peace. So when Sauron returned, and the War of the Ring took place, the Elf played a passive role, advising those who should be the protagonists, mentoring Aragorn, Isildur’s heir, and ensuring that the plans of the Fellowship of the Ring succeeded.
Finally, Sauron was defeated for good, and peace returned to Middle-earth.
Elrond lived with joy but also with some sadness at the wedding of his daughter Arwen and Aragorn, crowned as King Elessar of the Unified Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor.
A story familiar to Elrond repeated itself: his daughter chose happiness but also mortality, as did her brother Elros thousands of years before.
Little more remained for Elrond to live in Middle-earth, for he felt in his heart that the time of the Elves had finally come to an end.
At the beginning of the Fourth Age, he left on one of the last ships for Aman, where he would spend the rest of his existence in the joy of the blessed realm.