Greenwood

### Inhabitants

Woodsmen, Elves (Silvan, Sindarin princes), Giant Spiders, Sauron (briefly), Khamul (briefly), Orcs (briefly)

Greenwood the Great was a great forest in Rhovanion. Known since TA 2941 as Mirkwood due to the disease that lay upon it with the arrival of the Necromancer, it was home to the Woodsmen of Wilderland and to the Silvan Elves of the Woodland Realm.

## Geography

Mirkwood seems to have had much the same boundaries as it did at the end of the Third Age for most of its history. It was roughly rectangular in shape: stretching from the foothills of the Grey Mountains in the north to the North Undeep in the south, and from the east edge of the vale of Anduin to Erebor.

It was bisected by the ancient Old Forest Road. Later, when this road became unusable, a second path through the forest was made to the north. Between the two paths lay the Mountains of Mirkwood. The Forest River cut through the forest's northern end from its source in the western Grey Mountains, joined in the centre by the Enchanted River which flowed north from the Mountains of Mirkwood.
Map of Wilderland by J.R.R. Tolkien showing the northern part of Mirkwood.

South of the Old Forest road the East Bight, carved by the Woodsmen, created the *Narrows of the Forest*, only one hundred miles across. South and west of the narrows was the a hill called Amon Lanc.

## History

### Early History

Along with the nearby woodland of Lorinand, It was first populated by Elves trying to get from Lake Cuivienen to the Far West. From then on out, the Elves called it Greenwood. Some of the Elves dreaded the crossing of the Misty Mountains west of Greenwood and stayed there, becoming the Silvan Elves, although some of them later did continue west, becoming the Green Elves of Beleriand.

It was later bisected by the Dwarf Road, constructed by Dwarves in an attempt to link their realm of Khazad Dum with their mansions in the Iron Hills. Later still it become the dwelling place of men (who in turn fled from the east where other Men were swayed by Sauron). Some of these Men would go on to migrate west into Beleriand, becoming the Men of the houses of Beor and Hador. Their kin that remained in Rhovanion became the Northmen, and those that remained specifically in Mirkwood were called the Woodsmen of Greenwood. The Skin-Changers were also descended from these.

### Establishment of the Woodland Realm

After the War of Wrath, Sindarin prince (and refugee of the woodland realm of Doriath) Oropher went to rule the leaderless Silvan Elves of Greenwood, just as the Noldorin Lord and Lady Celeborn and Galadriel (also refugees of Doriath) would later rule Lorinand across the Anduin. Given the superiority of his bloodline, Oropher styled himself The Elvenking, and became the lord of the Woodland Realm.

Originally, Oropher's realm encompassed the south of Greenwood, with dwellings about the hill of Amon Lanc. However, throughout the Second Age, he and his people migrated north three times. According to one tradition, the first movement was northward beyond the Gladden Fields, due to Oropher's desire to distance himself from the increasing encroachments of the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm and his resentment of the intrusions of Celeborn and Galadriel in Lothlórien. However, his people did maintain constant intercourse with their kin west of the Anduin.

Oropher was also disturbed by the reports of Sauron's rising power and by the end of the Second Age, he dwelt in the western glens of the Emyn Duir and his numerous people lived and roamed in the woods and vales westward as far as Anduin, north of the ancient Dwarf-Road.

Oropher was slain in the battle of Dagorlad, and was succeeded by his son Thranduil, who eventually moved his seat of power further north, to the hills at the north-eastern side of the forest, under which he built protected halls with the aid of the Dwarves, and the Elven road leading to them. Married to the Elven queen, Thranduil would gradually retreat into the underground fortress, as the influence of Gondor reached the southern border of the woods, where they built a fortress on Amon Lanc. Around this time, the Woodsmen residing in that part of the forest cut much of its trees, creating its Eastern Blight.

At some point in the early Third Age, one of the wizards, Radagast the Brown, settled in Rhosgobel on the Southern borders of Mirkwood. Also residing on the borders of the Woodland (specifically, in the Gladden Fields) were Halflings, an offshoot of the Northmen, who would go on to migrate west and away from the shadow of Angmar. Some however remained behind and two of these, Déagol and Sméagol, would find The One Ring, lost to the Anduin nearby.

Thranduil's Woodland Realm did not interfere in the wars of Gondor and the Northmen with the Easterlings, but still maintained a friendship with the people of Dale, Esgaroth and Dorwinion (the latter two were involved in a trade route that supplied Thranduil's cellars with wine), as well as the Dwarves that would later settle Erebor. Thranduil sent the White Gems of Lasgalen in order to have them fashioned into a necklace for his wife, but she never got to wear them.

Thranduil became involved in the war with Angmar, launching at least one attack on its fortress of Gundabad.. He forfeited when his wife was captured and killed in Gundabad. He placed an statue in her likeness at the Elven Gate into the realm, and began retreating from the affairs of the outside world entirely.

In TA 2340, an Orc raid from Angmar resulted in the deaths of two of Thranduil's Silvan subjects and while he hunted the Orcs down and adopted the victims' surviving child, Tauriel, he would not participate in the battle of Fornost and the ultimate downfall of Angmar.

### Shadow over Greenwood

In 2941, a shadow fell on Greenwood. Eminating from the abandoned fortress of Amon Lanc (since then renamed Dol Guldur), it resulted in the trees twisting, their sap made foul. Wild animals were dying and replaced by bats and Giant Spiders. Orcs and Goblins from the Misty Mountains, led by Azog and Bolg, secretly came into an alliance with the Necromancer in Dol Guldur, and the Nine entombed in the High Fells of Rhudaur were released and summoned to Dol Guldur. The stream coming down from the Mountains of Mirkwood became enchanted, as was the forest's air, and the Elven Road - while considered safe - fell into disuse, its bridge over the stream broken. The woodsmen living nearby came to call the forest Mirkwood.

### The Quest of Erebor

During Thorin Oakenshield's and Bilbo Baggins' journey, they and their company wished to gain entrance entered Mirkwood as a shortcut to the Lonely Mountain. At the edge of the forest at the Elven gate, Gandalf was tasked by Galadriel to investigate the High Fells. Before he departed, Gandalf gave the Company one more piece of advisement: The first, he told them to be wary in the forest because the air was befowled with dark magic that would cause hallucinations. Next, he warned them of an stream that had been enchanted with a dark spell and to cross the bridge stone only. He last warned them to stay on the Elf-path, for if they strayed away from it, they would never find it again.

The company traveled through the forest and stayed on the path as Gandalf had told them. However, the forest soon began twisting their minds, and causing Thorin and Company to either hallucinate or feel weakened. They travelled for days until they come across the enchanted stream Gandalf told them of but found that the bridge had been destroyed. Kíli had found a way to cross by using the vines to get to the other side. Thorin sent Bilbo across first, but as the Hobbit crossed, Bilbo began feeling the river's enchantment pulling him. Quickly, he had made across but Bilbo, fearing for the others, yelled for them to stop but turned and found that the company was already crossing. Thorin reached the other side before the others. During this time, Thorin and Bilbo spotted a White Stag approaching them. Though Bilbo was amazed by the creature, Thorin immediately fired at the creature, but the stag disappeared. Meanwhile, Bombur had succumbed to the spells and had fallen asleep, forcing the other dwarves to fashion a stretcher and carry Bombur.

Thorin began succumbing to the polluted air of the forest and hurriedly led his company off the path. During the rest of their time in the dark forest, Nori had lost trace of the path the company had went on. Bilbo managed to snap out of the dark spell and told his companions they were lost but the Dwarves began to feel the foul air of the forest. Bilbo took it upon himself to find out where he and the company were at. When the company was distracted, Bilbo climbed up a tree while Thorin heard whispers Bilbo had warned him about earlier and told the company they were being watched. Meanwhile, when Bilbo reached the top, he saw they were almost to the Lonely Mountain. At the same time, Bilbo's dwarven friends were captured by gigantic spiders. When he shouted to the dwarves he knew they were in the right direction, Bilbo heard no response from them and saw something coming. Soon, Bilbo suffered the same fate as his companions and was captured by the other spiders.

However, Bilbo managed to free himself from his spider cocoon and killed his attacker with Sting. He soon rescued his companions when he saw one of the Spiders threatening to eat Bombur. While the dwarves escaped their captors, Bilbo was separated from the group, where he attacked a baby spider due to the Ring's influence. Soon, the Hobbit heard his company in distress. Legolas of the Woodland Realm cornered Thorin Oakenshield and Company, along with Tauriel and other Elves. After defeating the spiders, the company was captured for "snooping around" in the lost kingdom.

Thranduil had Thorin and his company locked up in the King's dungeons with the exception of Bilbo who managed to evade capture yet again and had been trailing the Elves. Thranduil attempted to reach an accord with Thorin but the dwarf refused because he would not give up Bilbo Baggins. Soon, Bilbo freed Thorin and their friends from their cells and the company escaped in barrels bound for Esgorath.

### War of the Ring

News of Smaug's death reached Thranduil, who took his army from Mirkwood, and led them to the Lonely Mountain. Thranduil arrived in Dale upon a magnificent large elk, and gave supplies to the townsfolk who had lost everything to the dragon's fire. Despite Bard's thanks, he told him that his true purpose for coming was to reclaim a jewel necklace in Thorin's possession - the White Gems of Lasgalen, which was revealed much later to be a remembrance of his late wife, who had died in the hands of the Witch-king. Bard was aghast at the prospect of fighting for jewels, but Thranduil doubted that a Dwarf could be reasoned with. Nevertheless, he agreed to give Bard a chance to convince Thorin to give in. Bard failed, and Thranduil ordered his army to march.

When Gandalf arrived, he urged Thranduil and Bard to call off the attack on the Lonely Mountain, and informed him about Sauron's elaborate plans of taking the Mountain, which would enable him to eventually destroy all of Middle-earth. However, Thranduil refused to believe him, and accused him of reigniting the enmity between Elves and Dwarves by urging Thorin and his Company to embark upon their quest and trying to save the Dwarves. Even after Bilbo gave them the Arkenstone so that Thranduil could exchange this for his gems with Thorin in an attempt to stop the fighting from materializing, a war nearly broke out, but Azog's arrival and Dain's departure to deal with the army of Orcs called it off. Initially, Thranduil was intensely reluctant to participate in the fight, but after Gandalf forced him to realize that it was madness to not fight the Orcs, he relented - sending his swordsmen into the fray, instructing his archers to rain down death, and he himself wielded his broadsword skillfully against the forces of evil. However, Azog realised that the armies could not fight on two fronts, and sent the rest of his army to Dale to cut them off. This forced Thranduil to retreat to the city with Bard, Gandalf, Bilbo, and a large portion of his army, leaving the Dwarves to fend for themselves. Upon his entry into the city, he was dismounted and surrounded, but easily killed his assailants and continually participated in the battle, but ended up being aghast at how much Elven blood was spilled in defense of a Dwarven land, and rather than warning Thorin or helping Dain, he attempted to take advantage of the respite to pull out.

after the battle ended, he went to Ravenhill alone to find Legolas and Tauriel. He ran into Legolas, who confessed that he could not go back with him. Thranduil advised him to find the Dunedain, for there was a young ranger there whom he should meet - his father, Arathorn, was a good man, and he might become a great man himself. He went on to explain to Legolas that the ranger's name in the wild was *"Strider"*, but his true name was something he had to learn for himself, and he also confided in Legolas that his mother loved him more than anything else in this world. At this, father and son exchanged a mutual gesture of farewell and affection, and Thranduil accepted Legolas' decision to be on his own. As Legolas left to go to the North, Thranduil found Tauriel weeping over Kili's corpse, and upon seeing him, she asked him why love could hurt so much. Touched by the sight, along with the memory of his wife's death at Angmar's hands, he replies *"Because it was real"*, and agreed with her plan to bury Kili.

The Elves of Mirkwood stayed just a short time to receive their share of the treasure before returning to their forest homeland. After the Battle of Dol Guldur, when Sauron was banished from Dol Guldur and his Orcs decimated, the Woodland was largely cured from his influence, but Dol Guldur remained out of Thranduil's borders within the realm.

During the War of the Ring, Thranduil sent his son and several emissaries to Rivendell to participate in the Council of Elrond. In defending his realm against an invasion of Orcs from the Misty Mountains, Thranduil fended off much of Sauron's forces and therefore contributed to the victory over the Dark Lord.