Post by Morsereg Dîndaedel on Jul 16, 2006 18:25:12 GMT
In the north climes of Eriador, past even Mount Gundabad, lived a race of Men now lost to the world. These days, little is known of them and, even in the days of the Witch-King, there was little knowledge to be found of who they were. Bitter and mean-spirited, they were nonetheless an intelligent race and had mastered all the arts of stonework and forging. This they used to raise great fortresses of black stone and in their pillared halls were assembled armies clad in chain and scale. Where they came from is forgotten, perhaps deliberately so. Were they Black Númenóreans, lesser men who escaped the conflicts of an earlier age, or merely deserters from a dozen realms?
These men made their home hard against the Misty Mountains, those jagged peaks that form a spine to Middle-earth, and were ever a terror upon their neighbours, raiding and pillaging for nothing more than the love of war itself. The Dwarves of the northern Misty Mountains and the Men of Arnor lived in constant threat of their attacks for more than a thousand years. Whether the Witch-king had long known this land or had set his claws in it afresh is unknown. Whatever, when first he recovered from his master's fall, the Lord of the Nazgûl came to Carn Dûm and marshalled its peoples in his name, choosing the efficiency of Men over the fractious brawling and squabbling of the Orcs. Where before the Men of Carn Dûm were simply brigands and raiders, albeit highly skilled and organised ones, they were now the instrument of one of the greatest evils upon the face of Middle-earth. Some began to worship the Witch-king, begging him to share his power. Some feared him. All served him.
By the year 1300 of the Third Age, the kingdom of Carn Dûm was no more, now just part of the wider Witch-realm of Angmar. In service to their dread lord, the Men of Carn Dûm were more formidable than ever, driven onwards by the inhuman malice of their sorcerer-king. Whilst the spectral vassals of the Lord of the Nazgûl were his chief weapon of terror upon the northern kingdom of Arthedain and the Elf haven of Rivendell, it was the iron shod Men of Carn Dûm who would prove to be his invaluable tool of slaughter and conquest. It should never be forgotten that it was these warlike folk who toppled the great tower of Amon Sûl and brought the kingdoms of the north to their knees.
These men made their home hard against the Misty Mountains, those jagged peaks that form a spine to Middle-earth, and were ever a terror upon their neighbours, raiding and pillaging for nothing more than the love of war itself. The Dwarves of the northern Misty Mountains and the Men of Arnor lived in constant threat of their attacks for more than a thousand years. Whether the Witch-king had long known this land or had set his claws in it afresh is unknown. Whatever, when first he recovered from his master's fall, the Lord of the Nazgûl came to Carn Dûm and marshalled its peoples in his name, choosing the efficiency of Men over the fractious brawling and squabbling of the Orcs. Where before the Men of Carn Dûm were simply brigands and raiders, albeit highly skilled and organised ones, they were now the instrument of one of the greatest evils upon the face of Middle-earth. Some began to worship the Witch-king, begging him to share his power. Some feared him. All served him.
By the year 1300 of the Third Age, the kingdom of Carn Dûm was no more, now just part of the wider Witch-realm of Angmar. In service to their dread lord, the Men of Carn Dûm were more formidable than ever, driven onwards by the inhuman malice of their sorcerer-king. Whilst the spectral vassals of the Lord of the Nazgûl were his chief weapon of terror upon the northern kingdom of Arthedain and the Elf haven of Rivendell, it was the iron shod Men of Carn Dûm who would prove to be his invaluable tool of slaughter and conquest. It should never be forgotten that it was these warlike folk who toppled the great tower of Amon Sûl and brought the kingdoms of the north to their knees.
