Don't Shoot the Messenger.

So Manwë did what he did best and sent a messenger to Numenór. It was probably Eönwë but Tolkien doesn't say. Manwë always sends Eonwë to do his dirty work.

The messenger needed a LOT of patience.

"Now look here," he said, "All this talk of sailing to Valinor...its just not on."

"We don't want to die." The Dúnedain said. "We are the best of the best. The best men there are. We shouldn't HAVE to die. You will be doing the world a favour if you let us come to Valinor and live."

The messenger started to count to ten before he explained it. They were testing his patience already. In his head he thought, I would be doing the world a favour if I let you sail off the edge of the world so we didn't have to be bothered with you.

"It's not Valinor that makes the elves live forever. It is who they ARE! They lived forever on Arda after all."

"We don't remember that so it didn't happen," said the short-lived men, and the messenger sighed.

"Coming to Valinor won't make you live forever. You are MEN. It's just the way it is. Sorry—not sorry."

"But what about Earendil?" said the Numenórean King. "He lives in Valinor. He lives forever and he's my great great great great great great etc, Grandfather. If he can live forever so can I"

The messenger rolled his eyes and wondered if these were the best men of all how any of the others managed to survive. (We are wondering that too, Messenger.)

He tried to explain it in words of one syllable.

"Earendil's mother was an elf. Your mother is not. Earendil's blood was half elven. Your elven blood is so dilute it just doesn't count any more. And anyway Elros chose to be a man, that cancels everything out. You can't whine about Earendil any longer. We've let you live a long time. Just be happy with that."

"But it's not FAIR!" came the chorus from the Dúnedain.

By now Eönwë had had enough. (Let's just admit it was Eönwë Manwë sent because seriously, who else could it have been?)

"It's not US who don't let you live forever. It's Eru." He was trying the 'put the blame on someone else' method. "It's simple biology. You are Men, they are Elves and I am a Maia. That's just the way it is. You need to suck it up. Do you think I enjoy being sent to do Manwë's dirty work all the time? No! But that's what we Maia do when we aren't enchanting elves and plotting to rule the world. Stop moaning about the hand you've been dealt, build a bridge and get over it!"

"But we want it all!" The Dúnedain cried. "We want to live forever and we don't want to leave the Earth. Give it to us. Give us everything!" And they stamped their little feet.

Enough was enough. Eönwë was over this.

"Manwë doesn't pay me enough to put up with this shit," he said.

And he left.