Chapter 50 pt. 2
Aragorn indeed returned to the library over the next few weeks to learn more about his history.
He had skipped over the parts of The Last Alliance that he did know, but found out some things that he had not been told.
"The year is 3429 of the Second Age. Sauron has attacked us in Gondor. I fear that if we do not receive help from our kin and friends from the North, we will fall."
Aragorn skipped ahead a few more pages and found the most curious entry he had seen so far.
"It is the second year of the New Age. Our enemy has been defeated, yet our cities are in ruins. My father and brother were both slain. I still have the seed from the White Tree of Numenor and have decided to plant it in the courtyard of Minas Anor. I am doing this in memory of my brother and father. They sacrificed too much to not be remembered. The city is being rebuilt and restructured, hopefully to make it stronger. Though, I fear the country that my father founded, Arnor will not survive being ruled from so far."
"Arnor has indeed fallen. There has been much strife between the regions for a long time now and they have finally sundered. Many have fallen under the spell of the Witch-King who now calls most of Arnor his home, Angmar. The remains of those loyal to Gondor have gone into hiding and to live the life of wanderers. They are called the Dunedain and have indeed said they will remain loyal to the crown. There are many who believe that if the crown should fall, that there will be some royalty left in the Dunedain for they are descended straight from the line of the Numenorians."
Aragorn made a note to ask Elrond about the White Tree. It was curious that something so small could have survived the trip over the seas and how many years between being taken and then planted.
He found out later in his readings that this seedling survived many more years. It finally withered in the year 2872--approximately 820 years after the last King of Gondor had ventured to Minas Morgul to accept a challenge by the Witch-King and never returned. After that, the King's second-in-command, the Steward, ruled the country. When the tree died, it continued to hold a place of honor in the courtyard of Minas Tirith.
Aragorn kept reading until late in the night again. There was much that had been written of the rebuilding and expansion of Gondor. There were even a few places where he recognized Elrond's writing.
From what Aragorn could gather, the cities of Osgilith and of Arnor were now almost totally destroyed. And servants of Sauron still inhabited Minas Ithil or as it were now called, Minas Morgul. The people of Osgilith had fled over the river and had made Minas Arnor the permanent capital of the realm of Gondor. Shortly after this, it was renamed Minas Tirith--Tower of the Guard.
When Aragorn reached this part, he decided to retire for the night and give the book a rest for a few days. He had spent almost a month inside and wanted to train over the next few days.