Ar-Pharazôn, who had usurped the throne, learned of Sauron's might in Middle-earth and hate of Númenor. Being a mighty warrior Ar-Pharazôn set forth to attack this so called "King of Men" as Sauron titled himself. "And he determined without counsel of the Valar, or the aid of any wisdom but of his own, that the title King of Men he would himself claim, and would compel Sauron to become his vassal and his servant; for in his pride he deemed that no king should ever arise so mighty as to vie with the Heir of Elendil" (p. 270, The Silmarillion). He set sail to Middle-earth with a mighty force under his command. Sauron realized that he could not yet defeat the Númenórean's whom he hated so much. "And he was crafty, well skilled to gain what he would by subtlety when force might not avail" (p. 271, The Silmarillion). And that to me, in the search for applicability, is the kicker of the story. Evil rarely looks evil. It has more of a half-truth feel to it or the promise of joy and pleasure only to find sorrow and pain in the end. When not on my guard I am lulled into the subtlety of my fleshly desires, the world's false promises, and the Evil One's schemes.
Sauron sought to surrender playing to Ar-Pharazôn's pride. Ar-Pharazôn did not wholly believe Sauron and thought he would best be watched in Númenor. "To this Sauron assented as one constrained, yet his secret thought he received it gladly, for it chimed indeed with his desire" (p. 271, The Silmarillion). Within three years of his "captivity" Sauron had become the closest counsellor of Ar-Pharazôn and nearly all the other counselors also fell for Sauron's seemingly wise and fair words. Only Amandil, lord of Andunië, rejected Sauron. During this time the Faithful, the Elf-friends, were declared rebels by the King's Men and many gave up their loyalty to the Valar and Eldar out of fear. For Sauron spoke ever against the Valar.
Sauron declared, "'For Darkness alone is worshipful, and the Lord thereof may yet make other worlds to be gifts that serve him, so that the increase of their power shall have no end.' And Ar-Pharazôn said: 'Who is this Lord of Darkness?' Then behind locked doors Sauron spoke to the King, and he lied, saying: 'It is he whose name is not now spoken; for the Valar have deceived you concerning him, putting forward the name Eru, a phantom devised in the folly of their hearts, seeking to enchain Men in servitude to themselves. For they are the oracle for this Eru, which speaks only what they will. But he that is their master shall prevail and he will deliver you from this phantom; and his name is Melkor, Lord of All, Giver of Freedom, and he shall make you stronger than they'" (p. 271-272, The Silmarillion). Ar-Pharazôn drank in the words of Sauron, worshipping Melkor, Lord of the Darkness, first in secret and then publicly leading his people astray.
This is perhaps the saddest exchange in all of Middle-earth. The Numenoreans, living in the Land of the Gift bestowed upon them by Eru and the Valar as reward for their steadfast loyalty against Melkor have now hardened their hearts completely and have begun to worship Melkor. Astonishing. I had read this a long while back but in the full chronological context I was astonished. And unsettled. And sad. It reminds me, to a small degree, of what I deem to be some of the saddest words in the Bible. There is something incredibly sad to me about the words: "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts...". The God of the Bible gives us a choice His way or our way. While He does desire all to be with Him He will give you and I over to our hearts desire even if it's not Him. In the same token I get the sense that the Valar, and perhaps more importantly, Eru have given the Númenóreans over to the desires of their hearts as well.
Not all the people followed the King. In fact Amandil was the chief of the faithful. His son was Elendil who had two sons: Isildur and Anarion. They all were descendants of Earendil though not of the direct line of Kings. At one time Ar-Pharazôn and Amandil were close but that was not so with the coming of Sauron. "But he was so noble, and had been so mighty a captain of the sea, that he still in held honour by many of the people, and neither the King nor Sauron dared to lay hands on him yet" (p. 272, The Silmarillion). He gathered all the trusted and true Faithful to Romenna fearing a great evil to come upon the land. And so it was. The worship of Eru at Meneltarma was abandoned (though not even Sauron dared to defile that Holy Place) and Sauron urged the King to cut down the White Tree to symbolically cut all ties with the Valar and Eldar.
Amandil was grieved at this news and he spoke of the Trees of Valinor to his son and grandsons knowing the King would listen to Sauron. Then Isildur passed silently into deeds of great renown. He snuck past the guards (for the Tree was guarded day and night) and took a single fruit from it. "But the guard was aroused, and he was assailed, and fought his way out, receiving many wounds; and he escaped, and because he was disguised it was not discovered who had laid hands on the Tree" (p. 273, The Silmarillion). The King immediately had the White Tree felled. But because of the heroism of Isildur it was preserved and in the next spring it sprouted and bore a leaf curing Isildur of all his wounds.
Sauron meanwhile had a great temple erected for worship to Melkor. Though inlaid with gold and silver it soon would be black for the great fires that roared day and night. "Therefore the fire and smoke went up without ceasing; for the power of Sauron daily increased, and in that temple, with spilling of blood and torment and great wickedness, men made sacrifices to Melkor that he should release them from Death. And most often from among the Faithful they chose their victims; yet never openly on the charge that they would not worship Melkor, the Giver of Freedom, rather was the cause sought against them that they hated the King and were his rebels..." (p. 273, The Silmarillion). Wow, I am almost at a loss for words. The downfall of the Númenóreans is so complete. They are now sacrificing humans, their own kin, to Melkor all at the direction and deceit of Sauron.
But death did not leave the Númenóreans, in fact in found them more quickly, as evil covered the land and they were quick to shed one another's blood. But their power seemed to increase aided by Sauron's knowledge of war they attacked Men of Middle-earth for riches, slaves, and people to sacrifice. "Thus Ar-Pharazôn, King of the Land of the Star, grew to the mightiest tyrant that had yet been in the world since the reign of Morgoth, though in truth Sauron ruled all from behind the throne" (p. 274, The Silmarillion). And now Sauron unleashed the final piece of destruction: counselling Ar-Pharazôn that his strength was now so great he could sail West and seize the Undying Lands from the Valar themselves. And being near his own death Ar-Pharazôn began planning his invasion.
Amandil knew he must act quickly and calling his son Elendil he laid out his plan. He would set sail to the Valar ahead of Ar-Pharazôn seeking pity and help since Sauron was now so powerful. Meanwhile Elendil was to put together a fleet of ships, with the Faithful and any possession they could not bear to lose and to wait and watch. Elendil was given strict instructions not to meddle in the war that Ar-Pharazôn was now plotting. Elendil feared his father would be labeled a traitor to the King but Amandil assured him he would not be sorely missed and in any regards: "For there is but one loyalty from which no man can be absolved in heart for any cause" (p. 275, The Silmarillion). I am not exactly sure but I think he was referring to loyalty to Eru over that of the King. Amandil said goodbye to his household and sailed with three companions, never to be heard of again.
Elendil did all his father asked and kept the Faithful far from the evil of those days. Things were changing as the normally agreeable weather ever experienced in Númenor now gave way to raging storms and often the clouds came in the shape of Eagles with lightening in their wings. And storms sunk ships as had never happened, lightening slew men on the hills, smoke issued form Meneltarma, and the ground shook with earthquakes. Still the people hardened their hearts. And Ar-Pharazôn boarded his ship led his great armada into the West. "And at last Ar-Pharazôn came even to Aman, the Blessed Realm, and the coasts of Valinor; and still all was silent, and doom hung by a thread" (p. 278, The Silmarillion).
"Then Manwë upon the Mountain called upon Illúvatar, and for that time the Valar laid down their government of Arda. But Illúvatar showed forth his power, and he changed the fashion of the world; and a great chasm opened in the sea between Númenor and the Deathless Lands, and waters flowed down into it, and the noise and smoke and cataracts went up to heaven, and the world was shaken" (p. 278-279, The Silmarillion). The great fleet was drawn into the chasm; Ar-Pharazôn and the men who set foot on land with him were buried under falling mountains. The land of Eressëa where the Elves dwelt and Aman were forever put out of the reach of Men. New lands and seas were formed in their place but not undying like the blessed lands removed.
Meneltarma exploded in flame and Númenor went down into the sea taking with it all the women and children left behind vanishing forever. "And last of all the mounting wave, green and cold and plumed with foam, climbing over the land, took to its bosom Tar-Míriel the Queen, fairer than silver or ivory or pearls. Too late she strove to ascend the steep ways of the Meneltarma to the holy place; for the waters overtook her, and her cry was lost in the roaring of the wind" (p. 279, The Silmarillion). But whether Amandil had reached Valinor or it was simply the grace of the Valar Elendil and the Faithful were spared.
For Elendil, avoiding capture by the soldiers who sought to sacrifice him the fires of Sauron's temple, sailed with his people off shore and waited toward the east. Therefore the ships were not drawn into the Sea when Illúvatar opened the great rift. But as the great wave came to overtake the island a strong wind bore the ships far away thought the grief of seeing their land torn apart was bitter indeed. Nine ships of refugees there were: four for Elendil, Three for Isildur, with one of his ships bearing the sapling of the White Tree that he rescued, and two for Anarion. Eventually they were cast upon the shores of Middle-earth.
Sauron meanwhile had laughed when Al-Pharazôn took up his hopeless war West thinking he was rid of the Edain forever. But he did not expect the utter destruction of the Númenor and the western shores when Illúvatar displayed his wrath. Sauron was cast into the Sea at the annihilation of Númenor. "But Sauron was not of mortal flesh, and though he was robbed now of that shape in which he had wrought so great an evil, so that he could never again appear fair to the eyes of Men, yet his spirit arose out of the deep and passed as a shadow and a black wind over the sea, and came back to Middle-earth and to Mordor that was his home. There he took up again his great Ring in Barad-dur, and dwelt there, dark and silent, until he wrought himself a new guise, an image of malice and hatred made visible; and the Eye of Sauron the Terrible few could endure" (p. 280-281, The Silmarillion).
"Among the Exiles many believed that the summit of the Meneltarma, the Pillar of Heaven, was not drowned for ever, but arose again above the waves, a lonely island lost in the great waters; for it had been a hallowed place, and even in the days of Sauron none had defiled it" (p. 281, The Silmarillion). And holding to this tradition there were some who would set sail to try and find it hoping to catch a glimpse of the Deathless lands but it was never found. Other lands were discovered but death was there as well. It was also discovered in their journey's that the world was now made round. Indeed Illúvatar reshaped the world as a whole not just the western shores. However, the Elves were still permitted to go to the Deathless Lands. "Therefore the loremasters of Men said that a Straight Road must still be, for those that were permitted to find it" (p. 281, The Silmarillion).
Middle-earth timeline: Second Age, 3255-3319
Today's reading comes from: The Silmarillion, pages 270-282
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