Amarthiel

"Amarthiel" is a fictional character created by Turbine, Inc. in their MMORPG based on J. R. R. Tolkien's book, "The Lord of the Rings".

She is the main antagonist in . Although she plays a large part in the game, she doesn't appear in her true form until late in the main storyline, instead manifesting herself as Sara Oakheart, and tricking the player to help her. Many of the quests in the latter part of the game deal with Amarthiel's obsession with finding her ring, the Narchuil. She is shown to be able to appear in the guise of those she has killed, a tool which plays a great part in the storyline.

Character history

Amarthiel first served under the Witch-king in his first reign over Angmar. There, she gained much recognition for her actions in the wars against Arthedain, and her power was at its height when she gained possession of the Narchuil, a lesser Ring of Middle-earth. However, during the Battle of Fornost, in TA. 1975 Amarthiel was slain by Prince Eärnur's forces, and her ring was lost. It is implied that the Elf Lady, Narmeleth, daughter of Laerdan, wielded the sword that slew Amarthiel.

After realising defeat was imminent, the Witch-king of Angmar fled to Carn Dûm, and then, when persued by the forces of Arnor, to Minas Morgul. Many years later, King Eärnur, newly crowned, rode out to Minas Morgul after accepting the Witch-king's challenge to a duel. He was never seen again, and it is later revealed that that King of Gondor was corrupted by the Forces of Mordor, and eventually submitted to Sauron's will, becoming Mordirith.

For over a thousand years, Amarthiel's soul wandered, until, with the return of the Ring-wraiths and Sauron to Middle-earth, Amarthiel managed to possess Narmeleth, the Elf who killed her at the Battle of Fornost. Despite Elrond urging Laerdan, the father of Narmeleth, to tell him of his troubles, Laerdan lies, refusing to tell the Elves of Rivendell, for fear of them taking Narmeleth away. Despite Laerdan's efforts to restore his daughter to her former self, her quarters in Trollshaws are raided by Mordrambor, Servant of Angmar, and Amarthiel's spirit re-enters Middle-earth under the title of Champion of Angmar, using Narmeleth's body to manifest herself.

For the next few years, Amarthiel uses the guise of Sara Oakheart, Narmeleth's maid during her possession by Amarthiel, to search for the Narchuil. After the defeat of Mordirith by Golodir, Ranger of the North, a power vacuum is left within Angmar, and Amarthiel seizes this chance to become Regent of Angmar. After the player is tricked into entering Barad Gúlaran, fortress of Amarthiel, by their supposed guide, Sarah Oakheart, her true self is revealed, and the Eye of Sauron is shown, demonstrating that she has the favour of Sauron himself.

Amarthiel moves to Annúminas, where she intends to reside. While in Annúminas, she uses a Palantír she wrestled from Mordirith to reveal the location of the ring Narchuil. Although the player manages to steal the Palantír from her in her tower, Laerdan is captured, and it is revealed that Amarthiel saw a glimse of the location of her ring, and with Mordrambor, they lead a massive army of Angmarim out of Annúminas, to find Narchuil.

A race to find the Narchuil begins between Elrond and Amarthiel, and in order to trick the Free Peoples into giving up their own search, she leads them to believe she has already found the Ring in Tal Bruinen, where she first possessed Narmeleth. However, Elrond doesn't believe her trickery, and continues the search. With the rescue of Laerdan, it is revealed that after the Battle of Fornost, he found the Narchuil, splitting it in two, and hiding the two pieces in different parts of Eriador. The player finds one half of the Narchuil in Angmar, however, under torture, Amarthiel manages to find out the first half of the ring Narchuil is in Forochel, the frozen bay in Northern Eriador.

Amarthiel sends Mordrambor to Forochel to find the second half, but is in fact using the guise of Saija to spy on Mordrambor in his search. After seemingly helping the player, Amarthiel again reveals her deception, fighting Mordrambor for his treachery, the reason for which is unrevealed. Both disappear deeper into the cave, and the second half of the Narchuil is taken to Rivendell.

In a desperate attempt to recover sacred Ring-lore, fragments of ancient manuscript relating to the ring, Amarthiel attacks various strongholds throughout Eriador, causing many deaths, but is driven back, failing to find the location of the Narchuil.

As a last resort, Amarthiel uses an illusion of Narmeleth to persuade Laerdan that if he brings both halves of the Narchuil to Eregion to be reforged, Amarthiel will revert back into his daughter. Laerdan believes her treachery, bringing her the halves of the Narchuil to Eregion, where she overpowers him, and takes the Ring fragments for herself. Worried, Elrond quickly sends the player to Eregion, where they confront Amarthiel, with her newly forged ring.

Wearing the Narchuil, she is much stronger than before, and at the climax of the final instance, she fights Mordrambor once again. As he is on the verge of defeat, his true treachery is revealed, and calling forth the 'true Lord of Angmar', Mordirith flies down from the sky on the back of a mighty creature, resembling a Fell Beast. In a bitter duel against Amarthiel, she is utterly defeated, and Laerdan runs in, still believing that Narmeleth is still alive, somewhere inside her. He too, is slain by Mordirith, and Mordrambor slices off Amarthiel's hand, taking the Narchuil with it.

Seeing Laerdan dead, it appears that Amarthiel reverts back to Narmeleth, and mourns her father's death. However, she is dragged away, and imprisoned by Elrond, for fear of her lying to escape the Free Peoples. The fate of Amarthiel and Narmeleth remains unknown, until closer to the "" expansion.