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Dates
Creatures of ancient descent, first seen on 23 February III 3019;1 the mount of the Lord of the Nazgûl was slain on 15 March III 3019, and all the remaining Creatures2 ten days later on 25 March
Location
Originating in Mordor
Origins
Species
Unknown (see text)
Settlements
Other names
Black Wings, Hell-hawks; also known, especially when mounted by Nazgûl, as Winged Shadows or Winged Terrors
Indexes: About this entry:
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Winged CreaturesAirborne mounts of the NazgûlFetid black creatures raised by Sauron as flying mounts for his Ringwraiths. That ridden by the Lord of the Nazgûl at the Battle of the Pelennor was described as naked and featherless, with wings of hide like a bat, and a long, sinuous neck. In Ithilien, though, Frodo compared these beasts to giant carrion birds, a comparison that doesn't appear to match the other more detailed description. Perhaps he was describing their wheeling, watchful flight, rather than the appearance of the Creatures themselves. Whatever the nature of the Winged Creatures, it seems that those used by the Nazgûl were the last of their kind in Middle-earth, and had been grown to an unnatural size by Sauron. Despite their size, they were not supernatural beings, but living creatures, and they could be hurt and slain: Legolas shot one with an arrow on the River Anduin, and Éowyn slew another on the Pelennor Fields. The surviving Winged Creatures of the Nazgûl perished in Mordor, where they were caught with their masters in the erupting fires of Mount Doom. Notes
See also...King of the Nine Riders, Second Chief, Shriekers, Winged Terrors Indexes: About this entry:
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