ICE Ringwraith Lore

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CDavis7M
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ICE created a ton of Middle-earth lore, some of which was the basis for MECCG cards. This created lore is called "Kuduk Lore" in MECCG. Some cards give a sentence or two of Kuduk Lore but it is the Player Guides that give a full description. Beyond MECCG, ICE had manuals for other games, especially MERP, with more details on the created characters. I've collected some of the "Kuduk Lore" on the nine Ringwraiths. These passages also include notes on Alatar and Pallando.
Last edited by CDavis7M on Fri Jan 08, 2021 1:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
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WITCH-KING OF ANGMAR (1st)

The Numenorean Er-Murazor(A. “Black Prince”) was the most gifted and powerful of the many great Lords of Westernesse. Although only a Prince, his might outshone all but a few of Numenor’s Kings and, in the end, he lived longer than any of the Adan sons. Murazor’s tale covers over six and a half millennia and is one of Man’s great tragedies.

The Black Prince was born in S.A. 1820 in the port city of Andunie in the province of Andustar on the island of Numenor(Andor). As the second son of King Tar-Ciryatan(Q. “Ship-builder”) and the younger brother of (Tar-) Atanamir the Great, he traced his lineage to the first King, Elros Tar-Minyatur. His mother gave him the name Tindomul(Q. “Twilight Son”), for he was born during a solar eclipse and his hair was blacker than any she had ever seen. Those Lords of Tar-Ciryatan’s court who favoured the use of Adunaic(signifying their displeasure with the Eldar and the Ban of the Valar) called him Murazor.

Like his brother, the proud and greedy heir to the throne, the Black Prince supported his father’s ambitions and lobbied for the increased exploitation of Middle-earth. Tar-Ciryatan sought great wealth and sent his huge fleets to Endor in order to exact tribute, and both his sons embraced the benefits of his often ruthless policies. Both embodied their father’s penchant for material things and power, which was hardly surprising in light of the fact that they witnessed their father force their grandfather from the Numenorean throne.

Atanamir, however, enjoyed the privileges and attention accorded to the heir to the Adan throne, and Tar-Ciryatan showed him his prideful love in a way never exhibited to Murazor. The jealousies inherent in the family character eventually grew to frightening proportions in the Black Prince’s heart, fomenting hatred and unbounded desire. Always aggressive and fiery, Murazor resolved to leave home and found his own empire in the vulnerable expanse of Middle-earth. He assembled a small fleet and set sail for Endor in the spring of S.A. 1880.

The sixty year old Prince landed at Vinyalonde(Lond Daer) in Eriador, at the mouth of the Gwathlo in Enedhwaith. There, he debarked at the ancient haven amidst little celebration and, within weeks, he engaged in a brief struggle for dominance over the strategic port. His plans to carve out a kingdom in the fertile lands that Sauron’s hordes ravaged in the war with the Elves(S.A. 1693-1700) failed, forcing Murazor and his followers to voyage southward. In S.A. 1882 the Black Prince’s ships dropped anchor in Umbar, where the Numenorean Lord proclaimed himself “King.” Although successful in wresting control from the local colonists, he ruled only for a few months. The Numenorean adventurer’s pretensions of rule faced an inevitable and overwhelming challenge from his father, Tar-Ciryatan, who ordered his recalcitrant son to return home to Westernesse. Murazor refused to follow the Adan King’s bidding, but he dared not remain in Umbar in defiance of the edict from Armenelos.

The Lord of the Rings perceived the Prince’s displeasure and offered him a means to achieve his goals. Sauron realised that both Murazor and his older brother Atanamir sought to hold onto their youth, and that they feared aging more than any corporeal foe. Atanamir showed his terror of death when he later refused to surrender the Sceptre of Numenor until he died. The Black Prince, on the other hand, exhibited this fear by speaking openly of his bitterness toward the immortal Elves to whom he was related(through Elros Halfelven). Ever vigilant and perceptive, the Dark Lord sought to corrupt Murazor by bringing the dissatisfied Numenorean to Mordor.

The Black Prince went to Barad-dur during the first week of S.A. 1883 and became a pupil of the Lord of the Rings. During the next one hundred and fifteen years, he expanded his knowledge of enchantments and spell casting, becoming an exceedingly powerful Sorceror. Murazor’s knowledge of the Black Arts was second only to Sauron’s, and he quickly rose to become the Evil One’s most trusted lieutenant. His lessons learned, he submitted his spirit to his Master, who gave him a Ring of Power in S.A. 1998. The first of the nine Nazgul, the Black Prince was known thereafter as the Witch-king or the Lord of Morgul(S. “Dark Sorcery”).

THE LORD OF THE NAZGUL

Throughout the rest of the Second Age, the Witch-king stayed in Mordor and served Sauron by coordinating the efforts of the other Ulairi. These years comprised the period of his complete transformation into a hideous Wraith possessed of an exceptional command of sorcery. His role as the Lord of the Nazgul testified to his awesome magical skills. Ironically, Murazor was the only Ringwraith who had not presided over a kingdom of his own for a considerable period prior to accepting his Ring of Power; however, his origins as a Prince of the Edain of Numenor provided him with inherent abilities that far exceeded those of his undead peers.

The Lord of the Rings gave the Black Captain all of the trappings of a King for, aside from Sauron himself, the Lord of Morgul was the mightiest servant of Darkness in Mordor’s hierarchy. No one, not even Gothmog the Half-troll Warlord(and, later Lieutenant of Morgul) or the Mouth of Sauron, enjoyed such trust from the Evil One. Their relationship flourished throughout the latter part of the Second Age, as teacher and pupil sought to build an unassailable kingdom and establish dominion over Men.

Unfortunately for the masters of Mordor, the corruption of Westernesse that they sought for so long produced a policy of imperialism. The goals of Numenor’s Kings came to mirror, at least in part, those of the Dark Lord. Both powers sought to unite the Secondborn under one absolute monarch. Inevitably, this rivalry between Sauron and the Witch-king’s brethren erupted into outright war.

Ar-Pharazon, the strongest of Numenor’s later Kings, led an armada to Endor in S.A. 3261 in hopes of crushing the forces of Mordor and establishing hegemony over Middle-earth. Landing at Umbar, he marched northward across Near Harad(then contested by Numenor and Mordor’s client, Adunaphel the Nazgul) and met the Host of Mordor near the river Harnen in early S.A. 3262. The Adan King’s army appeared to potent for the Evil One to contest, so Sauron surrendered and went to Andor as Ar-Pharazon’s prize captive.

The capture of the Dark Lord left the Witch-king briefly in control of the Kingdom of the Shadow, but the omnipresence of the Edain forced the Ringwraith and Sauron’s other minions into hiding. This prevented the Lord of the Nazgul from waging any significant campaigns in his Master’s absence. Although the Black Captain and the other Ulairi contested Numenorean advances in certain regions of Middle-earth, the Witch-king operated very quietly until Sauron’s return after the Downfall of Numenor in S.A. 3319.

The Lord of the Rings’ reappearance in Mordor in S.A. 3320 sparked a renewal of the wars of conquest against the Free Peoples of Endor and brought the Ringwraiths out of hiding. For the next one hundred and nine years, the forces of the Shadow regrouped, grew, and mobilised under the guidance of the Chieftain of the Nazgul. Then, in S.A. 3429, the Witch-king led an army into Ithilien and assailed Gondor, the newly founded South Kingdom(which, like Arnor in the North, was one of the Kingdoms in Exile). King Anarion of Gondor(the co-ruler with his brother Isildur) successfully defended the west bank of the Anduin, however, dealing a stalwart blow to the Black Captain’s plan to subjugate the South Kingdom before the arrival of any Dunadan relief force from Arnor.

The ensuing standoff lasted five years, until the Wraith-king was forced to retire toward Morannon in the face of an army from the North led by Gil-galad and Elendil the Tall. Joined by the Dark Lord’s main horde, the Witch-king turned on his pursuers in the fields of Dagorlad, before the gates of Mordor. There, the Last Alliance of Men and Elves vanquished the Lord of the Nazgul’s warriors and broke the defence of the Black Land. The victors chased the shattered remnants of Sauron’s army to Barad-dur, and then they laid siege to the Dark Tower for seven years. Anarion died under a stone cast from the battlements in S.A. 3440, but his death was avenged the following year. The Last Alliance finally entered the hold of the Lord of the Rings in S.A. 3441, ending both war and the Second Age. Sauron slew both Gil-galad and Elendil, But King Isildur of Gondor cut the Evil One down and sliced the One Ring from his twisted hand. Thus, the Dark Lord and his nine Ulair servants passed into the Shadows.

THE EARLY THIRD AGE

The Kingdoms in Exile enjoyed great prosperity during the early Third Age, for it was not until T.A. 1000 that Sauron stirred again in Arda. Gondor conquered a vast realm, while Arnor established dominion over most of Eriador. Despite constant wars with Harad and the sundering of the North Kingdom in T.A. 861, the Dunedain reached great heights of power.

As Gondor reached the apogee of its might in T.A. 1050, however, the Nazgul returned from the Shadows and began rebuilding their strength in Middle-earth. Their Lord the Witch-king went to Dol Guldur in Rhovanion, where Sauron hid under the guise of the Necromancer. The Black Captain remained in the Dark Lord’s hold for the next two and a half centuries. From this secure refuge, he plotted the destruction of the weaker of the two Dunadan kingdoms. The Witch-king understoon that care was in order, knowing that the loss of the One Ring at the end of the Second Age significantly weakened the forces of Darkness.

By T.A. 1300, the methodical plan to crush Arnor was complete, and the Lord of the Ringwraiths flew north to the plateau that rises between the two northwestern spurs of the Misty Mountains(Hithaeglir). This cool, high plain overlooked the wilds along the northeastern frontier of the realm the Black Captain planned to destroy. It was their that he founded his own kingdom: Angmar(Q. “Iron Home”), the land of the Witch-king.

THE WARS IN THE NORTH

The Lord of the Nazgul ruled his new domain from the mountain citadel of Carn Dum(S. “Red Fort” or “Red Hold”), a giant cavern fortress built into and around the last peak in the northern Hithaeglir. Never revealing his true identity, he gathered two hosts: an army of over thirty Orc tribes commanded by the Olog warlord Rogrog; and the Angmarim, a force of over ten thousand Men drawn from the Dark Lord’s subject peoples in Eriador, Rhovanion and Rhun. These warriors deployed in holds along the ridges north of the Ettenmors and the Oiolad(S. “Cool Plain”). Holds like Morkai and Mount Gram threatened all of the North Kingdom’s upper frontier, but they initially concentrated near the sparsely populated northeastern border – above the relatively vulnerable and rude realm of Rhudaur(S. “East Wood”).

Arnor’s breakup on T.A. 861 left three ostensibly allied successor states: Arthedain in the northwest, Cardolan in the South and Rhudaur in the northeast. Both Arthedain and Rhudaur lay near Angmar, but the latter of the two northern realms was far weaker. Arthedian enjoyed a very large proportion of Dunadan residents and harboured both of Arnor’s capitals and most of the lost kingdom’s major castles. Rhudaur, on the other hand, contained relatively few of the Dunedain, and most of its often disgruntled population was scattered in the rugged countryside. It appeared to be a natural target for the Witch-kings hungry armies so, in the first five decades of Angmar’s rise, the Black Sorceror’s hordes overwhelmed the East Wood and brought its surviving population under the Shadow. Rhudaur ceased to exist as an independent and free nation by the middle of the fourteenth century, T.A.

The conquest of Cardolan(S. “Land of Red Hills”) served as the Morgul-Lord’s next goal. While much stronger than Rhudaur, it lacked Arthedain’s military resources and natural defences. Its capital and main city, Tharbad, sat on the lowlands along the river Gwathlo and much of its border with Rhudaur was composed of a sparsely defended hedge wall. Cardolan’s strategic value also invited attack, for Tharbad straddled the road between Arnor and Gondor, and the capture of this vital artery meant the isolation of Arthedain. Just as important, the Witch-king could virtually surround Arthedain’s heartland with the taking of its southern neighbour.

These factors led to the subsequent attack on Cardolan. Rhudaur declared war on the Land of Red Hills sometime before T.A. 1350, and fighting raged along the Mitheithel and near Amon Sul(Weathertop) for the next fifty nine years. With the help of the Arthadan army, the Dunadan Princes of Cardolan bested their old allies, however, and the King of Angmar was eventually forced to commit his own troops. After building his supply routes through Rhudaur, the Witch-king ordered his forces to join the war and directly assault the dike and hedge wall that guarded Cardolan’s northeastern bounds. The Angmarim crossed the open Lone Lands and smashed through the Dunadan defences south of Weathertop. Surrounding the great Arnorian citadel that housed one of the three Palantiri of the North, the host of Angmar cut the defending forces in half and drove the Prince and his retainers through the Barrow-downs(Tyrn Gorthad) and into the eaves of the Old Forest. The last ruler of Cardolan died as Tharbad fell.

Arthedain’s main army barely survived the battle that took place at Weathertop. Withdrawing into the surrounding hills with the Seeing-stone, they yielded the tower on Amon Sul and retreated home to Fornost. The Angmarim razed the citadel after wiping out its few remaining defenders – brave fighters who fought to cover the retreat of their brethren. Once again, the Lord of the Nazgul prevailed. Cardolan passed into his fold.

Arthedain survived five hundred and sixty six years after the collapse of its last sister state. Facing overwhelming odds, the Duneadain of the last successor kingdom doggedly drove off a number of major attacks along its eastern and northern boundaries. Many of Arthedain’s beleaguered people relocated toward the frontier and concentrated in Fornost or in manors and settlements near the kingdom’s border forts, enabling the Edain of the North to react to any significant incursions.(This shift invited the Hobbit migration into Arthedain’s Shire in T.A. 1600-40).

Nature intervened as well, for the buildup of Angmar’s forces in Cardolan prior to T.A. 1636 ended with the onset of the Great Plague. The pestilence that struck during the winter of 1636-37 devastated Cardolan’s remaining residents, but it also decimated the Witch-kings southern army. Angmarim in Rhudaur and Angmar also fared poorly – much more so than the Dunedain – forcing the Lord of the Nazgul to rebuild his shattered forces and delaying the final confrontation for another three centuries.

Arthedain’s end came in the War of T.A. 1973-75. After nearly a decade of massing on the Arnorian frontier, the Witch-king poised his armies for the killing blow and King Arvedui realised that the Host of Angmar could not be stopped without aid from the South Kingdom. He urgently appealed to Earnil but, before the Gondorians arrived, the Black Sorceror initiated his felling strike. Angmar’s armies overran Arthedain in T.A. 1974, sending Arvedui into hiding in the Dwarf mines of the Nan-i-Naugrim in the Blue Mountains of Lindon. Arvedui died in the Ice Bay the following year while seeking aid from the Lossoth of the Far North. Both of the Palantiri his retainers had rescued during the slaughter in Arthedain perished with him. Their loss fittingly symbolised the end of the North Kingdom and the completion of the Witch-king’s primary goal.

Although the Lord of the Nazgul crushed Arnor, he faced a much greater foe. Gondor’s relief army landed as Arvedui fled northward and marched to challenge the victors. Meeting the Witch-king near the ruins of the ancient Arnorian capital of Annuminas, Earnur of Gondor and his Eiadorian allies vanquished the Host of Angmar and drove the Black Captain from the field. The Wraith-lord’s Iron Home fell later the same year, ending the saga of the Northern Wars.

MINAS MORGUL

Following the fall of Angmar, Sauron sent his exiled Lieutenant to join his eight companions in Mordor. There, the Witch-king gathered the Ulairi and planned the surprise attack against Minas Ithil, the Gondorian capital of Ithilien and the key to the valuable cleft of Cirith Ungol(S. “Spider Pass”). The Ringwraiths quietly assembled an army in Gorgoroth and unleashed its fury in T.A. 2000. Quickly surrounding their prize, they cut the town off from the rest of Gondor and settled into a two year siege.

In T.A. 2002, the Witch-king entered Minas Ithil and made the white marble city his new home. It remained the Black Captain’s abode until his death. The Men of Gondor mourned the loss, renaming the Tower of the Moon Minas Morgul – the “Tower of Dark Sorcery.” From that point onward, the glow of the town’s moonlit walls signified Evil and shone like a symbol of the Witch-king’s terror.

The Palantir housed in Minas Morgul’s Tower of the Stone served Sauron well throughout the next millennium. It’s presence, coupled with the strategic and emotional value of the city itself, compelled the Dunedain of the South Kingdom to try to recover the fortress town. Ever deadly and always wily, the Morgul-lord played upon their desires and desperation, twice challenging Gondor’s champions to single combat. The Witch-king slew Prince Aeardur of Lond Ernil(Dol Amroth) – the last of the First Line of Princes in Dor-en-Ernil – in T.A. 2004 and he cut down King Earnur in a duel in T.A. 2050, ending Gondor’s Line of Kings. Both times the Dunadan challenger died before the silvery gates of the city. Earnur’s death marked the beginning of the era of Ruling Stewards and signified and end of any pretense surrounding the recapture of Minas Morgul and the western pass into Mordor.

THE PRELUDE TO THE WAR OF THE RING

The Witch-king oversaw the Black Land for the next eight hundred and ninety one years, until the return of Sauron from Dol Guldur in T.A. 2941. His minions multiplied, fortifying the Morgul Vale around the mouth of Cirith Ungol. Minas Morgul became a nearly impenetrable bastion haunted by the shrieks of the resident Ringwraiths. All the while, the Dark Lord’s Black Captain prepared for the coming war and guarded his Master’s homeland.

The Witch-king only launched one attack into the neighbouring province of Ithilien during this respite, an Uruk attack against the exposed and underpopulated city of Osgiliath(S. “Fortress of the Stars”) on the Anduin. The former capital of Gondor sat astride the best route across the lower part of the Great River, and its huge stone bridge loomed as the most convenient route to Minas Tirith. In T.A. 2475, the Uruk-hai swept out of Minas Morgul and drove through the old city under the cover of a befouled night sky. Although retaken by the Dunedain, Osgiliath’s bridge – and the lofty Tower of the Stone that held the Master Palantir and rose above the centre of the river – fell into the Anduin. The Fortress of the Stars became a deserted and ever threatened stronghold as the rest of Ithilien came under the Shadow.

Work began on Barad-dur in T.A. 2951, ten years after the Evil One’s arrival in Mordor, and the minions of Darkness gathered in Gorgoroth and Minas Morgul for the next and ultimate assault on Gondor. Sauron was desperate in light of the possibility that the lost Ruling Ring would fall into the hands of a worthy foe. He resolved to destroy the Free Peoples before they could gather under the banner of another King. The preparations lasted sixty seven years, so it was not until T.A. 3018 that the Host of Mordor and the Lord of the Rings stood poised for the Great War.

THE SEARCH FOR THE RING

With the end of winter, the Witch-king led Sauron’s southern army against the garrison at Osgiliath, throwing the Gondorians across the river. The Black Captain’s forces pursued the defenders onto the western bank and through the west quarters, securing the city for the Dark Lord’s coming invasion. Gondor’s army reacted with greater strength than anticipated, however, and the southern horde progressed no further. As the lines stabilised, the first test of the Free Peoples ended with the Witch-king’s departure on the quest for the One Ring.

The Chieftain of the Black Riders rode with the other eight Ulairi up the Anduin Valley in search of the Shire. Reaching the old Stoor homes at the Gladden Fields(where Deagol and Smeagol found the Ruling Ring), they routed the few residents and uncovered nothing of any import. Sauron’s Lieutenant realised that they had mistaken the ancient settlement for the real land called Suza(Kd. “Shire”), so he ordered his companions to turn south and head for Eriador. They skirted between Lorien and the cliffs to the west and rode through Rohan and past Isengard into Eriador. Taking the Greenway to Tharbad, the Nine crossed the Gwathlo and entered old Cardolan. Eventually they split into two groups, with Khamul leading two Riders through the Shire while the Witch-king took the others north toward Andrath and Bree in hope of cutting off any support or opportunity for flight.

After failing to capture their prey, the Nazgul gave chase along the Great East Road. Uvatha the Messenger broke off to deliver word to Khamul of the Hobbits’ escape route. The Morgul-lord and his four other companions rode toward the commanding summit of Weathertop, where the view of the road and the neighbouring expanse of En Eredoriath(S. “The Lone Lands”) offered a means of insuring that they could intercept the fleeing Halflings. Seeing firelight on the peak, the five Ringwraiths followed the most recent tracks up the hill and attacked the resting Company in hope of attaining their Master’s prize. Three Nazgul advanced as the Hobbits formed a tight circle around the fire. The Witch-king stabbed Frodo in the left shoulder with his Morgul-knife as Strider leaped to intercede. Luckily, the firebrand and Aragorn’s bravery enabled the Hobbits to survive the nocturnal visit, as the five Ulairi retired.

Frodo’s wound proved unmendable without aid from a high Healer, for the Black Captain’s magical knife blade imbedded itself and slowly worked its way toward the Hobbit’s heart. Although unsuccessful in the melee on Amon Sul, the Witch-king’s cursed weapon placed Frodo in grave danger of becoming a Wraith and falling under the Ulair’s spell. Strider realised the Halfling’s plight after finding the knife hilt and prepared an Athelas wash, but he knew that the party had little time to spare. With daylight, the Company fled toward the Bruinen Ford.

The Chieftain of the Ringwraiths watched and, after joining with Khamul’s Riders, he and the other Nazgul broke into furious pursuit. The Nine rode their prey down at the Bruinen Ford just west of Rivendell and cried for Frodo to surrender. As the Hobbit balked and summoned his last strength to finish the crossing, the Witch-king plunged into the river with two of his servants(Uvatha and Dwar) – only to find themselves engulfed beneath a torrential tide of magically summoned floodwaters. The enchanted current swept the Morgul-lord and the other eight of the Black Riders downstream, claiming their awful steeds. So ended the search for the Ring.

THE WAR OF THE RING

After the disaster at the Bruinen Ford, the Witch-king retired to Minas Morgul and returned to his role as commander of Mordor’s southern host. His goal was Minas Tirith and the defeat of Gondor. For this purpose, he arrayed his main army outside Osgiliath, planning a pincer of two wings. The other force issued out of Morannon and massed upriver by Cair Andros, providing the Ringraith with a pair of Anduin crossings and insuring that his enemies could not flee northward into Rohan.

The Gondorian’s retook western Osgiliath in early T.A. 3019, but soon thereafter the Black Captain sent his army across the river and scattered the guards in the ruined city. As the Morgul-host drove across the river from the east, smashing through the gates of the Rammas Echor that enclosed the Pelennor(S. “Fenced land”), another army came south from Cair Andros and entered the encircling outer walls from the north. The retreating defenders reached the city gates as the two attacking arms joined. Minas Tirith was surrounded.

The battle that followed took place before the walls of the city. As the ram Grond smashed the Great Gates, the main Hafhere of 6,000 Riders and the 120 Rohirrim of Theoden’s Guard struck the attacking force from the north, sending waves of Orcs into retreat. The Hafhere, led by Eomer, overran the main road and rode into the Haradrim between the ramparts and the river while Theoden and his guard skirmished with the Haradan Lord in front of the Great Gates. For the first time, the tide of battle favoured the Free Peoples, and Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth gathered the warriors in the forecourt of the city in preparation for a sally into Pelennor.

THE DEATH OF THE WITCH-KING

The Lord of the Nazgul responded by personally intervening in the fray involving the Rohirric King. Flying on the back of his Fell Beast, he dove upon Theoden. The advancing Rohirrim’s horses panicked as the Witch-king slew the Lord of Rohan with his awful mace. This act reversed the Riders’ success and endangered the Rohirric army; but, more importantly, it enraged Theoden’s niece Eowyn, who fought disguised as the youth Dernhelm.

Fully armoured and unrecognisable as a woman, Eowyn challenged the Witch-king as he stood over the bodies of her uncle and his beloved mount Snowmane, but the Morgul-lord scoffed at her words. Proclaiming that no man was fated to slay him, the Chieftain of the Ringwraiths savoured his kill and warned her of her folly, not knowing that he faced a maiden. It was then that Eowyn shed her helm and announced:

“Butno living man am I! You look upon a woman. Eowyn I am, Eomund’s daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you are not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you if you touch him.”

Silent, the Wraith-king rose on the sweeping wings of his Fell Creature, his fear and ire aroused. Eowyn stood strong, though, as the evil beast descended to attack her with its hideous claws and beak. She parried the initial foray and then sliced the monster’s head from its long neck. The Fell Beast tumbled to the ground, but the Lord of the Nazgul rose again and advanced with his mace held high. He struck her green shield, shattering it, and raised his weapon for the slaying blow. Suddenly, the Hobbit Merry rushed behind him and plunged his enchanted sword into the back of the Witch-king’s knee, breaking the spell that held the Morgul-lord’s immortal form together, and giving Eowyn time to recover. The Rohirric maiden gathered herself and drove the blade through the Ringwraith’s neck. As fated, no man slew Sauron’s Lieutenant; instead, he perished at Pelennor by the hand of a woman, and an ancient sword wielded by a Halfling.
Last edited by CDavis7M on Fri Jan 08, 2021 12:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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KHAMÛl THE EASTERLING (2nd)

Born at Laeg Goak in easternmost Endor in 1744, Second Age, Komul was the eldest son of Mul Tanul, the High-lord(Wm. “Hionvor”) of the Womaw. His mother, Klea-shay, was popular despite her Shay heritage, but died while the young heir was only seven; Tanul’s Elven consort Dardarian reared Komul and served as his principal advisor until he assumed the throne of Womawas Drus in S.A 1844. Komul’s relationship with the manipulative Dardarian corrupted his outlook and led to his incessant longing for immortality.

As Hionvor and Mul(Wm. “King”) of the Womaw kingdom, Komul I presided over the strongest realm in eastern Middle-earth. His people had descended from the remnants of the First Tribe of Cuivienen (Q. “Awakening Water”), the same lineage that produced the Edain of western Endor. Elven blood coursed through the veins of Womaw Hiona (Wm. “Lords;” sing. “Hion”), and their mastery over other Men was spurred in part by their longevity. Heavily influenced by the Avari, the Womaw of Komul’s day practiced both Wood and Word magic and enjoyed the benefit of a rich and practical cultural tradition. Their political and military sophistication enabled them to dominate the eastern coasts of Middle-earth for thousands of years. This hegemony withstood its stongest test during the middle of the Second Age, but Komul I was lost in the struggle.

The distant Numenorean cousins of the Womaw comprised the only group of Men who could challenge the supremacy of Womawas Drus, and as early as S.A. 900, the Dunedain established trade embassies in Womaw influenced territories. During the next 650 years, the Numenoreans swayed many of the Womaw’s southern neighbours and built fortified colonies in the isles of southeastern Middle-earth. The Men of Westernesse forced Womaw concessions and threatened the stability of the eastern kingdom. By the one hundred and fiftieth yearof Komul I’s stormy, militaristic reign (S.A. 1994), Womawas Drus appeared resigned to outside domination and many of the Womaw Hiona had disclaimed their allegiance to the High-lord. Proud and desperate, Komul sought help elsewhere and turned to his age-old ally Dardarian.

Dardarian met Komul at the Isle of Sunrises, at the easternmost point in the Middle Land. There, the Elf-queen seduced her stepson, using her exceptional beauty and charm and, most importantly, an offer of immortality. Komul agreed to an alliance between the Womaw and Dardarien’s Avar kingdom of Helkanen. This union led to Numenorean concessions (under the First Acknowledgement) the following year, preventing any outright conquest and relegating Dunadan interests to centres of commercial rather than strategic value.

Unfortunately for the Womaw, Dardarien’s pact led to the downfall of the Hionvor. Unbeknownst to Komul I, Dardarien served Sauron of Mordor. In S.A. 1996, only a year after the First Acknowledgement, Komul accepted the instrument that conferred the gift promised by his lover. Taking one of the Nine Rings of Men, Komul became the immortal slave of the Lord of the Rings. His reign over Womawas Drus ended abruptly.

Komul I disappeared from Laeg Goak in the spring of S.A. 1997, after nearly seven months of virtual isolation from his people and his court. These seven months were marked by palace intrigue and a bloody transition to a new order. Over three dozen of the Hionvor’s trusted advisors perished in a purge that nearly ruined the kingdom. The outer Hiona gathered in preparation for a revolt, and Komul departed in favour of a Numenorean supported faction led by his cousin Aon. Almost no one in Womawas Drus realised the critical nature of their King’s abdication, but Komul’s dethronement probably saved the Womaw from the Shadow. The deposed monarch could do little more than swear a vengeful oath, a curse that he would act upon millennia later.

KHAMUL THE RINGWRAITH

Komul appeared at Barad-dur in Mordor around S.A. 2000. He was known thereafter as Khamul, in accordance with the Black Speech pronunciation of his given name. While at the Dark Tower, he served Sauron as the Master of the Hold, and his responsibilities included administering the maintenance of the citadel and its garrison. This wardship remained in his capable hands until S.A. 3350, when Urzahil of Umbar became the Mouth of Sauron and the Lieutenant of the Tower.

Khamul fled Mordor when Sauron was captured in S.A. 3262. Retreating into the East, he first went to Nurad and, after a brief stay, he proceeded into the Shay lands of his mother’s people. He remained among the Shay until S.A.3319, cultivating a network of servants whose greed fomented a sundering of the Five Tribes. This corruption continued after Khamul returned to the Black Land, and by S.A. 3400 Khamul’s agent Monarlan brought three of the tribes under the Shadow.

The Easterling remained in Mordor during the War of the Last Alliance (S.A. 3429-3441), sallying forth only during the campaign in Ithilien that opened the conflict. During the first four and a half years, he resided at Lug Ghurzun(BS. “Darkland Tower”) in eastern Nurn(BS. “Ghurzun”); but in S.A. 3434 the army of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men forced its way through Udun, so Khamul returned to his Master’s side. The Ringwraith stole into Barad-dur during the night before the outset of the long siege.

When the Dark Tower fell in S.A. 3441, the Nazgul met the vanguard of the Elven host and fought a long, brutal melee. Unprotected, Sauron was forced to engage his foes in personal combat. This proved to be his undoing for, although he slew both Elendil the Tall and Gil-galad, the Evil One lost his One Ring(and his ring finger) in the fray, and his spirit passed into the Shadow World.

THE THIRD AGE

With the departure of the Lord of the Rings, the Nine lost the ability to maintain form. They followed the Dark Lord into Shadow as the Second Age ended. Their exile coincided with Sauron’s and lasted over a thousand years. The first to return reassumed form in Endor around T.A. 1050, some fifty years after the reappearance of the Evil One.

Unlike his brethren, Khamul briefly took up residence with Sauron at the citadel of Dol Guldur in southern Mirkwood. The Dark Lord hid behind the guise of the “Necromancer” and slowly rebuilt his strength. Then, about T.A. 1300, he renewed his struggle against the Free Peoples, sending the Witch-king to Angmar in the northwest Misty Mountains in hopes of crushing the successor states of Arnor.

Khamul left his command of Dol Guldur’s garrison upon the departure of the Witch-king, and for the next three hundred and forty years the Easterling lived at Sart and Mang in the Mountains of the Wind. From these two rocky strongholds, he sought to gain sway over the peoples of southeastern Middle-earth. Often working in unison with Dwar of Waw, Khamul fought the influences of the Istari Alatar and Pallando and vied with the Blue Wizards for control of the region. His success was only partial but, by T.A. 1635, the Dark Lord was satisfied and ordered the Second of the Ulairi back to Dol Guldur.

Khamul’s arrival coincided with the advent of the Great Plague that ravaged northwest Endor, so for the next four years he stayed in Rhovanion as Sauron’s chief servant. He was keeper of the Hill of Sorcery and remained in residence there until the end of the Watch on Mordor in T.A. 1640. Late that year, he entered the Black Land and began work on rebuilding the Evil One’s domain. Three hundred and sixty years later he accompanied the other Nine in the surprise assault against Minas Ithil. Two years later, the Ulairi took the surrounded city for the Dark Lord, capturing the Palantir. Minas Ithil became the home of the Ringwraiths and was henceforth called Minas Morgul.

After Gandalf threatened to uncover Sauron’s deception as the Necormancer of Dol Guldur, the Dark Lord went into the East. Residing in Chey lands, the Lord of the Rings bided his time and expanded his dominion over the Men of eastern Middle-earth. These so-called quiet years in the west constituted the era of the Watchful Peace(T.A. 2063-2460). During this time, the people of Khamul’s mother, the Shay, fell under the Shadow. Khamul’s father’s people opposed the Evil One, but they lost most of their kingdom in the series of dire wars. Finally, Khamul the Easterling left Minas Morgul and returned home to Goak in northwestern Endor. He entered the defeated realm of his forefathers after crushing the Womaw in the snows of Yule, T.A. 2400.

Sauron returned to the West three years before Deagol found the lost One Ring at the Gladden Fields. Khamul followed, having decimated the strength of Womawas Drus. He left the once splendid lands east of the Orocarni(S. “Red Mountains”) in the hands of Sauron’s brutal nomadic vassals, and he returned to Minas Morgul. During his frequent trips to Dol Guldur, the Easterling continued his close association with the Hill of Sorcery, as well as his relative independence from the Lord of Morgul. On one such visit during Sauron’s last stay at Dol Guldur(T.A. 2460-2941), Khamul’s warriors captured the Dwarf-lord Thrain II and took his Ring of Power. From T.A. 2845 to T.A. 2850, the Easterling tortured his Dwarven captive, but during the last year of his imprisonment Thrain II gave Gandalf the key to the side entry into Erebor(S. “Lonely Mountain”). The failure of the citadel’s guard to stop the Grey Wizard’s covert entry – coupled with Khamul’s inability to derive concessions from the Dwarf-king – led the Dark Lord to chastise the Ringwraith, but the Easterling remained one of Sauron’s four most powerful servants(the others being the Witch-king, Gothmog and the Mouth of Sauron).

In anticipation of the White Council’s attack on the Hill of Sorcery, the Evil One briefly abandoned his hold in southern Mirkwood in T.A. 2941, retreating home to Barad-dur. From that time onward, he stepped up his search for the Ruling Ring and laboured to prepare for the conquest of the West. Ten years later, Sauron felt comfortable enough to openly declare himself once again and, following his proclamation, he ordered his minions to reopen Dol Guldur. Khamul went northward to the Hill of Sorcery with Adunaphel, where he kept watch on Rhovanion and, more importantly, Lorien. He communicated with the Dark Lord via Uvatha, the ninth Nazgul and the Easterling’s chosen envoy. The Witch-king and the other five of the Nine stayed in Minas Morgul, awaiting the coming conflagration.

War clouds gathered quickly and loomed ready to break by T.A. 3017. Then came the catalyst – the capture of the Stoor Gollum(Smeagol) in Mordor. Sauron learned little of immediate value, but realised the worth of the fallen Hobbit, knowing that Gollum’s insatiable quest for the One Ring would eventually lead him to his long lost prize. The Dark Lord’s plan went awry, though, when Gollum fell into the hands of the Ranger Aragorn. Seeing the threat presented by the enemies’ discovery of the Ruling Ring, Sauron resolved to act before a rival could come to the fore.

In the late spring of T.A. 3018, the Witch-king and the Nazgul occupying Minas Morgul led an army down the Ithilduin Valley and into Ithilien. Their foray swept away the few Gondorian defenders that stood vigil over the ruins of Osgiliath, and the servants of Mordor broke the giant bridge that spanned the mighty Anduin. Despite the surprise and fury of the onslaught, however, Gondor’s army gathered on the western side of the Great River, standing firm against any further advance.

As the battle raged in Ithilien, Khamul and Adunaphel led the Orcs of Dol Guldur against Thranduil’s Elf-kingdom in northern Mirkwood. Their plan was to crush the Silvan Elves and capture Gollum, but the scale of their assault proved too modest to afford any significant victory. As the Elves melted northward through the wood, they inflicted tremendous losses on Khamul’s underlings.

Sauron tested his enemies with this two-pronged offensive, but his ultimate purpose was to conceal the further exploits of his Ringwraiths. The Evil One hoped to tie his armies’ movements to those of the Nine, thereby misleading the leaders of the Free Peoples. Within weeks, the Nine gathered for their principal mission and set out across the Anduin in search of the Hobbit that held the Ruling Ring.

Khamul rode with the other eight Black Riders up the Nan Anduin in hope of finding the Shire near the Gladden Fields. Unfortunately, their quest proved to be a time consuming detour, for they found only ruins of an ancient Stoor settlement, together with a few abandoned homes that had enjoyed recent use. They failed to find the Shire, but realised that it must be in Eriador. Turning southward they skirted Lorien and rode through Rohan and past Isengard. Their search took them to Tharbadand up the Greenway to the crossroads that served as the junction with the road to the land of the Hobbits. There, Khamul, Adunaphel and Hoarmurath split from the main party and rode toward the Iach Sarn(S. “Stone Ford”; also “Athrad Sarn”) and on to Sackville. The Witch-king and the other Riders went directly north toward Andrath and Bree.

Khamul’s party crossed paths with the Hobbits in the Green Hill Country and the Easterling’s keen sense of smell nearly uncovered Frodo’s hiding place below the road, but the Halflings escaped and the three Riders did not see them again until the encounter at the Bruinen Ford. Although Khamul and his companions tracked them through Buckland(where they entered the Bolger yard in Crickhollow), they failed to run down the elusive Hobbits.

The Easterling’s party joined Uvatha on the road east of Bree and rode toward the Lone Lands, where they met the other five Ringwraiths. Racing the Company in hope of cutting them off from the safety of Rivendell, the Riders found their prey at the banks of the Bruinen. There, Khamul avoided the initial rush of the waters summoned by Elrond; however, his horse panicked like the others and died in the gushing stream.

Following the debacle near Rivendell, Khamul and Adunaphel returned to Dol Guldur and prepared for the war. Their orders were simple, but their mission was ambitious: Sauron charged the Orcs of the Naked Hill with the task of crushing the Elf-kingdoms in Lorien and northern Mirkwood. Both assaults failed, forcing Khamul and Adunaphel to retire back to Mordor just before the Battle of Morannon.

The Witch-king died on the Pelennor Fields, and Khamul assumed leadership over the Fell Riders during their airborne attack against the Army of the Free Peoples. Battling the Great Eagles above the chaos that gripped the barren slag-fields outside the gates of Mordor, Khamul faced Gwaihir himself – only to turn in apparent retreat. Sauron’s orders to stop Frodo and Sam from destroying the One Ring in Mount Doom took precedence over any challenge, and the Easterling was force to lead his fellow Ringwraiths on a fruitless flight to save the Lord of the Rings. Gwaihir gave pursuit but, with the destruction of the Ruling Ring, there was no need for further combat. Khamul and his brethren passed out of Ea with their fallen Master.
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DWAR OF WAW (3rd)

Dendra Dwar was born in Horm on Waw, the Isle of the Dogs, in S.A. 1949. His early life proved difficult, for he was the son of a simple Wolim fisherman and he was forced to work at the age of seven. The labour hardened him for the trials to come, and kept his mind off his mother Ombril, who died during his birth.

In the year S.A. 1965, the K’prur of Hent landed on Waw and burned Horm. K’prur ships savagely stalked the Wolim fishing vessels and sank all but the few that reached safe hiding in the sea caves in the cliffs of Waw’s western coast. Young Dwar, his brother Dwem, and his father Dendra Wim escaped, but a wound cost Wim his life several weeks later. Dwar pledged to avenge the attack on his people and the murder of his beloved father.

Realising that his own people possessed neither the skill nor tha arms to defeat Hent, Dwar sailed northward to Wol, the warlike realm of the mainland Wolim tribes. There, he learned the ways of the forest and the fields, and became an able warrior. The young man served in the Wolim campaigns against the Brodan and Ts’dan peoples to the east. He rose to become a scout, working with the trained warhounds that cast fear into the lightly armed enemies of his mentors.

Dwar’s fascination with warcraft did not prevent him from seeking a more powerful means of exacting his revenge, and in S.A 1969 he entered an arcane school devoted to the ancient magical arts. Studying under the priest Embra Slil, Dwar became a Mage.

Dwar emerged as the Lord of Dogs in S.A. 1980. Surrounded by a small but capable contingent, he wrested the citadel of Alk Waw from the K’prur overseer, establishing a foothold on the remote peninsula in southeastern Waw. K’prur warriors besieged the hold, but packs of huge dogs roamed the surrounding woods and kept them at bay for over a year. Attempts to burn the forest failed, and a series of disquieting supernatural events sowed discord among the attackers. In S.A. 1982, Dwar ordered his fighters to break the siege and sent his warriors forth into battle. Operating in conjunction with nearly two thousand warhounds, they smashed the K’prur line and scattered the army that had occupied Waw for seventeen years. The island was reconquered within a month.

Unfortunately for the Wolim, Dwar established himself as the High-lord of their isle and refused to reconvene the Elder Councils. Waw became the Isle of Dogs, the domain of the Dog-king, and no one dared defy his harch edicts. Dwar tightened his control in the ensuing years, making Horm a monumental port and turning the southwestern forest into a preserve for his hounds.

In order to satiate his desire for power and vengeance, however, the Dog-king proclaimed that he was heir to all the surrounding islands and coastal realms, notably the peninsular kingdom of Hent to the north. His wrights constructed a fleet during the next year. Between S.A. 1985 and S.A. 1998, the Dod-warriors pillaged port towns and terrorised the coasts for hundreds of miles. All of the islands between Waw and the mainland – as well as the great Avar Elven isle of Cimoniemor to the south – were incorporated into Dwar’s Kingdom. The Lord of Dogs reached the height of his power and poised his minions for the assault on Hent.

Then, Dendra Dwar vanished. His soul consumed by greed and hatred, Dwar of Waw accepted the offer of immortality and took a Ring of Power from Sauron of Mordor. Although his armies conquered Hent and laid waste to its structures and populace alike, the Dog-king was nowhere to be seen. Dwar’s nephew, Dendra Swip, assumed the mantle of Lord of Dogs during the celebration of the victory his uncle had savoured most.

DWAR THE RINGWRAITH

Dwar remained in Waw, despite his apparent demise, for another two hundred and fifty two years. During this era, he manipulated the line of his heirs and ruled from the shadows while residing in the solitude of Alk Waw. The years brought unceasing wars, as the folk of the Isle of Dogs pursued continual campaigns of plunder and conquest. Peace came only after Dwar’s departure for Mordor in S.A. 2250.

From S.A. 2250 through S.A. 3262, Dwar lived at Barad-dur in the Black Land, where he bred the War-wolves of Mordor. The offspring of his labours haunted Endor for centuries to come, but the culmination of his work awaited a later day. When the Numenoreans of Ar-Pharazon captured Sauron, Dwar fled back to Waw.

The Dog-king went back to Mordor in S.A. 3320, a year after the Lord of the Rings escaped the Downfall of Numenor and returned to the Dark Tower. Dwar resumed his work, preparing for the ocoming struggle against the Dunadan successor states of Arnor and Gondor. The War of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men claimed the lives of the finest of Dwar’s foul hounds. Most perished at Dagorlad; others died in the defence of Mordor or were hunted by the Elves and Dunedain in the nearby hills. Dwar himself followed the fate of Sauron, so when Barad-dur fell and the Evil One lost the Ruling Ring, the Lord of Dogs passed with his Master into the Shadows.

THE THIRD AGE

Dwar reformed and reawakened in T.A. 1051. While briefly at the side of the Dark Lord in Dol Guldur, he flew east to Waw later the same year. There, he resided for the next five hundred and eighty nine years. Once again assuming his place as the ultimate power on Waw, the Dog-king incited his kinsmen to rebel against the extremely strong(but relatively benevolent) yoke of Lochas Drus. Settlers from the Isle of Dogs seized Cimoniemor in T.A. 1507 and Waw declared itself independent a hundred and ten years later. Ironically, Dendra Dwar II refounded the kingdom.

Sauron recalled Dwar to the West in T.A. 1640. His work done in the East, the Dog-lord went into Mordor with the other Ulairi and began to prepare the realm for the Evil One’s eventual re-emergence. Dwar remained in the Black Land, breeding horrible lines of War-dogs until T.A. 2000, when he participated in the Nazguls capture of Minas Morgul. He lodged in the captured capital of Ithilien until T.A. 2063.

The Dog-king followed Sauron eastward durin the Watchful Peace(T.A. 2063-2460). His expoits carried him across southeast Endor, where he continued his age old effort to subjugate the peoples of those rich lands. Contested by the Blue Wizards Alatar and Pallando, his success was somewhat mixed. When he departed for the West in T.A. 2941, much remained undone.

Dwar returned to Mordor when Sauron abandoned Dol Guldur and re-entered the Black Land. The Nazgul took a hold at Minas Morgul and joined the rebuilding of Barad-dur that began in T.A. 2951. When his work there ended, he returned to breeding wolves and hounds.

Dwar’s next task, like those of the other Ringwraiths, focused on recovering the Ruling Ring. He accompanied his fellow Black Riders into the Anduin Valley, through Rohan, and on into Eriador. When the group split along the roads through the lost kingdom of Cardolan, he went north with the Witch-king and four others through Andrath to Bree. Soon thereafter, Uvatha departed to join Khamul and the other Riders, but Dwar, the Witch-king, Akhorahil, Indur and Ren attacked the Company on Weathertop and succeeded in wounding Frodo. The Nazgul pursued the fleeing Ringbearer and his compatriots to the Bruinen Ford, but the enchanted floodwaters crushed their hopes. Dwar, the third to reach the river, felt the full force of the torrent and lost his dread steed.

The Dog-lord returned to Mordor and resumed the search for the One Ring during the coming months. Flying a Fell Beast, he engaged in the fruitless hunt until the eve of the attack on Gondor. Dwar then flew home to Mordor. Assigned to the main army that gathered at Udun, he missed the Battle of the Pelennor Fields that claimed the Lord of the Nazgul; however, he took part in the aerial fight above the Battle of Morannon, and the subsequent flight to intercept the Ringbearer on Mount Doom. The Lord of Dogs finally came to an end while en route to the Orodruin, for the breaking of the Ruling Ring unmade his own Ring of Power and robbed him of his only link to Ea.
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INDÛR DAWNDEATH (4th)

INDUR DAWNDEATH (JI AMAAV)

Indur Dawndeath was born Ji Indur in the city of Korlan in the year S.A. 1955. Heir to the fortune of the wealthiest oligarchic family in the Kiran republic of Koronande, he was the youngest man ever elected governor in any of the realm’s six districts. He later became a powerful representative to Koronande’s twelve member assembly. There, he lobbied for the creation of a central government which could contest the growing might of Numenor, for the young merchant lord feared the loss of his precious commercial interests in the region around the bay of Usakan. The Numenorean colony of Tanturak(founded cc. S.A. 1300 as Lond Hallacar) grew rapidly during the reign of Tar-Ciryatan, and ships once bound for Korlan began docking in the Adan port of Sarul. More importantly, though, warships started frequenting the bay and Ji Indur perceived a threat to his people’s independence.

Indur slowly accumulated support among the wealthy merchants and warriors of Koronande, as well as among many of the Elves of nearby Tauronde. Elven sentiments varied like those of the Kirani, but the majority feared that the growing Numenorean prejudice against the Eldar would eventually lead to war. With the support of key figures among his own people, and the tacit approval of the Kirani’s Firstborn allies, the young representative seized control of the assembly in S.A. 1977. Koronande became a kingdom the following year when the advisory council oligarchs that replaced the republican assembly elected him King of Korlan. Hundreds of freedom loving Kirani resisted the change, and civil rebellion racked the realm for the next twenty three years.

The arrival of the “Magician” in Tanturak in S.A. 2000 polarised support for Ji Indur and appeared to doom the rebel cause. Relations between the Adan colony and the Kirani reached the edge of war and, out of fear, the people of Koronande sought unity. Confident, the young monarch called for a great public celebration. His plan to gather popular support for an unpopular war and an illegal regime failed, though, when Korlan’s governor Loran Klien stood at the rostrum above the crowd and offered a return to republican rule. The Kirani spontaneously applauded the age old solution and rioting ensued. The self styled King of Koronande fled east to Mumakan.

Sauron’s agents had resided in the home of the Mumakil(Oliphaunts) since the mid eighteenth century, S.A., and Ji Indur’s cordial relations with the Dark Lord’s minions enabled him to find a refuge after his overthrow. The tall Kiran provided the Lord of the Rings an opportunity to further his sordid goals in the Far South, while Sauron offered the exiled King a new throne. This heinous act doomed the Mumakani. The Evil One gave Indur a Ring of Power in S.A. 2001, and later the same year the Ringwraith captured the throne of Mumakan on behalf of his evil mentor.

INDUR THE RINGWRAITH

Ji Indur was crowned Ji Amaav II of Mumakan. His people believed his arrival to be the second coming of the legendary first King – the God-lord Amaav – and the Nazgul had little trouble seizing control of the troubled nation. Ruling from the holy city of Amaru, Indur united the semi nomadic tribes and laid plans for further conquest. His reign lasted 1261 years, during which the Mumakani became a corrupt people that subjugated Gan, eastern Dushera, and most of the great southern archipelago.

Mumakan’s expansion to the west proved unsuccessful in the face of opposition from the Ardan Council and the inherent strength of the Elves, Numenorean, and Kirani that dominated the region. This situation led to the Ringwraith’s pact with the Magician of Tanturak in S.A. 3000. With Mumakani support, Tanturak threw off the yoke of Numenorean rule and declared itself and independent kingdom. Ar-Zimrathon of Numenor failed to crush the rebellion, so the sundering succeeded. A few months later, Tanturak and Koronande abdicated the treaty of peace, leaving the Kirani surrounded by hostile neighbours. The coming years proved dark, as the Kiran republic became a disarmed and exploited land. Only the uncertain jealousies lingering between Tanturak and Mumakan prevented its outright conquest.

Ar-Pharazon, the Golden king of Numenor, terminated Indur’s reign and ended the independence of Tanturak in S.A. 3262. His invasion of Endor brought most of Westernesse’s former holdings in Middle-earth back into the Adan fold and culminated in the capture of the Lord of the Rings. Mumakan became a Numenorean subject state, its empire shattered. Ji Indur retreated into the East.

Numenor perished in the Downfall of S.A. 3319, enabling the Evil One to escape home. The Nazgul went to Mordor upon Sauron’s return to Endor. For the remaining 121 years of the second age, Indur engaged in the struggle against the Last Alliance of Elves and Men but, like Sauron and the other Ulairi, the Shadow of the South passed into the shadows outside of Arda.

THE THIRD AGE

Indur returned to Middle-earth around T.A. 1050 and spent the next two centuries regaining his strength on the isle of E-Sorul Sare. His influence in Mumakan grew slowly, but by T.A.1250 his servants successfully manoeuvred the disarrayed tribes into a coalition commanded by his lieutenants. The loose union once again stirred the warlike Mumak-riders into an aggressive policy of expansion.

In T.A. 1264 Sauron ordered Indur to fly to the Citadel of Ardor and seek an “alliance” with the Elven Ardan Council, but the age old rivalry for control of the Far South persisted. Stalled by the evil group in Ardinaak, the Ringwraith considered the meeting an affront and counselled the Dark Lord to avenge the rebuke. Sauron preferred to wait, however, for without the Ruling Ring the Evil One regained his strength very slowly. Indur’s rivals received an uneasy peace that never sat well with the Ulair.

Under the “Magician’s” sway, Tanturak declared war on Koronande in T.A. 1365. The conflict raged for seven years, and the Kirani appeared to be on the edge of collapsing when the nations signed a treaty in T.A. 1372. Indur’s intervention saved the Kiran kingdom from defeat, but it began an era of Mumakani influence. This period was marked by the spate of ritualistic nocturnal assassinations that gave birth to Indur’s association with murder. Time after time, his enemies perished in their sleep, to be found at dawn – brutally executed.

Indur ruled Mumakan as Ji Amaav III from T.A. 1264 through 1640 and as Ji Amaav IV between T.A. 2460 and 2941. During the rest of the Third Age, he stayed in Mordor(1640-2000) or at Minas Morgul(2000-2460 and 2941-3019). He travelled with the Witch-king in search of the One Ring in T.A. 3018, encountering the Company on Weathertop and losing his mount at the confrontation at the Bruinen Ford. Later, he oversaw the preparations for the Mumakil assault during the ill fated campaign against Minas Tirith. His end came after the skirmish with the Great Eagles over the Battle of Morannon, for as Indur and the other Fell Riders flew to intercept the Hobbits at Mount Doom, they became engulfed in the destruction resulting from unmaking of the One Ring. Thus, the Shadow of the South disappeared from Ea.
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AKHÔRAHIL (5th)

Akhorahil, the second of the fallen Numenorean lords to fall under the enduring spell of Sauron’s Ruling Ring, was born at a manor overlooking the waters of Nisinen in Numenor is S.A. 1888. His father was Ciryamir, the third Friend of Tar-Ciryatan’s brother Ciryatir(making him a cousin of Murazor, the future Witch-king). An obviously brilliant young man, Akhorahil was spoiled at an early age, for his family enjoyed great wealth and reaped many of the benefits derived from Tar-Ciryatan’s aggressive overseas plundering.

Ciryamir was awarded the license to create and administer a Numenorean kingdom in Middle-earth on the very day his son reached the age of fifteen, and the next year(S.A. 1904) the family sailed east to the haven of Hyarn in southwest Endor. They landed at Midyears and journeyed up the river Aronduin to the newly-built citadel of Marath Carnadune(Q. “Tower of the Red Sunset;” S. “Barad Carannun”). There, Ciryamir founded the kingdom of Ciryatandor along the northern flank of the Ered Laranor(S. “Yellow Mountains;” Q. “Orolanari”), becoming a Client-king of Numenor.

Akhorahil loved the new land and reveled in the virtually absolute power his father wielded over the subject peoples of the area. Like most of Ciryamir’s Adan followers, he assumed himself to be superior and grew proud of his name – as if it were a title. The Friend of the Lord became rich in his own right and began to experiment with enchantments and incantations.

Unfortunately, the young man’s thirst for wealth and power spurred him to covet his father’s throne. Each year of waiting hurt more than the last. Then, in the year S.A. 1918, Akhorahil acted upon his desires. Signing a perverse pact with an aged Haradan priest, he exchanged his eyes for two great gems – the Eyes of the Well. These artefacts enabled him to cast deadly spells and to become the most powerful Sorceror in the realm. Akhorahil acquired control of his father’s mind and instilled such despair that King Ciryamir took his own life.

Physically blind, but capable of magically sensing things like a seeing man, Akhorahil ascended the throne of Ciryatandor on the first day of S.A. 1919. He proclaimed himself the Storm King and married his sister Akhoraphil within a week. Then, he levied a huge tax in order to placate the Numenorean court. Securely in control, the Blind Sorceror proceeded to arm his young kingdom and conquer the neighbouring lands along the southern edge of Far Harad: taking Chennacatt in S.A. 1929, Isra in S.A. 1933, and Kirmlesra in S.A. 1979. By S.A. 1999, his armies conquered Harshandat and claimed the western shores of the wide bay of Ormal.

The campaigns waged by Akhorahil’s captains incited the Lord of the Rings to move against Ciryatandor. A sage emissary journeyed south from Mordor, offering the Black Numenorean a wealth of knowledge regarding magic and bearing the unlikely promise of immortality. Excited, the Blind Sorceror agreed to ascribe to the Dark Lord’s secretive treaty, thereby betraying his own king Tar-Ciryatan. The pact between Ciryatandor and Mordor was sealed when Akhorahil accepted the Ring of Power from Sauron in S.A. 2000. Thus, the Storm King became the fifth Lord of Men to become a Nazgul.

AKHORAHIL THE RINGWRAITH

Akhorahil’s greed led to the quick transformation of his position in the court at Barad Carannun. Although he had always been considered bizarre, and while both his retainers and his immediate family feared him, the Storm King still interacted with his aides and household. This all changed after S.A. 2000.

Akhorahil became a virtual recluse and his wife eventually fled the kingdom with her children, taking them to the Numenorean haven at Elorna. A purge ensued, and the men closest to the Numenorean King perished alongside the courtiers that the Ring-wraith considered too bold or independent. New governors assumed control of Ciryatandor’s five provinces. Behind the scenes, Akhorahil directed the careful metamorphosis of his realm, staying wary of upsetting the Adan monarch in Numenor. Tribute continued to flow westward over the sea to Armenelos, and no open relations with Mordor occurred during the next two hundred and fifty years.

By S.A. 2250, the Storm King presided over a client kingdom that was ostensibly Dunadan but was in fact Black Numenorean. Akhorahil ruled a domain that stretched from the Great Sea(Belegaer) to the huge Bay of Ormal on behalf of the Lord of the Rings. These strategic lands straddled all routes across the Yellow Mountains and into southernmost Middle-earth. Sauron’s hopes of keeping the Men of the West out of Far Harad rested with his Wraith-servant, and preparations for the conquest of Harad the regions along the northern and east coasts of the Ormal Sea neared completion when Akhorahil declared himself independent of Numenor.

Tar-Atanamir the Great of Numenor died in S.A. 2221, the first King of Westernesse to pass without first relinquishing the sceptre. His death brought Tar-Ancalimon to the throne and fostered a renewal of the programs that Tar-Atanamir had abandoned during the infirm years preceding his demise. After reordering Numenor, the new King turned to his colonies in Endor and sought a reaffirmation of their loyalty. His special envoy to Ciryatandor arrived in the spring of S.A. 2250.

Akhorahil realised that Numenor’s desire for conquest remained unabated, and that Tar-Ancalimon planned to crush pretenders who sought to rule in his stead in the lands claimed by Numenor. The Nazgul ordered the Numenorean emissary held as a hostage and renounced his ties to his island birthplace. Ciryatandor became an official ally of the Black Land.

Tar-Ancalimon ransomed his messenger and proceeded to plan the reconquest of the territory held in thrall by the Storm King. In S.A. 2280, the same armada that reinforced Umbar brought a fleet that landed in Tulwang, only two hundred miles to the northwest of the Ring-wraith’s citadel. Akhorahil sent an army to contest the debarkment, but they arrived too late. Scouts reported the landfall and the Nazgul’s warlord ordered a retreat to the foothills of their kingdom. Unfortunately for Akhorahil’s host, the Numenorean’s force-marched and caught them in arid lowlands near the Oasis of Fult, The Men of the West crushed the Endorians, leaving Ciryatandor’s western borders virtually defenceless.

Akhorahil fled his kingdom and went north to join his master in Mordor before suffering the embarrassment of seeing his own capital razed. His flight ended the brief era of Ciryatandor’s independence and preserved the prospects for further Adan exploitation in Far Harad and the lands to the south.

Akhorahil oversaw Nurn in Mordor for the next nine hundred and eighty-one years. The slave-state served as the Black Land’s breadbasket and the Storm King exacted torment from any subject who threatened Sauron’s plans. His ruthless rule insured the supply of precious food for Sauron’s burgeoning armies. Vast herds of wild beasts fed the vast Orc hordes, while grain from the fields around Nurnen nourished the Men of Mordor.

Ar-Pharazon’s invasion in S.A. 3261 precluded the completion of Sauron’s armament, and the Evil One was forced to surrender in the face of superior Adan arms(S.A. 3262). The Evil One journeyed out of the Black Land in order to avert the destruction of his kingdom at the hands of the Numenorean invaders, enabling the Nazgul to flee into hiding. While Sauron went to Westernesse in bondage, the Ring-wraiths patiently awaited his return.

After the downfall of Numenor in S.A. 3319 and the reappearance of the Dark Lord in Middle-earth, Akhorahil returned to his castle of Luglurak on the southern shores of the Nurnen. He remained there until S.A. 3429, when he led the host of Nurn in the army that assailed Ithilien in Gondor. Although the invasion proved successful, the Last Alliance under Gil-galad and Elendil eventually crushed Mordor’s mightiest forces and laid siege to the Dark Tower. Barad-dur’s defences yielded in 3441, and both Sauron and his Nine Ring-wraiths passed into the Shadows as the Second Age ended.

THE THIRD AGE

Akhorahil took form again in Middle-earth around T.A. 1050, but for the next five hundred and ninety years he resided in the far south at Ny Chennacatt in the northern cliffs of the Yellow Mountains. Sauron called him north in T.A. 1640, and ordered the Storm-king to return to Nurn and quietly replenish the strength of the fief in anticipation of the Dark Lord’s reopening of Mordor. He joined four of his brethren and entered Gorgoroth later the same year. After slowly rebuilding the Dark Lord’s strongholds on the adjoining plateau of Nurn, the Blind Sorceror received a visit from the Witch-king in T.A. 1975.

The Lord of the Nazgul arrived in Mordor after the fall of his kingdom in Angmar earlier that year. He gathered the Ulairi and plotted the final moves required to secure their master’s home. During the next twenty-five years, they assembled their forces and laid the plans to surprise the Dunadan city of Minas Ithil.

The Fell Riders struck in T.A. 2000, startling the valiant Gondorian garrison but failing to take the city. A tow year siege ensued. Culminating with a tremendous melee before the shattered gates of the marble-walled town, the last battle claimed every remaining defender. Minas Ithil and it’s palantir fell into the hands of the Ring-wraiths in T.A. 2002, thereby ending any hold the south Kingdom retained over Mordor. From then onward, the moonlit city was called Minas Morgul.

Akhorahil stayed in Minas Morgul until the end of the Third Age. Although he frequently journeyed to both Luglurak in Nurn and Barad-dur in Gorgoroth, the Storm-king kept to the side of his captain, the Witch-king. Both fallen Numenorean Lords shared a similar past and enjoyed their special rapport. Each was a Sorceror; so it was only natural that they spent a great deal of time together. Finally, although only fifth in rank among the nine, Akhorahil became the Witch-kings most valued lieutenant.

In T.A. 3018, the Storm-king took part in the search for the Ruling Ring and eventually rode with the Witch-king to the borders of the elusive Shire in Eriador. The ultimately unsuccessful sojourn carried him through the Anduin Valley, past Isengard and the Gap of Rohan, and then through Tharbad and Andrath to the land called Suza. Akhorahil stayed close by the side of the Lord of Morgul throughout the search. He entered Bree and was one of the five Ulairi to encounter the Company on Weathertop. When the Nine rendezvoused in the Lone Lands and tried to cut off Frodo at the Ford of the Bruinen, Akhorahil and his black mount were the last to be drawn into the turbulent floodwaters summoned by Elrond.

The fight at the ford cost the Ring-wraith’s their horses but, more importantly, cost them valuable time. Forced to return to Minas Morgul, the Storm King would never again encounter the Ringbearer. The Nazgul retired and thereafter relied on their Fell Beasts for transport. Akhorahil and four other Black Riders continued the search for the One Ring from the sky, but others prepared Sauron’s warriors for the coming invasion into the Free Lands.

The Storm-king was one of the four Ulairi to take part in the epic battle of the Pelennor Fields, and there he saw his Lord perish in single combat with Eowyn of Rohan. After the ensuing defeat and retreat, Akhorahil flew to Udun and joined the other seven remaining Nazgul for the cataclysmic strike against the Army of the Free Peoples at Morannon. The Fell Riders attack out of the cloudy sky and the subsequent melee with the Great Eagles was cut short, however, for Sauron realised that his end was sealed unless the Ringwraiths could stop Frodo and Sam from casting the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom. All the eight surviving Nazgul flew southward, but they never arrived. The Ruling Ring, and all that was tied to it, perished in the wake of its fiery unmaking. Thus, Akhorahil passed out of Ea.
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HOARMÛRATH OF DÍR (6th)

Hoarmurath was born in the Forest of Dir in the land of Urd in S.A. 1954. His home, one of the northernmost settled domains in all of Endor, spawned a rugged race of hunters and trappers. Hoarmurath’s band spent much of their time roaming the southern flanks of the Iron Mountains(S. “Ered Engrin;” Q. “Orongreni”) and plying the vast, icy waters of the Sea of Illuin and the Bay of Utum(Utumno). His mother, Emurath of Uab, commanded the allegiance of most of the Urd clans, and served as the Matriarch of the Urdar until her death in the Umli Wars(S.A. 1962-75). Her daughter Amurath replaced her according to the Urd matriline, permitting Hoarmurath to become the Master of the Household. As brother of the queen and uncle of her heir, he enjoyed the highest status accorded a male of the Urdar.

Hoarmurath’s close relations to the Avar Elves to the south, however, influenced his views and set him on a course of rebellion against his family and Urd traditions. The Avari taught him much about magic and power, and opened the young Animist’s eyes to the ways of the rest of Middle-earth. In time, Hoarmurath quarrelled with his sister over the course of relations with the Umli and other neighbouring peoples. He preached war, hoping to extract valuable territory from the Myri and Angcla tribes. Amurath ordered her brother exiled, but he refused to leave. A struggle followed and Hoarmurath’s zealous retainers slew his sister.

Rather than face the penalty of death on the frozen sea, the Master of the Household proclaimed himself the first King of Urd. Supported by Avar warriors and a strong faction among the more warlike bands of Urdar, Hoarmurath of Dir crushed his opposition and ordered the slaughter or banishment of the Urd Priestesses. In S.A. 1992, he became the Lord of the Urdar.

Urd war-bands struck out into the surrounding lands during the next five years and, by S.A. 1997, Hoarmurath ruled much of the great wooded territory between the Northern Seas. Avari groups retained their dominion and extended their influence with the Ice King’s aid, but the union soon gave way to bitterness. Elven immortality and wealth haunted Hoarmurath, and the Urdar turned on their allies in S.A. 1999. Two great battles followed, but both resulted in Avar victories. Desperate, the King of Urd invited help from Sauron of Mordor.

The Lord of the Rings sent Khamul to the court of the Ice King in S.A. 2000. The Easterling – still fair-seeming and glowing with the power of his own Ring – approached his future compatriot with the gift of a Ring of Power and the prospect of eternal life. Enamoured of the Evil One’s offering, Hoarmurath accepted the Ring and fell under the sway of the Shadow. He became the sixth King of Men to become and Ulair.

HOARMURATH THE RINGWRAITH

Hoarmurath’s new prize invigorated him. Two years after Khamul’s visit, the Urdar were stronger than ever, and the Ice King led his army southward. The War in the Woods(S.A. 2002-2053) ended with an Avar retreat, leaving Hoarmurath with a vast kingdom. Styling himself Lord of the North, the reclusive Urd King savoured his successes and erected a strong royal government over the course of the next two centuries.

In S.A. 2250, Hoarmurath departed a cool, forested domain punctuated with stone citadels. His long reign as Sauron’s client established a new order in northeastern Endor. Once his kingdom and successor seemed sure, the Lord of the Rings called the Ringwraith to Mordor. The need to confront the growing might of Numenor outweighed any considerations the Dark Lord reserved for the North.

For the next one thousand and eleven years, Hoarmurath resided in Mordor beside the Evil One. The Ice King frequently visited his home to reorder the kingdom he had left behind, but the majority of his tasks centred on the Black Land in the West. He oversaw the construction of the defences surrounding Udun, including the gates of Mordor(the foundations of which were strengthened with the power of the Ruling Ring), and briefly lived in the citadel that the Dunedain razed to make way for Durthang. The Nazgul fled eastward, however, following Ar-Pharazon’s invasion in S.A. 3261 and Sauron’s surrender the next year. With the Lord of the Rings imprisoned on Numenor, the Ice King returned to Urd.

After the Downfall of Numenor and the Dark Lord’s return in S.A. 3319, Hoarmurath flew back to Mordor and participated in the campaigns waged by Sauron’s troops in Rhovanion. Later, he commanded the northern flank of the horde that invaded South Ithilien in 3429, but Barad-dur’s fall twelve years later ended his early life. Hoarmurath passed into the Shadows when the Lords of the Last Alliance entered the Dark Tower and overthrew Sauron at the end of the Second Age.

THE THIRD AGE

Hoarmurath returned to Middle-earth around T.A. 1050. Entering his ancient hold in the Forest of Dir, he slowly reassumed his strength and refounded his lost kingdom. For the next five hundred and ninety years, Urd tribes and subject peoples ravaged the North. Avar warriors contested the resurrected realm’s plans, but once again felt defeat. By T.A. 1640, the Kingdom of Urd was again strong and secure.

Gondor abandoned the Watch on Mordor after the Great Plague that ravaged northwest Endor in 1635-37. The retreat gave Sauron(who then resided at Dol Guldur in Rhovanion) the opportunity to send eight of the Nazgul(those other than the Witch-king, who stayed in Angmar) into the Black Land. Hoarmurath joined the other Ulairi in Mordor, where they quietly prepared the land for the return of the Lord of the Rings. The deserted Dunadan tower of Durthang served as the Ice King’s new lair.

All of the Nine gathered upon the return of the Witch-king to Mordor in T.A. 1975. Assembling for the surprise assault on Minas Ithil in T.A. 2000, they stormed the stronghold that served as the last bastion of Gondorian guardianship. A two year siege followed, but the marble fortress city finally fell. Ithilien’s capital became Minas Morgul, the Tower of Dark Sorcery, and served thereafter as the hold of the Ringwraiths. It’s prized palantir eventually went to Barad-dur.

The Lord of the Rings left his threatened fortress at Dol Guldur in T.A. 2941 and returned to Mordor. Ten years later, his minions began rebuilding the Dark Tower, and three of his Ringwraiths flew back to Dol Guldur to reopen the citadel. Hoarmurath stayed in Minas Morgul.

In mid T.A. 3018 the Ice King accompanied the horde that attacked Gondor’s defences along the Anduin at Osgiliath. Although the forces of the South Kingdom lost the ford that joined the districts of their abandoned capital, they fended off their assailants attempts to extend the war into Anorien. The battlelines stabilised and the Nazgul turned to their search for the One Ring.

Hoarmurath rode with the other eight Black Riders up the Nan Anduin in hope of finding the Shire, they turned south, skirted Lorien, and rode through Rohan and past Isengard into Eriador. Their search took them up the Greenway to Tharbad and beyond to the crossroads in old Cardolan that served as the junction with the road to the land of the Hobbits. There, Hoarmurath, Adunaphel and Khamul split from the others and rode towards the Stone Ford. As the three headed into the Shire’s South Farthing and on to the Sackville, the Witch-king and the other Riders went directly north towards Andrath and Bree.

Hoarmurath and his companions nearly captured the Halflings as they travelled through the Green Hill Country. Khamul’s acute sense of smell almost uncovered Frodo’s hiding place below the road, but the Hobbits escaped into Woody End in Tookland. Although Hoarmurath and his companions tracked them through Buckland(where they entered the Bolger yard in Crickhollow), the three Black Riders did not see the lucky Halflings again until the challenge at the Bruinen Ford.

Hoarmurath and the other two Nazgul met Uvatha on the Great East Road beyond Bree, and joined the other five Ringwraiths in En Eredoriath(s. “The Lone Lands”). Running their prey down at the Bruinen Ford just west of Rivendell, the Ulairi – including Hoarmurath – found themselves engulfed in the magically summoned floodwaters that Elrond used to cover the Hobbit’ flight.

After the disaster at the Bruinen Ford, Hoarmurath returned to Minas Morgul, mounted a Fell Beast, and briefly resumed the search for the Ring while Sauron’s armies prepared for the assault on Minas Tirith. The attack against the Gondorian capital stalled when the Witch-king died on the Pelennor fields and Aragorn II led the Army of the Dead in a charge that broke the Mordorean horde. Hoarmurath fled homeward with the other Fell Riders that participated in the onslaught. A more climactic battle occurred less than two weeks later, as the Army of the Free Peoples assembled on the arid slag-plain before Morannon. There, the eight Nazgul briefly engaged the Great Eagles above the chaotic conflagration but, at the height of the duel, Hoarmurath and others turned away to follow the Dark Lord’s orders. Flying to stop Frodo and Sam from destroying the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, the Ringwraiths broke off the attack. Their Lord’s fears proved true, though, and their desperate journey ended before they reached their goal. With the Ruling Ring’s destruction, Hoarmurath and his brethren passed out of Ea.
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ADÛNAPHEL (7th)

ADUNAPHEL THE QUIET

Adunaphel was born in her uncle Adunazils home(Bar Forowing) on Numenors North Cape in Forostar in the year S.A 1823. Her family possessed noble blood and owned extensive lands in Forostar and Orrostar. Even as a young child, she was recognised as being exceptionally beautiful, but her youth was scarred by the death of her very old father(Adunahil) and she dwelled in remorse for many years. She fought with her unstable mother Alcariel, whose ties with the Eldar had disturbed her father and had been the source of marital strife. Aduaphels despair over her father’s death and the blame she attributed to her mother contributed to her fervent support of her uncle’s small “Adunaic” faction in the court of Tar-Ciryatan(r. S.A 1869-2029).

Like Adunazil and his ally Prince Tindomul(Er-Murazor, the future Witch King), Adunaphel sought to sever Westernesse’s close ties with the Elves, in hope that the Edain could build along their own cultural line and expand their military and economic strength. Her ultimate hope, of course, was to see Numenorean dominion over all Men. This aim drove her to leave Numenor in S.A. 1914.

Adunaphel sought her own crown, but no such opportunity existed in her homeland. She followed the course of many of her royal allies and went to Middle-earth. Landing with her retainers at the haven of Umbar, then a small Numenorean anchorage, she settled at Vamag(Har. “Blood Fell”) on the northwestern tip of the great peninsula. There, she erected a citadel that became the focus of her expanding domain.

By S.A. 1939, Adunaphel overtly controlled much of Endor’s coastal lands between Umbar and the river Harnen, while her agents in Umbar manipulated the growing trade center and the territory to the south. The Lord of Vamag became a major influence among the Haradrim as well, her power and rapacious nature overwhelming the primitive Haradan fishermen and nomads. To them, Adunaphel was King. She ruled much of western Near Harad as Ard the Vain, preparing for the eventual conquest of Umbar and Far Harad. All seemed well to the Lady of the West.

Tar-Ciryatan of Numenor was a proud King, however, and in S.A. 1987 he demanded that Adunaphel pay him both homage and taxes. He ordered her to remove her warriors from Umbar and to submit to Numenorean rule. This edict drove Adunaphel into a rage and she refused to abide by the harsh terms issued from Armenelos. Instead, she sent envoys to Armenelos in hope of reaching a compromise. For the next fourteen years Adunaphel and her overlord engaged in diplomatic sparring and quiet intrigue, all the while recognising Numenor’s supremacy.

Sauron of Mordor saw the dispute as an opportunity to achieve two goals: first, the defeat of a rival for Haradan favour; and secondly, a means of delaying the expansion of a much more potent potential enemy. Sauron’s minions fought a number of small wars with Adunaphel for control of Near Harad, and the Dark Lord hoped to seize the initiative in the region. More importantly, the Lord of the Rings desired a delay in Tar-Ciryatan’s planned expansion around the strategic firth of Umbar. Only Numenor rivalled Mordor for control over the realms of the Secondborn and, after Sauron’s defeat in Eriador in S.A. 1700, the Evil One required a great deal of time to rebuild his shattered strength. The Dark Lord saw in Tar-Ciryatan what he had long feared – a prideful and hungry Adan monarch bent on taking Middle-earth.

Sauron’s agents, including a pair of Adunaphel’s captains, kept him well informed about the Lady of the West. He learned of her vanity and her hatred of the Eldar and discerned her yearning for immortality, so in S.A. 2001 he approached her with the gift of a Ring of Power and the prospect of eternal life. Reviled by her own King and desirous of the gifts offered by the Dark Lord, Adunaphel accepted the Ring and fell under the sway of the Shadow. She became the seventh King(Ruling Queen) of Men to become a Nazgul.

ADUNAPHEL THE RINGWRAITH

Adunaphel remained at Vamag for nearly three hundred years after becoming a Ringwraith, and it was during this relatively brief period that she becam known amongst the Haradrim as Ard Once Vain. Her Black Numenorean subjects called her Adunaphel the Quiet. While she had once boldly displayed her beauty and strength, the fallen Numenorean lord cloaked herself behind a suit of black armour, never showing her face and never appearing during daylight hours. The woman that claimed kingship over muc of Near Harad retreated into seclusion and dealt with both friends and foes through selected minions. Mornings at Vamag no longer rang with the pleasant call from her melodious lute.

In early S.A. 2280, Adunaphel, ruling as Ard, ordered the tribes of her realm to assail Umbar(then a royal haven of Tar-Atanamir). Although she counted few Numenorean warriors in her fold, the Wraith’s army outnumbered the proud defenders. Quality prevailed, though, when Adunaphels forces fell into a trap in the narrow defile at Cirith Glingalas. The well-disciplined Dunedain broke the lightly-armed Haradrim with spear volleys and turned the ensuing melee into a rout. Adunaphel’s superior cavalry proved of little use.

The Dagor-i-Glingalas(“Battle of the Gleaming Shore”) effectively ended Adunaphel’s hope of ruling Harad. Two weeks after the fray, she abandoned Vamag and moved northward, leaving the great peninsula to her enemy. King Tar-Atanamir(r. S.A. 2029-2221) ordered Umbar strengthened and expanded, making it the greatest citadel in the region.

For the next nine hundred and eighty-one years, Adunaphel ruled the arid reaches of central Near Harad on behalf of Sauron. She established her new hold and capital at Lugarlur on the south bank of the Harnen, about four hundred miles from Mordor. The Kingdom of Ard lasted until Ar-Pharazon’s invasion(S.A. 3261) and the surrender of the Dark Lord(S.A. 3262) before the might of Numenor. With the defeat of her mentor, she retreated into the Black Land.

After the downfall of Numenor and the return of the Lord of the Rings in S.A. 3319, Adunaphel directed the campaigns waged by Sauron’s troops in Harondor and Near Harad, and she commanded the southern flank of the horde that invaded South Ithilien in 3429. Her fate however, was tied to her Evil Master’s, and she passed into the Shadows when Barad-dur was broken and Sauron was overthrown at the end of the Second Age.

THE THIRD AGE

Adunaphel returned to Endor around T.A. 1050 and entered her ruined home at Lugarlur just after the armies of Hyarmendacil I of Gondor conquered Harad. The removal of Gondorian strength from the Southland occupied the Ulair for the next five hundred and ninety years. From her base in the upper Harnen valley, Adunaphel slowly reasserted her power in Near Harad and coerced and misled the Haradrim to rebel. Her machinations were interrupted by the Corsair takeover of Umbar in T.A. 1448, but by 1634 even they unwittingly pursued her goals. In that year, Corsair raiders slew the Gondorian King(Minardil).

The Great Plague that ravaged northwest Endor in 1635-37 weakened Gondor and led to the abandonment of the Watch on Mordor. Sauron, residing in Dol Guldur in Rhovanion, sent Adunaphel and the other Nazgul(except the Witch-king in Angmar) into his ancient kingdom so that they could surreptitiously prepare the land for his return. Adunaphel, like Uvatha and Akhorahil, went to Nurn, in the south of the Black Land.

With the arrival of the Witch-king in Mordor(T.A. 1975) the Ulairi gathered for the attack on the stronghold that served as the last vestige of Gondor’s guardianship over the Black Land. The surprise assault through Cirith Ungol in T.A. 2000 and the subsequent two year besiegement of Minas Ithil ended with the taking of the fortress city that served as Ithilien’s capital and housed one of the prized Seeing-stones. Renamed Minas Morgul, the marble-shrouded town became the new home of the Ringwraiths.

In T.A. 2941, Sauron came home to the Dark Tower, leaving his threatened hold at Dol Guldur in Rhovanion. Ten years later, however, he felt that the Tower of Sorcery was once again safe. Leaving six of the Nazgul at Minas Morgul, he commanded Khamul the Easterling and Adunaphel to fly north and reopen the fortress in Mirkwood. Uvatha the the Messenger served as the link between the two Ulairi and their Lord in Mordor. Adunaphel’s return to Dol Guldur in T.A. 2951 marked her last permanent move, for she resided at the Tower of Sorcery until her demise.

In T.A 3018, the fallen Lady rode into the Anduin valley, Rohan, and then Eriador during the Black Rider’s search for the Shire and the One Ring. Her journey took her past Isengard and through Tharbad across the Stone Ford, and into the land of the Hobbits. Riding with Khamul and Hoarmurath into the Bolger enclave at Crickhollow, only to be turned to flight by the horns of the Bucklanders. Joining Uvatha on the road to the east of Bree, the group rejoined their brethren(who had assailed the company on Weathertop) in the Lone Lands beyond the Weather Hills. The Rider’s pursuit culminated at the Ford of the Bruinen, where Elven magic and the valour of Glorfindel enabled the wounded Ringbearer to escape. The skirmish by the riverside ended when the floodwaters claimed the Nazgul’s horses. Like those of her brethren, Adunaphel’s steed perished in the foam summoned by Elrond.

During the months that followed, the Quiet Wraith resumed her residence at Dol Guldur and prepared for the attacks against the Elven Kingdoms in Lorien and northern Mirkwood. Adunaphel led part of the army of Orcs that assailed Galadriel’s realm across the Anduin, but her assault proved futile. Her retreating horde fled south into the Wold, where they were destroyed by the Ents. The Nazgul went north, joining Khamul’s host and the onslaught against Thranduil’s woodland domain. Once again, the forces of Darkness lost the day, compelling Adunaphel to retire. Events at Pelennor Fields and in North Ithilien forced her recall to Mordor.

The Witch-king died before the gates of Minas Tirith, so only eight Nazgul engaged the army of the Free Peoples at the Battle of Morannon. Attacking atop Fell Beasts only ten days after Adunaphel’s return, the Ringwraiths duelled the Great Eagles above the raging battle before the Gates of Mordor. Their melee invoked images of the great skyborn warriors of the Elder Days, but the fight was short. As Frodo, Sam, and Gollum stood upon Mount Doom and threatened the destruction of the Ruling Ring, the Dark Lord sent his Nazgul into a wild flight southward, hoping that they could stay the loss of the One Ring. The Ulairi failed, and Adunaphel passed out of Ea.
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REN THE UNCLEAN (8th)

Ren the Unclean was born in Ulk Jey Ama in the eastern Ered Harmal in S.A. 1969. The son of Sen Jey the Illusion-weaver, he grew up near Heb Aaraan, amidst the enchanters who taught beside the magical Springs of Fog. His apprenticeship ended in S.A 1987, when the eighteen year old Illusionist went east to visit his uncle Ul Fen Jey, a lord who held sway over the Ahar of the Numahar River vales. There, near the legendary Grass Tombs, Ren met the woman he married in S.A. 1992, Elyen.

Ren and Elyen returned to Ulk Jey Ama in S.A. 1994. Raising two children – a son Fen and a daughter Fyen – they remained in the cool mountain town for four years. The Illusionist composed a tome of enchantments while his wife raised horses and sheep and mastered the Chey’s favourite instrument, the multi-chambered drum.

This idyllic repose ended in S.A. 1998, when the worst of many plagues swept through the central plains and struck the Jey households. Overwhelmed by fever, Ren barely survived the year. He prevailed, though, and briefly returned to his work. All seemed well, for the Illusionist was ostensibly healed.

Sadly, the illness twisted Ren’s mind, instilling him with delusions that slowly eroded his sanity. He began to fancy himself as superior to other Men, and spoke of himself as the Fire King – the son of the exalted Volcano, Ulk Chey Sart(Ch. “Home of the Chey Nation”), that stood in the centre of the southern Chey plateau. Horrified, Elyen attempted to restore her husband’s mind and sought the aid of healers from lands as far away as Rycolis and western Khand.

Ren’s lucidity eventually disappeared and the Illusionist left home on a pilgrimage to his purported mountain home. He gathered a cult of followers throughout the winter of S.A. 1999-2000 and declared himself Overlord of the Chey. As Fire King, he plunged into a campaign of ruthless subjugation that played on the themes of nationalism, prosperity and terror. Variag and Nuriag warlords who held sway over the northern Chey territories fled as the tribes quickly fell under Ren’s control. By the end of S.A. 2000, the Illusionist was truly King of the Chey.

Sauron of Mordor watched Ren’s march across Chey Sart and saw great potential in the insane enchanter. He sent his agents to the Fire King’s refuge at Ulk Chey Sart, offering greater prospects for conquest, wealth and power. Ren agreed to a coalition and exchanged gifts. In S.A. 2001, the Illusionist accepted a Ring of Power from the Dark Lord and became the eighth of the immortal Nazgul.

REN THE NAZGUL

The transition that gripped the Chey brought terrible forces to the forefront of their society, since many of the superstitious herders embraced the religious fervour that elevated Ren to the throne. Unbelievers(the so-called “Unclean”) died in countless purges and many, including Ren’s family, had once been close to the Fire King. The Jey clan suffered dearly, for the Illusionist refused to protect those who resisted his quest. Between S.A. 2001 and 2102, the already weakened population of the thirty six tribes fell in number by a full third. Their count stood at half of what it had been before the plague of S.A. 1998.

Once secure as master of Chey Sart, Ren pursued the goals that most pleased the Lord of Rings. Attacking to the northeast and south, the Fire King’s mounted warriors overran the lands of Dalpygis, part of Khargagis Ahar, Heb Aaraan and Orgothraath in the First Chey Expansion(S.A. 2155-2693). Ren built an empire rooted in the Shadow, establishing an elaborate system of horse-roads and garrison holds in order to insure the consolidation of his conquests. Then came the Second Chey Expansion(S.A. 2899-3261), when the kingdom of Chey Sart grew to its height. Vaag, Acaana and western Gaathgykarakan fell in the first few decades, and Ren’s armies turned northward to concentrate on the incorporation of the Kargagis Ahar and the rich territory of Rycolis. These wars raged for two centuries, until the Variags of Uvatha joined the Chey and turned the tide of resistance. Ren was at the apogee of his career when Ar-Pharazon of Numenor landed with his Adan army at Umbar and captured Sauron.

During the Dark Lord’s imprisonment in Numenor, the Illusionist remained at Ulk Chey Sart but, after the Akallabeth of Westernesse, the Ringwraith left his domain and joined his Master in Mordor. Ren stayed in the Black Land throughout the War of the Last Alliance(S.A. 3429-3441), fighting on behalf of the Evil One in Ithilien(S.A. 3429) and at the great battle of Dagorlad(S.A. 3434). This period marked the last portion of the early years of the Fire King’s glory. When Barad-dur fell after the seven year siege and Sauron fell before Isildur, his One Ring cut from his evil hand, Ren and the other Ulairi passed into the shadows outside Arda. The Illusionist did not return to Middle-earth until T.A. 1050.

THE THIRD AGE

After his long exile, the Dark Lord stirred again and resurfaced in Endor around T.A. 1000. He summoned his Black servants from his covert throne in Dol Guldur fifty years later. Like his brethren, the Illusionist re-entered Middle-earth, arriving at his old volcanic hold of Ulk Chey Sart. There, he began rebuilding his strength and plotting a renewal of the Chey Kingdom. Ren expanded his lair into a great underground citadel and laid the foundations for his future capital on the wide ledges surrounding the fiery mountain. He marshalled an army of disenchanted Chey warriors and began subjugating the neighbouring tribes in T.A. 1235, all the while concealing his identity behind his guise as the “Fire King”.

Ren unified the six major tribal groupings in T.A. 1264. As Al Chey Sart, he ruled his kin through 1640 and again between T.A. 2062 and 2941. These eras constituted periods of relative prosperity for the thirty-six Chey tribes, for they frequently extended their rule into the grasslands of the Kargagis Ahar and they avoided the oppressive spectre of Variag or Nuriag dominance that haunted them during other times.

The Fire King stayed in Mordor(1640-2000) or at Minas Morgul(2000-2063 and 2941-3019) throughout the other years of the Third Age. Ren rode with the Witch-king on the search for the Ruling Ring in T.A. 3018, and was one of the five Ringwraiths to assail the company on Weathertop. Later, he was swept away in the magical flood that determined the skirmish at the Bruinen Ford.

During the last part of the War of the Ring, the Fire King helped organise Mordor’s main army. Ren stayed at Barad-dur while the Lord of Morgul led the grand but doomed assault against Minas Tirith. Following the routs at Pelennor Fields, at Lorien and in northern Mirkwood, he joined the remaining seven Nazgul for the aerial attack at the Battle of Morannon, where the Ulairi fought the Great Eagles. In the end, however, Ren the Unclean perished with the Dark Lord and the other Fell Riders in the wake of the cataclysmic unmaking of Sauron’s One Ring.
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CDavis7M
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ÛVATHA THE HORSEMAN (9th)

Uvatha the Horseman, the Ninth and most undisciplined of Sauron’s Ringwraiths, was born in the caves of Olbamarl as Uvathar Achef in S.A. 1970. His father Kionid Achef was an exiled Variag Prince from Laorki in eastern Khand. The young warrior shared the pain and uncertainty of his family’s continual flight, and the nomadic life that he led throughout his early years hardened him for the trials to come. Uvatha rode a horse earlier than any Variag thought possible, and he killed a man before he reached the age of seven. When he was nearing the age of eighteen in S.A. 1988, he led the light cavalry wing of his father’s rebel army at the battle of Noz Peka(V. “Knife River”), where his gallant charge against the Variag King’s Guard decided the war that restored his family to the throne of Upper Khand.

Kionid Achef died at Knife River, so his brother Mionid took the second most powerful throne among the Variags. Kionids son, in keeping with Variag tradition, was ordered executed; but young Uvatha escaped and rode westward to Sturlurtsa Khand, the capital of Lower Khand. There, the Horseman earned his nickname and garnered the support of King Urig Urpof, the Lord of two thirds of the Variag people. He was appointed Warlord of the main army of Lower Khand in S.A. 1999 and deposed the Urpof Dynasty the following year. Turning on his uncle’s domain, he crushed the horse-warriors of Upper Khand in S.A. 2000, uniting Khand for the first time in recorded history. Two years later he accepted a Ring of Power as a gift from the King of Mordor, becoming the ninth of the nine Wraith-kings in the service of the Lord of the Rings.

UVATHA THE NAZGUL

Mordor was always an important ally of Khand, and the Dark Lord knew the Variags quite well. His evil influence perverted their already brutal culture well before the rise of Uvatha. After the unification of Khand under the Horseman, though, the harsh Variags became one of Sauron’s most useful and most heinous tools of conquest. They assured the security of Nurn’s open eastern border and decimated the peoples that threatened Adunaphel’s rise in Near Harad. For the next twelve hundred and sixty years, Uvatha’s people preyed on their neighbours and extended the Shadow to the south and north of their plateau kingdom. Variags controlled the trade along the Ered Harmal, and vied with the powerful Numenoreans for the hearts of Harad’s Merchant princes.

In S.A. 3259, the Horseman led his main battle army across Relmether and over the Talathrant. For the next two years, the Variags fought beside the Chey warriors of the Ulair Ren the Unclean, leading to the Chey conquest of the Khargagis Ahar. Uvatha’s warriors received half of the booty exacted from the defeated Ahar and then returned home to Khand. Just as they arrived, however, the first armada of the Numenorean King Ar-Pharazon arrived at Umbar. Their invasion and the subsequent overwhelming show of Adan arms led to the surrender of Sauron of Mordor a year later(S.A. 3262). As the Lord of the Rings resided as a captive on the island continent of Numenor, the Variag King hid from the forces of Westernesse in his secretive hold at Olbamarl in the mountains of northern Khand.

The Dark Lord resumed his reign in Mordor in S.A. 3319 after the Downfall of Numenor. Uvatha came out of hiding and went into the Dark Land in order to serve his Evil Master. Acting as Sauron’s Messenger, the Horseman participated in the campaigns waged by Sauron’s troops in Rhovanion and Ithilien beginning in S.A. 3429. Uvatha was at the Dark Tower in S.A. 3434 when it was besieged by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, and he passed into the Shadows when Barad-dur fell and Sauron lost his Ruling Ring at the end of the Second Age(S.A. 3441).

THE THIRD AGE

Uvatha reappeared in Middle-earth around T.A. 1050, returning to his old abode at Olbamarl in the southwesternmost spur of the Ephel Duath. Fifty years later, he crowned himself King of the Variags while he stood over the bloody body of his predecessor Uonid Irbo. A five hundred and forty year(T.A. 1100-1640) reign of terror followed, as Uvatha unleashed the unforgiving Variag tribes on the unfortunate lands to the south and north. The Empire of the Kingdom of Khand expanded rapidly across northeastern Harad and southern Rhun, and gradually extended to the western banks of the great river Talathrant and the southern shores of the Sea of Rhun. Tribute came to the Court of Uvatha from the Nuriags of Nurad and the Asdriags of eastern Rhun, the Variags closest kin. Only the presence of two other Ulair kingdoms – the domains of Adunaphel of Near Harad and Ren of Chey Sart – prevented the Lord of Khand from laying claim to all of central Middle-earth.

Uvatha administered his holdings through a loose but ruthless system of patronage, and his departure from Sturlurtsa Khand in T.A. 1640 marked a steady decline in Variag fortunes that lasted until his return in T.A. 1854. While the Variag King joined seven other Ringwraiths and laid the foundations for Sauron’s re-emergence in Mordor, his own minions began carving out their own fiefs. Peace settled over the Kingdom of Khand and the subject peoples gradually broke away from the Variag yoke.

The erosion of Variag power incensed Uvatha and worried the Lord of the Rings, so the Horseman rode back to Khand and resumed his rule. This act set the Evil One’s plan in motion, for it served as the catalyst that stirred the chain of events resulting in the first Easterling migration into Rhovanion. Uvatha quickly re-ordered his elite retainers, crushed the local Lords who appeared self-serving, reassembled his cavalry army, and began a vicious campaign of reconquest.

The Nuriags became the first victims of his vengeful wrath and, as they retreated northward into Rhun to escape their more powerful cousins, the relatively brutal tribes of Nurad drove the peoples they encountered westward. Asdriag groups migrated across the Talath Harroch(S. “South Horse Plain”) of southern Rhovanion, while the Sagath and Logath confederations moved west along the shores of the Inland Sea. The latter migrated in great wagons and came to be known by the Northmen and Gondorians as the Wainriders. Pushing into Rhovanion, they battled the Kingdom of Gondor and its Northman allies for forty three years(T.A. 1856-99) before facing the Dunedain across the Anduin. Sauron’s plot to destroy Gondor’s hold on Rhovanion succeeded brilliantly, without betraying the presence of the Lord of the Rings.

Uvatha returned to Mordor in T.A. 1940, creating turmoil in Khand. Unfortunately for the Variags, his departure from his homeland coincided with a new threat from the East. A collection of fierce Igath tribes, the easternmost of the Wainrider confederations, pushed through the Gap of Khand in search of new pastures. This set the stage for the rise of Ovathar Achef(Ovatha I). A descendant of Uvatha, Ovatha laid claim to the Variag throne by solving the dilemma presented by the multitudinous Igath. He rode east and met with Avas III, the High-chieftain of the Wainriders, offering them free passage through Khand in exchange for peace. The Igath balked, citing the difficulties he would encounter if he were forced to face Gondor alone. Ovatha then proposed an alliance between the two nations and the neighbouring Haradrim. The Igath, Haradrim and Variags marched together towards Ithilien in T.A. 1944, hoping to crush the South Kingdom, while the Gondorians faced the threat of another Wainrider army in the north. It was a brilliant plan, but the undisciplined horde led by Avas and Ovatha was defeated by Gondor’s Southern Army. The tactical mastery of Earnil II prevailed, ending the threat created by Ovatha’s diplomacy.

In T.A. 2000, Uvatha joined the other Nazgul for the surprise attack on Minas Ithil. The Horseman remained for the two year siege that followed, but he returned to Khand when the marble fortress finally fell. His arrival home in T.A. 2003 marked the beginning of his last reign as King of the Variags.

Threatened by the White Council, Sauron left his fortress at Dol Guldur in T.A. 2941 and slipped back into Mordor. He made his presence known ten years later, when he announced himself as the King of Men and ordered the rebuilding of Barad-dur. As the stones began rising from the magical foundation of the Dark Tower in T.A. 2951, Uvatha and two other Ringwraiths(Khamul and Adunaphel) flew back to Dol Guldur and reopened the citadel.

The Horseman served and Sauron’s best link to the Hill of Sorcery, and he made frequent journeys to both Barad-dur and Minas Morgul. For the next sixty seven years, Uvatha acted as a tireless courier carrying message between Khamul, the Witch-king and the Lord of the Rings. This permitted the Dark Lord to plan the buildup of the two armies he assembled outside of Gorgoroth(those of Dol Guldur and Minas Morgul). Both of these forces attacked the Free peoples in mid T.A. 3018, beginning the War of the Ring. Khamul commanded the forces based in Mirkwood and gave the Variag King a command in the abortive strike against Thranduil’s Elven realm in northern Mirkwood.

Following his defeat, Uvatha rode with Khamul and Adunaphel south during their search for the One Ring. The Black Riders travelled into the Nan Anduin, where they joined the Witch-king and other five Ulairi on the quest to find the Shire. First they looked near the Gladden fields, but then they turned south, skirted Lorien and rode through Rohan and past Isengard into Eriador. Their sojourn carried them through Tharbad on the Gwathlo and into old Cardolan. Splitting at the junction with the road to the land of the Hobbits, three Nazgul(Hoarmurath, Adunaphel and Khamul) rode toward the Stone Ford; the Witchking and the other Riders went north through Andrath and onto Bree. Uvatha travelled with the main group, but broke away near Bree in order to deliver the Black Captain’s orders to Khamul and the other two Nazgul that chased the Hobbits east through the Green Hill country and Buckland.

After the Variag King rendezvoused with the Easterling’s party on the Great East Road beyond Bree, he rode with the three Ringwraiths to En Eredoriath(S. “The Lone Lands”), where they met their five brethren. Riding the Hobbits down at the Bruinen Ford near Rivendell, the nine Wraith-kings found themselves engulfed in the magical floodwaters that Elrond summoned to safeguard the Hobbits’ flight. Uvatha, the fastest and most impetuous of the Nine, was almost to the east bank when he was swept away in the torrent.

Uvatha returned to Dol Guldur after the embarrassing defeat at the Bruinen Ford. There, he mounted a Fell Beast and resumed his role as the Evil One’s messenger. His subsequent flights insured the coordination of the Nazguls’ search for the Ring and the simultaneous mobilisation of Sauron’s three principal armies. Uvatha flew south to Mordor for the last time as Khamul and Adunaphel led their two columns out of Dol Guldur, beneath the dark canopy of Mirkwood.

The Horseman arrived at the Dark Tower as the Witch-king began the assault on Minas Tirith and he remained with Sauron until the opening of the Battle of Morannon. He then flew as one of the eight Nazgul that fought the Great Eagles above the parched battle plain where the vast Host of Mordor engulfed the army of the Free Peoples. His fate was not decided at Morannon, however, for Uvatha and the other Ringwraiths broke off the engagement in order to stop Frodo and Sam from destroying the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom. Flying south toward the Orodruin when the One Ring was unmade, the Variag King perished with his compatriots in the epic cataclysm that ended Sauron’s presence in Ea.
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CDavis7M
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Not a Ringwraith, but still worthy of this thread.

MOUTH OF SAURON

The Mouth of Sauron was the Dark Lord’s special aide and his most powerful mortal servant. Although not magically immortal like the Ringwraiths, the Mouth lived far beyond his natural lifespan. As it states in LOTRIII, p.202:

“this was no Ringwraith but a living man. The Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dur he was and his name is remembered in no tale; for he himself had forgotten it and he was a renegade, who came of the race of those that are named the Black Numenoreans; for they established their dwellings in Middle-earth during the years of Sauron’s domination and they worshipped him, being enamoured of evil knowledge. And he entered the service of the Dark Tower when it first rose again and because of his cunning he grew ever higher in the Lord’s favour and he learned great sorcery and he knew much of the mind of Sauron and he was more cruel than any Orc.”

The Mouth was in his prime when he entered Sauron’s service in S.A. 3320, after the Downfall of Numenor and Sauron’s return to Mordor. Afterwards, he slowed the aging process, using his sorcerous skills to artificially prolong his life without suffering any noticeable side effects. His memory, however, remained like that of any other Man and was limited in what it could retain. In the course of his thirty-four hundred and thirty-nine year life, the Mouth of Sauron forgot more than any Man could learn in four normal lifetimes. Thus, he even came to forget his name and origin, for they were not essential to his plans.

As the Lieutenant of Barad-dur, the Mouth was left in charge of all operations of the sprawling fortress city, including the garrison placement, defenses and supervision of the ‘guests’. A sadistic and twisted being, the Mouth delighted in torture and relished the thought of tormenting the Hobbits once they were caught.

Surpassed in rank only by the Lord of the Nazgul himself, the Mouth was close to Sauron’s counsels and the Evil One promised his lieutenant a domain including all the Western lands, knowing that Saruman in Isengard was unsuitable. The dreams embraced by the Louth of Sauron came to naught, however, as the destruction of the Ruling Ring brought to ruin all of his subtle plans and devices.
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It's a little tangential to your posts, but when I was showing my brother my MECCG cards, he observed that the ringwraiths had the same names as the ones in the roguelike game Angband. I guess Angband also drew from ICE's lore. Here are their names in the game:

Uvatha the Horseman
Adunaphel the Quiet
Akhorahil the Blind
Ren the Unclean
Ji Indur Dawndeath
Dwar, Dog Lord of Waw
Hoarmurath of Dir
Khamul the Easterling
Murazor, the Witch-King of Angmar

"Rogrog the Black Troll" and "Itangast the Fire Drake" also appear as a uniques in that game - more names drawn from MERP.
Middle Earth and other CCG unboxings, booster openings, and guides: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCCGCollector
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CDavis7M
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That's interesting. ICE lent their lore to other games as well, similar to what you wrote. There is the turn-based wargame called "Middle earth Play By Mail" which is actually still running today under license, though they prefer it if you don't mail your turn-orders to them anymore unless by email.

In MEPBM:
Uvatha is the Long Rider
Adunaphel is the Quiet Avenger
Akhorahil is the Blind Sorcerer
Ren the unclean is the Fire King
Ji Indur is the Cloud Lord
Dwar is the Dog Lord
Hoarmurath is the Ice King
Khamul is the Dragon Lord
Murazor is the Witch-king

MEPBM also has the ICE locations and ICE Dragons. Like Zarak-dum, Buhr Widu, Itangast, Scorba, etc etc.
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