Elendili dwelt mostly in the western regions of N?menor; but Ar-Gimilz?r commanded all that he could discover to be of this party to remove from the west and dwell in the east of the land; and there they were watched. And the chief dwelling of the Faithful in the later days was thus nigh to the harbour of R?menna; thence many set sail to Middle-earth, seeking the northern coasts where they might speak still with the Eldar in the kingdom of Gil-galad. This was known to the kings, but they hindered it not, so long as the Elendili departed from their land and did not return; for they desired to end all friendship between then: people and the Eldar of Eress?a, whom they named the Spies of the Valar, hoping to keep their deeds and their counsels hidden from the Lords of the West. But all that they did was known to Manw?, and the Valar were wroth with the Kings of N?menor, and gave them counsel and protection no more; and the ships of Eress?a came never again out of the sunset, and the havens of And?ni? were forlorn.
Highest in honour after the house of the kings were the Lords of And?ni?; for they were of the line of Elros, being descended from Silmarien, daughter of Tar-Elendil the fourth king of N?menor. And these lords were loyal to the kings, and revered them; and the Lord of And?ni? was ever among the chief councillors of the Sceptre. Yet also from the beginning they bore especial love to the Eldar and reverence for the Valar; and as the Shadow grew they aided the Faithful as they could. But for long they did not declare themselves openly, and sought rather to amend the hearts of the lords of the Sceptre with wiser counsels.
There was a lady Inzilb?th, renowned for her beauty, and her mother was Lind?ri?, sister of E?rendur, the Lord of And?ni? in the days of Ar-Sakalth?r father of Ar-Gimilz?r. Gimilz?r took her to wife, though this was little to her liking, for she was in heart one of the Faithful, being taught by her mother; but the kings and their sons were grown proud and not to be gainsaid in their wishes. No love was there between Ar-Gimilz?r and his queen, or between their sons. Inzilad?n, the elder, was like his mother in mind as in body; but Gimilkh?d, the younger, went with his father, unless he were yet prouder and more wilful. To him Ar-Gimilz?r would have yielded the sceptre rather than to the elder son, if the laws had allowed.
But when Inzilad?n acceded to the sceptre, he took again a title in the Elven-tongue as of old, calling himself Tar-Palantir, for he was far-sighted both in eye and in mind, and even those that hated him feared his words as those of a true-seer. He gave peace for a while to the Faithful; and he went once more at due seasons to the Hallow of Eru upon the Meneltarma, which Ar-Gimilz?r had forsaken. The White Tree he tended again with honour; and he prophesied, saying that when the Tree perished, then also would the line of the Kings come to its end. But his repentance was too late to appease the anger of the Valar with the insolence of his fathers, of which the greater part of his people did not repent. And Gimilkh?d was strong and ungentle, and he took the leadership of those that had been called the King's Men and opposed the will of his brother as openly as he dared, and yet more in secret. Thus the days of Tar-Palantir became darkened with grief; and he would spend much of his time in the west, and there ascended often the ancient tower of King Minastir upon the hill of Oromet nigh to And?ni?, whence he gazed westward in yearning, hoping to see, maybe, some sail upon the sea. But no ship came ever again from the West to N?menor, and Avall?n? was veiled in cloud.
Now Gimilkh?d died two years before his two hundredth year (which was accounted an early death for one of Elros' line even in its waning), but this brought no peace to the King. For Pharaz?n son of Gimilkh?d had become a man yet more restless and eager for wealth and power than his father. He had fared often abroad, as a leader in the wars that the N?men?reans made then in the coastlands of Middle-earth, seeking to extend their