Course Correction by Raaf

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Chapter 4

The misguided pursuits that Númenor’s Kings had turned to, had left the Lords of Andúnië to the role of cautioning sense to their kin in the line of kings. Amandil had always watched over Míriel and Pharazôn as the younger siblings he had never had. Less so with Míriel who was close to her own parents and especially so with Pharazôn who had a rocky relationship with his father. Gimilkhâd had been a bitter, unpleasant man with very definite ideas about his son spending his time advancing his causes and not with his political enemies, which Pharazôn resisted with typical adolescent rebellion.

Amandil’s position on the Council meant he had always frequently seen them in Armenelos. Both of them had also visited Andunië often, although never at the same time as the bitter rivalry between the King and his brother forbade any association between their households. To the equal dismay of Tar-Palantir and Gimilkhâd that had an unexpected side-effect in their estranged children wishing to marry. For the first time they saw eye to eye on an issue, but their mutual effort was unsuccessful. Míriel and Pharazôn remained resolute and wed after Tar-Palantir was dead and could no longer forbid it.

Amandil felt partially responsible for that misstep. Pharazôn had contrived to meet and woo Míriel — who he had fallen in love with from afar — by asking to visit Andúnië at a time he knew she was there as well[1]. Amandil would not have agreed if he had realized Pharazôn’s true purpose for that visit, but he hadn’t had any better luck preventing it afterwards than their parents did. Now he could only try to salvage their current situation.

Amandil gazed into his palantír. This one was the larger of his seeing stones and was permanently mounted in the tower of his house in Rómenna. Ar-Gimilzôr had stopped Amandil receiving Eressëan Elves visiting Andúnië’s harbour from Aman, but before their permanent departure the Elves had gifted him with seven palantíri as a consolation.

With them he could see the Tower of Avallónë where the Master-stone was held. The elven-white tower rising over the jewel-strewn beach of Tol Eressëa was indeed a comforting sight, but it was not a substitute for actual contact with the wisdom of the Undying Lands. None of the Elves there would still accept a communication from him after his people made fellowship with Sauron Gorthaur.

Since then, Amandil mostly used the palantíri for keeping watch over Middle-earth. He did not dare attempt spying on Sauron directly, but the movements in Sauron’s territories on Middle-earth could not slip by him. Amandil had been forced to turn his attention eastwards ever since the West was closed to Númenor and his own city of Andúnië was left forlorn. Many of the Faithful had already fled under Ar-Gimilzôr’s persecution to Middle-earth to their settlements next to Gil-galad’s realm. When Sauron took over the Council, Amandil had gathered everyone that remained, and could be trusted, with him in the eastern harbour city of Rómenna.

At the moment the palantír allowed him to discuss the unexpected turn of events in Númenor with their allies off the isle. Amandil and Míriel were in irregular contact with Gil-galad. The immortal High Elf had been involved in many conflicts against Sauron, and even against Morgoth in the First Age. He had fought the longest against the Enemy and knew best his designs. He had been the first to recognize the growing threat of Mordor and was the one that deduced that one of Morgoth’s scattered followers must have resurfaced there.

“It shames me to admit it, but Sauron has bent the ear of most of our people.” Amandil confessed. “Even without Ar-Pharazôn’s leadership they will still side with him against our efforts.”

“Do not blame yourself too harshly,” Gil-galad said kindly, “Sauron’s ability to influence the Númenórean people is not wholly their fault. There is something you should know. It was too late for Eregion when Celebrimbor realized who Annatar truly was, but his efforts were not in vain. His messenger reached us swiftly and secretly ahead of Sauron’s advance. We received Celebrimbor’s final work, and a warning.”

They listened solemnly. Some of the tale of the forging of the Great Rings was known in Númenor, but their first involvement in the events was at its end, when Tar-Minastir had sent a host to relieve the Elves. They knew little of the details, and less of the deeper treachery Sauron had plotted with the Ruling Ring.

“That is ill news indeed. Is there no way we can overcome the influence of the One Ring?” Tar-Míriel broke the silence.

Sauron had had entirely too free access to the palace under Pharazôn’s reign, but now Amandil had been able to leave one of the palantíri with Míriel as well.

“I regret to say there is none we know of. The One Ring is a mightier work than anything we could bring against it. Our only course is to cast it back into the fires it was made from.” Gil-galad responded.

“If we were in a position to take Sauron’s Ring from him we would not have a problem in the first place.” Amandil sighed. “If only we knew of this sooner, then we could have destroyed it when we fought him.”

“Could you have?” asked Elrond from next to Gil-galad.

Elrond Half-Elven was the herald, and a distant cousin, of the High King Gil-galad, but in Númenor he was more notable for being the brother of Elros Tar-Minyatur, their founder. He had been a regular visitor to Númenor since it was raised from the sea, up until the Shadow fell on them. It was always strange to speak to him and see an image of Elros’ ancient statues brought to life. Elrond was still technically a citizen of Númenor, though any attempt to press his influence would not be taken well, with his position as the living embodiment of the sundered fate that they resented.

“Sauron didn’t work his corruption instantly.” Amandil responded. “Ar-Pharazôn brought Sauron here to Númenor in the first place because he knew the Deceiver could not be trusted to keep his word if he were left to his own devices. He certainly wouldn’t have let Sauron keep a potent weapon.”

“We meant no slight to your friend, Lord Amandil,” Gil-galad interjected, “I would not trust anyone, even those of us here, with such an evil artifact. Mastering a work that contains all the power and malice of Sauron himself is not something that could be done by anyone now outside the West. I fear anyone who takes it will soon themself be mastered by it. But this isn’t as hopeless as it sounds, Sauron may have magnified his powers, but he is still not invincible. He must have already had the One Ring when Tar-Minastir and I had the decisive battle against him at Gwathló, nonetheless he was routed and could only barely escape with his own life. If we stand against him together, we can defeat him again and do so permanently this time by destroying the One Ring.”

Amandil frowned. “Yet it would be a hard victory if only we few of the Faithful stood with you, and an impossible one if we had to first face the greater part of Númenor that Sauron has swayed to him. There is little hope. We must defeat Sauron, take his Ring, carry it across the sea to Orodruin[2] and destroy it, all while resisting its evil influence and preventing retaliation from his followers. Taking the One Ring from Sauron by force I deem possible if we have strength of numbers, though such a battle would cost us dearly. Yet we do not have the ability to press Sauron into an engagement. The folly of Ar-Pharazôn in treating with Sauron, faithless and accursed, does not alter the fact that Sauron asked for and was granted pardon from our Kingdom. We have no lawful grounds on which to contend with him, and will face reprisals if we do so.”

There was no champion in the mortal lands that could outmatch Sauron, but Amandil would take his chance against him if he could also have Elendil and Gil-galad standing by him. Once again, Amandil wished they had simply fought Sauron without quarter in the war, vanquished him and been done with it. But Pharazôn’s pride had mastered him and, without consulting Amandil about the many, many pitfalls in his idea, he had set on the more boastful victory of compelling Sauron to serve him.

Reaching Orodruin should have been simple. The Dark Tower guarding Mordor demonstrably could not hold off the Númenórean army. Amandil remembered Sauron’s imposing fortress well. The Dark Tower was a veritable mountain of steel and adamant battlements, and not diminished by the literal mountain range it was built into. The prospect of needing to make his way past that, but with his soldiers reduced into only the Faithful remnant, filled him with more dread than he cared to admit.

“Our problem is two-sided,” Míriel summarized, “we have under our control enough might that we could take the Ring and destroy it, but we cannot deploy our forces to do so while Sauron, aided by the Ring, is subverting them against us. Yet we cannot undo his subversion without first taking the Ring from him. Our task to unmask Sauron’s sophistry was difficult enough before we knew he had another advantage in impressing his will on others. Still, his control cannot be absolute, so how else can we undo it?”

For all Sauron’s unfair advantages he used to dominate the wills of others, he could not outright force anyone into agreeing with him. It was an únat to enter someone’s mind against their will and no enhancement of Sauron’s power by the Ring could enable him to do so. One of Morgoth’s tactics had been to use the fact that minds were by default open to communication to take advantage of the unwary[3], but even Númenóreans with no talent at using ósanwe themselves were still aware of that danger. Any of them who treated Sauron with the appropriate wariness — which unfortunately seemed to be only the remnant of the Faithful — should be capable of resisting his will.

“Treachery was ever our greatest danger from Sauron.” Elrond lamented. “Tar-Míriel, you should have your own influence from rightful authority, are things so dire on Númenor that that is insufficient?”

“That is what we intended to rely on: to work against Sauron and let him earn the ire of the people when he betrays his nominal fealty. Unfortunately, my authority counts for much less when it is the result of treachery done by someone in my cause. That will not work now that no-one would take a side that meant standing with traitors. The Faithful are unfairly accounted as such, but we can no longer credibly claim otherwise.”

There was some restless shifting done by the Faithful with Amandil, but no-one spoke up. The news that some of their own had been sentenced for Ar-Pharazôn’s death was controversial, especially amongst those who personally knew the ones involved. Still, there was no good to be had in further arguing about a done deal.

The Faithful were a small minority and generally seen as outsiders and rebels. Their odds were not good if a civil war broke out, yet bringing in any outside help would be the final death knell for their legitimacy. The reverence the traditions of the Sea-Kings were held in was one of the few advantages they held, why Ar-Gimilzôr could not change the succession away from his contradictory son and why Sauron still couldn’t openly act against Tar-Míriel. They could not afford to lose it.

“We could fight the Enemy on a point that is unrelated to the Faithful.” Elendil suggested. “He was originally brought here as a hostage, perhaps we could instigate a rebellion in his lands. His fearsome reputation must have taken a blow among his servants when he yielded, we could exploit that.”

Gil-galad shook his head. “We have no-one who could make inroads there. Sauron manipulated the Men he set against us through the grudge they hold against Númenor, and he also encouraged the superstitious fears they have about us Elves. I regret to say you underestimate how implacably the Men of the surrounding lands regard you. If they do fear their dark master less now, it will only mean they fear their hated enemy who defeated him the more. I do not think there is anything that could compel them to act out now, when they see themselves as trapped between a rock and a hard place.”

That was problematic, but not wholly surprising. Many years ago, the Men of Darkness showed well that they feared Númenor’s wrath even more than their God-King’s, when they deserted their master to his defeat rather than stand and fight. Amandil had to agree that if that impression indeed still lingered, then they would not attempt any rebelliousness. He was more surprised that the alarm with which the ignorant viewed the Fair Folk was still such an issue after Sauron’s influence was reduced.

The regrettable behaviour of the King’s Men in how harshly they ruled their dominions Middle-earth, and in their raids against the lesser Men for entertainment and plunder, had left the High Men feared and hated everywhere their ships landed[4] . This was to the liking of those who participated in such things, and they amused themselves by encouraging the dark legends they inspired rather than curbing the rumour-mongering. Ridiculously, when Amandil had ordered outposts established against Sauron, many of the local tribes his men had dealt with even believed that they were cannibals[5].

“Since the Ring is a weapon, we could demand he surrender it and seize it when he refuses.” One of the Faithful with Amandil, Teliadis, suggested.

“That is a potential option, but not a first resort. We need to prevent Sauron from realizing we are trying to destroy the Ring as long as possible. I mean no offense to you, Gil-galad, but it would also be better in that case to be able to offer an explanation of the Ring’s dangers to the court that does not rely entirely on accepting your word.” Tar-Míriel cautioned.

“I understand, I expected that Sauron would pursue his grudge against us from his new position in Númenor. I know he wishes to destroy us, I must ask what danger are we in on that front?” Gil-galad asked.

“There is no support for such an effort and Sauron has no pretext for suggesting it. We will, of course, warn you if that changes.” Amandil reassured.

The cooled friendship between the Kingdom of Númenor and the Kingdom of Lindon hadn’t yet led to them wanting to match arms. The Exiles had not been in contact with the Undying Lands since they left there, and were outsiders to Númenor’s issues with Valinor. There was simply nothing to gain from a distasteful betrayal of an old ally. Not even prestige, for it was perfectly clear who would win such a contest.

Gil-galad had realized even before his war started that the combined might of the Elven realms was insufficient to fend off Sauron, and sent appeals to Númenor for help. He owed his life, and the continued existence of his kingdom, to the fact that Númenor had been willing to oblige his request to help fortify his borders and also sent a host to step in before the last Elvish strongholds were overrun. In contrast, in Númenor’s own war later, against Sauron they easily won alone. Amandil was uncomfortably aware that Gil-galad’s intense efforts in rebuilding his military had not been only because he wanted a more equal footing against just Sauron.

Their alliance helping the Elves against Sauron had sadly also been the start of their friendship with the Elves ending. Ciryatan, heir of Tar-Minastir and a commander in his armed forces, had managed the remarkable feat of making a poor impression on the people he was at that moment saving from death and worse at the hands of the Dark Lord. His own impression was no better. Ciryatan returned from the war with disdain for the abilities of Númenor’s less powerful friends and contempt for the pitiful refugees fleeing from Sauron. It was when Tar-Ciryatan succeeded his father that Númenor shifted from visiting the lesser Men to give them an occasional helping hand, to instead putting them under subjection and taking tribute from them.

“Is that it then, we must keep on simply watching and waiting?” Isildur asked, crossing his arms, when it seemed no-one else had any plans to offer.

Amandil placed a hand on his shoulder. “Sometimes that is all there is to be done. Remember how long our ancestors spent holding out against Morgoth, and then we were saved beyond any looked for hope.”

Isildur looked at the young White Tree by the window. “And sometimes taking risks are necessary.”

The seedling from Nimloth had grown steadily. Isildur — as the one who had taken the initiative to steal a fruit from Nimloth and paid with grievous injuries when he fought his way past the guards — had the privilege and responsibility of tending to the sapling. He kept it trimmed so that it wouldn’t outgrow its pot. There, the White Tree would have to remain until the day dawned where it could be replanted in its proper pride of place in the King’s Court.

The pot was also housed in the high tower with the palantír, as a compromise between the need to expose the sapling to a sunlit window and the need to keep it out of sight. The tree’s lineage was immediately obvious in the otherworldly, silver glow reflecting from the underside of the dark green leaves. Their defiance against Ar-Pharazôn’s command would be undeniable if anyone caught a glimpse of it. They had already been very lucky that Isildur’s disguise wasn’t dislodged when he was wounded, and that they managed to keep his recovery process quiet enough to be deniable during the search for the ‘brazen rebel’. Sauron had of course suspected the culprit was one of Amandil’s household, but Pharazôn and Míriel had not allowed his home to be searched on only a suspicion.

“It is already a step forward to know exactly what we are facing from our Enemy,” Míriel said, “it appears that is our best option to focus on for now. We will look to assemble proof of what Sauron has done with the Ring. No-one will listen to him anymore when they know of that undue influence on them and he will no longer be able to oppose us.”

Chapter End Notes

1The way they got together, Tar-Palantir forbidding his brother and nephew from his house, and Gimilkhâd objecting to Pharazôn’s visits to Amandil’s family and love for Míriel, are all from draft b in HoME.

2‘Mount Doom’ doesn’t get coined as a name for Orodruin until Sauron’s comeback.

3From Tolkien’s essay, Ósanwe-kenta. We never see him do this onscreen, so I guess it was mostly early on when he was corrupting his Maiar servants.

4Naturally, this is also because of the Faithful’s own wrongdoings, but, judging by their narrations in canon, the Faithful are not very self-aware about that. I’ll take this moment to make a general statement that their fantasy racism is intentional characterization and not a reflection of me, the author. I don’t want to whitewash our good guys into saints, but rest assured that, like now, their arrogance will not be a good thing for them.

5From Tolkien’s short story Tal-Elmar. “Some say that [the Númenóreans’ captives] are eaten for meat; and others that they are slain with torment on the black stones in the worship of the Dark. Both maybe are true.”. Kinda raises some implications about the Melkor cultists tho, since we know the sacrifice part is accurate :|.

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