The IRE of Winter

[ P R O L O G U E ]

MIDDLE EARTH, A Brief History

It was known that when Morgoth Bauglir was cast into the endless void, even so the malice of his followers had planted evil seeds to the minds of Men. The Land of the Kings was once a strong and fair kingdom of the North. Arnor it was called, but the lust for power and envy to the Eldar  brought chaos and ruin to the land. Numenorëans, the sea-kings of old had marred the trust of Manwë to Man and to the dismay of the Gods the accursed kingdoms of the Dunedain fell and all the last surviving Men scattered East to West.

The Watchers (Bree-folks call them Rangers of the North) are the last remnant of the Dunedain who once populated Arnor. And though the last chief of the rangers had the blood of ancient kings flowing in his veins, Aragorn had little knowledge of what most of his people, the Elendili, had become after the collapse of the three kingdoms, Arthedain, Cardolan and Rhudaur. Civil war divided the Northmen and their numbers dwindled further down, and the enemies seized their lands. But for those who have endured the cold, hope was never lost.

Timeline

T.A. 341, Years of the Sun

The Northmen founded the Kingdom of Rhovanion. It is known that the kingdom forged strong alliance with Gondor but the later ceded its lands East of Anduin to the Northmen. In T.A. 1636, the Great Plague killed more than half of the Northeners. Their diminishing numbers weakened their kingdom and over two hundred years later, the Wainriders invaded their lands. The surviving men pushed themselves deeper North.

When difficult times threatened the existence of the surviving clans in the far North of Rhovanion, a Vala , Oromë Aldaron the tamer of beasts and master of the forest bestowed a gift to a man named Auvir son of Severine out of mercy. He was a Watcher, a man of no noble blood. Auvir was the first vaurg, a man who could tame wild beasts and can control their minds. It was a gift meant to bring peace without force, and so Auvir used his power to enslave the wolves and snow trolls in fighting the dark forces. His people were Numenoreans who refused to take part the journey to war against the Lords of the West, mostly, for they despised the rulings of ancient kings who brought the end to the Northern Kingdom. Auvir became chief and they left Arnor and traveled Northeast vowing never to return.

The first vaurg (it was his people who named his kind. Of how they derived the name remained a mystery) defended the free people of the North for hundreds of years. But the North is an unforgiving land. The Watchers decreased in numbers significantly. Scattered in the Northernlands, some ventured down West and East to look for better living; and many migrated South after the war for Erebor. Three clans remained faithful to their homeland, House Severine, the Kans of the Giant Keep and the bold men of Harrengar, (but these houses were not known to foreigners). For hundreds of years they preserved their ancient ways and kept themselves hidden from the sight of many Easterners, for they knew the snow would keep them safe from the wars to come. But Auvir's death set the three clans apart. Though the gift was passed on to his sons, his descendants failed to keep the North united again.

T.A. 2953, Years of the Sun

The last of Auvir's descendant continued to thrive in the North but later moved down to the Northernmost of Mirkwood and started a new settlement of his own. Though peace was never all over the lands, the young chief kept his people safe from goblins and spiders that menaced the woodland realm. With the power to control fearsome beasts and have them fight for his cause, his legend traveled far and wide. It was in the year T.A. 2978 YS that he caught the Elvenking's interest. The Valar did not favor the pact of the vaurg and the Elvenking. Later, a conflict led to a gory battle in concurrence to the War of the Ring.

T.A. 3021, Years of the Sun

In Sauron's defeat, King Brand was slain and the throne was passed on to his son Bard ll. The Bardings, men of Dale (Bard rebuilt the city of Dale after the battle of five armies, in which he became the first king) aided King Thranduil in vanquishing the followers of his old friend. The men who survived the slaughter was forced to go back to their homeland and never seen again.

During the Fourth Age, it is known that the years after the destruction of the one ring were fruitful and peaceful. The Beornings held the Ford of Carrock safe for travelers; the Dwarves of Erebor started to rebuild the broken halls of their city. The colourful pavements and tall fountains in Dale became more splendid than it were before; Kingdoms united, the forests flourished with life and the age of Men began. Well, it was indeed a time of peace and healing.

But there was a strange tale often heard in the villages of men down the Anduin valleys; same tale that the bards sing in the taverns of Bree and in the beautiful streets of Dale. A tale of a valiant dragon-rider who ended the evil that threatened the Eastern countries, and though many thought the songs are too great to be true, her legend lives in the hearts of few.

[I do not own the picture above, credit goes to its owner]

P.S. This short history is half true and half made up. Vaurg is a race that I am to introduce to you and I hope I have made you interested in this chapter. Fanfictiony stories may not be as interesting as original pieces but I'll do my best to entertain my readers. Comments? Don't forget to vote if you liked this chapter so far. -Haz

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