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Tu

, or Túvo (Av.:"Strong One"), was a loremaster of some renown in the East and most notably the wizard-king of the Avari of Rhun during the First Age His origins were indeterminate, although it was either claimed that he was of the Nelyarin race and descendant-folk of Nurwe, while others claimed he was a descendant of the Minyar of ancient times. Much of his eccentricities can be traced to his capture by the Dark Hunter in the Ered Engrin during his youth, and his subsequent imprisonment by Morgoth in Utumno, who desired to corrupt the young Elf. Soon, however, the wily Elf-boy escaped to nearby Palisor and wandered lonely until he found the Hisildi near the shores of Helkanen and, revered for his experiences and possessing of great charisma and wisdom, became the ruler of these Twilight-Elves. His hidden society was already flourishing when Nuin discovered the first blessed children of Men, Ermon and Elmir, dormant within the valley of Hildorien. Tû was hesitant about awakening the children, fearing the potential influence of Melkor, and so insisted that Nuin adopt and raise the children as his own. This delayed the corruption of Men for some time, as their first generations dwelt under the watchful eye of the Elves. In time, however, some tribes ventured beyond Palisor against Tû‘s advice and began to split their loyalties between friendship with the Elves and reverence of the Great Foe. After the subsequent Battle of Palisor, he left his people under a council of nobles and retreated to the scenic caves underneath of Cuivienen’s falls. In his solitude, the former wizard-king dedicated himself to writing down the lesser-known history of the remote eastern lands, which he had long become accustomed to calling "home". The collective works of Tû became the "The Chronicle of the Eastern Lands, a History of Beginnings and Hardships", a partial copy of which found its way into the western realm of Lindon and into the hands of fellow loremaster Elrond Peredhel, who would eventually store it in the library of Imladris. Despite having left his former subjects to their own devices, the wizard did not stand idle as he witnessed the arrising of the second Dark Lord. Much like the Ithryn Luin, Tû helped delay and slightly hinder the ascension of Morgoth's successor, Sauron.

Notes[]

Tû the wild elven wizard appears briefly in the Book of Lost Tales, though his story was abandoned and never finished or re-integrated to the Legendarium.He often is mistaken or conflated with the Necromancer Thû, a precursor of Sauron, however Tû was an elf and there is no evidence he was ever intended to be an evil character.

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