In the years before the rising of the Sun, when the world was illuminated by the two
trees of Valinor and the Stars in the sky, the Eldar Elves made their great journey west,
bound for the paradise of the Undying Lands.
Upon reaching the Misty Mountains, some of the Teleri Clan abandoned the great journey
to settle along the river anduin, becoming the Nandor, tribal forest dwellers who mixed
with the Avari of the far east, to create the Silvan, Wood Elves with a deep connection
to the natural world, less wise then their kin who travelled west, and more prone to
violence.
As the world changed throughout the years of the trees and after the rising of the sun,
many of the Silvan went to live in the Greenwood, while others populated Lorien to the south.
After the destruction of Beleriand at the end of the First Age, the surviving Noldor,
Sindar and Laiquendi Elves of the west resettled in the Kingdom of Lindon under High King Gil
Galad.
Yet as some of the Elves started to explore further east, they came into contact with
the Silvan who welcomed them with open arms.
Learning much from the more advanced Elves of the west, the Silvan took the Amdir as
King of Lorien, and Oropher as King of the Greenwood, both Sindar noblemen who lived
in Doriath during the First Age.
Building his stronghold at Amon Lanc, Oropher named his Kingdom the Woodland Realm, and
ruled with the aid of his son and heir Thranduil, and for many years maintained peaceful relations
with their neighbours, allowing the Dwarves of Durin’s Folk to build the Old Forest
Road, so they could move supplies between their colonies in Erebor and the Iron Hills
to their homeland of Khazad Dum.
But war eventually came the lands of the Middle Earth, as Sauron, a former Lieutenant of the
First Dark Lord Morgoth, unleashed his armies upon the Free peoples of the West.
In response, the Last Alliance of Elves and Men was formed, assembling the greatest army
since the war of Wrath, to meet Sauron at the Battle of Dagorlad.
Among the many fighting for the Last Alliance, the Silvan of the Woodland Realm were led
by Oropher and Thranduil, while those of Lorien followed Amdir.
Unfortunately, Oropher and Amdir were unwilling to submit to the authority of the Noldor King
Gil Galad in command and so broke and charged against the enemy early, leading to many unnecessary
casualties.
Though the Last Alliance won the battl, the early charge of the Silvan, led to the death
of King Oropher and 2/3rds of his army, while Amdir and half his forces were slaughtered
in what came to be called the Dead Marshes.
After the defeat of Sauron, the surviving Elves of the Woodland realm retreated to the
Greenwood under their new king Thranduil, and with their greatly diminished population
slowly receded into the north, abandoning Amon Lanc to settle in the northern mountains.
As the Wood Elves became more withdrawn throughout the first thousands years of the Third Age,
the Greenwood was populated with the new peoples, including both hobbits and men who settled
the western edges of the forest and the outskirts along the river Anduin.
In time, some of these men formed the Kingdom of Rhovanion, a realm of Northmen allied with
the Dunedain of Gondor, until their fall at the hands of a great plague and Easterling
invasion.
Yet while men, hobbits, and Elves prospered in and around the Greenwood, an old threat
re-emerged to once against bring doom upon them continent.
Having been separated from the One Ring of power, Sauron struggled to recover after his
defeat in the War of the Last Alliance, but after a thousand years was ready to make a
home for himself in the abandoned capital of the Woodland Realm.
Posing as the Necromancer, Sauron built a fortress at Amon Lanc, which then became Dol
Guldur and started gathering his orc armies.
The corruption of Dol Guldur then spread throughout much of the forest which was renamed Mirkwood,
causing great spiders to populate the southern area, leaving trees covered in cobwebs.
Meanwhile, the corruption led Dwarves to stop using the Old Forest Road, hobbits and men
to migrate away and the Silvan Elves to retreat further north, settling in and around Elvenking
Hall, an beautiful stronghold built within a cave system, inspired by the city of Menegroth
from the first age, where Thranduil lived in his youth.
Though most stayed away from southern Mirkwood, some men settled along the northern outskirts
in the Kingdom of Dale and town of Lakeshore, while the Dwarves made their home in Erebor
after losing Khazad Dum to the orcs.
However tragedy once again struck the great forest in the year 2770, when the dragon Smaug
the terrible destroyed Dale and took Erebor for itself.
Having learned that Sauron was back and once again preparing to conquer Middle Earth, his
chief rival Gandalf the Grey made his own plans to counter the Dark Lord and protect
the Free Peoples from his tyranny.
And so in 2941, Gandalf took decisive action, joining others from the White Council to expel
Sauron from Dol Guldur, while also organizing a party of dwarves, along with the hobbit
Bilbo Baggins, to follow their King Thorin Oakenshield on a quest to retake Erebor from
the Dragon Smaug.
Though both plans were successful, many died in the Battle of the Five armies that resulted
from the liberation of Erebor and Sauron was only momentarily halted, as he simply retreated
to Mordor, and a few years later sent the Nazgul to once again settle Dol Guldur, amassing
a great orc army in the southern half of the forest.
When at last the War of the Ring erupted in 3018, the forces of Dol Guldur attacked the
Woodland Realm and Lothlorien, with reinforments meant to arrive from the East to help crush
the Elves.
However the great Easterling army was detained by the unexpected ferocity of the Dwarves
of Erebor and Men of Dale, who even after retreating to the lonely mountain continued
to fight at its gate, resulting in the death of both their kings.
This delay, allowed the Elves under Thranduil to repel the Orcs of Dol Guldur, while Galadriel
and Celeborn did the same in Lorien, afterwards cleansing all the forest of their corruption.
With their victories in the north, as well as those of others in the South, and the ultimate
destruction of the One Ring of Power, Sauron was at last defeated, and so celeborn and
Thranduil met to decide the fate of Mirkwood, which was renamed Eryn Lasgalen or the wood
of green leaves.
The northern third of the forest went to the Woodland realm, while the Beorning, men who
helped the free peoples during the war, were given the center and the Elves of Lothlorien
took the South, renaming it East Lorien under Celeborn.
For years many thrived in and around the wood of green leaves, but as the fourth age continued,
more Elves began to depart Middle Earth and sail to the Undying Lands, while those who
remained behind became increasingly withdrawn and elusive, leaving the forest and lands
beyond under the dominion of men in the coming ages.