Minas Morgul – The Dead City
Near the mouth of the Morgul Vale on the rocky knees of the Ephel Dúath, Minas Morgul sits, keeping a ceaseless watch in the arms of the valley. Once the silver-shining city of Minas Ithil, the Tower of Dark Sorcery now glows with a constant, sickly, green-tinged corpse-light, its every corner permeated by the dark power of its master, the Lord of the Nazgûl; the Witch-king of Angmar, and his minions. The light is hollow and casts little illumination upon the city, giving it a feeling of constant twilight and shade, and the hours between night and dawn when fell powers and creatures are most bold. The Witch-king and his fellow wraiths hold the city for Sauron, but he has established it as his own dominion, and rules utterly as Lord of Morgul. Since the year 2002 of the Third Age his hold on the city has been uncontested, crowned by his defeat of Eärnur in 2050 and the ending of the line of Kings in Gondor. Here he created the Morgul blades, bred the Uruk-hai, and continues to build his army and further his power in the black arts. He resides at the top of the city’s central and tallest tower, a revolving spire once known as the Tower of the Moon, where he may be both undisturbed, and cast his gaze over all his dominion.
As long as there has been Minas Morgul, there has been Sombelenë. And longer- an ancient Avari nís in the service of the Dark Lord, she came to Minas Ithil when Sauron first captured the city in SA 3429, and remained behind when he was defeated in the Last Alliance, insinuating herself into the retaken city. Sombelenë mined the secrets of the city, aided in the Witch-king’s siege, and welcomed him in upon his victory. A long-time associate of the Lord of the Nazgûl, Sombelenë’s official title is Personal Secretary to the Witch-King, but she manages far more than his correspondence. While the Lord of Morgul secludes himself, Sombelenë oversees the day to day running of the city, coordinates his affairs, and keeps his extensive archives. No one knows quite how old she is or from where she came, but she is known to have studied the arcanities from Melkor from the Elder King himself. Though surpassed in might and position by the Witch-king, she once tutored the wraith, and is known to be of terrible power. Whispers of witch abound, when the whisperers think themselves out of her hearing.
***
Locations
The Tower of Dark Sorcery
Minas Mallen – Tower of Gold
A tower next to the Witch-king’s, slenderer and not so tall, and the corpse-light surrounding it has a faint tinge of gold. At the base of this tower is the arcane library, a repository of rare and ancient books, many to do with the black arts. Access is heavily regulated. Midway up the tower are the archives, endless rooms of endless shelves and drawers and documents in different hands, though the dominant is a neat, spidery script. At the top of the tower are Sombelenë’s chambers, where none may enter but by invitation. Just below her chambers is the entrance arched bridge which leads to the Tower of Dark Sorcery, providing direct access to the higher levels of the Witch-king’s towers, for those so fortunate to reach this door. The spiral staircase that ascends Minas Mallen goes up and up while seeming to go nowhere, until you reach your intended destination.
Sombelenë, played by Moriel
Towers of Morgul
A number of other towers dot the city, of various purpose. Many are linked by bridges to allow for quick communion with one another. One of these is a more general library, with those willing to climb the spiral staircase higher and higher being rewarded with access to ever rarer tomes.The Kennels
A disarming name for a place where such creatures are kept, here may be found hounds, wargs, and most dangerous of all, fell beasts. These vast, winged creatures transport the Witch-king and his fellow wraiths, and even on occasion Sombelenë, who keeps here a fell beast called Naquarpotë. Those who work in the kennels must have nerves of steel, and be unafraid of loss of limb.Barracks
A sprawling complex where all denizens of the Morgul military reside, of all races under the thrall of the Witch-king. Here Gorbag, captain of the Uruk-hai of Morgul, reigns supreme, keeping order over and training the army.Armory
In the center of the barracks complex is a vast armory, containing all manner of weapons, and those who care for and catalogue them. The Quartermaster (NPC, playable by all), an orc so burly he is suspected of being half-troll, suffers no fools and has been known to smash upon an anvil the hands of those returning issued weapons in deplorable states.Marketplace
Retaining the general shape of Minas Ithil’s central marketplace, this area ranges over a broad footprint, now full of shops catering to the city’s current inhabitants and their tastes. Here you may also find the storefronts and workshops of many trades, clumped together in related districts, on streets named for their crafts.Lingwinúrin
A unique offering among the seedy taverns that dot the city, this pub is owned by Saicië, the Southron pubmistress and one of the Seven Deadly Sisters. She is currently attempting to hand over management of the pub to Mozran, an orcish bartender recommended to her by a friend, and it is not going well. Lingwinúrin is named both for its temperature, its inside made hotter than anywhere else in the city by a proliferation of braziers, and for the serpents which inhabit it, chiefly a large monitor lizard that came to Minas Morgul with Saicië from the east. Since her arrival she has acquired a number of stray lizards and their relations of all sorts, all of whom appreciate the hospitable environment of the pub. Here you may find a wide array of more civilized food and drink, and comfortable places to sit, more or less secluded depending on your preference- and your willingness to pay. A number of lackeys of various races (playable by all) carry out the orders of Saicië and Mozran, and see to the whims of the customers.
Saicië, played by Moriel
Mozran, played by Frost
Shrines
The Númenóreans who built Minas Ithil worshipped the Valar, and as such built many small shrines to them throughout the city, from secluded porticos to small indents in walls. These were near universally defiled, profaned, or destroyed when the Witch-king took the city, and their remains over the years have been transformed into shrines to Melkor, Sauron, and the Witch-king himself. Administrative
A great number of administrative and logistical buildings are scattered about the city, as well as offices in various towers. No great military force, nor any city, runs smoothly without an army of logistics workers. No one building or one person holds too many secrets, but together they comprise all the departments and their leaders that make a State run.Spider Pits
Cockfighting is too boring for the denizens of Minas Morugl, though it may serve as a prequel to the main event. Here owners and trainers pit their spiders against each other in mortal combat, from tarantulas to arachnids so large they might be children of Shelob herself. The betting is fierce, and the combat fiercer.The Grand Guignol
Once a center for art and culture in Minas Ithil, this theatre has been corrupted just like the rest of the city. Its fixtures and facades have been darkened and twisted, decaying and rotting until it resembles only the bones of its former greatness. However, over the years there have been just enough inhabitants of Minas Morgul with an artistic (or at least performatively sadistic) streak to keep it alive. Here are performed horror shows and other macabre entertainments, from scripted dramas to live flayings, and anything else the limelight’s inhabitants might dream up to keep their audiences amused. Troublemakers beware, fall afoul of your superiors and you might find yourself onstage at the Guignol as that night’s special amusement…***
Rules
-Please mark your RP as Private or Open To All. If you aren’t sure the privacy status of someone’s RP and want to join, talk to them first! The Mordor OOC and RP Request Form thread are excellent places to do thisRules
-Timeline: the present day is TA 3014, but you may write in whatever year you wish!
-Canon Characters: the general premise of the thread is that the Witch-king is largely an absent ruler day-to-day, deputizing through Sombelenë. Moriel has non-exclusive rights to playing the Witch-king in this thread- if you have an idea you’d like to use the WK for, please get in touch with me in the Mordor OOC or on discord so we can coordinate! All other canon characters (mentioned in the OP or otherwise) are up for grabs. In any year but the present, all duplicates of canon characters will be considered as existing in alternate timelines and not interfering with each other. If you see someone else playing a canon character you are interested in in the present, please talk to and coordinate with them. As long as there aren’t two copies of the same canon character in the same location in the same time in the present (eg, two Gorbags in the pub simultaneously), I don’t care about duplicates- but it’s first come first serve as far as who is where.
-The list of above locations is by no means comprehensive, if you know of or can imagine/have created another location you would like to use, feel free!
-If you are inspired by one of the locations or the thread in general and wish to have a character of yours added to the OP in a permanent role, get it touch with Moriel!
-Please white out any short OOC comments at the bottom of your post; longer discussion should be taken to the Mordor OOC or discord
-Please refrain from posting in overly bright/neon/extremely light colors, as they are difficult for some people to see and make reading your hard work challenging
-Icons and banners/images are welcome, but no moving gifs please
-Double posting is fine
-Have fun!
Many thanks to Frost for collaboration on a number of locations in this thread!
