“I shaped the history of Middle-earth. I crafted the Rings of Power...”
Celebrimbor is one of the two player-controlled protagonists in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Middle-earth: Shadow of War, alongside Talion, with whom he now shares a body.
At the start of the game, after the slaughter at the Black Gate, Celebrimbor is joined with Talion as a vessel to take revenge. He does not tell Talion this, instead saying that they are bound together by a curse and that the Black Hand must be killed for it to be broken. Throughout the game, he and Talion seek to find out his identity, attempting to track down Gollum in order to do so.
Once they discover his identity, Celebrimbor decides to keep increasing his power, with the aim of destroying the Dark Lord Sauron.
Background
Celebrimbor was a Ñoldorin prince, last of the House of Fëanor left in Middle-earth, ruler of the Second Age realm of Eregion, and the forger of the Rings of Power. He was the son of Curufin, fifth son of Fëanor and Nerdanel.
Celebrimbor approached by Annatar (Sauron's fair form).
Celebrimbor settled into Eregion during the Second Age, and in SA 1500, Sauron befriended him, claiming to be sent down by the Valar as an emissary, presenting Celebrimbor with an exquisitely crafted mithril hammer, much to Celebrimbor's amazement and gratitude, saying to Sauron that "it is so fine a gift." Sauron then took control of the Eregion smiths and, side by side with Celebrimbor, instructed them to craft a set of rings, which would eventually become the Rings of Power. They were all deceived however, as in secret Sauron created the most powerful of them all, the One Ring, which was designed to subordinate the will of the free people's to Sauron's own, thus delivering him sole dominion of Middle Earth.
Celebrimbor was the one to forge some of the most powerful of the 20 Rings, only weaker to Sauron's very own. These were the rings of the Elves: Vilya, Narya and Nenya. Unable to lay his hands on them, Sauron attacked Eregion, destroying the land and capturing Celebrimbor, putting him under extreme torment until he disclosed the whereabouts of the lesser rings and, in the game's canon, perfecting the One by masking its power and giving it a will of its own. But Celebrimbor refused to disclose the locations of the Elvish rings, and deceived Sauron, taking the One as his own and using it to raise an army of Uruks, with the ultimate goal of destroying Sauron and avenging his family, whom he thought slain.
Celebrimbor was successful in this, and eventually came to battle with Sauron himself, who revealed that Celebrimbor's family were still very much alive. Enraged, Celebrimbor used the power of the Ring to teleport through the battlefield and confront Sauron directly, where he was able to knock the Dark Lord down. As he raised his sword to deliver the killing blow however, the Ring, recognizing that its true master was in peril, slipped from Celebrimbor's finger and returned to Sauron. With this, Celebrimbor fell to his knees and dropped his sword, accepting defeat. He was then chained and forced to watch Sauron slay his family, before brutally beating him to death with his own mithril hammer.
This caused Celebrimbor to become a Wraith, a spirit of vengeance, forsaking the Halls of Mandos and dooming himself to an eternity in Mordor until the One Ring was destroyed. Hundreds of years later, during the Third Age, he witnessed the ritual murder of Talion, and seized the opportunity by possessing the Ranger's body, putting his long awaited revenge into motion.
Shadow of Mordor
It is revealed later that Celebrimbor was not, in truth, immediately killed at the hands of Sauron, after the Dark Lord's assault on Eregion, but instead brought to Mordor to perfect the One Ring. It is here that Celebrimbor imbues the ring with a "mind of its own". However, Celebrimbor, tempted by the power of the Ring, at the last moment, steals it from Sauron, slipping into the Wraith world to escape.
Celebrimbor, corrupted by the power of the Ring and determined to now conquer Mordor, builds an army of Uruks within Sauron's own to match him. The war between the two progresses, until finally, the two meet, Sauron actually taking physical form to do so. Celebrimbor uses the ring to best Sauron in single combat, having nearly mastered its powers. However, at the last moment, before the killing blow, the Ring being a part of Sauron slips off of Celebrimbor's finger and onto Sauron's; The Ring is itself a part of the Dark Lord's own power, therefore it answers only to him. With the power of the One Ring his once again, Sauron takes Celebrimbor and his surviving family captive.
Following this, Sauron proceeds to slaughter Celebrimbor's wife and daughter as vengeance, while the tortured Elf is forced to watch. Once both lay dead, Sauron takes his fair form, then uses Celebrimbor's own smithing hammer, the one Sauron gave to him as a gift, to viciously bludgeon him, finally using the pick side to finish him off. It is at this point Celebrimbor becomes a Wraith, destined to be so until such a time when he can once again battle Sauron. Like Sauron himself, Celebrimbor has his fate bound to that of the Ring. Thus, until such time that the One Ring is unmade, Celebrimbor's spirit is unable to depart for the Halls of Waiting in Valinor, as the souls of all deceased Elves should.
During his initial times sharing Talion's body, Celebrimbor feigns apparent amnesia of his life before becoming a Wraith, only regaining memories with Talion's acquisition of several artifacts of Celebrimbor's past: his pendant, crown, and the hammer and chisel he used to forge the Rings, but in reality its all a ploy to gain more power. During this, he seemingly gains a follower in the creature Gollum, him becoming a fanatic upon learning that his 'Bright Master' forged the 'Precious'.
After Talion's confrontation, and assassination of the Hammer of Sauron, Celebrimbor chides him for acting hastily, citing the Hammer's likely knowledge of his fellow Black Captains. Talion countered by asking the Wraith what he would have done if confronted by the one who killed his own family. After the pair's first meeting with Lithariel, Celebrimbor assures Talion that they will find peace when the battle is over.
Later, during their confrontation with the Tower of Sauron in Ered Glamhoth, he reveals to Talion that he was not in fact cursed alongside Celebrimbor, but in fact was partially possessed by the Wraith, allowing him to live where death should have taken him. After the Tower's fall, Talion confronts Celebrimbor, who states his belief that Talion would have wanted revenge on his family's killers, and so gave him the means to do so by possessing him. He confirms that he can leave Talion to die, but can only depart permanently with the death of the Black Hand.
After the Black Hand is slain at the peak of the Black Gate, Talion and Celebrimbor are finally allowed to rest in peace. However, they both choose instead not to depart the living world, instead deciding to continue growing their power, and oppose Sauron's efforts of conquest in Mordor.
Shadow of War
In an unknown amount of time, Talion and Celebrimbor forged a new ring to challenge Sauron's power and upon completion the two were separated. Celebrimbor was held against his will by Shelob, Talion managed to negotiate his freedom at the cost of the new ring - leaving the two in a difficult position. Shelob however showed them some distant events and gave them a new path. Heading to help a struggling Gondor group at Minas Ithil, who are protecting the Palantir, the two continued to go back and forth with Shelob for her vision. But despite their efforts, the Witch King and Nazgûl managed to take control and almost over the duo before being saved by the Blade of Galadriel, Elatriel.
The Nazgûl then begin to attack Shelob in order to get the ring from her but fail utterly, their ring is returned aswell as a last vision given to the duo - of them leading an army and fighting Sauron. With a new mission; Talion and Celebrimbor head for new lands to begin building their armies as they also deal with chasing Nazgûl. After dealing with three Nazgûl; Suladan, Helm Hammerhead and Isildur and capturing four fortresses, the duo and Eltariel decide to attack Sauron.
During their attack, Isildur attacks them but like before is defeated, but unlike the previous times, Celebrimbor manages to dominate him - much to Talion's anger who protests and releases the Nazgûl, freeing his spirit. Celebrimbor speaks in outrage after the 'killing' of the Nazgûl, and reveals a new plan; since he can dominate a Ringwraith - he can dominate Sauron. Talion objects but is outnumbered as Eltariel agrees, Celebrimbor reveals he doesn't need Talion and leaves his body, the Ranger falling down dead as Celebrimbor and Eltariel become one. Taking the New Ring and leaving behind the Ranger.
The new pairing climb to Sauron's tower and engage him in combat - the Dark Lord appearing in both normal and his armored form. Celebrimbor manages to get the upper hand but Sauron manages to sever the ring from Eltariel's finger, subsequently merging the wraith and the Dark Lord as one.
It would not be until the end of The War of the Ring that Celebrimbor would become free from Sauron, as the tower fell a blue light is seen fleeing from the collapsing tower.
Skills and Abilities
Celebrimbor's bow Azkâr.
Due to Celebrimbor's Elvish heritage, he is very skilled with his bow Azkâr, which he used while he was alive and continues to do so after his death, as a Wraith.
As a Wraith, Celebrimbor does not use arrows of conventional physical materials, but instead conjures insubstantial glowing blue arrows of Wraith-magic. These arrows can be magically set aflame by Celebrimbor, or used to pin his enemies' legs to the ground.
As well as being skilled with a bow, Celebrimbor is seen to be skillful with a sword, being able to cut through swarms of Uruks with little effort.
Celebrimbor, like Talion, is also capable of performing a number of acrobatic feats. He can climb large structures in a relatively short amount of time, and with little effort. He grants some of his athleticism to Talion, allowing him to run faster for a short amount of time. This speed is aided by his Wraith abilities to allow him to move quicker.
Celebrimbor using Azkâr.
Due to his status of being a Wraith, Celebrimbor has gained a multitude of abilities. Some such abilities include the ability to move fast as shadow and to control the minds of others. The Wraith himself being bound to Mordor until the One Ring or Sauron is unmade, Celebrimbor can also use these abilities to reform Talion's body when he is killed.
Not only is Celebrimbor efficient in the art of combat and in the use of Wraith abilities but he is also a highly skilled smith, possibly the greatest smith in all of Arda's history with at least three of the Rings of Power (the Elven rings) being crafted by him.
Trivia
- The name Celebrimbor means "silver-fist" or "Hand of silver" in Sindarin, translated from Quenyan father-name; Telperinquar.
- Despite Talion and Celebrimbor sharing the same body the majority of the game, during moments of revelation, planning or conflict Celebrimbor takes his own separate, spectral form.
- Celebrimbor is the main character in The Bright Lord downloadable content, which features his initial war against Sauron before his ultimate demise.
Gallery
References
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| Protagonists |
Talion • Celebrimbor |
| Antagonists |
Sauron • Black Captains (Black Hand of Sauron • Tower of Sauron • Hammer of Sauron) • Saruman (mentioned) • Morgoth (mentioned) |
| Good Characters |
Dirhael • Eryn • Galadriel (mentioned) • Gorvin (mentioned) • Hallas (mentioned) • Hirgon of Tarnost • Ioreth • Lithariel • Torvin • Lady Marwen |
| Neutral Characters | |