Mirkwood

Legolas Thranduilion

Elven-prince and son of King Thranduil of Mirkwood.

During the Third Age he attends the Council of Elrond in Rivendell as a representative of the Elves of Mirkwood. There he joins the Fellowship of the Ring in their quest to destroy the One Ring of Sauron.

As with most elves, Legolas distrusts the dwarf Gimli who is part of the Fellowship of nine. But as they journey on he befriends the dwarf and so helps to restore the friendship between both races.

Along the journey Legolas journeys to the forest of Fangorn, the most ancient of all forests in Middle-earth, and the elf love of trees is stirred within him. Also stirred within him is the "sea-longing" of his people upon hearing the cries of the gulls in Lebennin.

After the War of the Ring at the start of the Fourth Age, Legolas brings some of the Silvan elves of Mirkwood to live in Ithilien, a province of Gondor, near to the High King Elessar (Aragorn). He lives there until the death of Elessar, upon which Legolas builds a ship and both he and the dwarf Gimli sail West over the sea.