For years uncounted and ages past, the people of Mindon Enedh lived in quiet solitude, in solace and secrecy that might have rivaled the ancient Elven kingdom of Gondolin. Only the very wisest knew of the people of Mindon and among those, only a few learnt their history and language.
They were, the people of Mindon Enedh, of a mixed race. In the time of creation, the Firstborn arrived in Middle-earth and were given a choice to remain or to leave for Valinor, the Blessed Realm that is now beyond reach. Some chose to remain in Middle-earth, fearing the power of the gods in the Realm, and so, made their dwellings in its lands. But times were not easy for them, the first Elves of Middle-earth. From the north came the dark terror of Morgoth, the fell Ainu of the gods. For countless years, the first elves resisted his evil, moving further south and away from his grasp. A small group of them settled in the region that later became the Mindon and lived there peacefully until the coming of Men.
The Men of the beginning were spread far and wide across Middle-earth. Some soon found their way into the Mindon and dwelt near the elves. A great friendship soon rose among them. By some work of magic, or some will of a higher power, the children of the Men began to develop similarly to the Elves. They were taller and fairer than most mortal Men, and lived for quite a long time. They possessed the lyrical voice of the Elves and had keener eyesight, swifter reflexes and lighter agility than any that were seen later.
With the coming of the Great Darkness, many of the Elves of Mindon left to fight in the Last Alliance. The Men, being unable to part with their friends of old, joined them and sadly, many were lost in those years until the population of both Elves and Men dwindled to but three houses. Then, with the passing of the Darkness, the remaining elves of Mindon left to join the survivors of the Last Alliance, seeking a place to heal their hurts. They eventually arrived in Lothlórien.
So remained only three houses of the descendants of the first Men, and they grew lesser until none but the elderly couple of Herth-Milui remained.
Of Mindon and its landsMindon Enedh was located in the hills in the region between the Misty Mountains, southeast of the Dimrill Dale, and the ancient wood of Lothlórien. It was hidden from the road by tall rock walls, the remnants of the day the world was broken and re-made.
The land was hidden from outsiders for all its long history and none who did not live there have ever seen it, save for Galadriel, Lady of Lothlórien. It was not out of fear or hate that the people chose to remain secret. They simply wished not to be disturbed by the troubles of the outside world and for ages past, their wish was granted.
In the days of its youth, the land was beautiful to behold. It could not, of course, rival the great Elven kingdoms of old, but there was a certain homeliness to it that delighted its people. The hills were covered with grass that stayed lush and green in the warm seasons and were studded with tiny flowers of lavender. If there was no rain, the sky was always a rich blue, the sun a warm golden halo against it. In the winter, the snow blanketed the hills, turning them into white pillows.
The houses of the people were built on the tip of one hill, smaller than the rest, dwarfed by its surroundings. The Elves preferred to live in huts made of fallen wood and surrounded by gardens of flowers of every rainbow. The Men lived in houses built of stone, using rock from the walls away south. They too shared a love for life that surrounded them, but could not reproduce them to such beauty as the Elves.
Dotting the hill at various points were forests of trees of ever kind. Some were of sturdy birch, white with tips of brilliant green that glowed luminous in the sunlight. Others were of towering maples, whose leaves became hues of fire in the autumn. Still other forests were trees of every sort, intermingling fiery reds with conservative browns and polished greens with shining gold. All the houses were built near these trees so that the people of Mindon could awake to the sight of the sun shimmering over vast canopies of leaves and listen to the songs of the robins and bluebirds who sang each morning.
With the departure of the Elves at the end of the Second Age of Middle-earth, much of the magic in Mindon faded. It remained beautiful still; but its beauty was subject to sickness and blemish. The remaining people knew not how to rival the skill of the elves in the growth of trees and flowers and the tending of them such as would make them lovely throughout the years. Without the power of the elves, Mindon became lost to the few that had known of it until almost all knowledge of the hidden land was erased from the memory of Middle-earth, save for some in Lothlórien.
When Ithildin journeyed away from home that sorrowful day countless years ago, the elderly couple took to themselves in the house of Herth-Milui and remained there for the rest of their lives until their death. Thus ended the last of the people of Mindon-Enedh, the hidden land in the hills whom even time had forgotten.