Legolas Greenleaf
Legolas Greenleaf, son of King Thranduil of the Woodland Realm in Northern Mirkwood, is the Elf of the Fellowship of the Ring, chosen at the Council of Elrond to represent his people in the Company of Nine Walkers. He is a Silvan Elf, a woodland folk, yet his keen sight, light footfall, and profound harmony with the living world mark him as a being of the Elder Days, a living memory of a time when the Firstborn roamed freely. Throughout the War of the Ring, Legolas serves as the Fellowship's peerless archer and scout, his bow of the Galadhrim singing in the darkness of Moria, on the plains of Rohan, and before the Black Gate. Yet his most enduring legacy is not a deed of arms but a friendship: his bond with Gimli the Dwarf, born in mutual suspicion and forged in shared peril, becomes a legendary testament to the healing of ancient enmities between Elves and Dwarves. And beneath all his deeds runs a deeper, more personal current: the first stirring of the sea-longing, a fateful call that will ultimately draw him from the forests he loves to the shores of the Uttermost West.
Archer and Scout of the Fellowship
Legolas's role in the Fellowship is defined by his extraordinary senses and his skill with the bow. In the darkness of Moria, his Elven eyes are the first to perceive the distant light of the Balrog's flame, and his bow sings as he looses arrows at the pursuing Orcs. On the plains of Rohan, he is the first to descry the approaching Riders, counting their number and describing their leader with uncanny precision. His ability to run lightly over snow, leaving no footprint, proves crucial during the disastrous attempt to cross the Redhorn Pass, where he alone can move freely to scout the way ahead. At the Battle of the Hornburg, he fights alongside Gimli on the Deeping Wall, keeping a tally of their kills in a contest of martial prowess that deepens their unlikely friendship. Later, above Sarn Gebir, he fells a winged Nazgûl with a single arrow from the bow of Galadriel, a shot that saves the Company from a fell terror. His bow is his constant companion, and his arrows are spent only in the most desperate of causes.
The Friendship with Gimli
The relationship between Legolas and Gimli begins in mutual distrust, a reflection of the long-standing feud between Elves and Dwarves. In Lothlórien, Gimli is initially forbidden to enter, and Legolas is angered by the Dwarf's stubbornness. Yet a profound change occurs when Galadriel, the Lady of the Galadhrim, speaks to Gimli in his own ancient tongue, and the Dwarf, moved to his core, asks for a single strand of her hair. Legolas witnesses this moment of grace, and from that point forward, the two become inseparable companions. They ride together, fight side by side, and share a deep and abiding respect. Legolas promises to visit the Glittering Caves of Helm's Deep with Gimli, and Gimli in turn agrees to journey into Fangorn Forest. This bond, which transcends the ancient hatred between their races, is celebrated as a sign of hope in a world darkened by war. It is said that after the War of the Ring, Legolas took Gimli with him when he sailed into the West, a grace granted to the Dwarf out of love for his friend and for the Lady Galadriel.
The Sea-longing and Departure
From the moment Legolas first hears the gulls crying at Pelargir, a profound and unsettling change comes over him. The sea-longing, a deep and perilous desire that lies in the hearts of all Elves, is awakened. He becomes troubled, his thoughts turning from the green woods of Middle-earth to the sound of waves and the call of the West. This longing grows throughout the final days of the war, and he speaks of it with a sorrowful wonder, knowing that it will ultimately take him from the land of his birth. After the crowning of King Elessar, Legolas leads a group of Elves from Greenwood to dwell in Ithilien, restoring it to beauty. But the call of the Sea cannot be denied. Following the death of Aragorn, Legolas builds a grey ship and sails down the Anduin to the Grey Havens, and from there into the Uttermost West. In a final, unprecedented act of friendship, he takes Gimli the Dwarf with him, a testament to a bond that has overcome the deepest divisions of the world.
