Canon[]
Sauron was more powerful than many of his fellow Maiar; Tolkien noted that he was of a "far higher order" than the Maiar who later came to Middle-earth as the Wizards Gandalf and Saruman. As created by Eru, the Ainur were all good and uncorrupt, as Elrond stated in The Lord of the Rings: "Nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so.
The discord of Melkor would have dire consequences, as this singing was the very song of creation, a kind of template
for the world to be: "The evils of the world were not at first in the great Theme, but entered with the discords of Melkor." However, "Sauron was not a beginner of discord; and he probably knew more of the Music than did Melkor, whose mind had always been filled with his own plans and devices."
Sauron was prominent among the Maiar who served Aulë the Smith, the great craftsman of the Valar. As a result, Sauron came to possess great knowledge of the physical substances of the world, forging, and all manner of craftsmanship, emerging as a great craftsman of the household of Aulë.
Sauron "loved order and coordination, and disliked all confusion and wasteful friction." Thus "it was the apparent will and power of Melkor to effect his designs quickly and masterfully that had first attracted Sauron to him." For a while, Sauron kept up the pretense that he was a faithful servant of the Valar, all the while feeding Melkor information about their doings. Thus, when the Valar made Almaren as their first physical abode in the world, "Melkor knew of all that was done; for even then he had secret friends and spies among the Maiar whom he had converted to his cause, and of these the chief, as after became known, was Sauron."
First Age[]
After joining his new master in Middle-earth, he proved to be a devoted and capable servant: "While Morgoth still
stood, Sauron did not seek his own supremacy, but worked and schemed for another, desiring the triumph of Melkor, whom in the beginning he had adored. He thus was often able to achieve things, first conceived by Melkor, which his master did not or could not complete in the furious haste of his malice." "In all the deeds of Melkor the Morgoth upon Arda, in his vast works and in the deceits of his cunning, Sauron had a part."
By the time the Elves awoke in the world, Sauron had become Melkor’s lieutenant and was given command over the newly-built stronghold of Angband. To protect the Elves, the Valar made war on Melkor and captured him, but could not find Sauron.
Thus, "when Melkor was made captive, Sauron escaped and lay hid in Middle-earth; and it can in this way be understood how the breeding of the Orcs (no doubt already begun) went on with increasing speed." In the Blessed Realm, Melkor feigned reform, but eventually breached the trust of the Valar and escaped back to Middle-earth, holding the Silmarils of Fëanor. By then, Sauron had "secretly repaired Angband for the help of his Master when he returned; and there the dark places underground were already manned with hosts of the Orcs before Melkor came back at last, as Morgoth the Black Enemy."
Shortly after the return of Morgoth, the Noldorin Elves also left the Blessed Realm of Valinor in the Uttermost West against the counsel of the Valar to wage war on Morgoth, who had stolen the Silmarils. In that war, Sauron served as Morgoth's chief lieutenant, surpassing all others in rank, such as Gothmog, the Lord of Balrogs. Known as Gorthaur the Cruel, Sauron was at that time a master of illusions and changes of form; werewolves and vampires were his servants, chief among them Draugluin, Father of Werewolves, and his vampire herald Thuringwethil.
When Morgoth left Angband to corrupt the newly-created Men, Sauron directed the war against the Elves. He conquered the Elvish island of Tol Sirion, so that it became known as Tol-in-Gaurhoth, the Isle of Werewolves.
Ten years later, Finrod Felagund, the king of Nargothrond and former lord of Tol Sirion, came there with Beren. He duelled Sauron and was defeated (in part because of the curse of Fëanor). Later, he died fighting a wolf in Sauron's dungeons to save Beren.
Soon afterwards Lúthien and Huan the Wolfhound arrived, hoping to rescue Beren. Aware of a prophecy to the effect that Huan would be killed by the greatest wolf ever, Sauron himself assumed a monstrous wolf-like form and attacked him. But the prophecy actually applied to the still-unborn Carcharoth, and Wolf-Sauron could not prevail against Huan.
In a frenzy of shape-shifting, Sauron slipped in and out of various animal-like shapes and finally back into his accustomed (apparently humanoid) form, but Huan had him by the throat. Lúthien gave him two choices: either to surrender to her the magical control he had established over Tol-in-Gaurhoth, or to have his body killed so that his naked ghost would have to endure the scorn of Morgoth. Sauron yielded, and Huan let him go. He fled in the form of a huge vampire bat, and Lúthien rescued Beren from the dungeons. Afterward Sauron spent some time as a vampire in the woods of Taur-nu-Fuin.
Following the voyage of Eärendil to the Blessed Realm, the Valar finally moved against Morgoth. In the resulting War of Wrath, the Dark Lord was defeated and cast into the Outer Void beyond the world. But "Sauron fled from the Great Battle and escaped."
Shocked by the overthrow of his master, Sauron repented (truly at first, if only out of fear). He assumed his most beautiful form and approached Eönwë, emissary of the Valar, who however could not pardon a Maia like himself. Through Eönwë, Manwë as Lord of the Valar "commanded Sauron to come before him for judgement, but [he] had left room for repentance and ultimate rehabilitation." Having wielded great power under Morgoth, Sauron was unwilling to face this humiliation, and so hid in Middle-earth.
Gondolin RPG[]
After losing to Huan the Hound, Sauron kept a low profile in Angband. He met Maeglin and Ecthelion when they were
Sauron
prisoners of Daedhel and tried to use Mablung as an example to simply submit. In fact, Sauron had been keeping Mablung as a personal toy because he reminded him of Maedhros. When Ecthelion sings to locate Maeglin in Angband, Sauron counters. Sauron goes to Gondolin once its secret location has been revealed.
In Gondolin, Elemmakil, who was then possessed by Mandos, told him to repent while there's still time. Sauron took up the name Annatar to represent another side of him, the side that wants to be forgiven. He and Eglor, who have known each other from before Arda was made, rescued Fingolfin's body from the cairn so that it wouldn't be desecrated and brought down Sirion. He also freed Mablung with the intention of slowly winning him back as a lover rather than a prisoner. In the Fall of Gondolin, Annatar took Tindariel's shape to fool Morgoth, who wanted to take her as his queen. Annatar does escape as a spirit.
Then the fateful day came when Annatar was led to the sons of Feanor. Sauron, the one who had captured and tortured Maedhros, immediately makes an appearance. Sauron and Annatar strive for mastery, Sauron willing to take Maedhros at whatever the cost and Annatar wanting to somehow make Maedhros fall in love with him even though he knows Maedhros could never truly forgive him for his past sins. He aids the sons of Feanor to make himself useful and indisposable, and Maedhros humors him in order to keep him from harming his brothers. Annatar charms Amrod and Amras and introduces to them the notion of bringing their elder brothers back to a semblance of life. Eventually, Celegorm, Caranthir, and Curufin are brought back to life.
Annatar
In the guise of Sauron, Annatar served the Dark Queen Tindariel's every need. As long as she was happy, Morgoth was happy. As long as Morgoth was happy, he won't move against the elves. One of Morgoth's greatest goals was to create life. Annatar deceived him into thinking that Tindariel's baby with Argon was his, and Morgoth was more than willing to allow himself to be deceived. This later also happened with Tindariel's son by Curufin. At the time, Curufin was studying necromancy under Sauron's tutelage to perhaps become a second Dark Lord.
The distinction between Annatar and Sauron became blurred, and Maedhros decided he had to be killed to eliminate
Mairon
the chance of betrayal. Annatar helped Maedhros on this quest, and Sauron tried to thwart it. Morgoth appeared and grabbed Maedhros by the neck, and Maedhros feared being tortured as he was before to the extent that he tried to kill himself on Morgoth's sharp nail. At that moment, Mairon truly betrayed his master. Now, he has quite possibly become permanently good after protecting Maedhros from Morgoth and destroying his One Ring.
Mairon expended too much of himself and is no longer a Maia but a quendi.
Relationships[]
Mairon had been watching Arda form with no intentions of entering until he saw Maedhros. He knew then that Maedhros would be the only person to complete him, but even as he descended into Arda, he realized their love was doomed because Maedhros would always be part of Arda whereas Mairon came from beyond it.
Mairon's first physical relationship within Arda was with Eonwe, who made passionate love to him. It was sometimes painful but Mairon endured because he knew physical bodies were bound to be weaker than their true forms. Melkor soon used this same excuse when luring him in and taking him, and because he was a Vala, Mairon believed him. Mairon received so much marring that he ended up serving Melkor as a bad guy.
Sauron was told to torture Maedhros to such an extreme or Morgoth would personally torture him. Morgoth had demonstrated most of these techniques on Sauron in the past, and Sauron took the task to spare Maedhros of even worse torments. It also fulfilled his love in a perverse way. During one of their arguments, Sauron hung Maedhros up by the wrist only to have him rescued. Maedhros successfully hid from Sauron for 500 years.
When Sauron went to Menegroth to search for the Silmaril, he found Mablung dead in the treasury. Sauron, also known as the Necromancer, brought him back to life. He toyed with him until eventually setting him loose.