Carnán

A supporting character in the game ‘Middle Earth – Shadow of War’, [1] Carnan was a spirit of nature, living in the forests of Nurn in Mordor. Tolkien did not create this character, and it appears only in the video game. Carnan dwelt in the forests before anybody knew. Not much is known about her history, except the fact that she helped protect the forests from other creatures like the Orcs. [2] She was known to have been associated with the ‘Great Tree’ in the forest as she could take human form there. She was able to acquire the forms of drakes, graugs and caragors.

The origins of Carnan are not clear, but she lived in Middle Earth in the Second Age when the Balrog attacked her forest and destroyed a lot of wildlife. She defeated Tar Goroth and got him imprisoned in the pits under Gorgoroth. In the Third Age, when Tar Goroth returns and attacks Celebrimbor and Talion, she comes to help them, fighting in her Graug form. Talion and Celebrimbor had come to the forest to find answers to their quest to defeat Sauron. Carnan attacked the intruders at first, but their firm resistance changed her action. She informed them that Tar Goroth had been awakened and should be defeated. Tar Goroth destroys her and escapes, but the three manage to defeat the Balrog.

Carnan takes the form of a drake and continues her pursuit. She trapped the enemy beneath the ice and got him frozen into solid. Then she went to the forest to heal. Zog, the necromancer with his cult, had awakened Tar Goroth and started infesting Carnan’s forest and cutting down trees as revenge. Celebrimbor and Talion tried to stop Zog and Carnan, who was injured, got into a deep slumber to heal. Zog went to Seregost and attempted to awaken Tar Goroth from the frozen lake. Talion followed him and somehow killed the necromancer. His followers had attacked Talion in Minas Morgul, but Talion could slay him again. At that time, Carnan took the form of a drake and burnt Zog to ash, making sure he was permanently destroyed.

Carnan was focused on preserving nature in this world, and she was protective of life. She did not like the creatures who disregarded nature. She considered Zog and his followers as enemies who disturbed the balance of life. As she was in alignment with nature, all the creatures in her forest respected her. Carnan was capable of controlling all the creatures in her forest. Predators like Graugs, Ghuls, and Caragors were afraid of her and did not attack in her presence. They would also defend her if threatened. She could take the form of drake, graug or caragor, and these forms looked like her fleshy form though they were made of leaves and vines. She was so powerful that Celebrimbor, Talion, or the Bright Lord could not defeat her. Her power was at par with the Balrog. However, she was injured by fires created by necromancers of Zog.

1. ^Middle Earth – Shadow of War.
2. ^What Is Carnan?