Shatraug'Goth Angmar'ob

## The Witch King of Angmar - Shatraug`Goth Angmar`ob

   Name: Shatraug-Goth Angmar-ob

Title: Shatraug-Goth, the Witch King of Angmar, the First

Origin: Numenór

Domain: power, domination, terror, control, tyranny, destruction, undead

typical spells: fear, necromancy, control

The Witch King is the most powerful and feared of all Nazgûl. He is very old and gains his mighty power through the immense will of Sauron. The Witch King is both a cunning strategist and a deadly sorcerer. His veiled and armored figure is a terror to all his opponents and his presence on the battlefield, almost equivalent to a victory of evil. Although his empire fell to Angmar a thousand years ago, the dark name of the Witch King still haunts the caves and camps of the orc tribes of the northern Misty Mountains. Many Dushatâr from the area worships him as a mystical, rapt, son of a god, who will once return and demand his claim to power again. In the ruins of his former fortress, Carn Dûm, a steadily growing circle of nefarious witches has settled down to preserve his legacy in dark rituals and to cover the lands of Arnor with fear and terror. In Gundabad, Mount Gram and other important orcish bases or settlements of the north, the Shatraug´Goth enjoys the greatest reverence. In many places it is almost as important to him as the Shakh`bûrz, in some places, the Eye is even more and more forgotten, while the worship of the Witch King equals that of a god. In addition, ghosts, revenants and other creatures from the wake of the Shatraug`Goth still roam its ancient kingdom of Angmar). Many of them are still loyal to their master and desperately trying to continue their fight against the heirs of Arnor. Although they are usually hostile to all that is alive, a few Dushataru have already managed to force them into their service, especially when their goals are those of the Witch King. In Minas Morgul, the Witch King has no public worship. He is the master of the city as well as of all the Cults of the Nine and determines and controls them if he pleases and in his own way. To be called to an
audience in his halls in the Dushgoi'mor may be the award with the highest dignity, or the dreadful end of a career.

Of course, the Witch King surrounds himself only with high-ranking cultists, all of whom are slaves of his will. No other servant of Sauron reaches the position and the power like the Witch King did.

## **The faith**

#### ***Reasons for an Uruk’s belief in this Nazgûl***

Every Uruk who spends some time in Dushgoi comes into contact with the unique aura of the Shatraug-Goth. If the Uruk can withstand this enduring mental stress, without losing his own will or going crazy, he will feel a tendency to follow the Shatraug-Goth and binds himself by this subconscious test to the Cult of the First. The main reason for not giving up faith is a steady sense of reward when faith is established and lived. Turning away from faith is associated with severe temporary mental illnesses. The longer the Uruk holds on to the faith before turning away, the harder is the mental decline, down to a slobbering empty shell.

#### ***Distinctive features of believers***

A believing Uruk is characterized by his unconditional loyalty to the First and his superiors. Breaking the will of a believer is more than difficult. Mentally weak Uruku are often schizophrenic. An Uruk, who turns off his believe is often incompetent and mentally unstable.

#### ***The Uruk and his faith, and what he does for it***

Faith is practiced less openly than it is usual with other cults. This is associated with the fact that there is no public cult of the Shatraug`Goth. Therefore sacrifices are offered silently on favorable occasions. This can be done by an Uruk alone or a group of believers. The presence of one of the rare Shatraugu or Thraku makes the spectacle less unnoticed but makes it an unforgettable event of duels and ritual murders of the unworthy. It is not uncommon that the blood of the victim is sprayed on the living Uruku. In addition, Uruku finds empowerment in their beliefs when they relieve an unworthy Uruk of his tasks.

## The cult of the Witch King - Bos ‘Shatraug-Goth

***Structure of the cult***

The headquarters of the cult is located in the Dushgoi. As a result, this is also the city, where the training for Shatraug, Dushatâr or Thrak begins and is completed. There are no special structures or rankings. So, the cult is structured like every other one. The Shatraug-Goth is enthroned above all. The Durgoth-Îstugal-Shautraug-Goth'ob is the highest attainable level of the cult. If an Uruk manages to reach this position, he is the only one in the game, replacing his predecessor. He can only be seen in the presence of the
Shatraug-Goth. He leads the cult and passes on the orders of the Nazgûl himself directly to the Goth-Îstugal-Shatraug-Goth'ob. These subsequently
lead the cult outward and interact with others to prepare for masses, ceremonies or teachings. The last two stages consist of Îstugalu followed by the learning Fauthugalu.

## Professions and training

#### ***Thrak***

Standing directly in front of a Thrak of the Bos'Shatraug`Goth is usually accompanied by subsequent pain, loss of control or mental terror. If not, the Thrak will otherwise test the belief of an Uruk and his obedience. An Uruk is called to be a Thrak by the Shatraug-Goth himself, but without knowing it. Rather, it is the omnipresent terror that drives the Uruk to stand in front of him. Thus, the path of a Thrak begins with mental terror and ends only in the consummation of the Thrak. Quite a few Thrak Fauthugalu wound themselves trying to destroy their heads on the ground to avoid the terror. So the Thrak is a very strong-minded Uruk who uplifts the faith and morals of believers by covering them with hatred, terror, fear, and control. A powerful Thrak is able to invade his mind into the head of an Uruk and terrorize him without physical exertion.

#### ***Shatraug***

If a rare representative of the cult is encountered, it could usually be a Shatraug. They all exude an aura of power and strive to be as close as possible to the First in their appearance. Only the most powerful of them master the most frightening forms of magic. An Uruk with a long and strong belief usually becomes a Shatraug, which is taken from another Shatraug out of the middle of the faithful. The desire to exercise this position may be accompanied by a direct encounter between the Shatraug-Goth and the Uruk himself. Since this encounter has to be overcome mentally and physically, the chosen Shatraug is already a strong-willed and resilient Uruk. Outside of the Dushgoi, you can find the already rare Shatraug even more rarely. An exception here is the ancient Kingdom of Angmar. the learning process, and thus the educational or training process, of a Shatraug in the cult of the Shatraug`Goth, is steady and the boundary between Nûrlal and Îstugal is fluid. Likewise, there is no specific training. An Uruk decides on the career of a Shatraug in the name of the First (as already mentioned above) usually after a direct encounter with the Shatraug-Goth. So, it is possible for the Uruk, that he then seeks an already practicing Shatraug and accompanies his way. After some time, the teaching Shatraug will part with the learning Shatraug. Then this Shatraug is a İstugal and thus a full Shatraug. From now on, the Uruk will strive for greater power and always expand and refine his skills. The Shatraugu of the Shatraug`Goth does not have the mission to terrorize believers but to strengthen their will and faith. They do this through sermons, teachings, sacrifices, and narratives about the First.

#### ***Dushatar***

It is not clear if there ever was a Dushatâr in the cult of Shatraug-Goth. But if he existed, he would be so powerful that his will would have been
completely robbed, and thus he would be seen exclusively at the side of the First. Apart from that, the Dushatâr would pay each magical casting with a mental implosion, making him an undead minion to the First at the least.

## Attitude towards the other cults

The Shatraug-Goth and his cultists, thanks to their unique position in the Army of Sauron, do not have to explain or even justify themselves to anyone and have almost unrestricted command. Therefore, they are rather “positive” towards any other cults for as long as they are useful to the Fitgnau and follow all orders without hesitation.