After his defeat in the War of the Last Alliance, the Dark Lord Sauron was greatly diminished
in power yet his spirit lived on, bound to the One Ring of Power which remained in the
possession of the Dunedain Isildur, High King of Gondor and Arnor.
Unable to seek out the ring and take his vengeance, Sauron remained in the shadows for centuries
recovering his strength and planning for his inevitable return to power.
Though the Dark Lord was defeated, many of his orcs, trolls and other servants survived
and fled, scattering across the continent to create havoc wherever encountered.
After planting a Second White Tree in Minas Tirith, continuing the lineage of ancient
Telperion which once illuminated the Undying Lands, Isildur and 3 of his sons travelled
North to take up residence in Arnor but failed to arrive as they were attacked by orc raiders
near the Gladden Fields.
Unwilling to allow the ring to fall into enemy hands, Isildur’s sons sacrificed themselves
to hold the line while he escaped through the Anduin River.
Facing a powerful current, the King was separated from the ring before being spotted and shot
with arrows by pursuing orcs.
With the Dunedain killed and the Orcs unaware of its presence, the One Ring of power fell
to the bottom of the river where it remained lost to the world for over two thousand years.
Meanwhile, the death of Isildur and his sons left Meneldil, nephew of the High King as
ruler of Gondor, while Valandil, his fourth son reigned in Arnor.
Dividing the Royal line into two dynasties, the descendants of Anarion and his son Meneldil
led the people of Gondor for two millenia, while Isildur and his son Valandil left a
bloodline that held power over a united Arnor for only a few centuries before fracturing
into smaller kingdoms.
Elsewhere in the continent, the Middle-Men, those descended from humans who did not live
in Numenor during the Second Age, were scattered throughout the westlands, with those living
in what became Gondor and Arnor intermixing with the Dunedain, while those in and around
the Greenwood came to be known as Northmen.
To the west and south of the Misty Mountains, lived a population of tribal hill-men later
called Dunlendings who spoke a different language to the other Middle-Men of the continent,
and so were denied friendship and aid because they were not recognized as kin to the Dundeain
of Numenor.
Living as wild men for thousands of years, the Dunlendings expanded south and west towards
the White Mountains, though some few left their more primitive homelands to make their
way north, settling in Eregion where they founded the village of Bree.
Heading towards the Sea of Rhun and beyond, the many tribes and nations of the Easterlings
were weakened by their defeat in the War of the Last Alliance, but steadily rebuilt their
strength, ever eager to fulfill their ambition of conquering the west.
The same could be said for the Haradrim to the south, who lived under the influence of
the powerful city-state Umbar, where the Black Numenoreans loyal to Sauron remained in power.
Though the Dark Lord still had allies spread throughout the continent, Mordor was lost
to him, as the Kingdom of Gondor used Minas Ithil, The Towers of the Teeth and the Tower
of Cirith Ungol to keep watch over the land.
Having spent much of the Second Age isolated within the Misty Mountians, the Dwarves of
Durin’s folk thrived in Khazad Dum, growing immensely wealthy from their mining operations.
Yet after the defeat of Sauron, loss of Mordor and scattering of his armies, hordes of wandering
orcs now populated the westlands, with some making their homes in the Grey and Misty Mountains.
Along the western shores, the Laiquendi, Noldor and Sindar Elves of Lindon lived under the
rule of Lord Cirdan and spent their days building ships in the harbor of the Grey Havens, making
them available to any of their people who sought passage to the Undying Lands of the
West.
Other Noldor and Sindar made their homes alongside the Silvan in Lothlorien ruled by Galadriel
and Celeborn, while other Silvan or Wood Elves, lived in the Greenwood Forest under King Thranduil.
Founded as a refuge for the Noldor Elves of Eregion, Imladris, also known as Rivendell,
continued to be ruled by the Sindar, Elrond Half-Elven, who in the year 109 of the Third
Age, married Celebrian, daughter to the Lord and Lady of Lothlorien.
Celebrian then gave birth to twins sons Elladan and Elrohir in 130 TA, while their younger
sister Arwen came into the world a century later in 241 TA.
By the year 492, some of the Easterlings at last felt prepared to strike out against their
enemies, resulting in two invasions of Gondor within a 60 year period.
Though the fighting went back and forth at times, the Dunedain proved too powerful and
steadily pushed them back, with King Tarostar changing his name to Rómendacil, meaning
east-victor, after a great triumph in 500 TA.
For 4 decades, the Easterlings appeared defeated, until they launched yet another invasion in
the year 541, scoring a great victory by killing the King Romandacil on the battlefield.
Yet his son Turambar continued the fight even more fiercely than his father, and by 550
TA pushed the Easterlings back beyond the Sea of Rhun to claim their lands for Gondor.
Having defeated the invaders and established the East-lands, the Kingdom of Gondor was
reaching new height of power, while their kinsmen in Arnor were headed towards civil
unrest.
Following the death of King Eärendur in 861 TA, his 3 sons went to war over the inheritance,
with the oldest claiming the realm of Arthedain, while his brothers founded the kingdoms of
Cardolan and Rhudaur.
Coming to power in the year 913, King Earnil of Gondor spent his reign continuing a policy
of expansion, and so built a great fleet he used to conquer the city of Umbar in 933 TA.
Unfortunately, Earnil was lost at sea a few years later, leaving his son Ciryandil as
King during a time of war, meaning he spent most of his reign defending their conquest
of Umbar from the Black Numenoreans and their Haradrim supporters.
Ciryandil was ultimately killed during a siege of the city in 1015 TA, and so his son Hyarmendacil
began his reign determined to end the southern threat.