Reviving this thread for a specific purpose:
The Silmarillion thread going at the moment had me looking around for quotes about Ar-Pharazōn's invasion of Aman, and I came upon this good quote from
The Peoples of Middle-earth, in the Tale of Years of the Second Age, about Sauron in Nśmenor:
Quote:
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So great was his power over the hearts of the most of that people that maybe had he wished he could have taken the sceptre; but all that he wished was to bring Nśmenor to ruin.
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This suggests to me that Sauron really was in a "destruction first" mindset by the end of the Second Age; he cared more about destroying Nśmenor than ruling it.
Wish I'd been able to find this quote five years ago!
Can't believe it's been that long
