I don't imagine who could win this battle. . Is it elrond (the keeper of the most powerful ring of the 3 given to the elves) and the balrog (a powerful maia) ???
Hrrrm I'm gonna go with the Maia. The Elven Rings didn't really have offensive powers and seeing as Elrond could only really be as powerful in combat as say a very powerful Elf lord (say Glorfindel who was near Maia like power levels) then even if Elrond was to defeat the Balrog chances are he would be slain too. There isn't actually a case I know of when a Balrog has been killed without the other person dying as well.
__________________ Yet the making of things is in my heart from my own making by thee; and the child of little understanding that makes a play of the deeds of his father may do so without without thought of mockery, but because he is the son of his father.
Either way I doubt Saurman would be able to stand up against the Ringwraiths seeing as he fell so far he woulnd't be as powerful as he was uncorrupted. At least thats how I've read it. And Blax Aragorn only did that in the film in the book its worth noting that all nine were not present Gandalf had drawn I think 4 or 5 of them off and the remainder were the ones that encountered Aragorn and the Hobbits.
Aragorn coulnd't stand up to them. We are informed that all the men of the Dunedain watching the Shire could not bar the entry of the Nazgul and that wouldn't have changed if Aragorn had been present. The only two mentioned in the book who could ride openly against the Nine are Gandalf and Glorfindel.
__________________ Yet the making of things is in my heart from my own making by thee; and the child of little understanding that makes a play of the deeds of his father may do so without without thought of mockery, but because he is the son of his father.
thought I might get back to the original matter. I think the balrog stands a better chance. there are elves who have killed balrogs in the book, but all of them have died. and I think the balrog stands a better chance of surviving.
Ah, so indeed 4 had been drawn away. Thanks for the heads up there
__________________ Yet the making of things is in my heart from my own making by thee; and the child of little understanding that makes a play of the deeds of his father may do so without without thought of mockery, but because he is the son of his father.
Elrond even with Vilya (which is the Ring of Air, the 2nd most powerful ring of the elves, Gandalf has the most powerful one, Narya the Ring of Fire) Elrond has no chance against a Balrog. Only an Elf-Lord could defeat a Balrog and quite few died trying.
IIRC, in the novel, at Weathertop, the nascent fellowship (Aragorn and the Hobbits) were confronted by 5 Nazgul and not the Witch King. Aragorn drove them off, btw in the novel he had the shards of Narsil with him.
Only Glorfindel, Galadriel and the Maia such as the Wise could confront a Balrog and hope to win or drive off all 9 Nazgul like that.
__________________ Among the tales of sorrow and of ruin that come down to us from the darkness of those days there are yet some in which amid weeping there is joy and under the shadow of death light that endures.
J.R.R. Tolkien, "Of Beren and Luthien" from the Silmarilion
But wasnt that more shock and surprise than fear though?
__________________ "You can stop a rose from growing if you nip it in the bud, but you can't stop the stream from flowing and you cannot stop the flood."
Vilya was the most powerful of the Elven rings, not Narya. And I quote from Rotk "The Grey Havens" 'Elrond wore a mantle of grey and had a star upon his forehead, and a silver hard was in his hand, and upon his finger was a ring of gold with a great blue stone, Vilya, mightiest of the Three" Narya was known as "Narya the Great" but Vilya was the most powerful of the three Elven Rings.
__________________ Yet the making of things is in my heart from my own making by thee; and the child of little understanding that makes a play of the deeds of his father may do so without without thought of mockery, but because he is the son of his father.
Elrond is an Elf Lord. But I don't think his combat ability was to the same par as say Glorfindel who was at near Maia like levels of power. As such in a stright out fight I don't personally think Elrond could win. His skills lie more in healing, farsigh and council.
__________________ Yet the making of things is in my heart from my own making by thee; and the child of little understanding that makes a play of the deeds of his father may do so without without thought of mockery, but because he is the son of his father.
Did Gandalf ever use that ring? I really dotn remember? And where did he get it? That i dont remember either. Id just like to know abut f he ever had.
__________________ "You can stop a rose from growing if you nip it in the bud, but you can't stop the stream from flowing and you cannot stop the flood."
The rings of Power were not offensive, they were passive defensive rings. They inspired others, slowed the aging of the world and the realm and/or aided in the healing powers of those that held them. They did not allow the user to WTFOwn a Balrog. The Rings are powerful but it is a different kind of Power.
Gandalf got his ring Narya the Great from Cirdan the Shipwright, when Gandalf and his order arrived at the Grey Havens from the West. Cirdan percieved in him to be the greatest in spirit and the wisest and as such entrusted the Red Ring to him.
__________________ Yet the making of things is in my heart from my own making by thee; and the child of little understanding that makes a play of the deeds of his father may do so without without thought of mockery, but because he is the son of his father.