12 Primarchs

Theatricality is key to gaining power in Arda. You can't change the innate power you were born to wield. Magic is abstract, esoteric, usually race locked to the Ainur, and often disappointing. Drawing power from Illuvitar is a bit of a problem as the guy only cares about certain races. But there is one aspect of power that can be readily manipulated, and theatricality is the key to doing so.

Worship.

Sauron was never more powerful than when all of Numinor worshiped him as a god and performed regular human sacrifice to him. Since then the guy has picked up some L's that have rocked people's faith in him, but the WAAAGGGHHH effect going on within the Uruk hierarchy is enough to let me know that worship isn't race locked.

Which is why I built the biggest fighting pits in Mordor - a bitching Coliseum - for the introduction of the first crop of my sons produced in the Spawning Pits of Nurn. I needed to capitalize on the fascination with them being the first of a new breed and damn did they show up to impress daddy. For three full days I sent in wave after wave of captured members of the Mystic Tribe from Seregost, the Warmonger Tribe from Cirith Ungol, and the newly formed Slaughter Tribe from fucking nowhere as they exemplify the Murder Hobo life.

And then for fun we threw in caragors, trolls, and grogs too.

I'm not afraid of anything. Not even admitting to the fact that I thought I might have bit off a bit more than they could chew. They fought in the heart of the awesome battle, bleeding from many wounds and slowing down, the end seemed near for my sons, but upon them descended the Berserker's Rage. Screaming like animals they rose up, their blades cleaving Uruk and beast alike, no blow phased them, all who stood before them died.

It was fucking beautiful.

Twenty Uruks stood on the virgin sand of the arena at the start of the first day and twenty Uruks stood on the blackblood stained sands at the end of the third day having cemented themselves as legends. The Firstborne of Thrag, (With an E on the end so people know they mean business) and me, their godly father. The raw belief generated from their feet filled them with power, and filled me with power.

Standing around seven and a half feet tall each, thick in muscle and hide with skin in the darker tones of blue, green, brown, and gray with hair ready for a Power Metal music video they looked like they stepped off a Manowar album cover.

During the seven days of feasting held after the Trial of Blood, they proved themselves as adroit in the social battlefield as in the actual battlefield. Loud and proud and brash as hell, they fit the role of Uruk royalty perfectly as they drank all comers under the table, muscled out the competition in arm wrestling, and sang every bawdy song they could learn.

Then nothing changed when the Warmonger Tribe attacked. We just transitioned from one good time to another.

Mozu the Grizzled smelled blood in the water with both Nurn and Seregost depleted from the Bright Lord's attacks, and Gorgoroth held by the Machine Tribe who rarely bothered to leave their workshops and foundries. He asked himself, 'Why would he trade his iron for food shipments when he could put his iron in the hands of his army and take the food for free?'

It was damn fine thinking and his timing was perfect as when better to strike than during a major holiday, but the poor boy didn't understand that even after draining a barrel of grog while doing a keg stand I was still so far out of his league as a commander and administrator that I knew he was coming even before he did.

He also fundamentally misunderstood the transition of the Feral Tribe to the Enlightened Tribe. We may have lost forty percent of our numbers, but were far better equipped, trained, and organized with better designed and built forts and outposts. He expected to march into a land depleted and hungover but instead kicked a steel plate and found himself drawn into battle after barely penetrating into Nurn due to encountering the ring walls of my home.

My positioning of Fort Fort proved once more… enlightened, my desire to threaten Thaurband placed Fort Thrag north of the Slave City and right in the path of any army coming from Cirith Ungol down into the rich fields of Nurn. Mozu had to put my fortress to siege or else leave us free to ride out and harass him whenever we want.

The experienced Overlord came with over six thousand Orcs and left them to dig in and keep my forces locked up within our ring walls while he moved with his more elite Uruks and Ologs to quickly pillage my farms and ranches.

This came back to him not understanding the Enlightened Tribe. I only had roughly a thousand warriors with me in Fort Thrag, having dispersed another fifteen hundred to maintain order in Nurn. Normally a thousand Uruks couldn't sally out and defeat over six thousand Orcs. But the Enlightened Tribe is not subjected to the sunlight exposure debuff.

Sunlight would remain a problem for Uruks until Saruman breeds the Uruk Hai, and would always be a problem for Orcs unless a Dark Lord blocks the sun for them.

At high noon - with the fatigue of the sun at its worst - my army sallied out. My driver Horza the Charioteer whipped my Dire Caragors into a full charge while I threw the baskets full of Javelins at the tired Orcs and switched to my new golden hafted long bladed glaive to sweep arcs of death once we crashed through the poorly organized army.

A two companies of Caragor riders accompanied me like a howling avalanche of death followed by two heavy infantry companies. The Orcs routed within minutes of the fight starting and we rode down thousands of them before letting the pathetic survivors retreat back to their mines in Cirith Ungol.

Can't kill all of them, otherwise who will be left to haul the iron out of the mountains after I finish murdering Mozu and his boys. The old Overlord had nearly emptied Cirith Ungol of Uruks for this fight bringing with him over two thousand with a hundred Ologs accompanying them. My own forces in the area were to retreat from them without much resistance, allowing them to spread out to hasten their pillage.

They had no idea that I had a thousand warriors within less than a day's march of them.

Welcome to Thrag's Nurn, you fucking morons.