Okay, I’m having some Thoughts about Legolas and his “I go to find the sun.”
Like, consider this elf. He’s an elf. His people never saw the light of the two trees. They took their foremost delight in the stars before the trees were made to give their glorious light.
Those trees and the years of their gentle and pure light were amazing and puzzling… and then everything went dark and all that was left was the stars. And even the stars can be covered up. And then it was deep and dark and dangerous for far too long without explanation in the forests where these elves still lived across the sea from Valinor.
But then, the moon and the sun began their journey unending across the sky, and it burned and soothed and remained, and they learned later than the sun woke Men, and after Men came Dwarves, and the world filled so quickly with people and happenings.
Legolas’ people would have the lights going out in living memory. His people would have the first morning that the sun rose in living memory.
The elves remember that the light always returns.
The light has always returned after the darkness rises and deepens and you think you’ll never even see the stars again.
And funny enough, the sun burns evil and purifies the world with its heat and sacred brightness.
The sun will always come back. Evil will always meet its match in the light of day. The sun cannot be blotted out forever. The stars will never cease to shine. The moon will never cease its gentle reminder that the night comes and goes and will never be unending twilight and fear. The sun is coming from the east to drive away the dark.
Just think about it for a minute.
Hope is out there to be found.
It’s just beyond the clouds. That’s all.
The sun is behind the mountain, not gone away forever.
The sun comes to melt the snow and burn away the clouds and water the flowers and trees and give life to the land.
The elves know that the light always comes back.
They have seen the lights go out and return again.
They’ve seen the world tremble and shake and break in the wrath of the lords of death and darkness and destruction. And then they also saw the lords of light and wind and strength and might come and drive the devouring horde back.
They have lived through the deepest dark and saw the light return.
In the memories of the elves, every light has gone out before.
They’ve thought the world was ending in fire and ruin before.
The light always comes back.
Legolas has lived long enough to hear those stories, and he has also lived long enough to see for himself that the sun does indeed always rise again.
So this is what he imparts to the Fellowship; the sun is not gone forever, the cold cannot last unending, and morning brings new hope.
In every book, Legolas is not the one giving in to despair. He’s cheerful most of the time. He’s reminding people that the darkness passes and there’s a new dawn waiting. That tomorrow brings hope of all things. It’s actually really surprising when he’s glum or afraid or depressed. He’s the most tireless of the whole Fellowship, the one with encouragement and strength to be leaned upon. He doesn’t sink into the cold snows. His feet are steady on the perilous path. His heart is steadfast in the cold and the sorrow and the shadow of death.
It’s like he’s the ancient spirit of enduring hope for a task based solely upon a fool’s hope.
Except, every dark day ends.
Every war must end eventually.
The hand of the righteous do prosper in the good fight.
Elves have recorded this over and over throughout Ages of history. They recall these things in living memory.
So, this is the far-sight that Legolas brings to the Fellowship.
He is always prepared to run ahead and find the sun for his friends. It’s always there for him to greet and run back to reassure them.
The light will come back. It always does.
