A Tale of the Northern Kingdom

From the Chronicles of History of the Kingdom, written down by Faramir, son of Denethor Steward of Gondor.

Section XLIX, the Southern Lands during the dark years

When Aragorn of Arnor destroyed the Ring, that was in the year 2955, Third Age, Sauron was unmade; but his servants yet lingered in the Black Land. And although many were undone in the destruction of the Dark Tower, many more remained, and they did not seem to realize that their leader was no more. They tried to go on with their lives, but with no one at their head, their huge army began to fall apart. And yet, the vast pits where Orcs were bred still worked on for years at full capacity, and they multiplied fast, and in great numbers.

Then also, the chiefmost of Sauron's servants, the Ringwraiths, made themselves known once again, as they had not followed their master into oblivion, for loyalty is not in the nature of evil.(1) The Witch-King still held the Tower of Morgul, and three other Nazgūl flocked to him. Another of the Nazgūl lords held the keep of the Morannon, with some of his companions; and the site where once Sauron's Dark Tower had stood, was reclaimed by the Nazgūl Khamūl who had dwelt in Dol Guldur after Sauron, ere he was driven out from that lair by the joint forces of Mirkwood, Lothlorien, Dale and Rhudaur. These three most powerful of the Ringwraiths tried to join all the forces of Mordor under them, but they were divided, and warred among themselves for decades, so that several of the Ringwraiths perished. Also, as it began to sink in that the single will that had held it all together was no longer, many higher warlords and generals began to vie for power, and the land was in a constant state of strife for many years.

But although Mordor was thus prevented from launching a powerful attack against its neighbours, skirmishes in Ithilien were constant, for that was where the Orcs were looking for their source of food, while Gondor struggled to keep these lands under its control. But the Steward, Denethor son of Ecthelion, who had defied Aragorn of Arnor, was suspicious of his northern neighbours, ever fearing a treacherous attack from the armies of Arnor, and so he kept a good part of his forces on the Northern border, and could not therefore counter the attacks from Mordor with full power.

At that time there were several consecutive years of drought and failed crops in Khand and many parts of Rhūn, and sand storms destroyed their fields irreparably. Many people fled from famine, moving westwards in great numbers. Most of them flocked to Harad, and some of them even as far as South-Gondor, from where they began to pressure on the borders of Gondor, aspiring to take new lands for themselves to settle in, for they could not return to their homes; and they knew the ruler of Harad to be weak, and unable to offer resistance. The Easterlings soon became powerful in Harad, and held much influence.

In the year 3005 Third Age an epidemic of hemorrhagic fever swept over the lands of Harad, and the Ruling Queen of that land succumbed to the disease and died. As she was heirless, one powerful warlord and general from Khand took the throne; he was called Royal Tower in the tongue of the Men of the West. The new King married a woman from the Harad royal house and began to strengthen the realm, and brought the forces of Khand and Harad under his banners willingly. Soon parts of Khand swore allegiance to his rule, but as these lands were ravaged, Harad now set his eyes on the rich lands of Gondor.

The black ships of Umbar intensified their attacks upon the ports and shore-lands of Gondor, finding encouragement and support from the King of Harad. And then also the three Nazgūl lords managed to subdue their armies, and Morgul and Barad-dur joined forces, wishing to carry on Sauron's plans. Also, having lost the stronghold of Dol Guldur, the squabbling lords of Mordor were trying to establish another foothold outside their land, from where to continue their conquest, for the Witch King was desirous of reclaiming his old realm of Angmar, and the lands of the Numenoreans. The Orc attacks became more frequent every year, and the lands of Ithilien were beleaguered more fiercely than ever. And so Gondor was harassed from all sides.

-B-

Steward Ecthelion II son of Turgon had died shortly after the reunification of the Realm of Arnor. He was succeeded by his son, Steward Denethor II, and it was under Denethor's rule that those most trying times came upon Gondor. But Denethor was a clever and cunning diplomat and a most able ruler, and for several decades he managed to keep peace within the borders of his realm.

But despite his efforts Gondor was in a constant state of war, and there were skirmishes, the lands of Ithilien were ravaged by the Orcs of Mordor, and oftentimes Haradrim crossed the border and harassed towns and villages; and the corsairs of Umbar held Belfalas and Lebennin in terror. The Palantir of Minas Tirith, a great heirloom brought from Numenor by Elendil himself, enabled Denethor to see his enemies' moves and anticipate them; but he did not know that another of such stones had survived in Minas Morgul, and so the Steward fell prey to the Witch King. This opened his thoughts to Mordor, and it resulted in many defeats in battle and many lost lives. And yet, the bewitchment was such that the Steward was unable to set aside the stone; his will crumbled and it made him heart-sick if he did not consult the Palantir regularly.

The realm of Arnor had had its time of respite and renewal, for the main fortress of Evil was cleared out, and many of the servants of Sauron had preferred to retreat to the Black Land or hid in dark places after the destruction of the Ring. The spirits of Men were uplifted with the return of their King, and the forces of the dark could find no foothold in them. But for the realm of Gondor little had changed. It was as if Sauron had never been destroyed, for the Witch King pressed upon them furiously, and the forces of the Nazgūl of Morannon came from the North. Little help could be expected from Gondor's ally of old, Rohan, for they were also under constant attack from Morannon, and their king's rule was failing.

Rohan had stood by Gondor ever since its founding by Eorl of the Norsemen, but now, with the North Kingdom on the rise and the South Kingdom weakening under constant assault, some of the Horse Lords began to advocate for closer ties to Aragorn of Arnor. One such was the king's only son and heir, Theodred. But there were many who resented Arnor's ties with the Lady of Lothlorien, whose lands lay on Rohan's border, and also Aragorn's dealings with the Dunlendings; and many had hoped to bring the rich Wizard's Vale under Rohan after Saruman's departure, and were sorely disappointed when the Dunedain refused them. So there was much argument and anger in Rohan, and in a fell act of treason Prince Theodred fell under an assassin's hand. King Theoden was deeply grieved and lost interest in the matters of his realm. And Prince Eomer, who commanded the Rohirrim in Eastmark, was away fighting the forces of Morannon, and could not spare attention for matters not of his land.

In this dire hour the sons of Denethor of Gondor saw that their realm was on the brink of destruction, and took counsel; and risking the wrath of his father, who had forbidden any contacts with the North Kingdom of the Dunedain, the elder son Boromir travelled secretly to Arnor to seek aid.

-----!----

(1)Interestingly, this paragraph has two remarks written on the margins of the manuscript. We have to conclude that these were written shortly after the text was completed, and as such, they provide an interesting insight into the topical debates of the era. The remarks are in two different handwritings, the second one distinctly Elvish, whereas in the case of the first one is still debated whether it was written by an Elf or a Human who had learned his letters from the Elves. The remarks run as follows:
(a) I cannot fully agree with my Lord Steward Faramir's assessment. The victory would have come much easier, had it not been for the loyalty of their simple soldiers to their leaders.
(b) It truly pains me to say this, but my Foster-son is merely waxing philosophical. If you want your garden to bloom and prosper, you have to weed out all poisonous roots, not ponder about their loyalty.
Redone