The Golden King of Abrakhân

* Portrait
* Masked
* Unmasked

"Men proved easier to ensnare. Those who used the Nine Rings became mighty in their day, kings, sorcerers, and warriors of old. They obtained glory and great wealth, yet it turned to their undoing. They had, as it seemed, unending life, yet life became unendurable to them....And one by one, sooner or later, according to their native strength and to the good or evil of their wills in the beginning, they fell under the thraldom of the ring that they bore..."
—The Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age

The Golden King was a figure of legend in Harad. He attained great power over those who lived across Harad and ruled through cruelty from his fortress in the Golden City of Abrakhân: a vast metropolis of splendour and suffering. Few knew the truth though, that the Golden King was Hoarmurath, Third of the Nine. When Sauron rose again in Mordor in the Third Age, it was Hoarmurath he sent south to remind the Haradrim of his former influence. Hoarmurath began in Abrakhân, rebuilding the ruins into a dark fortress while spreading his influence throughout those vast lands.

In Age of the Ring, the Golden King is the faction leader of Haradwaith. He is permanently guarded by a trio of individual Abrakhân Warriors.

## Age of the Ring Lore

The Golden King of Abrakhân is an AotR Canon character. Click **Expand** to read his entry in the AotR Lore Compendium.
Sauron began rebuilding his fortress of Barad-dûr in T.A. 2951. It was at this time that he first sent forth Hoarmurath, Third of the Nine, to the lands south of Mordor. The Haradrim owed him allegiance, Sauron felt, but he feared that his influence had lessened over the years. The Men of Harad needed to be reminded of their master and his dark will, and of the consequences of denying him his due tribute and veneration.

Hoarmurath had long ago been known as the Golden King - a monarch that had managed to attain great power over the many tribes and free-cities that lay scattered over the vast lands of Haradwaith, and whose cruelty had become a thing of ancient legend. The center of Hoarmurath's kingdom had been the Golden City of Abrakhân: a vast metropolis of golden splendor, built on foundations of blood and suffering.

It is to Abrakhân that Hoarmurath first went. The city was a ruin: abandoned long ago, its precious stones and golden seams stripped from their bearings, then left alone for many centuries, slowly succumbing to the harsh winds and sands of the desert. Word of an evil presence in Abrakhân spread quickly: Caran-Lambar, warrior-chief of a nearby tribe arrived with a small cohort of warriors. Hoarmurath transfixed him and his men, and locked them all in a deep dungeon. It is true that the Witch-king was the greatest of the Nine, the most capable in the dark arts of Sauron and his ancient master, but Hoarmurath had spent long years studying in Sauron's scholomance ere his Ring had made him utterly wraith-like - and he began applying his lessons to Caran-Lambar and his men, to strip away their humanity and transform them into brutish, troll-like Men that did his every bidding.

These creatures he released upon the many villages that populated the lands south of Abrakhân, where the river Nâfar crossed the arid lands and gave them life. Those that resisted he crushed mercilessly, until most of the rest remembered the allegiances of their forefathers and joined Hoarmurath's cause. From here, Sauron's influence spread quickly. Out of the ruins of Abrakhân rose a dark fortress. It was around this time that a mysterious Black Númenorean sorcerer known as Syâr-Rhul began to rise through Hoarmurath's dark ranks to become his chief personal advisor.

Hoarmurath, now once more known as the Golden King, a terror risen from the ancient past, swept across the sands of Haradwaith, rallying its populace to do his bidding and reaffirming Sauron's dominion over the land.

## Abilities

**Guard of Abrakhân (W)** - The Golden King is always accompanied by three fierce warriors. Passive ability. When activated, the guards are sacrificed to summon a horde of Wights for 60 seconds. Wights ignore enemy armour and regain health per hit. Enemy units nearby the Wights lose -20% armour and -25% damage. Left click to activate.

**The Golden King (R)** - Modifier Type: Leadership. Nearby enemy leaderships are passively nullified. When near the Black Vizier, the Golden King gains +25% armour. Passive ability. At rank 5, summons two battalions of Abrakhân Warriors when activated. Left click to activate.

**Level 3: Lord of Wights (T)** - Targeted enemy units flee in terror and take damage over time for 15 seconds. Left click then left click target area.

**Level 7: Dark Subjugation (C)** - Targeted Haradwaith units gain +200% damage and resistance to fear and terror for 20 seconds. After 20 seconds have expired, affected units take damage over time for 5 seconds. Does not affect monsters, heroic units or summoned units. Left click then left click target units.

**Level 10: The King Unmasked (V)** - The Golden King of Harad reveals himself to be Hoarmûrath, Third of the Nine. Hoarmûrath gains +50% attack damage, plus additional poison damage. Enemy units close to Hoarmûrath suffer damage over time. Passive ability. When activated, Hoarmûrath continually summons temporary, single Risen Husks from the earth for 60 seconds. Left click to activate.

## Strategy

The Golden King is the most expensive hero of the faction. While not as immediately powerful as someone like Caran-Lambar, he has a powerful ways of affecting the battlefield. The Golden King passively nullifies enemy leaderships and can weaken them further by summoning his Wights that can endure for a while, thanks to their health reclamation on hit. The Golden King can summon more Abrakhân Warriors as well, adding powerful troops to bolster an army. **Lord of Wights** is a powerful ability, able to scatter an entire army (if it is not resistant terror) while also dealing damage over time. **Dark Subjugation** can be a devastating ability if used correctly, allowing an army to deal a huge amount of damage in a short time. However, the player must ensure that they maximise the damage dealt though this ability, or they will take heavy losses afterwards and be vulnerable to a counter attack. Lastly, **The King Unmasked** passively improves the Golden King's damage output, both through his own attacks and in an area around him, while also allowing him to summon more troops to the battlefield. The Golden King is the only standard Haradwaith hero that cannot be buffed by Sauron's Reward from the fortress, however, this final ability and the buff from Syâr-Rhul can ensure he remains powerful even in the late game.

## Trivia

This character was inspired by a number of sources. The idea of the Golden King originated from a character of the same name created by Games Workshop in 2009. Here, the Golden King was a king of the wealthy merchant city of Abrakhân, situated between Umbar and Gondor, and did not concern himself with affairs beyond his city. In comparison, Age of the Ring's Golden King has a far more involved presence in the events in Harad, influencing the entire region from his city which is now located in the southernmost reaches of Haradwaith. The name of Hoarmurath originated from the Nazgûl names created by MERP, although once again, this character has different origins to the character used in Age of the Ring.