Following his victory over the Union of Maedhros in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, Morgoth’s forces
swept through Northern Beleriand, taking Himring and Aglon’s pass, forcing the sons of Feanor
into retreat, first towards Amon Ereb, then Ossiriand where they mingled with green elves,
while Hithlum was given to Ulfang’s Easterlings, under the pretense of generosity which inevitably
turned to cruelty when the region became an open-air prison, cut off from the rest of
the continent.
Plundering the Hithlum for all it was worth, captured elves were taken prisoner to angband,
while the humans of dor-lomin were enslaved.
Of the 3 human houses that originally allied with the Elves, only the severely weakened
House of Haleth remained, hidden in the forest of Brethil, while most noldor survivors made
their way to the Falas, seeking protection from Lord Cirdan, who continued his own war
with Morgoth, sending ships to harass enemy forces along the coast.
Yet even the great Sindar cities of Brithombar and Eglarest could not withstand the might
of the Dark Lord, and were conquered in 473 FA.
After the Fall of the Falas, Lord Cirdan along with young Prince Gil-galad, son to King Orodreth
of Nargothrond, led Sindar and Noldor survivors to the Isle of Balar, establishing a refuge
for the Elves of Beleriand.
Gaining great swaths of territory in the north, Morgoth’s remaining enemies, aside from
southern refugees, included High King Turgon and the city of Gondolin, protected by the
secrecy of their location, High King Thingol of Doriath, protected by the Girdle of Melian,
a magic spell keeping them hidden from view, and the Kingdom of Nargothrond, protected
by their strategic location.
Other enemies like the Green Elves of Ossiriand were a non-factor as they refused to fight
in the war, while the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains were largely surrounded and confined
to their homes, having already already lost much in their support for the Sons of Feanor.
Seeking to overcome the last obstacles preventing his total conquest of Beleriand, Morgoth tortured
Chieftain Hurin of the House of Hador, hoping to extract the location of Gondolin, but the
courageous man never broke.
Enraged, the Dark Lord laid a terrible curse upon his family, before fixing him to the
top of Thangorodrim, so he could watch the destruction of his family from afar.
Used as a vessel for the curse, Turin son of Hurin was a valiant, masterful warrior,
always seeking to do right, yet inevitably brought death of disaster to everything he
touched.
Already suffering much by 489 FA, including the loss of his father, separation from his
mother and exile from Doriath, Turin became chief to a band of outlaws, waging a guerilla
war against Morgoth’s forces.
Yet this too led to disaster when they were massacred in the Sack of Bar-en-Danwedh.
Taken captive, Turin then accidentally killed his friend and rescuer Beleg Strongbow, when
he awoke confused and disoriented.
Reaching a point of utter despair, Turin was found by the noble Prince Gwindor who brought
him to Nargothrond.
Yet even this act of kindness then led to more misery when the Elf Maiden Finduilas,
who was betrothed to Gwindor, fell in love with Turin, who did not return her affection
but nonetheless ruined their relationship and his friend’s hope of happiness.
Desperate to finally find his place and make a life for himself, Turgon became a royal
advisor, convincing King Orodreth to build a great bridge across the river Narog, so
they might fight openly against Morgoth in the Battle of Tumhalad.
Yet they were not prepared to face the fires of Glaurung father of Dragons, resulting in
a triumphant victory for Morgoth’s forces, followed by the sacking of Nargothrond and
enslavement of the population.
Though Turgan was purposely left alive, his advice led to the deaths of King Orodreth,
Prince Gwindor and Princess Finduilas.
The next major realm to fall was Doriath, yet Morgoth had no need of great armies to
eliminate this threat, instead allowing the curse of Hurin to continue it’s path of
destruction, releasing his prisoner, who after so many years under torture now held malice
and corruption in his heart, poisoning everything he touched.
First Hurin sought refuge in Gondolin, but was denied entry out of fear he was a spy.
Yet this nevertheless allowed Morgoth to learn the general location of the hidden city.
Later, after learning his family was dead, he started a civil war in the House of Haleth,
destroying the last of their House in Brethil.
He then recovered the precious nauglamir necklace from Nargothrond and gifted it to High King
Thingol before finally ending his misery by casting himself into the sea.
Yet even in this final act of kindness, the curse of Hurin struck, as Thingol decided
to hire the Dwarves of Nogrod to combine the Nauglamir necklace with the precious silmaril
he received from his daughter’s husband Beren.
Overwhelmed by the beauty of the finished necklace, the Dwarves demanded the item itself
as payment and killed High King Thingol when he refused.
Invoking the wrath of the Sindar, the murderers fled back to their mountains without their
treasure, but that did not comfort Queen Melian the Maia who was so devastated by the loss
of her husband, she left Beleriand entirely, returning to her homeland of Valinor in the
west.
When she departed, the girdle of Melian collapsed, meaning Doriath’s protection from outside
forces was gone, allowing the Dwarves to return with an army.
Sacking the city of Menegroth in 502 FA, they slew the hero Mablung heavy hand and stole
the nauglamir, only to be waylaid on their journey home by Beren and an army of Green
Elves, seeking vengeance for their attack.
Recovering the silmaril necklace, Beren gave it to his wife Luthien, but when she died
a year later it was inherited by their son Dior who succeeded his grandfather to become
King of Doriath.
Still bound by the oath of Feanor spoken centuries earlier, the Sons of Feanor reluctantly tolerated
that one of their silmarils was held by High King Thingol and then his famous daughter
Luthien, but refused to allow it in the hands of yet another Elf with no rightful claim.
When Dior refused to give them the jewel, Celegorm rallied his brothers and their followers
to march on Doriath, destroying the last Sindar kingdom of Beleriand in the second kinslaying.
Among the dead were King Dior and his wife Nimloth along with their sons Elurin and Elured,
as well as Celegorm, Curufin and Caranthir.
Despite winning the battle, the sons of Feanor failed in their mission as King Dior’s daughter
Elwing fled with the silmaril, robbing them of their prize.
Leading survivors south, Elwing and her people settled the mouths of Sirion, near the Isle of Balar.