system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[LotR] Is elves being twisted into orcs a reason for the Elvish kingdoms decline?
gpt
No. For one thing, it's uncertain what the origin of the orcs actually is; the idea of orcs being corrupted elves is only one of several theories. Beyond this, even if orcs are descended wholly or partly from elves, they reproduce biologically, in the same way that any of the other races do. The origin of orcs lies far back in the past of the Elder Days, long before the elvish kingdoms reached their height and began to decline. The orcs were well-established before the time of the great elvish kingdoms of the First Age, and were spreading and multiplying on their own without requiring any additional tinkering on Morgoth's or Sauron's part. The decline of the elves is more closely tied to the nature of Middle-earth, or of "Arda Marred", than to specific actions on the part of the Dark Lords.