Isildur (Shadow of War)

Isildur is a major posthumous antagonist in game Shadow of War. Originally the noble prince of Gondor, Isildur would fight by his father, King Elendil’s side, in the War of the Last Alliance against the Dark Lord Sauron. It was during this conflict that Isildur personally defeated the Dark Lord himself by cutting the One Ring from his fingers, destroying Sauron’s body and ending his attempted conquest of Middle-Earth. However, Isildur did not destroy the Ring, instead he gave into greed and took it for himself in his own hunger for power. This would eventually lead to his death at hands of vengeful orcs. After his death, in a horrific feat of irony, Sauron would revive the young prince that defeated him, turning him into one of his Nazgul generals.
==Background==
Isildur was born during the Second Age of Middle-Earth as the oldest son of Elendil the king of Gondor. During his young adulthood, Isildur joined his father in leading Gondor’s armies against the Orc forces of the Dark Lord Sauron, who sought to conquer all of Middle-Earth. During the war’s final battle at Sauron’s domain of Mordor, Isildur fought alongside his father as their army, along with the legions of elves, bravely sought to defeat Sauron once and for all. At the climax of battle however, Sauron himself appeared and made short work of the army of men before him. King Elendil was among those slain that day, swatted away like an insect by Sauron’s might mace. After witnessing his father’s death, Isildur took up the fallen king’s sword and with one swipe sliced off several of Sauron’s right fingers, including the one bearing the One Ring. Since his life force was tied to the ring, Sauron’s physical body was destroyed and his armored body reduced to ashes and smoke. Having avenged his father, Isildur was hailed as a hero for supposedly destroying the Dark Lord and bringing peace to Middle-Earth.However, the One Ring survived and rather than destroy it, Isildur gave into greed and took it for himself. Corrupted by a subconscious desire for power, Isildur would bare the ring himself and sought to use its power to expand his realm across Middle-Earth. This would never come to be, as one day while journeying through a swamp, Isildur and his royal guards were ambushed by surviving Orcs from Sauron’s army. During the ambush, Isildur’s obsession with the ring would result in his slaying and his body was stolen by his assassins. It was then revealed that the ambush was orchestrated by none other than Sauron, who because of Isildur destroying his physical body, was reduced to a wandering spirit. The orcs soon brought Isildur’s corpse to the hidden location where Sauron’s weakened spirit remained in hiding, where Sauron would have need of his former foe. Bestowing upon him a ring of power, Sauron revived Isildur by turning him into a Nazgul that would serve his every will. In a terrible case of dreadful irony, Isildur, for the next several centuries, became the ghostly servant of his father’s killer: the very Dark Lord whose reign he had brought to an end.
==Personality==
In his youth, Isildur was a prince of tremendous honour, compassion, and bravery. He was a firm believer in justice and the triumph of good over evil, bravely risking his life without hesitation to stop Sauron’s armies from conquering and engulfing Middle-Earth in darkness and tyranny. He was also shown to be close to his father, as he was devastated by his death and sought to avenge his falling by Sauron. His bravery was put to the test when he stood up to Sauron himself and actually managed to defeat him: both feats were considered to be beyond any that man could normally accomplish. Deep down however, Isildur had a subconscious greed and desire for power over others. The One Ring would reveal this in him, turning the once noble prince into a selfish, greedy, power-mad tyrant, who only cared about himself and increasing his own power; the very thing he once fought against. Isildur also developed an unhealthy attachment to the One Ring that he had taken, as he obsessively kept it with him at all times. When he was separated from it during the ambush, he frantically tried to retrieve it, completely ignoring the orcs assails that were attempting to murder him. It was this obsession that caused his death.
After being revived as a Nazgul, Isildur became even more dark. With his spirit forever enslaved by Sauron, he became a soulless entity almost completely empty of emotion. He faithfully served the Dark Lord that he once defeated, obeying his every whim without question. When he confronted Talion, he coldly mocked the Ranger of his former kingdom, exclaiming that his fall was destined as it was for all those called by the Dark Lord.
Category:Males
Category:Villains
Category:Antagonists
Category:Ghosts
Category:Deceased characters
Category:The Lord of the Rings characters
Category:War characters