Also known as: Elendil The Faithful, High King
Elendil the Tall, son of Amandil, was the chief lord of the Faithful of Numenor -- those who kept faith with the Valar and friendship with the Elves while their king, Ar-Pharazon, fell under Sauron's sway and dared at last to make war upon the Blessed Realm itself. Foreseeing the wrath to come, Elendil held his ships ready off the eastern coast; and when the Great Wave drowned Numenor he was borne up by the storm and cast upon the shores of Middle-earth with his sons Isildur and Anarion, in nine ships bearing the Faithful, the seven palantiri, a seedling of the White Tree, and the Ring of Barahir.
In Middle-earth he founded the realms of the Dunedain in exile -- Arnor in the north, where he reigned as High King, and Gondor in the south, ruled by his sons. When Sauron arose again Elendil joined Gil-galad in the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, and they marched upon Mordor and besieged Barad-dur for seven years. In the final struggle on the slopes of Orodruin he and Gil-galad overthrew the Dark Lord, but Elendil was slain, and his sword Narsil broke beneath him as he fell. From its shards Isildur cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand, and the reforged blade and the kingship descended at last, through long and dwindling years, to Aragorn his heir.