Adar

A mysterious individual of the Second Age was referred to as Adar, or "Lord-father", by Orcs, because of his status as one of the first Elves to be captured and tortured by Morgoth. Some among the Silvan Elves and Men of the Southlands initially wondered if he could be a manifestation of Sauron, though Adar was angered at the suggestion.

Under Adar's command, a large contingent of Orcs destroyed settlements in the Southlands, such as Hordern, taking its people as slaves to work towards finding a powerful sword forged of old by Morgoth, which became a key to causing Orodruin to erupt.

Biography

Adar was one of the first Elves, if not the first, to be corrupted by Morgoth before the First Age in Utumno. Subsequent generations of the newly realized race of Orcs considered him to be their father, and followed him willingly. After Morgoth's defeat, Adar at first served Sauron in the latter's mission to discover a way to subdue other forms of life. However, disillusioned by Sauron's cruelty to the Orcs, Adar turned on Sauron and claimed to have killed him. For many years, Adar remained the leader of the surviving Orcs, though in secret.

Adar first became known to the other people of Middle-earth well into the Second Age, first appearing in a Orc trench-camp run by Magrot, immediately after Arondir's failed attempt to cause a fray and escape. While Arondir is pinned down, having stabbed Magrot in the neck, Lurka orders he be brought to Adar. Elsewhere in the camp, the "Lord-father" emerges as Orcs around bow, and his face is barely discerned before the episode ends. He gently tends to the dying Magrot, who had sustained a mortal wound in the Elves' escape attempt, before suddenly ending his suffering with a dagger. As the rest of the Orcs leave, Adar speaks to Arondir, learning the Silvan Elf's birthplace to be in Beleriand. Adar reminisces about his days along the river Sirion, though he evades Arondir's own questions, before releasing Arondir to take a message to the Southlanders taking refuge in the watchtower of Ostirith: that they may live if they forsake the territory and swear fealty to him. Later, as he watches one of the caged Wargs devouring fresh flesh, Adar is informed by Grugzûk that the hilt of the sword they seek is in the watchtower.

Some time afterwards, Adar is told by Grugzûk that the tunnel is complete and their forces ready. The "Lord-father" asks his minion to hold his arm in the sunlight to emphasize, by burning the Orc's skin, his claim that the sun's light will soon be overshadowed. He then releases Grugzûk, ordering him to summon the legions. Later, temporarily encamped in Tirharad, Adar is approached by a group of the village's former inhabitants led by Waldreg, who seek to swear fealty in exchange for their lives and better status. Following Waldreg's suggestion that his new master was, in fact, Sauron - whom he had long awaited to pledge his undying service to - Adar expresses his frustration with the old man's insistence and impertinence by throwing him to the ground. He then forces Waldreg to murder Rowan with a dagger in order to seal his oath of loyalty, claiming only blood could bind.

Adar leads his army to Ostirith to destroy those who refused to obey him, and finds the tower empty. He is then surprised by Arondir, who triggers a mechanism rigged to destroy the tower, which kills a number of Orcs and forces Adar's forces to regroup. His attack comes after nightfall on Tirharad, where the townspeople have returned to; the inhabitants defeat the initial force after much exertion, only to become horrified when they found the majority of those they slew were their kinsmen who had followed Waldreg. Adar's main force then easily occupies the village, and begins murdering villagers in an attempt to force Arondir to reveal the location of the dark sword-hilt. Only when the Orcs threaten to kill Bronwyn does her son Theo hand over the hilt. Just then, a company of Numenorean cavalry commanded by Míriel arrive and make short work of the Orcs. Adar gives the hilt to Waldreg and escapes on horseback; Galadriel and Halbrand, believing Adar to still have the hilt, pursue and capture him. Galadriel tries to interrogate Adar, and learns something of his origins, as well as his claim that he killed Sauron for his cruelty to the Orcs. In the meantime, Waldreg has returned to Ostirith and uses the sword to unlock the dam holding back the lake behind the watchtower. The waters run through tunnels in the earth into the caverns of magma below Orodruin, creating such a reaction that the volcano is reawakened, covering the Southlands in ash. In the chaos following, Adar escapes.

Etymology

Adar is a Sindarin word meaning "father".