realms rivendell and eregion

8/10/2019 Realms Rivendell and Eregion

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H ISTORY

After the War of Wrath andthe end of the First Age, Theland of Beleriand sank into thesea. For the Elves, this markedthe beginning of the Second Ageof Middle-earth.

Gil-galad, High King of theNoldor of Middle-earth foundedthe kingdom of Lindon, east ofthe Blue Mountains. Here a mixof Noldor and Sindar Elves livedin harmony for 750 years.

In the year 750 of the SecondAge, however, many NoldorElves grew discontent, andwished to be apart. These

Noldor wandered east, to thefoothills of the Misty Mountains.There they founded Eregion,with the city of Ost-In-Edhil(Fortress of the Elves).

The Elves who settledEregion were followers ofCelebrimbor, the greatestremaining craftsman in Middle-earth. The Noldor underCelebrimbor made many fineand magical items. Also amongCelebrimbors followers was thelady Galadriel. For nearly athousand years, the Elves ofEregion built and crafted, andgrew wise and powerful.

In the 15th century of the

Second Age, the Noldo Elf LordCelebrimbor and the Smiths ofEregion were aided in theirworks by a Maiar they knew asAnnatar (Lord of Gifts), whowas really Sauron in fair guise.With the guidance of Annatar,the Elves of Eregion created the

Rings of Power. In 1600 of theSecond Age, Sauron returned toMordor and created the OneRing. When Celebrimborrealized the part that Sauron hadplayed in the creation of theRings of Power, after revealinghimself by donning the One, hesent the three Elven Rings intohiding. Infuriated that the smith

would not surrender the Rings tohim, Sauron assaulted Eregionwith a mighty army in SA1693.

In SA1697, Gil-galad, lastking of the Noldor, sent from

Lindon help for the smiths inthe person of Elrond Half-elven,who led a small army there. TheElves of Eregion were utterlydefeated though, andCelebrimbor himself was slain.Of the Rings of Power, Sauroncaptured the Nine and theSeven, but could not discoverthe Three. Elrond then led theremnant of these people northfrom Eregion and foundedRivendell as a haven from

Sauron.

Elrond kept Rivendell hiddenfrom the Dark Lord until Sauronwas driven out of Eregion fouryears later, by a combined armyof Lindon and Men of Numenor.For Five thousand years, Elrondresided at Rivendell, and the lastof the Noldor of Eregion with

him.In the year 109 of the Third

Age, Elrond married Celebrian,daughter of Celeborn andGaladriel of Lorien. In TA130,Celebrian gave birth to twinsons, Ellodan and Elrohir. InTA241, Celebrian gave birth toArwen Undomiel (Evenstar).

After the kingdom ofArthedain fell, in 1975 of theThird Age, and Aranath refusedkingship, taking the titleChieftain of the Dunedain ofthe North, Elrond took

stewardship of the Scepter ofAnnuminas and the otherheirlooms of the NorthKingdom.

From that time forward,Elrond gave sanctuary to eachand every Chieftain of theDunedain and his family. WhenArathorn II was slain inTA2933, Elrond becameguardian of the two-year oldAragorn II, whom he namedEstel (Sindarin, Hope).

In TA2509, while Celebrianwas traveling from Rivendell toLorien, her party was ambushedby Orcs in the Redhorn pass.She was taken capture andbrutally tortured and poisoned.Celebrian was rescued by hersons, but not before her will wasbroken. The next year shetraveled to the Grey Havens andsailed west, to the UndyingLands.

Between TA2800 and

TA2951, Arwen lived in Lorien,with her grandmother Galadriel.Arwen stayed in Rivendell fromTA2951 until TA2980, andthen returned to Lorien. Arwenwas summoned home by herfather in TA3009, after Sauronbegan to grow strong in the east.

EREGION

Eregion (Hollin inCommon Speech) is a land ofrolling hills, covered in goldengrasses. The land is dotted withshrubs and the holly trees whichgive the region its name. Theland stretches south from theBruinen, to the Swanfleet river;and west from the MistyMountains to the Greyflood.

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Eregion has a mildtemperature, with little or nosnow during the winter months.Summers are also mild, butwarm.

Eregion was once dotted with

several Elven settlements, thegreatest of which was Ost-in-Edhil. These were all destroyedduring the War of Elves andSauron, in the Second Age.Only ruins now stand on lonehilltops or vales.

Eregion is abandoned now,but those who can, can sense thepower of the Elves still. Manydeer, bear, and small mammalsstill live in this land. Crebain,wicked crows of the Enemy, and

wolves and Wargs of varioussorts, also roam the country side.There are few paths in

Eregion, and most of those areovergrown and hidden. Only theElves and the Rangers of the

North remember them now. Apath does lead south, over theHollin Ridge into Eregionproper. A path also leads fromthe ruins of Tharbad east to Ost-In-Edhil. Both paths also lead tothe lost West Door of Moria. A

path also leads to Redhorn Pass,and over the Misty Mountains tothe Vales of the Anduin, nearthe East Gate of Moria and thewoods of Lothlorien.

O

ST

-

IN

-E

DHIL

Ost-in-Edhil was the citadelof Celebrimbor and the Noldorof Eregion. It stood from 750until 1697 of the Third Age.The citadel was razed by theOrcs of Mordor and is now nomore than stoney fingersreaching up through a barrenlandscape.

While all of the upper levelsof the tower were destroyed, it isunknown what the conditions ofthe lower levels are. It isunknown if there are treasuresbelow the ground, or if any of

Celebrimbors tools or writingssurvived.

R

IVENDELL

Rivendell rests in a wide landof heath and crumbling rock at

the edge of the Wild. It is in thesoutheastern portion of an areaknown as the Trollshawsthebeginnings of the foothills of theMisty Mountains. To the southlies Eregion, ancient home of theElven-smiths, and the mountainsrise to the east.

Surrounding the haven aremany treacherous ravines.Twelve days travel on foot to thewest by way of the ancient GreatEast Road lies the ruins of Amon

SulWeathertop. The valleyitself is steep sided and containsmany streams, which fall overterraces to the river below. Theupper reaches of the vale areforested with pine and fir, whilethe lower valley contains manystands of beech and oak. It is alonely and remote place, wellsuited for use as a haven.

The only entrance toRivendell is by crossing the Fordof Bruinen. At the Ford, the

river is under the command ofElrond, who is able to flood theriver.

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THE LAST HOMELY

H

OUSE

Rivendell is known by manynames to many people. It is theFirst Homely House and the LastHomely House. Some call itsimply the House of Elrond,while others use its Elvish name,Imladris. The refuge is hidden ina deep valley on the westernslopes of the Misty Mountains,adjacent to the northeasternportion of the ancient kingdom

of Rhudaur. The path intoRivendell is a secret one, but ismarked with small white stonesfor the friends of Elrond. Thepath winds down into the vale,and to a narrow stone bridgethat leads over the headwaters ofthe Bruinen.

The House itself is really acollection of buildings, winding

paths, terraces, and towers.Streams meander through manygardens, and then plunge intowaterfalls to the valley floorbelow. Bells situated around thegrounds mark the time of day.

Elronds house is a place ofsurpassing beauty and comfort.Most importantly, it is a havenfrom the troubles of the outsideworld. The Last Homely Houseis a rambling place, of whichthere always seems to be more.

On the ground floor, thereare two large halls. The first ofthese is the main dinning hall, aplace at which all the residenceof Rivendell have space to dineat once, where Elrond sits in hisseat at the high table beside hisfriends and allies.

The other large room is theHall of Fire. At one end of thehall towers a massive fireplace inwhich a blazing fire is kept lit atevery hour of the day. The place

features no other lights, and isnormally empty, except on daysof special importance. In theHall of Fire visitors may hearpoets and minstrels tell thestories of ages past. There is aporch on the east side of thebuilding that looks up at thetowering slopes of the Misty

Mountains, not so far away. It isset within a garden of surpassing

beauty. The porch is a commonmeeting place for thosewandering about Rivendell.

Rivendell also has a vast andextensive library, filled withmany book and scrolls thatcannot be found anywhere elsein Middle-earth. Rivendellcontains much lore of thingspast, and is a place of song andgreat learning.

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T

HE

P

EOPLE

The founders of Rivendellwere refuges from the sack ofEregion, themselves the remnant

of thee once proud Noldor ofBeleriand. They have a deephistory of great grief and guilt,but also one of triumph andaccomplishment. They made waralone, for a time, againstMorgoth, the Great Enemy, whowas Saurons master. They arenow dedicated to thepreservation of the knowledge ofthe Firstborn, the Elves, andthey maintain Rivendell as aplace of healing and rest.

The Elves of Rivendell do notoften meddle in the affairs of theoutside world directly. Indeed,only a few of the inhabitantsoften venture forthElladanand Elrohir, the twin sons ofElrond, and Glorfinedel ridesometimes with the rangers ofthe North hunting Orcs andother creatures of evil.

THE NOLDOR ELVES

Elf of Rivendell(Noldo)

Skills:Healing +1, Language +2,

Lore +2, Smithcraft +1

Edges:Fair, Keen-eyed, Keen-eared,

Night-eyed 2, Swift Recovery

Languages:Sindarin, Quenya, Westron

The Noldor Elves ofRivendell are all originally from,or descendants from, Beleriand.A few are even older, and from

the Undying Lands west of theSea. When Beleriand fell underthe waves, in the War of Wrath,which ended the First Age, some

Noldor were not content to livein Lindon, under Gil-galad.These Elves traveled east, to thefoothills of the Misty Mountains,and founded the city of Ost-in-Edhil. The land there theynamed Eregion. Their lord,Celebrimbor, was the son ofCurufin of Nargothond of

Beleriand, who himself was sonof Feanor, who was the greatestElf-smith of all time: creator ofthe Simarils.

The Noldor of Eregion thatsurvived and fled to Rivendellstill have some of the skills ofthe Smiths of Eregion, either inmemory, or in the scroll hoardsof Elrond. Most now, however,are more concerned with loreand healing.

Every year, more of theNoldor grow weary of Middle-earth, and travel west, to theGrey Havens. From there theytake ships west, to the UndyingLands. There are few Noldor leftin Rivendell by the end of theThird Age. There are especiallyfew Elves of Glorfindels stature,who have seen the light of theWest, and who have their ownInner Light.

Like all Noldor, the HighElves of Rivendell are tall,averaging 64. They are blonde,white, or silver haired, with lightcolored eyes.

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realms rivendell and eregion

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