The dust swirled gently in the afternoon sun, the only movement in the entire library. The only moment that had happened for some time, even though Thingol had found the book and page he so desperately sought near half an hour ago.
With great force, and a trembling hand he turned the final page until the neatly handwritten title greeted him: Oropher & Thranduil Orophrion - After King Elu Thingol's death, and ransacking from the Darwves.
He took a few more deep breaths and then forced himself to start reading.
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Prince Oropher of Doriath was one of the very few of King Elu Thingol's kindred to survive the second attack upon the city of Menegroth. Little is known about his exploits during the battle but it is rumored that his son, Prince Thranduil Orphorion, was responsible for slaying one of the sons of Feanor when they sought and eventually succeded to destroy King Dior.
According to stories, Oropher and his son both fled the city separately, and would not reunite for several weeks, each having collected an incredible amount of refugees from their city by that time. It is said that the forest of their homeland guided them back together and the reunion of the two groups was a merry one even the wake of their tragedy.
It was under Oropher's leadership and guidance that the remnants of the Kinslaying managed to flee to the city of Lindon, where they remained for a short time.
Not long after their arrival, Prince Orpoher collected those of his people that wished to accompany him and left Lindon to travel eastwards. It is said that they came upon a group of Silvan Elves in a forest known as Greenwood the Great (it is unknown if they were aware of the Silvan presences in the forest and had gone there purposefully to be with them, or if it was an accident.) Oropher was crowned their King in S.A 750 and founded the kingdom of the Woodland Realm deep within the forest.
Little is known about the happenings or occurrences within the forest or the kingdom. It is said that very few every visited the kingdom, and it was not often any left it. The only notable exception to this appears to be Lord Celeborn of Lothlorien, who was also a resident of Menegroth before its fall, and his daughter Lady Celebrian.
Nothing was heard from King Oropher directly until he was called upon by High King Gil-Galad of the Noldor to join the other free people of Arda in their final battle against evil in the cursed lands of Mordor. It was during this battle on S.A 3434 that King Oropher was slain. (See chapter ten for more information on the War of the Last Alliance)
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Thingol to stop reading for a second, the words had made him so dizzy he feared he might pass out. After a few steadying breaths, his desperate curiosity called him back to the pages.
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His son, Prince Thranduil, survived the attack and took up the leadership of their people, the armies of Greenwood remained until after the Seige of Barad-Dur in S.A 3441. As the seven-year war drew to an end and it was time to lead their people home, over two-thirds of Greenwoods original force had been slain.
Upon his return to the Woodland Realm, Thranduil was quickly crowned King. Around the same time, Thranduil Ophorion married a Silvan elleth by the name of Mereneth and made her his queen.
Exact dates are unknown but within a few centuries of his succession to the crown, King Thranduil and his Queen had a son who they named Legolas. Not long after his birth, their city was attacked by forces of evil and many of their people were killed. Among them was Queen Mereneth.
Both King Thranduil and his son Prince Legolas survived, and they and their people came to inhabit a mountain and build a stronghold within it. They continued to have little contact with the other elven realms around them, but it is said they grew to have close working relationships with the towns of men near the borders of their forest. Some reports claim that King Thranduil also worked with several of the Avari clans, but no proof has yet been exhibited.
During the course of the third age, the forest of Greenwood grew darker and fraught with hate and creatures of evil until eventually, it began to be known by those around it as Mirkwood. Spiders the size of horses began to infest the woods while Orc and Warg packs did their best to cause as much trouble as possible. Their former capital of Amon Lanc become a fortress of evil known as Dul Guldur, from which all these creatures came.
In T.A 2941 a group of dwarves led by Thorin son of Thrain and Mithrandir woke the fire drake Smaug which had come to inhabit a nearby mountain. Smaug burnt the nearby human village of Laketown to cinders and was slain by one of the residents.
King Thranduil is said to have quickly sent help and supplies, along with a sizable army. After a brief siege of the mountain, King Thranduil's force was attacked by a massive force of evil. What followed came to be known as the Battle of the Five Armies, one of them including the Great Eagles. (See chapter 13 for more information)
Both King Thranduil and Prince Legolas were present for the battle, and both survived, though many of their people were lost.
Nothing more is known about Greenwood until Prince Legolas appeared in Rivendell for the council of Elrond in T.A 3018 to discuss the fate of the One Ring of Power. It was at this council that Prince Legolas volunteered to join the Fellowship of the Ring which sought to take the ring to Mordor and destroy it once at for all, of which he survived. (For more information about the Fellowship, please see chapter seventeen.)
King Thranduil fought the Battle Under the Tree's during this time, which eventually ended with Dol Guldur being destroyed not long after the destruction of the One Ring.
At the time of the completion of this book, King Thranduil remained the ruler of the now restored Greenwood the Great.
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Thingol sat back in the chair again and could do nothing but blink for a few minutes in slow and careful contemplation of everything he had just read. Somehow not surprised in the slightest to discover that the only member of his family to crawl their way through the ages had been Thranduil, and shocked at the sheer enormity of change his nephew would have been forced to undergo to manage such a feat.
He cast his eyes down the bookcases, wondering how many others might offer him scraps of information about the one's he had loved so dear but left behind so long ago.
But then he put those thoughts to the side and looked up what page number Legolas Thranduillion was on.
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