For thousands of years the Dwarves of the Longbeard Clan, better known as Durin’s
Folk, mined and tunneled beneath the Misty Mountains from their ancestral home Khazad
Dum.
Yet in the Third Age during the reign of King Durin VI, they dug too deep and unearthed
a creature they would call Durin’s Bane, who was in fact a Balrog, an ancient servant
of the Dark Lord Morgoth who attacked the Dwarves viciously, killing many of their people
and slaying their King.
Although Durin’s son Nain I inherited the throne and set out to avenge the loss of his
father, he too lost his life battling the powerful Balrog,
It would then fall to Nain’s son, crowned King Thrain I, to lead the evacuation of Khazad
Dum, which they renamed Moria, abandoning the ancient fortress and travelling North
to Erebor, where they established the Kingdom of the Lonely Mountain.
Kingship would then pass to Thrain’s son Thorin I, who then led Durin’s Folk further
North, abandoning the Lonely Mountain for the riches of the Grey Mountains.
For years Durin’s Folk thrived in their new homeland, extracting precious stones and
building wondrous halls.
But the great wealth being assembled attracted the attention of the Cold Drakes of the Far
North, who invaded the Grey Mountains, massacring their people, and killing their King Dain
I as well as his son Fror.
Dain’s 2 remaining sons Thror and Gror then led the retreat of their people south, with
Thror inheriting the title King of Durin’s Folk and re-establishing the Kingdom of the
Lonely Mountain as a home for his followers, while Gror led his own faction further East,
settling in the Iron Hill.
Durin’s Folk would again rebuild their wealth, with the Dwarves of Erebor under King Thror
prospering greatly from the riches of the mountain, and friendly trade relations with
neighboring powers.
However, again their success would be their doom, as the Dragon Smaug the terrible sensed
their precious treasures and invaded the Lonely Mountain, driving Durin’s Folk into exile
once more.
Disheartened by the loss of yet another homeland, many travelled east, to join their kin in
the Iron Hills.
While others followed King Thror and his family West, where they would roam the countryside
until settling in the Dunland Hills, living in poverty and struggling to survive.
A far fall from his days as King under the Mountain, Thror became increasingly disheartened
by the state of his people, and so passed on his most prized possessions to his son
Thrain, giving him the last of the Seven Dwarven Rings of Power and a map of the Lonely Mountain.
Then leaving his people to travel with a companion named Nar, making their way to the East Gate
of Moria, finding the entrance to their ancient home wide open.
Although Nar begged that Thror stay away, the dwarven king could not be dissuaded and
proudly entered the Mountain as the rightful heir to Khazad Dum.
For days, Nar waited for Thror’s return, only to learn that the Dwarven King had been
captured, tortured and beheaded with the name Azog carved into his forehead.
Azog the Defiler then addressed Nar, giving him a small pouch of coins to deliver a message
to his people, stating that he had claimed Kingship of Moria and would kill any others
who entered his lands.
Nar was then sent away, not even allowed to take Thror body back to his people, instead
seeing orcs hack it to pieces before flinging his remains to the crows.
Nar delivered the message to Thrain II, now made king of Durin’s Folk and for 7 days
he mourned the death of his father, thinking deeply on the dishonor and disrespect shown
to his people until finally rising to proclaim "This cannot be borne!" then sending for the
armies of Durin’s Folk to assemble for war.
In addition, Thrain sent envoys to all the Dwarven Clans of Middle Earth, many of whom
responded, sending their warriors to avenge the insult committed against of the Dwarven
race.
For 3 years their armies gathered, until finally invading the Misty Mountains through Mount
Gundabad in the North, raiding and destroying every orc settlement they could find, purging
the Northern half of the mountains down to the Gladden river.
For 6 years the Dwarves fought a brutal campaign, marching deeper and deeper within the mountains,
with most of the fighting taking place underground.
Yet it was in these dark and narrow corridors that Dwarven Warriors excelled, allowing them
to slaughter thousands of enemy orcs in the area.
But the Dwarves also suffered greatly in the fighting, losing many of their warriors and
seeing cruel deeds performed on both sides of the conflict.
With some accounts claiming that half of the Dwarven army was wiped out in the fighting.
The war ultimately culminated in the Battle of Azanulbizar, when Lord Nain and his son
Dain, brought an army of reinforcements from the Iron Hills to secure victory for the Dwarven
army.
In their final push against enemy forces, Azog the Defiler fought and killed Lord Nain,
only to be confronted by his son Dain Ironfoot, who killed the Orc King, avenging his father
and ending the war.
King Thrain II, seeing their forces victorious and the orc armies of the Misty Mountains
destroyed, wanted to continue on, marching their army into Moria in order to reclaim
the ancient homeland of Durin’s Folk.
But the Dwarves of other clans refused, stating that they had fought to avenge the death of
King Thror and had accomplished that goal, seeing no need to risk more of their men for
a home that was not their own.
Even Durin’s Folk refused to continue on, after Dain Ironfoot informed them that he
had seen the Balrog of Moria after defeating Azog at the entrance to the Mountain.
Stating that it would be impossible to defeat such a powerful enemy.
And so with the war won, the grand Dwarf Army disbanded, with many travelling to their clans
and homelands, while many of the dwarves of Durin’s Folk returned to the Iron Hills
under their new Lord Dain Ironfoot.
The rest, continued to follow their King Thrain II as well as his heir, Thorin, who was nicknamed
Oakenshield, after he was seen using an oaken tree branch to defend himself at the Battle
of Azanulbizar.
Together they led their people to the Blue Mountain, where they continued their struggle
to rebuild all they had lost.
As a result of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, the realm of Rohan saw years of conflict
resulting from the increased Orc migration through their lands, as those that fled the
fighting sought refuge in the White Mountains, while raiding Rohirrim lands to survive.
Oppositely, the Northern lands of Eriador saw many years of peace as a result of this
conflict, seeing the orc raiders and war parties which plagued them for so many generations,
all but wiped out, no longer troubling the people of the North.
Their population would be even further reduced, when Azog the Defiler’s son Bolg sought
to avenge the death of his father, leading orc forces at the battle of the Five Armies,
where he was killed and his army destroyed.
The drastic reduction in the population of orcs in and around the Misty Mountains would
prove so devastating that they would never fully recover, and would even prove a strategic
victory in the approaching struggle against the Dark Lord Sauron, by limiting the potential
size of his armies in the West, aiding the Free peoples of Middle Earth as they rose
against him in the War of the Ring.