The Rise of the Shadow: The Origins of the Nine

In the elder days, when the Dark Lord sought to ensnare the hearts of Men with gifts of deceit, he fashioned the Rings of Power. Nine such rings were bestowed upon those of mortal race who hungered for dominion beyond their span, and among them were great lords, warriors, and sorcerers. They who accepted these rings became the Nazgûl, the Úlairi, the Ringwraiths, and chief among them stood he who would be known as the Witch-king of Angmar. Though his true name is lost to the mists of the Second Age, it is recorded in the scrolls of Minas Tirith that he was once a king of Men, perhaps of the high lineage of Númenor, whose pride and desire for immortality paved the road to his eternal servitude. Bound forever to the will of the One Ring, he faded from the light of the sun, becoming a wraith—a creature of shadow, visible only when he chose to clothe himself in the raiment of the living.

The Terror of Angmar

When the Third Age dawned and the shadow of the Enemy crept back into the world, the Lord of the Nazgûl was sent by his master to the cold, northern lands of Eriador. There, he established the realm of Angmar, a kingdom built upon malice and intent to destroy the remnant of the Dúnedain who had fled from the ruin of their isle. For centuries, he waged a relentless war against the successor states of Arnor: Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhudaur. It was his fell sorcery that corrupted the hearts of the Men of Rhudaur, and his blades that struck down the last princes of the North. Through his machinations, the great city of Fornost fell, and the North-kingdom was brought to desolation. It was during these dark years that the prophecy was whispered by the Elf-lord Glorfindel, who declared that the Witch-king would not fall by the hand of man, a truth that would haunt the annals of history until the final hour.

The Shadow over Minas Ithil

Following his triumph in the North, the Witch-king returned to the south at the command of Sauron to prepare for the conquest of Gondor. He besieged the fortress of Minas Ithil, capturing it and tainting it with his presence, whereupon it was renamed Minas Morgul, the Tower of Sorcery. From this valley of death, he reigned as the Captain of the Nine, orchestrating the fall of Ithilien and the slow decay of the White City. During the War of the Ring, he became the primary instrument of the Enemy’s will. He led the hunt for the One Ring, pursuing the Hobbit to Weathertop, where he wounded Frodo Baggins with a Morgul-blade, an injury that sought to drag the Ring-bearer into the realm of shadows forever.

The Final Defiance and the Doom of the Wraith

When the hosts of Mordor marched upon the Pelennor Fields, the Witch-king rode at their head, mounted upon a fell beast of the air, sowing terror that broke the hearts of the defenders of Gondor. He broke the gates of the City, riding into the silent court where he was met by the Lord of the City, Gandalf the White. Yet, his end was not to be found in duel with the Wizard, but upon the field of battle. As he stood over the fallen King Théoden of Rohan, he was challenged by Éowyn, the niece of the King, and the Hobbit Meriadoc Brandybuck. By the valor of the maiden and the blade of the Halfling, fashioned in the North for the very purpose of his destruction, the Witch-king was unmade. The prophecy was fulfilled; he fell not by the hand of man, but by the resolve of those who were deemed lesser, and his spirit, bereft of its anchor, vanished into the void, never to trouble the world of the living again.