Dev Blog II: The Good, the Bad, & the Orc (Part I) news

Hello, and welcome to the second developer blog regarding Chronicle of Middle Earth's development and features! The previous one if you can recall focused on the war aspect of COME, while this one will delve into the factions that will be waging those wars. This will be part one of this particular topic, which will focus on the "Good" factions of COME. Those interested in the "Evil" factions will have to wait until the second part. Further details regarding their classes and specializations will also be elaborated on at a later time. Additionally, the "Primary Presence" line shows what servers they will be located on, while the "Legendary Characters" line shows what special characters they will have available and will be granted to specific players who meet a certain criteria (i.e. you cannot become them without Developer consent).

The Kingdom of Gondor

Primary Presence: Gondor & Harandor Servers

Legendary Characters: Denethor II, Boromir, Faramir, Imrahil, Angbor, Forlong, Hirluin, Duinhir, Golasgil

Gondor was the South Kingdom of the Númenóreans in Middle-earth, established soon after the downfall of Númenor by Isildur and his brother Anárion. Their father Elendil, who ruled the North Kingdom Arnor, held the overlordship of the realm, however. Before the Downfall of Númenor, the region that would become Gondor was home to many Númenórean colonists, who either mingled with the indigenous Middle Men if they were friendly, or dispersed them into Ras Morthil, Dunland, and Drúadan Forest. After the Battle of Dagorlad, during which the long Second Age came to an end, Isildur built a secret tomb for Elendil on the mountain Amon Anwar. He also aided Anárion's son Meneldil, who was now King, in reorganizing Gondor. Isildur planted the seedling of the White Tree that he had saved in Minas Ithil, and brought to Minas Anor (later known as Minas Tirith), and it endured for several centuries. After these acts, Isildur left Gondor in the third year of the Third Age with the intent of ruling his father's kingdom of Arnor. He never arrived.

In the 15th century a great civil war named the Kin-strife tore the nation apart. The current King Eldacar was of mixed blood: his mother was of the Northmen. Popular displeasure at this led to the overthrow of King Eldacar by Castamir, the admiral of all of Gondor's naval forces who possessed some royal blood. Eldacar's son was slain, and Eldacar fled north. Castamir was afterward known as Castamir the Usurper. Eldacar then returned with an army of his Northmen kinsmen, and they were joined by armies of Gondorians from interior provinces such as Anórien. Osgiliath was devastated during this conflict, its great bridge destroyed and its palantír lost. Eldacar slew Castamir and reclaimed his throne, but Castamir's sons and their forces were besieged in Pelargir, the great port of Gondor. They eventually retreated to Umbar, where they joined with the Corsairs, and troubled Gondor for many years, until their descendants died out.

The realm was governed by a long line of hereditary Stewards after the disappearance of Eärnur, son of Eärnil, since there was no proof that the last king was dead, and no claimant had enough support to be accepted as his successor. The line of Anárion was held to have failed, and Gondor was not willing to risk to another Kin-strife, which would surely have destroyed it. Whenever there was a new Steward, he would swear an oath to yield rule of Gondor back to the King, in essence only an heir of Isildur, if he should ever return. In Gondor there was no one who could claim descent from Isildur in direct line, and the northern line of Arnor had effectively disappeared, so this oath was not considered seriously. The line of Stewards ruled as Kings, without having the title.

Rohan was a Mannish kingdom on the northern borders of Gondor. It was the territory of the Rohirrim, a people of herdsmen and farmers. Well-known for their horses and cavalry, they were Gondor's most important ally. The alliance between Rohan and Gondor came into existence in the year 2510 of the Third Age. In that year the Easterlings launched a massive invasion of Gondor. The army of Gondor was defeated and trapped between the Limlight and the Celebrant.

Gondor, which had always been on friendly terms with the different tribes of the Northmen, sent messengers to the closest tribe, the Éothéod. Although it was unlikely that the message calling for aid would come through, it did. Then Eorl the Young and his fierce Éothéod Riders unexpectedly took the field during the Battle of Celebrant and turned the tide in the favour of Gondor. As a reward Cirion, the Steward of Gondor, gave Eorl the depopulated province of Calenardhon for his people to settle, while fulfilling Gondor's need for a strong ally.

The Oath of Eorl was sworn by both Cirion and Eorl. Neither nation has ever broken the alliance ever since. Rohan has gone through great lengths to fulfill their part of the treaty including sacrificing two of its heirs when Gondor was under threat from the Haradrim in 2885, when Fastred and Folcred, the twin sons of King Folcwine, were killed during the Battle of Crossings of Poros.

Dale was situated in the valley between the southwestern and southeastern arms of the Lonely Mountain, nestled in a sharp U-shaped bend of the River Running. It was known as a merry town that traded, mainly in food-supplies, for the skills and craft-pieces of the Dwarves. Dale's toy market was the wonder of the North and the town was renowned for its bells.

In 2770 Smaug descended upon the Dwarf-kingdom. Although Dale fielded warriors against the monster they could not prevent him from killing or scattering the Dwarves and then occupying the Lonely Mountain. After the attack the dragon would crawl out of the Front Gate of the Mountain by night and carry away people (especially maidens) from Dale to eat. The remaining population soon fled and the deserted city fell into ruins.

The death of Smaug and the Battle of Five Armies occurred in 2941. Three years after the battle, Dale was rebuilt by Bard the Bowman, who had killed the dragon and was the descendant of Girion. Dale soon again enjoyed prosperity: Bard founded the Kingdom of Dale and it gathered men from the Long Lake, the South, and the West. Lake-town was rebuilt and grew wealthy from traffic with Dale.

Beornings were a people of the upper Vales of Anduin, between Mirkwood and the Misty Mountains. They were close kin of the Éothéod, the Woodmen of Mirkwood and the Bardings. Their ancestors were related to the Edain, perhaps akin to the Third House of the First Age. The Beornings kept open the passages of the Ford of Carrock and the High Pass in return for tolls, likely clearing the paths from Dale to Rivendell from evil creatures such as Orcs and Wargs.

After the Battle of Five Armies and the decimation of the Orcs of the Misty Mountains, many Northmen gathered around Beorn who became a great chief. It is possible that the Beornings became known as a people through being descendants of Beorn. During the War of the Ring, Grimbeorn, son of Beorn, was the leader of the Beornings. In the events leading up to the War of the Ring, the Beornings helped Aragorn, who was taking Gollum to Mirkwood, to cross the Anduin.

Through many generations, the descendants of Beorn were like him skin-changers, able to take the shape of a bear. Some of Beorn's descendants were grim like him and even "bad", but none of them matched Beorn in size and strength. The Beornings seemed to have shared a dislike for Dwarves, perhaps related to the latters' praise of metals and the formers' disinterest in it. They were known as great bakers, famous for their honey-cakes (which could feed travellers similarly to the lembas).

Bree was a village in Middle-earth, east of The Shire and south of Fornost Erain. It was the chief village of Bree-land, a small wooded region near the intersection of the main north-south and east-west routes through Eriador. Bree-land was the only part of Middle-earth where Men and hobbits dwelt side by side and Bree had a large population of Hobbits.

The Bree-land area was settled in the Second Age by Men from Dunland. Surviving the wars and chaos of that time, it became part of the kingdoms of Arnor, and then Arthedain (though the region from Bree to Weathertop was claimed by Cardolan). Bree was by its nature a trading community, due to being located at the major crossroads of the Great East Road, which ran from the Blue Mountains and the coast to Dale in the far East; and the old north-south road between Arnor and Gondor.

After the Fall of Fornost and Arnor, the north-south road had fallen out of much use and was more commonly referred to as the Greenway due to its disrepair. Trade had of course drastically declined in the thousand years since but Bree maintained a certain independence and continued to thrive without any central authority or government, with the unknowing protection of the Rangers of the North. Even at the end of the Third Age Bree remained relatively prosperous. Thanks to its location on major trade routes, one could encounter travelers from all sorts of distant lands in a bustling Bree inn. The Rangers of the North also were known to stop in Bree for resupply.

Rangers of the North, or simply the Rangers, were the northern wandering people of Eriador, the last remnant of the Dúnedain of Arnor who had once peopled the North Kingdom of Arnor. They protected the lands they wandered although their secretiveness made other peoples consider them dangerous and distrustful in Bree and the Shire, where they were known as "Watchers".

They were grim in appearance and were usually dressed in grey or dark green, with a cloak-clasp shaped like a 6-pointed star. The term 'Rangers of the North' was used most often by those who lived in the southern lands of Rohan and Gondor, perhaps to distinguish this people from their distant cousins, the Rangers of Ithilien. Like the Rangers of the North, these were also Dúnedain, but they belonged to the South-kingdom of Gondor, and their ancestors had been divided from the Northern Dúnedain for some three thousand years.

After the last King of Arthedain, Arvedui, was lost in the sea, his son and heir Aranarth claimed the title of the Chieftain, and would rule the remnants of his people. Elrond had in his keeping the heirlooms of the house of Isildur: the shards of Narsil, the Star of Elendil, the Sceptre of Annúminas and later the Ring of Barahir, ransomed from the Lossoth. Each of Aranarth's heirs (who, like him, could trace his descent back to Isildur himself) would be secretly born and raised in Rivendell. The Rangers became a secretive wandering and nomadic people around Eriador, far from Sauron's spies, little known or remembered, and their deeds were seldom recorded.

The Dwarves of the Blue Mountains lived in the remnants of the Ered Luin from the Second Age to the Fourth Age. After the War of Wrath, much of the Ered Luin fell into the sea, and stunted the mountains (such as Dolmed, and Rerir. The Dwarf cities of Nogrod and Belegost, home to the Firebeards and Broadbeams were also ruined. Most of the two Houses left the Ered Luin for Khazad-dûm home of the Longbeards, bringing much lore and craft and swelling its numbers. Others stayed to build or rebuild their homes, and start over again.

For hundreds of years the remnants of the Firebeards and Broadbeams toiled in the Ered Luin. Possibly rebuilding Belegost at least somewhat, and apparently abandoned Nogrod. The remnants of the two Houses seemed to having largely moved to the Southern range by the mid-Third Age. They likely trafficked and traded with the Elves of Lindon, the Men of Eriador and of course with Durin's folk. After (and probably before) the Balrog drove the Dwarves out of Khazad-dûm in T.A. 1981, the Firebeards and Broadbeams seemed to have went back to the Ered Luin and reinvigorated their olds realms.

After the death of King Thrór, his son Thráin sent messengers to all the Houses of the Dwarves requesting aid, and it can be assumed that both the western houses sent troops to fight in the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. Years later after King Thorin went on the Quest of Erebor and was killed in the Battle of Five Armies, the Kingdom under the Mountain was re-established by the new king Dáin II Ironfoot. Many of the people of Durin's folk went to him and it became a great and prosperous kingdom once again. So a much smaller group of Durin's folk lived in the Ered Luin, if any.

The Kingdom under the Mountain was the name given to the Dwarf realm of Erebor. It was founded in T.A. 1999 when Thráin I came to the Lonely Mountain and discovered the Arkenstone. After King Thorin left the mountain was once again a colony, and its status as capital city was transferred to the Ered Mithrin. The following year the now king Thrór, led a group back to the Lonely Mountain, while his brother Grór led another portion to the Iron Hills, and even some stayed behind in the Ered Mithrin. Thrór eventually made it to the Lonely Mountain, and declared himself King under the Mountain. Under Thrór's rule the Lonely Mountain once again became the capital of Durin's folk, the Dwarves of Erebor became the best smiths and masons in Wilderland, trade increased with their kinsman in the Iron Hills and elsewhere, and they also became very rich.

But with this new found prosperity came trouble. It wasn't long before the great dragon Smaug heard of their great wealth, and one day decided to take their treasure for himself. In the year T.A. 2770 Smaug descended on the mountain in a ball of fire. He killed King Girion of Dale with many of his knights, and he killed a large amount of the Dwarves living in the mountain. Most of the survivors fled to the Iron Hills, others went with the royal family into exile, and some simply went their own way. In T.A. 2941 with Gandalf's council, king Thorin and a small company of friends and family actually made it to the Lonely Mountain. With the help of the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the Dwarves retook the city and treasure. In the meantime the Dragon Smaug went to destroy Esgaroth, only to be killed by a man named Bard.

Thorin was free to proclaim himself King under the Mountain. However the mountain was besieged by the Men of Esgaroth, and the Elves of Mirkwood who wished recompensation for the damage done by the dragon. Dáin Ironfoot arrived to support Thorin, but a great host of Orcs and Wargs came to take the mountain. Then the Elves, Men, and Dwarves were united and fought against them. After Thorin's and his nephews' deaths, Dáin was made king of Durin's folk and of the mountain. Finally after so many years of longing the Longbeards finally could return to the Lonely Mountain.

The Woodland Realm was a kingdom of Silvan Elves in Mirkwood, from the Second Age onwards. The Woodland Realm was established by Oropher in S.A. 750, a Sindarin lord of Doriath, after the War of Wrath. Oropher's son, Thranduil, succeeded him as king of the Woodland Realm and ruled for the duration of the Third Age. Around T.A. 1050 an evil entity known as the Necromancer (later identified as Sauron) inhabited the abandoned halls of Amon Lanc, and Greenwood grew infested with Orcs and giant Spiders.^[5] The Wood-elves retreated yet further north and many landmarks were renamed: Greenwood became Mirkwood, the Emyn Duir the Mountains of Mirkwood or Emyn-nu-Fuin, and Amon Lanc was known as Dol Guldur, the Hill of Sorcery.

By the middle of the Third Age, the Silvan Elves of Mirkwood were much reduced in number though Mirkwood still had a greater population of Elves than Lindon, Rivendell, or Lothlórien. To avoid the encroachment of the Necromancer from the south, they dwelt in the lands north of the Forest River, living mainly in and around the Elvenking's Halls. They also had become increasingly withdrawn and wary of strangers, though they did trade with the neighbouring realms of Erebor and Dale, and imported wine from Dorwinion via the River Running. The former traffic came to an end upon with the destruction of Erebor by the dragon Smaug in T.A. 2770.

Thranduil was reluctant to start a war over gold, but when the forces of Dáin arrived, before the trade had been made for the Arkenstone, the Dwarves proceeded to attack. While the Elves, Men, and Dwarves skirmished, other enemies, who had learned of the dragon's fall, arrived. Orcs and Wargs from the Misty Mountains and Grey Mountains had joined forces to march to the Lonely Mountain and sieze the hoard. Under the council of Gandalf, Elves, Men, and Dwarves joined together against their common foes. In the ensuing Battle of Five Armies, many Wood-elves were slain, as was Thorin Oakenshield, but afterwards an agreement was reached for the division of the dragon hoard.

Lothlórien was a kingdom of Silvan Elves on the eastern side of the Hithaeglir. It was considered one of the most beautiful and "elvish" places in Middle-earth during the Third Age, and had the only mallorn-trees east of the sea. The first inhabitants of the forested area later known as Lórien were a group of Nandor that refused to cross the Hithaeglir. Lórien was probably one of their scattered settlements in the area. Later, however, as the power of the Longbeards of Moria grew, they relocated to the eastern side of the Anduin, across the Nimrodel. The land in which they dwelt (the forest east of the Hithaeglir, above Fangorn and below Mirkwood) became known in the Silvan tongue as Lórinand, or Laurelindórenan.

Celeborn, a Sindarin elf, dwelt with his Noldorin wife Galadriel in Eregion. They made contact with the Nandor of Lórinand, and before long they passed through Moria and arrived in the woods. After the Fall of Eregion and the death of Celebrimbor, Nenya, one of the Three Rings of the Elves, was delivered to Galadriel. As Sauron's power grew over the Westlands, King Amdír marshaled the Elves of Lórinand to the War of the Last Alliance. His division was cut off from the main body during the Battle of Dagorlad and many of the Nandor went down into the Dead Marshes with their King.

After Amroth and Nimrodel had passed away, Celeborn and Galadriel took the title of Lord and Lady of Galadhrim, the common Sindarin name for Lórinand. With Nenya, the land was kept pure and alive, and evil was not permitted to penetrate it. They moved back to the western side of Anduin, and built Caras Galadhon, the great center of the woodland kingdom. It was because of the mellyrn that Lothlórien became known as the Golden Wood thenceforth. Lothlórien was filled with light and life, and became beautiful and by the power of the Elven Ring the trees did not die. Under the Lord and Lady, Lothlórien prospered for more than a thousand years as time passed without decay under the golden boughs.

Rivendell, or Imladris, was an Elven town in the Misty Mountains on the eastern edge of Eriador. Because of its location, it was called "The Last Homely House East of the Sea" from the point of view of a traveler going to the Misty Mountains and Wilderland; and also the First Homely House from the point of view of someone coming from these lands to the civilized lands of Eriador to the west.

It was established by Elrond in S.A. 1697 as a refuge from Sauron after the fall of Eregion. It remained Elrond's seat throughout the remainder of the Second Age and until the end of the Third Age, when he took the White Ship for Valinor. Rivendell had a strong alliance with the Kings of Arnor and after the fall of Arthedain it became a refuge for the Rangers of the North and the heirs of Isildur. Besides Elrond himself, notable Elves who lived there included Arwen and Glorfindel.

After the fall of Gil-galad, Elrond remained in Imladris. During the Third Age it was a refuge and sanctuary; many Elves gathered there, and it was the chief dwelling of the High Elves in Eriador. The heirs of Isildur were also harbored there due to their kinship with Elrond, as descendants of his brother Elros. Rivendell maintained this relationship with the North Kingdom throughout the Third Age, and Elrond and his people remained steadfast allies to the heirs of Isildur. Situated on the western slopes of the Misty Mountains, Imladris was near Arnor's eastern province of Rhudaur.

This marks the end of the first part of the second developer blog, please stay tuned for the second part! If you have any questions regarding the factions shown, please let us know. Furthermore, thank you for taking interest in the development of COME! If you have any suggestions regarding this factions or want to know why there is no particular faction on this list, let us know!