Settling north west of mirkwood, by 2501 TA the Eotheod were led by Leod, a great horse
trained who died after being thrown from the back of a particularly wilful and powerful
white horse, whose ancestors were said to come from the Undying Lands of the West, brought
by the Vala Orome who travelled throughout middle-earth.
Succeeded by his son Eorl, the 16 year old Lord tracked down the horse demanding that
it give up its freedom as payment for his father’s death.
The extraordinary horse, who some say could understand human speech, agreed and became
Eorl’s faithful companion for the rest of his life.
Named Felaróf, meaning very strong, he became the father of the Mearas, the greatest horses
of the Northmen, reserved exclusively for their rulers.
Among Felarof’s descendants, were Snowmane the steed of King Theoden who fought in the
war of the ring, and shadowfax, a grey mare chosen by the wizard Gandalf, the only known
Mearas given to someone outside the royal line.
Further south in 2509, Celebrian, wife of Elrond took a trip to visit her parents Galadriel
and Celeborn in Lothlorien, when she was attacked by orcs, taken captive, poisoned and cruelly
tortured.
Learning what occurred, her sons Elladan and Elrohir charged to her rescue, slayed the
enemy and returned her to Rivendell where she was physically healed, but the emotional
and psychological damage proved too much, and so she said goodbye to her family and
set sail for the Undying Lands of the West.
A year later in 2510 TA, Gondor faced yet another invasion from the easterlings, this
time facing the Balcoth faction, possible descendants of the Wainriders, who waged their
own war of conquest centuries earlier.
Serving the interests of Sauron in Dol Guldur, the Balcoth were supported by the Orcs of
the Misty Mountains, resulting in the invasion of Calenardhon from two sides.
Fallen far from the strength they once held, Gondor’s population in this region was low,
and their garrisons minimal, allowing the Balcoth and Orcs to quickly defeat and surround
the northern army, while positioning themselves to hold back their southern reinforcements.
Yet just as all hope seemed lost, their old allies the Eotheod arrived, responding to
the red arrow, a symbol carried by messenger of Gondor which meant they were asking for
military aid.
After defeating enemy forces in the Battle of the Field of Celebrant, the Eotheod joined
the Northern and Southern armies of Gondor in expelling the orcs and easterlings from
the province.
With the war won, Cirion, Steward of Gondor, rewarded the Eotheod for their service by
gifting them Calenardhon, the lands they fought for, allowing Eorl to move their people south
and found the Kingdom of Rohan.
As part of this arrangement, both leaders swore a sacred oath, binding Gondor and Rohan
as eternal allies, who would come to each-others aid whenever needed.
Using the beacons of Gondor as an initial warning of danger between the realms, the
official call for military aid would continue to be a messenger carrying a red arrow.
A few decades later in 2545 the Easterlings renewed their invasion of Rohan, leading to
the death of King Eorl and his horse Felarof in the Battle of the Wold.
Succeeding his father, King Brego continued the war, eventually driving the easterlings
from his lands in addition to defending against Dunlending and orc advances in the north and
west.
Bringing some measure of peace to their lands, he built the famed royal hall Meduseld in
the capital of Edoras and held a celebration upon its completion.
Yet this joy soon turned to tragedy, as the king’s son Baldor took the opportunity to
announce he would prove his valor by venturing into the paths of dead.
Thousands of years earlier when Gondor first established their rule, the King of the Mountain
realm pledged his loyalty, yet when the final battle with Sauron came, refused to fight
and fled with his men into the mountains surrounding what became the paths of the dead.
Furious at their cowardice Isildur cursed them, keeping their spirits bound to the region
until their oaths were fulfilled.
Many years later in the third age, their ghosts continued to haunt these mountains, and so
when Baldor marched forth onto the path, he was lost, never to reemerge.
Heartbroken at the death of his son, King Brego died of grief, leaving his second son
Aldor as their ruler.
A few decades later in 2570, the dwarves of Durin’s folk faced yet another war to defend
their homeland, when the dragons of the far north descended upon the Grey Mountains, slaughtering
their people and stealing their treasures.
Known to target Dwarves due to their wealth, the Dragon race was originally created by
the Dark Lord Morgoth in the First Age, and after his defeat, retreated north where they
bred new generations of their species.
Attracted to treasure, these dragons would occasionally leave their lands to prey upon
the peoples of the south, specifically targeting the 7 dwarven clans, as they lived in mountains
and excelled as miners, collecting vast quantities of gold, mithril and precious gems.
Yet even so, regular dragon attacks did not become a serious problem until Sauron gifted
7 magic rings to the 7 Kings of the dwarves, a gift designed to enslave their people to
the Second Dark Lord’s will, but ultimately failed as they were resistant to such influence.
Yet in one aspect the rings did cause harm, as they enhanced both the natural abilities
and desires of their wearers.
Since the Dwarven kings already loved mining for treasure, the rings brought about obssession,
gathering vast hordes of treasure unlike anything they’d ever seen before.
This greed and never ending pursuit of wealth then attracted the dragons who laid waste
to many of their homelands, destroying or consuming 4 of the 7 rings of power.
Sauron in turn was able to recover 2 more, leaving the last one with the King of the
Longbeard clan.
Suffering their own hardships over the years, Durin’s folk lost their homeland to the
Balrog of Moria, and thus were split up, eventually settling in the Grey Mountains, Erebor and
Iron Hills.
In the year 2210, King Thorin I called for their people to be reunited, choosing the
grey mountains as their permanent home.
Yet the concentration of wealth in one area and proximity to the far north, made them
too tempting a target, and so in 2570 the war began with dragons sweeping in to reign
down destruction.
Although the Dwarves fiercely resisted, possessing a natural resistance to heat which aided them
in battle with some forms of dragon, in 2589 their King Dain I and his sons Fror were killed
by a cold-drake, leaving Thror to inherit leadership and lead the retreat.
Breaking up once more, some of Durin’s folk followed the King to settle once more in Erebor,
while others went with his brother Gror to the Iron Hills.