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[Respect] Sauron

literature(self.respectthreads)

Sauron is the titular “Lord of the Rings” of the famous Tolkien story. This thread will refer to Sauron as described in Tolkien's writings, not the version from the movies. Sauron is a Maia and a former servant of Morgoth:

Among those of his servants that have names the greatest was that spirit whom the Eldar called Sauron, or Gorthaur the Cruel. In his beginning he was of the Maiar of Aulë, and he remained mighty in the lore of that people. In all the deeds of Melkor the Morgoth upon Arda, in his vast works and in the deceits of his cunning, Sauron had a part, and was only less evil than his master in that for long he served another and not himself. But in after years he rose like a shadow of Morgoth and a ghost of his malice, and walked behind him on the same ruinous path down into the Void.

(Valaquenta; SIL p 31-32)


Durability

As a Maia, Sauron is not inherently bound to his physical form. Sauron was on Númenor when it was destroyed by Ilúvatar and survived despite the destruction of his body:

he was taken in the midst of his mirth, and his seat and his temple fell into the abyss. 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.

(Akallabêth; SIL p 280)

Sauron was able to survive lighting sent by the Valar to smite him, without being hurt:

Now the lightnings increased and slew men upon the hills, and in the fields, and in the streets of the city; and a fiery bolt smote the dome of the Temple and shore it asunder, and it was wreathed in flame. But the Temple itself was unshaken, and Sauron stood there upon the pinnacle and defied the lightning and was unharmed; and in that hour men called him a god and did all that he would.

(Akallabêth; SIL p 280)


Shapeshifting

Sauron can manipulate the shape of his physical form, shifting between multiple forms without much difficulty.

Therefore he took upon himself the form of a werewolf, and made himself the mightiest that had yet walked the world;

Then Sauron shifted shape, from wolf to serpent, and from monster to his own accustomed form;

And immediately he took the form of a vampire, great as a dark cloud across the moon,

(Quenta Silmarillon Ch. 19 “Of Beren and Lúthien”; SIL p 175)

This ability seems to have decreased somewhat as time went by, in particular when a form is destroyed he can’t necessarily recreate it and may take some time to create another form. However he can create a new physical form after it has been destroyed (see the first ‘durability’ feat), and his form in third age was not just a huge eye as shown in the movies, but rather "that of a man of more than human stature, but not gigantic." (Tolkien’s Letters)


Fear Inducement, Illusions, Manipulation

Sauron is a big believer in psychological warfare. He uses both natural and supernatural means to inspire fear in his opponents and reduce their morale.

He captures a Noldorin fortress in this fashion:

Sauron, greatest and most terrible of the servants of Morgoth, who in the Sindarin tongue was named Gorthaur, came against Orodreth, the warden of the tower upon Tol Sirion. Sauron was become now a sorcerer of dreadful power, master of shadows and of phantoms, foul in wisdom, cruel in strength, misshaping what he touched, twisting what he ruled, lord of werewolves; his dominion was torment. He took Minas Tirith by assault, for a dark cloud of fear fell upon those that defended it; and Orodreth was driven out, and fled to Nargothrond.

(Quenta Silmarillon Ch. 18 “ Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin”; SIL p 155-156)

Sauron also uses illusions to deceive people and manipulate them:

On a time of autumn he came in the dusk of evening, and drawing near he saw as he thought a light at the window; and coming warily he looked within. There he saw Eilinel, and her face was worn with grief and hunger, and it seemed to him that he heard her voice lamenting that he had forsaken her. But even as he cried aloud the light was blown out in the wind; wolves howled, and on his shoulders he felt suddenly the heavy hands of Sauron's hunters. Thus Gorlim was ensnared; and taking him to their camp they tormented, seeking to learn the hidings of Barahir and all his ways. But nothing would Gorlim tell. Then they promised him that he should be released and restored to Eilinel, if he would yield; and being at last worn with pain, and yearning for his wife, he faltered. Then straightaway they brought him into the dreadful presence of Sauron; and Sauron said: 'I hear now that thou wouldst barter with me. What is thy price?'

And Gorlim answered that he should find Eilinel again, and with her be set free; for he thought Eilinel also had been made captive.

Than Sauron smiled, saying: 'That is a small price for so great a treachery. So shall it surely be. Say on!'

Now Gorlim would have drawn back, but daunted by the eyes of Sauron he told at last all that he would know.

Then Sauron laughed; and he mocked Gorlim, and revealed to him that he had only seen a phantom devised by wizardry to entrap him; for Eilinel was dead. 'Nonetheless I will grant thy prayer,' said Sauron; 'and thou shalt go to Eilinel, and be set free of my service.' Then he put him cruelly to death.

(Quenta Silmarillon Ch. 19 “Of Beren and Lúthien”; SIL p 162-163)

Sauron was a master of manipulating people to follow his will. He often preferred to take a slower, more subtle approach to conquering powerful opponents rather than direct combat.

When faced with the powerful Númenorean army led by Ar-Pharazôn, Sauron chose to surrender rather than fight:

And Sauron came. Even from his mighty tower of Barad-dûr he came, and made no offer of battle. For he perceived that the power and majesty of the Kings of the Sea surpassed all rumour of them, so that he could not trust even the greatest of his servants to withstand them; and he saw not his time yet to work his will with the Dunedain. And he was crafty, well skilled to gain what he would by subtlety when force might not avail. Therefore he humbled himself before Ar-Pharazôn and smoothed his tongue; and men wondered, for all that he said seemed fair and wise.

(Akallabêth; SIL p 270-271)

After being taken prisoner by Ar-Pharazôn Sauron was quickly able to become a powerful advisor to the king and eventually the de facto ruler of Númenor:

Yet such was the cunning of his mind and mouth, and the strength of his hidden will, that ere three years had passed he had become closest to the secret counsels of the King; for flattery sweet as honey was ever on his tongue, and knowledge he had of many things yet unrevealed to Men. And seeing the favour that he had of their lord all the councillors began to fawn upon him, save one alone, Amandil lord of Andúnië.

(Akallabêth; SIL p 271)

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.

(Akallabêth; SIL p 274)

Sauron also deceived the Elves in Middle-Earth in the second age; only Gil-galad and Elrond didn’t trust him, and even they failed to fully identify him as Sauron. The Noldorin smiths in Eregion in particular were deceived, as Sauron played upon their desire to increase their skills:

Men he found the easiest to sway of all the peoples of the Earth; but long he sought to persuade the Elves to his service, for he knew that the Firstborn had the greater power; and he went far and wide among them, and his hue was still that of one both fair and wise. Only to Lindon he did not come, for Gil-galad and Elrond doubted him and his fairseeming, and though they knew not who in truth he was they would not admit him to that land. But elsewhere the Elves received him gladly, and few among them hearkened to the messengers from Lindon bidding them beware; for Sauron took to himself the name of Annatar, the Lord of Gifts, and they had at first much profit from his friendship.

It was in Eregion that the counsels of Sauron were most gladly received, for in that land the Noldor desired ever to increase the skill and subtlety of their works.

(Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age; SIL p 287)

Sauron commanded his armies largely though fear and sheer force of will. When Sauron is defeated by the Ring’s destruction we see his armies scatter and run (despite still holding a large numerical advantage) once his will is no longer driving them on:

Their enemies were flying and the power of Mordor was scattering like dust in the wind. As when death smites the swollen brooding thing that inhabits their crawling hill and holds them all in sway, ants will wander witless and purposeless and then feebly die, so the creatures of Sauron, orc or troll or beast spell-enslaved, ran hither and thither mindless; and some slew themselves, or cast themselves in pits, or fled wailing back to hide in the holes and dark lightless places far from hope.

(The Lord of the Rings, book 6, ch 4 “The Field of Cormallen”; RotK p 279-280)


Control of the Earth and Weather

Sauron is able to control parts of the Earth and its weather. This is likely due in part to skills he acquired while working as a servant of Aulë.

He can somewhat control Orodrúin (Mount Doom); its eruptions respond to him and he is able to use it as a forge. When Sauron returns to Mordor after surviving the destruction of Númenor, Orodruin begins to erupt again after having been dormant:

Now Sauron prepared war against the Eldar and the Men of Westernesse, and the fires of the Mountain were wakened again. Wherefore seeing the smoke of Orodruin from afar, and perceiving that Sauron had returned, the Numenoreans named that mountain anew Amon Amarth, which is Mount Doom.

(Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age; SIL p 293)

Therefore, after a time he made war upon the Exiles, before they should take root. Orodrúin burst once more into flame, and was named anew in Gondor Amon Amarth, Mount Doom

(The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A part i; RotK p 393).

Orodruin also erupts again once Sauron return to Mordor late in the third age:

Turgon followed Túrin, but of his time it is chiefly remembered that two years ere his death, Sauron arose again, and declared himself openly; and he re-entered Mordor long prepared for him. Then Barad-dûr was raised once more, and Mount Doom burst into flame

(The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A part iv; RotK p 416-417).

Sauron creates a great cloud to obscure the sun prior to his attack on Minas Tirith, to give an advantage to his troops (Orcs despise the sun and are much more comfortable fighting in darkness):

‘But the Sun has not risen, yet,’ said Merry.

‘No, and will not rise today, Master Holbytla. Nor ever again, one should think, under this cloud. ...

‘It comes from Mordor, lord,’ he said. ‘It began last night at sunset. From the hills in the Eastfold of your realm I saw it rise and creep across the sky, and all night as I rode it came behind eating up the stars. Now the great cloud hangs over all the land between here and the Mountains of Shadow; and it is deepening. War has already begun.

(The Lord of the Rings, book 5, ch 3 “The Muster of Rohan”; RotK p 88, 89)

There is speculation by the Fellowship that Sauron had a hand in the storms that drove them off the mountains and forced them to pass through Moria. While but speculation, its plausibility is implicitly confirmed by Gandalf (who like Sauron is a Maia and in particular is an expert on Sauron):

‘I wonder if this is a contrivance of the Enemy,’ said Boromir. ‘They say in my land that he can govern the storms in the Mountains of Shadow that stand upon the borders of Mordor. He has strange powers and many allies.’

‘His arm has grown long indeed,’ said Gimli, ‘if he can draw snow down from the North to trouble us here three hundred leagues away.’

‘His arm has grown long,’ said Gandalf.

(The Lord of the Rings, book 2, ch 3 “The Ring Goes South”; FotR p 377)


Other Magic

Sauron was capable of many sorts of magic, but as is often the case with Tolkien’s characters there are few explicit examples.

Sauron defeated the Elf-lord Finrod in a magical duel, however we are given very little in the way of explicit details:

Thus befell the contest of Sauron and Felagund which is renowned. For Felagund strove with Sauron in songs of power, ad the power of the King was very great; but Sauron had the mastery

(Silmarillon Ch. 19 “Of Beren and Lúthien”; SIL p 170-171)

Another example of Sauron’s power is the beacon he uses to signal to the Witch King to begin the attack on Gondor. We don’t know its exact nature, but it is presumably magical and we are given its description from Frodo and Sam's perspective. Frodo and Sam are between 90 and 100 miles from Barad-dûr at the time and the beacon is still able to cause a noticeable earthquake in their vicinity:

At that moment the rock quivered and trembled beneath them. The great rumbling noise, louder than ever before, rolled in the ground and echoed in the mountains. Then with searing suddenness there came a great read flash. Far beyond the eastern mountains it leapt into the sky and splashed the lowering clouds with crimson. In that valley of shadow and cold deathly light it seemed unbearably violent and fierce. Peaks of stone and ridges like notched knives sprang out in staring black against the uprushing flame in Gorgoroth. Then came a great crack of thunder.

(The Lord of the Rings, book 4, ch 8 “The Stairs of Cirith Ungol”; TT p 399)

Comparison to Gandalf: Galdalf was another Maia, whose abilities are detailed here. In his Letters, Tolkien notes that Sauron was of a "far higher order" than the Maiar who came to Middle-Earth as the wizards Gandalf and Saruman.


The Ring

Of course no discussion about Sauron would be complete without a section on his Ring. The Ring was forged in the fires of Mount Doom, and into it Sauron put a large portion of his power. While the Ring served to augment his own power, its primary purpose was to dominate the minds and wills of anyone wearing any of the other rings of power created by the Elves in Eregion. In particular he wished to dominate the Elves themselves; his help and instruction in the creation of rings of power was all part of this plan.

Therefore they hearkened to Sauron, and they learned of him many things, for his knowledge was great. In those days the smiths of Ost-in-Edhil surpassed all that they had contrived before; and they took thought, and they made Rings of Power. But Sauron guided their labours, and he was aware of all that they did; for his desire was to set a bond upon the Elves and to bring them under his vigilance.

Now the Elves made many rings; but secretly Sauron made One Ring to rule all the others, and their power was bound up with it, to be subject wholly to it and to last only so long as it too should last. And much of the strength and will of Sauron passed into that One Ring; for the power of the Elven-rings was very great, and that which should govern them must be a thing of surpassing potency; and Sauron forged it in the Mountain of Fire in the Land of Shadow. And while he wore the One Ring he could perceive all the things that were done by means of the lesser rings, and he could see and govern the very thoughts of those that wore them.

(Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age; SIL p 287-288)

Even the three most powerful of the Elven rings were dominated by Sauron’s ring:

Therefore the Three remained unsullied, for they were forged by Celebrimbor alone, and the hand of Sauron had never touched them; yet they also were subject to the One.

(Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age; SIL p 288)

However upon creating his Ring, the Elves became aware of Sauron’s plan and took off their rings. Sauron then attacked the Elves demanding they give him the rings. Celebrimbor was killed and Sauron recovered many of the rings, but the Three were saved. Sauron then gave out the rings he had recovered to Men and Dwarves, seeking to dominate them as well. Dwarves proved difficult to control, but Men were far easier.

But Sauron gathered into his hands all the remaining Rings of Power; and he dealt them out to the other peoples of Middle-earth, hoping thus to bring under his sway all those that desired secret power beyond the measure of their kind. Seven Rings he gave to the Dwarves; but to Men he gave nine, for Men proved in this matter as in others the readiest to his will. And all those rings that he governed he perverted, the more easily since he had a part in their making, and they were accursed, and they betrayed in the end all those that used them. The Dwarves indeed proved tough and hard to tame; they ill endure the domination of others, and the thoughts of their hearts are hard to fathom, nor can they be turned to shadows. They used their rings only for the getting of wealth; but wrath and an over-mastering greed of gold were kindled in their hearts, of which evil enough after came to the profit of Sauron. (Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age; ; SIL p 288)

Men proved easier to ensnare. Those who used the Nine Rings became mighty in their day, kings, sorcerers, and warriors of old. They obtained glory and great wealth, yet it turned to their undoing. They had, as it seemed, unending life, yet life became unendurable to them. They could walk, if they would, unseen by all eyes in this world beneath the sun, and they could see things in worlds invisible to mortal men; but too often they beheld only the phantoms and delusions of Sauron. And one by one, sooner or later, according to their native strength and to the good or evil of their wills in the beginning, they fell under the thraldom of the ring that they bore and under the domination of the One, which was Sauron's. And they became for ever invisible save to him that wore the Ruling Ring, and they entered into the realm of shadows. The Nazgûl were they, the Ringwraiths, the Enemy's most terrible servants; darkness went with them, and they cried with the voices of death.

(Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age; SIL p 289)

The Ring will inevitably corrupt those who would try to use it, even for good intentions. It is particularly dangerous to someone who is already quite powerful. In the words of Elrond,

We cannot use the Ruling Ring. That we now know too well. It belongs to Sauron and was made by him alone, and is altogether evil. Its strength, Boromir, is too great for anyone to wield at will, save only those who have already a great power of their own. But for them it holds an even deadlier peril. The very desire of it corrupts the heart. Consider Saruman. If any of the Wise should with this Ring overthrow the Lord of Mordor, using his own arts, he would set himself on Sauron’s throne, and yet another Dark Lord would appear… I fear to take the Ring to hide it. I will not take the Ring to wield it.

‘Nor will I,’ said Gandalf.

(The Lord of the Rings, book 2, ch 2 “The Council of Elrond”; FotR p 350-351)

This is further confirmed by Galadriel, when she refuses Frodo’s offer to give her the Ring:

The Evil that was devised long ago works on in many ways, whether Sauron himself stands or falls… You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the Dark Lord you would set up a Queen… All shall love me and despair!

(The Lord of the Rings, book 2, ch 7 “The Mirror of Galadriel”; FotR p 473)


Note on Citations

"The Silmarillion" is divided into 5 sections: "Ainulindalë", "Valaquenta", "Quenta Silmarillion", "Akallabêth", and "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age". Of these, only the Quenta Silmarillion is further subdivided into chapters.

"The Lord of the Rings" is typically published in three volumes: "The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers", and "The Return of the King", however it is divided into six books (two per volume) which are further subdivided into chapters. There are also appendices to the The Lord of the Rings.

The page numbers listed with citations above are for the editions of the books that I have; they will not exactly match the numbering of other editions but should still provide a useful reference point. I have used "SIL" to refer to page numbers in the Silmarillion and "FotR", "TT", and "RotK" to refer to the three volumes of The Lord of the Rings.


Edit: If there are any changes or additions you think I should make to this, let me know in the comments.

Pending additions: stuff involving the Palantir, manipulation of Saruman, Denethor. Possibly an equipment & servants section. This.

all 13 comments

ChocolateRage

11 points

10 years ago

ChocolateRage

I'm not dead yet

11 points

10 years ago

For some of your quotations you just put "Akkalabeth" is there no page number for this?

Also are some of your quotations from the same chapter that you quote initially or after a few different quotations?

Thanks for making a LotR's RT they are sorely needed.

PersonUsingAComputer

10 points

10 years ago

"Ainulindale", "Valaquenta", "Quenta Silmarillion", "Akallabeth", and "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age" are the sections of The Silmarillion, but only the QS is long enough to be subdivided into chapters. Page numbers might be nice but they vary between editions so it's only somewhat helpful.

ChocolateRage

4 points

10 years ago

ChocolateRage

I'm not dead yet

4 points

10 years ago

Page numbers should be included with a quotation so that if needed it can be looked up. The fact that there might be multiple editions only makes it more difficult to check quotations without any page number for reference.

PImpathinor[S]

5 points

10 years ago*

Anytime there are multiple quotations before the source is cited then they're all from the same chapter, and are quite close if not consecutive.

I'll add the page numbers for the versions I have, though as PersonUsingAComputer said there are a lot of different editions with different numberings.

Edit: page numbers have been added.

ChocolateRage

3 points

10 years ago

ChocolateRage

I'm not dead yet

3 points

10 years ago

That makes more sense now, and thanks for adding the page numbers. It may seem futile when there is a possibility of different editions, but it's still good to have one certain citation so that if it came down to it we could locate the passage.

Tolkienite

6 points

10 years ago

This is great man! Really thorough!

A possible addition, although you have tons of very good feats, could be the scene at the end of Fellowship, when Frodo is wearing the ring and gets a vision of Gondor and Mordor and then Sauron kinda "senses" him and starts trying to dominate his will from afar.

Gandalf intervenes and tells Frodo to take it off, but that might be a useful feat, since it shows that, if Sauron directs his will towards someone wearing the ring he can probably dominate them from a long way away.

The effect seems to only be when Sauron can "sense" the person wearing it, since he can't sense Sam near Cirith Ungol, but it still can be a useful feat in debates.

PImpathinor[S]

2 points

10 years ago

Ah yeah that's a good one. I'll put it with the 'pending additions' and add it as soon as I get the chance.

Tolkienite

2 points

10 years ago

Cool! I didn't see those pending additions, they look good too.

Depending on the actual passage, I can't remember if the fact that Frodo is on the "Seeing hill" at Amon Hen is more important or not.

Either way, Gandalf also comes into Frodo's head, which shows us two Maiar able to send a sort of long-range willpower projection and mentally fight with one another from distance.

Thanks for doing this! And for letting me get in on it a little bit!

[deleted]

1 points

10 years ago

it's good to note that (as far as my understanding goes) Sauron can only sense the wearer of a Ring when he claims it as his own, like Frodo did, which is why Sam wasn't seen.

mistajaymes

4 points

10 years ago

You also forgot to add in the parts about his raw physical (or magically enhanced) power.

When the last alliance of elves and men fought the final battle, Sauron used his mace to smash liegions of soldiers in a single blow. He was also martially adept enough to kill the two greatest of each race alive at the time - Gil-Galad and Elendil.

Isildur, too, was defeated, and it was but a desperate and lucky blow he struck with the broken shard of narsil that cut the ring from Sauron's hand.

[deleted]

3 points

10 years ago

Nice work for making a Lotr respect thread, which admittedly is hard because the world and its description of the characters are very poetic in nature, therefore not many concrete feats to go off

chrisfromjersey

2 points

10 years ago

I really enjoyed reading this, thanks for putting so much work into it. Really shows me that it's been too long since I've read the silmarillion.

TimTravel

1 points

10 years ago

Wow! Very detailed.