Tolkien OC Week: Off the Map (Aug 30th)

@tolkienocweek

Ok this isn't properly Off the Map really but it was an abandoned sequal idea so its kinda Off the Map, metaphorically? 😅

Anyway, here's my take on Herumor, the villain of Tolkien's abandoned Lotr sequel, The New Shadow:

Herumor was born to the descendants of human slaves of Sauron, who were granted the lands by the Sea of Núrn by King Elessar. Raised by his maternal aunt, the village Wisewoman.

In his 20th year Herumor undertook a vision quest into the wastes of Mordor, and  came upon the ruins of Barad-Dur. There he found the broken palantir of Sauron, which overcame his mind with empty echoes of the fallen dark lord. Herumor came to believe that Sauron himself was communicating with him through the palantir, and that he was meant to be the prophet to herald Sauron's return.

Under such delusions he started the Cult of the Dark Tree, which became such a menace during the last years of King Eldarion's reign, under the Regency of his son Ethoril. 

@secondageweek​ day four | sauron and his minions | fuinur and herumor

And Sauron gathered to him great strength of his servants out of the east and the south; and among them were not a few of the high race of Númenor. For in the days of the sojourn of Sauron in that land the hearts of well nigh all its people had been turned towards darkness. Therefore many of those who sailed east in that time and made fortresses and dwellings upon the coasts were already bent to his will, and they served him still gladly in Middle-earth. But because of the power of Gil-galad these renegades, lords both mighty and evil, for the most part took up their abodes in the southlands far away; yet two there were, Herumor and Fuinur, who rose to power among the Haradrim, a great and cruel people that dwelt in the wide lands south of Mordor beyond the mouths of Anduin.

A Disarming Conversation, page 2

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men of middle-earth ∿ misc. númenóreans ∿ headcanon disclaimer

Herumor - Eine Liebe Nicht Weniger Tief (Trisol, 2020)

Like........... I am on the floor, screaming and crying and thrashing because the songs evoke SO MANY FEELS™ I simply cannot!!! 😭

Why would he do that and why did the fan base do him so dirty when he did? 😭

Now with Boyfriend, Arthael of Gondor

Toying with 'Only Boyfriend is allowed to see Herumor with his veil off' or ' Not even Boyfriend is allowed to see Herumor with his veil off--so he has to keep his eyes closed anytime they kiss'

I think Arthael is one of the first friends Herumor makes after journeying outside of Nurn/Mordor. Arthael is from Ithilien, and first introduced Herumor to the culture of Gondor and Arnor, which served him well later when he started moving his cult out into Gondor.

Both of them are fascinated by eachother and how different their life experiences are. I think Arthael is especially drawn to the mix of humility and confidence that Herumor gives off, as he truly believes he's been chosen for something important and yet sees himself as a mere vessel rather then a great power himself.

I think whats basically happening between them is they both feel an emptines inside.

You have Herumor, who's had a harsh life in Mordor, both just from living there and from the lonliness of the life he led, being raised by his aunt who was the Wise Woman, respected but held apart, higher and seperate as she was 'Special'.

And the same separateness was put on him, both from behing his aunt, the village wise woman's apprentice and then when he received his 'call' from 'The Great Eye' (he goes out on a spirit quest and finds the old Palantir in the ruins of Barad Dur, which overwhelms his mind with old visions of Sauron's mind and makes him think he's been chosen to prepare the world for thr return of the fallen Lord of the Rings. I mean, he came back once already, his followers would totally believe he could again)

So he's always been seen as special and chosen and been respected, but he's never been really seen as a Person, or had the chance to even really see himself that way, he's always just been a Symbol of something else, something greater and more important then himself

And then on the other hand you have Athael, who had never felt special, or even felt he's had something special to work for, to put his heart and soul into. He's grown up in peace, in a beautiful city in the most powerful country in the world atm. But he feels like just another face in the crowd, nothing really to offer and nothing really to strive for, all the great deeds have been done in the past, the kingdoms reclaimed, the dark lord defeated. And someone as mundane as him? What does he have to offer the world?

And of course this dissatisfaction and aimlessness makes him very drawn to Herumor, who's all drive and purpose and exudes Special. He's drawn to that the way many people are drawn into cults, wanting to get some of that Drive and Purpose and Specialness that the Leader promises.

But also he's not a bad person at heart (neither is Herumor really, he's just very very misguided) and he's not the kind to just start worshipping Sauron right away. And as much as he's drawn to Hermuor's charisma, he's also drawn to him, wanting to understand where he's coming from, who he is under all that Purpose, something that no one else has really ever cared about when it comes to Herumor.

And it's something Herumor is afraid of--afraid that maybe there's really nothing underneath, or that maybe there's not meant to be, maybe he's only supposed to be The Herald of the Eye and its selfish to want anything for himself....but its something that intrigues him as well. And he wonders sometimes, in his most private thoughts, what it would be like to not be Special, to just have a day to day life with someone like Arthael, who he personally thinks seems pretty special just from being who he is...

But he can't let such things distract him from his Holy Mission, no matter how tempting they are

But yeah, they're depressed cult-adjecent boys who keep circling around eachother, pulled in close at sometimes by the things they enjoy/are drawn to about eachother--and then pushed back by their opposing desires as well

Had some more ideas for Herumor! Decided he's from a human community near the Sea of Nurn in Mordor, descended from the slaves of Sauron that had been freed and granted ownership of the lands there. They're a somber people (with a ton of generational trauma ) who make a living farming and fishing, though neither are very bountiful, and mostly keep to themselves.