The Rohirrim and Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Merry are on their way to Helm's Deep. Along the way they meet the "Grey Company" coming from Rivendell. It is a group of thirty Dúnedain, which are Aragorn's people. With the group are also Elladan and Elrohir, the sons of Elrond. Aragorn uses the palantír. Aragorn decides to take to the "Paths of the Dead". Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and the Grey Company go to Edoras, Dunharrow, and through the "Paths of the Dead" through the White Mountains. There Aragorn calls an army of dead spirits to help him. The Grey Company and the "Dead Men of Dunharrow" then go east.
The Rohirrim and Merry come to Dunharrow. King Théoden takes the Rohirrim armies and goes to help Gondor in the war. Merry is not allowed to go with them, but he secretly goes with a warrior named Dernhelm.
In Minas Tirith they meet Faramir, who tells them of his meeting with Frodo. The next day Faramir goes off to defend the old city Osgiliath, but the city falls, and so do the outer defenses of Minas Tirith. During the retreat Faramir is badly wounded. Minas Tirith is besieged by the armies of Mordor, led by the Witch-king, the leader of the Nazgûl who (it was said) could not be killed by any man. Denethor goes insane and burns himself, and almost also kills the injured Faramir, but this is prevented by Pippin and Gandalf.
The Rohirrim arrive. The armies of Gondor and Rohan fight the armies of Mordor in the "Battle of the Pelennor Fields". There, King Théoden is killed. Dernhelm, who was really Éowyn (a woman), kills the Witch-king with Merry's help. Aragorn comes with a fleet of black ships and another army of men from southern Gondor up the river Anduin. Together they win the "Battle of the Pelennor Fields".
Aragorn heals the wounded and sick Faramir, Éowyn, Merry, and many others, proving that he is the rightful King of Gondor. Legolas and Gimli go into Minas Tirith and meet Merry and Pippin again. There they also tell how they got the black ships with the help of the Army of the Dead. The leaders of the armies of Men decide to attack Mordor, as a distraction so that Frodo can destroy the One Ring. Aragorn and Gandalf lead an army of 7000 men to the Black Gate of Mordor. There they fight the "Battle of the Morannon" against the overwhelmingly large army of Sauron. During the battle Pippin falls unconscious, but he hears that the Great Eagles have come to help them.
Samwise comes to the Tower of Cirith Ungol, but the different Orc groups in it had a fight and almost all of them are now dead. Sam frees Frodo and gives him back the One Ring. The two hobbits disguise themselves as orcs, escape from the Tower and continue their journey through Mordor. It is a hard journey, and the Ring's influence on Frodo is very strong now. One time the hobbits are forced to walk with an army of orcs, but they can escape without being discovered.
The hobbits come to Mount Doom, where they are attacked by Gollum, who still wants the One Ring. Frodo goes on alone into Mount Doom, but Sam has pity for Gollum and lets him live. Sam follows Frodo into Mount Doom. Frodo is finally overpowered by the One Ring, says it belongs to him and puts the Ring on, which makes Sauron know that he and the Ring are there. Gollum comes back once more and fights with Frodo. Gollum bites off Frodo's finger with the Ring. Gollum is happy to have his Ring back, but makes a mistake: Gollum and the One Ring fall into the volcano, and the Ring is destroyed. Sauron fully dies and his fortress Barad-dûr is destroyed.
At the "Battle of the Morannon", the Orcs and other evil creatures no longer know what to do and are defeated easily, and the Battle is won. Gandalf calls three of the Eagles, who then rescue Frodo and Sam.
They all return to Minas Tirith. Aragorn becomes King of Gondor and Arnor. Elves from Rivendell and Lothlórien come to Minas Tirith. Aragon marries Arwen Undómiel, daughter of Elrond. The Fellowship, the elves, and the Rohirrim go back to Rohan. King Théoden is buried. Éomer officially becomes King of Rohan, and Éowyn and Faramir are married. They go on to Helm's Deep, were the fellowship finally splits. Aragorn goes back to Minas Tirith, and Legolas and Gimli also leave to travel to their homes in the northeast. The elves, hobbits and Gandalf go on. At Isedgard they are told that Saruman has left. Galadriel and the Lothlórien-elves leave the group to go back home east over the mountains. The others come to Rivendell, where the hobbits meet Bilbo again.
The four hobbits and Gandalf leave Rivendell, to travel back to the Shire. Gandalf leaves the hobbits after Bree. The four hobbits come to the Shire, but Saruman with his men has taken over the land. Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin lead the other hobbits in the fight against them, and they free themselves and the Shire. After a battle, the four hobbits find Saruman and Gríma at Bag End. Frodo wants to send them away unhurt, but Saruman is killed by Gríma. Gríma is shot by hobbit archers.
Some years later Frodo and Sam go to meet Bilbo, Elrond, and Galadriel, and some other elves. They all go to the Grey Havens, where they meet Gandalf, and also Merry and Pippin. The Ring-bearers Bilbo and Frodo, together with Gandalf and the elves, leave Middle-earth, and go west across the sea to Valinor. The Fourth Age of Middle-earth begins. The three remaining hobbits go back to the Shire, and Sam returns to his wife and child.
"The Lord of the Rings" has been adapted, or made into a movie, a musical, a radio play, and has been made into an animated and three live-action films. Most known is probably "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy (2001–2003) directed by Peter Jackson.
Extinction
Extinction is when a species of animal, plant, or other organisms are no longer living. Extinction is one of the major features of evolution.
All species become extinct sooner or later. The end of a species may happen for many reasons. It may be caused by habitat loss or by being overhunted, or by a major extinction event. An example of an animal that is now extinct is the Dodo, from over-hunting. Another quite different way for a species to end is by species-splitting, known as cladogenesis. The species living today probably were not living in the Cambrian period, but their ancestors were.
Notable extinct animal species include the non-avian dinosaurs, the saber-toothed cats, the dodo, the mammoths, ground sloths, the thylacine, the trilobites and the golden toad.
Endangered species are those which may become extinct. A report from Kew Gardens suggests that one fifth of plant species may be at risk of extinction. Fossil species sometimes reappear millions of years after they were thought to be extinct. These cases are called Lazarus taxa. Humans are to blame due to cutting down animals’ natural habitat such as forests.
The average duration of species varies according to the groups studied. A study of benthic (deep water) foraminifera showed an average of 16 million years if they lived above 200 metres, but 25my if they lived below 200 metres. On the other hand, the average survival time for mammalian species over the past 20my has been 2.33my.
It is estimated that 99.9% of all species that have ever lived are now extinct. More than half of the plants and animals that have become extinct in the last 200 years have been in Australia. There the arrival of Europeans with (accidentally or deliberately) introduced species has damaged the native biota. Especially, the introduction of eutherian mammals has caused the extinction of many marsupial forms.