Author's Note: Now we come to Ar-Pharazôn, the one who pushed Númenor over the edge. Just as a warning, he's not an inspiring guy. Quite nihilistic, actually. But I would still really enjoy some feedback about the interview. What did you fine most interesting about his responses? There are still several interviews to come, and they will give us some more information about the Downfall. In the meantime, please don't forget to review!

Ar-Pharazôn

Name(s): Ar-Pharazôn; Tar-Calion; The Golden

Race: Men

Life: He was born in 3118 S.A., and he ruled as Númenor's twenty-fifth and last king until his death as a result of the Downfall in 3319.

. . .

I would like to talk about the specific things that you did during your reign and the reasons behind them, but first I want to ask a few questions about your society's feelings and motives. You and your people sought to squeeze every last bit of pleasure out of life. Did these things finally satisfy you?

Empty. All pleasures were so empty; utterly meaningless. There was a void in my heart that absolutely would not be filled by anything in the world. It was something that ate away at my soul, causing intense pain. I believed that this was the longing for unending life, and that if I did lay hold of immortality, the ache would disappear. But while I knew that extinction and death awaited me, everything I did was worthless. All was vanity.

Why was everything vanity? Many of the later kings of Númenor and their subjects thought that meaning could be found in human nature. Why didn't you agree?

Because that is folly! No sort of absolute standard or any transcendent meaning can come from something as temporary and changing as man. What is right today will be wrong tomorrow. Men have no proof of any innate dignity. For all we know, we are no better than the dirt we walk on.

What of Eru? Does not He bring dignity to Men?

Eru is dead. Such ideas were discarded hundreds of years ago. Eru is dead! Eru is dead! God is dead, but how I wish He weren't! If only there was a god to bring meaning and security to our world. But such thoughts are idle musings. If you could have consulted any great thinker in Númenor, you would have been taught the sad state of reality, past, present, and future. We have no purpose, never did and never will. There is no right or wrong. There is only what is. During my day, the assumptions that came from our Founding Fathers' beliefs, such as dignity and morals, were finally swept away to reveal the bleak truth.

Such statements may not delight those who are weak, for their only defense against those who are strongest has ever been to put all men in the bondage of unreal morality. Yet such emptiness and lack of absolutes has always been the real condition that everyone is born into. If one is strong, he may have a better fleeting blip of existence than the others. That is all that can really be hoped for, unless you have eternal life, that is.

Was this always your philosophical outlook on life?

Oh, no. In my early days, I lived under the same false hopes as my fathers. It was not until I was much older that I harkened to those who were learned, one great teacher in particular, and then I learned the truth.

I would very much like to discuss this one great teacher, but now let's go chronologically through your life, discussing events and your reasons for them as we go. In your youth, you fought against Sauron and won renown as a highly skilled captain and commander. What exactly were you fighting for?

I was fighting to expand my country's dominion. Númenor was my first and only priority, and I destroyed all creatures and people who stood in the way of my nation's best interests. In addition to gaining my country much territory and riches, I was able to earn a name and some wealth for myself.

What were your motives and thoughts when you unlawfully took your cousin as your wife and usurped the throne?

As I have said before, laws are made by the weak to bind up the strong. At that point in my life, I had realized the folly of morality, and I decided it was time for me to make a statement about it. No one can see the horrors of war and come away believing in a standard of right and wrong, and—

Well, what about the founders of Númenor? They were in the War of Wrath itself, and they had higher values than anyone.

They were blind, self-deceived idiots.

Oh. Okay. Now, what were you saying about making a statement?

I wanted to make a statement about my superiority over rules. Besides, I wanted the throne and I wanted my cousin. If someone has the power to get something they want, then it's their right to take it. Just before my uncle, Tar-Palantir, died, I used my wealth and reputation to make a lot of friends around the country, helping the transition of power to myself to be as smooth as possible. I was quite a cunning man, a true strategist at heart. That's why I succeeded in everything.

Except taking the Undying Lands.

I'm sorry, what did you say?

Nothing. So, after you became king, you went to Middle Earth in great force to attack Sauron. What caused this sudden assault?

Sauron had been fighting against our settlements, creating a problem for trade. He threatened to destroy the whole of Númenor when he got the chance. And he had the audacity to proclaim himself the King of Men, even though he was nowhere near worthy of such a title.

Was anyone worthy of it? The Valar, perhaps?

Of course someone was worthy: I was! The Valar? They were not worthy to kiss my feet. I alone could be the King of Men, and with that in mind I set out to conquer this arrogant lord. As always, I completely obliterated his forces. In fact, his people saw the glory of my armada and ran away without much fighting at all.

Why did you take Sauron back to Númenor as your prisoner?

I desired everyone to see the great feat I had accomplished, and it helped the morale of my men a lot, too. And with him as a hostage, his servants couldn't harm my people in Middle Earth. Besides, he was harmless; taking him to Númenor totally humiliated him, and it was the last thing he would have wanted.

So how was it that this humiliated, arrogant foe of yours became your top counselor in only three years' time?

Well, you must understand that Sauron had lived a very long time. He had acquired much wisdom and knowledge, and I knew I could make use of it. I had a very strong mind and will; I gleaned what I needed from Sauron without letting him ever influence me too much. Rule of Númenor was always mine and no other's. But Sauron had eternal life; I had to know how he got it and how I could get it myself. Only then would I be free from trouble.

Tell me about the Darkness that you began to worship. Why did you worship it?

Sauron told me many things, some that I knew and some that I didn't. He told me about the Valar having made up the idea of Eru to keep Númenor from attacking them. He revealed to me that the Darkness is worshipful, and that its lord, Melkor, could give unlimited power to those who earn it. He said that eventually one could amass enough power to defeat the Valar. I tested these ideas, and they proved sound. So, because I rightly desired power, I began to worship this Darkness.

When did you decide to make your religious practices public? How did that change Númenor?

I made the practice public when I realized how beneficial for the mind and body it was. My people followed me in this pursuit, and Númenor became exceedingly formidable to all who would have opposed it. Except for the few stubborn, foolish Faithful, everyone gave up the notion of Eru, and they embraced their inner Darkness, unveiling their eyes so that they could see wonderful things. The whole nation was enlightened.

Why did you make it illegal to ascend the sacred mountain of Meneltarma, and why such a stiff punishment for those who violated the law?

To support Eru was to reject the Darkness, and so reject my rule. All who went up the so-called "sacred" mountain were traitors who wanted to undermine my authority; what punishment could possibly fit them better than death?

Why did you destroy the White Tree?

It was a symbol of friendship with the Eldar and the Valar. I know that there was a prophecy about it being connected to the line of kings, but that came from a crazy, totally deluded lunatic; why should I buy into it? In addition to being a symbol of alliance with our enemies, the White Three was also a symbol of rebellion, causing people to break the law in order to take one of its fruits. I could not have rebellion in my country.

Whatever happened to your friendship with Amandil, the Lord of Andúnië, which obviously ended when you dismissed him from your council? It is said that you two were very close in your youth.

It is simple: he believed a lie. Multiple lies, actually. I was kind to him and did not hurt him because of our close history, but he was not thinking about what was best for Númenor, so I kept him from giving poor influence in my council. I did pity him a little, though.

Tell me about the Temple where you worshipped. What were some of your practices, and what did you hope to get out of them?

The Temple was a great and glorious building that Sauron constructed. In it, Númenóreans could worship the Darkness unencumbered by daily problems. Sometimes, with special incense and meditation, they could let go of all consciousness and surrender their minds to the Darkness. We also sacrificed the Faithful, the enemy, to the Darkness, for we learned that this might give us eternal life.

What caused you to at last decide break the Ban so long obeyed by your people?

I was desperate. My life was drawing to an end, and I saw how foolishly I had squandered all my days. With death so very near and still no cure available, I was forced to make a last, despairing move to find immortality. It was my right anyway: I had the power, and the Valar had tormented and taunted me for far too long. It was time for someone to finally put them in their rightful place: beneath my feet.

What did you think when you saw the warnings of the Valar? Why didn't you heed them?

I knew it was all just a trick to scare me and my people. I didn't heed these signs because I was confident in my ability to beat the arrogant Valar. Just as I had defeated Sauron, I could defeat them, too.

What happened to you when you landed in Valinor? Did you get what you desired?

I landed, but life was not my welcome. It was Death, the foe I had for so long tried to destroy. Death took me at unawares, swallowing me into its vast Darkness. The Darkness was not what I had thought it would be.

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