The History of Rhudaur in LOTRO

One of the reasons Middle Earth feels so very real is because Professor Tolkien created a rich and expansive history that spans eons from the time of creation until the War of the Rings and even after.  One can study the history of Middle Earth like studying the history of a country or region or people in real life.

Turbine could have chosen to take a much easier and simplistic path when designing LOTRO - after all, many (if not the majority of)  players only know Middle Earth through the Lord of the Rings, or have only seen the movies, or may just have decided to check out the game with no prior exposure to Middle Earth.  The history and much of the Lore that isn't directly related to the War of the Ring and the paths of the members of the Fellowship is often lost or overlooked, and the game can technically be played just fine without knowing any of it.

But what a dull and bland place the Middle Earth of LOTRO would have been.  And this blog would probably have had no reason to exist.

Even working within the constraints of the current licensing agreements that exist, and which dictate what Turbine can and cannot incorporate into the game, Turbine has been able to weave much of that expansive history throughout the Middle Earth we all play in.

You have already seen me touch on some of the history of Arnor, one of the realms of the exiled Numenoreans, in my blogs on Ost Barandor as well as Weathertop and the Weather Hills.

Arnor was divided into three separate kingdoms - Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhudaur - in year 861 of the Third Age when dissent arose among the three sons of King Eärendur.

Rhudaur was the easternmost kingdom and "lay between the Ettenmoors, the Weather Hills, and the Misty Mountains, but included also the Angle between the Hoarwell and the Loudwater."  In LOTRO, this would include the Trollshaws as well as much of the Lone Lands.

Hillmen of Rhudaur

Appendix A tells us that the line of Isildur ended relatively soon in Rhudaur and that the numbers of Dúnedain there were few.  Because of this, power was eventually seized by a leader of Hillmen of Rhudaur, who was secretly allied with the Witch King and Angmar.  In 1409 of the Third Age, the forces of Cardolan and Arthedain were besieged by Angmar and Rhudaur at Weathertop, and Amon Sûl was burned.  The few Dúnedain who had remained in Rhudaur fled or were killed, and the realm came entirely under the sway of Angmar.  Later the Witch King is driven back to the north out of Fornost in 1975, and presumably severed direct ties with Rhudaur.  Rhudaur can also be believed to have suffered many casualties in the Great Plague of 1636, leaving much of the Lone Lands desolate and the Trollshaws abandoned to trolls and any remaining nasties left behind by Angmar, along with a handful of Hillmen.

In LOTRO, the history of Rhudaur can be found throughout the Lone Lands and Trollshaws, even in the Misty Mountains.  You see it in the names of items, such as the Signets of Rhudaur, or in the names of some quests like "Rhudaur's Traitors."  You can even earn a title, "Sage of Rhudaur," from doing a quest in Angmar.

A particularly good example is the area around Agamaur and the Red Swamp , filled to the brim with Hillmen of Rhudaur, some remaining Angmarim, and gaunt-men and wights that were introduced to the area long ago by the Witch King.  This is a great example of how Turbine can pick up threads of Middle Earth lore and create their own tapestries of story within LOTRO.

Here we have a remnant of the legions of Rhudaur who are still very active, faithfully protecting and serving the center of all of the evil in this part of the Lone Lands - the Red Maid.  As it so happens, the Red Maid is Naruhel - in LOTRO, the sister of Goldberry, mate of Tom Bombadil.

Naruhel - The Red Maid

If you travel into Garth Agarwen, you meet the shade of an Arthedain oathbreaker, Dannasen.  He mentions the wars between Rhudaur and Arthedain when Rhudaur had fallen under the sway of the Witch King.  He describes how the Hillmen of Rhudaur "made sacrifices to him and defiled the land until the waters themselves seemed as blood."  (Quest:  Long Overdue Justice)  Dannasen and his fellow shades were warriors of the Arthedain who had been tasked to deal with Rhudaur and particularly to keep the Red Maid from becoming too powerful.  These warriors of Arthedain were cursed by Iarwain Ben-adar (none other than Tom Bombadil) for not doing enough to keep matters under control.  (Quest:  Arthedain's Lost Brethren)  Volume I, Book 2 as well as several quests picked up within Garth Agarwen will permit you to help resolve this pesky remnant of the evil of Rhudaur, and bring redemption to some heroes of Arthedain.


Sources:  Appendix A, The Lord of the Rings

The Ghost in the Bay of Forochel

The Seamonster in the Bay of Forochel

Volume I, Book 13 of the Epic line takes us to Forochel, and intertwines itself with a lesser-known but very important part of historical Lore.

I briefly mention the overthrow of the Kingdom of Arthedain and Fornost being overrun by Angmar in 1974 of the Third Age in another article.   Arvedui, who was king at the time, fled north after all was lost at Fornost and spent months trying to survive with a small remainder of his men in the dwarf-mines at the far end of the Blue Mountains.  Hunger drove them to seek help from the Lossoth - a people not of the Edain and quite different from the culture and customs of the Men of Númenor, such as Arvedui and his men - and who were just as isolated and wary of outsiders as LOTRO represents them.  But as anyone who has quested in Forochel knows, the Lossoth can be friendly - gradually.  In the Lore, they eventually decided to aid Arvedui and his men (in part due to pity for his gaunt condition, hence we see Saija in Book 13 referring to him as the Gaunt King - this shouldn't be confused with the Gaunt Lords we see elsewhere).  The Lossoth built huts of snow for the refugees from Fornost to help them survive the rest of the harsh winter.

The Last King of Arthedain

When Círdan the Shipwright learned that Arvedui had fled from Fornost to the north, he sent a ship from the Grey Havens to Forochel.  When the ship arrived, the Lossoth warned Arvedui not to mount upon this "seamonster" and instead have the crew give them provisions to help them survive the rest of the winter.  But Arvedui did not follow their counsel.  As the ship attempted to sail from the Bay of Forochel, strong winds from the north drove it back onto the ice (the Lossoth believed the Witch King of Angmar could control the winter weather), causing the hull to rupture and the ship to sink, killing all on board, including Arvedui.  Along with Arvedui and the others on board the ship, two palantíri were supposedly lost forever in the Bay of Forochel as well - the palantír from Annuminas and the palantír from Amon Sûl.

The name Arvedui translates as "Last King," something that was prophesied at his birth by Malbeth the Seer:  "Arvedui you shall call him, for he will be the last in Arthedain.  Though a choice will come to the Dúnedain, and if they take the one that seems less hopeful, then your son will change his name and become king of a great realm.  If not, then much sorrow and many lives of men shall pass, until the Dúnedain arise and are united again."  And we all know what choice the Dúnedain of the south made.

Before becoming king of Arthedain, Arvedui had sought the throne of Gondor in year 1944 when the last king of Gondor and his sons were defeated.  He argued to the Dúnedain of the south that as a direct heir of Elendil, who was initially High King of both Arnor and Gondor before they were given to his sons Isildur and Anarion, that he was in line to assume the kingship.  He had also married  Firiel, daughter of the last King of Gondor and only surviving child of the king.  According to the ancient rules of Númenor, rule could indeed be passed from father to daughter, but this law was not followed in Gondor, and Arvedui's claim was rejected, thereby leading to the route of "sorrow" as prophesied.

Fortunately for all of us, the son of Arvedui, Aranarth, had survived before the decimation of Fornost.  After the death of his father, the Last King, Aranarth became the first Chieftain of the Dúnedain and ancestor to Aragorn.  If you follow the many chapters of Book 13 to the end, you will be able to bring tidings to Aragorn of the his ill-fated ancestor.

Sources:  Appendix A:  The Lord of the Rings

The Statue in Michel Delving

I already briefly mentioned Marcho and Blanco in my post about the Hobbit archers at Fornost.

In the year 1601 of the Third Age, these Fallohide brothers left Bree and headed west.  After receiving permission from the King of Arthedain at Fornost (King Argeleb II, according to records in Gondor), Marcho and Blanco and a great company of Hobbits were permitted to cross the Bridge of Stonebows that spanned the Baranduin, and settle all of the lands to the west between the river and the Far Downs.  This of course became our beloved lands of The Shire.  It also marked Year One in the Shire-reckoning.

I also mention the special qualities of the Fallohide strain of Hobbits in A Hobbit Boating Adventure.  These brothers exemplify those Fallohide qualities.

The statue located in the center of Michel Delving, the chief township of The Shire, pays homage to these pioneer settlers of The Shire.  Looks a bit like some Lewis and Clark representations, doesn't it?

Weathertop

Sometimes the smallest touches can bring that warm fuzzy glow of recognition. 

After Strider and the Hobbits set forth from Bree, and are stuck several days in the Midgewater Marshes, one night in camp they see flashing lights far off in the eastern sky.  Eventually they come to Weathertop and the ruins of the old watchtower of Amon Sûl.  Exactly as in the chapter "A Knife in the Dark" from The Fellowship of the Ring, we see the grass inside the crumbled ring is black and scorched as if set on fire.  In the center is faithfully placed a cairn of stones.  At the foot of the stones (and not on top, as in the book), we find a lighter, flat stone with what appears to be some etchings on it.  Of course it is none other than the G Cirth, or Rune, left by Gandalf, followed by three hashes to suggest he was there on the 3rd of October, as Strider deduces.

If we wander around to the western side of Weathertop, we find the remains of a small camp with a spring nearby and, beyond some fallen rocks, stacks of firewood.  This is none other than a perfect picture of the camp Strider and the Hobbits stumbled upon, which Strider believed was recently visited by Rangers (who left the firewood) as well as Gandalf.

"They had explored the small dell and the surrounding slopes.  Not far away they found a spring of clear water in the hillside, and near it footprints not more than a day or two old.  In the dell itself they found recent traces of a fire, and other signs of a hasty camp.  There were some fallen rocks on the edge of the dell nearest to the hill.  Behind them Sam came upon a small store of firewood neatly stacked."

Weathertop and the Weather Hills were crucial ground in the millenia before the time of the War of the Ring.  It is said that Elendil stood here, watching for the Elven-king Gil-galad to come from the west, in the days of the Last Alliance at the end of the Second Age.  After the Kingdom of Arnor had been split into three separate kingdoms in year 861 of the Third Age, the area was highly desired by all three.  Not only did Weathertop command a wide view of the East Road and the lands around, but the tower of Amon Sûl contained one of the chief Palantir of the north.  Unfortunately, over the centuries Rhudaur was falling under the sway of Angmar, and waged war against Arthedain and Cardolan.  In the year 1409, Amon Sûl was burned and razed by a host from Angmar.

If Rhudaur sounds familiar from things you have seen in the game, there are very good reasons, particularly in this region.  Signets of Rhudaur sound familiar to anyone?  As should a series of quests in a nearby area...but that's a whole separate blog post!

Sources:  The Fellowship of the Ring and Appendix A:  The Lord of the Rings

Uncandled Eggs - Ost Barandor

Read more about the Uncandled Eggs series here.

This post is dedicated to my first mystery - Ost Barandor.  I cannot connect this to any Tolkien lore.  Maybe I just have not looked in the correct places.  But it certainly seems like it SHOULD be straight from the lore somewhere!

Ost Barandor is a ruined fortress in the far northwest corner of Bree-land.  High above the rolling Brandy Hills, it isn't far from the spot where you find the giant Svalfang.  Don't confuse it with Ost Baranor, another ruins in the Chetwood near the Yellow Tree.

It is far from most quest lines and seldom visited except by node farmers and those curious enough to wonder about the high ruins they often see in the distance.  Nearby is Starmere Lake, another seemingly "actionless" area that is quite beautiful and tranquil.

The view from Ost Barandor stretches for miles around.  My favorite, as shown in the accompanying illustration, looks to the southeast.  To the right of the photo you can see the edge of the Old Forest, and the land slowly climbing up to the high hills surrounding the Barrow Downs.  You can also spot the farm overrun by brigands to the north of Adso's Camp.  A view of the northeast would look out over Starmere Lake toward the northern Bree-fields.  To the west of Ost Barandor, the view of the Brandywine Bridge is unfortunately obscured by hills and trees, but you can see stretches of the brown Brandywine River and The Shire on the other side.

Berephon of Turbine confirms that Ost Barandor translates as "Fortress of the Brown Land."  Baranduin is of course Sindarin for "golden-brown river," and the brown-toned water is most definitely rendered so in LOTRO.  The Hobbits had a bit of fun with the name at several points, calling it Branda-nîn, the "border water" in their Westron terms, and later Bralda-hîm, the "heady ale."

I can't help but wonder when this fortress was built, and by whom.  This region was once part of the Kingdom of Arnor long ago.  When Arnor was broken into smaller kingdoms, I believe this place would have been on the borderline of Arthedain and Cardolan.

In 1636, the Great Plague killed the King in Gondor and spread north and west, devastating much of the population.  The kingdom of Cardolan was particularly decimated with very few surviving.  One can't help but wonder if Ost Barandor was struck by that plague, leaving it deserted to fall into ruins.  Possibly the barrows of some of its inhabitants can be found inside those Downs to the southeast.

I'm more than happy to be proved wrong.  If anyone can provide references for Ost Barandor appearing anywhere in Tolkien lore, by all means please post here!  At any rate, if you have never bothered to explore this very quiet corner of Bree-land, the view is not to be missed.

Sources:  The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F

Hobbit Archers at Fornost

Looking up into the city of Fornost.

Hobbits are known for being insular, generally preferring to keep to themselves, rarely traveling beyond the borders of The Shire.  Bree-land Hobbits are of course an exception, living side by side with the Big People.  But an exception nonetheless.  Hobbits for the most part have preferred to stick to their own territory and not mix with outsiders.

They do travel, of course.  Their ancestors traveled a great distance from the banks of the Anduin, across the Misty Mountains, some settling into parts of Bree-land and Dunland.  The two Fallohide brothers, Marcho and Blanco, received permission from the Arnorian King Argeleb II at Fornost to cross the Brandywine River and settle what became The Shire.  This was in the year 1601 of the Third Age, or the year 1 in Shire Reckoning. Ever wonder why The Shire is full of crumbling old ruins that look like they just miiiight have been made by Men?  Well, this is why!  The Shire was part of the Kingdom of Arthedain (and Arnor, before it was split up) long before Hobbits arrived on the scene!  Very nice touch, Turbine.

So for a few centuries, Hobbits of The Shire were subjects of the Kings of Arthedain at Fornost, and were responsible for guarding and maintaining the Brandywine Bridge for the kingdom (then called the Bridge of Stonebows).

In the year 1974, as the appendices to the LoTR trilogy show us, Fornost was overrun by the Witch King of Angmar and his forces.  This occured over 1000 years before the events of the War of the Ring in 3019.  When the kingdom of Arthedain fell, the Hobbits moved on and began their own system of stewardship, electing a Thain to run The Shire until the kingdom was restored.  Contact between the Hobbits of The Shire and men was largely sundered - many men forgot Hobbits existed, most Hobbits tried to avoid the Big People.  Somewhere in the mists of all those years, many therefore also forgot that Hobbits had actually gone to the aid of the King of Arthedain to help defend Fornost, and sent some Hobbit archers from The Shire.

Searching for Hobbit Arrowheads in Fornost

In LOTRO, if you travel to Fornost and elect to participate in the quests for the Fornost instance (a long instance, but very much worth it!), you will meet Bartelot and Penny Took, two modern-day Hobbits on an archaeological excursion of sorts, looking for evidence of the Hobbit participation in the defense of Fornost. You will be able to pick up a quest (The Forgotten Company) that will send you into Fornost looking for old arrowheads from those long-ago Hobbit archers.

By the way, Gondor and Rivendell did try to go to the aid of Arthedain - they just got there too late.  They did however still march to Fornost, and booted out the Witch King and his forces.  The Elf-lord Glorfindel was there, and made one of the most infamous prophecies in the War of the Ring lore:  "Do not pursue him! He will not return to this land. Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall."

So for those who may scoff at the ability of Hobbits to be Hunters in LOTRO, let this be a lesson to you!


Sources:  Appendix A, The Lord of the Rings trilogy