This is the tale of the greatest war since the fall of Beleriand in the First Age of Middle Earth. This is a tale of bravery and savagery. Mercy and Cruelty. Good versus Evil. This is the story of the Last Alliance of Men and Elves. In the year 3430 of the Second Age, Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor, launched an invasion into the Kingdom of Gondor, taking the citadel Minas Ithil from Isildur, son of Elendil, and Prince of the Numenoreans in Exile. Thousands of orcs, evil in mind and twisted in body poured out of the plains of Gorgorath and Udun and stormed the citadel. Isildur barely escaped with a sapling of the White Tree. Isildur went to his brother Anarion, who resided in Minas Anor, and gave him the sapling. He told Anarion to hold the river at all costs until he arrived with help from their father. Thus did Isildur ride north to Annuminas, Capitol of the Realm of Arnor, home of Elendil, and tell him of what had happened. Couriers rode west to Lindon, home of the Noldor, and east to Greenwood, home of the Silvan Elves. Thus was the Alliance born. Our story begins right before the attack on Minas Ithil however. Which side will you choose? Will you fight for the preservation of a free Middle Earth? Or shall you serve Sauron, and crush the free peoples beneath your armored boot?


Race Descriptions:

Noldorin Elves: Wisest and most powerful of the Eldar in Middle Earth, they are led by their High King, Gil-Galad who resides in Mithlond, Capitol of the Kingdom of Lindon. They are typically dark haired, and are the best craftsmen of the elven race. However, their numbers are not great compared to what they once were, for their power has dimmed greatly since the years of the First Age. The Noldorin Realm of Eregion fell earlier in the Second age to Sauron, and now all that remains of that once great Kingdom is the Haven of Imladris, or Rivendell. However, the Noldor have maintained close ties with the Dunedain Realms, and as such they have powerful allies to fight alongside. The old power of the Noldor may be weakened, but to those who think it is gone, they will suffer a massive shock. The greatest of the Noldor in Middle Earth right now are Gil-Galad and his mighty spear Aeglos and Elrond with the blade Hadahafang. Gil-Galad also bears one of the Three Elven Rings of Power. But perhaps YOU can be one of the mighty Noldor, and help champion a people who have fought for thousands of years against the shadow?

Realms of the Noldor:
Lindon: An Elven Kingdom, it consists of the Grey Havens west of the Shire, completely surrounding the gulf of Lune. It is led by the High King of the Noldor, Gil-Galad, and Cirdan, lord of the Falathrim. In this time of darkness, they will be able to raise close to 70,000 Warriors with frightening skill. Lindon is not completely Noldorin though, for it is also comprised of the Teleri and Sindarin Elves of Cirdan. Its warriors are the finest in all Middle Earth, for the Noldor are the greatest of the Eldar. Their archers carry great longbows that at close range can even break the hardness of dragonscale. Their swordsmen bear long, thin, curved swords that they wield with brutal efficiency. Their spearmen wield mighty kite shields and longspears. They are all armored in chainmail tunics wrapped in golden leather with steel sheets run through the leather strips. They wear golden greathelms, and tend to have large cloaks whose color depends on their nations. Lindon’s is a bright blue.
Imladris: This small Haven is ruled by Elrond Perendhell, Herald of Gil-Galad. It contains the refugees of Eregion, including its famed smiths. It is the rally point for the armies of the Alliance due to its abundance of highly skilled smiths and key location. It can bring another thousand warriors to the fight.

Sindar Elves: These are the Grey Elves. They have no Kingdom of just their people, for the mighty Sindarin Realms of old fell during the First Age and now they are part of the other Elven Kingdoms. They are fair haired, and some of the finest archers and singers of Middle Earth. But while their skill and courage aren’t doubted, their smithing is. The Sindar are the ruling nobility however, of the Silvan Realms of Lorien and Greenwood. They also reside in Lindon with their Teleri cousins, and comprise a good number of Lindon’s warriors, though they are equipped by Noldor smiths. Notable Sindar include Orophor, King of Greenwood, Amdir, Lord of Lorien, and Thranduil, Prince of Greenwood.

Sindar/Silvan Realms:
Greenwood: This Elven realm is set in the greatest forest remaining in Middle Earth. Its warriors are hardy and valiant, if a little underequipped. They bring the most warriors to the fray though of all the elven people, for they are the most populated. Their accuracy is unerring, their eyes bright, and they will fight to defend the beauty of Middle Earth. They have a somewhat split population though, with the Sindar ruling as the nobility with the Silvan majority being the common folk.

Lorien: This golden forest realm is the most beautiful of the Elven realms, and is the smallest save for Imladris. Its people are known as the Galadhrim, after Caras Galadhon, its Capitol. Their army is centered around the Marchwardens of Lorien, which are modeled off of the marchwardens of Doriath, the greatest of the Sindarin Realms of the First Age. They go into battle carrying great bows carved from the famed mallorn trees of Lorien, and armored in light chain and leather. For Melee they carry long blades. They are all extremely skilled and one on one, no orc can best them.



Dunedain/Numenoreans: These are the most powerful and noble of all men, standing at least six feet tall, and living up to three hundred years. They are strong and skilled crafters who make the finest things in the world of Men. But in this year they have waned in strength, for the isle of Numenor has sank for its people and King dared to rise up against the Valar. However, some escaped its fall, led by Elendil and his sons Anarion and Isildur. Elendil landed in the North of Middle Earth with 9 ships and made contact with the Numenorean colonists there. They accepted him as their king, and thus the realm of Arnor was born. Isildur and Anarion traveled south with their 9 ships and founded Gondor. These proud men of Numenor are staunch opponents of Sauron and will fight him to the end.

Realms:
Arnor: Northern realm of the Dunedain, ruled by Elendil. Its capital is Annuminas with other chief fortresses being Fornost and Amon Sul. Arnor is the less populated and as such can only bring about thirty thousand swords to the fight, but they are some of the finest warriors. They carry bright longswords that dwarf other men’s blades into battle, with large wooden shields. They are armored in heavy chainmail with bright winged helms. Their lord Elendil carries the mighty blade Narsil into battle.

Gondor: The land of Stone, it is jointly ruled by Anarion in his mighty fortress of Minas Anor, and Isildur in the Citadel of Minas Ithil. Their capital however is Osgiliath which sits on the river Anduin between the two. Gondor can raise nearly a hundred thousand men, but it is on the frontlines of the war. Staring it down a mere stone’s throw from Minas Ithil is the black land of Mordor where countless orcs ready themselves for war. The men of Gondor are equipped nearly identically to the men of Arnor, and their lords are as mighty as Elendil himself.

Umbar: This city down in Harad is the last haven of the King’s Men, or the black Numenoreans. They despise Elendil’s people and have thrown their lot in with Sauron. Their skill with ships is only matched by that of Gondor, and their malice is mighty indeed. They will bow to no King, and they will fight to the death if cornered. These men of Numenor have made themselves lords of the local Haradrim, and though they themselves are mighty in both skill and armament, their levies are not. Basic equipment with little to no armor, and poor training makes the Haradrim poor soldiers.





The Dwarves

Durin’s Folk: Durin’s folk are the most powerful and plentiful of the dwarven people and their domains are spread through the southern Misty Mountains, throughout the Grey Mountains, to Erebor, and finally the Iron Hills. Dwarves are stout, hardy folk who are the finest smiths, masons, and miners in all Middle Earth. They are fabulously wealthy and will fight to the end to hold what is theirs. Sauron has sworn to destroy them for their flat refusal to accept him as their lord. By their beards and by their axes, they will fight this war, and show those pointy eared elves a thing or three about killing orcs!

Khazad Dum- Durin’s Halls, mightiest city of the Dwarven world, source of all Mithril in Middle Earth. It is currently led by Durin IV, and bears close ties with Imladris which comes from the close ties originally held with Eregion. Khazad Dum guards the passage between Arnor and Lindon and the East, and faces off against the Goblins of Gundabad and the Northern Misty Mountains. Khazad Dum is the most populous of the dwarven settlements, and can field up to fifty thousand dwarven warriors, though for this particular war most will be staying home to battle the Orcs of the North. Dwarves prefer axes to all other weapons, and as such these warriors are armed with an assortment of axes, ranging from small throwing hatchets to massive battleaxes. They are all heavily armored in varying levels of chainmail and plate armor. Their famed war-cry, “Baruk Khazad! Khazad Aimenu!” will sound the charge of the Children of Aule, and the orcs will know fear.


The Orcs
Twisted creatures formed from the cruel torture of elves captured by Morgoth, the Orcs are the living embodiment of evil. They are the common soldiers of Sauron, and are savage fighters, if not too bright. Their greatest strength is their vast numbers, by which even elves and dwarves can fall to. However, by themselves or in small numbers they show their true cowardly self, and if something scares even a large group enough they will flee unless they are more scared of their leadership. Their organizations are very much based on strength, and as such their societies are extremely chaotic with newcomers killing each other for power and the local chiefs murdering interlopers and peers to retain their own position.

Realms:
The Shadow of Mordor: This is THE principal player for the Shadow. This is Sauron’s personal domain, and its power is mighty. It is a natural fortress, completely surrounded by mountains except for the pass of Udun guarded by the Black Gate, and the Morgul Pass, Guarded by Minas Ithil/Morgul. Its armies are seemingly endless, fueled by the massive forges at Barad Dur, Sauron’s capitol. Sauron himself is the greatest being in Mordor, and possibly all Middle Earth, for he is of the Highest level of Maiar. He appears as a giant armored in black armor, wielding a massive mace and with a simple golden ring on his hand…. His plans are nothing less than world domination, and it will take all the strength of Men and Elves to overthrow him.

Gundabad/Northern Misty Mountains: This Northern bastion of evil is slowly pressing on the Dwarves of Khazad-Dum. Steady streams of goblin immigrants from the overpopulated city mountain of Gundabad has put a lot of pressure on the northern Dwarven frontiers, and a war has begun. This has tied up much of Durin IV’s strength, for nearly eighty percent of it is battling these goblins and orcs. There is no one leader of these goblins, merely dozens of Orcish chiefs leading their respective tribes looking for more land and resources. But if there was an orc strong enough, he could perhaps unite the disunited orcs and goblins, and maybe carve out an empire in the North of Middle Earth….