Of Maglor

[Camlost]

I hate not having the answers to so many loose threads in Tolkien's works. That is one part of the allure I think, that we can speculate about so many things.

One that I have thought about before now is the question of Maglor, son of Feanor. Having cast the Silmaril into the sea, he spent the rest of eternity wandering the shores on the other side of the Ered Luin, singing in pain and regret.

Why do you think Elrond, who was a great healer and was also fostered by Maglor, didn't see fit to rescue him from his torment, or at least try and ease the suffering?

And why do you think Maglor was left to wander the shores by Sauron - the most loyal and powerful servant of Morgoth? He well knew his masters hatred of the Elves, and the sons of Feanor would have been especially scorned. Would Sauron not have sought to ensnare and seduce Maglor and use him, like he did the Nine? Or was it that Maglor just wasn't that important enough (probably obvious, as Sauron didn't do anything!) to worry about?

I mean Fourth Age, is there still wandering the shores of Middle-Earth a son of Feanor, and therefore a Noldor of considerable power?

[Mithrandir]

One of those questions I never thought about... I understand what you're saying, but I always presumed Maglor didn't want to be aided in his suffering.

"[...]he [Maglor] wandered ever upon the shores, singing in pain and regret beside the waves. For Maglor was mighty among the singers of old, named only after Daeron of Doriath; but he came never back among the people of the Elves."
The Silmarillion - Chapter 24 - Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath

I think he was just wandering upon the shores, intending to disappear from knowledge. Not wanting any 'aid', but certainly not wanting to be ensnared by an enemy (whom he anyway would not serve). That is the way I interpret the sentence.

And if Maglor didn't die of grief, he would still be wandering in the Fourth Age. Sad destiny, really...