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In the place of a Dark Lord you would have a Queen! Not dark but beautiful and terrible as the Morn! Treacherous as the Seas! Stronger than the foundations of the Earth! All shall love me and despair!

Galadriel was the co-ruler and Lady of Lothlórien along with her husband, Lord Celeborn. She makes a very brief appearance in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor as well as in Middle-earth: Shadow of War.

Background[]

Born Artanis Nerwen, she was the only daughter and youngest child of Finarfin, prince of the Ñoldor and Eärwen, whose cousin was Lúthien. Her elder brothers were Finrod Felagund, Angrod, and Aegnor. Galadriel was a niece of Fëanor, one of the most important elves of the First Age. She was one of the greatest of the Eldar in Middle-earth, and surpassed nearly all others in beauty, knowledge, and power.

During the flight of the Noldor from Valinor, Galadriel led her people across the icy expanse of the Helcaraxë, alongside her uncle Fingolfin and her cousin Fingon, eager to arrive to Beleriand and rule a realm of her own.

In the First Age, Galadriel spent much of her time in Doriath and befriended Melian, a Maia who ruled as Queen alongside her husband--and Galadriel's kin--Thingol. From Melian, Galadriel learned many magical skills and gained much power. At this time, she met her future husband Celeborn and made the decision to stay in the city of Menegroth instead of joining her brothers and the rest of the Noldor in their fight against Morgoth.

Galadriel gave birth to her daughter Celebrían in the Second Age, who later married Elrond, founder of Imladris (Rivendell). She was also the bearer of Nenya, one of the three Elven rings crafted by Celebrimbor (one of the game's protagonists, alongside Talion).

In Shadow of War and Blade of Galadriel[]

Though not present directly, Galadriel have major influence towards the events surrounding the second coming of the Bright Lord and the Shadow Wars that followed, mostly through her latest Blade in Mordor, Eltariel. At first, Eltariel and the Bright Lord (the single identity assumed by Talion and Celebrimbor) forged an uneasy alliance out of having common enemy in Sauron, with Eltariel tasked by Galadriel to keep the Ringwraiths from going beyond Mordor and the duo wanting to overthrow the Dark Lord himself using the New Ring, making them a target for the Nazgul.

The alliance got twisted against Talion's favor when Celebrimbor disclosed his interest of Dominating Sauron, prompting the Ringmaker to abandon his human vessel to deah and unsuccessfully faced Sauron with Eltariel as his vessel, cluminating in the formation of the Flaming Eye that trapped both Sauron and Celebrimbor, Talion being forced to wear Isildur's Nazgul Ring of Power to preserve himself and continue keeping Mordor under a state of civil war and Eltariel left with the New Ring.

During the Shadow Wars, Galadriel's directives and comments became known as she is shown to be able to project her voice and even form into Eltariel's cognition. She ordered Eltariel to wear the New Ring and vanquish Talion whom she correctly point out as soon-to-be a Nazgul. Tough Eltariel did come to execute the order at some point, it is revealed that Talion was yet to succumb to the Ring's corruption and was actually working on to figure out the works of a mysterious culprit that has been sabotaging his forces. Eltariel agreed to help Talion, much to Galadriel's disapointment as she constantly remind her of the inevitable fate the Ranger would suffer and that she will have to eventually face him as a hollow man all Ringwraiths have become.

If players progress through the Fallen Blades quest, some bits of information regarding Galadriel and the Blades she sent can be unearthed. Some of them being that Galadriel only ever send one Blade to Mordor at a time, and that a Blade only carry orders with them but never the knowledge about the purpose or plan behind said orders because the Blades work in such close vicinity to Sauron. It can be noted that to some extent, Galadriel sees the Blades she sent as expendable, sending them alone to Mordor with the same mission that very likely kills them eventually, only for her to choose the next Blade hoping the new agent could fare better and last longer. This tragic cycle ended with Eltariel, who killed Ratak the Lawless and outlived the The One Ring.

After the culprit agaisnt Talion's forces, revealed to be the Nazgul Sisters, were defeated, Talion succumb to Isildur's Ring not long afterwards, becoming a Nazgul himself, forcing Eltariel to banish him, marking the end of the Shadow Wars of Mordor. With No Nazgul active, Galadriel ordered her Blade to "Go West", to which Eltariel seem defiant. Galadriel then can be seen narrating the aftermath of the Shadow Wars and even events during the end of the War of the Ring, where Eltariel was shown to be present in Gorgoroth, still wearing the New Ring and witnessing the fall of the Dark Tower and Celebrimbor's escape. Galadriel, through her projected voice, told Eltariel that the Ringmaker is calling to her, to which Eltariel said that she would answer.  

Trivia[]

  • In Shadow of Mordor, she has only been shown to narrate the prologue in a showing of the game, as well as The Bright Lord DLC.
  • In Blade of GaladrielShelob seems to be aware of Galadriel's dealings with the Blades, as Ar-Baruk, her Olog  servant and messenger, refer to Eltariel as "Blade of the Witch" in Black Speech. 

Gallery[]

Galadriel
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