NationStates Jolt Archive


Rivendell Factbook [Middle-Earth RP]

DMG
19-08-2006, 16:23
Rivendell
http://www.frodoforever.com/places/rivendell_4b.jpg





Ruler: Elrond
Capital: Rivendell
Population: 40,000 Elves
Military: 14,000




History
Sindar
The Sindar (meaning Grey People, singular Sinda, although the later term was not generally used) were Elves of Telerin descent. They are also known as the Grey Elves. Their language is Sindarin. The Kings of Doriath, Elu Thingol and his grandson Dior Eluchil, were the High Kings of the Sindar.

The Sindar are "grey" perhaps because they were not Elves of the Light, never having actually set foot in Valinor, but neither were they Avari, since they did accept the invitation and set out on the journey (and therefore were technically counted among the Eldar). They are sometimes referred to as Elves of the Twilight. The term grey may also refer to Elu Thingol's grey cloak. The term Sindar is actually not Sindarin in origin: it is the Quenya name devised by the Ñoldorin exiles. It may also be related to Lindar, the Telerin name for themselves. The name that the Sindar used for themselves was simply Edhil ("Elves", singular Edhel).
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The Teleri were the greatest host of the Eldar. They had two kings, the brothers Elwë Singollo (or Elu Thingol as he was later known in the Sindarin tongue) and Olwë. When the Teleri reached Beleriand during the Great Journey from Cuivienen, Thingol went wandering in the forests as was his wont. In the forest of Nan Elmoth he met Melian, one of the Maiar. They fell in love, and with Melian, Thingol stood spellbound in Nan Elmoth for several years.

In the meantime, Olwë and many of the Teleri could not delay longer, and went to Aman without Elwë and his following. Elwë's followers stayed in Beleriand, to search for their king. At long last he awoke from the spell and set up a kingdom in the midst of Beleriand: Eglador (Land of the Forsaken, or Land of the Elves. The etymology is not clear.). The Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost in the Ered Luin (Blue Mountains) were contracted to aid in the building of the city of Menegroth (the Thousand Caves).

Other Teleri also stayed behind: these were the friends of Ossë the Maia, who had fallen in love with the shores of Middle-earth, and did not wish to depart. Their leader was Círdan, and they established cities at Eglarest and Brithombar. They were known as the Falathrim, or Elves of the Falas (Shore). They were not part of the realm of Eglador, but still took Thingol as their High King.

Yet other stray bands of Teleri settled in Nevrast and Hithlum to the north of Eglador, although these did not form any realms.

The Teleri of Eglador, the northlands, and the Falas were collectively known as the Sindar, or Grey Elves, in later days, because they developed a civilisation all its own, which almost equalled that of the Calaquendi or Light Elves of Valinor.

A last group of Teleri in Beleriand were the Laiquendi or Green Elves: they were descended from the Nandor, which had split from the Great Journey before the Hithaeglir (Misty Mountains), and gone south along the Great River (Anduin). A part of them, under Denethor son of Dan, crossed the Blue Mountains eventually, and settled in Ossiriand, or as it was later known Lindon (land of the singers). They remained a people apart for long, although many of them removed to Thingol's realm after Denethor was killed.

Just before the arrival of the Ñoldorin exiles, the Dark Lord Morgoth returned to his old stronghold of Angband, and his activities increased. Thingol had Melian use her magic to create a girdle of bewilderment around Eglador, so that nobody could enter without the king's permission. Ever after it was known as Doriath (Land of the Fence). Thingol remained High King of the Sindar and nominal Overlord of Beleriand, although especially the Ñoldor following of the sons of Fëanor usually ignored his commands.

The language of the Sindar diverged from common Telerin over the long ages they were sundered from their kin, and became known as Sindarin. By the time the Ñoldor arrived in Beleriand, the languages had become mutually unintelligible, but the Ñoldor were quick to learn it. In the Second and Third Age, Sindarin became known as the Noble Tongue, and became the Elvish tongue used in daily speech throughout Middle-earth (helped by the decree of Thingol, who forbade the use of the Ñoldorin language in his realm). It was also adopted for daily use by the Númenóreans, and remained somewhat in use in the Realms in Exile of Gondor and Arnor.

Sindarin eventually replaced Ñoldorin Quenya as the language used by the Ñoldor in Beleriand, even in predominantly Ñoldorin settlements such as Gondolin, although Quenya survived as a language of knowledge.

The Peredhil, Elrond and Elros, were partially of Sindarin Elven descent, as their mother Elwing was the daughter of Dior, the son of Lúthien, the daughter of Thingol and Melian.


Rivendell
Rivendell (Sindarin: Imladris) is an Elven outpost also referred to as 'The Last Homely House East of the Sea,' a reference to Valinor, which is west of the sea. It was established by Elrond in the Second Age of Middle-earth (four or five thousand years ago). Besides Elrond himself, notable Elves who live there include Arwen and Glorfindel.

Rivendell is located at the edge of a narrow gorge of the river Bruinen (one of the main approaches to Rivendell comes from a nearby ford of Bruinen), but well hidden in the moorlands and foothills of the Hithaeglir or the Misty Mountains. The Sindarin name for Rivendell (which is a translation thereof) is Imladris, meaning "deep valley of the cleft".
DMG
19-08-2006, 16:48
Citizens of Rivendell
Population: 40,000
Race: Elven

Of the forty thousand elves that live in the realm of Rivendell, only a small number of them actually live in the hidden refuge itself. The remaining live in the villages and such in the small area surrounding the refuge.

Notable Citizens*: Elrond, Arwen, Celebrían, Glorfindel


Regions and Cities:
Capital: Rivendell

The actual region (http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/maps/rivendell.gif) that belongs to Rivendell is quite small and not well defined. Because Rivendell is a hidden refuge and not a major civilization or city, the area that belongs to it is marked only by where its inhabitants live. The markers that claim the land are few and far between, hardly noticeable so that the area remains unscathed and unnoticed.

There are no cities in Rivendell. Rivendell is the largest town and yet it is quite small. There are numerous villages that surround the countryside, but their population is quite low; infinitesimal compared to cities like Minas Tirith.


Notable Citizens
Elrond
Elrond the Half-elven (F.A. 525 - ?) is Lord of Rivendell, one of the mighty rulers of old that still remain in Middle-earth in its Third Age.

He is the son of Eärendil and Elwing, and a great-grandson of Lúthien, born in Beleriand, in the First Age, making him well over 6,000 years old. Elrond's brother was Elros, Tar-Minyatur, the first High King of Númenor. Born at the refuge of the Havens of Sirion soon before its destruction by the sons of Fëanor, Elrond and his brother, Elros were captured alive. This caused their parents to fear that they would be killed but instead they were taken up by the brothers Maedhros and Maglor. Maglor eventually released them, feeling sorry for them.

Elrond went to Lindon with the household of Gil-galad, the last High King of the Ñoldor when Beleriand was destroyed at the end of the First Age, choosing (like his parents but unlike his brother) to be counted among the Elves when the option of kindreds was given to him.

In the Second Age, he was sent to Eregion by Gil-galad, and after the destruction of Eregion, he fled into Eriador, where he founded Rivendell, one of the last remaining strongholds against Sauron, with the remaining Ñoldor of Eregion. Upon this occasion, Gil-galad entrusted Elrond with Vilya (http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Vilya), one of the elvish Three Rings.

Near the end of the Second Age, he claimed he was Gil-galad's herald at the Battle of Dagorlad, where Sauron was defeated and "killed" by Gil-galad and Elendil (who were also killed) at the gates of his own citadel. In the year 109 of the Third Age, he wed Celebrían, daughter of Celeborn and Galadriel. In the year 130, twins were born named Elladan and Elrohir, and in 241 a daughter, Arwen Undómiel. He continues to reside in Rivendell with his daughter and wife to this day.


Celebrían* Formally a Citizen
Celebrían is an Elven noblewoman, the daughter of Celeborn and Galadriel, wife of Elrond, and mother of Arwen, Elrohir and Elladan. She was Lady of Rivendell. Her name means "silver queen" in Sindarin.

After Sauron's invasion of Eregion in 1697 S.A., Celebrían and her kin, fled from Ost-in-Edhil through the mines of Moria, eventually reaching Lothlórien (then called Q. Laurelindórenan). Celebrían was present at the Founding of Rivendell, about 1700 S.A., with her parents alongside.

Sojourning with the Nandor in Lórien for many a year, Celebrían and her parents eventually travelled to Rivendell (Imladris). Half-Noldor, half-Sindar, it was there that she wed Elrond, himself half-Elven (peredhel), in 109 Third Age. Together they begat three children, Arwen "Undómiel" Evenstar in 241 T.A., preceded by the twins Elladan and Elrohir in 130 T.A.

In T.A. 2509, on a trip from Rivendell to Lórien, she was waylaid by Orcs in the Redhorn Pass of the Misty Mountains (Caradhras), captured and tormented, receiving a poisoned wound. Her sons rescued her and she was healed by Elrond, but after fear and torment she no longer wished to stay in Middle-earth, passing to the Grey Havens and over Sea in the following year.


Arwen
Arwen (TA 241 - ?), also known as Arwen Undómiel or Arwen Evenstar was the daughter of Elrond Halfelven and Celebrían. She was also the younger sister of Elladan and Elrohir. Born in the second century of the Third Age, Arwen witnessed many great events of that Age, such as the fall of the Northern Kingdom. She often traveled from her home in Imladris to Lothlórien with her mother to visit her grandparents, Galadriel and Celeborn.

Arwen was said to have been the most beautiful of the Elves born since the time of Lúthien, her foremother. The daughter of Elrond met, Aragorn Elessar in the year TA 2951, when he first mistook her for Lúthien.


Glorfindel
Glorfindel was a noble Elf of Rivendell. During the Battle of Fornost he was the major reason why the evil Witch-King of Angmar was defeated.
DMG
19-08-2006, 17:13
Army of Rivendell

14,000 soldiers strong, and though many of them are not full time soldiers, they still possess an equal ability to fight. With their exceptionally long lives, the elves have been able to train in the art of battle for hundreds of years, making them exceptionally skilled. They use some of the finest weapons, crafted by the elves themselves with individual attention and care. Along with magic from the powerful elves, this force can be quite formidal on the battlefield.

Fourteen thousand soldiers all trained in the exceptional use of a bow and hand-to-hand combat of a blade. They are quick, strong, skilled, and honorable to the core.