Of Pharazon and Miriel

[Urwen]

Originally Posted by Huinesoron

I think this is essentially my Scenario 1 from the beginning of the thread. The main argument that it couldn't happen in canon is a moral one: in Tolkien's worldview, the Good Guys wouldn't sink so low as to attempt assassination. The closest incident I can think of is Turin's attack on Brodda, which is portrayed very negatively, and immediately highlighted as killing one of his few remaining relatives, and increasing the persecution of his House. In canon, even when Isildur - the most morally grey member of the Faithful, who at one point was portrayed as somewhat sympathising with the King's Men - was sneaking into the enemy-held palace, his only goal was to retrieve a fruit of the White Tree, not to take any direct action against Pharazon.



Now there's a terrifying thought. o.o But... if we're talking about Pharazon dying through his attack on Aman, then by that point Sauron is already being worshipped as a god by the Numenoreans. Yes, he loves his manipulation and schemes, but why bother with Miriel when he could just throw her onto the fire and rule directly?



Ya know, if you want to keep her alive, there are better ways than turning her into a cursed zombie-ghost. All indications are that the Nine are the people who were originally given the Rings; certain video games aside, there's no hint that the Nazgul were ever killed or abandoned and had to be replaced.

But okay, let's play with it... one of the Nine tripped over a dragon and got eaten or something, and Sauron is out for a replacement. While Pharazon is making rude gestures towards the West, Sauron spends his time working on Miriel. "Of course, you're the true queen," he says, "but these fools won't accept that. Maybe even the Valar couldn't convince them... but the One who dwells in the Dark could."

Obviously, says Miriel. The One can do anything.

"Of course," Sauron says, "but sometimes He needs us to make sacrifices to show the depth of our faith. Your Faithful are willing to make sacrifices, yes?"

Then we need to keep Miriel tucked away in the palace for a bit, unaware of the atrocities Sauron's perpetrating in his Temple. When she finds out, she's horrified - "But," says Sauron, "you did agree to it..."

We know Sauron gave his Rings to people in positions of power, so a reasonable assumption is that Miriel received hers just when Pharazon sailed away. "He won't be coming back," Sauron tells her. "The sceptre is yours."

Um, no, says Miriel. My so-called husband took it with him.

"Ah, well then," Sauron says, "perhaps this Ring would serve in its place..."

This is why even Miriel's efforts to climb Meneltarma and appeal to the One don't save Numenor - she's doing it while thoroughly tainted with the Shadow. And the Downfall kills her - or at least, her body. But her spirit is already bound to her Ring...

It probably takes a while for it to wash up in Middle-earth and for Miriel to reform or whatever (this is wild speculation; Tolkien never disembodied the Nazgul, so we don't know how it would go). By that time, the Last Alliance has already fought; the Middle-earth that greets Miriel is one where Numenor, Mordor, and Lindon have crashed against each other and been mutually destroyed. Elendil's descendents haven't even kept a single kingdom together - there's at least two of them, and if enough time has passed, maybe four (or more, if Umbar counts). She's consumed by despair, and for up to a thousand years wanders Middle-earth as a bitter ghost.

One interesting consequence is that this opens the possibility that she wasn't fully under Sauron's thumb in the days of Angmar. He clearly helped her out - but he'd never had a chance to use his Ring to control her, so she was more of an ally he was actively manipulating than a slave. It's an interesting twist on the story - but you can be sure that, once Angmar fell, he would have brought her to his side, and spent the next few centuries ensuring she was just as far under his control as the other Ringwraiths.

I don't think it's likely. It hinges on Miriel being secretly evil, or at least neutral, which flies against everything Tolkien wrote about her. But it could play out interestingly nontheless.

hS

Ah, but as Gandalf said 'I would take the Ring with a desire to do good, but through me, it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine'.


It could have been the same with Miriel. She could have accepted one of the Nine with the intention of saving Numenor.