Palantiri

The **Palantiri** or **Seeing Stones** were a collection of Stones created by Feanor which allows their users to see events taking place elsewhere. They also allowed the user to communicate with and even influence the holders of other such stones.

## History

A Master-stone was in the Tower of Avallónë. The Eldar brought some of them to Amandil to comfort the Faithful, as the Shadow fell upon Númenor and they couldn't visit them any more. Elendil took seven with him in his flight to Middle-earth upon the Downfall of Númenor, and in time they were distributed to seven different locations: Elendil kept three in Arnor, and four were given to his sons in Gondor.

One by one the stones vanished from public knowledge or were lost. The Osgiliath-stone fell into Anduin during the Kin-strife and burning of that city in TA 1437. When Arvedui, King of Arnor, was shipwrecked and his line ended in 1975, he drowned with the *palantíri* of Amon Sûl and Annúminas, the only communicating stones of Arnor. When Minas Ithil fell in 2002, the stone was assumed destroyed in general. The wiser and more foresighted men of Gondor decided that in case Sauron had seized the Stone, they would stop using the Anor-stone to prevent any contact with the Dark Lord. As the Elostirion-stone was locked away and could not answer the other stones anyway, the only remaining stone was in Dol Guldur, which became useless to the Gondorians.

Several of these hidden or lost stones came to light during the War of the Ring. After the Battle of Dol Guldur, Saruman brought the Stone to Isengard, originally intending to use it to gain knowledge only to eventually be caught when he dared to look toward Mordor. Thus, the above war was greatly affected by these stones. Later, in the final weeks of the War, its rightful master Aragorn II wrested it to his will, so that it no longer had a connection with the stolen Ithil stone.

The second *palantír* to be revealed was that of Minas Anor. Denethor, too, had glanced toward Mordor with it, but his great hate of incarnate evil and power of will prevented him from being snared, though it taxed him greatly. Partially because of what he saw he eventually committed suicide in the darkest hour. This stone was later used by King Aragorn II.

The final fate of most of the stones is unknown. The Elostirion-stone was taken west with the Ring-bearers in 3021 of the Third Age, severing the last link of Middle-earth to Valinor. The stones of Anor and Orthanc are believed to have been reinstated in the Reunited Kingdom and used officially once more. The Ithil-stone may have been destroyed in the fall of Barad-dûr.

## Usage

The purpose of the stones in general was dual: to communicate with one another, and to see afar. Stones were linked with each other and each could reveal what was near another stone, but those of strong will and mind could direct their gaze anywhere, both in space and time.

All the stones save for the Elostirion-stone could be used in communication with one another, although the bigger and more powerful stones were favoured for this use over long distances. The great Osgiliath-stone could spy on communication by the lesser stones, and a few others apparently also had special abilities. The stones' gaze could penetrate beyond any solid object, such as into deep caverns, but required light to see anything. A technique called *shrouding* was used when something was to be kept secret from any possible watchers using the stones. Knowledge of this technique was lost in time, although Sauron probably knew of it.

The user or "surveyor" of a *palantír* would first assure himself that the stone was oriented properly. Usually the stones were held firmly so that this did not have to occur at each viewing. Then the surveyor would take up a position facing the direction he would want to look; for instance, if he wished to look west, he would stand on the eastern side of the stone. The major stones, however, could be rotated, and thus did not require moving about. The stones were apparently controlled by will power; although chance largely dictated precisely upon what the gaze of the stones lay, the surveyor could manipulate and shift the gaze by merely concentrating, even when not touching the stone. This concentrating, however, was quite taxing, and so was not generally used save in urgent situations. Zooming in could be accomplished through the same methods, and standing three feet away from the stone achieved the best clarity and widest scope. Stronger and more skilled surveyors could generally see more easily and with less difficulty than others.

To communicate with another stone, the viewer would orient himself and look toward the location of that stone, and the two stones would automatically connect with one another unless one was being used in another conversation. The surveyor would transmit his thoughts to the other stone by thinking, but the person on the other end would hear it in his head. The surveyor and his contact would see one another, but sounds could not be transmitted save through the above method of thought.

The stones were generally placed in bowls or depressions in tables of black marble, oriented through trial and error so that the poles of the stone aligned with the centre of the world. The kings usually appointed deputies to look in the stone regularly, or on command, or in times of emergency. Others not authorized by the king could use them, but it took a great amount of willpower, and things were often less clear.