Middle Earth Aflame
-GazeteerA description of the Social, Military, and Political
circumstances of Middle Earth, 3050 TA.
-
Greater Lothlorien: The Realm of the Ring-Bearer Galadriel extends the entire
distance of Lothlorien, Fangorn, Mirkwood, and beyond. These realms are now
connected by new forests, planted and grown in few short years, magically
accelerated to centuries worth of age in less than a decade. Around the outer rim of
the slowly expanding borders is the Thornwall; a massive agglomeration of thorny
vines, some as thick as a trolls leg with spikes the size of a shortsword. The
Thornwall is sufficient ward to hold off all but the most most adept ranger or
woodsman. The Great Forest is almost impossible to enter; but for those who do,
those who enter uninvited are invariably never seen again. The citizens of
Lothlorien, by all accounts, are a forlorn host of hollow-eyed lost souls. Bound by
ancient oaths of loyalty, as well as the Dark Queens own staggering charisma and
force of will, they seem resigned to obedience and damnation.
- The Realms of Saruman: Saruman of Many Colors, Known as Saruman
Ringmaker, controls an area of land second only to the Dark Lord of Mordor
himself. The size of his holdings belies the level of control he exercises, however,
and in fact his entire realm is barely controlled by his forces, spread thin over the
massive amount of land the Wizard struggles to contain. He relies primarily on
local brutes to handle the day to day operations, bullying the cowed populace into
submission, often supplemented by goblin-men. This is backed up by regular
patrols of orks, particularly the feared Uruk Hai. These patrols rove over the
countryside, 'taxing' settlements as they see fit, dragging people off to serve here
and there at Sarumans pleasure, and killing inefficient or lax local officials and
enforcers. Where trouble rises, the Uruk-hai are sure to arrive. Despite their
growing numbers, the number of Uruk-hai is not enough to handle the widespread,
simmering rebellion running through Rohan and Eriador however, and so the
Uruk-hai are hard pressed to keep a lid on sedition and revolt.
The major areas under the dominion of Saruman are as follows:
-The Shire: The land of the Hobbits has been largely turned over to growing
food (and pipeleaf...) for the table of Saruman, with some leftovers going to his
most favored lieutenants. Industry has risen along the Brandywine, waterwheels
and coal-fired furnaces bringing mass production-mostly of war materiel- to the
once idyllic lands. The forests have been reduced by a third in the past 3 decades,
and would be worse if not for the constant rumour of terrible monsters within the
woods. These rumours would be laughed at, if not for the squads of men who
march into the woods, often never to return. There is a significant insurgent
operation ongoing in the Shire, coordinated by masters Pippin and Merry, esquire.
Using the courage and skills they acquired in their adventures, they rallied the
resistance of the hobbits, and have led them for nearly thirty years now against the
tyranny of Saruman. They coordinate their efforts with the Dunedain, whom they
often supply with food and intelligence.
-Bree: the once-quiet town of Bree is a fortress-city, swollen with slave
labourers and soldiers. The wooden palisade of old has been replaced with a solid
twenty-foot stone wall, as befits the western capital of Sarumans domain. It is from
this city that Sarumans captains coordinate their activities west of the Misty
Mountains, presided over by Governor-General Arumbil.
-Rohan: The land of the Eorlings is a desolate, sorrowful state now. Rohan is
directly ruled by Saruman himself from his tower at Isengard. It is here that the
bulk of the wizards forces lay, guarding the Gap of Rohan , and keeping eternal
watch on both Gondor to the South, and Lothlorien to the North. It is said that
Saruman has been calling forth the hordes of green-skins from the Misty
Mountains, and some even say that giants from the mountains have heeded his
command to come forth and fight for him. He continually works to slow, or even
turn back, the spread of the Great Forest to his north, but he is often frustrated in
his attempts by the efforts of Elven arrows and the might of the Ents. Moreover,
rumour holds that something else, an unnamed terror that serves the Witch-Queen
of the Woods, strikes by night and leaves no survivors. Even the Uruk Hai fear this
nameless dread. While the Uruk-Hai handle the main task of guard duty & regular
forays against the Wizards enemies, the administration and day to day rule of the
land belongs to the Wild Men of Dunland. The Dunlendings, led by Freca the
Victorious, rule from Edoras, the white horse banner now trod beneath the savage
feet of these Melkor worshipping barbarians; this is literal, as the Dunlendings
have set a carving of the famed white horse of Rohan (taken from a burial chamber
of one of the great kings of old) and placed it at the entrance to Edoras. To cross
the gate, you must tread upon the horse. The Dunlendings handle the day to day
operations of the farms, working the enslaved Rohirrim to death. There are
occasional revolts, but for the most part the surviving Rohirrim are a defeated
people. Their greatest hope lies in the occasional raid by the refugee Rohirrim from
the Eorling Marches, striking from Northern Gondor, slaughtering all orks and
Dunlendings they can, and hauling back as many rescued kindred as they can
carry.
North-west of Edoras lies Helms Deep. The famed citadel now is the
primary barracks for the Uruk Hai; it is the second-largest concentration of Uruk
Hai, with only Isengard possessing more. The caves are packed with Goblins and
lesser orks, and the defensive works have been rebuilt and improved upon steadily
over the past decades, with the cunning and brutal style the orcs are famous for.
-Angmar: To the far north, at the edge of the Misty Mountains, lays the
ruined kingdom of Angmar. Once, it was ruled by the Witch King, but he was cast
out centuries ago and met his final end at the hands of Merry and Eowyn at the
battle of Pellenor Fields. But much of his sorcerous power and arcane sercrets were
left behind when he deserted his morgul fastness in the north-west, and so Sauron
has dispatched a force of his most trusted agents to occupy and rebuild the fortress
of Angmar, both to act as a watchguard over the northernmost edge of his realm,
but also to search out any secrets of power that the Lord of Orthanc could put to
good use.
-The Misty Mountains: The Misty Mountains are, generally speaking, a wild
zone, held by no single power. But with the growth in power of Saruman, and the
distance from Mordor-compounded by the growth in power of Lothlorien, making
it more difficult to hear, much less heed the call to battle of Sauron- has led to
many of the goblin and orc tribes of the mountains to ally with Saruman. It is
known that Saruman rewards those who bring him information, including
prisoners. Therefore, while the Misty Mountains may not be under his direct rule,
they are, for all intents and purposes, a tributary realm.
-Mordor holds all the lands it once kept in thrall, and has added two new ones in
recent decades. The Dark Lords hold upon Southern Gondor has tightened, turning
this land from one allied to Sauron to one directly ruled by him, his armies massed
upon the border along the river . Just off the coast, the isle of Tolfalas stands guard
over the mouth of the river Poros. This island was completely overthrown by the
combined forces of the Corsairs of Umbar and the retreating forces of Mordor after
the Battle of Pellenor Fields, and has in fact become a second Umbar, just off the
coast of Gondor. The ships of the Corsairs harry the coast, raiding, burning and
slaving almost at will, while the Pirate Lords rule over the island itself. Though
technically independent of Mordor, in fact they are close allies, and will generally
answer the call of Sauron. That said, their more mercenary tendencies has led to
the occasional bit of infighting, and even rumour that Saruman makes use of them,
though this is unconfirmed.
-Gondor: The Land of the White Tree is a land without hope, of haggard, dutiful
men seeking not victory, but a glorious death before the unavoidable defeat. There
is no victory to be had here; only the staving off of the inevitable by a forlorn and
forsaken people. After the defeat and mass evacuation of Rohan following
Sarumans invasion, the Rohirrim sought refuge on the northern border of Gondor.
A series of tent-cities arose seemingly overnight. To hold off the depredations of
the Uruk-Hai, the Rohirrim and Gondorians along the border worked together to
hastily construct the Dikes: a series of earthwork and walled defenses set in three
layers on the northern side of the river Glanhir, stretching from the Entwash to the
East to the White Mountains to the West. The forest of Fenmarch was wholly
consumed by the Gondorians and Rohirrim for timber to build the defensive works,
as well as the towns and shelters needed for the Eorlings. The stretch of defensive
works and refugee camps became known as the Eorling Marches, and Faramir
placed Eomer in command of the district (much to the dismay of many Gondorian
nobles), naming him Master of the Watch. Eomer is not called king by his people,
even though the appellation is his by right; he refuses the title until he can be
properly crowned in the hall of Edoras.
Tensions between the two peoples began to arise rather quickly, and so to unite
them the Steward of Gondor, Faramir, married the White Lady, Eowyn of Rohan.
Faramir, though scarred and missing an eye due to burns suffered at the hands of
his mad father, is respected as a wise and capable ruler. But Eowyn, the White
Lady of the White Tower, is looked upon as a living saint. Gaunt yet beautiful, she
has never really recovered her full strength since her battle with the Witch King.
Her left arm, shattered in the fight, had to be amputated just below the elbow to
stop a spreading morgul infection. But her blue eyes are bright, her voice keen, and
women and warriors alike bow head and bend knee to her in gravest respect-even
awe. She stood against the abomination that was the Necromancers Lieutenant, and
not only survived, but killed both the Ringwraith and its accursed steed. For this,
all heed her words; and her voice, steel wrapped in silk, has calmed many a
disagreement before it got out of hand. In peace she has used this skill to become
her husbands go-to choice for diplomacy, a vocation she took up barely a fortnight
after their marriage.
Gondor is pressed from all sides as never before. To the north, Saruman hammers
upon the Eorling Marches, and his forces infiltrate and raid up and down the White
Mountains, barely held back by the combined forces of Dunedain, Southron
Rangers, and the savage and mysterious Druedain native to the heavily forested
mountain range. Corsairs from Tolfalas and Umbar raid up and down the costs, the
thinly-stretched defenses unable to mount any real response. And of course,
Mordor presses ever onward from the East, though somewhat more cautiously
now that Sauron must also deal with Galadriel the Ring-Bearer. On those
occasions when it seems Sauron may make a breakthrough against Gondor, always
there appears a forces of Elves (often supplemented by Ents and Huorns) to turn
the tide of battle in favor of the free peoples. Gondor is grateful for such aid of
course, but they also know the truth of such assistance: Lothlorien is using Gondor
to burn out and leach away the strength of Mordor, so that Galadriel might defeat
Mordor in the end, and arise victorious, with Mordor shattered, and Gondor too
exhausted by war to offer a threat.
The Eorlings are not the only refugee people in Gondor. The Beornings rushed to
Gondors aid at the battle of Pellenor Fields. But with the growth of the forests of
Mirkwood and Lorien, exacerbated by the growing militance of the Elves, have
driven many of this strange race out of their homelands. Some have retreated into
the mountains, living in fear of both elf and orc. But most have relocated to
Gondor, living in the wilder areas, especially in the White Mountinas, and even
North Ithilien.
Another set of refugees come from a far stranger source...the forces of Mordor
itself. Many of the slave warriors drafted into the armies of Sauron have deserted
and sought to escape. Some try to make it home to the south and east, though most
who trod this path end up caught and executed, generally in a gruesome manner.
Others flee to Gondor, offering up information and oaths of peace in exchange for
a life out from under the shadow of Mordor. These refugees, and their children in
many cases, have grown over the past three decades, and now make up a sizable
minority in Gondor. However, they are looked on with suspicion and often hatred,
and are seldom welcome within the major cities. Any who are caught by the forces
of Sauron are inevitably butchered as traitors.
-Erebor: The Kingdom of Lonely Mountain and their allies in the kingdom of
Dale are a solitary outpost in the north, relatively safe from the depredations of
Sauron and Saruman. However, the press of the Great Forest grows every year,
with the Dwarves and Humans barely keeping back the growth; there have been
occasional skirmishes over Ereborians hacking the trees down as they encroach
further, often met with violent reprisal. Further, the Erebor Run that connects
Gondor to Erebor is a dangerous road, beginning in North Ithilien, running
between the Great Forest to the west and the Mordor-patrolled wastelands to the
east, and continuing on north for nearly a thousand miles through badlands full of
all manner of foul creature-orcs and human bandits the least of these. But this is
the only road between the two kingdoms, and indeed, is the only road to connect
the dwarves of the Iron Hills with Gondor.
-The Iron Hills: This dwarven kingdom is strongly allied to the Lonely Mountain,
and to a much lesser extent to Gondor. They have occasionally been harried by
forces allied to Mordor striking from the east out of Rhun.
-Rivendell: Rivendell has been quietly but firmly spurning the advances of
Lothlorien for over two decades. Pressed by Galadriel to join her 'alliance', Elrond
has adeptly avoided giving either a promise or offense, but it grows ever more
difficult to stave off the depredations of the Queen of the Golden Tree. Moreover,
Sarumans forces make regular forays into Rivendells territory, killing and burning
as they go before retreating back. Harried from both mountain and plain, Elronds
forces fight a losing battle against darkness, trying to aid the Dunedain and the
other free peoples of MiddleEarth as much as they can....but their numbers
dwindle, both from losses in battle, and the hopeless going into the West.
-The Blue Mountains: This Mountain range, split by the River Lune, is a holdfast
for the Dwarves in the West, their ancient home of old. In the South, a remnant of
the first dwarven settlements in Middle Earth-dating back to the First Age- still
remains. In the north, the ruins of the former dwarven kingdoms were rebuilt by
Thorin after he and his folk fled from Erebor in the aftermath of the coming of
Smaug. However, when Smaug was defeated and the Lonely Mountain freed, most
of these dwarves returned to Erebor to live with their home of old. A few dwarves
remain in the north, living under the rule of the dwarven kingdom to the south, but
are largely autonomous.
-The Grey Havens: These lands, ruled by the ancient elven shipwright Cirdan,
works in a surprisingly close manner with the dwarves of the Blue Mountains to
maintain their own mutual independence and safety from the depredations of
Saruman. Cirdan himself has slowed down construction of ships to sail to the
Undying Lands, in favor of building ships to patrol the Sundering Sea to deal with
the increased pirate activity from Tolfalas and Umbar. Pirate raiders from Umbar
and Tolfalas have harried shores near the Guilf of Lune, and in response Cirdan
has constructed an impressive fleet to patrol against the corsairs. This has resulted
in a large number of elves waiting for their turn in the Grey Havens, many coming
to live more or less permanently in the Tower Hills at Emyn Beraid. Others have
sought out Harlond and Forlond, some 200 miles west of the Grey Havens along
the river and gulf, restoring these ancient cities to a bit of their former glory.