#just assumed that their elven realms were protected/maintained by the same kind of magic melian had in her girdle

[thevalleyisjolly]

I am newly amused by that scene in FOTR where Gandalf is telling Saruman about how the One Ring was in the Shire for many years, “right under my very nose,” and Saruman responds “And yet you did not have the wit to see it.”  Because.  Saruman.  My guy.  You have sat in council with all three Elven Ring bearers multiple times across thousands of years.  You are literally talking to a bearer of a Ring of Power right now.  The only way Narya could be more right under your nose is if Gandalf decked you in the mouth.  Well done, o cunning one!  Truly a wizard of great insight and perception.

#lotr #saruman #i mean; by all accounts; it's good that saruman didn't know who the ringbearers were #it's just very funny that he's insulting gandalf for not knowing about a ring of power and there's literally one in the room right now #also; i can understand not figuring out gandalf as a ringbearer because his use of narya was more subtle #not figuring out either elrond or galadriel is a little more of a 'doh' moment #my personal hc is that because both elrond and galadriel have a connection to melian #the 'overthinking everything; big elaborate schemes' braintrust of saruman and sauron both #just assumed that their elven realms were protected/maintained by the same kind of magic melian had in her girdle #and didn't souse out that maybe the elven rings designed to protect and sustain could also be at all involved