The Faithful

The Faithful was a sector of the Numenoreans loyal to the Valar and held them with high regard. They are also amiable towards the Elves, maintained their connections and language, and therefore known as Elf-friends or Elendili. The leader of the Faithful was Elendil, the later founder and High King of the realms of Gondor and Arnor, the Numenorean Kingdoms in Middle-earth.

During the Second Age, a conflict arose among the Numenoreans, leading to a division of the King's Men and the Faithful. With the King's authority and support, the King's Men seek the prominence and self-sufficiency of the Numenoreans. They campaigned for rebellion against the Valar in their pride and power. This division later resulted in the downfall of Numenor. The Faithful, acknowledging the help of the Valar and maintaining the peaceful relations with the Elves, perceived the vanity of the King's Men as detestable. Yet the King's men rose in might and influence. They eventually oppressed the Faithful and regarded them as traitors and hypocrites. They ensured the eviction of the Faithful from the center of Andúnië and the surrounding region in the west to eliminate their rising threat.

The ideals of the Faithful began in the time of the Numenorean kings Tar-Ciryatan and Tar-Minastir. During the Second Age's twenty-third century, the sector developed in Andúnië as they formed close connections with the Elves during the reign of Tar-Ancalimon. Nevertheless, reverence to the Valar and Elvish language usage eventually faded in Numenor and only kept by the Faithful within their group. During SA 2350, Numenor's Faithful established the refuge of Pelargir on Middle-earth's coast, upon sensing the incoming danger (the King's Men already acquired Umbar, their territory in Middle-earth).

In SA 3102, Ar-Gimilzôr ascended the throne as the influence of King's Men spread throughout Numenor, patronizing prosperity and dominance. He deliberately oppressed the Faithful, forbidding any encounter with the Elves and communicating in the Elvish language. Then, he ordered the Faithful to relocate to the refuge of Rómenna, and they regularly monitored them. Many of the Faithful moved to Middle-earth with the threats and hostile conditions they were experiencing.

In SA 3177, the Faithful renewed their optimism as Tar-Palantir, an Elendili, ascended the throne. He shifted Numenor once more to the customs of the Faithful. Tar-Palantir atoned for his ancestors' deeds, attempted to correct Numenor's exploitation, and ended the Faithful's oppression.

But upon his death, with no male heir, they forced his daughter to marry Ar-Pharazôn, son of his brother Gimilkhâd. He seized the throne and strongly oppressed the Faithful even more than before. With his might, he subdued the Dark Lord Sauron and kept him confined within Numenor.

Eventually, Sauron gained the King's trust and began to heed his advice. He accepted Sauron as his advisor, who deceived him for his evil plans. Sauron formed a dark sect in Melkor's worship, which he intended to defile Numenor even more and bring down its civilization. This period was the most catastrophic for the Faithful in all the oppressions of the Kings of Numenor. [1] They were captured, murdered, and used as human offerings for Melkor's dark sect in the shrines of Sauron.

Then, Ar-Pharazôn readied his Great Armament to wage war against the Valar. Nevertheless, Amandil, the Faithful chief, made haste to voyage to Aman and plead for the Valar's pardon on Numenor's actions. He assigned his son Elendil to arrange for sailing vessels to escape Middle-earth upon the dangerous outcome of the King's Men's actions. Ar-Pharazôn launched his countless battleships towards Angmar, defying the Ban of the Valar by attacking their realm. In the meantime, the Valar alerted Elendil and the rest of the Faithful to abandon Numenor and never return.

The Faithful escaped the cataclysmic destruction of Numenor. With the King's Men insurgence against the Valar and ravaging pride, Eru Ilúvatar deluged Numenor, caused it to descend under the depths of the seas and disappear forever.

In SA 3319, upon the destruction of Numenor, the Faithful's vessels safely arrive at the coasts of Middle-earth. Elendil and his sons received a warm welcome from the Elves and later established their new realms. They built the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor and ruled as its kings. Their line endured for many generations. Before the War of the Ring, the king's line disappeared but afterward restored with King Aragorn as one of their descendants.

1. ^Kings of Númenor.