Eltariel

“I strike down men corrupted by these rings. Do not become one of them!”

— Eltariel to Talion

Eltariel is an Elven assassin and the last Blade of Galadriel deployed before the end of the Third Age. She was an ally to Talion and Celebrimbor that wielded the light of Galadriel. She helped Talion in his fight against Sauron's army in Middle-earth: Shadow of War, after convincing from the wraith Celebrimbor, she took the new ring from Celebrimbor's hand that caused Talion to start dying again, while also becoming one with the wraith.

After fighting Sauron atop Barad-Dûr and defeating him, Sauron cut her ring finger while Celebrimbor was trying to dominate him, overpowering Eltariel and merging with Celebrimbor to enter a perpetual state of war as a flaming Eye on top of Barad-Dûr. Meanwhile Eltariel took the New Ring to continue her quest and hold back the Nazgûl and ensure they don't leave Mordor.

Personality

Eltariel is a very determined individual. She approaches any task given with determination and even in spite of impossible odds she refuses to give up and always returns to the battlefield, ready to fight.

Eltariel has a rather complicated stance on the Rings of Power. During her earlier encounters with Talion and Celebrimbor, Eltariel showed strong distrusts on the Rings, and to an extension, towards Celebrimbor who made them, despite the Wraith affirming that his latest craft is different from the ones that spawned the Nazgûl and he too, was a victim of Sauron's schemes. After witnessing that the New Ring was capable of severing Sauron's hold on Isildur (and thus rendering him vulnerable to death), Elatriel became somewhat willing to wear the Ring and attempted dominating Sauron with the help of Celebrimbor. Eltariel seems to disdain the idea of using a Ring of Power to dominate Orcs as Talion do, but she's willing, under circumstances, to have consensual alliance with Uruks and Ologs, preferring to win their favor rather than forcing them into her ranks.

Appearance

Eltariel is an Elf with a relatively slender built, she's thin even in comparison to the most scrawny Uruks. She has a fair skin, sharp pair of eyes with blue irises and blonde hair, most of which are covered by her cowl.

Her basic attire consist of a moderately plated full body armor with eagle motif and a cloak that both functions as a cowl and and a cape that reaches to her legs. She carries the sheathes of her twin blades adjacently on her back. This loadout do not inhibit her nimble movements. In the Wraith World, after donning the New Ring, Eltariel appears to glow a gold color.

Background

At some point prior to the events of Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Eltariel was selected by the Lady Galadriel as her "blade" and, armed with The Light of Galadriel, a powerful artifact, was sent into the realm of Mordor to hunt down the Nazgûl and keep them confined to the Land of Shadow, a task she was initially delighted with, but later came to question as she was left hunting a foe that ultimately remains unkillable, leaving her questioning what the point of her quest is.

History

Middle-earth: Shadow of War

First Meeting Talion

Appearing shortly after the downfall of Minas Ithil, Eltariel showed up as Talion was being corrupted and dominated by the Witch-king of Angmar and the other Nine Nazgûl. She briefly protected a partially corrupted Talion from the Nazgûl, using both blade and Light, before she ultimately struck down Talion herself, in order to prevent him from being claimed by the Nazgûl, and racing off to Celebrimbor's barrows to meet up with the undead ranger again.

Encountering the fallen ranger back at Celebrimbor's barrows, she sharpened his sword, whilst waiting for him to awaken, expressing minor surprise that Talion was indeed capable of returning from the dead, and briefly attempting to question him on how it feels to die and return to life, before Talion urgently inquired about the fate of the city and the Palantír he had attempted to protect, to which Eltariel confirmed the loss of both to The Dark Lord, Sauron.

Whilst conversing with Talion, Celebrimbor noticed her possession of the Light of Galadriel, telling Talion they could use it to recover the ring, assuming that Eltariel like most inhabitants of Middle-earth were unaware of the Wraiths presence, before she proved him wrong. She inquired about the ring, which Talion explained the purpose of, before realizing the Nazgûl would be drawn to the Rings' power. Celebrimbor demanded she handed over Galadriel's Light, to which she strongly rebuffed him, stating that she was willing to use the Light to protect them, but not willing to give it up, before Talion intervened and stated the need to move quickly to stop the Ringwraiths from seizing the New Ring.

She and Talion proceeded to rush to Shelob's cave in order to secure the ring, noting that even Shelob's brood feared the Nazgûl, before arriving in Shelob's domain, whilst an attack by the aforementioned Nazgûl was in progress, in order to secure the ring on orders from Sauron. Whilst Shelob was defending herself, Eltariel began building power with Galadriel's light, leaping into the air before landing hard on the stone floor and causing a massive explosion of light, which both injured Shelob greatly and forced the Nazgûl to retreat from the cave.

After Talion had re-acquired and donned The New Ring, she confronted him about it and urged him to get rid of it. When he refused she told him that she strikes down those that the ring corrupts, and urges him not to become one of them, telling the ranger that they would meet again and continues to press on alone, leaving Talion and Celebrimbor began to build their army, adopting the persona of the "Bright Lord".

Alliance with Talion & Celebrimbor

As she stated, Eltariel did indeed meet again with Talion, and together they worked to hold the Nazgûl at bay within Mordor. They uncovered attempts by the Nazgûl's "Chosen" to reclaim the purified Haedir which they repelled, intervened before the Ringwraith's could create powerful Orcs known as "Chosen" and raided another ritual again intended to create more "Chosen" though in doing so, she began to disagree with Talion and Celebrimbor.

Eventually Talion and Celebrimbor returned to Minis Ithil, now corrupted and turned into Minas Morgul, where Eltariel joined them, stating that one of the Ringwraith's had retreated there after the three of them drove them from Shelob's cave, stating that all they had managed to do was chase the wraiths off. Progressing through the city and leading Talion and Celebrimbor, during in which the Ranger and Wraith duo dominated a small number of Orcs, they eventually made their way to the upper city, where the Witch-King had secured his dominion with a veil of Shadow, and a Nazgûl in ornate armour descended to confront them on the stairs to the Great Hall, proclaiming that the Witch-King possessed the city, and would soon possess Talion as well.

Working with Talion and Celebrimbor they fought the Nazgûl guarding the Great Hall where the Palantr was kept, and she watched as Celebrimbor and Talion dominated the Nazgûl, later revealed to be Suladân, a once great general of men who became corrupted by a Ring of Power given to him by Sauron.

Later on in her quest to hold back the Nazgûl, Eltariel again saved Talion from being claimed by the raging Nazgûl known as Helm Hammerhand, after the aforementioned Ringwraith attempted to reclaim the fortress in the icy realm of Seregost. Quickly striking the Nazgûl and forcing him to flee, she told Talion that the wraiths injuries would slow him, before inquiring to Talion about his own, before then rushing off to continue her hunt.

Teaming up with Talion they ventured to the icy peaks of Seregost where Hammerhand had fled after Eltariel and Talion repulsed his attempts to reclaim Seregost, and the two defeated the ringwraith. After Talion and Celebrimbor looked inside Hammerhand and saw his past, she witnessed an angry confrontation between the Ranger and the Wraith over Celebrimbor's willingness to stand at Sauron's side when he gave the now fallen Hammerhand the Ring of Power that corrupted and doomed him, and their crafting of a new ring, before she left to continue her quest.

Eventually Eltrariel, with Talion and Celebrimbor, went to investigate the haunted ruins in the region of Gorgorth, where they discovered that one of the Nazgûl, Isildur, King of Gondor and former bearer of the One Ring before being struck down by Orcs and later given one of the Nine Rings of Men by Sauron, was using necromancy to amass a terrible army of Wights that, as noted by Talion, included fallen soldiers and men (though Eltariel no longer considered them such) that had died at Minas Ithil.

Isildur threatened Talion, claiming either the Ranger would join the Nazgûl, or die and be raised as his puppet, before being repelled and eventually leaving Eltariel and Talion to fight against a contingency of Wights, which were led by the former (and now undead) general of Minis Ithil prior to betraying the city, (an act which led to its downfall and seizure by the Witch-King and his fellow Nazgûl) Castamir.

Attack on Barad-dûr

After Talion and Celebrimbor had built up a sizeable army and the trio had successfully repelled all attacks by the Ringwraith's and ensured that the Haedir were secure and could not be used to track them, Eltariel, Talion and Celebrimbor all joined forces one last time to launch the final attack on Sauron's stronghold, Barad-dûr, and end the Dark Lord's reign over Mordor and save Middle-earth.

Standing at Talion's side, Eltariel heard as Isildur called out to him, before he went to deliver a rousing speech to the Orc army he and Celebrimbor had amassed. She then joinined the charge on the bridge leading to Sauron's Dark Fortress, and final stronghold in Mordor.

Working with the Bright Lord she helped support his Orcs in battle, and later assisted Talion in his fight with Isildur when the Nazgûl returned to again battle Talion, proclaiming that Talion's time had come and they were bound together in their brotherhood. Assisting Talion, Isildur was again defeated, and briefly dominated by Celebrimbor before Talion decided, against the Wraith's wishes, to "release" the Nazgûl, and killed him so that he could find peace in death.

Witnessing an angry confrontation between Talion and Celebrimbor, the former of which disagreed with the latter's method of dominating the Ringwraith's, and his intentions to try dominate Sauron and claim the Dark Lord's armies for his own, Eltariel sided with the Wraith, and was quickly offered the chance to don Celebrimbor's new Ring of Power, becoming his vessel and providing her the chance to end her quest and destroy the threat of Sauron and the Nazgûl once and for all.

Eltariel ultimately accepted, donning Celebrimbor's Ring, causing the Wraith to officially leave Talion's body and become bound with her. This ultimately caused Talion to begin bleeding from old wounds gained from the sacrifice he endured at the hands of Sauron's Black Captains, and, after briefly comforting the Ranger as he died, she and Celebrimbor left him for dead on the bridge to Barad-dûr, as they went on to confront Sauron at the top of his tower.

The Blade of Galadriel DLC

Claiming The New Ring

After doing battle with Sauron, she and Celebrimbor worked to dominate the Dark Lord, before Sauron pulled out a short dagger and proceeded to slice off her ring finger, separating her from the elf Lord, before the Dark Lord merged with Celebrimbor to create the Flaming Eye above Barad-dûr.

Awakening in a dreamlike place, Eltariel was confronted by her Lady Galadriel. She confessed to her of having failed to defeat the Dark Lord. Galadriel explained that Celebrimbor and Sauron were now one, before she angrily reminded Eltariel that she was sent to Mordor for the Nazgûl, not Sauron, before commanding that she look to Minas Morgul and the Nazgûl that dwelt within it, claiming that Eltariel knew who she spoke of.

Eltariel responded, telling her that Talion was dead, before Galadriel informed her that the ranger now wore Isildur's Ring and he now belonged to Sauron. Eltariel said she could not face him, and pleaded with the Lady Galadriel to let her return home. Galadriel denied her this request, ordering her to wear the New Ring, and finish what she had started in Mordor, and only then could she be allowed to return home. Eltariel said it would be done.

Awakening atop Barad-dûr in pain from the loss of two of her fingers, Eltariel briefly bore witness to the Flaming Eye, before she moved to claim The New Ring, which flew to her finger, and upon donning it, provided her with Wraith Fingers in lieu of the ones she lost.

Return to Minas Morgul

Leaving Barad-dûr, Eltariel followed her Lady's instructions and infiltrated the city of Minas Morgul, killing the Orcs that guarded the Citadel. Upon sneaking into the hall of the Palantír, Eltariel fought Talion, who overpowered her yet chose to spare her, saying that he had not yet succumbed to the power of Isildur's ring despite wearing it. Talion allowed her to look into the Palantír where she was informed that Talion's fortresses were attacked by an uknown force following the defeat of the Witch-King, to which she then decided to aid Talion in discovering what new power was on the rise. It appeared clear to her however that Talion couldn't resist the corruption of Isildur's ring for much longer, thus Galadriel would warn her that she had to prevent him become a servant of evil when the right time came.

The Shadow Wars and the Ascendants

Talion and Eltariel later travelled to Cirith Ungol where they were met by the overlord of the fortress, Akoth Slayer of the Dead, who reported the warchiefs guarding the fortress were all dead. Akoth suggested gaining aid from a group of unique orcs, although in order to command them it was required using the New Ring, now in the hands of Eltariel. She refused to dominate Orcs with the power of the New Ring but ccepted to bring them back to the fort. Akoth suggested several captains who would make good allies if Eltariel could recruit them and she then sat off into the undergrounds to find those potential allies, while Talion would go to defend the fortress of Seregost.

She proceeded to recruit the Ologs: Ar-Baruk the Thrall, servant of Shelob and protector of her offsprings, Ar-Kaius the Architect, an architect with the project of building an underground city, and Ogg the Bow of Morgoth, faithfull servant of the one true Dark Lord Morgoth in the days of old and despiser of Sauron, making Eltariel careful not to mention Galadriel's name. This band of willing recruits helped Eltariel defend Talion's fort in Cirith Ungol against the expected attackersand managed to secure victory.

Shortly after, Talion returned from Seregost with the alarming news that it was lost to the host of the enemy. At the same time, two wraith figures appeared, darkening the sky. They wore black robes and identical masks. The leaders of the sudden assaults thus revealed themselves to be two Ringwraith sisters who were defiant to Sauron and the Witch-King and they announced their intent of taking Eltariel and Talion's Rings for themselves and rule over Mordor in the absence of their weakened former master. As they disappeared, Talion sent Akoth to Minas Morgul while Eltariel would go to Seregost as she claimed she would have burned it to the ground if they couldn't reclaim it with armies.

Reaching Seregost, she forged a mutually beneficial alliance with the "problem-solver" Orc Maku the Fixer, who helped her recruit the two explosive expert Flak Flint and Torz Tinder. With their help she was able to explode the poisoned grog barrels inside Khargukôr and rise a poisonous mist that would make anyone unable to walk there anymore.

In Núrn she gained the unconditional loyalty (and infatuation) of Krimp the Enchanted, an Orc with surprisingly reverent views towards Elves to even wear Celebrimbor's ancient silver circlet, who would serve as her bodyguard. Eltariel succeded in taking Sharkburz as well with the aid of her allies and later turned to Gorgoroth, abode of the two Rogue Nazgûl and where the battle for Ghâshgôr would have taken place.

Prior to the siage, Eltariel met the Orc Golm the Digger, who hated Ar-Kaius for ruining his home under the earth in favour of his constructions and wanted the Elf to abandon him. Thus she was had to chose between her then-present ally Ar-Kaius, or the potential recruit Golm (this choice is up to the player but it won't effect the later events of the Blade of Galadriel DLC diffrently, based on their choice. Should the player choose to side with Ar-Kaius they would have to kill Golm while choosing to side with Golm will make Ar-Kaius leave and turn to Sauron.)

With the army ready, Eltariel and Talion lead the assaul on Ghâshgôr. During the siege, Flak was taken as hostage but he detonated himself and his captor making his brother Torz loose his mind. Eltariel then confronted the Nazgûl sisters and managed to banish them. She saw their past as formidable warriors from the distant East who took the rings of two Nazgûl but they were inevitebly curroupted by them and killed their father and emperor, Sauron then came in his fair form to add them amongst the Nazgûl.

Downfall of Talion

Not long after the capture of Gorgoroth, Talion began to succumb to the Ring. Eltariel was ready to kill him under Galadriel's urge but after hearing Talion's pleading to be taken to Gondor she agreed to fulfil his last wish of not dying in the cursed land, hoping he would have given the Ring away willingly.

Flying on a Drake they reached Minas Morgul. As they walked to the citadel, Eltariel demanded him to give her the Ring to which Talion was reluctant. The Ring drew out Talion's anger in Celebrimbor and Eltariel's betrayal and refused death, declaring the Ring belonged to him and that Talion was no more. Eltariel was thus forced to put the newly turned Nazgûl down, though unable to kill him. Before disappearing, she saw his past and felt regret for all that happened. Galadriel then declared it was the end of Eltarel's duty in Mordor and that they would have "gone into the West", to which Eltariel refused the call and deemed her task not yet finished.

After the War of the Ring

In the years that followed, Eltariel returned to Mordor many times and even during the War of the Ring. She witnessed the fall of Barad-dûr, caused by the destruction of the One Ring, and Celebrimbor's escape after the defeat of Sauron. In the outcome of the fall of Sauron, Eltariel, still wielding the New Ring, understood that "the Ring-maker was free" and claimed she would have "answered his call".

Trivia

According to the epilogues of Shadow of War and The Blade of Galadriel, both Eltariel and Talion were in Gorgoroth when Sauron fell. Whether they had contact during this moment is not known.
When killed by an Olog Captain when playing as Eltariel, she might resurrect with her left blade missing, as if it goes through the "sword-breaker" feature in the main campaign. Since the feature is absent in the DLC, this does not affect her performance.
- The bug can be fixed by reloading the game or let the feature "completes" itself by killing the Olog Nemesis.
Any ability that Eltariel shares with Talion where there's the word "Shadow" in it have the word replaced by "Spirit".
The name "Eltariel" is actually alternate spelling of "Altariel" or "Alatáriel" which is the original quenya name of her mistress, Galadriel.
Her awareness of The Unseen and consequently Celembrimbor in his wraith form coupled with her unusual appearance as elf; blonde hair and purple eyes, suggest that she is not just of High Elves from Aman but also the rarest of the group, Vanyar.