Berúthiel

* Portrait
* In Game

"Having attained a level of power she could not have gotten in her previous life, a new hunger awoke in her. She had seen the results of recklessly following the voice in her head, which, in the shape of the white cat, continued to appear to her, whispering into her ears the beginnings of new plots that would further elevate her status amongst the elite of Umbar, ever at the cost of others. Seducing Câssimir, the Lord of Stones and ruler of Umbar's Black Númenórean caste, elder brother to Burôdapân, was an inevitable consequence of her lust for power. In this way, she has unleashed a new era of unrest in Umbar and its surrounding estates, with two brothers now vying for supremacy in both power and lust, each attempting to outdo the other in cruelty. The white cat directed Berúthiel's gaze north, towards Gondor, and purred as his puppet convinced both brothers to rekindle the flames of war."
—The Age of the Ring Lore Compendium

Berúthiel was a young woman of Black Númenórean descent, named after the deceitful queen who was infamous in Gondor's history. Berúthiel found herself on the streets of Umbar, desperate and hungry with nowhere to go and no one to help her...no one except a mysterious white cat that repeatedly came to her and spoke of a great future that awaited her. Worn down by despair, Berúthiel began to listen to the white cat which led her to the ship of the Lord of Waves. From then, she rose in the ranks of Umbar, seducing both the Lord of Waves and his brother. She became their advisors, using her newfound power to erase her old life and bringing new chaos to Umbar, chaos that would soon be directed north to Gondor.

Berúthiel is a hero for Haradwaith. She is unique in that she levels up through paid upgrades, similar to heroes like Arwen or Roäc. She also does not have a standard attack, but instead summons Black Númenórean Warriors to attack her foes.

## Age of the Ring Lore

Berúthiel is an AotR Canon character. Click **Expand** to read his entry in the AotR Lore Compendium.
Long ago, early in the Third Age, Tarannon Falastur, King of Gondor, wed the beautiful Berúthiel, a noble daughter of a Black Numenorean lord that who hailed from an estate near Umbar. The marriage was arranged as an attempt to quell generations of hostilities between the Men of Gondor and Umbar.

As far as looks go, they can be deceiving; for the outer shell does not always match that what is within. Berúthiel, now Queen, turned out to be deceitful, a condition that, according to the Annals of Gondor, was due to her Black Numenorean heritage. It is written that she acted as the catalyst to many dishonorable rumors around the King's Court, setting advisors against one another, creating a treacherous environment, slowly weakening Gondor's resolve from within And yet, whispered wives' tales shed a different light: they make mention of Tarannon's tyrannical approach to marriage, how, according to them, he kept Berúthiel locked up in a high tower, forbidding the visiting of Umbarian relatives or friends. Both sides of the story have one thing in common: Berúthiel surrounded herself with cats, to which she whispered things at night, sending them out on dark errands, gathering information and passing it on to agents yet unknown.

* + -

Centuries later, nearing the end of the Third Age, a young woman of Black Numenorean descent found herself on the streets of Umbar, bridges burning behind her, with nowhere to go but down, very deep, into the underbelly of the port city. Realizing that she had already lost all she had ever had to lose, she employed whatever lowly methods she could to stay alive. The winding streets of Umbar are dark and strange, and those without the means to escape them risk paying a heavy toll. But she endured. Her Numenorean spirit was not easily broken.

One night, sitting at one of the lower docks of the trade district, she heard a strange voice call to her. Try as she might, she could not find where it came from, until, as if in a dream, she looked behind, and saw a large, white cat sitting upon the edge of an emptied barrel. She could not believe it at first, and feared she was losing her mind. The cat kept following her, appearing when she least expected it, even if, after some time, she began to nervously expect it at any given moment. Every time it spoke to her: of the family that had cast her out, so unjustly, and of her future: so bright, if she only did as the white cat told.

In time, the specter of hungry despair grew heavier on her mind. The white cat spoke of endless supplies of the finest foods, like the ones she once enjoyed, if she only listened to what he had to say. Soon, despair beat out reason, and she gave in.

'Follow me,' the white cat said in its hoarse voice, 'and do not stop to think.'

Then it ran. She kept up with great difficulty, often losing him until she found him again, sitting on some ledge in the distance, shining beneath the Southern stars. After what seemed like hours of climbing up and down the narrow streets and alleys of Umbar, they came upon a great dock, with a great, walled pier running out from it, at the very edge of which was an enormous vessel, a silhouette blacker than the night that lay behind it.

'That is the ship of the Lord of Waves,' the cat whispered. 'He has returned to challenge his brother.'

The cat darted off along the pier, passing its gate, and disappeared from her sight. She lingered. She had been here before, long ago, accompanying her father on some business with one of the Lord's lieutenants. She remembered the heavy air of dread that had covered the docks: large, black guards carrying silver swords, slaves screaming under seething whips, the heavy clanging of metal, and the smell of sulfur. That seemed a lifetime ago. Now the dock was quiet. Very quiet. Almost deserted. A single brazier flickered somewhere far away. Her stomach growled. She hadn't had a decent meal in five days. 'Do not stop to think,' she said to herself.

When she passed the gates, she saw that there were no guards. There sat the cat, beneath an unfurled banner displaying a red Eye, its embroidery catching what little light there was.

'Go on,' said the cat. 'To the ship. Tell him you are his Berúthiel. He has dreamed of you.'

As if in a dream of her own, she boarded the black vessel at the edge of the dock, and made her way to the chambers of the Lord of Waves.

* + -

From then on, Burôdapân was rarely seen without his newest escort and advisor, whom he named his Queen Berúthiel. Having found a way back to prominence and newfound power, Berúthiel embraced her new identity by erasing her former one: using an army of black, silent-pawed agents, she plotted out the silent assassinations of her father and two brothers, and had her mother enslaved and shipped to the distant land of Nâfarat, where she spent a few months working for some cruel warlord before she perished beneath the unforgiving sun.

Having attained a level of power she could not have gotten in her previous life, a new hunger awoke in her. She had seen the results of recklessly following the voice in her head, which, in the shape of the white cat, continued to appear to her, whispering into her ears the beginnings of new plots that would further elevate her status amongst the elite of Umbar, ever at the cost of others. Seducing Câssimir, the Lord of Stones and ruler of Umbar's Black Númenórean caste, elder brother to Burôdapân, was an inevitable consequence of her lust for power. In this way, she has unleashed a new era of unrest in Umbar and its surrounding estates, with two brothers now vying for supremacy in both power and lust, each attempting to outdo the other in cruelty. The white cat directed Berúthiel's gaze north, towards Gondor, and purred as his puppet convinced both brothers to rekindle the flames of war.

## Upgrades

**Rise to Power (W)** - Berúthiel manipulates her way into the higher echelons of Black Númenórean society. Allows Berúthiel to rank up. Becomes more expensive the higher Berúthiel ranks up. Left click to purchase upgrade. (cost: 300/300/500)

**Sauron's Reward** - Permanently empowers targeted hero with +25% armour and +25% damage.

## Abilities

**Eyes and Ears (R)** - The Black Queen summons one of her cats to spy upon the enemy. Limited to 3. Left click to activate.

**Level 3: Disdain (T)** - Modifier Type: Active Debuff. Targeted enemy units suffer -25% damage and cannot gain experience for 30 seconds. Left click icon then left click on target units.

**Level 6: Feigned Hysteria (C)** - Modifier Type: Debuff. Nearby enemy units lose all leadership and -25% armour for 30 seconds. Berúthiel becomes invisible for 30 seconds, allowing her to escape. Left click to activate.

**Level 10: Queen's Escort (V)** - The Black Queen summons a fully armed battalion of Wardens of Umbar. Left click icon then left click on target area.

## Strategy

While Berúthiel is a cheap hero at first, additional costs would be required for her to reach her full potential. However, she can still be useful from the start. The cats summoned by **Eyes and Ears** can make effective scouts, while also being able to use a one-time attack each to damage enemies in an small area. **Disdain** is a strong early debuff, providing support for your allies. **Feigned Hysteria** is similar, while also giving benefits to Berúthiel by allowing her to escape, which is especially important as she has fewer ways of protecting herself against foes. Berúthiel's summoned **Wardens of Umbar** are similar to the Black Númenórean Warriors, allowing her to bring a late-game swordsman battalion to the field to affect the battle far earlier than they may normally be accessed.