Author's Note: And here's interview nine! During this king's reign, we get the first references to the factions of the "King's Men" and the "Faithful", so it's pretty important. Please leave a review to let me know what changes you've noticed! Do you see any of these Númenórean attributes in modern culture?

Tar-Ancalimon

Name(s): Tar-Ancalimon

Race: Men

Life: He was born in 1986 S.A. and he ruled as the fourteenth king of Númenor for 165 years until his death by old age in 2386.

. . .

Since many of your ideas and policies were very much like those of your father, I want to talk to you more about the actual results of these new ideas and beliefs. First, let's talk about the rift between the two groups commonly called the Faithful and the King's Men. What were some of the details of this rift?

Well, at first the conflict only manifested itself in arguments. These little disagreements, however, became more severe as time went on. You know, there would be little debates that turned into bigger debates that turned into issues that became personal and widespread. Pretty soon everyone had to have a side, and when that happened, more serious social consequences arose.

Could you give examples of these social consequences?

Well, one that I noticed among my men was that they complained about their treatment. Now, to be totally truthful and fair, I admit that this probably went both ways, but I am certain that the King's Men, as you call them, felt insulted by the way the Faithful spoke to them and about them. It was as if your position in the issue of "faithfulness" to the out-of-date customs was what defined your whole being, and so if two people had opposing views, they did not really associate.

Another big result of this quarrel was that it had such a fundamental nature that one's views trickled down into a lot of other parts of life. No one agreed one what should be taught to the youth; no one agreed on whether or not the three times of prayer to Eru were necessary; no one could decide just what should be said aloud in court and what should only be a private opinion.

I would like to speak some more on what was taught to Númenor's youth in a few moments, but first I want to ask another question about social consequences. What was the most radical result of the rift?

Well, I'm not sure if it was just a rumor or a legitimate murmur, but one of my men told me that he heard someone go so far as to hint at some sort of revolution. Now I don't think that even a decent minority of the Faithful were supportive of any such ridiculous notion, but a desire for what they called a "righteous reform" was present. They wanted us to go back to the chains of the Valar, to live as our forefathers had. Some were more insistent than others. But I don't recall this leading to actual violence.

Did the Faithful agree with the King's Men on any novel idea, such as discontentment concerning the Ban, the Eldar, or other such things?

They held staunchly to the old views in all but one issue that I can remember. They were troubled by death, and although some advocated laying down their life at their will as the kings of old had done, none really accepted death as something wholly good.

Now, going back to teaching children, why was it that the elvish tongues were no longer taught to most young Númenóreans?

First of all, why would you fill a child's head with absolutely useless information? Learning a language is hard, and if the youth is never going to use it, why make him learn it? Secondly, we are not elves; we are men. We didn't need to pretend that we were elves; we needed to make our own identity. It is the elves that should have been speaking our tongue, for we were mightier than they were during my years as king.

So why did you still take your royal title in Quenya?

Well, some traditions are part of a people, I guess. I say plainly that the King's Men had no love for the Eldar or Quenya, but in this instance, more was at stake than a name. Many of my top counselors were afraid that departing from tradition would bring some kind of ill-fortune on the country. It's better to be safe than sorry, and after all, I think that my keeping of the Quenya name appeased the Faithful, causing them to still revere me in some sense.

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