Becoming the Witch King. The Tragedy of a Man Who Lost His Soul to Sauron. 

It’s the greatest success of world-building that people can still wonder and expound on the mysteries of your creations so many years later. As someone who always wanted to be a writer, I imagine the knowledge of that would make Tolkien very happy. Thanks for this, I always wanted more of him than just a few lines of dialogue in the movie.

Amazon failed us hard they could have done something like this

Gotta be one of the coolest lore videos Ive ever watched. The Witch King’s identity has always been so interesting. I’ve always viewed WK as LOTR’s not fleshed out Anakin Skywalker. This gave me that vibe and was great.

Nice video, there's a lot of speculation around the Witch King, but I agree with others, you've taken some of the mythology and tried to create a narrative within that, good job, as a Tolkien fan all my life being able to get lost in well structured and laid out narrative videos whether creative liberties were taken or not, is brilliant & you put effort into your narration/visuals, nevermind the negative vibes from people who can't suspend their disbelief for a second to allow themselves to get lost in a narrative 👍

Even with said 'speculation', a tremendous amount of artistry and creativity went into creating this video.. and i enjoyed it tremendously.. Thank you for such a wonderful adaptation.

This video is wonderful. The narration, the tempo, the sequences, and the images are absolutely stunning.

Okay this is the best in-depth lore of the witch king so far found in youtube. I love it.

This is awesome. I love it when someone takes a general idea or a character in the story and then expand it, but tries their best to stay in line with the overall idea of the authors original concept. This is a great ad and would make a great miniseries to an already great set of movies.

Everybody gotta take a breath. Most of you take this to seriously. Tolken was a great writer and i have read the books since i was a child many years before t.v and internet took over. You all should be proud to have this we have today. When i was a kid all there was, was Rankin-Bass. I still love that animation.

Tolken Reader since 1969, THIS IS GREAT!

This was outstanding! It could well be filled out into a full length book. It reminds me of the passages from Tolkein in which many Numenoreans envied the Elven immortality, and feared the unknown of death. In the Appendix completion of Aragorn and Arwen's story, she admitted that she once dismissed them as fools, but now that she faced losing Aragorn to death, and knowing that it was her fate as well, she understood. This does not excuse the Witch King, but in a world in which immortality existed for some, but not others, the rage and insanity becomes more comprehensible. Many thanks.

An interesting take. Since we know so little about the Witch King (except he was of Numenorean ancestry), there is room for imagination. Here's how I would go about it: Shortly after the rout and annihilation of Sauron's forces by Numenoreans under the command of their Admiral Ciryatan and his father King Tar-Minastir, a Numenorean nobleman by the name of Angmar with genetic ties to the royal family (and therefore the bloodline stretching all the way to Luthien and Melian) who had fought alongside his friend and future King, settled to the north of Eriador with his family. He had a normal childhood, with a loving family of his own, and with his followers he built up his realm. As his children grew up and had children of their own (and those children had their own children, etc.), he yearned to continue to live a life so charmed with the love and life and vitality of his family and their descendants all around him. Into this mix stepped a figure of great power, yet appeared like a Numenorean so handsome and persuasive he charmed all those around him. First he convinced Angmar's wife of the righteousness of his intentions, knowing she would be the one person Angmar loved, cherished, and trusted the most. Then with her by his side, they convinced Angmar to take up the Ring of Power that would enable him to continue to live this charmed life, convinced by him and her that not only would he benefit from this Ring of Power, but everyone around him, and would live life eternal. It was not just eternal life that beckoned him, but also that Numenor itself could benefit by growing ever more powerful if he would take up his best friend's offer, and come back home to Numenor (Tar-Ciryatan having since succeeded to the throne) to be by his side, advising him and helping him govern this growing empire. He grew close to Tar Ciryatan's son who would become Tar-Atanamir, and among others, it was he who debated the Eldar who came to visit Numenor (on behalf of the Valar) when they became concerned over Numenor's growing discontent over the Ban and the Gift (of death). Partly thanks to the man who would become the Witch King, the Numenoreans were left unconvinced by elven arguments, and so continued their spiritual descent even as they became ever more powerful and numerous, dominating Middle Earth. He eventually returned home to Angmar when he began to realize he had been lied to when his wife died, as did his older children of an old scourge -old age. But the Ring of Power that had been given to him had now such a hold over his mind he could not now set it aside, and he began to fade from the visible world. Just as he was physically weakening and visibly fading, that same mysterious figure who first offered and convinced him to take up that Ring of Power returned to Angmar now that he was no longer able to resist him, and weaved spells of magic binding Angmar's soul to his will, and took his Ring. From then on, he became a Nazgul, but given his bloodline from the Line of Elros, he was inherently and exceptionally powerful, more so than any of the other Nazgul, and to him Sauron taught him nearly everything he knew. Eventually due to plague, Angmar's entire remaining family was wiped out, as with most of their followers who settled with them. After the War of the Last Alliance had nearly destroyed Sauron's power (except for his One Ring), he was sent on his Master's behalf back his old home, and as the Witch King he conjured up the souls of all who had died, and bound them to his will as Sauron had done to him, and with the wild men and orcs he built up the evil realm of Angmar (his old name) to ultimately destroy Arnor and its remnant kingdoms of Rhudaur, Cardolan, and Arthedain, and wipe out Elendil's royal bloodline in the north. He nearly succeeded.

Now this would be worth a movie .

Excellent video. You told the Witch King's story very poetically and the visuals were a sight to behold.

I love the animations that accompany this narrative, it brings the story to life and adds so much that you dont get with 99% of ....for lack of a better word..."e-reader" stories

Alright. Here's what I'm thinking, my "head canon." The man who becomes the Witch King was the son of the Numenorean Admiral Ciryatur. Ciryatur remained in Eriador after the War of the Elves and Sauron and eventually established a stronghold outside of what became Angmar to guard Eriador against the Orcs and evil men that fled north. His mother was also a Numenorean. I don't want the Witch King, or any of the Nazgul, to be of the line of Elros. Or to have ever set foot in Numenor. The name for this character, I came up with the name "Enmar." This character was born after the War of the Elves and Sauron, so say 1800 of the Second Age.

Pharazon was the leader of a group that became known as the Black Numenoreans who went to Middle Earth and put the lesser men under tribute and servitude and opposed the Elves and Valar. The Witch King was likely one of Pharazons Generals or field commanders.

A true delight. Usually, I am not into fan fiction, but this one I truly enjoyed. And I do not mean the voice or the visuals, but the story itself. The voice and the video are really good, do not get me wrong but, without the story, they would be empty shells at best. The Professor himself said that, after he will be gone from this world, that he would like other minds to contribute and build upon the foundation he made, and works like this fit precisely in his vision. I hope that, after his works enter public domain (The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings shall be public domain in many countries in about ten years.), more like this is will be created, published and appreciated.

All he needed was a hug

The narration, visuals & music are markable

Richard Harris did a great job narrating

Great presentation! I look forward to seeing more of your work.

Great imagination, great narration and background music. Most of all those graphics were incomparable. Done by man or AI, WOW!

This would make an incredible movie. 😀

Holy crap how many hours did it take you to make this video? It looks amazing!

I have to say that although interesting, this is pure speculation, as we know next to nothing about the witch king’s history. He may have been Numenorean, but Tolkien actually never wrote anything concrete concerning the witch king’s origins. Cool video, though.

this channel deserves more subs

Well done, I always liked the Witch King from Lord of the Rings

Absolutely amazing, thank you!!!!

Very well done I'm liking your take on the Witch King.

The Ai produced animation is beautiful I have to say. Especially the mountain scenes with the sunlight passing through gaps in the clouds as they passes across the landscape ❤

Speculation sure, but seems reasonable: immortality is a seductive lure -- very well done.

Absolutely gorgeous images. ❤ the images "coming out" of the book pages & the landscapes. And the images of the young man/king were sigh worthy. Mainly a great story and perfect narrator.

Love this channel! Adds so much grit and character to some of the lesser know characters and stories in middle earth. Deserve way more subscribers 👍

This is just unbelievable! This really should be made into a film either by amazon or new line cinemas

Just marvelous. Love it.

Dude I’m only 6 minutes in and I am enthralled. Great job.

Great job. I'm sure the channel grow quickly.

Beautifully written story, and the visuals are stunning! Thank you for sharing this creation with us!

Pure speculation but at this point I'm starving for more videos with this quality. Well made thanks a lot

Awesome, this would have fit right in to something like the Book of Lost Tales seamlessly as if it was written by Tolkien himself! Amazing! Definitely got a new sub here.

Yes, this is awesome!!!

That was phenomenal! Well done.

Imagine when this will be animated !! Give it a few more years with Ai of course and we will see some amazing games out there..

Wow. Don't know enough to know how close this is to the written lore, but holy smokes....the visuals !!!!

Absolutely fantastic representation. As someone below observed, this is the finest work I’ve seen regarding the Witch King. It simply brought the character to life. Taking into account that Tolkien didn’t explain his origins, I like to think that this would have been close to the mark, and in keeping with his storytelling style.

Love this channel

Killer art, its beautiful!

This video is what brought me to your channel, and I am beyond glad that it did! This was a fantastic tale, expertly woven, and crafted with a jeweler's attention to detail! Thank you. Out of curiosity, is there a list of the music you used?

Love the Ai artwork and the lore.

Nicely done dude, strange though saying he was a descendant of numennor as it’s known that three of the nine were high lords of numennor.

Great vid bro.

Great video. The artwork was very impressive as was the “fillers” of the Witch Kings origins. Very detailed and it “made sense”. It progressed to a logical conclusion of the ability of Sauron to “corrupt the hearts of Men”.

This is a wonderful presentation. Really helps the viewer get invested. Great job my friend!

Excellent

Love this and hope to see more of these! Just one critique if you don’t mind? The Dark Lords name is pronounced more Sour-on instead of Sore-on. I’d loveeee to see one of these videos for each of The Nine!

It would have taken several human lifetimes to complete the transformation from human to Witch King.

Waaait, "Angmar" was founded when the Black Captain was a Wraith a few thousand years old.

Very good! He fell as the Black Numenorians fell. and that works perfectly because that is who he was.

I like what they did with Talion in "Shadow of Mordor" and "Shadow of War". And i like this as backstory for Witchking of Angmar.

I really like this thanks for making it.

Great lore-fiction, accompanied by gorgeous graphics, beautiful and disturbing, super job!!

Wow amazing ! Just subbed

Fantastic job. I was hooked.

This was extremely well done. Well written, with awesome graphics, and an excellent voice over. But one thing confuses me. In the first film, it was said that the Nazgul were once great kings of men. He doesn't sound like a great king of men.

The voice sounds like a mixture of Richard Harris and his son, Jared.

Quite an interesting story. Thank you !

I always felt that Tal-Elmar is the origin story for the Witch King.

You know, I read my first LOTR book in 1969, so you know I am a true fan. I love new ideas & this was awesome. Thank you

Nicely done.

I've always been partial to the Witch King...

In a way though, they were only humans who kind of overcome gift of Iluvatar and became immortal as they were always jealous for. There was a Tuor who was welcomed into Aman and count for Eldar but thats a little different as they haven't ever left middle-earth and they were technically still humans although kept in undead state between life and death, chained to Arda with the power of Ring.

Honestly thank you for your time in this fictional branch off. I’ve ALWAYS been obsessed with the 9. I always wanted to know their names. Kingdoms. Were they wraiths in once or slowly he built them to 9? Why the witch king over others etc? I do love the Charlie Vickers scene in Rings where he is first entering Mordor as Sauron. Even though I know his body was destroyed in Numenor. And emerged as a spirit. But that dark Vickers red EYE look is sick I plug it into my PJ tales.

Great efx. Interesting ideas.

Great video Beautiful images

Absolutely outstanding video! Love the narrator's voice as well. When you do the video on the Downfall of Numenor could you use this guy's voice? Btw this is the best video I've yet seen on any Tolkien lore, I'm sharing this to all my friends and family. Much appreciated and subscribed!

I fell asleep like this was a National Geographic show 😂, great video

Rings of power are objects normally made for elves. They are a tool to prevent them from fading. Since the relationship between the elf and human souls (fëar) with Arda, and therefore with their bodies (hröar) built from its material, is opposite, the rings of power, as a factor that prevented the elves from fading, caused humans to fade (transforming from the incarnate form of existence into the wraith form). I theorize that this may be the metaphysical nature of this transformation. The motivation of the Witch-king is shaped around power and immortality, as in the other Nazgûl. Various stories can be constructed by other hands and minds for character development woven within this infrastructure. This video is an example of this.

Simply amazing well done +1 sub

He had great hair, I think we can all agree on that

Excellent.

Which LLM are you using for the visuals?

literally so good

So i know this isn't necessarily cannon, but hey, at least we got a great story about a mysterious character that, well, in my opinion, we all love and wonder about in our own way. And considering and the fails weve gotten over the recent years , thank you forbthe awesome video! My kids were even into lol

"Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know Death when you see it?!?!"

Some have taken to judge this work too harshly. It’s a fanfic, people, he never claimed this story was cannon. He clearly said he had “built upon” the scant data. I think it’s a nice fan fiction. Just as a constructive criticism, you are overusing the word “childlike”, especially in regards to the king’s childhood. Other thing, give him subjects, even if they are few and dwindling in number. A king cannot be called a king if there is no one to record anything about him.

1:34 ah, those electric lamps in the third age were the best 🤣

He was likely a one of the most powerful human sorcerers that ever lived before his transformation into the WK.

Great story and the AI works to enhance the narration! Awesome!

The production quality and cinematography from AI use is outstanding. Of course, without your inputs of creativity, it would be nothing. Well done!

Great video! New subscriber.

Very well done, truly nice work, and definitely creative. I would say though, in my opinion, that the subject was too corrupted prior to receiving the ring. As the story played out, he was damned well before meeting Sauron. If I was the one doing it, Sauron would have had a much more direct role in actually crushing a relatively decent man. That's just me, though.

We know almost nothing about the Nazguls' identities. This is remarkable considering what they became. This was certainly deliberate on Tolkien's part. The less we know, the more fearsome they are. Tolkien's basically saying, "Use your imagination." Which you did! Well done.

Totally consistent with Tolkien. I thought it was appropriately sympathetic. Great storytelling.

Fire. Subbed.

This was more game of thrones than something Tolkien would have written

i really enjoy your videos thanks a lot . can i know what are the names of the soundtracks please they are amazing.

Why is this relatable?

What is the source of this info? I didnt think Tolkien wrote about the Witch King?

👏🏻🙏🏻 Perfect. The name of the 1st background music please.