Durlach

Next to Jäänainen, Durlach is the mightiest being to inhabit the Northern Waste. A Balrog of Angband, Durlach was imprisoned within the seething caldera of Morgoth's Well during the War of Wrath.

A mile beneath the surface of the living earth, Durlach writhes and coils about his fiery lake in the form of a vast serpent, consumed with an insatiable lust for destruction. Fettered to the lake by an ancient spell of binding, Durlach assails any who intrude upon his domain by the force of his will alone, draining power from all who wield magic and spellcraft.

Unless summoned by dark sorcery, Durlach is confined to his prison and can only leave for short periods of time, wandering the subterranean tunnels of Morgoth's Well for no more than two hours before being forced to return to the warmth of his lava pool, and being forced to rejuvenate his sapped strength for at least two days before venturing out again. Of late (that is to say, the past few centuries), the magma of Morgoth's Well has been slowly rising. While this gradual increase is only an inch or two a year, time means nothing to the trapped, immortal spirit, and the centuries only bring Durlach closer to freedom. Should the lake of lava at the bottom of the Well ever completely fill the caldera and overflow onto the Fire Tundra, then the bonds on Durlach would be broken and he would be free to terrorize Middle-earth once again.