Just who is that mysterious 'wraith' character in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor?

Spoiler alert.

The developers of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor revealed the identity of a major character in their upcoming action video game. The Wraith — up until now a mysterious person who aids the protagonist — is the ghost of a character out of the prehistory behind the Rings of Power.

The Wraith is … Celebrimbor, an Elven smith of the Second Age and the craftsman of the rings. Celebrimbor is dubbed “The Bright Lord,” a counter to Sauron, the Dark Lord, and the evil Ringwraiths. Developer Monolith Productions revealed the Wraith at a panel at Comic-Con.

Publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment also announced today at the San Diego Comic-Con that the action game will now debut on Sept. 30, one week earlier than planned, in the Americas. It will debut on that day on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Windows PC and Steam versions will be available worldwide on Oct. 2.

You play Talion, a ranger who loses his family in defense of the Black Gate of Mordor, in a tale that takes place after the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and before The Lord of the Rings. The player will use the Nemesis System, which shows how every enemy is unique, based on appearance, personality, strengths, and weaknesses. Talion uses Nemesis and the power of the Wraith to figure out how to turn the enemies to his side and betray the Dark Lord, Sauron.

Celebrimbor, the sun of Curufin (who was the fifth son of greatest Elvish smith, Fëanor, the creator of the Simarils in The Simarillion), was the greatest smith of the Second Age. He made the Rings of Power, but he was deceived as Sauron made the One Ring to rule them all.

In the video trailer, Celebrimbor converses with a distrustful Talion, and the Wraith’s memory slowly returns about his identity. We see in the video that Gollum plays a role, as both Celebrimbor and Talion wonder whether to trust the ring-addled creature.

The Wraith is a companion to Talion as he tries to take vengeance on Sauron and his Black Captains as they return to Mordor. This elevates the importance of the story behind Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, and this may make it more interesting to hardcore Tolkien fans — like myself.