'Yonder stands Barazinbar, the Redhorn, cruel Caradhras; and beyond him are Silvertine and Cloudyhead: Celebdil the White, and Fanuidhol the Grey, that we call Zirakzigil and Bundushathûr. 'There the Misty Mountains divide, and between their arms lies the deep-shadowed valley which we cannot forget: Azanulbizar, the Dimrill Dale, which the Elves call Nanduhirion.''It is for … Continue reading QOTW: The Redhorn Gate →

Legolas turned and set an arrow to the string, though it was a long shot for his small bow. He drew, but his hand fell, and the arrow slipped to the ground. He have a cry of dismay and fear. Two great trolls appeared; they bore great slabs of stone, and flung them down to … Continue reading QOTW: Flight from Moria →

'It is grim reading,' he said. 'I fear their end was cruel. Listen! "We cannot get out. We cannot get out. They have taken the Bridge and the second hall. Frár and Lóni and Náli fell there." Then there are four lines smeared so that I can only read "went 5 days ago." The last … Continue reading QOTW: The Seventh Level →

Glóin sighed. 'Moria! Moria! Wonder of the Northern world! Too deep we delved there, and woke the nameless fear. Long have its vast mansions lain empty since the children of Durin fled. But now we spoke of it again with longing, and yet with dread; for no dwarf has dared to pass the doors of … Continue reading QOTW: Into the Pit →

In the days that followed his crowning the King sat on his throne in the Hall of the Kings and pronounced his judgements. And embassies came from many lands and peoples, from the East and the South, and from the borders of Mirkwood, and from Dunland in the west. And the King pardoned the Easterlings … Continue reading QOTW: The Fortress of Nurn →

Neither he nor Frodo knew anything of the great slave-worked fields away south in this wide realm, beyond the fumes of the Mountain by the dark sad waters of Lake Núrnen; nor of the great roads that ran away east and south to tributary lands, from which the soldiers of the Tower brought long waggon-trains … Continue reading QOTW: The Land of Sorrow →

When day came at last the hobbits were surprised to see how much closer the ominous mountains had already drawn. The air was now clearer and colder, and though still far off, the walls of Mordor were no longer a cloudy menace on the edge of sight, but as grim black towers they frowned across … Continue reading QOTW: Under the Ash Mountains →

The Wainriders were a people, or a confederacy of many peoples, that came from the East; but they were stronger and better armed than any that had appeared before. They journeyed in great wains, and their chieftains fought in chariots. Stirred up, as was afterwards seen, by the emissaries of Sauron, they made a sudden … Continue reading QOTW: Challenge of the Wainriders →

These Men were short and broad, long and strong in the arm; their skins were swart or sallow, and their hair was dark as were their eyes. Their houses were many, and some had greater liking for the Dwarves of the mountains than for the Elves. But Maedhros, knowing the weakness of the Noldor and … Continue reading QOTW: The City of Ulfast →

The Wainriders had mustered a great host by the southern shores of the inland sea of Rhûn, strengthened by men of their kinsfolk in Rhovanion and from their new allies in Khand...Minohtar took command [of the forces of Gondor]. He was a man both valiant and war-wise. The first fury of the onslaught was spent, … Continue reading QOTW: Wrath and Ruin →