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Elladan and Elrohir, who left Minas Tirith a little over one month ago with Eomer, Eowyn, and the Riders of Rohan,, meet their sister Arwen outside of Edoras, and join her escort into the Rohirric royal seat. They stay there for two days, and then begin the slow progress toward Minas Tirith, and the destiny that awaits Arwen there. Meannwhile, in that city, Aragorn Elessar waits for a sign.

This leisurely time on the road must have been precious to Elrond, Arwen, and the Twins. Their lives had changed drastically with end of the Ring War, and they knew that the age of the Elves had nearly passed away. Soon it would be time to take the Ships, and it was almost the hour for the children of Elrond to make their choice to live as Men or as Elves. Already Arwen had chosen a mortal life, and her brothers weighed their options. Elrond, his choice long made, must have felt a bittersweet mixture of joy and impending grief as every day brought his family closer to separation, in the midst of the joy of life renewed and love realized.

Can you now imagine what a fantastic sight this Elven wedding party was? A who's who of the mighty Eldarin left in Middle-earth. The countryside of Rohan and Gondor having just been ravaged by war, must have been refreshed just by their passing.

Imagine the wonderment of the people. So many of them would have only heard the myths and tales of the Elves and never seen them. Now the glory of an Elven wedding party parades through the countryside.

The fair-haired Galadriel and Celeborn. The dark-haired house of Elrond...Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen. All going to Gondor where the new King Elessar has been crowned. No longer any darkness pouring out of what was Mordor. This must have been a time of wonder and magic after a long dark storm. It is also a bit bittersweet in that, other than their return home, it was the last time such a sight was seen in Middle-earth.

Over the last few months as he goes about his duties and slips ever more deeply into the role of King Elessar, Aragorn has been looking for a sign. With each passing day he has looked at the White Tree, standing barren in the court as if he hoped for it to spring forth life, or perhaps, that a seed, lying dormant and forgotten at its roots, would sprout. The days go by and the tree does not bloom and there is no seedling to be found. Aragorn must wonder if his Kingship will last past his the end of his days, however long they may be. The prophesy above, taken from the Silmarillion, outlines why.

This is yet another way that Aragorn's fate is tied to Isildur for it was Isildur who kept a seedling of Nimloth alive when that great Tree was cut down at Sauron's bidding, long ago, before the Fall of Numenor. The first White Tree brought to Middle Earth after the destruction of Numenor was planted in Minas Ithil by Isildur and then when Sauron destroyed that one, Isildur planted another in the court yard of Minas Tirith. The Tree bore fruit very rarely and when it did the seedling was carefully reared to be planted in the event the parent tree died.

It seems to me that Isildur represents the birth of Gondor in the beginning of the second age, an age of Men and Elves, while Aragorn represents the rebirth of Gondor in the fourth age. The age of Men. This new Age, with its roots sunk deeply into the dawn of time, looks for hope that it will be a fruitful one because the White Tree, the first of which was a gift from Yavanna, is a symbol of the continuity of Gondor, and its ties to Numenor and the Valar. The tree in the courtyard is the only 5th descendant of Nimroth's seed that Isildur stole during the reign of Ar-Pharazon.

The White Tree and its descendants thrived or struggled, its fruitfulness tied with the fortunes of the Kings throughout the history of Middle Earth. The tree in the courtyard flourished until King Eanur died without issue. At his death there had been no known seeds or seedlings to plant and so, when the Tree itself died with the passing of the Steward Belecthor II, it was left in its place in the courtyard to honor the Kings and their seeming end.

There is no doubt that Aragorn knew this history and the prophecy of Tar Palantir. And the question of whether his Kingship would be a barren or fruitful one troubled his heart. When Gandalf leads Aragorn out of the city to survey all of Gondor with their farseeing vision he confides these fears to this advisor and friend with whom he is loth to part. Gandalf tells Aragorn that all of this and more will be his realm and that it is Aragorn's job to rebuild them and to preserve that of the past that can be preserved, though much of the past is gone already or will fade with time, even as Gandalf's own time is ending. And, in answer to the fears Aragorn has about the bleak empty future of his line and his kingdom, Gandalf has him "turn his face from the green world, and look where all seems barren and cold."

In one of the most beautiful passages in The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien describes the end of Arwen's journey to the City of Kings. Visual and full of symbolism, the passage contains meaningful references to stars and sun, east and west, night and day, silver and gold, woven in with the end of the age of the Elves and the beginning of the age of Men, all accomplished in the long-awaited union of Undomiel and Elessar. Only Tolkien's words will do:

"Upon the very Eve of Midsummer, when the sky was blue as sappire and white stars opened in the East, but the West was still golden, and the air was cool and fragrant, the riders came down the North-way to the gates of Minas Tirith. First rode Elrohir and Elladan with a banner of silver, and then came Glorfindel and Erestor and all the household of Rivendell, and after them came the Lady Galadriel and Celeborn, Lord of Lothlorien, riding upon white steeds and with them many fair folk of their land, grey-cloaked with white gems in their hair; and last came Master Elrond, mighty among Elves and Men, bearing the sceptre of Annuminas, and beside him upon a grey palfrey rode Arwen hid daughter, Evenstar of her people."

INDEED THE ROYAL WEDDING SYMBOLIZES IN ITS BEAUTY AND JOY ALL THAT THE HEROES OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS ACCOMPLISHED IN THEIR LONG QUEST TO SAVE MIDDLE EARTH--SO LIFE AFFIRMING HAS BEEN THEIR SUCCESS THAT NIGHT, ONCE FEARED AS THE CLOAK OF SAURON, IS NOW FOREVER ASSOCIATED WITH THE BEAUTY OF THE EVENSTAR AND THE HOUR OF HER WEDDING TO MIDDLE EARTH'S GREAT HIGH KING AND LIFEGIVER. WITH THEIR UNION, THE WHITE TREE AND LIFE HAVE RETURNED.. FRODO SAYS IT BEST: " AT LAST I UNDERSTAND WHY WE HAVE WAITED! THIS IS THE ENDING. NOW NOT ONLY DAY SHALL BE BELOVED, BUT NIGHT TOO SHALL BE BEAUTIFUL AND BLESSED AND ALL ITS FEAR PASS AWAY!"

AND YET, TOLKIEN REMINDS US QUIETLY THAT THIS NEW AGE IS AN AGE OF MEN--NOT AN AGE OF ELVES, WIZARDS, ENTS AND DWARVES. ELROND RETURNS THE SCEPTRE OF ANNUMINAS TO ELESSAR AS A SYMBOL OF HIS REUNITED KINGDOM, AND GIVES HIM THE HAND OF HIS CHERISHED DAUGHTER, WHO HAS CHOSEN THE MORTAL FATE OF HER BELOVED. THEN HE STEPS BACK--TO LET A NEW AGE BEGIN. FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, HE TURNS HIS THOUGHTS SEAWARD--TOWARD THE LAST JOURNEY HIS PEOPLE, GANDALF, AND THE RINGBEARERS WILL SOON MAKE OUT OF A WORLD AND TIME NO LONGER THEIRS.