With the rising of the sun and awakening of men in the lands of Hildorien, the First Age
dawned upon the Lands of Middle-Earth.
Yet as human settlements began to spread throughout the east, they eventually came to the attention
of the Dark Lord Morgoth, who held fortressess in the West and desired mastery over the entire
continent.
As his influence spread, many came to worship the dark lord, while others who came to be
known as the Atanatari, rejected the corruption of their people and journeyed west, in search
of a new homeland.
Meanwhile, the Noldor Elves who travelled from Valinor to Beleriand, seeking to wage
war upon Morgoth, were in need of a new High King to lead them after the death of Feanor
in battle against Balrogs.
Two possible candidate then emerged, in Maedhros (my-thros) the deceased King’s first born
son, and Fingolfin, Feanor’s younger brother, who held the loyalty of his own faction of
Noldor Elves.
However Maedhros was soon captured by the Dark Lord, when he attended peace talks which
were revealed to be a trap.
Though Morgoth intended on using him as hostage to negotiate their surrender, the Elves refused
to even reply to his demands, and so he imprisoned and tortured Maedhros, hanging him from the
top of the mountain Thangorodrim by his wrist.
Though he suffered for years, eventually, Fingon, son of Fingolfin, set out and successfully
rescued his cousin, creating a deep bond of respect and loyalty between them.
Maedhros then voluntarily withdrew his claim for the throne, submitting to Fingolfin as
High King of their people, uniting the Noldor of Middle-earth under a single ruler.
However, the other sons of Feanor did not agree with their elder brother’s decision,
as it meant the throne would pass them all by in favour of Fingolfin’s line.
In addition, they were each bound by the Oath of Feanor, having vowed to retrieve the Silmaril
jewels at any cost, and so in the years of peace that followed some tensions remained
between their factions.
Fingolfin established his kingdom in Hithlum, while his second son Turgon ruled as Lord
of Nevrast along the western coast.
The leadership of Dorthonion was then granted to Angrod and Aegnor, the sons of Finrod,
and grandsons of Finarfin, younger brother to the High King.
In order to avoid trouble between Noldor factions, the sons of Feanor moved east, with Maedhros
ruling over Himring, Maglor the Singer settling in Maglor’s Gap, Celegorm and Curufin leading
their people to Himlad, Caranthir becoming Lord of Thargelion, and the Hunters Amrod
and Amrast establishing themselves in Estolad.
After Morgoth’s defeat in the battle under the stars, he suffered yet another setback
with the creation of the Sun and Moon, as their light weakened his armies who were bred
to fight beneath a darkened sky.
Retreating into Angband, Morgoth created a thick layer of smog over his lands to protect
his warriors and give them time to acclimate to these new conditions.
However, by the year 60 of the First Age, Morgoth’s Orc armies were once again ready
for battle and so were sent forth in the Dagor Aglareb, engaging the sons of Feanor in the
east, while battling the armies of the Noldor King Fingolfin and his Sindar Ally Cirdan
in the West.
Although the Sindar Elves of Doriath and Ossiriand refused to involve themselves, their Elven
kin succeeded in defeating the Dark Lord, with Angrod and Aegnor holding back Morgoth’s
armies in Dorthonion long enough for Maedhros to counter-attack from the east, while Fingolfin
did the same in the west.
Pushing the invading forces back, the elves quickly surrounded the area, and since they
were not able to breach the walls of Angband, they instead laid siege, establishing a long
period of relative peace for the region.
In the years that followed, the Noldor thrived, with Finrod leading some of their people to
the newly built city of Nargothrond, while his cousin Turgon, having been granted a dream
of the Valley of Tumladen by the Vala Ulmo, led his followers from Nevrast to establish
the Kingdom of Gondolin.
Yet while the Elves prospered, continuing to spread across Beleriand, the dark lord
Morgoth worked in the shadows, rebuilding his forces in Angband, as well as capturing
wayward Elves and corrupting them to act as his spies amongst the Noldor.
Nearly a century after his defeat at Dagor Aglareb, Morgoth sent an army of orcs to invade
Hithlum from the Firth of Drengist in the west, but they were swiftly defeated by the
Elves under Fingon.
Realizing his Orc based armies, were not enough to defeat his hated enemies, Morgoth then
worked to breed the race of Dragons, hoping to use them as a weapon of mass devastation.
In the year 260 of the First Age, the first of these creations, Glaurung the Father of
Dragons, left Angband without permission and attacked the Elves of Ard-galen, yet because
he was not fully matured, Fingon’s archers were able to penetrate his skin, quickly driving
him back.
Though he was upset by the revelation of his secret project, Morgoth continued to breed
orcs, trolls and dragons, awaiting the day that he might renew his war of conquest.
During the years of peace in Beleriand, the Edain began to migrate into the west, made
up three human tribes descended from the Atanatari who rejected Morgoth’s teachings in the
east.
The first to pass over the Blue Mountain was the House of Beor, who then made contact with
the Noldor Elf Finrod, who helped them settle in Estolad.
Continuing to develop a friendship with the Elves, the House of Beor soon moved further
North to establish themselves in Ladros, which was a part of Dorthonion, ruled over by the
sons of their ally Finrod.
The second tribe of the Edain were known as the Haladin, or the House of Haleth, who came
to know the Sindar Elves of Doriath, and were granted permission to settle the Forest of
Brethil, where they largely kept to themselves.
The third tribe, originally known as the House of Marach and later as the House of Hador,
were a tall and fair haired warrior people, who settled in Estolad and Ered Wethrin, before
moving to Dor-lomin and pledging their loyalty to Fingolfin.
Yet not all were interested in befriending the Noldor, with even some of their fellow
Elves resenting their presence in Middle-earth, remembering what it was like before the wars
with Morgoth and rising of the sun.
One of these Elves was the great Sindar blacksmith Eol who came to be known as the Dark Elf,
moving from Doriath deep into the forests of Nan Elmoth, where trees grew so large sunlight
did not touch the ground.
In Nan Elmoth he built his home and lived in relative solitude, using his great skill
to craft Anglachel and Anguirel, two black bladed swords forged from the metal of a fallen
meteorite.
In order to claim the Lordship of his this homeland he loved, Eol gifted Anglachel to
King Thingol who accepted it as payment.
Though he continued to hate their people, the Dark Elf married Aredhel The White Lady
of the noldor and daughter of Fingolfin, having found her wandering through the area and casting
an enchantment to ensure she could not find her way out of the forest.
Aredhel bore her husband a son he named Maeglin, who grew to be a gifted smith like his father,
often accompanying him on his travels to the Dwarven Kingdoms where they were considered
honoured guests.
However Maeglin and his mother did not share the love of darkness, and so eventually left
Nan Elmoth without permission, travelling to the hidden city Gondolin where Ardhel’s
elder brother Turgon ruled as king.
Chasing after his wife and son, Eol was brought before Turgon who explained that the location
of their city must remain a secret, and so he was not permitted to leave.
However he then invited Eol to live with his wife and son in Gondolin as honored subjects
of the realm.
Eol refused to bow before the Elves who stole his peoples lands, and proudly chose death
for himself and his son, revealing a javelin he had concealed, throwing it at Maeglin who
stood nearby.
Yet Aredhel threw herself before him, and was struck by the projectile, eventually dying
from the wound.
In punishment, the King ordered Eol thrown off the high cliff of Caragdûr, but defiant
to the end, the Dark Elf used his final words to curse his traitorous son, condemning him
to suffer the same fate as his father.
After nearly 400 years spent rebuilding his armies, the Dark Lord felt ready to attack,
and so began the Dagor Bragollach, causing the Mountain of Thangorodrim to erupt in great
river of fire that destroyed the elven army besieging Angband.
With the way forward cleared, Morgoth’s Lieutenant Glaurung, the now fully matured
father of dragons, led an army of Orcs, Trolls and Balrogs to attack the lands of the Noldor.
Although the Edain rallied to reinforce their elven allies, their armies were overwhelmed
by the ferocity and scale of the attack, with Morgoth’s forces quickly killing Angrod
and Aegnor to conquer Dorthonion, before scattering the armies of the Sons of Feanor, at Lothlann
and Maglor`s Gap driving Maglor into retreat.
Fortunately, Maglor was able to lead the last of his men to Himring, where he helped his
brother Maedhros successfully defend his realm.
The dark lord’s forces also attacked Thargelion leaving Caranthir to flee to Amon Ereb, and
breached the Pass of Aglon, prompting Celegorm and Curufin to retreat to Nargothrond, though
Maedhros eventually led his warriors to retake the pass.
Enraged by the slaughter of his people and allies in the North, King Fingolfin personally
rode to Angband and challenged Morgoth to single combat.
Though the Noldor King died in the fighting, he was able to wound Morgoth several times,
even stabbing him in the foot with his final breath, wounding the Dark Lord so badly walked
with a limp for the rest of his life.
With Fingolfin dead, rule fell to his first born son Fingon crowned the new high king
of the Noldor from his seat in Hithlum.
In the years that followed, Morgoth’s attacks continued, with his lieutenant Sauron, leading
an army to capture the island of Minas Tirith in the pass of Sirion, trapping it’s ruler
Orodreth and his uncle Finrod.
However the Elves were able to escape slaughter thanks to the intervention of the human Barahir,
Lord of the House of Beor, who engaged the enemy in the Fen of Serech, giving their allies
time to retreat further south to Nargothrond.
In gratitude for their help, Finrod gifted their leader the ring of Barahir, promising
to aid the House of Beor should they ever be in need.