Devastated by the losses endured in the Dagor Bragollach, High King Fingolfin of the Noldor
went mad with rage, riding his horse Rochallor directly to Angband, where he challenged Morgoth
to personal combat.
Insulted and mocked before his captains, Morgoth had no choice but to accept, dawning his black
armor and wielding the mace Grond, Hammer of the Underworld.
Using his sword Ringil, Fingolfin charged forth, moving so fast he avoided Morgoth’s
mighty strikes, successfully wounding the Dark Lord 7 times throughout the battle.
In the end, he could not keep up this pace and was eventually cast down for a final killing
blow.
On the verge of being crushed by his enemy’s foot, the High King raised his sword one last
time to land a final gruesome strike before passing away.
Though Morgoth was victorious, the wounds inflicted by Fingolfin never healed, walking
with a limp the rest of his life.
Seeking to throw the King’s body to the wolves, the great eagle Thorondor descended
upon Morgoth, clawed his face and took Fingolfin’s body, leaving it on mountaintop near Gondolin,
where his son Turgon built a cairn.
With the High King dead, his eldest son Fingon inherited leadership over the Noldor and Hithlum,
doing what he could to build up their strength once more.
Unfortunately for the Free Peoples of Beleriand, following the Dagor Bragollach, even the time
between great battles was fraught with danger and violence, as seen in 460 FA, when Morgoth’s
forces at last found and massacred Chieftain Barahir along with his company of rebels in
Ladros.
And in 462 FA, when two armies of Orcs attacked Hithlum from the east and north.
Fending off the eastern invasion was Chieftain Galdor the Tall of the House of Hador, a great
ally to the Noldor, but after losing his life in the fighting, was replaced by his son Hurin
who drove the Orcs back to Anfauglith.
In the North High King Fingon led their armies, but even so were on the verge of defeat when
Lord Cirdan of the Falas arrived with Sindar reinforcements.
A rare victory during this time period occurred during the events from 465 - 466 FA, when
the human hero Beren, son of Chieftain Barahir fell in love with the Elf Maiden Luthien,
daughter of High King Thingol and Melian the Maia, said to be the most beautiful woman
to ever live.
Believing Beren unworthy of his daughter, Thingol sent him on an impossible quest, saying
that only if he brought forth a Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth would their union be
blessed.
Engaging in a long and perilous quest, Beren and later Luthien when she joined him without
permission, suffered greatly throughout the journey, even losing many of those that assisted
them, including King Finrod of Nargothrond, who was tortured and killed in front of Beren
by the Dark Lord’s Lieutenant Sauron.
But in the end, they succeeded in stealing one of three silmaril jewels from Morgoth’s
crown before presenting it to Thingol in Doriath.
Considered the greatest romance in history, the story of Beren and Luthien was renowned
throughout the continent, inspiring Maedhros the eldest son of Feanor, who saw this victory
over the Dark Lord as a sign he could in fact be defeated.
Therefore, he set about forming the Union of Maedhros, reaching out to all their allies
across Beleriand for a final great assault against their enemy.
Dividing their forces into two armies, Maedhros brought his brothers and their remaining followers
to Himring after retaking the Pass of Aglon, along with the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains
and Human Easterling tribes which recently settled the area.
Their western army, was led by High King Fingon, and included the Noldor of Hithlum, the Human
House of Hador from Dor-Lomin, the Human House of Haleth from Brethil and the Sindar Elves
of the Falas.
High King Thingol of Doriath refused to fight alongside the Sons of Feanor after learning
they committed the First Kinslaying in Aman, as did King Orodreth of Nargothrond who hated
two specific sons of Feanor, Celegorm and Curufin, because they conspired against his
elder brother Finrod, indirectly contributing to his death.
As a result, these lands did not send armies, with only a few volunteers joining the war
effort, like the heroes Mablung and Beleg from Doriath, and Gwindor from Nargothrond.
The plan, was for the eastern army to attack Anfauglith, causing Morgoth to send out his
forces, at which point Fingon and his western host, hiding in the mountains, would flank
the enemy position.
Launching the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, or Battle of Unnumbered Tears, Maedhros was devastated
to see his plan fail, as Morgoth’s spies revealed what was happening, allowing preparations
to be made.
First, he used his spies to delay Maedhros as he marched west, before sending a great
orc army to assail his forces.
At the same time, the Dark Lord directed a smaller orc army west, provoking Fingon into
abandoning his defensive position before Maedhros was ready.
Initially, the high King resisted temptation and was even reinforced by the late arrival
of King Turgon and 10,000 warriors from Gondolin.
But the Orcs then brought out Gelmir, brother of Gwindor, who was taken prisoner in the
Dagor Bragollach.
Dismembering Gelmir before them, Gwindor was overwhelmed by rage, breaking ranks to charge
forward alongside his men.
Fingon, seeing their lines breaking, authorized a full scale attack, with Gwindor at the forefront,
slaughtering the enemy until arriving at the gates of Angband.
Yet this was precisely what the Dark Lord wanted, allowing him to unleash yet another
wave of orcs to trap and slaughter Gwindor’s forces, cutting them off from Fingon and the
rest of the army which lost Haldir, Chieftain of the House of Haleth in their retreat.
Meanwhile, the Union forces in the east were at last making progress, reaching their allies
in the west, only for Morgoth to reveal his final ploy, unleashing every last servant
of Angband, including Orcs, Balrogs led by Gothmog, wolves, wolfriders, and dragons led
by Glaurung.
Even facing all these enemies, Maedhros might still have emerged victorious if not for the
betrayal of Ulfang and his easterlings, who were station in the rear, allowing them to
trap Union forces.
Serving Morgoth in exchange for the bountiful lands of Hithlum, Ulfang made the Dark Lord’s
victory possible, but it came at the cost his life as he was found and slain by Maglor,
a son of Feanor.
Yet not all Easterlings proved false, as Bor and his followers remained loyal to the Union,
even turning against their traitorous kin and sacrificing their lives to slay the sons
of Ulfang.
Seeing their eastern army utterly vanquished, they organized a retreat, leaving the valiant
Dwarves to hold the line, as they were better able to withstand dragonfire.
Doing all they could to help their allies escape harm, Lord Azaghâl of Belegost lost
his life against Glaurung, but was able to land one last blow before he died, causing
the Dragon to flee the battlefield.
Finding one of their Lords dead, the Dwarves recovered his body and journeyed home to the
mountains, marching with a look so grim and deadly none dared get in their way.
After their victory in the east, Morgoth’s armies united to finish off Fingon in the
west, overwhelming their forces in an attack which left the High King dead, falling to
Gothmog the Lord of Balrogs.
Upon seeing the death of the king, Chieftain Hurin and the men of Dor-lomin charged forth
and sacrificed themselves so Turgon, the new High King and his followers could escape back
to Gondolin.
Though the chieftain’s brother Huor was killed along with the rest of their men, Hurin
fate was even worse as he was taken captive and tortured for decades.