In the last days of
King Elessar’s life, he imparted a certain portion of knowledge to his son Eldarion, that there were “sundered kin” of the
Gondorians, who the
Rangers of
Arnor had battled over many years, due to their hatred for the
Dunedain. He bequeathed it to his son to find them.
This troubled Eldarion, as he knew not what this new threat might be. And so, a year after receiving the Crown of
Gondor, Eldarion was residing in Annuminas, and taking his father’s wish, arrayed himself in light attire with earthy tones, and taking three score or so of the descendants of the Rangers, journeyed into the wilderness to hunt for these mysterious
peoples. Far into the north they came, just south of Forochel. Eldarion questioned the Lossoth of wicked people of
Numenorean descent, but the Lossoth appeared fearful, and would not answer.
They continued though, coming to the North Downs. No one had dared to go here since the days of
Aragorn’s chieftanship, and it had remained an
evil place. They were walking along the edge of the Downs when
arrows began whistling by them. More than one found their mark. Several Rangers were killed. Assailed by an unseen enemy, Eldarion and his
men took what little cover they could and returned the salvo. But Eldarion had inherited not only hardiness and battle prowess from his father but also wisdom. Keeping half of his men to continue the volley, Eldarion and the rest drew their
swords silently and crept through the fog towards the Downs. They came right to the center of the Downs but found no one, and there were only very faint tracks, fresh, but made as if someone skilled in deception and disappearance had been there. Indeed the tracks were just as light as those of the Rangers themselves. And the Rangers quickly spread out silently in their fashion. At last a cry brought Eldarion to a large barrow, and against it sat a man with an
arrow in his leg. He was darker skinned than the Dunedain, and darker haired. But tall and noble he seemed, despite the fact he was clad in weather beaten clothes. A band of steel he wore around his head, with a golden sun in the middle.
The man only declared himself as Valtor son of Vandoril, but would say no more about where his people came from or who they were.
Eldarion had him bound, and ordered the men to search the barrows. They did so, and found not empty tombs with treasures but actual dwellings. Then Eldarion’s captain Maethor found one that appeared to be a storage room of some sort. And there were many parchments and annals kept there. It is told that these were brought back to Fornost. Eldarion and his men in time captured or killed the rest of the men, who they called Dark Rangers. But there were more elsewhere, and after two long years in the North Eldarion, after losing many men, emerged victorious with many prisoners. From them he could learn nothing of their history or people. All he could learn is that they had a lifespan equal to that of the Dunedain, and so were quite certainly of Numenorean descent. And so Eldarion spent a year in Fornost poring over the records found in the North Downs. And so he made a history of the Dark Rangers, entitled, The Tale of Nardor.
The people of Nardor first began as a branch off from the people of
Numenor. Before
the golden reign of
Ar-Pharazon, a group of
Numenoreans, not from
the Faithful, settled a small island a few miles off the coast of
Middle earth south of
Umbar. They began a new settlement there and prospered, more than a few thousand, for the land was bountiful like Numenor. Their lord was a direct descendant of
Turin Turambar. For though it was thought
Nienor Niniel died in the waters,
Ulmo was kind to her, and rescued her from the torrents, and she delivered. And so her descendants became leaders of these islanders. The black
sword Gurthan was an heirloom to the lords, and remained the sword of the
kings of Nardor, long past the
realm's fall. These people followed Ar-Pharazon and
Sauron, but they had no part in the vast armada the King invaded Eldamar with. They could see the destruction Numenor by the will of Illuvatar, and were afraid. Indeed, it did not please the
Valar that any other than the Faithful should escape the Downfall. But the people of the island were also wise. After Numenor fell, they loaded up their
ships and set sail for Middle-earth, south of Umbar, for they feared that the
Black Numenoreans there would kill them, thinking them part of the Faithful. And it was well, for
Eru destroyed the island shortly after they left, and the ruin of the island was so violent that 4 ships were lost in the waves.
They landed in the sparse land near
Far Harad, and they were now a great host, with women and children and many herds of livestock. They journeyed inward, looking for land suitable for them, but were barred in by an endless mountain range. The cliffs were steep, and many died trying to climb over the
mountains, as no pass could be found. But the people of the island started to dwindle, for there was little
food and water to sustain a large population, and their livestock started to die, and the sun was very bright. Many morepeople died before hope eventually came. A wanderer, very tall, singing beautifully, they came across. He was not a man they could see, but an
elf. His hand was clenched as in pain, and in his eyes was sorrow. Taking pity on the people, he led them through a secret pass in the mountains, and the land inside was good, unlike the fierce deserts of
Harad. They took the
elvish saviour as their king, and he named himself as
Maglor, son of
Feanor. Of him they knew much, and they marveled still. Maglor married the lord’s daughter, and his son they named Amadril. And so the House of
Hurin vanished, and was renamed the House of Maglor. Within the shadow of the mountains Maglor’s people prospered, and they mined into the mountains and became a powerful force. More than once they had to fight off raids from
Haradrim tribes. And always Maglor was increasing the size of his realm.
In the sides of the mountains they carved great
cities after the fashion of Numenor. But the greatest
city was in the south of the land, and it was named Forrelon. The city that guarded the sea entrance was called Tilion, and the port outside the mountains was named Antorin. Maglor named his realm Nardor, Land Behind the Mountains. But he became mortal, and died just as men die.
For a thousand years the Nardorians prospered, untroubled in their secret kingdom. They had learnt through spies of Sauron’s fall to
Isildur, but they had sent no aid as they distrusted the Faithful. Twice though in later years they did send aid, to battle the enemies of Gondor, because they hated Sauron fiercely because of the Destruction of Numenor. And even to Gondor it had seemed like great hosts, but it was but a small portion of Nardor’s true strength. Sauron hated this new people because of this, as much as the Dunedain, and plotted their destruction. But the Nardorians waited behind their
walls of stone.
But soon out of the west two wanderers came to the mountains. They were clad in sea blue, with grey mantles and one wore a hood. They both carried staffs, which seemed to radiate a hidden power. The watchmen on the high
towers on the mountaintops espied them, and King Calaher of Nardor admitted them. Learning that they were
Istari from
Valinor, they were mistrusted, and were not permitted to leave the kingdom. But they made it clear what their purpose was. The people of Nardor were not as secret as they thought. Word had reached the newly arisen Sauron through the Haradrim, that people other than the Faithful had escaped the Downfall of Numenor, and that they were powerful and many, and that they served themselves. Sauron, they said, would certainly want to remove this threat, as they had saved Gondor before. The
Blue Wizards counseled Calaher to mine the mountains, and make a great store of
weapons and armour. And the king was fearful, and did as they bid. And these
wizards,
Alatar and Palando, became Calaher’s counselors, and oversaw the defense and preparation of Nardor, weaving spells into the cities to protect them. They warned him not to let Gondor fall. Calaher was not pleased with this, as the rift between the Gondorian Faithful and the Nardorians had been expanding. They did not trust one another. But nonetheless, when Sauron attacked Gondor in the days of Minalcar, Calaher sent a massive force and crushed Sauron's invading
armies, and also destroyed the
Corsairs of Umbar in a vicious sea battle. He did this because he understood that with a threat in the west,
Mordor would be less agressive and contained. Then Sauron saw that he could never destroy the remnants of the
Elendili, unless he first removed Nardor.
