Category:Enedhwaith

History
In the early years of the Second Age, the eastern and southern fringes of Eriador became a refuge for Elves who did not wish to live under the rule of any Elvish King or mannish lord. The Elves named the region—lying between the Noldo/Sinda realm of Lindon in the west and the Silvan realms of the Anduin vales on the east— Enedhwaith (S. "Middle-folk"). Its lands originally extended through the fell country of the Trollshaws and the western foothills of the Misty Mountains down to the Calenhyarden (S. "Green Southern Passage," later the Gap of Calenardhon)),( S. "Green Province")—including all the lands south of the Gwathló and north of the White Mountains. They were the home of all matter of creatures: Trolls, Orcs, Faerie, and such Men as were willing to exchange the safety of settled life for the dangerous freedom of the wild. The forests of Enedwaith had been receding ever since the fall of Beleriand, because of climatic changes and catastrophic erosion. The Numenoreans, who had little understanding of these processes and a great need for ship-building timber, began massive clear-cutting of the woodland of the Gwathlo basin soon after founding their first outposts in Eriador. The practice led to the Eriadoran wars, in which the Eriedain natives were subdued or driven out of their lands northward or eastward. As the centuries passed, the northern portion of Enedwaith was claimed and pacified first by the Dwarves of Khazad-dum and then by the Noldo Elves who founded the kingdom of Eregion. The southern reaches of old Enedhwaith fell under the rule of a being named Grishmoigh the Uhr-giant, who styled himself Lord of Trees. He commanded, originally, the loyalty of evil Huorns and Forest Trolls. Treebeard (S. "Fangorn,") the leader of the Ents, opposed the Uhr-giant. Grishmoigh—by blood a bizarre mix of Ent, Troll, and Giant—cobbled together a coalition of Trolls, Elves, and Eriadoran Men to lead them against the Numenoreans. Treebeard, peaceful by nature, sensed that no power in Enedhwaith could beat the Lords of Men; he withdrew east of the Misty Mountains with most of his folk, while the Numenoreans razed the region in a series of wars, forcing Grishmoigh to agree to a truce. Sauron made a secret alliance with Grishmoigh that allowed him to use Enedhwaith as a staging area for his attack on Eregion in S.A. 1697. The passage of the fallen Maia's armies and the subsequent War of the Elves and Sauron caused even more ruin, and, while Grishmoigh survived the conflict, he was not an important factor in Eriadoran politics again in the Second Age. By the time of the fall of Numenor, much of Enedhwaith was semi-grassland, subject to flooding and decorated with strange, eroded terrain—like that normally found in desert badlands. The Forest Trolls were still a nuisance, but the new kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor were nonetheless able to build a real highway, the Tiar Hariar, or Old South Road, from Tharbad through the Calenhyarden and into the Gondorian province of Calenardhon. The domain of the Uhr-giant arose one last time in S.A. 3429 when Sauron made his great assault on the Realms in Exile. Save for mercenaries and bitter renegades, few Men or Elves served Grishmoigh in this war; his army consisted mainly of Huorns, Trolls, and Orcs. Isildur, given the task of opening a path into Eriador while his brother Anarion held the line ofthe Anduin against Sauron, made alliance with Treebeard and the Ents. He slew Grishmoigh while forcing a crossing of the Fords of Isen in T.A. 3430. Elendil's strategic decision to move his main army against Mordor by the northern passes of the Misty Mountains was motivated by Grishmoigh's resistance and by the refusal of the Daen Coentis of the White Mountains, who controlled the southern side ofthe Calenhyarden, to join in the war. Isildur cursed the Daen for this; their kingdom failed under the power ofthe malediction, and many of its warriors became the ghosts who haunted the Paths of the Dead ever after. Others fled northward to settle in Enedhwaith, which had been violently cleared of its evil by Arnorian and Elvish Rangers. The eastern half, mainly the fells and foothills of the Misty Mountains, was settled by the strongest and best organized Daen clans. By T.A. 250, it had acquired the Dunael name of Dunfearan, (later "Dunland"). While Gondor treated the territory as a protectorate, primarily to keep the Tiar Hariar open, Dunland was thereafter, for all practical purposes, a collection of independent Daen clan-holds. The western half of the region—the name Enedhwaith now applied only to the lands bounded by the Gwathlo and the River Isen between Dunland and the sea— became inhabited by a mix of races. Minor Dunman clans moved in along the southern banks of the Gwathlo, evolving into the ancestors of most of the Dunnish folk of Cardolan. Along the coast there were stil "fisherfolk," Eriadoran for the most part. Inland Beffraen tribesmen, sundered from their kin in the Eryn Vorn, dwelt in the forests, alongside Orcs and Trolls. Enedhwaith was, as it had been for most of its history, a wild land where both freedom and danger could be found.

About T.A 1640


The Cardolani, concentrated along the north bank of the Gwathlo, are periodically drawn into conflict on the river's south bank. Enedhwaith has become a grassy, eroded, poorly-watered plain and is home to impoverished lowland Dunmen who raid their neighbors to make ends meet. Were the Gwathlo narrower or shallower, or the Dunmen more adept with boats or swimming, the Cardolani would not sleep soundly in theit beds at night. As it is, they risk feeling the Dunnish wheeb or throwing club only when they cross the river. On its south bank grow two extensive forests that provide much of the timber used for shipbuilding in Cardolan. The nearest wood, Mhaighwyd, lies eighty miles south of Tharbad; the farther one, Choil Bhainnan, is located a full 8 days travel from the city at the mouth of the Gwathlo where it joins the sea. The timber collecters go to their task in large semi-military expeditions. In addition to Dunnish tribesmen, bands of hostile Beffraen inhabit the Choil Bhainnan, while Stone and Forest Trolls dwell in the Mhaighwyd. The four hundred square miles of the Nin-in-Eilph, the Swanfleet Marshes just outside of Tharbad, harbor treacherous alkali bogs and innumerable poisonous reptiles. The Cardolani and Dunmen both brave the fens in search of rare herbs, but more often the intent is to poach the lordly swans gracing the waters. Their feathers are highly favored by the fashionable ladies of Gondor, and are the only dependable source of wealth to be found locally. Dunfearan in this century is reasonably peaceful, but unlikely to remain so. The fifteen "Greater Clans"—the powerful tribes who treated with the Dunadan Kings centuries ago and guaranteed Dunfearan its autonomy ever since—have split into two factions. One, the Daen Coentis is named after the people of the old kingdom in the White Mountains. The Daen Iontis, the more violent faction, have taken a name roughly meaning "The Betrayed People." The first group is trying actively to reclaim the culture of the old Daen; the second is most concerned with getting revenge on the Dunedain for the curse of Isildur. The Temple of Justice, a religious cult led by a strangely longlived high priest named Maben, provides spiritual leadership for the Daen Iontis. The Temple is believed to have made human sacrifices of Dunadan victims. The only major town on the South Road, Larach Duhnnan, is controlled by a neutral tribe, Clan Feargan, and so trade has not been interrupted by the dispute. However, there are now many places in Dunfearan where a Dunadan or other foreigner should fear to go, and the tension between the Dunnish factions could explode at any time.

In Later Years
It was the eternal curse of the Daen people to never achieve any level of organization sufficient to accomplish a great goal. The conflict between the Daen Coentis and the Daen Iontis lasted throughout the Third Age, ending only after the latter side with Saruman in the War of the Ring. Occasional Dunnish expansion into Eriador was thwarted by the desolate conditions there and local resistance; their attempts to expand southward were blocked by the Gondorians and then by Rohirric forces after the kingdom of Rohan was founded in the 26th century. The subversion of Maben's Temple of Justice by Saruman, who, secretly controlled by the Dark Lord, wished to conquer Rohan, incidentally kept either of them from using it to bother the Eriadorans. Destroying the cult by covert means becomes one of the first important tasks of the Prince Regent of the Reunited Kingdoms in the early Fourth Age.

Population

 * T.A. 1400: 348.000 Southerners
 * T.A. 1650: 290.000 Southerners
 * T.A. 1975: 386.400 Southerners
 * T.A. 3000: 155.400 Southerners

Characters
Second Age:

Agaldor Beogrin Ethrog

Third Age: Gwyllion

Regions
Angrast Belling Brook Choil Bhainnan Choil Caerdh Cillien Cilstrem Cross-stones Dunfearan Dunland Eriadoran Coast Ethir Angren Ethir Gwathlo Foradun Fordirith Gloomglens Greenbank's Steadings Greenvale Hashgmur Lich Bluffs Mhaighwyd Mournshaws Nan Curunir Nan Laeglin Nin-in-Eilph Rohwaen Rolling Moors South Downs Thrór´s Coomb Western Enedwaith Windfells

Settlements and Places of Interest
Alclud Alesla Amlothdor Amon Lind Anccraug Andhas Dun Arailt Hold Avcnicurr Balorn Barad Colgrin Barad Vin Barnas Beannachd Bregnas Byrig Caimarava Carnach Carras Celecuc Celoniach Crag na Dun Creatrach Crebain Keep Curcenis Daelmoth Daighen Dol Baran Druwaur Dun Arilthach Dun Bhainnan Dun Caladach Duncillien Dun Fidach Dun Gyroth Dun Larach Dun Morbet Dun Talorgan Dun Udrost Dun Wredech Duneard Dunhallow Durnast Oak Ebronicurr Echad Daervunn Echad Dagoras Echad Idhrenfair Echad Saeradan Enedhir Faol Fearachas Feargan Hold Forthunn Freawul Galar Culch Ghost-Caves Giant's Home Giant's Mine Goigoche Gwaed Brun Greenvale Greenwatch Gronu Gynd The Hall of Sanctuary Hardrath Hariaryn Harndirion Harthunn Hauheinsfiudur Hawk Mathain Healer's Hall Hirta Iolair Keep Ironwharf Isildur's Tomb Kavanag Kedhern Kierkyard Lair of Turukulon Dun Larach Lhanuch Lond Angren Lond Daer Marishburh Maur Tulhau Mirthang Nar's Peak Nol Dub Och Cadlus Ossilryn Palomire´s Home Redvyrne Keep Riddle Caves Rindvild Ruined Bridge Ruaival Village ruined signal tower Sarn Ford Sauron's Camp Sharkey's Wall Smuggler´s Hold Talach Boghain Taralurior Temple of Justice Tharbad Thoronnorc Todolb  Treforn Troll Tor Vindacil  Tulach Boghain Vinyatir Vniricurr Whalespit Ysmeden Zudrugund

Peoples

 * Droccalaentis
 * Drûghu
 * Beffraen
 * Breffrin
 * Dunlendings
 * Algraig
 * Giants
 * Orcs
 * Bugans
 * Trolls
 * Wood-Trolls

Fauna

 * Birds
 * Dun Crows
 * cloven-hoofed animals
 * Wild Boar
 * Bovines
 * Plains Ox (Aurochs)
 * Goats
 * Druggavar
 * Deer
 * white Stags
 * Dragons
 * Drakes
 * Predators
 * Barghest
 * Cun Annun
 * Fox
 * Wolves
 * Black Wolves
 * Grey Wolves
 * Wargs
 * steppe Wolverines
 * Smaller Animal life
 * Squirrels
 * Other
 * Snowbeasts