Dark sorcery

Dark sorcery, more commonly known as "witchcraft" or "Morgul magic" by the Free Peoples of the World, was the practice of dark magic for evil purposes. Sorcerors in Arda were mostly servants of the Dark Lords Melkor and Sauron.
== History ==
Before his defeat, the Dark Lord Morgoth (simply known as Melkor) had used dark sorcery in his fortress of Utumno and later Angband. He was most infamous for his experiments in creating and mutilating monsters, including the Orcs, Wargs, and dragons and used much of his powers to corrupt Arda.
Dark sorcery was also used in the Second and the Third Age by the Black Númenóreans, a group of corrupted Númenóreans who grew during the later period of Númenor (especially after the arrival of Sauron) and who survived in the Númenórean colonies south of Gondor. Originally they styled themselves as "King's Men" and persecuted the "Elf-friends" because of their loyalty to the Valar (The King's Men had grown jealous of the elves' immortality). After Sauron's arrival at Númenor they begun worshiping Melkor and the darkness they so feared, bringing human sacrifices to him. After the fall of Númenor, the Black Númenóreans continued to serve Sauron. Two Black Númenóreans who were infamous for using sorcery within Sauron's armies were the Witch-king of Angmar and the Mouth of Sauron.
At around the late Third Age, in the fortress of Dol Guldur, the Necromancer (Sauron in disguise) was believed to be an Úlairi. He was eventually forced out by the White Council, but he returned to his former kingdom of Mordor and publicly declared himself alive, shown as Mount Doom erupted once again.
After Sauron's final destruction that began the Fourth Age, a cult referred to metaphorically as the Dark Tree connected to the name Herumor rose to power and worshiped the Dark Lord in Gondor.thumb|right|250px|Sorcerers performing a ritual in The Rise of the Witch-king
== Powers & abilities ==
Dark sorcery included a variety of spells, potions (alchemy) and other ghastly things that belonged to the dark arts. Dark sorcery was frequently used as a weapon, shown by the Witch-king's bewitched sword at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Morgul-knives were noted to have been enchanted with dark sorcery, so that a victim would go through the Shadow World and turn into a wraith if stabbed.
The Devilry of Saruman was said to be sorcery invented or created by Saruman as per it's name.
Many of the Rings of Power (the only known exception being the three Elf-rings) amplified the wearer's abilities as a sorcerer and warrior and were presumably forged with the help of Dark Magic.
The fortresses of Dol Guldur and Minas Morgul were enchanted with sorcery, hence their translated names in Sindarin. 
Category:Weapons
Category:Magic
Category:Evil