There are no names more influential in the realm of the fantasy genre than J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. They revolutionized speculative fiction through their love for mythology and religion. And while both were great friends in real-life, today we'll be pitting two of their greatest creations.
Sauron: The Dark Lord
vs
Jadis: The White Witch
Both these fantasy villains wanted to conquer everything! They went on campaigns to take over whole magical continents, and fought against beings who could practically resurrect themselves. The only difference? One's rocking black while the other cold white! Who is deadliest?!
Sauron[]
Sauron was a Maia named Mairon, who was soon ensnared by Melkor, also called Morgoth. Renamed Sauron, he convinced men to worship Morgoth as a god. Sauron served as Morgoth's chief lieutenant when the Noldorin Elves left the Blessed Realm of Valinor in the Utter West (against the counsel of the Valar) in order to wage war on Morgoth. The outcome was a victory for Sauron.
After a thousand years, Sauron forged the One Ring in Mount Doom to rule the other rings, investing most of his own power into the Ring as he forged it, becoming the Dark Lord of Mordor. A few Years later, He found the Hobbits Bilbo and his nephew, Frodo had the ring. After finding out that Aragorn was in Allience with Frodo and other members of the ring bearers.
Thinking Aragorn carried the ring, he sent an army commanded by the Witch-king of Angmar to overthrow Minas Tirith in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Unfortunately for Sauron, the battle ended in a crushing defeat. Things started to look bad when Frodo, who was given the job to destroy the ring was tempted to put it on. Luckily for Frodo, Gollum, the Original Owner of the Ring, came to retrieve it. However, as he grabbed it, He slipped and fell into a pit of lava along with the ring. Because the ring was destroyed, Sauron was finally finished and never rose again.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Earth Manipulation: Sauron has some ability to control parts the land and the water itself. He can make volcanoes erupt, like the time he made a volcano named Orodruin (later Mount Doom) erupt to serve as his forge. Sauron can also summon smoke from his volcano and turn it into clouds to blot the sun (seen prior to his attack on Minas Tirith). Gandalf himself remarked how Sauron is able to "torture and destroy the very hills". When it comes to the seas, his mere presence alone is enough to make the seas near Numenor unruly.
- Illusions and Shapeshifting: Sauron can take multiple forms like a werewolf, wolf, serpent, and vampire. One of his titles is "master of shadows and of phantoms." He can create auditory and somatosensory illusions as seen when he tormented and tricked Gorlim (using his voice, images of his wife, assassins, etc). At one point, he even sent a "dark cloud of fear" to the kingdom of Orodreth, eventually leading to its subjugation.
- As a werewolf, Sauron takes the form of a giant wolf, complete with canine jaws that (might) contain poison.
- As a vampire, Sauron takes the form of a giant bat, complete with wings and fangs. On one occasion, Sauron flew over the forests "dripping blood from his throat."
- As a serpent, Sauron shrinks to a smaller size and slither through crevices to escape. But even in serpent form he still packs a bite (literally).
- Maiar Physiology: Sauron is not inherently bound to any physical form, which meant he is hard to kill. He once survived the sinking of the island Númenor by the god of Middle-Earth itself, Ilúvatar. The Valar (heavenly host) once also sent powerful lightning strikes at his temple, but Sauron survived and defied it. His durability allows him to survive numerous magical duels and battles with elves and men.
Jadis[]
Jadis was the sole surviving resident and the self-declared final Queen of Charn. She was an extremely powerful sorceress, and was once the most infamous ruler of Narnia. Jadis was born into the royal family of the world of Charn, who were said to be part-Jinn and part-Giant. Very little is known about her childhood or early adult life. It was known, however, that she had practiced witchcraft in her own world, and delved into dark magic, far beyond what was considered proper.
She was accidentally brought to the World of Narnia on the day of its creation by British children named Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer. Although she was banished to the North by the Great Lion, Aslan, she returned 900 Narnian-years later, and usurped the throne from the original royal family of Narnia. As a curse upon her Narnian subjects, she began the Long Winter, magically forcing Narnia into a hundred-year state of frozen snow and ice, which lasted all through her reign, thus earning her the title, the "White Witch".
She established the first Narnian Secret Police, and built herself a palace. She abolished any judicial system, merely punishing all of her political enemies by turning them into stone. Her tyranny eventually forced the return of Aslan, prompting the Narnians into a triumphant uprising known as the Winter Revolution. Her fall came from the paws of Aslan who slew her.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Eternal Winter Inducement: Jadis's most infamous ability. She can cast a spell which will cover an area in never-ending snow and winter. Using this ability, she cursed Narnia to suffer eternal winter for over a century. The spell doesn't just evoke blizzards and summon pounds of snow. Hopelessness and despair can also spread on any area where she cast it. Said spell is also powerful enough to affect other magic, as it prevented the tree of youth from growing in Narnia, and blocked Father Christmas (a living concept) from ever entering the world. The only being that could reverse this spell so far was Aslan (who's pretty much the God of Narnia). She can also turn snow into food with magic.
- Petrification: Through her wand, Jadis had the ability to transform matter and objects, including living beings, into stone. Anyone tagged with this spell will be put into suspended animation. Although powerful, Jadis will lose this power though the moment she loses her wand.
- Charn Abilities: As a magician from the far-advanced world of Charn, Jadis is gifted with several abilities. With a hand gesture and an incantation, she once reduced a pair of immense, heavy, and fastened doors to dust without even touching them. Jadis can also read minds or, as she put it, her eyes could "see through walls and into the minds of men". As a Jinn, the White Witch is also gifted with superb physicality (she's 7 feet tall), superhuman strength (she can pull out a lamppost and use it as a weapon), and superhuman senses (she is said to have "very good ears" that enabled her to clearly hear whispers from a distance).
- Illusion Manipulation: Jadis can create, shape, and manipulate illusions, causing targets to perceive things differently from what they truly were. At one point, she tricked Edmund's rescue party to perceive her as a boulder and her dwarf as a stump.
- Knifesmanship: She is also handy in hand-to-hand combat, as seen where she used her stone knife to stalemate Peter. Her attacks were so intense that her stone knife flashed like three knives.
X-Factors[]
Feel free to choose which characters scores higher when it comes to two major x-factors:
Intelligence
The Dark Lord is known in Middle Earth legend for his black tongue. Many elves and even supernatural beings like him have fallen for his cunning. He is good when it comes to manipulation, as seen when he deceived the Elves of Middle-Earth numerous times in the second age (especially the Noldorin smiths in Eregion). After being taken prisoner by Ar-Pharazôn, Sauron was quickly able to become a powerful advisor to the king and eventually the de facto ruler of Númenor. The White Witch on the other hand, has her own feats of intelligence, particularly in the academe, where in a short period of time she managed to master Charn magic, and Narnia magic during her first steps there. She was smart enough to trick and use Edmund as leverage, though she still ended up being duped by Aslan.
Experience
Both characters have lived for centuries, and have their fair share of both single combat and battles. Jadis's first taste of war happened during her conflict with her sister that ended with her planet being decimated. When she arrived at Narnia, she wasted no time conquering the Northern Lands and eventually Narnia as a whole. She's also led campaigns against neighboring countries like Calormen. Sauron meanwhile, fought against smaller threats like elves, humans and dwarves, to large powerhouses like the Valar and even Ilúvatar itself. Sauron's career might have started during Morgoth's wars against the forces of Tolkas, but his greatest battles happened in second and third age. His greatest feat include defeating the powerful Elf-lord Finrod in a magical duel.
Notes[]
- Battle will take place in a large castle.
- For this battle, I am strictly only using the book versions (so Sauron will not have his mace, and Jadis will not be dual-wielding any swords). Sauron will not have the Ring of Power and Jadis will not have the deplorable word. Both will not have their armies to help them.
Battle[]
Such was darkness in this world – unconquerable, unstoppable, unquenchable… undead. Like the hatred in men’s hearts; like evil in men’s minds. The world was an easy prey, ripe for the pickings, undefended from the darkness. Good will had already failed, gone were the righteous, the bold, and heroic. Only darkness… and therefore evil… remained in desolation.
If it was not bad enough, soon everything would go worse. If evil itself filled this world, then what else but evil would inevitably fought? If one dark lord was not enough, his reign would be challenged by another form of evil.
“Is this it, my queen?” a dwarf wearing a brown woolen coat, lincoln green pants, and red puff cap, asked.
“I believe so,” the white queen proclaimed, covered with a silver fur gown, sitting on her magnificent ivory chariot. “Well, what are you waiting for, you slaves?! Let’s get on with it!”
The moment her voice rose, her whole entourage was gripped with fear. Her army consisted of minotaurs, fauns, wolves, and bears – all of whom were sick, all of whom disheveled. Nonetheless, it was better than being dead. They were tasked to escort her into a huge towering castle, carved out of a mountain.
As her chariot moved, she put her right palm in front of her. She chanted a spell, one that demanded authority, seemingly godlike and in control. The doors of the castle exploded into dust, leaving an opening for her to magnanimously enter. Her mere presence alone summoned blizzards and snow, covering everything in winter. The whole interior of the castle was otherworldly. It was rough yet sculptured, the walls reminiscent of overlapping steel plates.
The dark lord of the castle heard the explosion and commotion; the tired heaving of horses as they pulled a giant chariot; the weeping and moaning of tired minions dragged into hell. Sauron, the name of the dark lord, had anticipated their arrival the moment he saw the first fall of a tiny frost from many days ago. Those fools, walking themselves in stupendous suicide, onwards into their deaths.
“So, you must be the owner of this place…” the white queen said as she and her minions stood in front of Sauron sitting on his throne. They were in awe with his gigantic piece of armor, jagged and sinister, embodied with a most powerful magic. “My name is Jadis and I am your queen. This castle belongs to me now. In fact, this whole world belongs to me now as my right as a conqueror. Relinquish everything and I guarantee you’ll be able to live a hundred years more.”
Sauron said nothing, his appearance still stoic. He would never dignify such a pathetic intrusion with a sound from his mouth.
“Am I making myself clear?!” Jadis continued. “Say something you mangy dog! I command it! I am your queen!”
This could be fun, Sauron thought. Oh little biddy with a mighty stupid lid. This witch would be entertaining, maybe funny even. It was about time according to Sauron. It’s been a while since he enjoyed torturing a play thing. He decided to give the woman an audience, but first to get rid of her snow… and her minions.
Suddenly, the mountain erupted, and several rocks fell from the ceiling and into Jadis’s group. Lava flowed like a tidal wave on the floor, eradicating everyone besides the white queen. Even as her minions cried and suffer, even as their bodies melted and evaporated, Jadis did not heed nor sympathize. Her winter powers were enough to save her, but not strong enough to envelop the castle back in snow.
“Do you know who I am?! Have you not been paying attention?! I am the white queen! I am the almighty! You will suffer for this! I will peel your skin as I peel orchard! I will crush your bones and turn it into dust! I will let your blood turn all rivers red! I will kill every member of your family, down from the youngest to all your damn seniors!”
Jadis aimed her wand and sent a powerful blast of magic. Sauron transformed himself into a gigantic bat, narrowingly missing Jadis’s attack which turned his steel throne to stone. Jadis continued to spam her attack, malevolently laughing, trying desperately to hit Sauron. The dark lord then made the earth quake, throwing the white witch off balance. She fell on the floor cursing, but before she could fight back, Sauron turned into a wolf and pinned her down. The wolf tried to dig its teeth into Jadis’s neck, but the white queen blocked it with her forearm.
Jadis’s screamed in rage as Sauron mauled her. But she eventually managed to pull her knife and plunge it into the wolf’s ribs. Sauron quickly transformed himself into a serpent and slid away, as Jadis tried desperately to regain her wand and get back up. A dark fog conquered the room, covering the castle in a pitch, blinding and choking.
“Stupid pieces of useless steel! What a cowardly lord of this mountain, you are! Why don’t you fight me with honor?! Fight me face-to-face!” The white witch continued her tantrum and curses, desperate to know where her opponent went.
Suddenly, the air in front of her burst into flames, with a large red eye in the center, staring at her. Jadis froze for a moment, terror overtaking her as if she was looking right at her mortality. But her pride proved stronger, and with a scoff, shot her petrification attack at the eye. The eye turned to stone and soon the castle started to be covered in ice. Jadis knew she had won. This castle, and this world, belonged to her now.
It was too early to celebrate, however, as another eye appeared from the left, surprising her. Before she could blast this one, another eye appeared from above, glaring at her. More and more appeared all throughout the castle, making her panic and scream, making desperation more intense and perpetual.
“Coward! Coward you are, dark lord! Enough of this illusions! Enough! Who are you?!!!!!” screamed the white witch.
“Who am I?” a disembodied devious voice told her. “I am… decadence…”
No one knew what happened to Jadis after her brief war with Sauron. The legend of her visit ended with her screams filling the dark lord’s castle. Darkness won as always, even against its kin, even against other darkness. Fools are those who hope and pray. This new age belonged to the darkness – it was now owned by Sauron.
Expert's Opinion[]
Sauron won due to being more powerful and experienced, as well as being smarter. Jadis is too proud which also led to her downfall.