Editing Middle Earth (section)

===Númenor===
Middle-earth's Atlantis, the Valar created Númenor as a reward for the Men who fought against Morgoth during the First Age. In time, Númenor became a mighty sea-faring empire that rivaled the Elves and had colonies all over Middle Earth. Its first king was ''Elros Tar-Minyatur'', the Half-Elven son of ''Eärendil'' and ''Elwing''. Like his brother ''Elrond'', the Valar had Elros choose whether to live as an Elf or as a Man. Though Elros chose the Gift of Men, he lived for over five hundred years. His descendants would inherit his vitality, though it dwindled as it passed down the generations; his most well-known descendant, ''Aragorn'', lived for 210 years.

Sauron used that lack of immortality as the wedge to turn Númenor into his pawns against the Valar when its last king invaded Middle Earth and took him prisoner. After bargaining his way into an advisor role and subverting the kingdom and converting it to fantasy-Satanism (complete with human sacrifice), he convinced Ar-Pharazôn that he could defy the Ban of the Valar, sail into the West, and use his nation's military might to force the Valar to grant immortality to Men. As soon as Ar-Pharazôn set one foot onto the soil of Aman, Ilúvatar reshaped the world, removing any physical path to the Undying Lands that the inhabitants of Arda could take to reach it; the upheaval also caused Númenor to fall into the sea, save for the highest peak ''Menelterma''.

Only the Faithful in Elendil's fleet escaped to Middle Earth when Númenor sank, these refugees would go on to found the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor.