Hwaldar is a minor protagonist from The Lord of the Rings, Battle for Middle Earth II, Rise of the Witch-king. He was a hill-man of Rhudaur, a chief of several tribes and a lieutenant of the Witch-king and the kingdom of Angmar.
Biography[]
Hwaldar was a hillchief of Rhudaur, how supported Angmar and lead uprising against Arnor by order of Morgomir. However, Arthedain's new king, Arbeleb, wanted to unite the three kingdoms of the Dúnedain so that Arnor would be united again. The idea was sympathetic to Cardolan and they were ready, but a serious and great uprising broke out in the area of Rhudaur, where the tribes of the wildmen split into two groups.
One of them supported Arnor, the other, the hillmen supported Angmar. Argeleb captured Hwaldar, but after he went for his army, the Witch-king, Morgomir and Rogash arrived in Rhudaur. Angmar's army quickly defeated the wildmen how supported the dunedains, and the hill-men immediately joined them and followed the Witch-king. The united evil army then attacked the Dúnedain camp, where Hwaldar was imprisoned. Once he freed, as one of Angmar's lieutenants, he was able to lead armies of the hillmen and the forces of evil. Then the goal of the Witch-king was to destroy two castles not far away. After one of the castles was besieged and destroyed, King Argeleb returned with his army and launched an attack. However, the king of the Dúnedain was very proud and underestimated the enemy. In the battle, an arrow hit him and killed him and Hwaldar and the Witch-king destroyed the army of Arthedain. The other castle was then destroyed. The loss of Rhudaur was a painful and great defeat for the Dúnedain.
Hwaldar then took part in several major sieges and battles. He took part in the siege of Amon Sûl, where one of the strongest Dúnedain watch-tower was burned and destroyed. Later, the Witch-king wanted to attack Cardolan, but again he took a dangerous strategy. The success of the plan depended on Hwaldar and the hill-men. The hordes of Angmar attacked the Barrow Downs where the tombs of the kings of Arnor were. The forces of Angmar killed the all the troops how guarded the tombs, then captured the area and began to plunder the tombs of the kings, and the sorcerers raised the deads of the Dúnedain and they become barrow wights. When the Prince of Cardolan found out what had happened he became very angry and kept sending troops to recapture the area. However, he did not know that this was exactly the plan of the Witch-king. Hwaldar and the looters successfully defended, at which point the prince sent even more troops. Then Morgomir and a small army arrived. The Dúnedain attacks failed one after another, Hwaldar still persevered and continued to defend successfully with another army. At this point, the prince completely lost his head and launched an attack with his entire army. This is what the Witch-king was waiting for, who immediately set out on the battlefield with Rogash and his strongest armies. In the Battle of Cardolan, the Witch-king killed the prince and the Dúnedain suffered a huge defeat. Thanks to the defense of Hwaldar and the hill-men, Cardolan's army ceased to exist and the kingdom was completely vulnerable. The areas were constantly being destroyed, with Fornost alone having a significant army. The elves, on the other hand, launched a siege against the capital of Angmar, Carn Dúm. Hwaldar and the Witch-king successfully defended the fortress, until finally Rogash and Morgomir, along with the reinforcements, destroyed the army of besiegers. This was Hwaldar's last major battle, his fate since then unknown.
Powers and Abilities[]
Hwaldar was a tough, persistent man. He used his ax well and was able to kill enemy soldiers easily, even alone.
Trivia[]
- Hwaldar is exclusively in The Rise of the Witch-king and his character is not found in Tolkien’s books.