Chapter 1: Family Trees & Associations
Chapter Text
Herendil Terendul, friend of Almáriel
Almáriel, friend of Herendil
Poldor, who called Herendil “Eärendil”
Orontor, father of Fíriel of Númenor
Mariners:
Henderch
Ulbar — Êlukî → Îbal
Zamîn, servant of Erendis and Ancalimë
Círyatur, Captain of the Ships during the time of Tar-Telperiën and Tar-Minastir
Companions of Amandil:
Amandil, last Lord of Andúnië
Elentír, brother of Amandil
Ilmandur
Orontor
Orontor of Númenor — Anarroina
Children of Orontor:
Fíriel of Númenor
Voronwë of Númenor — Netilya
Children of Voronwë:
Cemniel — Isildur (Line of Elros)
Ilcanië — Sandor
Children of Ilcanië:
Ohtar Glanor
Black Númenóreans:
Fuinur and Herumor, brothers, Lords of Harad in the time of the Last Alliance
Karasalêth, lord of Harad, King of Abrakhân — Hashavis Kulizîth → Zâinazimril Berúthiel — Tarannon Falastur (Line of Elros)
Dulgabêth Mordu, Mouth of Sauron
Corsairs of Umbar:
Eärmerco, Marauder of Umbar
Azruthôr, Dolgimil, and Azgarzôr, Lords of Umbar in the time of Eärnil I and Círyandil
Arnakhôr Angamaitë and Azgarzîr Sangahyando, grandsons of Castamir
Batânhir, Captain of the Haven in the time of Ecthelion II
Balakhôr the Scourge, leader of the Corsairs in the time of the War of the Ring
Captains of the Outlands:
Forlong the Fat, Lord of Lossarnach
Duinhir of Morthond, Lord of Blackroot Vale, father of Duilin and Derufin
Dervorin, son of the Lord of Ringló Vale
Golasgil, Lord of Anfalas
Hirluin the Fair, of Pinnath Gelin/the Green Hills
Imrahil, Prince of Dol Amroth
Benrodir, Prince of Anórien
Inram the Tall, Lord of Calembel
Nosdiligand, Lord of Ethir Anduin
Angbor the Fearless, Lord of Lamedon
Torthion, Lord of Lebennin
Brassenor, Lord of Belfalas
Rangers of Ithilien:
Faramir
Anborn
Damrod
Mablung
Madril
Misc. Gondorians:
Húrin the Tall, Warden of the Keys, father of Morwen
Suilor, Warden of the Houses of Healing
Golunil Ioreth, a healer
Ingold, a soldier
Targon, storehouse worker
Messengers to Rohan:
Borondir Udalraph, messenger of Círion to Éorl
Hirgon, messenger of Denethor II to Théoden
Baranor — Pethriel
Children of Baranor:
Iorlas
Beregond — Fondil
Children of Beregond:
Bergil
Borlas — Orosser
Children of Borlas:
Sammareth
Berelach
Fourth Age:
Duilin, father of Saelon
Findegil, scribe of King Eldarion
Herumor of the Dark Tree
Othrondir
Misc. Arnorians:
Voronwë, companion of Elendil
Ohtar Glanor, squire of Isildur
Celevon, companion of Ohtar
Estelmo, squire of Elendur
Malbeth the Seer
Halbarad, Ranger of the North
Chapter Text
The Guild of Venturers was an organization of mariners formed by the great Númenórean adventurer Tar-Aldarion while he was still a prince. Its headquarters were on Aldarion’s ship Eämbar, anchored off the island of Tol Uinen in the bay of Rómenna, but its sailors steered their vessels all across the Great Sea to the distant shores of Middle-earth. At its height, the Guild was hundreds of men strong, but only a few were close to its Master, Aldarion.
Among these select few were Henderch of Andustar and Ulbar of Emerië. They accompanied their prince to Middle-earth on the massive ship Hirilondë, and upon their return they journeyed with him to the White House of Erendis his wife. While Ulbar rode on to his own home, Henderch remained with Aldarion and witnessed Erendis’ cold greeting to her absent husband. Finding himself unwelcome in his wife’s home, Aldarion left earlier than he had planned, heading on to the lands of his cousin Hallatan of Hyarastorni.
Ulbar had been a shepherd on one of Hallatan’s farms before he joined the Guild of Venturers, and upon his return his wife Êlukî threw him a gladsome homecoming party, overjoyed to have him home. When Aldarion and Henderch arrived in the midst of the celebration, the prince grew increasingly bitter in his jealousy of Ulbar’s happy marriage. When Ulbar’s son Îbal asked how old one had to be to go to sea, Aldarion snapped, giving him a bitter answer. In his anger, Aldarion decided not to ride on to Hallatan’s house, instead returning alone to Armenelos despite Henderch’s protestation that a prince should not ride unaccompanied. Before he left, however, Aldarion gave Êlukî a ring with a fiery red jewel that had been gifted to him by the Elvenking Gil-galad—a present that had originally been intended for Erendis.
Êlukî treasured this gift, and impressed upon her son to always treat the royal house with honor. It was counsel given too late, for two years previously Îbal had come to the White House of Erendis on an errand and met the young princess Ancalimë, who had never before seen a male and thought him a “noisy thing.” His visit prompted Ancalimë to ask questions of her servant Zamîn, who first told her of her father Aldarion. Zamîn would remain a faithful companion of the princess, aiding her when she went into hiding under the name Emerwen Aranel to escape the attention of suitors who desired her hand for the power they would gain.
In the centuries following the height of Aldarion’s power, the Guild of Venturers was slowly absorbed into the royal navy of Númenor. While they remained a powerful force of exploration, individual mariners became less prominent as their tasks turned to a primarily military role. The last great explorer of what remained of the Guild was Círyatur, who in his youth sailed far and wide, updating the maps made by Aldarion to reflect changes in the land nearly a thousand years later. For his greatness, Ruling Queen Tar-Telperiën named him the Chief Admiral of Númenor’s navy, a title held in name only for many years, as she was uninterested in meddling with the affairs of Middle-earth.
Her nephew and heir Minastir, however, was concerned about the growing threat of Sauron, and convinced his aunt to send aid to the elves of Lindon besieged by the Dark Lord. Telperiën allowed this so long as Minastir oversaw the operation, leaving her out of it, and suddenly Círyatur found himself forced into a military role. Yet with Minastir’s support, Círyatur rose to the occasion and commanded a great fleet in the Battle of the Gwathló, resulting in a resounding defeat of Sauron and his forces—and embittering him against the Númenóreans, desiring to bring about their ultimate downfall.
Notes:
ft. Henderch, Ulbar, Êlukî (OC), Îbal, Zamîn, Círyatur
The stories of Henderch, Ulbar, Îbal, and Zamîn are canonical. I gave Êlukî a name, and a bit of a personality. Círyatur’s involvement in the Battle of the Gwathló is canon, but his backstory is my headcanon. There is conflicting information about who ultimately commanded that navy (other than Círyatur himself); the battle took place in S.A. 1700, during Tar-Telperiën’s rule, but the troops were definitely sent by Tar-Minastir (Telperiën was specifically uninterested in the affairs of the mainland). To account for this discrepancy, I decided that it was Minastir’s initiative to send the fleet, and Telperiën only allowed it on the condition that she not be involved whatsoever. In their edits, I hadn’t yet figured out how to resolve this conflict, so I just kept it vague, but here it’s a bit more specific. Except for Círyatan, all the name translations are my own, and are thus highly dubious with regard to accuracy (Zamîn and Êlukî especially).
Chapter Text
In the last days of Númenor, when its people lived under the Shadow of Sauron, there were still some Faithful elf-friends yet remaining upon the Isle of the Gift. These were the Lords of Andúnië and their followers, banished to Rómenna where they could look to the West no longer, but still they kept their faith.
Among these Faithful folk was a young lord named Herendil, the cousin of Isildur and Anárion through their mother Lauriel’s sister. He was born shortly before Sauron’s arrival in Númenor, and had no memory of a time before the rise of the Zigûr. Though his family lived among the Faithful, his mother feared the wrath of the King and sheltered him from the teachings her sister, a loremaster dedicated to preserving their traditions, so dearly loved. But she would not keep Herendil from his kin, and when he stumbled across Lauriel’s writings while on a visit to the house of his elder cousins, Herendil’s eyes were opened to the corruption eating away at the heart of Númenor.
Troubled, Herendil took counsel with his aunt and her husband Elendil, learning of their people’s trials and tribulations. Though at first he was hesitant to believe Zigûr was capable of such evils, he quickly became eager to spread the word to the youth of Rómenna, many of whom had been similarly steered away from the political dangers in which their parents were entangled. Though some mocked him, calling him “Terendul” for his short and slender frame they believed showed his weakness, others were as stirred by these revelations as him. The siblings Almáriel and Poldor, tall and strong youths descended from Narwalótë sister of Númendil, defended Herendil, and Poldor went so far as to call him “Eärendil,” likening him to the famed mariner of old for bringing the difficult truth to light.
As he became more involved with the quiet rebellion among the Faithful, Herendil met the maiden Fíriel, daughter of Orontor. They swiftly fell in love, and when Fíriel’s father left on a mysterious errand with Lord Amandil and two others, Herendil comforted her and spoke to his uncle Elendil, Amandil’s son and now the Lord of the Faithful, asking him to welcome her into his household. For a few uneasy years, Herendil and his friends worked under Elendil’s command to prepare for evacuation of Rómenna when Ar-Pharazôn’s ambitions endangered the Faithful even more.
But of Herendil and his companions, only one would escape the inevitable Downfall of Númenor. As one night Fíriel sang a song of Ilúvatar for her beloved Herendil, she was overheard by one of Pharazôn’s spies who reported her blasphemies to the King. Fíriel was dragged before Zigûr and interrogated, and though she did not give up any information on the doings of the Faithful, she found she was not strong enough to stand in her convictions of Eru and Manwë’s grace and begged forgiveness for her “sins.” Amused by her pleading, Zigûr ordered her to enter the cloisters in the Temple of Melkor, forcing her to become a priestess of Darkness, serving the very evil she had worked against.
Some months later, when Pharazôn’s Great Armament was nearly completed, he sent the King’s Men out across Anadûnê to recruit men for his army. Though many volunteered, a large portion of the soldiers were conscripted by force—especially those among the Faithful of Rómenna. Herendil and Poldor were both drafted against their will, and Herendil in particular refused to go against the Valar. Furious and wishing to make an example of this mutineer, Ar-Pharazôn ordered Herendil to be sacrificed in the Temple of Melkor for his disobedience. Zigûr looked into Herendil’s mind and discovered his connection to the vanished Fíriel, and delighting in his wicked schemes he arranged so Fíriel would make her first sacrifice to Melkor on the very day of Herendil’s death. Thus it was that Fíriel slew the one she most loved, offering his heart to the Dark Vala, and became so entrenched in despair that she made no further efforts at resistance.
Witnessing the awful fate of his friend, Poldor submitted to his conscription and entered Pharazôn’s army. He was among those who sailed to Aman and assailed Valinor, and along with the rest of the Great Armament he was drowned beneath the seas, his spirit held captive in the Caves of the Forgotten until the Dagor Dagorath, when they shall be summoned to fight against Morgoth. His sister Almáriel remained among the Faithful of Elendil’s house and alone of her friends escaped with them to Middle-earth when the great wave came to drown Númenor, for Fíriel could not escape the Temple of Melkor and was consumed along with the wicked.
Notes:
ft. Herendil Terendul, Almáriel, Poldor, Orontor, Fíriel of Númenor
This story, while inspired by characters mentioned in The Lost Road, is almost entirely my creation. Herendil was the only son of Elendil in an early draft, naive and unaware of the evils of Sauron until his father enlightened him. Here I have instead made him Elendil’s nephew by marriage, and woven his story with others mentioned in the tale from which he originated. All we know about Almáriel was that she was the same age as Herendil, but considerably taller than him; all we know about Poldor is that he called Herendil “Eärendil,” presumably in a complimentary way. Fíriel was living in Elendil’s house because her father Orontor had gone off on “a mission from which he might never return, or return too late”; Christopher Tolkien hypothesizes that this was a precursor to Amandil’s voyage to Aman from which he never returned, so I made Orontor one of Amandil’s companions. Fíriel does sing a sad song about Eru, though we don’t know anything else about her fate. In making Herendil, Almáriel, Poldor, and Fíriel friends, I wanted to show the various possible fates of the Númenóreans who lived at the time of the Downfall: Herendil is sacrificed in the Temple of Melkor (inspired by @ibrithir-was-here’s genius retelling of his tale!); Fíriel is forced to recant her beliefs and become an agent of Darkness; Poldor is conscripted into the Great Armament and subject to their fate; and Almáriel alone escapes with the Faithful to Middle-earth. This story was a lot of fun to write, despite its depressing nature!
I wrote a fic about these characters, which you can read here!
Chapter Text
Amandil was the penultimate Lord of Andúnië, though his people had been banished to Rómenna before his birth, and he never saw the western haven that once had been his family’s home. He and his younger brother Elentír were, in their youth, friends with Pharazôn and Míriel, children of the royal house: Amandil and Pharazôn were as close as brothers, and Elentír loved Míriel, though she did not return his feelings.
But as they grew older, the friends drifted apart, and when Pharazôn returned from years of conquest in Middle-earth he betrayed Amandil’s friendship, unlawfully seizing the scepter of Númenor and forcing Míriel into a marriage with him against her will. At this Elentír was grieved, for though Míriel had not accepted his proposal she would have preferred his hand to her cousin’s, and he retreated to Rómenna in sorrow, taking no other wife. Amandil attempted to remain by Pharazôn’s side, but after he refused to bow to the king’s captive-counsellor Zigûr, he was dismissed from the Council of the Scepter and exiled to Rómenna in disgrace.
As Ar-Pharazôn’s power and ambition grew, he prepared to make an assault against Aman itself, deeply troubling his once-friend Amandil. At this time, he surrendered leadership of the Faithful to his son Elendil, counseling him to prepare ships to escape Númenor when the time was right. Amandil then gathered his three closest friends, asking them to accompany him upon a hopeless mission into the Uttermost West: sailing to Aman to seek aid and forgiveness from Manwë before Pharazôn could attack.
One of these companions was his brother Elentír, who accepted without question, for he was yet lost in despair at the fate of Tar-Míriel, and wished to do whatever he could to frustrate Pharazôn’s schemes. Another was Ilmandur, whose family had faithfully served the House of Andúnië for generations, and the last was Orontor, youngest of the group and the best navigator among them. Though Orontor hesitated to leave his children, especially his daughter Fíriel who was only a maiden, his loyalty to Amandil tugged at his conscience until he agreed to guide his lord into the west.
Amandil made preparations for their journey in secret, not wishing for Pharazôn to discover his intentions and bring dire punishment upon his people. When at last the day of their departure arrived, Orontor steered them to the east for as long as the King’s navy could see them, only then circling back around and heading westward. The prayers of their families went with them, but though their task was noble and akin to the voyage of Eärendil, Amandil and his companions were never heard from again, and were presumed to have perished before arriving in the Blessed Lands.
Notes:
ft. Amandil, Elentír, Ilmandur, Orontor
Amandil’s story is entirely canonical. Elentír was his brother from an early draft, and his story and romance with Míriel is adapted from version A of that text combined with the story present in the published Silmarillion. I made up the thing about him returning to Rómenna and never taking another wife, but given other doomed love stories in the Legendarium I think it’s pretty likely that’s what would have happened if Tolkien had continued that story. He was a natural choice for one of Amandil’s companions; of course his brother who had nothing going on for him in Númenor would follow him on this doomed quest. Ilmandur was the name of a third son of Elendil mentioned only in one draft of LOTR, supposed to have been the one who governed Osgiliath; I took his name and repurposed it as one of Amandil’s companions, keeping his connection to that family. I discussed Orontor’s backstory in the previous edit; the thing about him being a navigator is made up wholecloth. I made him the youngest of the three because I decided his daughter Fíriel was the same age as Herendil, who I’ve made roughly the same age as Isildur and Anárion, Amandil’s grandchildren; this would mean Orontor was likely a contemporary of Elendil, not Amandil. Basically, I’ve shoved him in-between the two of them in age—this will become more apparent when I go into his family some more in a future edit. I don’t think Amandil & co. made it to Aman; I once read a fic (by @starspray) where they basically got stuck in a calm sea and slowly died, but Elwing came to Amandil right before his end and assured him that his descendants would survive, and that really made an impact on me. It’s a great story, I definitely recommend it, and I’ve adopted it into my own personal canon.
Chapter Text
Orontor was a lord of Númenor, one of the Faithful, and a vassal to Lord Amandil of Andúnië. He was a skilled navigator and often guided ships through dangerous waters. His spouse was Anarroina, a cook in Amandil’s household, and together they had two children: first a son, Voronwë, and then much later a daughter, Fíriel.
Voronwë was a fast friend of Amandil’s son Elendil and a mariner even greater than his father. Voronwë’s wife Netilya was a Rómenna-born farmer who passed her love of the earth to her elder daughter Cemniel, while the heart of her younger daughter Ilcanië was turned more toward the sea.
Fíriel was dear friends with Cemniel and Ilcanië, being of age with her nieces rather than her brother; all three were swept up in the youth rebellion against Ar-Pharazôn’s oppressive policies stirred up by Herendil. Cemniel quickly grew close to Isildur, son of Elendil, and when she discovered her pregnancy she and Isildur were wed with great haste so their son Elendur might be born within wedlock. Despite the rushed wedding, Cemniel and Isildur would have many happy years together, though they waited to have more children for several decades after Elendur’s birth.
As the Shadow lengthened over Númenor, Lord Amandil grew more and more concerned for the fate of his fallen people. Determining to seek the aid of the Valar in opposing Ar-Pharazôn’s wicked counselor Zigûr, Amandil passed the leadership of the Faithful to Elendil his son and embarked on a journey into the Uttermost West to beg forgiveness from Manwë for the sins of Númenor. With him he took three companions, including Orontor, who though he was reluctant to leave his spouse and daughter followed his lord into the West, never to return.
Mourning her father’s departure, Fíriel was comforted by her friend Herendil, and soon great love grew between them. Herendil spoke to his maternal uncle Elendil and beseeched him to welcome Fíriel and Anarroina into his household, and for a few years he, Fíriel, and their friends worked under Elendil’s command to prepare for the evacuation of Rómenna should the doom of Númenor become full-wrought. Yet for Herendil and Fíriel, the bitter end came all too soon when one night Fíriel was overheard singing a song of Ilúvatar for her beloved and was dragged before Zigûr to be interrogated. Though her life was spared, she was forced into the priesthood of Melkor, and when Herendil himself was brought to the King’s twisted justice, it was she who wielded the blade that killed him, offering his heart to the Lord of Darkness. Fíriel thought it a mercy when the isle of Elenna was drowned, and herself with it, for at least then she could do no more evil.
Though Orontor’s end was mysterious and Fíriel’s tragic, the rest of their family escaped with Elendil and his sons to Middle-earth. Voronwë and Netilya remained at the side of Elendil, though their daughters were swept away by the waves in the ships of Isildur and Anárion. Eventually they were reunited just in time for the wedding of Ilcanië to Sandor, a shipwright in the service of Isildur. Ilcanië and Cemniel her sister dwelt with their husbands in the city of Minas Ithil, Cemniel bearing Isildur two more sons and Ilcanië one child, a lad named Glanor. Their family would remain tight-knit to the end of their days, with Glanor serving as an ohtar to his uncle Isildur and his mother and aunt at one another’s side through many trials.
Notes:
ft. Orontor, Anarroina (OC), Fíriel of Númenor, Voronwë of Númenor, Netilya (OC), Cemniel (OC), Ilcanië (OC), Sandor (OC), Glanor Ohtar
This is a bit of a rehash of the Late Númenóreans edit, with a bit of Isildur’s story thrown in as well. It’s almost entirely headcanon, though Voronwë, Orontor, and Fíriel are real characters I adapted to fit my needs, including throwing Voronwë into this family. Glanor is the warrior Ohtar, squire of Isildur; I’ll cover him again in a future edit. Until writing the Late Númenóreans caption I intended Fíriel to be Voronwë’s older sister, but the timelines worked out with her being much younger, the age of his daughters instead; for the sake of clean organization I put her first in the edit, but she is the younger of Voronwë’s children. For a clearer picture on how these people are related, I’ve attached a family tree below.
Chapter Text
Fuinur and Herumor were descendants of the King’s Men of Númenor who had come to conquer Middle-earth in the name of the King. They rose to power in the late Second Age, becoming mighty lords among the Haradrim, and served Sauron in the War of the Last Alliance. Fuinur was slain in the Siege of Barad-dûr, but his brother Herumor fled back to Harad and continued to rule.
One of Herumor’s descendants was King Karasalêth, ruler of a city-state in northern Harad that was conquered by Gondor in the early Third Age. His people, conquered first by the Black Númenóreans and then by the Dúnedain, began to rebel against them both, and to appease them Karasalêth arranged to give his half-Haradrim daughter’s hand in marriage to King Tarannon Falastur of Gondor. This daughter, Zâinazimril, was betrothed against her will but powerless to stop her marriage to Falastur and his subsequent removal of her to his house by the mouths of the Anduin. But Zâinazimril hated the sea, especially the smells of salt and fish and gulls, and insisted on dwelling in the King’s House in Osgiliath instead.
The people of Gondor feared and hated their new queen, naming her Berúthiel for her bitter temper. As Falastur was often away at sea, she had the King’s House to herself, decorating the courtyard with sculptures from her homeland that disturbed her Gondorian servants.
Though she loathed cats, as Karasalêth’s house had been full of them, many cats of Osgiliath became fixated upon her and followed her around. Eventually, Berúthiel accepted her entourage, setting them as spies upon the suspicious Gondorians who stalked her every path. In this way she discovered many dark secrets of the realm, for she followed the tradition of sorcery taught to her ancestors by the Lord Zigûr and could speak with animals and read their memories. The people of Gondor feared and hated Berúthiel and her cats, nine black and one white, cursing whenever they walked by.
Eventually, Falastur heard of his wife’s intimidation of his counselors and returned to Osgiliath to see the truth for himself. He declared the union unsuccessful, as no children had been born between them and Harad continued to simmer with resentment against Gondor, and exiled Berúthiel from Gondor, erasing her name from the Book of the Kings.
Zâinazimril was set on a ship with only her cats for company and cast out into the sea she despised. She attempted to sail to Umbar, a haven of her people, and travel home from there, but she was no mariner and was last seen flying past the city with a cat at the masthead and another as a figurehead on the prow. Thus she passed into legend as the Stolen Princess of Harad and the Black Queen of Gondor, her final fate unknown.
Near the end of the Third Age, another Black Númenórean lord would sell his child for the favor of a King, though this time to Sauron himself. This boy was stripped of his name and status and made to serve the Dark Tower, eventually being granted the name Mordu as he grew in his master’s favor.
Mordu was cunning and cruel, manipulative of his fellow servants and clever in the fashioning of words, and as he came of age, Sauron gave him the title Dulgabêth, “the Black Word,” and sent him out as the Lieutenant of Barad-dûr, an ambassador to the lands conquered by Mordor. He became known to the Dúnedain as the Mouth of Sauron, and came before Aragorn before the Battle of the Morannon in an attempt to goad him into surrender, but the Men of the West stood firm, and he was slain in the ensuing conflict.
Notes:
ft. Fuinur, Herumor, Karasalêth (OC), Zâinazimril Berúthiel, Dulgabêth Mordu (Mouth of Sauron)
Fuinur and Herumor were canonically Black Númenórean lords who settled among the Haradrim, but little else is known about them; them being brothers is something I borrowed from Middle-earth Role Playing. Their ultimate fates are headcanon. Berúthiel’s story is canon at its roots, but has been spun to make Berúthiel much more sympathetic. Herumor is a real Black Númenórean from the end of the Second Age, but there’s no proof he was related to Berúthiel, nor that Berúthiel came specifically from Harad; we only know that she was a Black Númenórean. Her Adûnaic name is my own creation, and her story has been greatly embellished. The Mouth of Sauron’s story is compiled from his appearance in RotK, early drafts of LotR found in HoMe, and a little bit of flavor from LOTRO. He was first conceived to have been a child “snatched” by Sauron and raised as a servant of the Dark Tower, then later changed to be a renegade of a Gondorian noble house; in the final text of RotK he is simply called a “Black Númenórean.” I chose to parallel his story to Berúthiel’s and lean mostly on the first version. Tolkien never really settled on a name for him, though he considered “Mordu,” and later said that he had forgotten his own name. LOTRO gives him the name Dulgabêth, which I think fits him best as a title, since “Mouth of Sauron” is likely a name given by the Dúnedain since Sauron did not like to be called Sauron and probably wouldn’t have let his servants use that name. We don’t know his ultimate fate, but the most likely scenario is that he was killed at the Morannon.
I made an edit about Zâinazimril's mother here.
Chapter Text
Umbar was a great sea-haven in the far south of Gondor, once a trading post established by the men of Númenor. It was here that Ar-Pharazôn the Golden landed to make his challenge upon Sauron, and as the Shadow lengthened over Anadûnê the power of the King’s Men in Umbar only grew. The haven was governed by a council of lords, and provided goods and slaves to Númenor; these lords easily adopted the customs of Melkor-worship and spread the practice of human sacrifice across much of the East and South of Middle-earth.
A contemporary of Ar-Pharazôn, Lord Eärmerco was a fearsome sea-captain who dominated the Council of Umbar and marauded the eastern coastline. He had no qualms about attacking even ships from the Númenórean navy, taking all he could for himself and delighting in bloodshed. Shortly before his capture, Sauron came to Eärmerco and promised him power and riches if he would quietly resist Ar-Pharazôn’s rule in Umbar, offering him a Ring of Power in return for his loyalty. Enchanted by the ring, Eärmerco accepted, and thus became ensnared in Sauron’s trap, eventually becoming one of the Nazgûl.
Though Eärmerco would leave Umbar to obey Sauron’s will, Umbar remained a source of power for his Black Númenórean kin. Yet as the Third Age progressed and the might of Gondor grew, they realized they were threatened by the power of their neighboring rival-kingdom, a fear which came to fruition when Gondor’s King Eärnil I launched a surprise attack, capturing the haven by sea and land. The Men of Umbar fought back fiercely, but Gondor had the upper hand, and the Council of Lords was disbanded in favor of regents hand-selected by Eärnil himself.
But these lords were not satisfied with their lot, recalling the glory of Eärmerco and jealous of the power they once had held. In vengeance, the brothers Azgarzîr, Dolgimil, and Azruthôr secretly plotted to arrange Eärnil’s downfall, and three years later the King of Gondor was lost at sea. In truth, the lords had sabotaged his ship before a great storm Dolgimil had scried, but when Eärnil’s son Círyandil took the throne in his place the Lords of Umbar were frustrated in their scheme to regain their power. Though with the aid of their Haradrim allies, the Black Númenóreans managed to slay Círyandil, the siege was not enough to win back control of the haven. Not until the kin-strife in Gondor would Umbar finally cast off the bonds of Gondorian domination.
It was the sons of Castamir who shook Umbar free of Gondor’s rule, but not until the time of their grandsons would the haven strike back against the Kingdom of Stone. Lord Arnakhôr, chief of Umbar’s council and the great-grandson of Castamir, rallied together the quarrelling pirates who operated out of the haven and with the aid of his personal champion, his cousin Azgarzîr, led a great fleet against Pelargir. For their prowess in battle and the fear they struck into the hearts of Gondor’s soldiers, they became known in Quenya as Angamaitë and Sangahyando—but despite their savagery, the siege of Pelargir was unsuccessful and they were forced into a retreat for some years. During this time they continued to harass Gondor’s coastline, becoming known as the Corsairs of Umbar.
But when they heard that King Minardil of Gondor was visiting Pelargir, Azgarzîr stirred his liege to action and they led a devastating raid upon the port, ravaging the city and slaying Minardil. Yet there was now little left in Pelargir over which to rule, so Arnakhôr forsook the ruins of the city and returned victorious to Umbar. Their descendants would hold Umbar for some generations after, but when the Great Plague struck Gondor, they were not spared, and both Arnakhôr Angamaitë and Azgarzîr Sangahyando were killed by the deadly disease.
Still their legacy lived on, for the Corsairs of Umbar had taken control of the haven entirely, ousting the Council of Lords. Perhaps they would have fared better with a more central leadership, for when Gondor recovered from the Great Plague, King Telumehtar destroyed the main fortress and ship-haven of Umbar, killing the last of Castamir’s descendants and retaking the city. Telumehtar took the name Umbardacil for his victory, but left the haven in ruins.
As Gondor declined in the following centuries, Umbar was conquered again by the Haradrim, retaking the land the Men of Númenor had claimed from them millennia ago. A new generation of Corsairs arose, a mix of Haradrim pirates and Black Númenóreans, who often raided the coasts of Belfalas and Anfalas in Gondor. Throughout the reign of the Stewards, the Corsairs were a constant threat, primarily countered by the Princes of Dol Amroth when other threats besieged Minas Tirith; indeed, Prince Karazôr, the fifteenth Prince, perished in battle against the Corsairs.
When Sauron declared himself openly near the end of the Third Age, Umbar and its Corsairs swore allegiance to him and began amassing a mighty fleet to attack Gondor under the command of Batânhir, the Captain of the Havens. But during the rule of Steward Ecthelion II, Umbar was suddenly besieged by the Gondorian army, led by the mysterious warrior Thorongil who slew Batânhir personally.
Thus Umbar was still weakened when the War of the Ring began in earnest, only able to send fifty great ships and a number of smaller vessels to raid the coastlands of Gondor, commanded by the fearsome Balakhôr the Scourge. While their attacks did draw some forces away from the defense of Minas Tirith, they were no match for the Army of the Dead summoned out of the White Mountains by an ascendant Thorongil, now declaring himself openly as Aragorn II Elessar, the next King of Gondor. Aragorn and the Dead utterly destroyed the Corsair fleet, and with the subsequent fall of Barad-dûr, Umbar lost what little of its power it had retained and submitted to the rule of King Elessar.
Notes:
ft. Eärmerco (OC), Azruthôr and Dolgimil and Azgarzôr (LOTRO), Arnakhôr Angamaitë, Azgarzîr Sangahyando, Batânhir (OC; Captain of the Haven), Balakhôr the Scourge (LOTRO)
Most of Umbar’s history is canonical, though I made up the Council of Lords; Umbar does not seem to have a singular leader, but nowhere is it specified that the city is run by a council. Eärmerco is an OC; he will return when I cover the Nazgûl. Eärnil’s death being a plot by the Lords of Umbar is my headcanon; in canon it just says that he died in a storm near Umbar, but I thought that was pretty suspicious. The names Azruthôr, Dolgimil, and Azgarzôr are borrowed from LOTRO, though in that game they (and their brother Balakhôr) command the Corsairs during the War of the Ring. I moved them around to when I needed some names, and isolated Balakhôr to make him more prominent. The Adûnaic names of Angamaitë and Sangahyando are my creation; I just don’t think it likely that they were given Quenya names at birth. Them dying in the Great Plague is also a headcanon, as is the power shift from the Council of Lords to the pirates. However, this is the canonical time period when the pirates became known as the Corsairs of Umbar. The fifteenth Prince of Dol Amroth did canonically die fighting the Corsairs, but we don’t know his name or anything else about him; that’s all my headcanon. The Captain of the Havens is a canonical figure that Thorongil killed during his time in Gondor, but his name is my creation. Again, Balakhôr’s name is taken from LOTRO, though I scrapped the story about him being an “heir of Castamir,” whose descendants are all dead at that point.
Chapter Text
Gondor was a mighty kingdom at its height, and even in the years of its decline it held many fiefdoms within its borders aside from the capital of Minas Tirith. Those who led these provinces were known in times of war as the Captains of the Outlands, for when the King or Steward called upon them they were bound by honor and duty to ride to the defense of their kingdom.
During the War of the Ring, the Captains were rallied together to face the might of Sauron on the Pelennor Fields. From Lossarnach came Forlong the Fat, an old man of great girth and vitality, with two hundred men bearing mighty battle-axes. From Blackroot Vale came Lord Duinhir and his sons Duilin and Derufin, leading five hundred bowmen to battle. From Ringló Vale came Dervorin, son of its Lord, with three hundred men on foot; from Anfalas came Golasgil with a long line of civilians, fighting bravely despite their lack of equipment or skill. From the Green Hills came Hirluin the Fair with three hundred gallant green-clad men. From Dor-en-Ernil, Land of Princes, whose capital was Dol Amroth by the sea, came Prince Imrahil with a company of knights and seven hundred soldiers. From Anórien came Benrodir, newly ennobled for his bravery, with two hundred doughty men loyal to their prince. From Calembel came Inram the Tall, who had emptied his settlement of soldiers and led six hundred spearmen in his train; from Ethir Anduin came Nosdiligand, his force of a hundred fishermen small but mighty in their bravery.
These brave warriors fought to defend Minas Tirith, a city not their own, for its people were their kin and deserved not the cruelty of the Enemy. Amid the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, hundreds of soldiers fell; and with them fell many of their lords, also. Forlong, separated from his men, was rendered immobile when his horse was slain, and soon was overrun; Hirluin was killed in battle rushing to the aid of Éomer of Rohan; Nosdiligand was cut down at the very gates of Minas Tirith, defending against an onslaught of orcs. Though Duinhir survived, his twin sons Duilin and Derufin were slain, trampled by mûmakil while attempting to shoot out the monsters’ eyes; they died with questions in their heart of who their mother was, though in truth they had none, for Duinhir had borne them himself after a love affair gone wrong.
Of the Captains of the Outlands, only three were not present for the assault upon Minas Tirith, for they were defending their own lands, besieged by the Corsairs of Umbar. These were Angbor of Lamedon, Torthion of Lebennin, and Brassenor of Belfalas, and each of their lands was freed only when Aragorn and the Grey Company with the wraiths of the Oathbreakers swept along the coast liberating the Men of Gondor from the wrath of the Corsairs. Both Torthion and Brassenor were slain before Aragorn’s arrival, leaving Angbor alone to rally the people of the coast and march to Minas Tirith. Aragorn named Angbor “the Fearless” for his determination in leading four thousand men, many of which were his own horsemen, even after the destruction of his homeland. Indeed, his endurance through trial allowed Angbor to relieve Aragorn of the duty of protecting Minas Tirith when he marched to the Black Gate in a direct challenge to Sauron, for Angbor’s forces would defend the city as he went on the offensive, both important roles in bringing about the end of the War and the freedom of Gondor.
Notes:
ft. Forlong the Fat, Duinhir, Duilin of Blackroot Vale, Derufin, Dervorin, Golasgil, Hirluin the Fair, Imrahil, Benrodir, Inram the Tall, Nosdiligand, Angbor the Fearless, Torthion (OC), Brassenor (OC)
Most of this is canon! I learned a lot about Gondor’s geography and politics while researching this edit. Everything about Forlong, Dervorin, Golasgil, and Imrahil is canon. Duilin and Derufin did indeed die the way I described, though the whole thing about their dad secretly being trans is my headcanon. Benrodir, Inram, and Nosdiligand were characters who appeared in drafts of ROTK, but didn’t make the final cut; I reincorporated them into the story. Benrodir’s name was difficult to translate, but I like the meaning I came up with and the backstory it gives him. He was mentioned to be the “Prince of Anárion” which I’m guessing was a typo for Anórien, an actual location in Gondor, and not Anárion the brother of Isildur. Nosdiligand and Inram were not given fiefdoms, so I gave them lordship of some of the unaccounted-for lands. Ethir Anduin did send a hundred fishermen, but no lord was accounted for; Nosdiligand was mentioned as being from the Anduin delta, so I pinpointed that to a specific location. I picked Calembel for Inram, even though it’s technically only a town, because the whole settlement was deserted when Aragorn and his squad rolled up, since everyone had gone to war, presumably at Minas Tirith. Lamedon, Lebennin, and Belfalas were canonically facing the Corsairs at this time; of their lords, we only know about Angbor, whose story is canon. I made up the other two.
Chapter Text
The Rangers of Ithilien were a Gondorian special operations force selected from the descendants of the people who had dwelt in Ithilien before it was overrun by orcs. Dressed in camouflaging green and brown, they crossed the Anduin in secret to harass the Enemy’s forces, using several secret retreats as havens. They were organized in the time of Steward Túrin II and were first led by Túrin’s son Turgon and Prince Angelimir of Dol Amroth, and afterward it was traditional that their leader be related either to the Steward or the Prince.
In the time of the War of the Ring, Faramir son of Steward Denethor II led these rangers. Under his command were Anborn, a bowman and a scout; Damrod, guard of grim mood; Mablung, a scout and guard; and Madril, an aging soldier of much wisdom. Many others worked alongside them, but these four were the only ones who had direct contact with Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, and the creature Gollum when they passed through Ithilien on their quest to Mount Doom.
Notes:
ft. Faramir, Anborn, Damrod, Mablung of Ithilien, Madril
The first part of the first paragraph is pretty much directly lifted from Tolkien Gateway; the second part is my headcanons, mentioned elsewhere in this edit series. The roles of Faramir’s companions are canonical, though slightly exaggerated for importance; I threw in Madril from the movies to round the group out.
Chapter 10: Miscellanious Gondorians
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Húrin the Tall was the Warden of the Keys of Minas Tirith at the time of the War of the Ring. Alongside Forlong, Hirluin, and Imrahil, he rode to the aid of the Rohirrim in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, and when the Captains of the West marched on the Black Gate he remained in Gondor. When King Elessar returned victorious, it was Húrin who opened the barricade of the gatehouse to make way for the new King.
The husband of Húrin was Suilor, the Warden of the Houses of Healing in Minas Tirith. He was fascinated by herbs and herb-lore and tended to ramble on on these topics of his interest, much to the irritation of certain of his patients! Despite his enthusiasm for lore, Suilor was ignorant of certain important topics; it was not him, but his aged colleague Golunil, known by all as Ioreth for her advanced age, who remembered the old adage that The hands of the King are the hands of a healer. Hearing this wisdom, Mithrandir brought Aragorn to the Houses of Healing to tend to the sick, and both Ioreth and Suilor were able to bear witness to his miraculous healing of Faramir and Éowyn using the so-called “weed,” athelas.
Another of Aragorn’s patients was the soldier Ingold, who manned the north-gate of Forannest. When an army out of the east crossed the River Anduin, Ingold had been forced into retreat, bringing the grim news that the Rohirrim were blocked from riding to their aid. Yet Rohan’s warriors found their way to the battle nonetheless, and their timely coming saved Ingold’s life in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, though he was not spared all injury. With the King’s careful healing, Ingold was brought back from the brink of death and was able to reunite with his brother Targon, a storehouse worker who had played his small part in the War by giving food to Beregond and Peregrin Took some days earlier.
Suilor and Húrin had one daughter, an adopted orphan they named Morwen after the wife of Húrin’s namesake. She aided her father in the Houses of Healing, where she briefly flirted with Lady Éowyn’s brother Éomer. Morwen was well-regarded by Lothíriel of Dol Amroth, and her high opinion of the Rohirric king influenced her friend’s decision to give Éomer a chance when he began to court her. Morwen attended Lothíriel and Éomer’s wedding, and shortly thereafter moved to Meduseld as her lady’s handmaid, where she found true love with Idis, a lady of Rohan’s court.
Notes:
ft. Húrin the Tall, Suilor (OC; Warden of the Houses of Healing), Morwen Húriniel, Golunil Ioreth, Ingold, Targon
Suilor is the name I have given to the unnamed Warden of the Houses of Healing. Since there are two wardens, and Húrin is the father of Morwen, I decided that I’d pair the wardens together to give her two dads! Aside from that, the details of Húrin and Suilor’s stories are canonical. Morwen was a proto-Lothíriel character, originally intended to marry Éomer; instead, I reincorporated her so she ends up falling in love with Idis, a proto-Éowyn character from Rohan! I gave Ioreth another name because her name literally means “old woman” which is not the kind of thing you’d name a child. Ingold’s story is canonical up until the point he’s injured in battle; I made that up as a way to neatly integrate him into the story of the rest of these folks. I made Targon his brother for the same reason; in canon, all we know is that Targon gave Beregond and Pippin some food one day.
Chapter 11: Messengers to Rohan
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Borondir was a soldier of Gondor descended from the Northmen of Rhovanion, and like his kin chose to forgo the use of stirrups, earning him the name Udalraph among his warrior companions. At a time when Gondor’s northern borders were threatened by the Balchoth hordes, Steward Círion sent six riders to seek the aid of his people’s the Éothéod who had once been Kings of Rhovanion and even wed their princess Vidumavi to Valacar, the twentieth King of Gondor. Of the messengers, only Borondir survived the journey, though he was waylaid by enemies the entire way from Minas Tirith to Framsburg.
He arrived half-dead from exhaustion and hunger, but still managed to give Círion’s message to Éorl, Lord of the Éothéod. He presented both the Seal of the Stewards and an orc-arrow stained with blood to impress the direness of the situation and urgently called upon Éorl to renew the ancient friendship between their peoples. After much deliberation, Éorl agreed, and Borondir guided the Éothéod southward to the Battle of the Field of Celebrant. The arrival of reinforcements turned the tide of the battle, but amidst the fighting Borondir was killed, much to the grief of both Gondor and the Éothéod.
Borondir was laid to rest in the Hallows of Minas Tirith beside the Kings and Stewards, and his name was long remembered in the song of Rochon Methestel, “Rider of Last Hope.” After his death, Círion granted the Éothéod the land of Calenardhon to become their Kingdom, and he and Éorl swore an Oath of everlasting friendship between their nations, to be called upon by delivery of a Red Arrow after the fashion of Borondir’s fateful symbol of war.
Five centuries later, Borondir’s heroic ride was echoed by Hirgon, an errand-rider of Steward Denethor II. Though his journey was not so far as his predecessor’s, Hirgon nonetheless narrowly escaped orc attacks on his flight, surviving to present the Red Arrow to Théoden King. He did not stay to lead the Rohirrim back to Gondor, instead riding for Minas Tirith the day after Théoden agreed to come to Gondor’s aid.
But before he could reach the White City, Hirgon was caught by Sauron’s forces and slain at the Rammas Echor, where Théoden’s riders found his body when they made their way south. Thus Denethor never received the message that the Rohirrim were coming to Gondor’s aid, and their sudden arrival at the Pelennor Fields was as miraculous as that of Éorl at the Celebrant.
Notes:
ft. Borondir Udalraph, Hirgon
This is pretty much all canon! We don’t know for ~sure~ that the Red Arrow got its name from the bloody arrow Borondir presented to Éorl, but it is one proposed theory, and I liked it so I incorporated it. Also, Hirgon apparently had a companion who came along with him and died with him, but for brevity’s sake I cut him out. Sorry pal.
Chapter 12: Baranor of Gondor
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Baranor was a man of Gondor, originally descended from the people of Ithilien who then settled in Lossarnach when that land was overrun by orcs. He was a soldier, his work bringing his family to Minas Tirith, where he and his wife Pethriel had two sons, Iorlas and Beregond. Iorlas became a merchant in the city, while Beregond followed his father’s footsteps and joined the ranks of Gondor’s soldiers as part of the Third Company of the Citadel.
When the periannath Peregrin Took arrived in Minas Tirith and swore his service to Steward Denethor II, Beregond was assigned to show him around the city. Beregond’s young son Bergil quickly took a liking to Pippin and took him to the Great Gate to watch as warriors from the Outlands gathered to reinforce the city’s defenses against the impending siege.
During the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, Beregond was stationed as the sentinel at the gate of the Citadel when Pippin rushed to tell him that Denethor was attempting to burn his catatonic son Faramir alive. Beregond, who greatly admired Faramir, was distraught by this news and knew at once that his duty to protect his liege-lord was more important than remaining at his post. He ran to save Faramir and was forced to kill three of his fellow guards who would have prevented him from his noble task. When Mithrandir came to the rescue, Beregond warded off any attackers as Faramir was pulled from the pyre, and blocked Denethor in his attempt to kill his son with a knife. After Faramir was at last out of immediate danger, Beregond elected to stand guard over him in the Houses of Healing, and was present when he awoke.
Beregond served under the command of Imrahil of Dol Amroth at the Battle of the Morannon, where he was nearly killed by a troll, but Pippin killed the monster before he could be slain. Upon the coronation of King Elessar, Beregond was brought forth to receive judgement for leaving his post and killing Denethor’s guards upon hallowed ground. The usual penalty would have been death, but the new King showed mercy as his deeds were done out of love for Faramir, and instead Beregond was exiled from the White City. Yet though he could not return to his home, Aragorn granted him the position of Captain of Faramir’s Guard, the White Company, and Beregond brought his family with him to Ithilien, the land of his ancestors where Faramir now ruled as Prince.
In Ithilien, Beregond’s wife Fondil bore him a second son, Borlas. In his adulthood, Borlas married the orchard-worker Orosser, and together they had two children of their own: a daughter, Sammareth, and a son, Berelach, who served in the King’s Ships under the rule of Elessar’s son Eldarion.
Notes:
ft. Baranor of Gondor, Pethriel (OC), Iorlas, Beregond, Fondil (OC), Bergil, Borlas, Orosser (OC), Sammareth (OC), Berelach
Baranor’s backstory/ancestry is canon with a bit of inference. We don’t know if Iorlas is the brother of Beregond or Beregond’s wife, just that he’s Bergil’s uncle, so I just picked one of those options. Beregond’s story is entirely canon; the names of the OCs involved are, of course, not. I’ll go more into Borlas and Berelach’s story in the next edit.
Chapter 13: Fourth Age Gondorians
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Saelon was a man of Gondor in the early Fourth Age. His father was Duilin, a worker in Emyn Arnen and an acquaintance of Borlas the son of Beregond. As a child, Saelon befriended Borlas’ son Berelach, often getting him into mischief. Borlas disapproved of his son’s companion and kept a firm eye on Saelon, and when he caught the young lad stealing an apple from his garden that was all he needed to forbid Saelon from cavorting around with Berelach. Indeed, he likened Saelon’s behavior to “orc’s work,” an insult the child would not soon forget, though he played games of orcs and soldiers with his friends.
As Saelon grew into a young man, Borlas’ heart softened and he allowed his erstwhile neighbor to spend time with Berelach once more. Yet when they were grown, Berelach took the seas, gaining a high command of the King’s Ships, while Saelon worked with timber and remained in the lands about Ithilien. As Borlas grew older and lonelier, his daughter Sammareth marrying and his son off to sea and his wife Orosser passing away, it was Saelon who took to looking in on the old man from time to time, and a strange companionship arose between them.
When Borlas heard from his friend Othrondir, a stonemason from Minas Tirith, that a new shadow was festering like a canker in Gondor, he mused aloud at the persistence of evil among Men and was overheard by Saelon. Himself knowledgeable of such rumors concerning an orc-cult known only as “the Dark Tree,” Saelon asked if Borlas knew of its leader Herumor, and was shocked to find he did. The two conversed on the nature of evil, Borlas growing ever more suspicious of the young man’s motivations, but Saelon proved frustratingly vague in his answers, though he promised to tell Borlas more should he meet him under the cover of night wearing black clothes.
No more of this tale is known, for it was written by Findegil, the King’s Writer, who died before he could complete it. Findegil was known best for his copying of the Red Book of Westmarch at the request of Thain Peregrin Took’s great-grandson, his compilation being the most complete version in existence, but he penned many other tales and histories in his days serving under King Eldarion.
Notes:
ft. Borlas, Berelach, Duilin Saelonadar, Saelon, Othrondir, Herumor of the Dark Tree, Findegil
This is mostly canon, though since Tolkien abandoned the story of the New Shadow pretty early in the story, it should all be taken with a grain of salt. We know very little about Duilin and Othrondir; Duilin is implied to be a stern father, and Othrondir is only mentioned in passing. The character of Saelon is very interesting to me, and I may return to him someday—I honestly don’t know if he’s in on the cult or not, and if he is, what his true motivations are! This story being framed as a tale written by Findegil is entirely my headcanon (and mostly a way to get him to fit into this edit, lbr, because I had no idea where else to put him), but he did canonically copy the most complete version of the Red Book at the request Pippin’s great-grandson.
Chapter 14: Miscellanious Arnorians
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Voronwë was the son of Orontor of Númenor, and a fast friend of Elendil the Tall. He was a great mariner, and with his wife lord he escaped the downfall of Númenor, though his father and sister were lost. His children, Cemniel and Ilcanië, were aboard the ships of Isildur and Anárion and were swept away from the northern fleet, but they landed safely in the south of Middle-earth and were among the founders of Gondor. Eventually Voronwë and his daughters were reunited just in time for the wedding of Ilcanië to the shipwright Sandor and the birth of two more sons to Cemniel and Isildur her husband. Ilcanië also bore a child, whom she named Glanor, and though Voronwë was devoted to his liege in Arnor their family remained as tight-knit as that of Elendil and his own sons.
Amid the War of the Last Alliance, Elendil, Anárion, and Sandor were all slain, but Voronwë survived to comfort his daughters. It seemed that Isildur had survived and would soon reunite with Cemniel and his newborn son Valandil, but before his company could reach the hidden stronghold of Imladris, they were attacked by a massive company of orcs. Glanor at this time was serving as an ohtar, or esquire, to his uncle, and to him Isildur entrusted the shards of Narsil before the orcs closed in. Along with his friend and companion Celevon, Ohtar Glanor fled to Imladris and told of his uncle and cousins’ grim fate.
Isildur’s company was massacred save for Glanor and Celevon, and one other ohtar who was presumed dead on the battlefield: Estelmo, the esquire of Isildur’s eldest son Elendur. He was discovered lying stunned under the corpse of his lord by the Guard of Eryn Galen and the Woodmen of the North, who delivered him to the healing hands of Elrond in Imladris, and from Estelmo the last words of Isildur became known, though no trace of his body—or of the Ring he bore—were ever found by elves or men.
The kingdom of Arnor passed to the rulership of Valandil, who kept Glanor, Celevon, Estelmo, and their families in his service. For generations these men and their kindred served the King of Arnor, and indeed Malbeth the Seer was a direct descendant of Ohtar Celevon. Malbeth served as a counselor to King Araphant, advising him to name his son Arvedui, for he would be the last king of Arthedain. Malbeth warned that a choice would come to the Dúnedain, and that the one that seemed less hopeful would lead to Arvedui becoming King of a realm greater than Arnor in its glory; but alas, the Council of Gondor chose otherwise, dismissing the wisdom of the Arnorian Seer, and in the end this led to much sorrow and centuries before the Dúnedain would arise and be united again.
Malbeth made their second prophecy during the rule of Arvedui, foretelling that an Heir of the Dúnedain would call the Army of the Dead from their half-existence to fulfill their once-forsaken Oath to Isildur. This manifested in Aragorn II entering the Paths of the Dead and rallying the spirits of the Men of the Mountains to war against Sauron, releasing them from their Oath once the battle was won. At Aragorn’s side was the ranger Halbarad, leading the Grey Company out of the North to aid their Chieftain. Aragorn fulfilled Malbeth’s first prophecy also when he ascended to the throne of the Reunited Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor as King Elessar, bringing the Dúnedain together at long last.
Notes:
ft. Voronwë of Númenor, Ohtar Glanor, Celevon (OC), Estelmo, Malbeth, Halbarad
Voronwë’s story is covered in a previous edit and just rehashed here. The soldier who escaped with the shards of Narsil was only referred to as Ohtar, but that is properly a title referring to his rank and not a name. That soldier was a kinsman of Isildur, so I crafted the character of Glanor to fit the bill; he is the son of Isildur’s wife’s sister. He had a companion with him, about whom nothing is known, so I invented a name for him. Estelmo was another character from canon, who survived the battle by being presumed dead. He was rescued presumably by the wood-elves and Woodmen who came as (too late) reinforcements for Isildur and his men; I would have assumed that Elrond’s sons led a company out of Imladris or something, but nope, Unfinished Tales specifies that it was Thranduil who heard what was up first! All we know about Malbeth is their prophecies; I made them nonbinary (and connected them to Ohtar’s companion) because I felt like it. Halbarad only gets a passing mention here, but really in canon he didn’t do all that much anyway. (Free real estate??)
wisteria53 on Chapter 14 Sat 16 Apr 2022 09:28PM UTC
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starlightwalking on Chapter 14 Sun 17 Apr 2022 01:12AM UTC
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