| ! | Non-canon alert The subject of this article originates from non-canonical sources. To learn about what is considered "canon", see LOTR:Canon. |
! |
"Foundations of Angmar" refers to a battle in which the Witch-king first took over Angmar, in the lore of Electronic Arts' game The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king.
Background[]
After a time of the defeat of Sauron at the war with the Last Alliance the Witch-king fled to Angmar, where with another of the nine (Morgomir) he decided to take over the region and bring the Black Númenóreans back under the banner of the Dark Lord.
After travelling through, both of the Ringwraiths saw a warrior troll fighting against Black Númenóreans. After aiding the troll in defeating his attackers he revealed himself as Rogash and asked for the Witch-king's aid in uniting the troll tribes together. Soon the three of them came across a host of Snow-trolls, Hill-trolls and Dire wolves fighting amongst themselves; after stopping the senseless fighting, the Witch-king proposed to the host before him to join him and fight for him for many gifts. They all accepted, and soon the battle was about to begin.
The battle[]
With his host ready, the Witch-king got wind that three places would be ideal for taking over; as the Witch-king host marched northward, they came across a small tribe of Snow-trolls who were mining like slaves for the Black Númenóreans. The host charged and slew the entire lot, and, out of gratitude, the Snow-trolls joined under the banner of the Witch-king. Continuing north, spies informed him that the Black Númenóreans were ready for them and preparing for an attack. The raid was short and bloody; the snow-trolls had been hit hard, with some of them dead, and all wounded, while only one small pack of Dire wolves was left, under the command of the Orcs. However, with this the first fortress was built.
In heart of their first victory the Witch-king's army marched to the west to find the second place to build upon. As they arrived, a sizable force of Black Númenóreans had assembled. This was the longest of the battles and reduced the Witch-king's army by a considerable amount, with all of the Dire wolves dead and just one set of Snow-trolls left. The Hill-trolls, however, had suffered light casualties.
As they prepared to mobilise to the final place to conquer Angmar, they heard of a Hill-troll tribe fighting to protect their den. The tribe rushed to their aid and declared their union with the banner of the Witch-king, led by the Fifth of the Nine. With this cave they recruited a sizable amount of snow-trolls and Dire wolves to aid the army. The Witch-king left the host for a few days to oversee a project being made, and returned with better armour and weapons for the host; he was thus prepared for the final conquer of the region.
The road to the final objective was dangerous. They encountered a fire drake along the way and lost half a tribe of Hill-trolls to the beast, but the Witch-king and Morgomir rushed forward and slew the beast, giving the host new heart, and so they continued their march south. Finally they came to the final battle ground upon Amon Celebrethil and a large battle was fought. The Gundabad Orcs proved deadly combatants, doing considerable damage to the forces of Angmar, but in the end they were slain. The Orc army attempted to use a Cave-troll to aid in the battle, but it was convinced by Rogash to aid the Witch-king instead, so it destroyed the troll stone throwers. With this the final fortress was built and it seemed that the Witch-king was victorious. However, the Black Númenóreans would not give up without a fight.