Elrond with the Hall of Law Painting
Galadriel visits the Hall of Law in the latest episode of the Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power and learns that it was built by Elros. Elros, like his brother Elrond, was half-elven; but, unlike Elrond, Elros abandoned his Elvish heritage in favor of life in the realm of Men, and as a result, he lost his eternal life.
Nevertheless, the former managed to live a long life, ruling over the beautiful city of Nmenor for four incredible centuries. The Rings of Power is set long after his death, but he is still remembered as a legendary figure in Nmenorean folklore.
Who is Elros?
Elros was born in the elven refuge of Arvernien in the year 532 FA. Elros and Elrond were captured by Maglor and Maedhros when they were young after the Vaults were invaded by the Sons of Fanor to retrieve the Silmaril. Elwing, their mother, disappeared from Middle-earth shortly after her children did the same by jumping into the ocean.
From that time on, Elros and his brother were under the care and education of Maglor. Maglor wasn’t exactly happy with his actions, so they were raised together as a loving family.
No mention is made of when or if the brothers actually fled Maglor or if they participated in the battle of anger which finally ended Morgoth’s reign of terror.
Elros is half human by choice
The battle of wrath finally ended and Morgoth was condemned to dwell in the abyss of nothingness never to return. It is true that Elros and Elrond had been Peredhil, and their line was the only great noble of the Men of the First Age to survive the Centennial War. Elrond and Elros were free to choose their own parents by the Valar.
Elros chose to join the human race, so he had a long life expectancy. No great man ever lived as old as Elros, but after Eönw arrived among the devoted humans, they became wiser, stronger, and more powerful than anyone on Earth. For them, a huge kingdom had been built, neither entirely inside nor entirely outside Middle-earth. The name of this kingdom was Numenor, and Elros will reign as its first king.
Oss dug Numenor from the bottom of the ocean, Aul built it, and Yavanna embellished it. The Elves of Tol Eressa in Avallon brought flowers and streams with them and created meadows in Nmenor. Andor was known as Occidental by its own inhabitants while being known as the “Land of the Don” by the Valar. This was because it was located to the west of all the other lands populated by humans.
Elros ruled Nmenor at this time as a king who had relations with the Elves as well as with his brother. In the years following Elros’ death, Nmenor severed all ties with Middle-earth and the Elves became isolated from the rest of the world. It was Al Pharazôn’s outsized ambition to attack Valinor in search of immortality that ultimately led to the destruction of Nmenor under his rule.
