Thrain

**Thráin II** was the father of Thorin II Oakenshield, and the son of King Thrór, making him a direct descendant of Durin the Deathless. After his father Thrór was beheaded by Azog in Moria, Thráin became the rightful King under the Mountain as well as the King of Durin's Folk.

## Biography

### Early life

Thráin was born in the Lonely Mountain to Thrór, who was King under the Mountain. He married sometime before TA 2746 and had three children: Thorin, Frerin, and Dís.

### Life in exile

Thráin fled Erebor with his father, his three children, and the surviving Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain when the Dragon Smaug descended on the mountain in TA 2770, desolating the kingdom and claiming its treasure. Exiled, he and his relatives wandered farther south, and they eventually settled in the hills of Dunland. They would remain in Dunland for twenty years, reduced to poverty.

Years after the destruction of Erebor, poverty took a toll on the mind of King Thrór, rendering him restless and desperate. He sought to journey away searching for a scrap of wealth, though he did not specify Moria. At their parting, he gave to his son Thráin his Ring of power and the Map and Key to the Side-door of the Lonely Mountain.

He became heir of the lost King under the Mountain and King of Durin's Folk. When Azog killed his father in the Battle of Azanulbizar in TA 2799, Thráin tried to restrain his son Thorin from charging towards the Pale Orc and explained that Azog was tasked to wipe out the line of Durin. After ordering his son to stay away from the deadly Orc, Thráin led a charge towards the Dimrill Gate but was overpowered by Azog and lost Thrór's Ring of Power to the Pale Orc. Many Dwarves believed that Thráin was driven mad by grief and had been among the fallen, but his son Thorin had searched among the dead bodies of Moria and knew that Thráin had survived the battle. However, it was revealed that he was captured by the Necromancer and became a prisoner in Dol Guldur. During his lifetime in the old fortress, Thráin had been tortured for information about the map and key to the Lonely Mountain, but Thráin refused to answer and would not tell him that he gave the items to Gandalf for safekeeping.

After sending Radagast the Brown to Galadriel to tell her of Sauron's return, Gandalf enters Dol Guldur's interior and begins searching for any sign of evil. Deep in the abandoned fortress, a diminished Thráin watches Gandalf before jumping down onto the wizard. The two engage in battle until Gandalf manages to restrain Thráin and bring him to his senses. Gandalf recognizes his old friend, and Thráin tells him he has been in Dol Guldur for a lifetime. Thráin recounts the Battle of Azanulbizar and how Azog the Defiler severed his finger that bore his Dwarven Ring of Power by a dagger. Gandalf tells Thráin they must leave, but Thráin says there is no way out. Gandalf informs Thráin that his son has embarked on the Quest of Erebor, to which Thráin says that Thorin, or anyone, must not enter the mountain.

While making their escape, Thráin continued to explain to Gandalf that Smaug and Sauron, whom he calls The One, are in league with each other until Azog himself launches a surprise attack, knocking Gandalf to the floor. Thráin was terrified when he witnessed the whole army of Guldur Orcs that were getting ready to leave the fortress and travel to the Lonely Mountain. Before Azog can deliver the killing blow, Thráin and Gandalf managed to flee. As they reached the exit of the fortress, Sauron confronts them, preventing them from leaving. Since there was nowhere to run or escape, Thráin tells Gandalf to tell his son, Thorin, that he loves him, to which Gandalf replies he can tell Thorin himself once they get out of here. Thráin said to him that it was too late, and despite Gandalf's attempts to protect him, he was grabbed by The Necromancer's form and killed.