Dwarves of Erebor

## Erebor

The **Dwarves of Erebor** live in a great kingdom in Middle-Earth called **Erebor**, stronghold of Thorin, King under the Mountain and one of the 7 Dwarf-Lords. Erebor is located in a small biome called Erebor east of the Woodland Realm and north of Dale. The faction has been disbanded and its successor, the Kingdom of Durin's Folk, currently owns the stronghold in and the biome around Erebor.

## History of the Erebor Dwarves

When the Official LOTR Mod server launched, connor7boss claimed the land around waypoint Erebor and crowned himself as the king. He and his recruits made a small mountain and constructed the Erebor gate. Then they started excavating room for the first hall. Connor then left the server and crowned Mathyas57 as the king. That is when Thorin joined the server and helped digging. Before Mathyas became King under the mountain he made an amazing Dale south from Erebor. Soon there was a first world reset and Mathyas decided that dwarven life was too much for him so he became Hobbit.

The king of Erebor became Thorin who started constructing an enormous gate near the waypoint. But he didn't have the mountain, so after the gate was finished, Mevans was often flying around the gate and then he realized: Dwarves need their mountain! So then, in Beta 23, the Lonely Mountain and Erebor biome were added. After some WorldEdit action (which includeed rotating the main gate to right direction, refreshing the surrounding terrain and connecting the structure to the mountain) Erebor started to get its shape. After a lot of building and digging the 1st Hall was finished. Meanwhile Mathyas realized that livingin the Shire was boring and so he returned to Erebor as dwarf. The hard-working members started digging out the halls for Gallery of the Kings and Throne Room. After months of tireless work they dug through the Lonely Mountain and the 1st Hall was upgraded and better decorated. However, the lead miner in Erebor left the server, so progress began to slow down. Under Thorin's reign, in April 2016 the Feasting Hall was built, and in June the Gallery of Kings was completed.

After Bofur became King on September 15th, 2017, progress was made on the Throne Hall which was finished in January 2018. In the summer, Erebor had lots of new players (notably Goldbar22 and nalleboi who went on to found the Mountains of the Wind) and made lots of progress mining. A lot of the time from 2018-19 was spent PvPing due to several raids and wars, so building progress went slowly although the Armoury and Tree Hall were built and construction continued at Laketown. In 2020 work on the forges restarted after the design was finished with the help of tobidysted and Goldbar22.

Between the months of May and June 2020, after Bofur was banned for having knowledge of illegal enchanted items in a faction member's apartment, Erebor's playerbase started becoming increasingly adverse to Fiene's ruling policy, which eventually escalated to the point of a full-on civil war being declared by Shakespeare\_Dano and other former Erebor members which defected to the rebels' side. The great renewed feasthall in Erebor was built during the war for Dwarfmas 2020, as a point of hope. The conflict went on throughout 2020 and continued in 2021; after months of continued fighting and battles, however, both sides were getting tired of war and just wanted to end the situation peacefully. At last, on the 18th of January 2021, Shadowmaster and Shakespeare\_Dano agreed on a peace treaty which formally ended the conflict and dissolved the rebellious cell. A more thorough explanation of the conflict can be found here.

On the third of April, 2021, Erebor and its neighbouring faction, the Iron Hills, were both disbanded to form a new kingdom, the Kingdom of Durin's Folk.

Erebor is the destination of many new players that are willing to take part of building the greatest Kingdom in Middle-Earth.

## Becoming a Dwarf of Erebor

If you want to join Erebor:

* You need to Pledge to Durin's Folk (at least +300.0 Durin's Folk alignment);
* You need a discord account (which is our main source of communication for announcements, projects etc.).

Erebor must be your official faction and your only faction. The official titles that non-ranking citizens can use are "Erebor", "Khazâd Champion", "Khazâd Axebearer" or "Durin's Folk". All Erebor dwarves must have their title coloured in light yellow, regardless of rank.

## Government

### Social Structure

Here is the list of important Dwarves in Erebor:

* Loremaster of Erebor: **marcobelva**
* Royal Guard of Erebor: **Artpas**
* Thane of Erebor: **Turandirion**
* Thane of Fort Durin: **tobidysted**

Warriors:

* **Turandirion**
* **Artpas**
* **marcobelva**
* **tobidysted**

Notable old (semi-active) Dwarves:

* **GeorgeMacaa** - former Royal Guard and Head Brewer
* **Luktronic** - former Royal Guard
* **BorinSilverBeard** - former Head Builder
* **Morgrim\_**
* **Dimrond\_**

### Kings and Queens of Erebor

1st King: **connor7boss** (Old Erebor)

2nd King: **Mathyas57** (Old Erebor)

3rd King: **Thorin\_The\_King** (New Erebor)

4th King: **Bofur\_The\_Dwarf**

5th Queen: **\_Fiene22\_**

6th King: **JackFlash29**

7th King: **shadowmaster10** (civil war)

8th King: **marcobelva**

## Territory

### Tile Claims

Erebor claims the six tiles shown in gold on the map.

* Erebor;
* Parts of the Northern Wilderland;
* East part of the Grey Mountains Foothills;
* West part of the Northern Forests.

### Builds on Erebor's Territory

* Erebor;
* Ravenhill;
* Fort Durin (fortress east of Erebor).

## Dwarven Texture Pack

Our appreciated Dwarf **Prof\_Grimm** has outdone himself by making texture pack for Dwarves. It changes the color of Dwarven Bricks and its craftings to be more greenish in color, it also changes the look of Banners of Durin's Folk and the Dwarven helmet.

**Download:**

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hqlqmuv2or1pciq/Erebor%20for%20the%20LOTR%20Mod.zip?dl=0

## Lore

The **Lonely Mountain** is the greatest dwarf kingdom in Middle-Earth. It is located in northeast of Rhovanion, and is the source of the River Running. It is called **Erebor** in Sindarin.

### History

Years of the Trees and First Age: The Dwarves of Durin's Folk discovered the mineral wealth of the Lonely Mountain sometime after the awakening of the first Durin. A mining colony was soon set up and a road was laid out to connect the Dwarves to their great cities from the Iron Hills and as far west as their realms and possessions in the Blue Mountains.

### Second and Third Ages

#### In the Beginning

The Dwarves may have lived and mined in the mountain during the Second Age, but it wasn't until the mid-Third Age that the colony had become a firmly established Kingdom of the Dwarves after the fall of the ancient Kingdom of Khazad-dûm due to the awakening of the Balrog later known as Durin's Bane in TA 1981. The survivors under Thráin I followed him to the Lonely Mountain and the colony became the ancestral home of the King under the Mountain. By TA 1999, it had become a Dwarven stronghold, where the Dwarves became a numerous and prosperous people. In this time, the Dwarves became very rich and amassed a large amount of gold and treasure which included the jewel known as the Arkenstone. Thrain I used the Arkenstone as a symbol of his rule, and his sons and grandsons under him who were to follow.

For two-hundred and eleven years the kingdom advanced, expanded, prospered, and endured until Thorin I abandoned it to join his kin in the Grey Mountains, and the Lonely Mountain was left uninhabited for three-hundred and eighty years. However, the Dwarves of the Grey Mountains began experiencing attacks by the dragons that still lived in those mountains, and became embroiled in a costly war against them, forcing the Dwarves to abandon the Grey Mountains in TA 2590. The Dwarves went their separate ways with Grór and his followers settling in the Iron Hills and Thrór and his followers settling in the Lonely Mountain.

#### Under Siege

While Thorin Oakenshield was out hunting one day in TA 2770, Smaug came from the mountains and invaded the Lonely Mountain, hoarding all its wealth for himself. Thráin II and several companions escaped by a secret door. For many years thereafter the Dwarves lived in exile in the Blue Mountains until, by a seemingly chance meeting, Gandalf the Grey met Thorin Oakenshield and together they planned to reclaim the mountain. This is told in detail in *The Quest of Erebor* and described by Tolkien's song, *"Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold."*

#### The Quest of Erebor

In TA 2941, Bilbo Baggins and Thorin's company traveled 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 through abreast. Gandalf had managed to obtain the door's key, which fit a key hole which could be found only when the setting sun and the last moon of autumn (also known as Durin's Day) were in the sky would the light shine upon the keyhole. As told by Tolkien in The Hobbit, it took many days to find the door, and luckily for Thorin and Company they did not arrive on Durin's day so they had plenty of time to enter the mountain.

Smaug was eventually slain, shot out of the sky by a well-aimed arrow to his only weak spot by Bard the Bowman, a man of Laketown,he was a descendant of the king of Dale Girion, who later became king of the Men in the area known as Dale adjoining the Lonely Mountain. Thorin thus reclaimed the mountain, but the Elves of Mirkwood and Men of Lake-town claimed a part of the treasure, which Thorin refused to share. Dáin II Ironfoot came to the aid of his cousin Thorin, and the three Free Peoples almost did battle with one another, but then Orcs attacked and the Dwarves, elves, and men joined ranks together with the eagles against the Orcs, in what became known as the Battle of the Five Armies. During the battle Thorin was mortally injured, and the titles King under the Mountain and King of Durin's Folk passed to Dáin.

#### War of the Ring

**Battle of Dale**

The demise of Smaug was not to be the last of Lonely Mountain's many troubles. In TA 3019 on the 17th of March, a horde of Easterling soldiers from Rhûn swarmed over the Redwater river, opening up a second front in the northern theater of the War of the Ring. The sheer force of the feared and renowned Easterlings crushed the Men of Dale and routed their forces, which had to rally back to the protection of the Lonely Mountain.

The Dwarves and Men fought a pitched battle against the invaders, in which King Dain and The king of Dale a t the time were killed, eventually emerging victorious over their opponents. The impenetrable gates and walls of the Lonely Mountain, furnished and extensively worked with advanced, complex and intricate Dwarven stonework, defense planning and smith-work, easily withstood the siege equipment of the Easterlings. The Lonely Mountain itself was a key strong-point and gave its defenders great tactical leverage against the attackers, being able to shoot arrows and fling stones down below in reprisal. The many years invested in improving the Lonely Mountain's defenses had paid off, and the defenders outlasted the Easterlings in the siege. The Easterlings then withdrew, suffering disproportionate casualties because of their botched campaign and their difficulty in combating the Dwarven technology, weapons, armor and defenses.

#### Fourth Age

The Lonely Mountain was a minor place for battle during The War of the Ring. The city took a small hit but it was rebuilt during the Fourth Age with the help of men and all of the Dwarves. With the restoration of the Kingdom under the Mountain the area became prosperous again. Dwarves and Men reforged their friendship. Dáin was killed during the War of the Ring, and was succeeded by his son Thorin III Stonehelm who ruled well into the Fourth Age. During this time, Dwarves from the Lonely Mountain helped rebuild cities in Gondor and the fortress of Helm's Deep, and some went to the newly established Dwarven realm of the Glittering Caves where Gimli was lord. Late in the Fourth Age the Lonely Mountain was attacked by a large force of Orcs which was easily destroyed by the Dwarves. After this it is thought that the Lonely Mountain continued to flourish for many years after.

### Military Forces of Erebor

Erebor had a strong well armored and equipped Dwarven army able to defeat even the toughest foes. The Army consisted of over 10,000 Dwarves of Erebor. They had only Infantry and Artillery Machinery. Possibly the strongest Artillery in Middle-Earth as it is stated that a huge army of Easterlings tried to attack Erebor/Dale in the TA "but they were no match for Dwarven Machinery, weapons, armor, and defenses."

If counting all Dwarven men the number would rise significantly as it is stated in the trilogy that the "Dwarves will defend their kin no matter what"

So it is likely that all Dwarven men were required to fight period. Not that none would not want to as they are Dwarves and love to fight!