The Encyclopedia of Arda is a FUCKING BLAST[views:2286][posts:21]___________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 12:55pm - litacore ""] http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/default.htm haha, I've been MAJORLY out-geeked by these flailers: ----------------------------------------------------------- The Ring Sauron’s One Ring to bind all Rings Dates: Forged in c. II 1600, destroyed on 25 March III 3019 (4,860 years) Other names: The Great Ring, Isildur's Bane, The One Ring, Precious, The Ruling Ring The powerful artefact of Sauron more properly called the One Ring or the Ruling Ring. The Ring was born out of a plan Sauron devised to enslave the peoples of Middle-earth. He took on the form of a wise adviser, under the name Annatar, and offered great knowledge to the Elves. Many rejected him, but Celebrimbor and the Elves of Eregion accepted his offer, and he schooled them in the making of Rings of Power. At last, Annatar and the Elves made sixteen jewelled Rings that would in time become the Seven Rings of the Dwarves and the Nine Rings of Men. Now Sauron put his scheme into motion. Returning to his land of Mordor, to the forges of Sammath Naur in the heart of Mount Doom, he began the secret making of another Ring. He filled it with his own power and malice, to wield power over all the other Rings of Power, and bind their wearers to his will. His plan failed. The Elves, too, had made themselves Rings so powerful that when Sauron took up his Ruling Ring, they perceived that they were betrayed. Taking off their own Rings, they escaped the trap that Sauron had set for them. In anger, Sauron swept out of Mordor with his armies; Eregion was destroyed, Celebrimbor was slain, and Sauron recovered fifteen of the Rings of Power (the Three Rings of the Elves had been sent into secret hiding, and one of the original sixteen had already been given by Celebrimbor to Durin III of Khazad-dûm). Under the binding power of the Ring, Sauron subverted nine Men, whose Rings of Power twisted them slowly into wraiths, the Nazgûl, whose only will was Sauron's. He attempted the same with Dwarves, but they proved resistant to the Rings' powers, and those of their Rings that were not destroyed the Dark Lord reclaimed. The power of Sauron's Ruling Ring was such, though, that it wielded power over the wills of lesser beings whether or not they wore another Ring. In Tolkien's Letters, we're told that he used it to bring about nothing less than the destruction of Númenor, by corrupting the will of its King, Ar-Pharazôn, and his followers. What Sauron could not have foreseen was that the Downfall of Númenor would ultimately bring about his own destruction, and the loss of his Ring. Nine ships escaped the Downfall and landed in Middle-earth, carrying Elendil and his sons Isildur and Anárion. Together, they founded great realms in Middle-earth, and allied themselves with Gil-galad and the Elves against Sauron. So began the long War of the Last Alliance, in which Sauron was at last defeated, and his Ring taken by Isildur. But Isildur did not hold the Ring for long. He was set upon by orcs on the banks of the Great River, and the Ring was lost in its depths, where it would lie for two and a half millennia. It was found at last by Déagol, a creature of hobbit-kind, and then passed through a strange series of events. No sooner had Déagol recovered it than he was killed by his companion Sméagol, who stole the Ring for himself. Driven out by his family, who gave him the name Gollum, he wandered into the depths beneath the Misty Mountains, and there he lurked for more than five centuries, his life stretched by the power of the Ring. By a twist of fate, he lost it, and it came into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, lost and wandering in the depths where Gollum dwelt. Bilbo carried it through adventure and battle, eventually bringing it back to the Shire. It passed to his heir Frodo, and at last its identity was discovered by the Wizard Gandalf. Over the centuries, Sauron had recovered much of his strength, and he too learned that the Ring had been found, and discovered that it was held in the Shire. So began the War of the Ring, a desperate race to destroy Sauron's Ring in the fires of its birth, before its Lord could reclaim it and use its power to enslave the World. |
| ____________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 1:16pm - paganmegan ""] you are such a librarian |
| _____________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 1:17pm - Christraper ""] yup. total nerd. but so am i so its ok. |
| __________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 1:18pm - litacore ""] [img] |
| ____________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 1:18pm - paganmegan ""] there is nothing wrong with being a nerd. If someone was to refer to me as a nerd of metal, I would take that as an awesome compliment! |
| __________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 1:19pm - litacore ""] haha, I refuse to be THAT high-maintenance unless I go for a job interview or something. Even then... |
| _____________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 1:19pm - Christraper ""] dont worry it definitely wasnt an insult. im a total dork! |
| ____________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 1:20pm - paganmegan ""] metal nerds are the shit |
| _____________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 1:21pm - Christraper ""] all metal heads are nerds whether they want to admit it or not |
| __________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 1:22pm - litacore ""] Christraper said:dont worry it definitely wasnt an insult. im a total dork! haha, no offense taken, course not! dude we watched the Venom 84 AND 85 concert videos last night, how geeky is that? Like, TOTALLY! "this is a track..." "this next track..." "oh yeah? ... (walks to center stage mic) ... OH YEAH? ... oh yeah?" hahaha, what the fuck I need to find a project or something >:] |
| ____________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 1:24pm - paganmegan ""] Those videos are awesome... I get all excited at the sight of cronos bleeding not to mention the music is fucking sick hahaha |
| __________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 1:28pm - litacore ""] I know he's fuckin' hot, I've wanted his plane in my hangar since I was fifteen |
| ____________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 1:35pm - paganmegan ""] HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA hahahah plane in the hangar hahahahah |
| __________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 1:37pm - litacore ""] :ralphie: I will digress from ANY subject to Venom |
| ____________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 1:41pm - paganmegan ""] hey, why not? why talk about stupid shit like the weather and what you ate for breakfast or barfed up last night when you can talk about venom and cronos and his airplane? |
| _____________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 1:43pm - Christraper ""] my airplanes better.... |
| _____________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 1:43pm - Christraper ""] well maybe not but ill keep telling myself that... |
| __________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 1:49pm - litacore ""] [img] WAAAUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!! |
| __________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 1:50pm - litacore ""] come on you fuckers check out that site dragons and goblins and balrogs oh my! |
| ______________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 2:07pm - the_reverend ""] um.. could you please stop looking at my balrogs? it's cold and they look like little grapes. |
| _______________________________________ [Dec 20,2004 4:21pm - litacore nli ""] Balrogs Dread Servants of Melkor Timeline: Dates: Entered Arda at its beginning; most were destroyed in c. I 583 Race: Ainur Division: Maiar Meaning: 'Demons of Power' Other Names: Valaraukar The Balrogs originated as Maiar, beings of the same kind as Sauron himself. They were primordial spirits of fire that had allied themselves with Melkor in ancient times, and became the most feared of his servants, especially during the Wars of Beleriand in the First Age. Details of their numbers are hard to state with certainty, but there seem to have been relatively few of them - probably no more than seven. In appearance, the Balrogs were man-like, but fire streamed from them, and they were swathed in dark shadows. They carried whips of flame and induced great terror in friends and foes alike. In the War of Wrath, Morgoth was assailed by the forces of the Valar. Most of the Balrogs were destroyed in that War, but some few escaped over the Blue Mountains and hid in Middle-earth. Durin's Bane, the creature that drove the Dwarves from Moria, was one of these. The Balrogs Before the First Age The Balrogs were in origin Maiar, of the same order as Sauron or Gandalf. Melkor corrupted them to his service in the distant past of the World, in the days of his splendour. They were originally gathered by him in his ancient fastness of Utumno during the time of the Lamps of the Valar. When this fortress was destroyed by the Valar, at least some fled and lurked in the pits of Angband (whether any of the original Balrogs were slain in the Valar's attack on Utumno is not known). Balrogs in the First Age When Melkor and Ungoliant escaped from Valinor three ages later with the Silmarils, the Balrogs were still to be found in the ruins of Angband. Ungoliant trapped Melkor in her webs, demanding the Silmarils for herself, but the Balrogs issued from their hiding-place and rescued their lord. The Balrogs were apparently first encountered by the Elves during the Dagor-nuin-Giliath in the first year of the First Age. After the great victory of the Noldor over Morgoth's Orcs, Fëanor pressed on towards Angband, but the Balrogs came against him. He was mortally wounded by Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs. Though his sons beat off the demons of fire, Fëanor died of his wounds soon after, and his spirit departed for the Halls of Mandos. The Appearance and Nature of Balrogs Balrogs were spirits of fire - their hearts were of fire, we are told, and they carried whips of flame. They could, however, shroud themselves in darkness and shadow. The Balrog that Gandalf fought in Moria, for example, at first gave no hint of his fiery nature apart from the flames that issued from his nostrils. |
| ___________________________________ [Dec 22,2004 10:37am - litacore ""] Thuringwethil The ‘Woman of Secret Shadow’ Timeline: Dates: Apparently died in c. I 4681 Race: Presumably a Maia Pronunication: thuree'ngwetheel Meaning: 'Woman of Secret Shadow' Sauron's vampire messenger, bat-winged and iron-clawed, in whose form Lúthien came to Angband on the Quest of the Silmaril. |