"It was many, many years ago when the Witch-king first appeared in the northern lands. The rumors were many, how he had come there and where and how he obtained his dark powers. Some say that he was a lesser servant of the Dark Lord who once desolated the southern lands; others, that he was a king from the east where men are strange and their magic is terrible."
Harandir nodded to Betta. "Of course, you know or have heard whispers of this sort. You have seen the Mountains of Shadow and know what evil can be found in the lands south and east. All dark creatures will eventually find their way into the service of dark lords, and dark lords are always searching for free lands to conquer and turn to evil.
"It was the 1300th year of the Third Age, as we count them, when this evil crossed over Hithaeglir and darkened the northern lands about the Mountains of Angmar. The lord of that region was then given the name of Witch-king, but his true name no one has ever spoken. He made war on the Dunedain of the North, of the land called Arnor which at that time was divided into three parts, each under its own king. Perhaps if they had not allowed themselves to be so divided, their united power might have turned back the assault and much of their suffering would have been abated.
"But the Witch-king knew this, too, and even when the King of Arthedain attempted to unite the three lands under one banner, the claim was denied partly due to the evil lord's influence with the lesser men which also dwelt at that time in…"
"What has this to do with us?" Kili interrupted impatiently, for he was eager to hear more of battles and less of the politics of kingdoms.
"There are some here who are not dwarves, and they may wish to know something of the history of the peoples who dwelt in these hills," Harandir reminded him. "There were more than the Dunedain, my kin. The Lossarch, for one, who survived in the ice-lands and were driven farther north when evil returned. And the Periannath then dwelt among the hearty Men of the Chetwood in Eriador around the town that is still called Bree. There were other peoples besides and one proud folk whose right name is lost but whose tale was not forgotten.
"As a lad, I was keen to learn all the history that I could, and it was lucky that my father would often take me with him when he was sent with messages to Rivendell, which is a fair elven house where many things are remembered that others forget, and stories are told there that cannot be heard elsewhere."
At the mention of elves, Fili turned up his nose and made a derisive sound, but Kili shushed him and Harandir went on.
"What free time I had on these errands, I spent in reading and learning and listening to anything anyone would teach me. There are many books in the house of Elrond that tell the history of the north, for the elves have lived in this land for countless years, since Numenor even when Men still dwelt in Westerness before the fall. Hidden among the pages for those to find who choose to look is the tale of a people who were well known to the Dunedain of that time.
"They were a secretive people, and in the Dark Years they had dwelt near the mountains of Angmar before that land became wholly evil. It is said that they were once a family of the Lossarch of Forodwaith, but that they had separated and moved south searching for their own kingdom to build. They made their homes by delving deep into caves so that in later years the men of the west who met them briefly confused them for tall dwarfs. Indeed, in the oldest records, they are sometimes called the Beardless Naugrim."
Kili glanced at his brother, but this time Fili managed to keep his thoughts to himself.
"They were a peaceful people, for the most part, and when the mountains grew evil, they fled south, leaving behind their stone dwellings. They built huts on the open plain near to where we sit now, tilling fields and keeping to themselves – though they still at times traded with the Lossarch and other peoples of the west, north and south. Their greatest city was called Ankor that they built above the Hills of Evendim when Fornost was yet inhabited and beautiful. They were, for the most part, too small to catch the eye of Angmar for it was turned south toward Rhudaur, the easternmost of the three kingdoms, the weakest and most liable to fall.
"At this time, the people of Ankor gave little thought to any of the greater kingdoms. They were indifferent to the rule of others and for the most part battle had swept by and around them like waves about an island, but the storm was coming.
"Rhudaur was the first of the three kingdoms to fall beneath the strong arm of Angmar. Its king was overthrown and in his place was set one of the crude chieftains of the hill-people that then populated the Ettenmoors. Many of the Dunedain were killed in that first defeat, and they became hunted men fleeing west to take refuge in Arthedain. Some came to Ankor and were accepted into the city as refugees.
"Many were the battles that followed the fall of Rhudaur, smaller but each a piece of the greater strategy of the Witch-king who lived long years and could bide his time while his enemies grew weaker. It was fifty years before the evil arm reached out again, and the great watchtower of Amon Sul was burned.
"The armies of Arthedain held the line at Fornost and upon Tyrn Gorthad, but Arveleg, their king, was killed. In the south, Cardolan fell, the second kingdom, and it was razed with a great suffering and death to its people."
Harandir sighed and hung his head. The fire cracked and burned low, and the darkness deepened. "Until that time, the people of Ankor had lived indifferent to a war that was many hundreds of leagues away, yet they grew guarded again for the Lord of Angmar often marched his armies close to their land. Orcs and evil men were wandering freely in the north and would raid any homesteads or small towns that they found unguarded. The free people there gathered together and fortified the walls of Ankor. They lived under siege and seldom went out without weapons which before they had not often carried.
"After the fall of Cardolan, the king of Arthedain sent word to the scattered peoples, and to Ankor, seeking aid in exchange for his protection from the thieves and scavenging orcs. Many sent the aid he sought, and even the Periannath who were not fighters sent a small company of archers to war, but the lord of Ankor refused to send any of his people into battle and only reluctantly did he agree that if any in his city wished to go, then he would not prevent their leaving, but he said also that they would not be welcomed back again for he deemed any outsiders to be spies and doers of evil.
"The war between Arthedain and Angmar was a time of strife for many, and not even the people of Ankor were free from care for they would often trade with Bree and with the little people who had by then been granted land beyond Baranduin which they called the Shire. The merchants of Ankor would take their goods down a road of their own making between Nenuial and the North Downs, but this was a debated land and often battled crossed over it. Orcs waylaid their wagons and both sides set a guard that would halt travelers and capture them as spies or confiscate their goods and turn them back. The great stronghold of Fornost was much besieged at this time.
"As the years passed and war grew thick, the Witch-king would sometimes march his armies around the north of Emyn Uial in a show of force to occupy the western guardians of those hills. The dwarves were few in number then, but the elves of Lindon defended the River Lhun. Then, evil men would camp near Ankor or march through its fields, raiding and destroying its crops."
"We passed by the ruins of Ankor," Kili said. "There was a great, carved cornerstone but little else to see. It is hard to believe that there is so little left if it was such a great city as you say."
"That city was pillaged long ago, and the bricks of its houses taken for other use. The great guard wall, it is said, was built of wood, however." Harandir shook his head. "From the description that I have read, I do not think that it was ever a beautiful city, but it was strong and great in the reckoning of the lesser men of that age. In the end, the Witch-king's armies set a flame to it, and its people were scattered to the north and west.
"They say that at this time, the Lossarch still camped south of the bay of Forochel, but when Ankor burned, they fled to the northernmost peninsula, and they come now seldom to the warmer lands. There were other people from that land also who went with them, but the first families of Ankor, descendants of those who had come down from the mountains, did not; perhaps they no longer cared for the bitter cold and that was why they had left it.
"A second time, the king of Arthedain offered them protection within his own realm, for the remaining people of Ankor were skilled in stealth, cunning in the planning of secret attacks, and they knew the lay of the land up to the walls of Angmar and Carn Dum itself for they sometimes still returned there in secret to visit the abandoned caves of their ancestors. The lord of Ankor was proud, but he agreed to lesser terms, having nowhere else to lead his people that was safe.
"They left the land around the ruins of Ankor and moved south to settle upon the eastern side of Lhun between the river and the Hills of Evendim. When called upon, they aided the armies of Arthedain, but always they were reluctant to leave their small towns; they kept to themselves and survived but did not thrive. Ever their numbers grew fewer and fewer, and they were sullen, blaming the Dunedain for bringing evil upon them. Though they had left it behind, still they called their villages Ankor and were ever after known as the people of Ankor.
"Many years passed, many hundreds of years, and Arthedain was battered by the constant threat of Angmar. A once-mighty kingdom, its strength was failing. The king sent to Gondor for aid, but the southern lands had wars enough to occupy them and there was no help to spare.
"And then, nearly seven hundred years since he first darkened the northern lands, the Witch-king struck a blow so great that Arthedain was brought nearly to its knees. The last remaining king called upon his allies and the people of Ankor with them. Again, Gondor had no help to offer, but Arvedui mustered what men he could and they marched against Angmar in the last great battle of the Northern Kingdom.
"Before its downfall, the people of Arthedain fought with strength and honor. But they say that the forces from Ankor marched with Arvedui only as far as the shores of Nenuial. When they looked toward Fornost, across the fields that had once been green and fair, they saw the blasted ruins of war and the legions of Angmar, orcs and trolls and evil men. They were afraid and refused to go on."
Fili scowled. "Your information is very clear for being pieced together from scraps of story," he said. "How do we know that all you say is true?"
Harandir frowned but did not look up. "I know what has been written," he said. "And it has been written that the soldiers from Ankor looked out from the walls of Annuminas, and their courage left them. They abandoned the war and returned west over the hills. There, they gathered what was left of their women and children and began the long, slow march south along the line of Ered Luin."
Harandir looked up from the fire finally and his face was sad. "The last that is written of them is that they camped for a time near the pine woods of Eryn Vorn. There, many of the refugees of Eriador had fled during the wars over the many years. Perhaps some still are there, but whether they stayed or whither they journeyed on, no story tells, and the Dunedain have few records of that time, for the kingdom of Arthedain fell.
"Others have told how Arvedui was lost to the frigid waters of the North, and how the armies of the southern kingdom came too late, only in time to roust the Witch-king from his spoils. Cirdan of the Elves and Earnur of Gondor descended from the hills of Evendim and the armies of Angmar were defeated at last. The Witch-king fled and has never been seen again, but the stain of his evil still lingers in the far north and for many years his orcs and trolls still wandered beyond the mountains there, and there the dragons rule. But Arnor, the North Kingdom, was destroyed and has not been rebuilt."
With that, Harandir bowed his head. Batte sat silently staring into the fire. In Harandir's tale, she heard an echo of the southern wars of Gondor that had taken her uncles and brothers. Not far from her homeland, there was a dark power ruling from Minas Morgul, another evil lord of sorcery. If the north kingdom could fall, why not the south kingdom, also, that still fought wars in plenty? What would Lebennin be if the Witch-king passed over it? Its green fields would wither and its blue streams would dry to dust.
Betta bowed her head and tears ran down her cheeks.