Tolkien trivia of the day: The Witch-King was originally supposed to be the sixth Istari.
Well... not really, I am clickbaiting a bit here - but let me explain how the Witch-King of Angmar was indeed originally supposed to be a wizard just like Gandalf.
I said it before in one of my previous Tolkien trivias, the idea that the Istari/the Wizards were Maiar, divine spirits sent into the world taking the shape of mortal beings, was not actually the starting idea of Tolkien. When he first wrote about the wizards - in the original edition of The Hobbit, and in the first drafts of The Lord of the Rings - Tolkien envisioned them as more "regular" wizards. Aka, as human beings that had somehow learned magic - thus making their order an ACTUAL order. It also explains why Gandalf and Radagast started out as actual, literal cousins, since they were supposed to be "regular" men that had obtained magical power/joined the order of wizards.
And during these early drafts, long before Tolkien even had the idea of a country named Angmar, the Witch-King was called "The Wizard-King". And contrary to the final version of the text, where Gandalf's confrontation with the Witch-King goes smoothly on Gandalf's part, in the early drafts Gandalf dreaded a lot this confrontation. Because, as he explained: the Wizard-King used to be of the same order as Gandalf, he was a wizard too, and he wasn't just a regular wizard but one from NUMENOR out of all places. However, the Wizard-King had completely fallen for the corruption of Sauron, becoming his entire slave - and this is why Gandalf fears him so much, as he represents what happens when a wizard becomes Sauron's agent.
However, as Tolkien decided that the wizards were of otherworldy origins and Maiar originally, the idea of the Witch-King was reshaped - his Numenor background was changed as Tolkien invented the kingdom of Angmar, since he couldn't be a Wizard anymore he rather became one of the Nazgûl fallen to the ring, but since he needed to stay a force of magic, he was changed from "Wizard" to "Witch" to highlight how he was a human that had gained powers, rather than an Istari with natural powers. By extension, in the final version Gandalf is very much less worried about facing the Witch-King, since there is now a clear power gap between them.
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Take my soul, Quench your hunger
Thanks to the incredibly talented @gilfadriel , my fanfic now has fanart! This means so much to me, and I really appreciate it!
Pairing: Tar-Mirel/Eowyn
Rating: Mature; 5651
Summary: Éowyn is not healed from the wraith sickness and soon falls into the unseen realm where both life and death exist between the folds of the world. There, the Witch-King waits for her, but he is not what he seems... and has no intention of letting the shieldmaiden go.
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✺ The link to the fanfic is here ✺
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The knights of his house lay slain about him, or else mastered by the madness of their steeds were borne far away.
Merry crawled on all fours like a dazed beast, and such a horror was on him that he was blind and sick.
He will bear thee away to the houses of lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured, and thy shrivelled mind be left naked to the Lidless Eye.
all these fragments are so short yet so effective in describing the absolute horror that is happening on this battlefield. the fragment about Merry gets me especially hard, I think, because he's shown time and again how resourceful and smart he is - but now he's just utterly terrified and helpless
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Had a Mountain Dew tasting party (as one does). There were no survivors.
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150cm of silky metal waifu material ❤️ in convenient body pillow form
ringwraith and the witch-king of angmar on my etsy
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