The High History of Andúnië: Seat of the Faithful

In the elder days of the Second Age, when the Dúnedain first set foot upon the star-shaped isle of Númenor, the city of Andúnië—the Sunset Haven—was established as the westernmost jewel of the realm. Situated in the fair land of Andustar, it faced the Sundering Seas, looking ever toward the Undying Lands from whence the Valar had bestowed the gift of the isle upon the Edain. It was here that the Lords of Andúnië, the scions of the House of Silmariën, held their seat. Silmariën, the first-born child of King Tar-Meneldur, was denied the Scepter of Númenor by the law of the land which favored the male line, yet she was granted the heirloom of her house: the Ring of Barahir. Thus, the Lords of Andúnië became the keepers of the true traditions of the Elves and the stewards of the friendship between the Men of the West and the Eldar of Tol Eressëa.

Throughout the centuries, the influence of Andúnië served as the moral bulwark against the creeping shadow of the King’s Men, who grew estranged from the Valar and fearful of the Doom of Men. The Lords of Andúnië, often styled as the leaders of the Faithful or the Elendili, maintained the secret tongue of the Eldar and welcomed the White Ships that sailed from the West. They bore the burden of conscience for a nation that grew increasingly prideful and arrogant under the shadow of Sauron, who had been brought as a prisoner from Mordor to Armenelos. It was in Andúnië that the wisdom of the past was preserved, and the warnings of the Valar were cherished, even as the Kings of Númenor turned their eyes toward the forbidden shores of Valinor.

The final, most storied scion of this noble line was Amandil, the last Lord of Andúnië. As the malice of Ar-Pharazôn reached its zenith and the Temple of Melkor rose in the capital, Amandil sought to avert the catastrophe of the Great Armament. With great peril, he sailed into the West, venturing beyond the reach of his kin to seek the pardon of the Valar for his people. Though his fate remains unrecorded in the scrolls of the West, it is believed he never returned. His son, Elendil the Tall, remained in Andúnië until the gathering gloom necessitated his flight. It was from the havens of Andúnië that the Faithful, under the guidance of Elendil and his sons Isildur and Anárion, gathered the remnants of their culture—the Seven Palantíri, the seedlings of the White Tree Nimloth, and the scrolls of lore—to escape the impending ruin.

When the cataclysm of the Akallabêth befell the world, and the great waves rose to engulf the star-drowned isle, Andúnië was lost beneath the Sundering Seas, its white towers and ancient halls reclaimed by the deep. Yet, its legacy did not perish. The spirit of Andúnië lived on through the survivors who crossed the Great Sea to establish the Realms in Exile, Arnor and Gondor. The lineage of the Lords of Andúnië became the lineage of the Kings of the Dúnedain, for Elendil was the direct descendant of the Lords of the West. Thus, the history of Andúnië is the foundation upon which the sovereignty of the South-kingdom rests, a reminder of the grace of the Valar and the tragic cost of the pride of Men.