Balur (Del. "Out of fire" or S. "Might fire") was a dwarf who served as the armourer of the Tower of Cirith Ungol under gondorian occupation in ca. T.A.1640.A member of a distant clan of Dúrin’s Folk, he had once dwelt in the Ered Mithrin with his kin. There Dwarves labored and feasted contentedly, until the coming of the firedrake Itangast, who routed them from their halls and stole their treasures. Just a generation ago, Balur was forced to flee his home with only the clothes on his back. Too proud to accept charity from his kin-folk at Khazad-dûm, he came south and enlisted as a mercenary armorer in Gondor's army, choosing to serve in the Tower for the higher pay. His ambition was to save enough gold to return north in proper Dwarvish style, to gather his kin, and to take revenge upon the dragon. A bachelor, Balur was lonely in the Tower, so far from his kin. His closest companion was Amrod, and the two drowned their sorrows together in drink. Balur had rather more control than Amrod, and his work was unaffected by his ale-guzzling. This skilled dwarf was 4’6‘ tall (or short), very broadly built, with a prominent nose and a long forked red beard. Balur, at 160 years old, was well above Dwarvish middle-age.
Notes[]
"Bálúr" could be old norse, but the later dalish dialect usually represented by modified/modernized Norse most likely didn't exist yet in ca. T.A.1640.Most likely the name therefore is to be understood as Sindarin "Balûr".
References[]
- MERP:The Tower of Cirith Ungol and Shelob’s Lair