/lit/ - Literature

>>20464124
some additional thoughts on Tu:

I've read a lot of online speculation about Tu being an early variant of Sauron, like Tevildo was, or like Gorthu and Thu were. And while it's possible, it doesn't seem likely. The main reason behind the idea that they're the same is simply the similarity in the names Thu and Tu.

But aside from that, there's not much else similar between the two. Sauron, and all the proto-Sauron variations (Tevildo, Gorthu, Thu) are all quintessentially still the Sauron we can easily recognize. But Tu isn't like any of those, he's described as "testy but benevolent". Nowhere is Sauron ever described as benevolent, even Annatar never was called that. And while both Tu and Thu/Sauron are Maiar, Sauron originally served Aule (another clue, btw, in the Melkor=Aule theory), while Tu served Mandos. Then of course there's "minor details" like: Sauron lived in Beleriand during this time, and Tu lived in Cuivienen, the far east of Middle Earth (beyond Mordor, Rhun and Khand, for anyone not familiar with the geography). While it's possible they too could be the same person, pulling another "Palpatine" scheme (like Aule=Melkor), and simply turning invisible or traveling great distances "like a cloud", as Melkor is said to have done when he escaped Valinor, we're never given details on how long that kind of travel would take.

All this is more speculative though, and it's simpler to just settle that Tu and Thu/Sauron are different people. So too is it simpler to settle that Aule and Melkor are different people, but in this case it's harder to settle for that answer since there's way more evidence to support the theory than there is the Tu=Thu theory.

But interestingly, even over there (near Cuivienen) the Dwarves of the area were often at war with the Elves or Men of the region, Tolkien even wrote that the Dwarves often served Sauron, the only exception being the House of Durin, which means 6 other Houses were helping Sauron and more than likely Melkor too.