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Bessamarth
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- "If a fiend like Urgost weren't enough proof of these beasts' gluttony, then let me tell you of Nordibad's previous mistress: Bessamarth, the Dragon-Lady of Azan-zâram, a fiend greedy and vile enough to willingly sell command of herself to the Dark Lord for favour, gold and meat."
- ― Gorin
Bessamarth (S. "Bride of Doom") - known as Órlagakona to the Northmen - was a terrible female winged Cold-Drake of Rhovanion who threw her backing behind the Dark Lord Sauron, and more notably the mother of Khuzadrepa and Celruith, two well-known lesser Dragons of the Third Age.
History[]
Bride of Doom of the Ered Mithrin[]
- "She was a Cold-Drake from the North, that hither came of the Withered Heath's wastes like her accursed kinsmen in our Age, for not content she was with the meager offerings that valley had to offer. Now near Azan-zâram's beauty her terrible abode she made and feast she did on all that in her voracious clutches fell."
- ― Gorin
Bessamarth was a Cold-Drake of some relative renown among folk in the North, originating in the desolate glacial valley in Rhovanion known as the Withered Heath. Though not as mighty as her forebears, compared to her peers she was much viler, opportunistic and greedier. She deemed that all living things, all the lands and the riches the vast region had to offer was rightfully her kind's for the taking and displeased by the Withered Heath's frugal "homage", she flew over to the more prosperous Ered Mithrin, being one of the few Dragons to leave their breeding grounds when their numbers had not yet been replenished.
There she made her abode in the cavernous deep tunnel network around the subterranean lake of Azan-zâram. The waters' silver-like beauty, as well as the comfort and protection of her lair delighted Bessamarth, not to mention she was rather fond of Snow Troll, Elk and Reindeer meat of which the area had in plenty. Occasionally, under the cover of frosty storms the Cold-Drake would descend from the mountain upon wandering Dwarven caravans that sometimes made their way there; so it was that she indulged in copious feasts and had amassed quite a fortune from her plundering. Her growing fat on the generosity of the Ered Mithrin did not escape the notice of the Free Peoples of the North for long and though they knew not precisely what creature (given the rarity and nature of her covert attacks) had lurked her way there, Northmen and Dwarves alike evaded the trading path that took them too near to Azan-zâram, and the Lossoth whispered folk-tales of a fearsome nameless horror that crept upon beast and being alike in the dead of night, leaving nothing but the bloody tracks of its prey and ruin in its wake.
Scourge of the Northmen[]
- "Now tales tell that in time of war the Dark Lord's emissaries to Azan-zâram flew, for rumor he had heard of a fell beast that ruin and blood in the wake of her preying left and so to use her to terrible effect he sought. Enter her lair they did and to her that in waiting laid said: "Hail to you, Bessamarth, the three times glorified and three times feared. The Lord wishes for your friendship and deference. Much treasure He shall give for it, for bountiful He is to those who aided Him. Of treasures He speaks that are far beyond a few Dwarven trinkets that are unworthy of your splendour. In exchange for your unfeigned commitment, He shall indeed see that your abode overflows with the gold and jewels of the upstart thralls in the West. And as one of the Ruler's prized vassals, your own cohort of subjects you shall have, to serve your whims as you serve His. And plenty of meats shall adorn your table and never famished you shall go. What say you?" And to this she said: "Long have I wondered if not else such an embassy under its fair cloak means. But long enough pondered I have. If such rewards await reaping for the small price of a servant proven friend to this Power then gladly yay I say to you and Him.""
- ― Gorin
Left with few things to eat and an insufficient hoard, Bessamarth was quick to seize the chance of embellishment when she was approached by the emissaries of Sauron, who promised her loot to be had, plenty of meat to devour and enough freedom of action , in exchange for lending him an her ear and her innate destructive means. Whereas others felt offended and turned such harbingers to ashes or simply disregarded his offer, the Cold-Drake agreed to bend her scaly knee to the Dark Lord out of pure convenience, believing that serving him would serve her just as much. Provided with both a small armed Orc-host and a company of slaves by the Black Throne of Barad-dûr, Bessamarth conducted several of Sauron's assaults in tandem with some marauding groups of Easterlings and the Orc-hordes of Goblin-Town upon Northmen settlements, burning and pillaging while the Enemy's main armies marched ever westwards against the Elves. In this time, the Cold-Drake's belly became fuller than ever and the coffers in her lair were overflowing with claimed booty, whereas misery plagued the homes of the Dark Lord's northern adversaries. Having played the part Sauron had required of her, Besamarth returned to her abode together with her thralls, where she would remain for a long time.
By the end of the Second Age, the Cold-Drake was way past her prime and she lacked the slender slythering skills she had in her younger years, though her strength had not left her and she was as fearsome as ever, surpassing all of the fell brood she had borne into the world. As a token of faith to her old master, Bessamarth heeded the Orc-Demon Storlaga's embassy on Sauron's behalf and joined the host assembled by the herald in laying to waste the Gardens of the Entwives - it was her presence that allowed the Black One's forces to push through the Northmen that stood in their way in Rhovanion. However, when the army of the Last Alliance advanced upon the Old Brown Lands, the Cold-Drake was among the very first to flee the scene, for the Battle of the Gwathló had slightly shaken her confidence in the Dark Lord's irresistible might and though her aiding of his side had gained her his favour in the event of his triumph, she did not wish to incur the full wrath of a victorious coalition. Bessamarth's reservations and wise return to her lair besides Azan-zâram ensured her sparing from the disastrous first Downfall of Sauron.
Legacy[]
- "Long she haunted the legends of these lands as the scourge of the Northmen, the Bride of Doom. The Lossoth still only whisper her name and the faint-hearted still shiver at its uttering. And breed Bessamarth did Khuzadrepa and Celruith who too these lands infested. But, alas, her own terrible reign came to an end... her bones litter the sacred ground near our Azan-zâram, whose beauty even that fiend rightfully enchanted beheld."
- ― Gorin
She was believed to have died out by the beginning of the Third Age, though no account makes any detailed mention of how she met her demise. Bessamarth's offspring, especially Khuzadrepa and Celruith would be among the plagues left in her wake, while her abode would eventually be colonized by the Longbeards and turned into the city of Nordinbad; the Cold-Drake's bones were said to still rest besides the marvellous lake of Azan-zâram, a grim reminder of the mountain's previous owner and of the evil days of the Black Years.
Notes[]
- MERP's Creatures of Middle-earth gives her name as "Amarthovesse".
References[]
- MERP #8005/2012: Creatures of Middle-earth
- Dragons of the North, by Chris Seeman, Other Hands Magazine Issue #23 (.PDF)