LogFAQs > #949026447

god more or less killed saruon at the end of the second age. Saruon pretended to be reformed, and gained influence in the human kingdom that's basically Atlantis. He eventually convinced them to try to go attack the elves in the west, and god just wrecked their entire civilization as punishment. (also turned the world into a sphere so that no one could get to the elves in the west again, even the other elves)

Saruon lost his physical form in the destruction, and spent most of the third age chilling out trying to regain his strength and build up another army. During the Hobbit, Gandalf kept disappearing because he went off to fight the Necromancer with the other wizards not knowing at the time it was actually Saruon trying to build up another army.

also I think there was some pretty direct divine intervention at the end of the first age in finally getting around to killing Morgoth, but I'm pretty rusty on the details.

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The only certain death in the universe is Mother Hitton's Littul Kittons.
Not changing this line until I beat Seven Heroes (2/24/07) - Fulfilled 2/20/18