Following the devastating conclusion of the centuries long Angmar War, the Dunedain realm
of Arnor was gone, while Gondor, still united but greatly diminished in power, became the
new target of the Witch King who began another centuries long campaign in the south.
Yet for some at least, the defeat of Angmar, continued protection of the Rangers and withdrawal
of the Nazgul leader, meant a respite from the years of terror which gripped their region
of the continent.
Two years after the Witch King’s retreat south, the Eotheod living between the Misty
Mountains and Mirkwood at last felt they could safely move their people, establishing Framsberg
in the Grey Mountains, while in 1979 the Hobbits of the Shire, formerly subjects of Arnor,
elected Bucca of the Marsh to rule their lands as an independent realm.
Bucca brought them years of peace and prosperity, with the Shire becoming such an idyllic place
for their people, they became deeply isolationist and largely neutral to all outside conflicts.
Those who descended from Bucca of the Marsh, were of the Oldbuck clan, which later became
the Brandybucks, producing heroes like Meriadoc Brandybuck, one of the Nine Companions in
the Fellowship of the Ring.
Yet while the hobbits thrived in this new world, the Dwarves of Durin’s Folk faced
their greatest loss to date.
Waking during the years of the trees in Mount Gundabad between the Grey and Misty Mountains,
Durin the Deathless, eldest of the 7 fathers to the Dwarven race, journeyed south and founded
the realm of Khazad-dum, where his people and descendants thrived for thousands of years.
The adopted children of Iluvatar, the Dwarves were originally created by the Vala Aule the
Smith, and so possessed an innate love of precious jewels, working as miners to extract
wealth from their mountain home.
Discovering Mithril, a substance stronger than steel but lighter and more beautiful,
they continued to delve deeper into the misty mountains throughout the first and second
ages until the year 1980 of the Third Age, when they awoke a Balrog of Morgoth.
Maiar fire spirits born before the creation of the world, the Balrogs chose to follow
the First Dark Lord Morgoth, serving as his loyal warriors and protectors throughout the
years of his rule.
When Morgoth was defeated and expelled from the world, the Balrogs who survived went to
sleep deep underground, where no more was heard from them, until the awakening of Durin’s
Bane in the Misty Mountains, who wrought terror upon the Longbeard Clan of Khazad dum.
Waging war on the beast, the dwarves lost many including their King Durin VI and his
successor King Nain I, forcing them to abandon their ancestral homeland and seek refuge in
the Grey Mountains of the North.
Renamed Moria, meaning the Black pit, Khazad Dum was left entirely to the Balrog, where
he remained for centuries as a nameless terror inspiring fear in neighbouring lands.
Since Sauron was only a Maia like Durin’s Bane, and nowhere near as powerful as their
former master Morgoth, none can say whether the second dark Lord might have convinced
the Balrog to join him, but it is possible they at least had some sort of contact or
alliance, as only the Orcs and other servants of Sauron were permitted to populate his realm.
Unfortunately, while both the Eotheod and Longbeards migrated to the Grey Mountains
seeking peace, they were plagued by further conflict and death.
No strangers to these lands, Durin’s Folk settled the Grey Mountains thousands of years
earlier and held colonies in Erebor and the iron hills.
But as was so often the case, the extraordinary wealth they mined from the mountains brought
about their downfall, when it attracted the attention of Scatha the Worm, a dragon of
Morgoth who survived the wars of the First Age and now resided in the furthest reaches
of the North.
Attacking the Dwarves, Scatha took their home and treasure, forcing them into flight, and
many years later in the Third Age still resided in the mountains, an ever present threat to
the Eotheod and Longbeards in the area.
Rising to the challenge, the hero Fram, son to the Lord of the Eotheod made his way into
the beast’s lair and slayed the mighty dragon, before removing its teeth as a war prize.
Claiming the treasure for the Eotheod, Fram was hailed as a hero by his people, but was
soon vilified by the Dwarves, when they demanded he return the wealth stolen by the dragon
long ago.
Refusing to give them what he earned, he instead sent them the teeth of the dragon along with
a note that read “Jewels such as these you will not match in your treasuries, for they
are hard to come by."
Outraged by what they saw as an insult and mockery, the Dwarves responded with violence,
killing the hero Fram, and may have taken back a share of the treasure, though the Eotheod
retained some as well.
In the year 1999, King Thrain of Durin’s Folk brought their people to Erebor and established
the Kingdom Under the Mountain as their new homeland.
Once again they went to work extracting the wealth of Mountain, becoming so prosperous,
the nearby town of Dale was established by northmen seeking trade with the dwarves.
The most precious of all the jewels they found was the Arkenstone, a shimmering gemstone
unlike any other which became a symbol and heirloom for the royal family.
Some have theorized this precious jewel was in fact one of the three Silmarils crafted
by Feanor in the Years of the Trees, later stolen by Morgoth and through a series of
extraordinary events and tragedies, left in the hands of Maedhros, eldest son of Feanor.
Sickened by all the acts of great evil he’d committed for his prize, and plagued by a
constant pain from the jewel burning in his hand, he finally ended his misery by throwing
himself and Silmaril into a fiery chasm.
With so much war and chaos in the lands of Middle-earth, and great darkness overtaking
Mirkwood, Gandalf the Grey, an Istari wizard from Valinor sent to help defeat Sauron, suspected
the Necromancer of Dol Guldur may in fact be the Second Dark Lord and so went to investigate
in 2063, only to find it empty, as Sauron fled East to escape notice.
Thanks to this event, the people of the West were given a respite from his schemes leading
to a period of roughly 4 centuries, called the Watchful Peace, where many of the hostilities
fuelled by the Dark Lord were halted.
Yet this was only a façade, as Sauron was increasing his strength by rallying the men
of the East, while the Nazgul continued on in the West, working in the shadows to breed
more orcs, trolls and other monsters, with the With King reigning in Minas Morgul, while
Khamul the Easterling was given charge over Dol Guldur.
Finished with his work in the East, Sauron secretely returned to Dol Guldur in 2460,
and just a few years later in 2463, Lady Galadriel called for the forming of a White Council,
consisting of the available Istari and great Elven Lords, who selected Gandalf the Grey
as their leader.
But Gandalf, ever the humble and independent spirit declined the offer, allowing for Saruman
the White to be given the honour.
Saruman, a wise and powerful wizard, was also prideful and forever resented Gandalf for
being the council’s first choice.
As fate would have it, in this same year, the One Ring of power and ultimate prize so
coveted by Sauron, missing for nearly 2 and half thousand years, was finally found, by
the Stoor hobbit Deagol as he fished the anduin river.
Fishing alongside his friend Smeagol who was celebrating a birthday, the two quickly got
into an argument as each tried to claim the ring.
As both men were relatively greedy and selfish hobbits, the ring corrupted them almost immediately
and led a frenzied fight ending with Smeagol killing Deagol before fleeing into the mountains
with the ring.
Completely unknown to the outside world, Smeagol lived alone for centuries, seeing his life
extended by the power of the ring, but was twisted in both mind and body by its corruption,
transforming into a split personality monster called Gollum, willing to go to any lengths
to keep his precious prize.