The Downfall of Númenor

This project is my rendition in Lego of the Downfall of Númenor, one of the most important events not only in the Second Age of Middle-Earth but all of Tolkien's writings.

After the Ainur (powerful spirits) defeated Morgoth (also an Ainu and Sauron's master), they decided to reward the men who had helped them and the elves. It was decided that an island would be given to them and that Elrond's brother Elros (who had chosen to be human) would be their first king.

For a very long time things went very well (aside from a few stubborn and haughty kings and queens), but eventually disaster loomed. The Númenoreans began conquering the peoples of Middle-Earth, ravaging forests, and envying the immortality of the elves. Pride, greed, and a love of power slowly ruined Númenor.

So it was that when Sauron rose to power, King Ar-Pharazôn went to war against him, not because Sauron was evil, but because Númenor could now endure no rival to their power. The entire war ended almost immediately with Sauron's servants fleeing before a battle even began and Sauron surrendering as a result. Then Ar-Pharazôn's conceit became his ruin. In his utter arrogance he brought Sauron, a Maia (the same kind of being as Saruman and Gandalf), back to Númenor as a prisoner. Before long Sauron had managed to convert himself from prisoner to chief advisor. And that was when Númenor's darkest days began.

I won't go into the details of how bad it got in Númenor, but the basic idea is that the Númenoreans became even more evil than they already were and began worshipping Morgoth instead of the One, Eru Ilúvatar (whom Sauron said didn't exist). It was only a matter of time until the end.

The end came about because of the lies of Sauron and the Númenoreans desire for the immortality of the elves. Sauron told Ar-Pharazôn that if he sailed to Aman (the home of the Ainur and many of the elves and the ONE place the Númenoreans weren't allowed to sail to) and conquered it, he and all those who went with him would live forever. (Sauron was lying. He wanted them to attack Aman so that the Númenoreans would be destroyed.) Ar-Pharazôn then gathered together his forces and set sail to seize Aman.

When the hosts of Númenor came to Aman the Valar laid down their authority and called upon Eru Ilúvatar. Eru buried the army of Ar-Pharazôn in a landslide (quite ironically they got in a way what they wanted; they were condemned to live forever in the Caves of the Forgotten until the last battle, Dagor Dagorath), he made the world round to prevent Men from attacking Aman ever again, and destroyed Númenor with a gigantic wave. The only people who escaped the fall of Númenor were the Faithful, Elendil and his companions, who were carried in their nine ships to Middle-Earth, where they founded the two kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor.

The build consists of a table, a model of Númenor, the wave that destroyed it, and the nine ships that the Faithful escaped in.

The table has water pouring from cracks in the sides; this represents the world cracking as it is becoming round. At either end the White Tree of Númenor is pictured (the White Tree of Gondor is descended from the Númenorean tree). The sides of the black table are decorated with silver tiles (hearkening to the colors of Gondor), which are meant to represent great waves.

The model of Númenor is based off of maps and descriptions I could find. The cities are shown by round plates with the exception of Armenelos, which is signified by a bulb that also represents the Temple of Morgoth. In the center is Meneltarma, the mountain where the Númenoreans formerly worshipped Eru Ilúvatar.

I built the wave as if it is frozen and poised above Númenor.

The nine ships are made from upside-down ice-skates. They are a little too large in comparison to the rest of the set, but they are still a very important part of the build.

The Downfall of Númenor is one of my favorite parts of Tolkien's books, and I loved building a rendition of it in Lego. Overall I like to think of this as a work of art as well as a Lego set, from the conceptual design to the details in the cracks. Personally this is one of my favorite builds out of all the ones that I've done, and I hope you like it as much as I do.