Once arrived as a captive in Numenor, the dark lord Sauron set to work enacting his
plan to destroy this island kingdom, by ingratiating himself with the royal court and population,
using his vast knowledge and skills to offer aid whenever possible.
Winning their trust, he then sought to further their corruption by forming the cult of Melkor
and building a temple where they performed dark rituals, like human sacrifices.
Since many Numenoreans, including the King, already hated the Valar and no longer worshipped
Eru, they were eager to hear the teachings of Sauron, who was an immortal Maia, older
then the world itself, and therefore knew much about these beings.
Taking advantage of their ignorance, Sauron taught that the supposed god of this world,
Eru, did not actually exist, and was merely invented by the Valar as a means to keep humanity
subjugated.
Yet Melkor, the giver of freedom, wanted to liberate them from this oppression, and thus
it was through his worship that men might grow even more powerful than the Valar.
Becoming a trusted adviser to the King, Sauron called for Nimloth to be destroyed, and so
in response, Isildur of the Faithful, grandson to the Lord of Andunie, stole a fruit from
the White Tree in order to safe guard its legacy.
Unfortunately this action was seen as a sign by the King, who ordered Nimloth burned.
Growing more prideful by the day, Ar-Pharazon dismissed the Lord of Andunie from his council,
a close friend since childhood, so beloved that despite being one of the faithful, he
was allowed to serve in the royal court for many years.
Yet while Amandil was no longer welcome in the capital, he was still highly respected
and so no harm befell him or his family.
Using the secret knowledge provided by Sauron, Numenoreans devised new engines and built
greater ships, increasing their wealth through their middle-earth colonies which brazenly
plundered and enslaved neighbouring powers.
Yet this pursuit of material wealth and military might intensified their corruption and fear
of death, furthering the loss of their divine blessings, leaving many to suffer madness,
illness and shorter lifespans.
As a result, Numenoreans grew increasingly greedy, jealous, angry and violent, quarrelling
and killing each other over minor provocations.
Seeking to hasten this division and civil strife, the Dark Lord travelled throughout
the island stirring up rebellions against the elite, which in turn caused the nobility
to exact cruel revenge upon the people.
For years Ar-Pharazon ruled as the greatest Tyrant since Morgoth in the First Age, though
in truth it was Sauron who held the reins of power.
Despite having everything a man could want, the King’s fear of death worsened as he
grew older, allowing Sauron to prey on this vulnerability and enact the final part of
his plan.
Disguising his intentions by claiming he would reveal a secret truth, Sauron claimed the
Valar lied about the nature of their immortality and that if a being as mighty as Ar-Pharazon
were to conquer the Undying Lands, he too would gain eternal life and mastery over the
world.
Convincing the King, Ar-Pharazon spent 9 years preparing his Great Armament for the invasion
of Valinor, and so in response, the Valar sent signs to warn him of his folly, including
earthquakes, darkened skies, violent winds, torrential rain, hail storms, and clouds in
the shape of eagles with lightning beneath their wings.
Yet Ar-Pharazon instead took these signs as an attack, claiming “The Lords of the West
have plotted against us.
They strike first.
The next blow shall be ours!”
When at last the Great Armament was complete, a final warning fell upon them, when the Eagles
of Manwe came forth arrayed as if for battle, with a terrible red sky behind them, shining
so bright the Numenoreans glowed as if lit with a flame of great anger.
But the King ignored the sign, hardened his heart, boarded his ship and sailed for war.
The Faithful however, understood the truth behind these signs and knew the King would
bring doom upon them all.
Therefore, the Lord of Andunie made a desperate plan to save his people, by leaving his son
Elendil in command of the Faithful while he sailed in secret to the Undying Lands, before
the departure of the Great Armament, in hopes of replicating the success of his ancestor
Earendil, who convinced the Valar to save Middle-earth from Morgoth in the First Age.
Departing the island on a small ship with his 3 most loyal servants, the Lord of Andunie
made his way into the West and was never heard from again.
Following his father’s instructions, Elendil prepared a fleet of ships at the port Romenna,
and readied the Faithful to depart if necessary, taking with them as many island treasures
as possible.
When the king called for the Faithful to bring their warriors forth and join the Great Armament,
Elendil refused and so ordered his people to board their ships, sailing eastward to
relative safety.
In the year 3319 of the Second Age, Ar-Pharazon arrived in the Undying Lands and marched into
Valinor where he declared himself ruler of the continent.
In response to this invasion, Manwe, King of the Valar, called upon the creator Eru
who unleashed his terrible power, swallowing the ships of the great Armament beneath the
waves, while Ar-Pharazon and his warriors were buried under falling hills, trapped within
the forgotten caves until the final battle at the end of the world.
The island of Numenor meanwhile, sank into the sea while the continent of Aman physically
detached itself from their previously flat world, now made round, populated with new
lands and seas.
Given these changes, the mortal races could no longer travel to the Undying Lands, yet
a hidden, Straight Road remained, accessible only to the Elves.
This great cataclysm led to the deaths of everyone on Numenor, including their Queen,
the Faithful Miriel, who died trying to escape the waves by climbing Meneltarma.
Though Sauron was worried when he felt the fury of Eru, his fear turned to laughter when
realizing the ruin he brought upon his enemies.
When his Temple collapsed and body died, Sauron’s Maia spirit, still in possession of the One
Ring, made its way to Mordor.
Having lost the ability to take fair form, Sauron made himself a body to inspire fear,
and started rebuilding his armies to conquer middle-earth.
Yet the peoples of the west continued to oppose him, not only the Elves, but also the Dunedain
of Elendil, the Faithful of Numenor who survived the doom.
Though it cannot be certain why the Faithful aboard their ships were sparred, some believe
Amandil’s voyage to the Undying Lands had some measure of success, causing the Valar
to protect his people and bring them unharmed to the shores of Middle earth.
With their ships split in two groups, Elendil and his followers sailed into the Elven Kingdom
of Lindon, while his sons Isildur and Anarion arrived at the mouth of the river anduin.
In the north, these surviving Dunedain established the Kingdom of Arnor, populating settlements
like Annúminas, Fornost, Cardolan, and Rhudaur.
While in the south they formed the Kingdom of Gondor, with the brother kings ruling from
the capital of Osgiliath.
Though the Sceptre of Kings was lost, the Faithful saved the Sceptre of Andúnië, held
by the Kings of Arnor, as well as many other Numenorean treasures, like the 7 Palantiri,
and the white tree of Gondor grown from the stolen seedling of Nimloth, which was planted
in the city of Minas Ithil.