The Kingdom of Arnor had been flourishing for almost 20 years since the fall of Angmar. The Dúnedain and the other folk of Arnor had multiplied considerably and the once sparsely populated region of Eriador experienced a huge boom in its population. Villages and towns soon became overcrowded and this resulted in the rapid increasing of development of the Kingdom. These former towns grew to large hubs of civilisation in the North of Middle-Earth. Dúnedain culture however did not spread very far from its core regions.
Core regions of Dúnedain culture
In Minhiriath the Wildmen culture persisted as people from other descent were not welcome to settle as well as no Dúnedain would want to settle in a region so hostile towards them. Also the Dúnedain only married among themselves having superior qualities relative to those of “lesser” descent. They would not risk their longevity by intermingling with the local populace of Eriador, least of all with the Wildmen. Therefore the kingdom was internally divided by its different ethnic groups, those of Dúnedain, Middlemen (Breelanders and the men of Rhudaur) and Wildmen respectively. This divide resulted in each region recruiting its garrison from its local population. In the cities of Lond Daer and Lond Angren, entire armies of native Wildmen were recruited to protect the important trade hubs south of the Gwathló river. These armies were always under the command of a Dúnedain officer and his small retinue, showing the hierarchy and importance of ethnicity in the Kingdom. These cities lay on the frontier with the Confederation of Alcfud, a nation that was a shadow of its former self. This confederation once consisted of all the Enedwaithian tribes ranging in the north from the Baranduin (Brandywine river) all the way south to the Ered Nimrais (White mountains). With the rise of Arnor they had been thrown out of Minhiriath completely and from the former famous Númenórean port cities of Lond Daer and Lond Angren, south of the Gwathló (the Greyflood in Westron). War with them was not something King Elessar had in mind for he had no interest in making himself or his kingdom a foe to Man, no matter his ancestry.
Confederation of Alcfud before rise of Arnor
Confederation of Alcfud after rise of Arnor
As the Kingdom's population grew so did the royal family grow. King Elessar had become a grandfather multiple times and even great-grandfather, though his great-grandchildren were still very young at the time and play no major role in this story. Even though he only had one child, Eldarion had produced four children with his wife Elenien. At the end of the war with Angmar we left with the birth of his secondborn, a son named Cuven. In the following years Elenien birthed two more children, in 3005 another son called Arnion (which can be translated to royal or kingly son) and in 3007 a daughter called Digaethel. The firstborn, Aglardis, had bloomed into a beautiful women whose image was much like that of her mother. Long of stature, graceful and slim of waist. Lovely grey eyes which looked kindly upon the world and long locks of black hair that she usually wore in a braid. She had married a young Dúnadan named Iorlas and had produced three children with him, two girls and a boy. Baby Cuven had grown into a strong willed man. Dark of hair, grey of eye and with long legs, he was the spitting image of his grandfather Aragorn but was more of mind like his father. Eldarion had sent Cuven north, at the young age of six, to become the apprentice of Halbarad for that had been the tradition among the Dúnedain even before the reinstating of the Northern Kingdom, and Eldarion wanted to keep this tradition alive. From him Cuven learned much of war and tactics and developed a thrist for battle as well as all the skills a ranger needed in their many travels through the north of Arthedain. Halbarad taught the boy how to scout, hunt, read tracks and often took him far away from home to hunt the odd Orc raiding party. In essence he taught Cuven all that there was to know about the old lifestyle of the Dúnedain. Arnion however was different though he looked a great deal like his father yet he was more calm and more inclined to use words rather than his sword and was more tolerant towards the Wildmen. You could say he was more of mind like his grandfather Aragorn. Therefore Eldarion had sent him to Hirvegil to become his apprentice. Hirvegil would hone his skills in diplomacy as well as teach him some sense for battle which the boy seemed to lack. His education mostly took place within the city of Annúminas itself where he spent countless hours reading books and ancient texts in the great library Hirvegil had built when first he had come to rule Annúminas. Hirvegil prided himself how he had transformed a broken city into the greatest bastion of knowledge in the North, save Rivendell and Mithlond. Hirvegil taught Arnion of course the basic principles of ranger life but he furthered his education by teaching him about politics, governance, poetry, taxation, diplomacy and many other things a prince of the realm should need to know. Hirvegil basically taught him everything he knew about the new life the Dúnedain were leading. Because of this enormous difference in personality and further estrangements because of the differing ways of education, Cuven and Arnion didn't really get along that well, the one almost always opposing the other in arguments. The youngest, Digaethel, was an unruly fifteen-year-old living in the castle of Fornost trying her best to skip her studies and causing as much mayhem as she could, as any fifteen-year-old who thinks everyone has forgotten about would do.
Not only the direct royal family had grown, Halbarad of the North (who was a distant relative of Aragorn as well as he was married to Aragorn's cousin, the daughter of the daughter of Aragorn's grandfather Arador) his family had expanded considerably with his two sons and daughters all birthing four children each. The most important of these children were Arfandil, son of Nirven and Celephinndir, son of Damrod. A great love existed between the two brothers and therefore Arfandil was tutored by Damrod and Celephinndir by Nirven to further strengthen this familial bond. They could not compete with men like Halbarad, their father, or Hirvegil or Araphor in terms of knowledge and even though the brothers were young (only in their 40's) they had fought in the war with Angmar and thus had learned some things along the way concerning war, tactics and army organisation.
Feats of grandeur were also achieved in this period of relative peace. This time in history, later known to historians as the Blooming of Arnor, began with the rebuilding of Fornost and the House of Kings, progressed with the restoration of the Great bridge of Tharbad as well as the city itself and reached its pinnacle with the cleansing of the Barrow-Downs. In ancient times when the Witch-King had ruled Angmar and had waged war against Arnor, he had sent malevolent spirits to the Barrow-Downs. This was a place most sacred to Arnor, this was the place were the crypts of Arnor's royalty resided. Corrupted by the barrow-wights the crypts had been abandoned by the Dúnedain and had lived only in stories of the Breelanders meant to frighten children. Until the year 3018 that is. Aragorn, with the help of Gandalf the Grey, threw open its pits and had cast out the evil within. Thus the last remnant of Angmar's evil was cast out of the North.
Yet everything was not going as well as one might've hoped. In the early years of this restoration period, King Elessar and his administration had to put alot of energy into pacifying the Wildmen and Rhudaur territories. The Wildmen of Minhiriath had been openly hostile at the prospect of the King's son becoming their ruler as Lord of Cardolan. To alleviate tensions in his fledgeling kingdom King Elessar had split Cardolan into two Lordships. One with the predominantly Dúnedain populated regions put under the rule of Eldarion, Prince and Ranger-Captain of Arnor and the predominantly Wildmen populated regions under the rule of the more tolerant Nirven. This was an arrangement they could live with, for now at least. As for the Rhudaur territories a much harsher and directer approach had been employed. This was done because many of the men of Rhudaur had fought with Angmar against the Rangers of the North. The reason this strategy could be employed for Rhudaur and not for Minhiriath was the close proximity of the Dúnedain core regions to Rhudaur. Minhiriath was simply too far away to enforce its rule through martial strength. For years Dúnedain armies had occupied major settlements in the region to enforce Arnorian law and solidify its rule, sometimes with brute force. It wasn't until the year 3021 T.A when these armies finally retreated from Rhudaur which had more to do with necessity rather than any other reason. All armies were needed for the war against Mordor.
While the other Lords had a relative easy time developing their realm Araphor's time as Lord of Rhudaur consisted of rioting, a malcontent population and hard work trying to hold it all together. He began to believe the King had not rewarded him with a Lordship but rather had punished him by giving him the most unruly of provinces in Arnor. In the early years of his rule Araphor believed the Lordship of Rhudaur had been a curse in disguise. Luckily for him Melion, who was like a son to him, had helped him immensely with the governing of his territory. Melion himself did not have much work as Lord of the Angle. The place needed little governing as it was a small patch of land populated only by Dúnedain, in the middle of the Kingdom. Thus Melion had had much time left to help Araphor with his troubled provinces and together they had, over the years, restored some order in the region. Still a great divide had emerged within his small realm. The Loyalists (who where the smaller of the two) and the Dissidents. Men from both parties were recruited into the army as noone escaped conscription, though many tried as the King's Constables came to collect the young men of Rhudaur. Every able body was recruited to fight in the war with Mordor.
To be able to fight his war Arnor needed a way to bring their armies to the south. Thus in the year 3015 T.A, King Elessar ordered the construction of a grand fleet. For this he needed wood so he granted the lumber companies permission to fell trees in Minhiriath which caused a massive uproar in the region. In ages past Minhiriath had suffered massive deforestation at the hands of the Númenóreans and now their descendants would again chop down their trees for their fleets. Riots and protests arose all over Wildmen-Cardolan and the Wildmen leaders came up with a list of demands. King Elessar had to search for his timber somewhere else and they demanded that he leave the forests of Minhiriath alone. These were demands that he could not accept so the King travelled to Súduri, a prominent city in Wildmen-Cardolan to discuss terms with the chiefs there. After a couple days of discussing they had reached an agreement. King Elessar would downsize his fleet significantly and create an agency that would ensure the protection of Minhiriath's woods as well as regrowing that which had been felled. Now of course the agreement between the King and the chieftains was not the end of it. These issues had to be brought before the Hûd, the Assembly of Northern Lords. The agreement to which the Wildmen would agree to however caused outrage with some of the Lords within the Hûd. The leader of the party of those opposed to the agreement was the King's son, Eldarion, stating that “they should not be bullied around by some Wildmen who cannot adapt to change and interfered with business they should have no say in.” As well as saying “the Wildmen should remember their place in Arnorian society, below that of their Dúnedain rulers”. Chief among his party were Damrod and Cuven, Eldarion's eldest son. They believed that the King was giving too much concessions to the Wildmen. At the end of a fierce speech, Cuven had asked the Lords of the Hûd who ruled who exactly in this Kingdom. The jibe of the young prince was a bold one as it questioned the authority of the Hûd and more importantly that of the King. Most of the Lords were shocked at such a statement, including Eldarion. It was one thing to discuss on how a kingdom should be ruled but never were you to question the authority of ones King, this he made very clear to his firstborn son after they had left the meeting. Others, who opposed Eldarion's party in this matter, were led by Hirvegil and backed by many High nobles such as Araphor, Nirven and Arnion, Eldarion's second son. They argued that the Wildmen were a part of Arnorian society and the King should listen and serve all his subjects not just those of Númenórean descent. Of the great lords of the realm Halbarad was the only to not align himself with any party in this matter and stayed silent for most of the discussion. He agreed on many points with Eldarion about ruling the Kingdom but not in this. Though he did think the Dúnedain should be the first and formost citizens within the realm he did not believe the Men of other descent should be treated this poorly by their ruling class. Yet he did think the demands were a bit too much but with a bit of adjustments they maybe could've found a middle-ground. After several days of arguing, King Elessar had put the agreement to a vote. It had been accepted by a significant amount, much to Eldarions anger. The Wildmen had won this day.
The reduced fleet was completed in the year 3021 T.A and its purpose was to carry the Arnorians south, to the land of Mordor. The armies of Arnor however wouldn't be able to land on Gondorian soil, for the Steward Denethor II did not allow it. Unification of the two Dúnedain realms in any way was not to be allowed as long as Denethor ruled Gondor. That had been very clear in the talks with the Southern Line. Multiple emissaries had been sent to Gondor to discuss a joint fight against Sauron, yet Denthor would want nothing of it. Aragorn had wanted to forge a strong relation with his kin in the south but Denethor was too stubborn to even consider a meager military alliance between the two. Many nobles within Gondor had been disgruntled by the Steward's decision. There were many who would love to embrace the return of a king from the line of Elendil albeit from the branch of Isildur. They would have welcomed their brothers with open arms and merge their armies together to fight against Sauron. Alas by the foolishness of one this would not happen.
Aragorn also knew they would never be able to defeat Sauron without destroying the One Ring, Isildur's Bane. Over the years he had tried to find any sign of this artifact but to no avail. He did get some information regarding it from the Rohirrim. After the death of Saruman a few years prior, Isengard had been destroyed and the Kingdom of Rohan had occupied the tower of Orthanc. Inside they had found countless documents of research regarding the Ring. In this chest they had also found the original Elendilmir among other Arnorian artifacts as well as the Palantír of Orthanc. This chest they had brought to Fornost as a gift. King Theoden had truly shown himself a true friend to Arnor, to the annoyance of Denethor. He was of mind that these things should have come to Gondor. Aragorn had in his youth proven himself a true friend to the Rohirrim and now Théoden had returned him the favour. The documents were examined by both Aragorn and Gandalf. They stated that the Ring was rumoured to have been lost during the Disaster of the Gladden Fields where Isildur had died. Of course Saruman had gone looking for it and had found the real Elendilmir but not the Ring. This led Gandalf to investigate something he had left untouched for many a year. Bilbo's magic ring. Could this ring be the One Ring? Gandalf travelled far and wide to find any trace of the creature Gollum. After many years of searching he had finally found the abysmal fiend. After a long interrogation, which was very time consuming and wearying, Gandalf's suspicions were somewhat confirmed. Amidst many curses and spittle flying from his mouth through his clenched teeth, Gollum told Gandalf he had found the Ring in the Anduin river. What the ring did to Gollum must've meant it was one of the Great Rings but if it was the One, Gandalf couldn't say for sure. Therefore he travelled to Gondor to look at the annals of the last person to have had the ring before Gollum, Isildur. In the dark vaults of Minas Tirith he learned, from the accounts of the long deceased man, that Sauron's Ring had markings upon the band of the Ring which he stated was “a secret now that only fire could tell”. This would be the final test once he got back to the North.
While Gandalf journeyed back north, Aragorn encamped outside the port of Tharbad awaiting the arrival of the rest of his forces, ready to embark on his perilous journey to Mordor. There would be no further delays and soon they would be ready to sail south. Arnor's army was 22,000 men strong, its soldiers hailing from all over Eriador. Dúnedain, Breelander, Rhudaurian and Wildmen were all united under the stars and sceptre of Arnor ready to take the fight to Sauron. It wouldn't be long before the Armada set sail.
To Mordor and the salvation of Middle-Earth!
Author's note | Thanks Alwyn for the inspiration on the last sentence and the general feel of this campaign against Mordor! |
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