I've been thinking about preparing to run a 4th Age Middle-earth RPG campaign in the future sometime. I read up on some of the old Other Hands fanzine about some possible new threats in the 4th Age. They suggested that Sauron had a child which was a female Elven/Maia before he lost his physical form. Thought that idea was interesting, but I like the Blue Wizards better.
The idea I had dealt with two of the fallen Istari Wizards taking up Sauron's reigns. I thought that Alatar and Pallando would team together, both being the Blue wizards of the East. I've always had a liking for Radagast, and figured though semi-fallen, the Valar would give him another chance at fighting against the evil in the lands of Middle-earth for their forgiveness.
As far as I know (though I haven't read up on it yet) all three of the remaining Istari remained on Middle-earth and did not take the ships at the Grey Havens.
I thought the idea of two fallen Istari teaming up, was an interesting idea for a Sauron-like archenemy, though less in intensity than the Great Eye.
I did a little reading in Unfinished Tales on the Ithryn Luin "The Blue Wizards."
The names Alatar and Pallando are from the Istari chapter, which I have always found to be an interesting read.
Note #3 by Christopher Tolkien at the end of the Istari chapter, was quite interesting to me.
"In a letter written in 1958 my father said that he knew nothing clearly about 'the other two', since they were not concerned in the history of the North-west of Middle-earth. 'I think,' he wrote, 'they went as emissaries to distant regions, East and South, far out of Numenorean range: missionaries to enemy-occupied lands, as it were. What success they had I do not know; but I fear that they failed, as Saruman did, though doubtless in different ways; and I suspect they were founders or beginners of secret cults and "magic" traditions that outlasted the fall of Sauron."
I like the idea they were founders of secret cults and magic traditions. Perhaps one of the Blue Wizards set himself up as a God of a new religion/cult with followers that he bent to his will, while the other one focused on teaching and spreading magical knowledge to the men, dwarves, or other races there, but then turned those followers of that magical tradition into his pawns. Perhaps both of them set up magical religions and set up theocracies with them as the head of the governments.
Perhaps they both set themselves up as God-Kings and were corrupted that way.
I think that Sauron had something to do with both of them falling from their mission. Perhaps Sauron gave both powerful artifacts and secret diabolic knowledge so that they wouldn't oppose his will against the North-west of Middle-earth. Perhaps some of the missing Palintir were given to both of these Wizards as bribes to ignore Sauron's plans. Perhaps both of these Wizards had kingdoms of their own, and supplied armies of Easterlings to aid Sauron's cause for his great gifts to them.
With Sauron out of the picture, would these God-Kings seek to find more knowledge, and extend their kingdom in Mordor perhaps? I see however that a two-headed beast, might turn on itself before the end, and perhaps Radagast's job would be to bring about a civil war, that would make evil mar itself. Just some ideas.
It might be interesting, if Radagast preferred the Druedain as a race. Maybe in the East or South there are more Druedain that fled the North-west when they were hunted by the other races of men. It would make sense since they are a wilderness loving people.
Ghan-buri-Ghan was the leader of the Druedain that helped the Riders of Rohan on their way to Gondor, in case anyone doesn't know who the Druedain are.
In "The New Shadow" (one of Tolkien's last short writings found in The Peoples of Middle-earth) Herumor is a name that seems to have something to do with the new cult/rebellion that has sprung up after Aragorn's lasting peace. The story was never finished, and we are left wondering what tenets that this new cult believes in. It is most likely a Satanic/Morgothic religion probably wishing for the 1st Dark Lord to return and bring about the end of the world.
Christopher points out that the name Herumor is found in Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age (The Silmarillion) as that of a renegade Numenorean who became powerful among the Haradrim in the time before the Last Alliance.
Could Herumor be a name of one of the high ranking members of a new cult that sprung up in the East and South because of Alatar's and Pallando's wishes? Is Herumor another name of Alatar or Pallando, pretending to be one of these Numenoreans? Perhaps Herumor was a pawn of the two Blue Wizards?
I see the seeds of of a new campaign in my head.
