~Famous Characters~

Aragorn II, born in 2931 of the Third Age, was raised by Elrond Half-Elven in Rivendell. Aragorn was a ranger to most but was really the sixteenth and last Lord of the Dúnedain. He went by many names, among them: Thengel, Ecthelion, Thorongil, Elfstone, Elessar, and Strider.

In 2956, Aragorn met Gandalf the wizard and together they struggled against the growing threat from Mordor and Isengard. In 3018, Gandalf directed Aragorn to Bree to assist Frodo Baggins, the hobbit to bring the Ring to Rivendell.

Aragorn met Arwen, Elrond's daughter, when he was twenty and they fell in love. However, Elrond would not permit marriage until Aragorn became the rightful king of reunited Gondor and Arnor. Aragorn's lifespan was three times that of mortal men. After Gandalf fell into an abyss at the eastern gate of Moria, Aragorn became leader of the fellowship. When Saruman was no longer a threat, Aragorn travelled south of the white mountains to the aid of Gondor. On route, he commanded the Dead Men of Dunharrow and foiled the Sauron's reinforcements at Pelargir, capturing the fleet. Finally, he commanded the army at the Black Gate of Mordor. After the war, Aragorn (now King Elessar) wed Arwen. Together, they had several daughters and one son, Eldarion, who suceeded Aragorn after his death in the year 120 of the fourth age.

Arwen Undomiel (Evenstar) was born in 241 TA, the daughter of Elrond and Celebrian. She was said to carry the likeness of Luthian Tinuviel. Arwen lived in Rivendell and Lorien for roughly 3000 years in contentment, until she met and fell in love with Aragorn. After the War of the Ring, Arwen and Aragorn were married in 3019 on mid-years day and Arwen became Queen of Gondor. They had several daughters and one son, Eldarion.

In 120 FA, Aragorn passed away and Arwen journeyed to Lorien, where she died the following winter in 121. There upon Cerin Amroth she laid herself to rest; and there is her green grave, until 'the world is changed and all the days of her life are utterly forgotten by men that come after'.

Beorn was a Beorning chieftan of the Beornings - Northmen that inhabited the land between Mirkwood and the Misty Mountains during the last centuries of the Third Age. He and his woodsmen guarded the Ford of Carrock and the High Pass from Orcs and Wargs. Beorn was a huge black-bearded Man who wore a course wool tunic and was armed with a woodsman's axe. He was a berserker warrior who had the gift of the "skin changer": that is, transforming into the form of a bear. In the year 2941, Beorn gave shelter and protection to Thorin and Company, and later fought with them in the Battle of Five Armies.

Born in the year 2890 of the Third Age, Bilbo Baggins was Master of Bag End, just outside of Hobbiton of the Shire. There, he lived a bachelor's life until one morning, Gandalf, the wizard, knocked on his door and introduced him (albeit slowly) to the thirteen dwarves of Thorin's company.

This set the stage for the quest to reclaim the dwarf kingdom under Mount Erebor that resulted in the slaying of Smaug, the dragon, by Bard the Bowman of Dale, and establish Thorin as King Under the Mountain. During the adventure, Bilbo aquired a ring that made the wearer invisible, aiding his escape from the goblin caverns under the Misty Mountains. The ring, as was later revealed by Gandalf, was in fact the One Ring coveted by Sauron the Dark Lord.

Bilbo returned to Bagend with a modest portion of the treasure for his services as a "burglar" in the ordeal at the Lonely Mountain. He lived there until 3001 when he had a huge birthday party at the age of 111. He vanished before the astonished host, leaving all behind him, including the Ring, to Frodo, his young cousin and heir.

Bilbo lived a studious life for the next twenty years in Rivendell, writing poems and stories. Among them were his adventure to the Lonely Mountain entitled There and Back Again and his three-volume Translations From the Elvish. At the age of 131 he sailed with Frodo to the Undying Lands.

The Elves called him Ben-adar, which means both "old" and "without father". To the Dwarves he was named Forn, while Men knew him as Orald. But he was most commonly known by the the Hobbit name, Tom Bombadil. He was the undisputed Master of the Old Forest. Although a powerful Maia spirit that came to Middle-earth in the Ages of Stars, his countenance was that of a merry (and somewhat peculiar) man who lived in the Forest.

He was short and stout, with blue eyes, a red face, and brown beard. He wore a blue coat, a battered hat with a blue feather, and yellow boots. Tom Bombadil seemed to be a nonsensical being, always singing and speaking gibberish rhymes, yet within the Old Forest his power was absolute, and no evil could harm him. Goldenberry, the River-daughter was his spouse. Early in Frodo's Quest for the Ring, Tom Bombadil twice bailed out the Hobbits: first from Old Man Willow in the Old Forest, and again from the Barrow Wights in the Barrow Downs.

Dúnedain lord of Gondor. Eldest son of Denethor II, Ruling  Steward of Gondor. Born in the year 2978 of the Third Age, Boromir was the tall and handsome hear to the Steward. In 3018 he valiantly led the defence of Osgiliath against Sauron's forces. After a prophetic dream that he shared with his brother, Faramir, he made his way to the Elf-kingdom of Rivendell and became a member of the Fellowship of the Ring. Enduring many perils of the Fellowship's journey as far as the Hill of the Eye, near Rauros Falls, he was overcome by the desire to seize the One Ring, and tried to kill Frodo Baggins the Ring-bearer. Although Boromir soon repented, Frodo continued the quest with only Samwise Gamgee as a companion. Shortly after, Boromir died in battle while gallantly defending the Hobbits Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took from an Orc attack. Boromir was given a formal ship-burial over Rauros Falls.

Born during the Stewardship of his grandfather Turgon in 2930 TA, Denethor was a Gondorian noble who would see some of the most turbulent times in his country's long history, culminating in the War of the Ring itself. While still a youth of twenty-one, he saw Sauron re-emerge as the Dark Lord of Mordor, and witnessed him building his power on Gondor's eastern borders. Just a few short years later, Mount Doom burst into fire once again. In Gondor's time of need, a new hero arose, and for a time Steward Ecthelion II (who had recently succeeded his father Turgon) was served by the mysterious captain Thorongil (who was long afterwards discovered to be none other than Aragorn of the Northern Dúnedain).

Nearly twenty years passed, and beneath the looming threat of Mordor, Denethor wedded Finduilas, the daughter of Adrahil of Dol Amroth. Together they had two sons, Boromir and Faramir. Soon after, Denethor's father Ecthelion died, and Denethor succeeded to become Steward Denethor II.

Just four years after Denethor succeeded to the Stewardship, Finduilas died at a young age for one of her line. For the next thirty years, Denethor ruled as a grim and serious Steward, and it later became known that for at least some of this time, he had made use of a palantír to gain knowledge, through which the malice of Sauron had begun to sap his will. In the end, the death of his elder son Boromir, and the imagined loss of his younger son Faramir, sent him mad. He burned himself to death with his palantír in his hands.

Denethor II ruled as Steward for thirty-five years, and was succeeded by King Aragorn, at which point the Stewardship became redundant.

Half-elven princes of Beleriand. Born in Arvernien on the coast of Beleriand in 442 of the First Age of the Sun, Elrond and Elros were the twin sons of Eärendil and Elwing. After the War of Wrath, as the sons of a mortal hero and an Elven princess, the Valar allowed the brothers to choose their fates. Elros chose to be mortal, although he was granted a lifespan of five centuries; while Elrond chose to become an immortal Elf. At the beginning of the Second Age, Elros led the surviving Edain to Númenor and became their first king. Elros took the name of Tar-Minyatur and ruled Númenor from the year 32 to 442. He built the royal palace and citadel of Armenelos.

Elrond chose to be an immortal Elven prince and lived in Lindon at the beginning of the Second Age. In 1695, he was sent by High King Gil-galad to defend Eregion during the War of Sauron and the Elves. However, when Eregion was overrun in 1697, Elrond led the survivors to the foothills of the Misty Mountains where he founded Rivendell, which was called "Imladris" in Elvish. In the last Alliance of Elves and Men at the end of the Second Age, Elrond was Gil-galad's herald. Before Gil-galad died, he gave Elrond the Ring Vilya, the "ring of air", the greatest of the three Elven Rings.

In the year 100 of the Third Age, Elrond married Celebrian, the daughter of Galadriel, and the couple had three children: Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen. Through the Third Age, Master Elrond Half-Elven, as he was called, gave whatever help he could to the Dúnedain, and the heirs of Arnor were often raised under his protection in Rivendell. One such heir was Aragorn II, who was fostered by Elrond. In 2980, Aragorn met Arwen in Lothlórien. The couple fell in love, but Elrond forbade their marriage until Aragorn became High King of Arnor and Gondor. With Elrond's guidance, the Fellowship of the Ring was formed in 3018 in Rivendell, and the Quest of the Ring set. After the One Ring was destroyed and Aragorn assumed his kingship and married Arwen, the Third Age ended with Elrond sailing to the Undying Lands.

Northman, prince of Rohan. In the Third Age, Éomer was the nephew of King Théoden of Rohan. Like nearly all of his race, he was tall, strong and golden-haired. Before the War of the Ring, Éomer was a marshal of Riddermark, but through his friendship with Gandalf and his concern about the evil influence of the king's advisor, Gríma Wormtongue, he fell out of favour. During the War of the Ring he fought with distinction at the Battles of Hornburg, Pelennor Fields and at the Black Gate of Mordor. When King Théoden received a mortal wound on the Pelennor Fields, he named Éomer his heir. He became the eighteenth king of Rohan and ruled until the year 63 of the Fourth Age. In 3020 he married Princess Lothíriel of Dol Amroth, who soon after bore his son and heir, Elfwine the Fair.

Northwoman, shield-maiden of Rohan. At the time of the War of the Ring, Éowyn was the beautiful golden-haired niece of King Théoden of Rohan and sister of Prince Éomer. During the War of the Ring, Éowyn fell in love with Aragorn. Despairing at his assumed death, and frustrated by her inability to fight for her people, Éowyn disguised herself as a warrior called Dernhelm, and rode with the Rohirrim at the Battle of Pelennor fields. There she won the greatest fame of any warrior by standing over the mortally wounded King Théoden and fighting the Witch-king, the lord of the Ringwraiths. Protected by the prophecy that he could not be slain by the hand of Man, Éowyn revealed that she was a shield-maiden, and with her sword killed the Winged Beast on which he rode. Then - with the help of the Hobbit, Meriodoc Brandybuck - she slew the Witch-king himself. In that struggle, however, Éowyn was overcome by the poison "Black Breath" of the Ringwraith, and fell into a death-like sleep. She was eventually brought out of this coma by Aragorn, using the magical herb called Athelas.

After the War of the Ring, Éowyn recovered from both the evil spell of the Witch-king and her infatuation with Aragorn. She married Faramir, the Steward of Gondor and Prince of Ithilien.

Faramir, prince of Gondor and brother of Boromir was born in 2983 TA, the son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor. Faramir's gentle nature and respect for Gandalf annoyed his father who favoured Boromir over his other son. He loved lore and knew much about the history of the world that many in Gondor had long forgotten.

Despite Faramir's dislike for war, he was a valiant man in battle, and was loved by the soldiers. He fought a guerrilla war for many years in Ithilien against Uruk-hai from neighbouring Mordor.

During The War of the Ring, Faramir fell under the Black Breath during the retreat from Osgiliath to Minas Tirith and was fatally wounded. He was saved from death by the healing hands of Aragorn. During his stay in the Houses of Healing, he met and fell in love with Eowyn. After the War of the Ring in 3019, they were married and King Aragorn awarded him the title of Prince of Ithilien. Faramir died in 82 FA.

Born in Aman (the Blessed Realm) during that period of the First Age known as ‘The Age of the Trees’, Feanor was the son of the Elvish King, Finwe (of the Noldor) and Miriel. He was named Curufinwe at birth and called Fëanor (Spirit of Fire) by his mother.

Fëanor was the greatest and most gifted of all the Noldor and was the leader in their rebellion against the Valar. In his youth Feanor created the Fëanorian script, which bettered the earlier Tengwar created by Rumil and was used from that point onward by the Elves.

Fëanor wedded Nerdanel, daughter of Mahtan, and together they had seven mighty sons who thereafter always stood with their father. The Sons of Feanor would play no small part in the later events of the First Age.

In time, Fëanor became a master craftsman, weapons smith and jewel maker beyond compare. He was responsible for creating the Palantiri or Seeing Stones, which were famously used by the Kings of Numenor and Gondor in future ages. However, his crowning achievement was the making of those most perfect jewels, the Three Silmarils, which were the greatest creations ever brought forth by the Noldor. The Silmarils were three gems made of a substance devised by and known only to Feanor; in them was captured the light of the Two Trees of Valinor, Laurelin and Telperion.

Upon the death of his father by the hand of Melkor, Fëanor claimed the High-kingship of the Noldor. He re-named Melkor as ‘Morgoth’ (meaning roughly ‘Black Foe of the World’). Morgoth had also stolen the Silmarils from Formenos and destroyed the Two Trees with the help of Ungoliant. In an effort to hunt Morgoth, Fëanor and his sons swore a terrible oath in which they vowed to pursue the Silmarils with vengeance and hatred to the ends of the World, and to oppose Vala, Maia, Elf, Man or any other that tried to keep the Silmarils from them. Feanor’s decision to go against the advice of the gods and to pursue Morgoth and the Simarils to the ends of the earth became known as ‘The Rebellion of Feanor’. While leading the Noldor out of Aman and into Middle-earth, it was Fëanor who was responsible for the despicable act that was forever remembered as the Kin-slaying: In this act, Feanor ordered an attack upon the Teleri Elves of Aqualonde, as he would broach no delay in the pursuit of the Silmarils. His decision resulted in the deaths of many.

Shortly after his return to Middle-earth, Fëanor was mortally wounded by Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs, during the Battle under the Stars; he died in Mithrim in Beleriand. The Sons of Feanor continued the quest to recover the Simarils, resulting in further ill for the House of Feanor.

Born in 2968 of the Third Age, Frodo was son of Drogo Baggins and Primula Brandybuck. Bilbo Baggins had adopted Frodo when he was orphaned as a child. Besides being a well-to-do Hobbit, Frodo was also considered "queer" among hobbits for he was very adventurous, even for a Brandybuck. Yet he was well versed in Elvish lore and a song-writer too.

In 3001, when Bilbo made his infamous departure from the Shire during his 111th birthday, Frodo inherited Bag End and the One Ring. When Gandalf the Wizard reappeared seventeen years later, they embarked on the Quest of the Ring to Rivendell where the Fellowship of the Ring was formed. Through a perilous journey, Frodo managed to deliver the Ring to its end in the fires of Mount Doom where it was forged long ago.

Thus the unlikely hero and Ring-rearer, Frodo Baggins, brought about the end of the Third Age with the final chapter of the War of the Ring. After the war, he returned to Bag End but the poison wounds and mental trauma he suffered during the quest were too deep for him to return to a normal life and so in 3021, Frodo set sail on an Elven ship bound for the Undying Lands.

The lady Galadriel was Queen of Lothlorien - one of the last remaining Elven kingdoms in Middle-earth during the Third Age, the other three being Rivendell, Mirkwood (Greenwood) and Mithlond (The Grey Havens). By the later time of this age, Galadriel was the last and greatest of the Noldorin exiles remaining in the world and the only one left who had seen the light of Valinor - the Blessed Realm over the Sea; she had originally come to Middle-earth as part of the rebellion of Feanor during the First Age.

After she helped the Fellowship of the Ring and assisted in the fall of Sauron at the end of the Third Age, she returned at last into the Ancient West.

Galadriel was keeper of one of the three Great Rings - Nenya, the Ring of Adamant.

Also known as Mithrandir to the elves, Tharkûn to the dwarves, and Incánus to the Haradrim. One of five Istari, Gandalf was known formally as Olórin in Valinor, who resided in the garden of Lórien (not to be confused with Lothlórien, the "Golden Wood", in Middle-earth). The five Istari were Maia spirits that men called wizards. They were sent from the Undying Lands to thwart a perceived evil growing in the Mortal Lands around the year 1000 in the Third Age of the Sun.

Upon his arrival in Middle-earth, Gandalf the Grey was given one of the elven rings Narya, the "ring of fire", by the Cirdan. In 2941, Gandalf orchestrated Bilbo's great adventure to the Lonely Mountain to slay the last dragon, Smaug, in Middle-earth. Gandalf aquired his sword - Glamdring - just outside the shire from a troll's den. Bilbo stumbed upon the One Ring later under the Misty Mountains.

Gandalf was always popping in and out of sight, but bailed out his companions time after time, holding the Wargs at bay until gwaihir's eagles rescued them from burning treetops. He saved the Fellowship of the Ring from a Balrog at the east gate of Moria, in which he tumbled to his death. Fortunately, his spirit survived to be resurrected as Gandalf the White. Critical to defeating Saruman, Gandalf exposed Grima Wormtongue and persueded King Théoden to Launch an assault on Isengard. He denied the Witch-king entry at the gates of Minas Tirith. Then there was his heroics at the Black Gates of Mordor.

Born in 2879 of the Third Age, Gimli went to live in Erebor in 2941 after the death of Smaug the Dragon. Gimli was son of Glóin, one of Thorin's Company of Dwarves. In 3018, Gimli was chosen to represent the Dwarves for the Fellowship of the Ring. Gimli was named "Elf-friend" and after he entered Lothlórien he became devoted to the memory of Galadriel, the Elf Queen. He carried with him always a lock of her hair. He became close friends with another member of the Fellowship, the Sindar Elf, Legolas.

Gimli Fought fiercly at the Battles of Hornburg, Pelennor Fields, and the Black Gates of Mordor. After the War of the Ring, he was granted the Glittering Caves, the caverns beneath Helm's Deep. Gimli ruled as Lord of the Caves until after the death of Aragorn in 120 of the Fourth Age, when he joined his friend, Legolas, and sailed to the Undying Lands on an Elven ship.

Born in the year 2430 of the Third Age, he was once a Stoorish Hobbit known as Sméagol, spending the early years of his life living with his extended family under a Matriarch, his grandmother. Around the year 2463, Sméagol became the fourth Bearer of the One Ring, after Sauron, Isildur and Déagol. Déagol was his cousin, and on Sméagol's birthday they went fishing in the Gladden Fields north of Lothlórien. It was there that Déagol found a gold ring, after being pulled into the water by a large fish. The Ring’s malign influence began working immediately. Sméagol demanded the ring as a birthday present and strangled Deágol when he refused. Sméagol continued to be corrupted further by the Ring; his people soon re-named him ‘Gollum’, due to the disgusting gurgling noise he began making in his throat from time to time. Eventially they banished him and he was forced to find a home under the Misty Mountains. He called the Ring his "Precious" or his "Birthday Present", the latter as a justification for killing Déagol.

The Ring's malignant influence continued to twist his Hobbit body and mind and prolonged his life far beyond its natural limits. At the time of his death, Gollum was about 589 years old, a remarkable age for any mortal, although this longevity was in truth a curse. After Gollum lost the One Ring (which was found by Bilbo Baggins), his chief obsession was to regain the Ring which had enslaved him, and he pursued it for the next seventy-six years. He died in the Fires of Orodruin (Mount Doom) on March 25, 3019. The Ring perished with him and Gandalf’s intuition that Gollum ‘would have some part to play before the end’, was confirmed. Indeed, Gollum unwittingly saved Middle-earth.

Legolas - whose name means "Green Leaf" in Sindarin - was an Elf prince of Mirkwood, son of Thranduil, king of the Elves in the Woodland Realm of Northern Mirkwood. Although his date of birth is difficult to establish exactly, evidence suggests that he was born around 1000 TA (approx), making him around 2000 years old by the time of the War of the Ring. However, among Elves this is still considered fairly young when compared with other Elves, some of whom hark back to the First Age.

In the year 3018, Legolas journeyed to Rivendell to sit on the Council of Elrond and was chosen to represent the Elves in the Fellowship. Legolas and Gimli son of Glóin became close friends, a friendship that was to last the rest of their lives. He proved to be a much valued member of the Fellowship during the War of the Ring, with his forestry knowledge, talented bowmanship and keen Elvish eyes.

Legolas fought alongside Aragorn son of Arathorn and Gimli during the battle of Hornburg, before riding on with them through the Passes of the Dead to seize the Corsair ships of Pelargir. Legolas then sailed with his two companions to fight in the battle of the Pelennor Fields.

While in Gondor, he had his first glimpse of the sea and the longing for the sea that sleeps within all the Sindar was awakened within him and could not be denied. After the War of the Ring, he journeyed with Gimli to visit the Glittering Caves and Fangorn Forest. At the beginning of the Fourth Age, he took some of the Silvan Elves to the Ithilien woodlands in Gondor and there he became their lord.

In the Year 120 FO, after the death of Aragorn, Legolas with his friend Gimli built a ship and sailed over the sea into the Ancient West, leaving Middle-earth forever. With their parting, the Fellowship of the Ring came finally to its end.

Was renamed Morgoth (Dark Enemy) by Feanor. He was the greatest and most mighty of the Valar, although twisted and evil with envy, always wishing to dominate the will of others and covet power for himself. After the creation of the Two Trees in the First Age, he withdrew to Middle-earth and built a fortress Thangorodrim, forged weapons, bred monsters and extended his dominion, preparing for war with the Valar for they had cast him out. When the Elves awoke he appeared among them as a dark rider. Among his most evil deeds at this time was the creation of the hideous race of Orcs, bred from captured Elves.

The struggle between the Elves and the forces of Morgoth lasted long but finally ended after the Wars of Beleriand, with the Great Battle, in which the Host of Valinor broke Thangorodrim and overthrew Morgoth. He was then cast into the Void, never to return to Middle-earth - thus did the First Age come to its end.

Morgoth was succeeded by Sauron, his most powerful and feared servant.

Son of Saradoc Brandybuck, Meriadoc Brandybuck was born in 2982 of the Third Age in the Shire. He became one of the four Hobbit members of the Fellowship of the Ring in 3018. Merry and Pippin (Peregrin Took) were the tallest Hobbits in history, measuring a towering four and one-half feet.

After surviving many perils in their adventures, Merry and Pippin were captured by the Orcs of Isengard. When the Orcs were attacked by the Rohirrim, he and Pippin escaped into Fanghorn Forest and persuaded the Ents to attack Isengard. For his heroic deeds, Merry was named squire of King Théoden of Rohan. He truly became a hero when he slew the Witch-king of Morgul with the help of Éowyn, the shield-maiden at the Battle of Pelennor Fields.

Later that year, he returned to the Shire and fought in the Battle of Bywater. Once things settled down, he married Estella Bolger and succeeded his father as Master of Buckland. In the year 64 of the Fourth Age, he and Pippin returned to Rohan and Gondor respectively to spend their remaining years. They were both buried with high honour in the House of Kings.

Son of Thain of the Shire, Peregrin Took was born in 2990 of the Third Age. He was a loyal friend to Frodo Baggins and became a member of the Fellowship of the Ring in 3018. When the Fellowship chaotically dissolved, he and Merry (Meriadoc Brandybuck) escaped into Fanghorn Forest where they met Treebeard, the Ent. Together, they convinced the Ents to assault Isengard.

Pippin accompanied Gandalf to Gondor where he was made a Guard of the Citadel, and helped save the life of Faramir, the Steward's son. Perhaps his most heroic deed, however, was when he slew a Troll at the Battle before the Black Gate of Mordor. Later that year, Pippin and Merry fought again in the Battle of Bywater. Because they drank the Entdraughts, both Pippin and Merry grew to an unprecedented four and one-half feet. In the fourteenth year of the Fourth Age, Pippin became the 32nd Thain of the Shire and ruled until the year 64, when he and Merry decided to spend their remaining years in Gondor and Rohan. They were buried with high honour in the House of Kings.

Hobbit of the Shire. Samwise Gamgee was born in 2980 of the Third Age and became a gardener at Bagend. A faithful servant of first Bilbo, then Frodo Baggins, Sam travelled with the Ring-bearer to Rivendell, where he became a member of the Fellowship of the Ring. Samwise was the only one to remain with the Ringbearer through the entire quest. On numerous occasions Sam save Frodo's life in many perilous encounters. Most remarkable of all, was Sam's fight with Shelob the Giant Spider. Using the Phial of Galadriel and the Elf blade Sting, he blinded and mortally wounded the monster. He then helped his weakened master to enter Mordor and reach the fires of Mount Doom where the One Ring was finally destroyed.

When Frodo sailed to the Undying Lands, Samwise inherited Bagend, and became a highly famous and respected figure in the Shire. He married Rose Cotton and sired thirteen children. He was elected Mayor of the Shire seven times. After the death of his wife in the eighty-second year of the Fourth Age, Samwise sailed to the Undying Lands to rejoin his friend and master, Frodo Baggins.

In the Undying Lands he was known as Curumo, a Maia spirit of Aulë the Smith. Later he would become Saruman the White, head of the Order of Istari who came to Middle-earth around the year 1000 in the Third Age of the Sun. Adorned in white robes with raven hair, Saruman spoke with a voice both wise and fair. To the Elves he was Curinír, "man of skill". Saruman sought to oust the Dark Lord from Middle-earth. But in time, he hungered for power for himself and became obsessed to find the One Ring, unwittingly becoming a servant of the Ring Lord.

From the Tower of Orthanc in Isengard Saruman ruled from the year 2759 over an army of Orcs, Half-orcs, Uruk hai and Dunlendings under a black banner marked with a white hand. In the War of the Ring, his forces were repelled at Hornburg by the Rohirrim, and Ents flooded Isengard trapping Saruman in his own tower. Finally, his staff was broken and his sorcerous power taken from him by Gandalf. Saruman sunk so low in defeat that he sought vengeance in the Shire. There, in a pathetic bid for dominion, Saruman was bested by the Hobbits, then slain by his once loyal servant, Gríma Wormtongue.

Lord of the Rings. Sauron, meaning "the abhorred", was once a Maia spirit of Aulë the Smith. In the Ages of Darkness, while Melkor ruled in Utumno, and in the Ages of Stars, while Melkor was chained by the Valar, Sauron became his chief lieutenant and ruled the evil realm of Angband. Sauron served his master well until the Wars of Beleriand when Melkor was cast into the Void at the end of the First Age of the Sun.

Sauron re-appeared in the fifth century of the Second Age as Annatar, "giver of gifts". In 1500, he seduced the Elven-smiths of Eregion into forging the Rings of Power. Then he made for himself the One Ring to rule them all. In the War of Sauron and the Elves, from 1693 to 1700, he laid waste to Eregion and only the arrival of the Númenóreans saved the Elves from total annihilation.

For the next 1500 years, Sauron garnered his power in Mordor and brought the Men of the East and South in his sway. Weary of Sauron's accelerating might, the Númenóreans made war on him in 3262. In this successful campaign, Sauron was defeated. However, he would have his revenge by corrupting the Númenóreans to the point where he brought about the total destruction of Númenor.

Sauron was destroyed in that cataclysm. Yet his spirit survived and reformed into the Dark Lord in Mordor - a fearsome black knight with terrible raging eyes. This form was also destroyed at the end of the Second Age, after the war of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, when the One Ring was cut from his hand by the Númenórean king Isildur. But the One Ring was not destroyed, and so it was that Sauron was able to rise again. This time he manifest himself as a great lidless eye, wreathed with flame and ringed in darkness.

For nearly two thousand years Sauron stayed incognito as the Necromancer of Dol Guldur in Mirkwood, while he sent Ringwraiths, Orcs, and barbarian kings to erode the power of Gondor. In 2941 Sauron re-entered Mordor to rebuild the Dark Tower and search for the One Ring. However, the Ring was found first by his opponents and Quest of the Ring was formed in the year 3018, scant months before he launched the War of the Ring. The Quest was successful and the Ring was destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom, thus sweeping Sauron into the shadows forever.

A Daughter of Ungoliant, Shelob was the greatest spider to cross the blue mountains and settle in the Shadowy Mountains. She settled in the pass at Cirith Ungol, and was second only to the majestic Ungoliant of Valinor in malice.

She devoured all who dared try to cross the pass. She emitted a powerful stench from her glowing belly from all the warriors she consumed in her foul lair. In the year 3000 of the third age, She captured Gollum, but he cunningly cut a deal with her to release him and in return, he would bring her more victims.

Two of those victims were meant to be Samwise and Frodo in the year 3019, but she was defeated at the unlikely hand of Samwise Gamgee, the Hobbit, who first blinded her using the Phial of Galadriel, then seriously wounded her with the Elf blade Sting. Whether she died soon after or crawled away to recover and returned to trouble the world in the future is not known.

Northman, king of Rohan. Born in 2948 of the Third Age, Théoden, son of Thengol, became the seventeenth king of Rohan in 2980. In the beginning he was a good and strong king, but near the end of his reign he fell under the influence of Gríma Wormtongue, who secretly was a servant of the evil Wizard Saruman. However, in 3019, Gandalf healed him from the evil spells of Saruman. Théoden mounted on his steed, Snowmane, and boldly led the Horsemen of Rohan into the Battles of Hornburg and Pelennor Fields. Upon Pelennor, after overthrowing the Haradrim, he won a warrior's death by daring to stand against the Witch-king.

Dwarf king-in-exile. Born in 2746 of the Third Age in the Kingdom under the Mountain, Thorin was the grandson of King Thrór. In 2770, all the Dwarves of Erebor were driven out by Smaug the Dragon. In 2790, his grandfather was slain, and his father, King Thráin II, led his people into the War of the Dwarves and the Orcs. At this time he became known as Thorin Oakenshield because, when disarmed during the Battle of Azanulbizar, he used an oak bow as a weapon. After the war, Thorin remained in the Blue Mountains and in 2845, he became Thorin II, king-in-exile. Nearly a century later, in 2941, he formed the expedition of Thorin and Company and went on the Quest of the Lonely Mountain. The adventure finally resulted in the death of Smaug the Dragon and the re-establishment of the Dwarf Kingdom under the Mountain. However, in the fight to hold what they had won, Thorin Oakenshield was mortally wounded in the Battle of Five Armies, and died shortly after.

Guardian of Fangorn Forest, bordering the east side of the Misty Mountains and south of Lorien, Treebeard was an Ent. Ents were an ancient race of tree shepherds that used to range as far as Beleriand. However, their numbers dwindled since they no longer had "Entwives", hence, no offspring.

Treebeard was fourteen feet tall and resembled a cross between a tree and a man. Indeed, Peregrin Took and Meriodoc Brandybuck, the Hobbits, mistook him for a tree when they escaped from orcs into Fangorn Forest. He had a rough and sturdy trunk, a thatched beard, and branch-like arms with smooth seven fingered hands.

Although not generally concerned with the affairs of other races, Peregrin and Merry soon aroused his long-held resentment towards the orcs of Isengard, who were always hacking and burning the edge of the forest. After a brief council (brief for Ents that is), Treebeard persuaded the Ents to March on Isengard, resulting in the total destruction of its walls and the imprisonment of Saruman the Wizard in his own stronghold, the tower of Orthanc. Treebeard also sent those bad-tempered tree-spirits called Huorns against the retreating Orcs after the Battle of Hornburg.