Sauron in Middle-Earth
It is said that when Melkor had been overthrown, Sauron begged Eonwe, the herald of Manwe, to pardon him. But Eonwe was not a Vala and he did not have the power to judge Sauron. He bade Sauron to join him in his voyage to Aman and then to sue for pardon at the feet of the Aratar. But he also warned him that he would probably be chained and jailed for many years as punishment for joining Melkor. Eonwe told him that what he did was wrong and he would mostly face punishment.
Then Sauron the Maia decided to hide in Middle-Earth, for he would not be shamed by punishment. He was no longer kind and good Mairon. He had faced great warriors in battle and he had destroyed many of the strongest of them, whether they be elf, man, or Maia. After a thousand years in hiding, he travelled to the east and he dwelt in hot and desert conditions. He made the great tower of Barad Dur and employed orcs, wargs, trolls and other evil creatures to do his biddings. Then he established the realm of Mordor.
Sauron forged a great friendship with the Haradrim and the Variags of Khand. Indeed Harad was a vast land and many fierce warriors there were in the realm, and the warriors of Khand were feared in every place they had been seen in. Both of these races he often rewarded for their service, but he only desired power, not friendship, and his plan was to deceive the Southrons and to conquer even their lands. However, Sauron could not conquer the Northmen, who were the Lords of the lands to the north of Mordor, for they were ever suspicious of the desert lands of Mordor and had heard dark tales of it. But even though much activity was present in the Nameless realm, Sauron seldom came out of his tower, and he left his work to the orcs, who hated and feared him.
A short description must be made of the creatures that Sauron took as servants and slaves. The strongest creatures that he took to his service were the trolls. But these were not the normal mindless trolls found in the stories of Northmen and elves. Sauron with the help of dark arts bred the Olog-Hai, the strongest type of troll ever found. These creatures lived for longer than normal trolls and they were very difficult to slay. Their skin was hard and they were more serious than their foolish cousins. They were quick to anger. But Sauron was their master and Sauron alone, and they could not be controlled by any other living being.
Another creature which Sauron took the help of was the were large wolf-like creatures, who had earned great renown for their cunning, and there were no speechless beasts found on Middle-Earth who had such wit.
The most commonly found slave of Sauron was the Orc. The story of these creatures must be told. Before the coming of the Atani, Melkor kidnapped many elves, and tortured them. After many years of pain and torture, they became evil and miserable, and they started to spread in number and slowly, ever so slowly, the orcs came into being, the corruption of elves. Later, when Melkor was thrust out into the void, a few of the Orcs joined Sauron and came to Middle-Earth. Often these orcs would plunder, torture and kidnap other creatures. Many of the orcs were known to ride on warg-back in battle and those two races remained allied to each other.
But by far the most terrifying creatures found under the control of Sauron were the Spiders. These creatures devour anything that they find and they enjoy the darkness. They look much like the smaller insects of the same name, but they were much larger, about man-high, and they can only be injured at one spot: their eyes. These creatures were actually present before Sauron came, but when he did come they showed obedience towards him, for he was a servant of Melkor, and likewise it was for their ancestors.
And now it would be fit to describe the land of Mordor and its borders.
Mordor as described earlier was mostly a barren land, but there were a few features to be described, such as the Valley of Terror, Udun, in the north-west of Ered Lithui or the Pass of the Spider, Cirith Ungol. Both the latter and the former were dwellings of the terrible spiders described above, but at different times. Udun was a valley formed at the meeting of six great mountains, which were later known as Oron Qualme, the Mountains of Death. Its depth provided the spiders' shelter from the heat and light of the Sun which they hated so much. But soon when the last Alliance of Men and Elves passed through that way, the spiders were killed by the Lord of Arnor, Elendil, and his marching army, leaving only one evil, twisted creature, who came to be known as Shelob
Shelob soon travelled south to the Ephel Duath Mountains, which was the easternmost border of Mordor. She dwelt in Cirith Ungol. In that pass was contained the Watchtower of Cirith Ungol, and orcs of Mordor often kept watch there, but they were wary of Shelob. But Sauron called her his 'pet' and often he would provide her with dead bodies of orcs and trolls.
In the north the border of Mordor was the Ered Lithui, or the Ash mountains, and beyond that there was Dagorland, or the Battle Plain, and the Dead Marshes.
To the south there were the Harad Mountains. These were the steepest mountains in Middle-Earth, but nothing else is there to be said about them. To the east, there was the temperate land of Rhun, which later in the Third Age allied itself with Mordor.
But to the south of Mordor there was a cooler land, which was called Nurn, and there was contained the inland Sea of Nurnen.
Now the tale of Sauron's flight, a description of the creatures he allied himself with and of the lands of Mordor have been provided we can proceed with the story of Sauron the Abhorred, the tale of the Rings of Power, and the greatest battle fought on Middle-Earth.