NationStates Jolt Archive

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Contents/Kingdom Overview (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11576519&postcount=1)
Racial Background - Dwarves (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11576538&postcount=2)
Kings and Legends of Durin's Folk (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11576579&postcount=3)
Areas of significance (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11576645&postcount=4)
War of the Dwarves and Orcs (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11576660&postcount=5)
Battle of Nanduhirion (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11576669&postcount=6)
Battle of Five Armies (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11576686&postcount=7)

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Dwarves of the Grey Mountains
The Dwarves of the Grey Mountains were the Dwarves of Durin's folk who lived in the Grey Mountains in northern Middle-earth. They fled to the Grey Mountains in Third Age 1981 after a Balrog was unearthed in their ancestral home of Khazad-dûm. Another portion of their clan established the kingdom of Lonely Mountain, but King Thorin I, learning that most of his people remained in the Grey Mountains, abandoned Lonely Mountain to join the Dwarves to the north.

Increasing attacks by Dragons plagued the Dwarves until King Dáin I was slain by a Cold-drake in 2589. Durin's folk then left the Grey Mountains, with some returning to Lonely Mountain while others founded their own kingdom in the Iron Hills.

Dwelling Status: - Abandoned
Population, 0
Forces present,
- None


Dwarves of the Iron Hills
The Dwarves of the Iron Hills belonged to the clan of the Longbeards, otherwise known as Durin's folk. About half a millennium ago, the Dwarves of this clan dwelt in the northern Grey Mountains, but they were greatly troubled by dragons in that region. After King Dáin I was slain by one of these dragons, his surviving sons led an exodus into the east. Dáin's elder son Thrór recreated the Kingdom under the Mountain at Erebor, while his younger brother Grór led a part of the people further into the east, to settle among the Iron Hills.

The Dwarves were prosperous in their new home, and were well known for making a metal mesh that could be used for making flexible items like leg-coverings.

It seems that the two related peoples remained on friendly terms with one another. Years later, when Thrór's descendant Thorin Oakenshield sent to the Iron Hills for aid in restoring Erebor, Grór's grandson Dáin II Ironfoot (named after his illustrious ancestor Dáin I) sent many armoured Dwarves. As events developed, the Dwarves of the Iron Hills proved crucial in winning the ensuing Battle of Five Armies. Thorin died in that battle, and with him the royal line of Thrór. Through his ancestor Grór, the Kingship of Durin's Folk then fell on Dáin. As Dáin II Ironfoot, he removed from the Iron Hills, and re-established a kingdom under the Lonely Mountain.

Dwelling Status: - Mining Community
Population, 5,000
Forces present,
- Dwarven Warriors (axe): 500
- Dwarven Guard (Sword and Bow): 3,000


Dwarves of Erebor
The Dwarves who dwelt in the halls of Erebor, beneath the Lonely Mountain. They were dispossessed of their immense wealth by Smaug, who sacked their kingdom, but they famously reclaimed their inheritance many years later under the leadership of Thorin Oakenshield.

Dwelling Status: - Stronghold (Capital)
Population, 10,000
Forces present,
- Dwarven Warriors (axe): 1,000
- Dwarven Guard (Sword and Bow): 5,000

The Dwarves were beings of short stature, often friendly with Hobbits although long suspicious of Elves. They were typically blacksmiths and stoneworkers by profession, unrivaled in some of their arts even by the Elves.

History
Unlike Elves and Men, the Dwarves are not counted among the Children of Ilúvatar. They were created by Aulë the Smith. They were kept asleep until the creation of the Elves. Aulë created the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, from whom all other Dwarves are descended. Aulë's work was doomed though, because he did not have the power to grant independent life to his creations - that power belonged to Ilúvatar alone. Aulë later repented and confessed to Ilúvatar. When the Dwarves were completed, the voice of Ilúvatar spoke to Aulë and agreed to grant them true life and include them in his plan for Arda. Ilúvatar granted the Dwarves life and therefore they are known as the Adopted Children of Ilúvatar.

They mined and worked precious metals throughout the mountains of Middle-earth. In many ways, they were in between the Elves and Men. They were not immortal, but lived to two hundred and fifty years or more. They were generally less corruptible than Men, but committed their share of rash and greedy acts. (Among these are the slaying of Elu Thingol and the dispute over the Nauglamír, which first brought suspicion and hate between Elves and Dwarves)

The Dwarven language was created by Aulë and was known as Khuzdul. It was a strange language to Elves and Men and few non-Dwarves learned it, also because they kept it secret. However, one Dwarven phrase is well known: the ancient battle cry, going back to at least the First Age: "Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu!", which means "Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!"

The Dwarves were known for their strength and endurance in battle as well as their fury, especially when revenging their kin. They fought in many wars and battles over the ages of Middle-earth's existance, among which were:
• The First Battle of Beleriand.
• The Battle of Unnumbered Tears.
• The Sack of Doriath.
• The War of the Last Alliance.
• The War of the Dwarves and Orcs.
• The Battle of Five Armies.

Fathers of the Dwarves
The Seven Fathers of the Dwarves were the first of their race.
The Vala Aulë created the Dwarves because he was impatient for the arising of the Children of Ilúvatar (Elves and Men). He created seven Dwarves and was teaching them the language he had devised for them (Khuzdul) when Ilúvatar confronted him. Aulë offered his creations to Ilúvatar, who accepted them and gave them life.

However, the Fathers of the Dwarves had to wait until the Elves first arrived, so Aulë laid them to rest in various places in the continent of Middle-earth.
The eldest of all, Durin, "lay alone" at Mount Gundabad in the north of the Misty Mountains. He later founded the line of the Longbeards (or Sigin-tarâg in Khuzdul), the Dwarves which were most friendly to the Elves and Men mostly referred to as Durin's folk. His city was Khazad-dûm.
Two others were laid to rest near Mount Dolmed in the Ered Luin or Blue Mountains, and they founded the lines of the Broadbeams and the Firebeards who later lived in Nogrod and Belegost.

The other four Fathers of Dwarves were laid to rest in the far east, two of them at the northern end of the Orocarni and the other two near the southern end of the range. These founded the lines of the Ironfists, Stiffbeards, Blacklocks and Stonefoots. No Dwarves of these lines appear in the tales: however, as noted below, the Longbeards may be formed out of Dwarves from all lines, and Dwarves from Durin's Folk may therefore have ancestors from these other lines. After the end of the First Age, when the ancestral homes of the Broadbeams and Firebeards were destroyed, these two lines merged with Durin's Folk, so that Moria had a mixed population and Thorin Oakenshield grew up in the remnants of the Firebeards' halls.

Of the Fathers of the Dwarves, only Durin is said to have "lain alone". This can be interpreted as referring to the fact he was indeed laid down to rest alone while the other Fathers were laid to rest in pairs, also Durin alone had no female companion. The other Fathers did: references are thus made to the "Thirteen Dwarves" created by Aulë (Durin and the six pairs). By this version of the story, Durin's Folk was formed out of Dwarves from the other six lines, as a mixed people arose when all Dwarves went to Gundabad.

Clans of the Dwarves
The seven different groups of Dwarf-folk originated in the locations where the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves first awoke before the First Age. There were three pairs of Dwarf Fathers that awoke together, and their Folk would build their halls near each other, though Durin himself had awoken alone. (note - all the Dwarf Fathers except for Durin also had wives who awoke with them). Therefore the halls of the Longbeards at Khazad-dûm were not located near the halls of another Dwarf-kingdom. The seven clans of the Dwarves were:
• Longbeards, Durin's Folk, originally from Khazad-dûm.
• Firebeards, originally from Nogrod. Paired with the
• Broadbeams, originally from Belegost.
• Ironfists, originated somewhere far in the East. Located paired with the
• Stiffbeards.
• Blacklocks, originated somewhere far in the East. Located paired with the
• Stonefoots.
There was also an eighth group of Dwarves that was not a separate member from these seven kindreds, but composed of exiles from each: the Petty-dwarves, who were hunted like animals to the point of extinction by the Elves in the First Age.

Names
The Dwarves called themselves the Khazad, the name Aule gave them; this translates as the Hadhodrim in Sindarin and the Casari in Quenya. Casari was the common word for Dwarves among the Noldor, but the Sindar usually called them the Naugrim or Nogothrim, the Stunted People.

Durin's folk were by right the inhabitants of Khazad-dûm, also called the Longbeards. Their first King was Durin the Deathless.

The Dwarves of Durin's folk were ruled by six kings named Durin, all fathers and sons, until Durin VI who was killed by Durin's Bane in 1980 of the Third Age.

Line of Durin's folk
• Durin I (The Deathless), father of Dwarves. Founder and first King of Khazad-Dûm.
• Durin II–V, Durin Reincarnated.
• Durin VI son of Durin V. He was killed by Durin's Bane in 1980 T.A.
• Náin I son of Durin VI. Last King of Khazad-Dûm, he was killed by Durin's Bane in 1981 T.A.
• Thráin I son of Náin I. Founded Erebor in 1999 T.A.
• Thorin I son of Thráin I. He left Erebor for the Ered Mithrin
• Glóin son of Thorin I
• Óin son of Glóin
• Náin II son of Óin
• Dáin I son of Náin II. Last King of all of Durin's folk, he was killed by a cold-drake in 2589 T.A.
• Thrór son of Dáin I. Returned to Erebor as King in Exile, and tried to reclaim Moria. Was killed by Azog the Orc in 2790 T.A. (Start of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs)
• Thráin II son of Thrór. Lived in or near Belegost in the Ered Luin. He died in the dungeons of Dol Guldur in 2850 T.A. and was the last holder of the Last Ring of the Dwarves.
• Thorin Oakenshield son of Thrain II. He refounded Erebor, but was killed in the Battle of Five Armies in 2941 T.A.

After Thorin's death the line passed to his great-nephew Dáin II Ironfoot (son of Grór, younger brother of Thráin II).


Durin I
Durin I (Years of the Trees – First Age), also known as Durin the Deathless, was the eldest of the seven Fathers of the Dwarves, the first of that race to be created by the Vala Aulë. He was set to sleep under the mountains of Middle-earth until after the Awakening of the Elves.

Durin awoke at Mount Gundabad in the Misty Mountains during the Years of the Trees. He journeyed in the wilds until he came upon Mirrormere (Kheled-zâram in Khuzdul). Looking upon mysterious stars reflected in its surface, he took this as a sign, and there founded a great city. This was Khazad-dûm, later called Moria, and for many years it was the greatest Dwarven city in Middle-earth.

Durin lived to a great age even by the measure of the Dwarves, outliving many of his children, until he was known as "The Deathless". However, he was not actually immortal, and died sometime during the First Age.
Durin was the founder of the Longbeards clan, which later became known as Durin's folk. The Longbeards believe that Durin will return to them seven times, and in each reincarnation he will again be named Durin and reign as King.

Durin's axe survived him and would become a great heirloom of Durin's folk.

Durin II
Durin II (lived in the First or early Second Age) was a King of Durin's folk and Lord of the great Dwarven city of Khazad-dûm. Little is recorded about his reign, although there are indications that the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm were in a confederation with Men of the Vales of Anduin, where the Men provided food in return for Dwarven weapons. This cooperation continued until the reign of Durin IV.

Durin III
Durin III (late Second Age) was a King of Durin's folk who ruled the great Dwarven city of Khazad-dûm. During his reign the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm had struck a rare friendship with the Elves of Ost-in-Edhil in Eregion. Celebrimbor, the lord of Ost-in-Edhil, designed with Narvi the famous Doors of Durin. More importantly, Celebrimbor secretly gave Durin the first of the Seven Rings of Power. This ring would later be known as the Ring of Thrór.

Unbeknownst to Celebrimbor, his partner in crafting the Rings was actually Sauron. The Dark Lord had come in the guise of wise Annatar to corrupt the Elves through the Rings of Power. By Second Age 1697, Sauron had learned that he could not control either the Elves nor the Dwarves through the Rings and led a large army towards Eregion. There he slaughtered Celebrimbor and scattered the people of Ost-in-Edhil. In response Durin sealed the Doors of Durin from the outside world.

Durin IV
Durin IV (late Second Age or early Third Age) was a King of Durin's folk who ruled the great Dwarven city of Khazad-dûm. Like his father he bore a Ring of Power. He was succeeded at some later time by Durin V.

Durin V
Durin V (early Third Age) was a King of Durin's folk who ruled the great city of Khazad-dûm during the height of its glory. Like his father he bore a Ring of Power. He was succeeded at some later time by Durin VI.

Durin VI
Durin VI (Third Age 1731 – 1980, lived 249 years) was a King of Durin's folk and ruled the great Dwarven city of Khazad-dûm. During the end of his reign the Dwarves, while mining for mithril, awoke a Balrog that had hidden itself deep beneath the city. The monster began to wreck havoc on Khazad-dûm and slew Durin. Since the surviving Dwarves were unsure what type of monster they faced, the Balrog was simply called "Durin's Bane". Durin's son Náin I was slain shortly thereafter, leaving his grandson Thráin I to lead Durin's folk away from their ancestral home.

Náin I
Náin I (Third Age 1832 – 1981, lived 149 years) was the son of Durin VI and King of Durin's folk. He ruled for only 1 year, between 1980 and 1981. During Náin's time the Dwarves of Durin's folk lived in Khazad-dûm, but had awoken a Balrog. The Balrog slew Náin's father and shortly thereafter slew Náin himself. Under his son Thráin's direction, Durin's folk fled their ancestral home for safety in the Lonely Mountain and the Grey Mountains.

Thráin I
Thráin I (Third Age 1934 – 2190, aged 256 years) was the son of Náin I and King of Durin's folk for 209 years, from 1981 to 2190. His father was slain by a Balrog and the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm driven from their home. Thráin led a portion of his people east to Lonely Mountain, were he became the first King under the Mountain. Among the riches he found there was the fabled Arkenstone. He was succeeded by his son Thorin I.

Thorin I
Thorin I (Third Age 2035 – 2289, aged 254 years) was the son of Thráin I and King of Durin's folk for 99 years, from 2190 to 2289. During his grandfather's time the Dwarves of Durin's folk were driven from Khazad-dûm and scattered throughout the northeast of Middle-earth. Though Thorin's father had established the Kingdom of Lonely Mountain, Thorin realized the most of his people had gathered in the Grey Mountains. To better lead them, he led the rest of his people north to rejoin their kin.

Glóin
Glóin (Third Age 2136 – 2385, lived 249 years) was King of Durin's folk for 96 years, from 2289 to 2385. He was the son of Thorin I, and father of Óin. During his rule the Dwarves of Durin's folk lived in the Grey Mountains.

Óin
Óin (Third Age 2238 – 2488, lived 250 years) was a King of Durin's folk who reigned for 103 years, from Third Age 2385 until his death. He was the successor to Glóin son of Thorin I. In his time, the Dwarves of Durin's folk still dwelt in the Grey Mountains. In the later years of his reign, the Shadow returned to Dol Guldur in Mirkwood, and Orcs and began to spread again in the Misty Mountains. In Óin's last years, Orcs plundered Moria, which was then deserted, and took it as their own. Óin was succeeded by his son Náin, who became King Náin II.

Náin II
Náin II (Third Age 2338 – 2585, aged 247 years) was a King of Durin's folk who ruled for 97 years, from 2488 to 2585. He was the successor to Óin. He led the Dwarves of Durin while they lived in the Grey Mountains. Late in his reign dragons came south out of the Forodwaith to trouble the Dwarves. Náin had two children, Dáin and Borin. Dáin succeeded him as King of Durin's folk, becoming King Dáin I.

Dáin I
Dáin I (Third Age 2440 – 2589, aged 149 years) was King of Durin's folk for 4 years, from 2585 to 2589. Dáin ruled during the period when his people lived in the Grey Mountains. His father was Náin II, and he had a younger brother Borin. Dáin had three children, Thrór, Frór, and Grór.
Dáin and his people were troubled by increasing dragon attacks, and eventually both Dáin and Frór were killed by a Cold-drake. After Dáin's death, Thrór and Grór led the Dwarves of Durin's folk south. Thrór led one group back to Lonely Mountain, while Grór founded his own kingdom in the Iron Hills.

Thrór
Thrór (Third Age 2542 – 2790, lived 248 years) was King of Durin's folk for 201 years, from 2589 to 2790. He was the eldest son of Dáin I, and with his younger brother Grór he led his people away from the Grey Mountains after a cold-drake killed both his father and brother Frór. Thrór led some of the Dwarves back to Lonely Mountain, where he became King under the Mountain. Grór continued west with the rest of Durin's folk until he reached the Iron Hills, where he founded his own kingdom.

In 2770 the dragon Smaug attacked and sacked Lonely Mountain. Thrór and other dwarves managed to escape through the hidden Side Door. Despondent and homeless, he left his people and went south with a single companion, Nár, but not before giving his son Thráin II his Ring of Power, along with the map and key to Lonely Mountain. Thrór wished to see the fabled city of his ancestors, Khazad-dûm, and ignored Nár's warnings that it had become the "Black Pit" of Moria. However, at Moria Thrór was captured and butchered by Azog the Goblin King, who carved his own name on Thrór's severed head in Dwarvish runes.

Nár was released by Azog so that all Dwarves would know that an Orc now ruled Moria. Nár told King Thráin II of the abomination, which began the War of the Dwarves and Orcs.

Thráin II
Thráin II (Third Age 2644 – 2850, aged 206 years) was King of Durin's folk for 60 years, from 2790 to 2850, during their exile from the Lonely Mountain. He was the son of Thrór and father of Thorin II, Frerin, and Dís.
Escape from Lonely Mountain

Thráin fled with his father and a small group of companions when the dragon Smaug descended on Lonely Mountain and sacked the Dwarven kingdom. King Thrór was devastated by the loss and left his people to journey south. He took a single companion, Nár, but left his son with his Ring of Power, along with the map and key to Lonely Mountain.

Thráin meanwhile took his people west to Dunland where they ecked out a meager living. In 2790 Nár returned to tell Thráin that his father had been captured and butchered by the Orc-chieftain Azog when they had journeyed to the mines of Moria. Even worse, Azog had beheaded Thrór and carved his own name on Thrór's forehead to show the Dwarves that an Orc now ruled their ancestral home.

War of the Dwarves and Orcs
Filled with righteous anger, Thráin gathered together a massive army of Dwarves to wage the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. The army included the exiles of Lonely Mountain, Thráin's kin from the Iron Hills under his uncle Grór, and even some Dwarves not of Durin's folk (probably Broadbeams and Firebeards from the Blue Mountains). One by one they assaulted the Orc-holds of the Misty Mountains, destroying their great warrens in Mount Gundabad and eventually facing Azog himself in Dimrill Dale (Azanulbizar in Khuzdul) before the East-gate of Moria. In 2799 Thráin and his army fought the bloody Battle of Azanulbizar. While the Orcs were vanguished and Azog slain, the Dwarves took heavy losses, including Thráin's son Frerin, his cousin Náin, and Fundin father of Dwarven hero Balin. The Dwarves were also unable to retake Moria, as Dáin Ironfoot had peered within the East-gate and saw that Durin's Bane still haunted its halls.

Wanderings and Imprisonment
After the war, Thráin and Thorin led the exiles of Lonely Mountain west to live in the mines of the Blue Mountains. Over the next forty years Thráin grew increasingly consumed with the lost riches of Lonely Mountain. This may have been partly because of Sauron's influence through the Ring of Thrór. In 2841 he left the Blue Mountains with a small group that included Balin and Dwalin. Travelling west, the group was constantly harassed by wolves, Orcs, and other fell creatures. In 2845, while camped in the Gladden Fields, Thráin disappeared and would never be seen again by his kin.

The King of Durin's folk had been captured by Sauron's agents and taken to the fortress of Dol Guldur in southern Mirkwood. There Sauron tortured Thráin, took back the last of the Seven Dwarf-rings, and left him in the dungeon to die.

In 2850, while on a reconnaissance mission to Dol Guldur, Gandalf the Grey came upon Thráin, who was so diminished that he could not even remember his own name. Thráin gave Gandalf his last two possessions, the key and map to Lonely Mountain, and shortly thereafter died.

Much later Gandalf met Thorin Oakenshield near Bree and realized that the Dwarf he had found in Dol Guldur was Thráin, the vanished King of Durin's folk. Gandalf and Thorin discussed reclaiming Lonely Mountain, and Gandalf gave much assistance to Thorin and Company, including the map and key to Lonely Mountain, along with a suggestion that they include a burgler in their quest.

Thorin II Oakenshield
Thorin II Oakenshield (Third Age 2746 – 2941, lived 195 years) was King of Durin's folk for 91 years, from 2850 to 2941. He was the son of Thráin II and the older brother of Frerin and Dís. Thorin led his clan during their exile from Lonely Mountain (Erebor in Sindarin), and later helped reclaim their kingdom and briefly became King under the Mountain.

The War of the Dwarves and Orcs
Born at Lonely Mountain at the height of the Dwarves' glory, Thorin was just 24 years old when his people were driven into exile by the dragon Smaug. He fled with his father Thráin II and his grandfather King Thrór, but his grandfather was devasted by the loss and left his people, wandering south with a single companion, Nár. Thráin meanwhile led the exiles to Dunland, where they ecked out a meager living.

Twenty years later, Nár returned with horrible news. He and Thrór had journeyed to Moria where the King of Durin's folk had been captured and butchered by the Orc-chietain Azog. To add insult to injury, Azog had carved his name on Thrór's severed head in Dwarven runes, releasing Nár only so that all Dwarves would know that an Orc now ruled Moria.

Filled with righteous anger, Thráin gathered togethered a massive army of Dwarves and began the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. One by one the Dwarves destroyed the Orc warrens in the Misty Mountains until they reached the East-gate of Moria. In Dimrill Dale (Azanulbizar in Khuzdul) the Dwarves fought the bloody Battle of Azanulbizar. Thorin was 53 years old, young for a Dwarf, but he fought admirably. At one point his shield was broken and he was forced to use an oak branch to defend himself, earning him the epithet "Oakenshield". The Dwarves were ultimately victorous and Azog was slain, but they took horrible losses, including Thorin's brother Frerin. They were also unable to take back Moria, as Dáin Ironfoot had peered beyond the East-gate and saw that Durin's Bane still haunted the mines.

After the war, Thráin and Thorin led their people east to live in the Blue Mountains. In 2841 Thráin left with a small group to see if they could retake Lonely Mountain. While some of the companions returned, Thráin was never seen again by his kin.

Years later, by chance Thorin met Gandalf the Grey in the town of Bree. In 2850 Gandalf had gone on a secret mission to the dark fortress of Dol Guldur and in the dungeons he had found a Dwarf so diminished he no longer knew his own name. The Dwarf had given Gandalf his last two possessions, a map and key to Lonely Mountain. Suddenly realizing he had found Thráin, Thorin's father and the missing King of Durin's folk, the Wizard convinced Thorin that now was the time to defeat Smaug and retake his kingdom. He also convinced him that he would need a burgler for the job.

Thorin gathered a group of twelve Dwarves, including his nephews Fili and Kili, and his distant cousin Balin, who would briefly become Lord of Moria. Thorin and Company hired Bilbo Baggins as their "professional treasure seeker". Thorin was at first extremely relunctant, unsure if the Hobbit could offer anything to the group, but ultimately relented to Gandalf's advice. While at Bilbo's home, Gandalf gave Thorin his father's map and key.

Bilbo proved to a key member of the company, saving the Dwarves many times, often despite Thorin's suspicious and overbearing nature. Eventually the company reached Lonely Mountain and the dragon Smaug was overcome. Here Thorin's greed overcame him and he refused to share his wealth with anyone. He was furious when Bilbo stole the fabled Arkenstone in an attempt to make a truce with the beseiging Men and Elves, but all disputes were set aside when Goblins and Wargs from the Misty Mountains suddenly attacked. The Dwarves and their allies were victorious in the Battle of Five Armies, but Thorin was mortally wounded. Before he died, he made his peace with Bilbo by commending the Hobbit's bravery and good character:

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. But, sad or merry, I must leave it now. Farewell."

Since Thorin did not have any descendents, the kingship of Durin's folk went to his cousin Dáin II Ironfoot, who left the Iron Hills to become King under the Mountain.

Orcrist
Thorin had recovered the Elven blade Orcrist during the quest. He came upon it in a Troll stash (after barely escaping with his life from those very Trolls). He used it throughout the Quest of Erebor, but when he was captured by the Wood Elf King it was taken from him. The sword was given back after his death and was laid upon the tomb (the Arkenstone was placed in the tomb itself) so that ever after the blade would glow blue should enemies approach and the mountain could never be taken by surprise.

Dáin II Ironfoot
Dáin II (Third Age 2767 – 3019, aged 252 years) was a descendant of Grór, the youngest son of Dáin I of Durin's folk, and was lord of the Dwarves of the Iron Hills in Wilderland. He followed his father, Náin, in lordship after Nain was killed by the great Orc Azog during the Battle of Azanulbizar, the final conflict in the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. Azog was killed by Dáin himself. He was a very young Dwarf at the time, and it was heralded as a magnificent feat. Dáin alone looked past the gate into Moria, and had the wisdom to know that it was impossible for the Dwarves to return at that time.

Dáin was the great-nephew of Thorin Oakenshield, and responded to Thorin's call for help during the quest to reclaim Erebor. Dáin set out with several hundred Dwarves, and arrived just in time for the Battle of Five Armies.
After Thorin's death, Dáin became King under the Mountain and King of Durin's folk, the first not in a direct line.

Mount Gundabad
Mount Gundabad is a mountain at the northern end of the Misty Mountains.
According to the Dwarves, Durin the Deathless, oldest of the Fathers of the Dwarves, awoke at Mount Gundabad in the north of the Misty Mountains shortly after the Awakening of the Elves. Mount Gundabad remained a sacred place to the Dwarves ever after.

In the Third Age, the Orcs of Angmar claimed it as their capital, which was one of the reasons for the Dwarves' special hatred of this people. After the fall of Angmar Gundabad remained an Orc stronghold, until it was cleaned of Orcs during the War of the Dwarves and Orcs.

Khazad-dûm
Khazad-dûm was grandest and most famous of the mansions of the Dwarves. It lay in the central parts of the Misty Mountains, tunnelled and carved through the living rock of the mountains themselves, so that a traveller could pass through it from the west of the range to the east. It was founded in very ancient days by Durin the Deathless, who came upon a shimmering lake beneath the mountain Celebdil, with a crown of stars reflected in its waters. He named that lake in the Dwarvish tongue, Kheled-zâram, the Mirrormere, and there he started the building of Khazad-dûm.

As the millennia passed, the descendants of Durin sat upon the throne of Khazad-dûm, and their cavernous city became famous throughout the world. It even has a passing mention in Quenta Silmarillion, the tale of the Elf-lords and their wars far to the west, though to them it was no more than a distant rumour they heard from the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains on their borders. In the Second Age, Noldor out of Lindon founded a country of their own by the western gates of Khazad-dûm. A rare friendship sprang up between the Dwarves and the Elves of this new land, Eregion. Eregion's ruler, Celebrimbor, helped to construct the famous and magical gate that became known as the West-gate of Moria, and indeed went so far as to present King Durin III with a Ring of Power. The friendship of Khazad-dûm and Eregion came to a sudden end, though, in II 1697, when Sauron overran the country of the Elves, and the doors of Khazad-dûm were sealed against his forces.

Eventually, Sauron was driven back and Khazad-dûm continued to thrive. Much of its great wealth was based on the Mithril that was found in its mines, and as the centuries passed, the Dwarves mined deeper and deeper for the precious metal. In the year III 1980, they dug too deep, and unleashed a nameless terror from the depths beneath the city. The creature wreaked dreadful destruction, and in slaying the then King, Durin VI, became known as Durin's Bane. In the following year, Durin's son, Náin I, was also lost, and the Dwarves fled their ancient home. After millennia as one of the richest cities in Middle-earth, Khazad-dûm stood dark and empty, but for the brooding menace the Dwarves had released. In that time it was given a new name, Moria, the Black Pit.

The monster of Moria - a Balrog of Morgoth, as was later known - lurked alone in Moria for nearly five hundred years. After that time, the old city of Khazad-dûm began to be peopled again, but not by Dwarves. Sauron directed his creatures there, and it began to fill with orcs and trolls. Though the orcs' numbers were greatly reduced in the Battle of Nanduhirion, fought in the valley beneath Moria's East-gate in III 2799, the Balrog could not be bested, and Khazad-dûm remained a citadel of darkness.

There was an attempt by the Dwarves of Durin's line to reclaim their ancient home. This was by Balin, who led a force of Dwarves there from Erebor in III 2989, but though he was successful at first, he was eventually defeated and slain.

Grey Mountains
The Grey Mountains (or Ered Mithrin in Sindarin) was a large mountain range to the north of Rhovanion. They were the last remnecents of the wall of the Iron Mountains, which once stretched all over the north of Middle-earth, but were broken at the end of the First Age.

North of the Grey Mountains lay Forodwaith, or the Northern Waste. This land was known as Dor Daidelos during the First Age, but most of it was destroyed in the breaking of Arda.

Where the Grey Mountains met with the Misty Mountains lay Mount Gundabad, an ancient Dwarven holy site and later a haven for Orcs. During the Third Age, the branch of the Grey Mountains west of the Misty Mountains were also known as the Mountains of Angmar, as they were within the Kingdom of Angmar.

The eastern end of the Grey Mountains was split in two branches, and in between lay the Withered Heath, where Dragons still bred. After that was a long gap, until the Iron Hills continued the old line of the Iron Mountains again. Erebor, the Lonely Mountain, was not part of either range.

From east to west the mountains stretched some 350 Númenórean Miles, and the sources of the Great River Anduin, the river Greylin, and the Forest River of Mirkwood arose in this range.

Of old the Grey Mountains had been mined by Dwarves of Durin's folk, but by the Third Age all Dwarven strongholds had been abandoned or raided by dragons. Its sole purpose now seemed to be to divide Forodwaith from Wilderland.

Withered Heath
The Withered Heath was a long narrow valley in the eastern part of the Grey Mountains, where they forked into two thin ranges. On the floor of this long east-west valley between the mountains was a heath, but a heath burned and blackened by its inhabitants. This Withered Heath was famed and feared in the north of Middle-earth as the breeding-ground of the Dragons. At one time they had infested the Grey Mountains and the lands beyond, and even in the closing decades of the Third Age, the Dragon Smaug still terrorised the inhabitants of the north. Smaug was the last of the great dragons, but we know that other lesser members of his kind remained, so perhaps these still returned to the Withered Heath to continue their race.

Lonely Mountain (Erebor)
Lonely Mountain (Erebor in Sindarin) is a mountain in the northeast of Rhovanion. It is also the source of the river Running.

The ancestral home of the King under the Mountain, it became a Dwarven stronghold, where the Dwarves became a numerous and prosperous people. The Dwarves of that time were skilled in masonry and stone work, and there was great demand for their work by the surrounding peoples. Clearly through this the Dwarves got very rich and amassed a large amount of gold and treasure. This is what attracted Smaug to the mountain.

Whilst Thorin Oakenshield was one day out hunting, Smaug came from the mountains as a young dragon, and took over the mountain, hoarding all the gold. Thráin II and several companions escaped by (as was later discovered) a secret door. For many years the dwarves lived in exile in the Blue Mountains until, by a chance meeting, Gandalf the Grey met Thorin Oakenshield, and they planned to reclaim the mountain.

Bilbo and Thorin's company travelled to the Lonely Mountain to regain the treasure Smaug had stolen. Set into the side of the mountain was a secret door, five feet high and wide enough for three to walk abreast. Gandalf had managed to obtain the door's key, which would only open it when the setting sun and the last moon of autumn were in the sky together. By a fortunate coincidence, this happened just as Bilbo and the Dwarves arrived.

By more luck than wisdom Smaug was eventually slain—shot out of the sky with a well-aimed arrow to his only weakspot by Bard the Bowman, a man of Lake-town—and Thorin claimed the mountain. Bard later became king of the area in the shadow of the Lonely Mountain, known as Dale. However Elves of Mirkwood and Men of Lake-town claimed a part of the treasure, which Thorin refused to share. This led to the Battle of Five Armies, where Dáin II Ironfoot came to the aid of his cousin Thorin, but Dwarves, Elves, and Men joined ranks together with the Eagles against the Orcs. During the battle, Thorin was mortally injured, and the titles King under the Mountain and King of Durin's Folk passed to Dáin.

With the restoration of the Kingdom under the Mountain the area became prosperous again, and Dwarves and Men reforged their friendship.

Iron Hills
The Iron Hills was a range of hills in the northeast of the known parts of Middle-earth, where a Dwarf-realm was founded by Grór son of Dáin I after the Dwarves were driven from the Grey Mountains by the Cold-drakes.
The Dwarves of the Iron Hills were known for making a flexible iron armor from of course, the rich iron supply in the hills.

The War of the Dwarves and Orcs was a great war fought between the two races.

The War began when the elderly exiled Dwarven King Thrór, heir of Durin, wandered alone into Moria and was murdered by Azog the Orc in 2790 of the Third Age. Not only did Azog murder him, but branded his own name upon the Dwarf's severed head — the body was hacked to pieces and fed to the crows. Azog gloated over this act.

From 2790 to 2793 the Longbeards that were Durin's folk responded to this insult by gathering their forces, calling on all the other houses of the Dwarves. In 2793 they attacked, sacking one by one all the Orc-holds of the Misty Mountains from Mount Gundabad in the north to the peak of Methedras in the south.

Most of the war was fought underground, in the great mines and tunnels of the Misty Mountains, where Dwarves excel in combat, and as such they went unaided by the other Free Peoples. The war was said to be very terrible, with neither side showing any mercy. The Dwarves had the upper hand, however, thanks to their prowess and their superior weapons and the great wrath that was in them. The war climaxed in 2799, when a final battle was fought in the valley outside the eastern gates of Moria, the Battle of Nanduhirion or Azanulbizar as the Dwarves called it. Azog himself was killed and his head stuck on a pike. The Dwarves finally won this notoriously bloody encounter when reinforcements arrived late on the scene from the Iron Hills.

After the battle, Thráin II son of Thrór wanted to enter Moria and reclaim it, but the Dwarves not of Durin's folk refused, saying they had honoured Durin's memory by fighting, and this was enough. Durin's folk on their own could not muster a force strong enough to enter Khazad-dûm. Probably the Dwarves also feared Durin's Bane was still present.

The war was very costly for the Dwarf race, as nearly half of those involved were killed. Náin son of Grór, Frerin second son of Thráin II, and Fundin son of Farin, the father of Balin were among the more noted casualties. Thráin II himself lost an eye, and Thorin was wounded when his shield broke and he had to use an oak branch to defend himself. This probably led to his later name Thorin Oakenshield.

During the conflict many Orcs fleeing south through Rohan, trying to claim a refuge in the White Mountains beyond, troubled the Rohirrim for two generations.

Other effects of the war were that the Orcs of the Misty Mountains virtually disappeared as a threat for Eriador and Wilderland: the goblins of the High Pass near Rivendell were some of the few survivors.

150 years later the Orcs of the North still had not fully recovered, but their population was further reduced during the Battle of Five Armies in 2941, where Bolg son of Azog tried to avenge his father — who was killed by Dain of the Iron Hills to avenge Durin's murder.

The Battle of Nanduhirion was the last battle in the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. It was later said that the memory of the battle still causes "Orcs to shudder and Dwarves to weep."

The Battle of Nanduhirion, also called the Battle of Azanulbizar after the Khuzdul name, was fought in the year 2799 of the Third Age at the eastern gate of Moria between the Dwarves of all houses, and the Orcs of the Misty Mountains.

It was the greatest battle of the War of Dwarves and Orcs, and was a decisive victory for the Dwarves, though not without price. The battle initially went against the Dwarves, for the Orcs had the high ground and the greater numbers, and being a cloudy day in winter there was no sun to bother the orcs. The tide was only turned when a last contingent of fresh warriors from the Iron Hills arrived to reinforce the wavering Dwarves.

However, the battle claimed the lives of many; including Frerin the second son of Thráin II, and the younger brother of Thorin Oakenshield. His kinsman Fundin also fell. Both Thrain and Thorin were injured (Thrain lost an eye). Náin son of Grór was slain in a fight with Azog the Goblin right outside the East Gate. Azog was then slain by Náin's son Dáin Ironfoot.

Thráin II, heir of Durin, wished to enter and reclaim Moria after the War. However, the battle had been too costly: "barely half the number of the Dwarves could stand or had hope of healing." The Dwarves of Durin's folk were too few and the Dwarves of other six houses refused to get involved with Durin's Bane.

The Battle of Five Armies was waged between the Orcs (called goblins) and the Wargs against Men, Elves, and Dwarves on and near the Lonely Mountain, after Bard the Bowman killed the dragon Smaug. The hobbit Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, Beorn, huge bats out of Mirkwood, and the great Eagles also took part but are not included in the count of five armies. Prior to the battle, the Men of the Lake and the Wood-elves had laid siege to the Dwarves in the Lonely Mountain, when the 13 Dwarves in Erebor under Thorin II Oakenshield refused to share any of the treasure they had recaptured from Smaug.

Thorin's company was then trapped in a bloodless siege, with Thranduil and Bard hoping to wait him out. However, Thorin had sent messages of his plight to his relatives using talking messenger Ravens that lived on the Lonely Mountain. These reached Dáin II Ironfoot of the nearby Iron Hills, and he marched to Erebor with over 500 heavily armed Dwarves, most skilled veterans of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. When Dáin's forces arrived, battle was almost joined between the two sides (now three armies were on the field) but at the last moment Gandalf intervened between the two and revealed that while they were bickering amongst themselves, the Orcs of the Misty Mountains and Grey Mountains under Bolg were using the opportunity to march against them. They had been incited by Gandalf's earlier slaying of the Great Goblin, but had now mobilized for a full-scale attack after hearing news of the death of the Dragon and the now relatively unguarded treasure hoard.

The three commanders agreed that the Orcs were the enemies of all and previous grievances between them were put on hold in face of the greater threat. They arranged their forces on the two spurs of the Mountain that lined the valley leading to the now-sealed off great gate; the only entrance to the Mountain. The Dwarves and Lake-men formed up on one spur and the Elves on the other, while a light rear-guard lined across the mouth of the valley to lure the Orcs between the two, and thus destroy them. Bilbo Baggins, while invisible due to the Ring, tried to sit out the battle on the spur held by the Elves.

Soon the Orcs and Wargs arrived (and now five armies were on the field), and at first the plan worked: they were lured into the choke point by a thin line of men of Lake-town and took heavy losses. However, due to their superior numbers, the allied Free Folk did not hold the advantage long. The second wave was even worse than the first, and now many Orcs scaled the mountain from the opposite side, and began to attack the arrayed forces from above and behind, as the main wave pressed forward. The battle raged across the Mountain, and then a great noise was heard: Thorin and his 12 Dwarf companions inside the mountain had thrown down the stone wall they had erected across the mouth of the gates, killing many Orcs. Thorin and his companions then charged out to join the battle, covered from head to toe in the finest armour and weapons contained in the treasure hoard of Erebor. Thorin advanced through the Orcs' ranks all the way up to the gigantic Orcs that formed the bodyguard of Bolg, who he could not get past. He was outflanked and surrounded, and was forced to form his troops into a great circle.

As the battle was turning fully against the Free Folk, a large force of Eagles of the Misty Mountains arrived, led by the Lord of the Eagles. Bilbo was the first to spot their entrance on the scene and began shouting that "the Eagles are coming!", a shout that was then continued among the other troops of the Free Folk. At this point Bilbo was knocked in the head by a large stone thrown by an Orc from above, and he passed out. With the support of the Eagles, who cast down the goblins from the mountain itself, freeing the Free Folk to fight on just one front in the valley rather than have to divide themselves, the battle turned back against the Orcs. Then Beorn himself arrived at the battle, apparently having heard news that a large army of Orcs was on the move. This time he did not appear in his former shape of a large Man, but had changed his skin to that of a huge bear. Beorn drove through the Orc lines, but paused to carry the wounded Thorin out of the battle with his paw. Beorn then returned to the battle with even greater wrath and smashed the ranks of the bodyguard of Bolg, ultimately killing Bolg himself. The Orcs eventually panicked and scattered, to be picked off by hunting forces from the victors later.

Thorin II Oakenshield had been mortally wounded on the field, and his nephews Fíli and Kíli died defending him as he lay on the ground. Thorin died soon after the battle, after meeting Bilbo one last time.

After defeating the Orcs and Wargs, the victors divided the treasure. Bard took Bilbo's fourteenth share of the gold and silver in return for the Arkenstone, whereupon he shared his reward with the Master of Lake-town and gave the Elven-king Thranduil the emeralds of Girion. Bilbo, despite having forfeited his share, was offered a rich reward, but, anticipating difficulty transporting the load back home, refused to take more than two small chests of gold and silver.