The two manage to gain the upper hand, but when Celebrimbor attempts to dominate Sauron, he cuts off Eltariel's ring finger, rendering her powerless, and merges himself with Celebrimbor. Talion then takes possession of the Palantir and observes Celebrimbor and Eltariel confronting Sauron himself at the top of Barad-dûr.
He then uses the power of Isildur's Ring to assault and seize Minas Morgul, defeating the Witch King in the process. Deciding to put his fate in his own hands, Talion picks up the Ring of Power Isildur was wearing to preserve his own life. She implores Talion to continue to fight to contain the darkness within Mordor. Shelob informs him that if Talion had gone on to fight Sauron, they'd have succeeded and Celebrimbor would have enslaved Sauron and marched on the rest of Middle Earth. Without Celebrimbor or the ring, Talion begins to die, but is visited by Shelob in a vision. Talion refuses to follow Celebrimbor's orders any more, causing the wraith to abandon him and possess Eltariel instead. Celebrimbor remarks angrily that Isildur would have been a valuable asset to their cause, leading Talion to realize that Celebrimbor intends to replace Sauron by dominating him rather than destroying him. With Eltariel's help, Talion defeats Isildur, but upon seeing his memories of how he was corrupted by the One Ring, decides to destroy Isildur and release his spirit rather than dominate him. During the battle, Talion faces once again faces Isildur. He targets the four fortresses of Mordor that stand in the way of Sauron's tower of Barad-dûr: Fortress Ghâshgôr of Cirith Ungol, Fortress Khargukôr of Seregost, Fortress Sharkburz of Núrn, and Fortress Dar-ghûrum of Gorgoroth. During this time, he assists Idril and Baranor in rescuing Gondorian survivors, helps the forest god Carnán defeat the Balrog Tar Goroth and Zog the Necromancer, helps Ratbag (who survived being struck down by the Hammer of Sauron) defeat a traitorous Olog-hai named Bruz the Chopper, and hunts the Nazgûl, including Suladân, Helm Hammerhand and Isildur, alongisde Eltariel.Įventually, once all other fortresses are conquered, Talion builds up enough strength to assault Barad-dûr directly. With the Ring back in his possession, Talion begins to use its power to dominate Orcs and build his army. Talion is able to save Shelob, who returns the Ring to him and tells him that the fate of Middle Earth is in his hands. With the Palantir, Sauron realizes that Shelob is holding Celebrimbor's Ring and sends the Nazgûl to attack her. The Witch King seizes Minas Ithil, renaming it Minas Morgul. Castamir is killed by the Witch-King and Talion is barely able to escape thanks to the help of Eltariel, an Elven assassin working on Galadriel's behalf. Together, they sabotage Orcish efforts to break into the city until Castamir betrays them, allowing the Orcs to breach the gates and handing over the Palantir to the Witch-King of Angmar in return for sparing Idril. Talion reasons that protecting Minas Ithil will also protect the Palantir and he meets up with the city's defenders: General Castamir, his daughter Idril, and his lieutenant Baranor. Talion wants to help his fellow Gondorians, while Celebrimbor believes the city is already lost and the retrieval of the Palantir must take priority. Talion travels to Minas Ithil and quickly comes to odds with Celebrimbor. The Palantir would allow whoever possesses it to see anything they wish, making it a valuable tool for Celebrimbor and a dangerous weapon for Sauron. She uses the Ring to see into the future and directs Talion to the last Gondorian stronghold in Mordor, Minas Ithil, which is under siege by Sauron's forces due to the city's possession of a valuable Palantir. Talion reluctantly agrees and gives the Ring to Shelob, who claims they have a common enemy in Sauron. However, once the Ring is complete, Celebrimbor is abducted and held hostage by Shelob, who asks Talion to hand over the Ring in exchange for Celebrimbor.
MAKE MIDDLE EARTH GREAT AGAIN FREE
Doom, where they forge a new Ring of Power free of Sauron's corruption. Shadow of War continues the narrative from Shadow of Mordor, following Talion who is still infused with the spirit of the elf lord Celebrimbor.