PLAYER
Name: Wings
Age: 21+
Personal Journal: entropicwings
E-mail: entropicwings@gmail.com
AIM/MSN/etc: None

CHARACTER
Name: Celebrimbor
Canon: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Age: Ancient (8000-10000 years), from the Years of the Trees, mid/late 30s apparent
Timeline: Between the events of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings
If playing another character from the same canon, how will you deal with this?: None.

Personality:
Celebrimbor is primarily a jewel-smith, and besides his grandfather arguably the most talented smith in all of elvish history. He is most infamous for crafting the Rings of Power, including three for the elves. He is described as having an almost dwarvish love for metals and metal-smithing, he was the first to discover and name Mithril, and he had prosperous relationships with the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm (Moria). It is said that he taught the dwarves of Moria many of his crafting secrets, and it is easy therefore to assume that he did not harbor his secrets but was happy to share them, to learn from others, and had a personality of cooperation. This sharing of knowledge was with his own people as well, as he guided the elves of Eregion in learning jewel-crafting. His cooperative nature is also seen in the events of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor with his teaching and guiding Talion the ranger.

He was also an elf for his people, and spent a period of time as the ruler of Eregion (after Galadriel and Celeborn settled Lothlórien). History may have a skewed view of Celebrimbor for being the creator of the Rings of Power, but during that time he and his people tried to stop Sauron from taking them. It was only under great torture that he revealed their locations although he never did give up the location of the three elven rings which remained untouched by Sauron. We can take from this that Celebrimbor realized the great horror that Sauron having the rings would cause, and that Celebrimbor never intended for him to come to power or to cause the destruction that Sauron did (more on this later).

One of the defining moments of Celebrimbor's life was the treachery of his father and uncle. He abhorred his father's actions and when Curufin went into exile, his son Celebrimbor did not follow him but instead stayed in Nargothrond until its destruction. What I take from this is that he had good intentions, and did not abide wrongdoing from others, even his own father. Celebrimbor was principled, he has his own set of morals and judgments which he sticks to and supports by his own actions. His dislike for betrayal is reflected in the events of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, as he wishes to help Talion the ranger get revenge for the death of his family by Sauron's forces.

His greatest fears are wrapped up in his greatest weaknesses, and in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor shape the unfolding plot. The game's plot takes place between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, when Sauron is regaining his strength. He feels responsible, and therefore guilty, for creating the rings and for the destruction they have caused and could still potentially cause. This is where the game differs from the events as told in the Tolkien Legendarium: Celebrimbor tries to use the One Ring himself he enslaves the orcs and warchiefs of Mordor. We see from this that Celebrimbor not immune to the lure of his own rings, that his weakness against the ring differentiates him from his cousins (such as Galadriel). We also see that Celebrimbor can be manipulative in an almost self-deluded way, for as much as he feels guilty for making the rings he believes himself able to control them and use them for good (which, if the stories have told us anything, is simply not possible through the One Ring).

This manipulation is seen when thousands of years later, in the form of a wraith, he possesses and uses Talion. Through a long process, he guides Talion into forming a new army of enslaved orcs in order to once again battle Sauron. Celebrimbor uses revenge and the excuse of stopping Sauron to actually become a mirror for the Dark Lord -- calling himself the Bright Lord. It is my opinion that when he helped Sauron put the finishing touches on the One Ring, he was corrupted and lured by the potential of its power, and was not able to help himself because of this grave weakness.

Thus I would summarize by saying that he is well meaning, but ultimately corrupted. Celebrimbor is nostalgic as most elves tend to be in their long lives, and (through his dialogue with Talion) he tells lessons of the past yet spins them to support his own world view. His weakness is a thirst for power and revenge, while his strength is patience, intelligence, cooperation, and respect for others' knowledge and strengths. Emotionally he is serious, cold, thoughtful, and while he listens to others he has a difficult time accepting any opinion but his own.

Background: LOTR Wikia, Tolkien Gateway.

Abilities:
As with all elves, Celebrimbor has superior strength, stamina, speed, sight, hearing and reflexes. He is an excellent swordsman and even more gifted archery.

His greatest ability is jewel-crafting and blacksmithing and the magic he can imbue into metal is unmatched.

Celebrimbor has certain abilities likened to Saruman, before and after he has the Ring of power. These abilities include him being able to "brand" other beings, which enslaves them to his will. This is indicated by a bluish-white glowing hand symbol on them and glowing blue eyes on the individual. The branded person remains autonomous until Celebrimbor wills them to fight on his behalf, and he can also use them to drain power, and that person is unable to attack or harm Celebrimbor.

Another ability he has is being able to teleport short distances to a person within his line of sight, and often uses his branding in conjunction with this ability.

Network/Actionspam Sample:
The mountains here are no greater than this city, yet I hold onto hope that within each lies more than we may easily see. Speak with me, share with me if you have been to the mountains and what is there.

[Celebrimbor is holding the watching up with both hands, he is sitting with his elbows on a surface before him to steady his hands and keep the recording steady.]

The dangers, the opportunities, I would hear both. If there are creatures there, so too may there be treasures. My love and my life would be towards those mountains if they hold within them the veins of opportunity which I seek. If any may be of a mind to join me, with the knowledge I may gain here, I intend fully on exploring them myself in due time and would welcome your helping hands.

Prose Log Sample:
It had been hundreds of years since he had the chance to do this, and Celebrimbor savored the rough texture of the rock pebbles between his fingers. He was hunched over a patch of earth on the far north side of the city, with the lure of the mountains as a backdrop to him. There was not much he could tell, as he could not see black earth, nor evidence of surface magma movement. There could well be gold, but what of silver? Often where one was, the other was, as gold and silver mixed as well as any precious metals.

He was procrastinating, or as he told himself, strategizing. It was a small likelihood that any of those here, for he could feel them if not see them yet, knew of the fullness of his actions. Hopefully and far more likely, he died to them a hero of war of the elves against Sauron, as Eregion fell. There was pride in the hope that was how he would have been remembered, pride that masked the terrible guilt that came with the consequences of his actions.

Guilt, not tempered with wisdom, for even now his fingers ached for the burden of power they could also create. Celebrimbor sighed as he walked towards the city, which was very human in its make and layout. Such beautiful, awe inspiring power he could craft as manacles for himself. "I need a hammer," Celebrimbor whispered to himself. Perhaps with some good luck he could delay these reunions longer.