Kingdom of Gondor

Gondor is a Major Human Kingdom to the east of the Mountains of Lucerne. One of the four remaining Numenorian Kingdoms left in Europe the Kingdom of Gondor remains close ties with Arnor but has lost all communication with the other Numenorians in the form of Dol Amroth, and Umbar following their betrayal of Gondor during the devestating Civil War in Gondor.

Along with Arnor the Kingdom of Gondor is the last bastion of the Atlantian people. Once the largest grouping of humans in Europe the Atlantians foundthemselves destroyed following the Downfall of Numeron and now they are vastly outnumbered by the Germans of Europe. The Atlantians have a longer life span then most humans and this means that the Gondorians would normally have an advantage but their nearly constant losses against Mordor have eraced much of this advantage. Alongside the Atlantians their remains a sizeable number of Numenorians remaining in Gondor of whome are the true blood Atlantians with barely any of their blood diluted by the Europeans. These Numenorians have an immortal life span and are in all levels of goverment within the Kingdom of Gondor.

The Kingdom of Gondor worship after the Atlantian Pantheon of which is the ancient religion of the Empire of Numeron, and they stand as one of the few practitioners of the religion left in the world. The Atlantian Pantheon holds the sway over nearly the entire population but there is a small amount of German living in the southwest, and Italians in the south east that worship Dragonoph, and Chrisitianity and while these religions play no normal part in Gondor life they do exist.

Within Gondor exists the semi-autonomas region of the Shire which is located in southwestern Gondor on the western side of the Anduin River. The Shire provides a large amount of food for the lands of Gondor, and stretches over large tracts of land, but these lands provide very little military outside of a small elite force that they will provide in times of great conflicts. The Shire is much like Rhohavian in the east that is also semi-auntomonas and basically remains a part of Gondor in order to protect itself. Rhohavian provides a large amount of the horses, and the horsemen of the Kingdom of Gondor, and there has been a great history of military men in Gondor being from Rhohavian.

Gondor was founded by brothers Isildur and Alrion Anárion, exiles from Númenor on Atlantis. Together with Arnor in the north, they served as the last strongholds of the Dúnedain or the Atlantians. Gondor formed a central section of the Empire of Numeron and was the second most populated region behind only Westros meaning it was of vital importance to the Empire as a whole. During the Downfall of the Numeron the region of Gondor was the least damaged of the provinces of Numeron and as such it was in a far greater position then Arnor to move past the violence of that conflict. Following the fall of the Empire of Numeron the Kingdom of Gondor would briefly join with Arnor in an attempt to remake the Empire of Numeron but they could not find a way to hold onto Westros so they became two seperate entities. Gondor would take control of the other provinces of Numeron in Dol Amroth, and Umbar after becoming independant and together along with the region of Isengard they would form the central provinces of Gondor. Gondor was at the height of its power in the early A.D. years due to the ship kings and the military might that their armies possessed. However multiple devastations caused it to gradually decline after 45 B.C, being continually weakened by the allies of Sauron. The truly devestating moment was the Civil War which left them without three of their four man core provinces when Isengard, Umbar, and Dol Amroth all declared independance and they couldn`t win any of them back during the conflict.

Geography
Gondor is a warm land of south central Europe, and its location is along the Anduin River Basin. Gondor is bordered by the Valley of Lucerne to its west, the Mountains of Mordor to its east, the plains of Ostro to the north, and the swamplands of Umbar to the south.

Rivers of Gondor
Gondor had many rivers most of which were sourced from the White Mountains and flowed into the Bay of Belfalas, or flowed into the Anduin which also flowed into the bay.

There are two common lists of Rivers of Gondor. The rivers Anduin, Sernui and Gilrain appear in both lists.

The Seven Rivers of Gondor are the following:


 * 1) The river Lefnui,
 * 2) The river Morthond (Blackroot),
 * 3) The river Ciril,
 * 4) The river Ringló,
 * 5) The river Gilrain, which started as two unnamed tributaries in the White Mountains, and flowed south.
 * 6) The river Sernui, (also spelled Serni), which began in the plains of Lebennin and met the Bay of Belfalas north of Ethir Anduin at the city of Linhir.
 * 7) The river Anduin, nearly three-hundred miles of it flowed through Gondor's territory.

Warning Beacons of Gondor
The warning beacons of Gondor were an alarm system for the realm of Gondor. Situated on top of several hills on both sides of the White Mountains, the beacons were great fireplaces permanently manned by men of Gondor. Built by the Stewards of Gondor, the beacons linked their capital Minas Tirith with the westernmost provinces of Gondor, thus enabling either to quickly alert the other.

History
Like Arnor to the north, Gondor is a kingdom founded by Alrion Anárion, the son of Elendil, after the Downfall of Númenor. It was located to the South of Arnor, and the Empire and to the East of Lucerne, and the west Mordor. Its name means Land of Stone, from Sindarin gond (stone) + (n)dor (land), most likely given to it because of the White Mountains and other mountain chains in the land.

Early History
Main Article : Empire of Numeron

Before the Downfall of Númenor, Gondor was home to many Númenórean colonists, who either mixed blood with the indigenous Italians if they were friendly, or dispersed them east across the river Venice. Gondor was a more fertile region than Arnor to the North, and therefore it already had a larger population before the arrival of the Numenor's. This also included a well-established City, Pelargir.

Fall of Numeron
Main Article : Downfall of Numenor



Golden Age
Gondor's power and wealth grew steadily (only interrupted by an Easterling invasion in 97 B.C. Its power would continue to grow into 50 B.C. While the power of Gondor's sister kingdom Arnor peaked during this period, and then after 100 A.D. Arnor began to break up into various successor states. Gondor's greatest glory was yet to come. Gondor's great cities Minus Tirith, Minas Ithil , Osgiliath and Pelagir only grew and the Dunedain of Gondor started to rule over more and more of the North Italian region.

Ship Kings
Gondor's power reached its Golden Age under the four "Ship-kings": Such was Gondor's wealth during the period that men from other lands would say in envy: "In Gondor precious stones are but pebbles for the children to play with."
 * Tarannon Falastur. First of the Ship-Kings, ruled very effectively but died childless
 * Eärnil I. Nephew of Tarannon expanded greatly the major port of Umbar
 * Ciryandil Ciryandil.
 * Hyarmendacil I. Last of the Ship-Kings. In the reign of the powerful king, Hyarmendacil I (c. 12th century TA) Gondor reached the height of its power. During Hyarmendacil's reign, Gondor's borders reached their furthest extent. The Kingdom extended east to the river Venice, south to the border with Rome, it went north only has far as the forests of the Elves, and west towards the edges of the Lucerne Mountains.

Decline
Following the four ship kings the expansion of the Gondorian Empire began to grind to a halt. Without the constant stream of new materials from expansion there was a bit of decline in overall economic health in the Kingdom. This became coupled with a sence of arrogance amongst the nobility in Minus Tirith. This was mainly being caused by the nobles of Minus Tirith towards the Umbar province, but what began to happen was a gradual decline in the relationship with not only Umbar, but also with Dol Amroth.



Civil War in Gondor
Main Article : The Civil War in Gondor

The civil war in Gondor was a destructive event in the history of Gondor, that reduced the once mighty kingdom to a second rate state. The war was fought between the mother KIngdom of Gondor, against two of its provinces in Umbar, and Dol Amroth.

Following centuries of increasing disrespect from the nobles of Gondor towards those in Umbar, the province of Umbar was simply waiting for the moment a leader would come along and guide them into liberation and independance. This moment came when Castamir became a force in Umbar and led the uprising that pushed out the pro-Gondor movement in Umbar, and then raised armies to advanse on Gondor itself.



The End
The War would finally come to an end when the forces of Mordor and Umbar would team up to attack the Gondorian Fortress of Narvine. The forces of Mordor were reeling from the miraculous defence of Cair Andros, and before this the utter defeat of the Umbar forces attempting to destroy House Mason at Ethring. The Mordor forces begin to regroup around Minus Morgal and prepared to move once again into Gondor this time they were led by the Witch King and their force was massive along the lines of the original armies attacking throughout the land. The Gondor scouts were especially well alert during the early movements and because of this the Gondorian army was able to arrive in Narvine a day before the Mordor, and Umbar armies did, and this turned the battle into more of a siege.



Prelude
The fortress was the main backbone of the eastern Gondorian defences and for this reason it was especially well prepared for the attack that everyone knew was inevitable. Before the Battle had begun the fortress had its command handed over to the twin brother Tar-Arannoa, and Tar-Vislen Elessar of whome brought a large force of Tower gaurds of whome were not forseen by the forces of Mordor as they moved within. The forces of Mordor were at first moving against Minus Ithil but they discovered the fortress was heavily defended by two of the Numenorian commanders in the form of Halbaard, and Edrion Elessar thus the forces of Mordor used a large Orc force to besiege Minus Ithil while they moved the total force southwards towards Narvine in a move that would cut off the main Gondor force in the south from the rest of Gondor. As the force from Mordor moved south the main thrust of Umbar moved northward towards the main Gondor Force at Ethring which forced the main force to remain in place. King Arathorn Elessar understood that the forces of Gondor were completely surrounded in the south but with the army in the north in tatters following the defence of Cair Andros, and the central army still stuck fighting against the army of Sarauman in Osgiliath and besieged in Minus Ithil he had no choice but to attempt to defeat the Umbar force once and for all.



The Siege
The Army of Mordor moved quickly against the forces at Narvine as they were determined to take the fortress and quickly trap the rest of the Gondor Army around Ethring where they would be picked apart and destroyed. Led by the Witch King the army of nearly three hundred thousand attacked the fortress nestled into the hills which had a defence army of little over sixty thousand and was weakened from nearly two years of fighting. The seige begin quickly with the forces of Mordor swarming at the walls in huge numbers which had little hope of defeating the defenders but each night this continued which made the defenders weaker and weaker. After three days of fighting the forces of Mordor had lost almost seventy five thousand to the defenders but the defenders were down some ten thousand dead while another fifteen thousand were wounded. While the defenders awaited the fourth day and the coming of their eventual fall the situation in Ethring changed dramatically.



Massacre at Barfurd
Along the Umbar front the forces of Gondor were opposed by the massive army of Umbar of which was situated in the large city of Barfurd. The Umbar army was very large but at the same time they were led by the brother of Castamir Bedroog in Vastamir Bedroog of whome was a skilled but inexperianced leader. Arathorn saw that his Kingdom was going to fall unless he changed things dramatically and thus he created a plan where a large force of Gondor Cavalary would move eastward around the border with Umbar through the mountain passes there and move to the east of the Umbar army unaware. The sentries along the Umbar border were massive as Castamir had drilled his brother to death that he needed to be careful about ambushes, but the mountain path was so inaccesable and far away from the front that there were very few sentries there and what few were there were of little skill and even less prepared. The Cavalry moved quickly and was able to destroy the few scouts in the mountain pass and arrived on the eastern swamps of Barfurd four days after they had left. With their arrival Arathorn moved the entire Gondor force southward and provoked the Umbar army into action by massacring the scouts located along the border and thus at the same time bliding the Umbar forces to their movement. Vastamir sent word to his brother who told him that he would move a relief force to Barfurd and that Vastamir would not move until he arrived. Vastamir was prepared to follow this but Arathorn begin using scouts to taunt the defenders and Vastamir suffered insults from his commanders which forced him to make the rash decision to move the Umbar army north in order to defeat Arathorn.



Battle of Barfurd
The moment the Umbar army moved north Castamir got word and moved his force quicker to the location but he was a week away and had no real hope of arriving in time. Vastamir led the forces north and despite whispers from his commanders that they had little knowledge of what they were facing he continued north due to the fact that he was heavily influenced by several rash commanders within his retinue. As he moved north he was shadowed by the ten thousand cavalry of the Gondor force of whome moved in behind and to the eastern side of him in preperation for the coming Battle. As the two sides engaged in Battle the Gondorians did not make any attempt to be agressive and the Umbar forces assumed this was because they were so much more numerous and they doubled their attack. As the entire Umbar force was engaged the cavalry moved into the Battle and hit the unprepared Umbar forces in the rear and side. As Vastamir realized the mistake he made he charged forward in the hopes of defeating Arathorn before his forces were completely massacred. He would make his way to Arathorn who was heading for him and the two would duel and when the dust settled Vastamir lay dead along with the entire army of Umbar. Following this victory the forces of Gondor moved relatively undamaged northward towards the Battle of Narvine and the forces of Mordor were completely unaware of this movement.



Battle of Narvine Field
The fourth day of the Siege of Narvine would come and as was the case everyday the forces of Mordor moved against the city but this time they were in trouble as the main Gondor force was watching from the hills nearbye and was awaiting this attack. During the enseuing siege the Gondor Army under Arathorn moved north towards the seige and hit the rear of the attacking force. Isilmo was in the skies overhead and was the first to see the attackers, and this was followed shortly after by the Witch King of whome both attempted to shift there forces but realized quickly that the army was far to invested in the siege to turn completely and they watched as a massive melee ensued between the Gondor forces and the now completely surrounded Mordor army of which started to turn into a massacre. As this happened the Witch King and Isilmo landed at the heart of the Gondor army and begin to fight at the center. There presence caused great fear and nearly routed the Gondorians until Arathorn and his son Aragorn arrived on the scene and engaged them in battle. During this ensueing conflict Arathron would be struck down along with his second in command in Malvo Openias and all hope seemed lost until Aragorn stepped forward and fought him. While they fought his uncle was killed by Isilmo but was then forced to pull back after Tar-Vislan defeated him and nearly killed his Wraith. With the Mordor force nearly completely massacred the Witch King looked around and realized that he was completely surrounded and thus pulled back leaving the field completely in Gondor's hands. With the defeat of this force the forces of Mordor no longer had the forces capable of winning the conflict and Sauron watching his army in near defeat ordered the general retreat from Gondor's lands of which the final force to leave was Sarauman of whome was harried by Gandalf their entire time leaving. to flee the field in defeat.



Stagnation
Following the Civil War, Morder came out of the woods to feast on the weakened Gondor. With it's armies in tatters the Gondorians could do little except hide within their fortresses and cities. The city of Pelagir was never meant to be attacked so conventionally and because of this was reduced to a tiny village over the course of constant raids throughout these years.

The fort of Minus Ithil was under permanent siege, and Osgiliathwasbeingconstantlyattacked by the forces of Mordor. This was a very dark time for the Kingdom and it was only made worse when forces from Stormwind began harassing there defenceless northwestern farmlands. Conflict with Stormwind

Conflict with Gondor
Main Article : Gondor War with Stormwind



The Stormwind war against Gondor begin after Bill Lovie ordered the forces of House Starke and House Lannister to make conflict with the western side of Gondor. The initial talk was sent from Bill Lovie to the Lannisters and Starke and told them that the region of Rhunian was to be in Lucernian hands, and that they needed to do anything possible to take it, but also Bill Lovie made a specific point to say that Gondor was stretched very thin and wouldn't have the numbers neccessary to actually resist the Lucernian advance. When the Starke's did little more then send small outriders against northern Rhunian, and a contingent of Mormont men from Bear Island it was left to the Lannisters to actually instigate the conflict. Tywin, and Tygett Lannister would send hundreds of cavalry into central Rhunian against the villages along the border, and proceeded to ransack and pillage the entire area until finally Gondor sent warnings about war if this continued. But the Lannisters were commanded by Bill Lovie not to stop, and thus they sacked two larger villages on the western border leaving them to ruin, and forcing thousands to flee eastward. With this the Starke's realized war was upon them no matter what they wanted, and they massed all their vassals into the area now known as Arathor and prepared to attack into Central Rhunian and upwards, while the Lannisters already had mobilized were preparing to attack southern Rhunian, and upwards from there.

Following this the conflict escaled very quickly when despite the conflicts on the eastern half of their Kingdom the forces of Gondor moved significant forces to the western half against the forces of Stormwind. During this escalation the forces of House Lannister, and House Starke moved increasingly to the front, with both sides employing different strategies. House Lannister and its forces moved against the large Gondor town of Langstrand which they quickly surrounded with forces, and moved a smaller force of more elite irregular troops led by many of their more elite forces to harass the lands around the Gondor town of Adrahil where the main thrust of House Starke was moving against. The strategy of House Starke though was for their forces to thrust against the large town of Adrahil, while there forces then moved against the villages north of Adrahil in an attempt to draw the Gondor soldiers into pitched battles that worked against them. They would be led by Eddard Starke, and Brandon Starke of which the two brothers would lead the siege of Adrahil. This strategy worked with both the forces assisted by a small detatchment sent from House Ordos. House Ordos sent an elite force of siege experts that assisted with both the siege of Langstrand, and Adrahil with both logistics and leadership for goals of the sieges. On the other side of the conflict was the defenders of Gondor of whom were led by Eldarion Elessar, his brother Ildarion, and their uncle Halbaard Elessar. The conflict in the east was dire, and thus Gondor was forced to rely on the two princes, and the forces they brought were relatively weak auxillary forces from south western Gondor, and not the more battle hardened eastern troops. The forces of Gondor were obviously relying mainly on defenders made up of the forces of the two major towns Adrahil, and Langstrand and because of this they were in a lot of trouble when it came to the massive forces being brought to bear by Stormwind, and House Ordos. The northern town of Adrahil was led by the two sons of the King, while Lanstrand was held by Halbaard Elessar making for serious leadership in the two towns.

House Lannister


House Lannister moved their main army straight out of Lannistane alongside all of their vassals, and other houses and moved directly towards Langstrand. The Lannisters were led by Tywin Lannister of whom took complete charge of the siege of Langstrand, and then he sent his family members to take control of the various villages, and castles nearbye. The defenders of Langstrand were offered quarter, but refused under the command of Haalbrad and demanded the Lucernians leave their lands or else face the consequences. The defenders were outnumbered, but Langstrand sat on the edge of water, and the river bed was shielded by cliffs which meant they could get some supplies inside, thus making the siege even longer. When he was given word that Ildarion Elessar had fled Adrahil and was moving south he sent his most trusted commander in his son Jaime Lannister north to chase him down with most of the heavy cavalry and the entire force of House Reyne that had come with House Lannister. Jaime Lannister would move quickly north, but was very careful to move his large force out of sight of any force that they saw and through this strategy he moved undetected through Gondor and begin stalking Ildarion Elessar and his force so that he could capture the prince before the Starke's got him. Jaime got close to Ildarion Elessar twice but both times Ildarion was able to meneaver himself away from the forces of Jaime Lannister, and escape. Either way the forces of Ildarion were basically reduced to running around for nearly a month as they were chased by Jaime Lannister and this left them unable to take part in any actual fighting.

While Jaime was searching for Ildarion Elessar his brother in Tyrion Lannister moved throughout the region between around Langstrand with a largely weakly equipped ground force and begin capturing the various castles, and forts that dotted this region. These forts, and castles were far weaker then they had ever been because the west was seen by Gondor as the area that they least needed to be worried about. Despite this though Tyrion had to deal with each of these defences of which the largest was the fort of Amon Hen of which was defended by six hundred men of Gondor and was perched on a cliff overlooking the valley around it. Tyrion would use great skill in traversing the valley around the fort which allowed him to sneak his forces to the depths surrounding the fort. The forces of Gondor in many places fought to the last man, but were clearly given some orders for larger garrisons to surrender and save their lives. In Amon Hen the defenders lost some three hundred troops in the suprise attack, but still held on for hours before they surrendered and were sent westward as prisoners. With Tyrion sacking castle after castle he finally had managed to block the eastern river approach into Langstrand thus closing the city off from supplies by the water, and thus making starving them out once more an option.

House Starke


Theon Greyjoy joined Robb Starke in a raiding party that was basically meant to harass, and capture large tracts of land in the hopes of getting the Gondorians to leave their fortifications and walk into traps north of Adrahil. While they did this Jon Snow led a smaller group of heavy cavalry against the villages of this area, and he slowly but surely became a sort of vangaurd for the larger cavalry force of Theon, and Robb. At this point with fighting breaking out all over the region the main army of Eddard Starke supported by House Baratheon and some logistics sent by House Ordos moved against the town of Adrahil and put the town completely under siege. Before they could get the entire town under siege though one of the brothers in Ildarion left the city from the west with a large force of heavy, and light cavalry and made his way south to defend Langstrad where the the city was more capable of falling quickly. With Adrahil under siege and the objective of starving the town out until it surrendered Eddard gave the command to begin the heavy harrasment in the north. House Mormont and the Bear Island troops would capture nearly all the mines, and livestock of the area and bring it westward, while the other Bear Island troops ransacked northern Rhunian and took the spoils into Lucerne. While this was happening the forces of House Tarly of whom commanded a large force would move eastward towards Lamedon, where they would arrive and thus block off the ability of Gondor to send any kind of supplies or reinforcements into the area. Randyll Tarly would hold two castles west of Lamedon, and despite attempts by the Lamedon troops to dislodge him, he was a master tactision and was unable to be removed.



Theon and Robb would command together a force of cavalary of which they used brilliantly and after raiding the village of Meadow's Grove they noticed a rather large group of Gondor soilders marching eastward and they immediatly begin following the group. After a full day of marching the Gondor forces set up camp inside a forest and they believed they had the night to rest before marching again. This was a large mistake, and the forces of Theon and Robb moved quickly to surround the camp. While they surrounded the camp the forces of Jon Snow moved against the only real chance of the Gondor force to be saved when they moved against a cavalry force led by one of the local commanders. In the coming Raid on Groilline Jon Snow would discover that Ildarion was with that camped force, and would send word to Robb about this, while Jamie Lannister was not told or made aware of any changes.

Raid on Groiline


During the days of the war with Gondor, Jon Snow was tasked with a small unit of troops that he was tasked with raiding the northern farmlands in order to draw out the outstretched Gondor forces into the trap of the army of House Lannister, and House Starke. In Jon's role he would become aware of how outstretched the Gondor forces were when he chased a force of Gondor cavalry through the night and as he passed by the village of Groiline his scouts reported no defenders. His scouts informed him that the cavalry had no intention of stopping as they were moving eastwards towards Prince Ildarion of whom was being shadowed by both Robb Starke, and Jaime Lannister. Seeing this as an oppurtunity he would stop chasing the cavalry and would instead move his force to Groiline and capture the village, thus unknown to Ildarion Elessar and his forces the road west was free for them to go back through, but without knowing that they made camp that nigh with no knowledge they were trapped on all sides except one.

Chasing Illdarion Elessar


As Jamie Lannister made his way north his scouts were constantly scanning the woods, and the villages that they moved through, and around in the guise of finding Ildarion. As this continued they reached just east of Castle Beyne when they caught the scent of Ildarion as he was travelling north of the castle fighting a running battle against a House Starke cavalry force. His scouts reported to him that the forces of House Starke that were involved were those of his rival in Robb Starke so he moved quicker then he wanted to in order to catch Ildarion. As he moved with less stealth now his force was noticed by a local garrison of whom was led by the able commander Aegnor Tal-Villion of whom begin shadowing the larger Lannister force. Aegnor was a Numenorian just like his friend Ildarion Ellessar and knew the importance of his prince, and thus he made the decision to stop Jame Lannister by whatever means neccessary. Aegnor quickly realized as he followed Jamie's forces that Jamie was attempting to harry his prince, and thus Aegnor prepared most of his men for the defence of their fort, while he and a company fifty cavalry begin to harass the rear echolon of the Jaime Lannister force. Jaime Lannister was in a meeting with his scouts of whom informed him that Ildarion was only a few hours away and if they marched now they could catch him. As he prepared to give the command the cries of battle went out as the cavalry of Aegnor crashed into the camp killing at random. As they charged into the camp Aegnor would set off extremely loud horns and cut the ropes that bound the horses thus causing the Lannister horses to go screaming into the night. Jaime moved into the fray, and after a brief fight the cavalry of Aegnor calmly retreated from the field. The Lannisters had lost nearly two hundred men in the brief fight, and their supplies were in tatters following the ambush so Jaime was forced to deal with the forces of Aegnor and resist the capture of Ildarion as he didn't have the capable forces anymore. Having saved his prince from capture Aegnor retreated to Castle Trenabal where they bunkered in for the inevitable counter assault.

Ambush at Meadow's Grove


Before Jon Snow had moved against the village of Goiline he had sent a raven scout northwest towards where he believed his brother to be with the information that he had Ildarion surrounded from the north, while Jaime Lannister was in the south blocking that route, and a force of cavalry was coming from the west to alert the Ildarion force of their predicament. Realizing they had to stop the cavalry force Robb Starke ordered a bold move when he moved his entire force south west into the path of the cavalry. His force would get off their horses and quickly prepare and ambush for the force of maybe fifteen cavalry, and when the force arrived they quickly saw they were in a lot of trouble so they surrendered with only two casualties of whom had attempted to flee. Robb's force would quickly gain the information from the cavalry about where the prince was precisley located, and with this information they were sent to the rear lines by some of the men, and the rest of the force moved towards the force of Ildarion. With no hope of relief, or any new information they knew they had Ildarion this night if they worked this well. Theon, and Robb's forces moved silently in the night and proceeded to take out the scouts that had been posted to watch for just this event. With the scouts taken out the forces moved into the camp, and went tent to tent killing the nearly 300 strong Gondor force. Quickly into the attack the Gondorians woke up on mass after a large death scream, and combat raged across the camp with the House Starke force vastly outnumbering the Gondorians and completely surrounded and without their equipment on. The force had been chased by Jamie Lannister for well over a month, and due to House Tarly closing the supplies they were not able to be releived as often, and thus for all of these reasons by the time they were now in battle they were no longer even capable of fighting. After only a few minutes the Gondorians begin to surrender, and it was during this end of the fighting that Robb Starke noticed that one of the fighters who had remained fighting was Ildarion Elessar the son of the King of Gondor.

Robb immediatly engaged him in combat and on his own velition was able to defeat him only because he could tell that Ildarion was half dead from fatigue, and being unequipped with armor, or a shield. When Ildarion fell defeated the rest of the Gondor force was swiftly throwing down their weapons and surrendering leaving the full Starke force with a nearly complete victory. With Ildarion defeated Robb was egged on by Theon to kill him, and for a moment Robb contimplated listening to his friend but he then thought strategically and realized that if they had the prince they could basically ransom whatever they wanted from the Gondorians. With this in mind Robb decided instead of killing him he would instead take him in as a prisoner, and ordered the force to pull back to their original position with their now sixty prisoners along with the prince of Gondor.

Prisoner


Robb Starke would pull his force back behind the lines, and there would set up a camp for all the prisoners they had captured and then sent word to his father about the capture of Ildarion, which would then spread like wildfire. When Eddard heard of this news he sent word to Eldarion in Adrahil of whom then sent word to Aragorn of this change in events. Aragorn had two options in front of him. The first option was to engage the Lucernians in a full pitched battle which he might lose, and if he didn't lose he would most likely lose on the east because of all the causualites. Or he surrendered most of the Gondor lands west of the River Rhine. In the end he would send word to Eldarion that their forces were going to surrender under the terms that all Gondor citizens, and forces be allowed free pass into Gondor, along with the return of Ildarion, and all prisoners. Bill Lovie would send word to Eddard that he was incoming to the camp that Eddard and Tywin Lannister were meeting, but when the letter came the servent that brought it told them that Bill planned to execute Ildarion on the spot.

Both commanders understood that if they did this it would mean all out war which was stupid since they could have all of this land with no bloodshed. Because of this they hid the note, and told the scout that the prisoners were already in transfer back to Gondor. With this information Bill Lovie would return to Lucerne instead of seeing the two Lords, and they both knew they had made an enemy that day. When this happened Ildarion was given word by Robb Starke that he was to be released along with all of his men. The two would discuss the coming world that they both lived in, and Robb Starke would gain a lot of respect for Ildarion, and the same would be true of Ildarion for Robb Starke.

The Journey
Main Article : The Journey



Meeting with High Forest
See Also : High Forest

''``I tried not to let my men and son know that it had been decades since I had seen Malfurion and we were basically entering a forest that our only relationship with was that we dropped off rare earth for them, and they dropped off massive numbers of wood for us. In the end my experiance with Malfurion was a mystery to me. Did it mean anything to him the talks we had. You just never knew whether we`d be greated by a handshake or an arrow.``''

-Aragorn Elessar

Following the promising meetins that Aragorn had with William Lovie III. he truly believed that he was dealing with someone that would be able to be trusted. Aragorn understood that the forces available to him were not going to be enough to take the Orcs on one on one, and when he had discussed the troops that would be available to William he knew that they would need more solders and thus he decided to go to his silent ally in High Forest. It had been decades since he had spoken to Malfurion, and almost that long since he`d had any reports about the so for all he knew they could all be dead. Either way though he took a small cohort of his Palace Gaurd alongside his son Eldarion of whome had often talked of the mystery of the Elves. As they reached the outskirts of the forest Aragorn understood that their arrival would have been detected by the Elves so they waited on the outskirts for many hours before they were finally approached by Shandis Stormrage and a large group of Sentinels.

Talking to Malfurion
See Also : Malfurion Stormrage



''``Walking into a forest where all you have heard of leads to death. Talking to an Ent of whome you`ve heard of in legend eats children who misbehave. All of this and yet most of me believed that there was little hope they actually would join us in the fight.``''

-Aragorn Elessar II.

Aragorn was able to use the connection between he and Malfurion to convinse Shandis to get her father so that the two leaders could meet. Shandis would leave and her rangers would remain unmoving in a sort of watchful patrol of the force of Aragorn. When Malfurion stepped out of the forest and into the camp all the men assembled were shocked outside of Aragorn who had already met the great Druid. Malfurion was a Druid of the Sindar Elves and thus stood around eight feet tall with large antlers, and a general feeling that gave you both dread, and confidence. Malfurion bid Aragorn to take a walk for him, and when he agreed he watched with silent fear as Malfurion walked into the forest. Aragorn knew he had no choice and thus begin to follow him into the forest when he was stopped by Eldarion of whome didn`t want anything to happen to his father. Aragorn ashured him that he and Malfurion were friends and that nothing was going to happen. As he walked into the forest he finally came into a clearing where he saw Malfurion standing beside a tree but as he got closer he realized he was talking to the tree, and then when he spoke his first word he fell to the ground in fear and suprise when the tree got up and moved in his direction. As he waited for death the tree stopped and picked up Aragorn with its massive limbs and introduced himself as Coeddil the keeper of the grove of the ancients. The three would talk for a time and come to an agreement that High Forest would come to the assistence of Gondor and Lucerne and attempt to relieve the city of Minus Ithil.

The Kandor Convoy
See Also : The Kandor Convoy

The Kandor Convoy was an event that signaled the alliance between Kandor, and Gondor. The convoy itself was a massive nearly 50,000 strong convoy of Kandorians that left Kandor and travelled to Gondor in order to seal and alliance between the two. The convoy broke through the defences Umbar had in place to seal trade between Dol Amroth and Gondor, and was able to enter Gondor through the now open region of Minus Ithil.

The convoy arrived in Osgiliath and set itself up for what swiftly became a rather large trading center, and then met with the leadership of Gondor. The leaders of Lucerne, and High Forest were also sent requests to meet at Osigliath, and with the conflict Lucerne Civil War in full swing, Andrew sent his second in command basically in the form of Edward Cullen to meet with the Arakhora. Malfurion Stormrage the leader of High Forest arrived at Osgiliath, and together the nations all agreed to work together more closely to survive.

In the end the convoy was extremely successful and the two now communicate with the use of a Palantir.

Goverment
Gondorian noble titles originated from the seignorial system that arose in Kingdom of Gondor during the second millenium. Originally, men of Westernesse recognized only Chieftains and Heads of the Family. Nobility was tied to race; only those who had divine blood, through descendants of Elros, were above others. Furthermore, all Númenoreans were "Kings of Men" (due to their height, longevity and strength) and deemed superior to all other human beings.

Dúnedain of Gondor use Elven-tongue, and in very formal occasions, Noldorin, for styles and titles. Most actually refer to magistracies, offices, posts and commissions, granted by the King or his officials for a certain period of time. After the Dark Plague, many former offices became first life-long and then hereditary. Power of these dignities increased as the Kings granted tax rights and sold future revenues against immediate payments.

King of Gondor
The King is the power of the Kingdom of Gondor, and it is he who appoints every member of the Steward Council, and has absolute control over all decisions made in the Kingdom. Since the beggining of the Kingdom of Gondor, the line of Kings has always been made up of members of the Elessar Family, and the decision of which inheritor gets the crown is decided by the Steward Council.

See Also : Aragorn II Elessar

Aragon Elessar II. is the current king of Gondor, the head of the House Elessar and a pure Numenorian. Aragorn Elessar has one sibling in the form of Halbaard Elessar of whome is a commander inside the Rangers of the North, as well as the mayor of Pelagir and Lord of the province of Mien so he has risen high. He is married to his Queen Arwen Elessar of whom he fell in love with while they spent time together in Osgiliath as young children, and her Numenorian birth was the final straw before they were allowed to marry. His marriage with Arwen Elessar has been happy and with her he has three children in the form of Eldarion, Ildarion, and Artenia of which his son Ildarion was his first born and is the current heir of the Kingdom of Gondor where he has been in command down in Ethring, his son Eldarion is a commander in the Royal Army of Gondor and is fighting in the northlands, his daughter Artenia is a kind girl with many children she has mothered from different men due to a silent madness in her.

He is a great warrior, and as the heir of Isildur, bears the shards of Narsil, which was reforged and renamed Andúril, the Flame of the West, and is one of the finest swords in Europe.

Born during the waning years of Gondor's power he was still alive for a very peaceful time of Gondor's history and it was during this time that Sauron grew to immesurable levels, and the forces of Umbar, and Dol Amroth became interested in civil independance. This would lead to civil war which left the Kingdom of Gondor split in three and its armies laid nearly destroyed alongside its population. During the final battle he was sent away to gather more forces and arrived late to the field to find his father murdered by a Nazgul, and he was able to push the Nazgul from the field, and their victory on that day ended the Gondor Civil War. With all of these changes Aragorn ascended the throne of Gondor and since his coming to power he has attempted to maintain the survival of the Kingdom at all costs, but found that he was now beset by enemies on all sides including shockingly the Kingdom of Lucerne of whom attacked their western province of Rhunian. Aragorn sent his two sons west and a large force to defend Rhunian but it was for not as Ildarion was captured by the Lucernians and his capture alongside the overall defeat of the Gondorian army on the field led to a surrender of which lost Gondor the province of Rhunian. Aragorn would go out on a lim when he assisted the rising young prince in William Lovie III. during the Journey, but was rewarded when William followed through and their combined forces alongside High Forest were able to end the siege of Minas Ithil, and push the Orcs out of the region.

Steward Council
The Steward Council acts as the advisors to the king. Each member has a specific item of knowledge that they are meant to bring to the forefront, such as the Mayor of Osgiliath will bring issues important to Osgiliath to the table.

Council of Gondor
The Council is the Kings advisors in all actions of the KIngdom. They are also his main means of understanding the problems, and needs of the individual councilers sphere of influence.

Ethnicity
Main Article : Numenorians

Along with Arnor the Kingdom of Gondor is the last bastion of the Atlantian people. Once the largest grouping of humans in Europe the Atlantians found themselves destroyed following the Downfall of Numeron and now they are vastly outnumbered by the Germans of Europe. The Atlantians have a longer life span then most humans and this means that the Gondorians would normally have an advantage but their nearly constant losses against Mordor have eraced much of this advantage. Alongside the Atlantians their remains a sizeable number of Numenorians remaining in Gondor of whome are the true blood Atlantians with barely any of their blood diluted by the Europeans. These Numenorians have an immortal life span and are in all levels of goverment within the Kingdom of Gondor.

Religion
The Kingdom of Gondor worship after the Atlantian Pantheon of which is the ancient religion of the Empire of Numeron, and they stand as one of the few practitioners of the religion left in the world. The Atlantian Pantheon holds the sway over nearly the entire population but there is a small amount of German living in the southwest, and Italians in the south east that worship Dragonoph, and Chrisitianity and while these religions play no normal part in Gondor life they do exist.

Houses
Gondorian society has a strictly hierarchical structure and a centralized authority in accordance with absolutist concepts. The King, divinely ordained by Eru, together with his family and court are at the tip of the social pinnacle. The local aristocracy, state functionaries, senior military officers, and large landowners are all members of the upper class. The middle class comprised the urban population of merchants, artisans and owners of medium-sized landed properties, while the populace, that is, the lower class, was made up of wage-earners and paupers, most of mixed origins.

Real power is in the hands of a small landed Dúnadan aristocracy. Governance of the state is kept tightly controlled by a limited number of intermarrying aristocratic families. In the third Age for instance, there are some 80 civil and 64 military noble families, a very small number for so large a state. Gondorian noble titles originated from the seignorial system that arose in the Kingdom of Gondor during second millenium of the Third Age. Originally, men of Westernesse recognized only Chieftains and Heads of the Family. Nobility was tied to race; only those who had divine blood, through descendants of Elros, were above others. Furthermore, all Númenoreans were "Kings of Men" (due to their height, longevity and strength) and deemed superior to all other human beings.

Major Cities of Gondor
Gondor has many cities within its borders but only four have a population that would make anyone be intimitaed and other then Tornost all function as castles alongside as cities. Pelagir was once the largest in terms of population but its exposure to attacks from Mordor and the light defences it had meant that its population was ravaged leaving it quite dwindled.

Army
See Also : Gondor Army Higharchey


 * "I hearby do swear fealty and service to Gondor and to the Righteous King of the Realm: To speak and to be silent. To do and to let be. To come and to go, in need or plenty, in peace or war, in living or dying until my lord release me, death take me or the world end."


 * -Gondorian oath of fealty

The Gondorian army was the primary military body of the Gondorian armed forces, serving alongside the Royal navy. A direct descendant of the Royal Model Army of the Ship-kings and older Númenórean armies, the Gondorian army maintained a similar level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization. It was among the most effective armies of western Middle-earth. During the Fifteen Years' War (1652-1666) it was able to fend off major incursions from all quarters while fighting equally destrucive civil war against various pretenders and their hosts.

Beregond

Fountain Court Gaurd
The Guards of the Fountain Court are selected from the very best of the Citadel Guard, swearing to give their lives in the service of the King and to be fearless in combat. They wear winged helmets made of mithril, intricately crafted heavy armour and carry the best weaponry that the armouries of the White City have to offer. Fountain Court Guard is known for its ferocious and blind loyalty to the King. They attend almost all royal ceremonies: four Knights of the Fountain guard the White Tree all times.

Citadel Guard
Founded as an order of elite guards answerable only to the king of the southern realm. Only the best warriors that Gondor has to offer are picked to join the Guard, to be clad in their ancient armour and to carry blades of Westernesse and númenorean steel composite bows, heavy with both age and honour. The guardsmen themselves are the very image of the first Men of Núménor to settle the shores of Middle-earth, tall and stern, proud and steady in battle. They protect the lords of Minas Anor and the sacred places of the Mound of Mindolluin with a resolute devotion. In the absence of a king, the guards take their orders from the Steward of Minas Anor, sworn to obey his every command until death claims them. Tirrim Aran is permanently stationed at Minas Anor.

Tower Gaurd
Third elite guard company, of somewhat less renown, is the Tower Guard, Tirrim Arandur, dressed in dark hues of purple. They wear black breastplates and banded or lamellar armour over mail hauberks. These ministerial guards are armed with longswords and tall polearms. Their primary function is to provide security to the King and to act as his agents in the Realm.

Economy
Following the destruction brought by The Civil War, Gondor's ancient political structure evolved to cope with decreasing wealth and population. The realm's decline became apparent to the ruling classes, who could do little to reverse the ominous trend. The loss of Umbar, and Dol Amroth during the civil war caused a noticeable shrinking of southern Gondor's economic base. Umbar had been one of the richest cities of the realm and the hub for the southbound trade, giving the kings a sizable customs and tax income in coin. At the same time, parts of the Vale of Anduin were ravaged by the war, and generated little or no income for the goverment.

By then the will to invest in business and manufacturing was nearly gone, since most Gondorians preferred to place their money in safe and value-stable investments such as land and jewelry. The Crown subsequently faced a fiscal crisis, while the realm as a whole suffered from monetary shortage and a decline in trade. This development quickly accentuated the value of land and agriculture. Trade declined more severely. The power balance within southern Gondor's elite gradually shifted in the landowners' favour, at the expense of both the merchants and the royal goverment. The gradual process of feudalization had begun.

Currency
Royal currency was based on a gold Erin ("Crown"), struck at 36 to the pound (4.48 grs.) and 99.5% fine. Erin had developed into a very stable currency during the age of ship-kings, and it managed to retain its value in spite of several monetary crises during 15th-18th centuries. As military and diplomatic costs mushroomed, Dior Arandur Húrinion of Emyn Arnen, chosen as the King's Steward during Tarondor's era, devised ingenious means to stretch the supply of currency. Tarondor minted "light-weight" Gold Crowns at 98.5% fine, saving substantial sums of gold in the process. This minor debasement of 1% from the ideal standard did not weaken the valuation of Erin.

Silver prices, however, fluctuated wildly. Erin was originally divided into five Lothi and twenty ¼-ounce Celebarni ("Silver Royals"). Minting of Lothi was discontinued in 1450 to save silver, which was more commonly used in commerce than gold. Silver Royals fared better, but to keep sufficient number of precious metal in circulation after 1450, it was necessary to worsen the quality of Celebarn. Vinyarion issued 5% debased silver royals to pay his armies during Gondor-Harad War (1540-1551). King Tarondor, counceled by steward Dior Arandur, went farther. As the prices ballooned and the value of money deteriorated, more pure silver was hoarded to private caches. Hard and indecisive Third Umbarean War (1653-1666) hastened the pace, until Royals were only ½ silver and ½ copper. Older, pure silver Celebarni were redesignated as Miriani and rated sometimes as much as four new Royals.

Palantir
Main Article : Palantir


 * Palantir.jpg"The palantír replied to each, but all those in Gondor were ever open to the view of Osgiliath. Now it appears that, as the rock of Orthanc has withstood the storms of time, so there the palantír of that tower has remained. But alone it could do nothing but see small images of things far off and days remote. Very useful, no doubt, that was to Saruman; yet it seems that he was not content. Further and further abroad he gazed, until he cast his gaze upon Barad-dûr. Then he was caught!"


 * ― Gandalf, The Palantír

The palantíri (sometimes translated as "Seeing Stones") were stones that could be used in communication with one another, and also to see many things across the face of the world. When its master looked in it, he could communicate with other Stones and anyone who might be looking into them; people of great power can manipulate the Stones to see virtually any part of the world. The Palantir are now the source of great dread for much of the Numenorians as they provide a glimpse into the things they have lost because of the coruption and destruction wrought by Sauron.

The palantíri were made by Fëanor in the Uttermost West of whom wanted to create a greater way for communication. Twenty eight palantíri were made, of which nine were given to the Numenorians of the Empire Númenor by Gil-galad as a gift during the Second Age, and in time they were distributed to seven different locations: four in Gondor and three in Arnor. They were used largely for communication, but also to see what was occurring throughout the respective realms. Their existence was common knowledge, but no-one was allowed easy access to them save for kings and rulers, appointed wardens, or by royal command. One by one the stones vanished from public knowledge or were lost. The Osgiliath-stone fell into Anduin during the Kin-strife and burning of that city. When Arvedui, King of Arnor, was shipwrecked and his line ended, he drowned with the palantíri of Amon Sûl and Annúminas, the only communicating stones of Arnor. When Minas Morgul fell, the stone was assumed destroyed in general. The wiser and more foresighted men of Gondor decided that in case Sauron had seized the Stone, they would stop using the Anor-stone to prevent any contact with the Dark Lord. As the Elostirion-stone was locked away and could not answer the other stones anyway, the only remaining stone was the Orthanc-stone, which became useless to the Gondorians. When Beren gave Saruman the deserted but secure Orthanc, he likely assumed that Saruman, head of the leading order against Sauron, would keep it safe.

Burials


Wealthy Gondorians kept to Dúnadan custom of above ground burials. The old cemeteries of Pelargir were surrounded with brick walls and catacombed with vaults for families of modest means. Because of the lack of natural stone, tombs were made of brick. When death occurred, the body was laid out and waked. A guardian was named to keep the corpse safe from any looters and defilers. The guard standed a post of honor at the body, wherever it might lie, until the embalmers claimed it. In times of peace, a close friend, brother or sister usually served as guardian.

The Cleaning and Embalming of the Body was carried out in accordance of ancient Númenórean traditions. The art of embalming was a respected profession among the Dúnedain and painstakingly sustained. The people of Gondor took the notion of enduring most seriously - if Death was Eru's gift to the mortal spirit, then so shall mortal flesh endure it. The Embalmer's Guild of Osgiliath had representatives all over the kingdom. When Osgiliath was later abandoned after the Plague, Embalmer's Guild moved to Minas Anor. In case of more primitive circumstances or instances when desecration of the body was feared, some Gondorians choose the cremate their dead; but this was considered a pagan act and not honourable for a Dúnadan.

Gondorians considered it absolutely necessary for the living to have a chance to say farewell to their friends. Likewise, paying tribute to the deceased and his or her family was a mark of respect. Lying in state could take several weeks to allow the friends and relatives to receive word and travel to the location of the funeral. Thus again the important role of the embalmer comes into play. Such times also allowed, as shallow as it might seem, old acquaintances to be renewed and new bargains and deals and rumors to be struck and exchanged, particularly among the most powerful Gondorian families.

Before the Ceremony of Departure, the floors were scrubbed with yellow ochre powder in water. The family was expected to be dressed in black, including little children three and over. The wife was in deep mourning for a year and had to wear black, after that she could wear grey and white. Once the mourners had assembled and paid their respects, a family member lead a simple ceremony marking the departure of the deceased to partake of Eru's gift. Usually, this was the closest male relative - a husband, father, elder brother or perhaps a commanding officer - who began by recounting the life and death of the deceased. Others who wished to speak briefly on the life of the departed were also welcome to make presentation. Noteworthy deeds were mentioned, and though no one was discouraged from displaying their feelings, it was more a time for tales of honor and glory than wailing and misery. Many Gondorians wrote epigrams for such occasions. Most praised funeral poet was Kalimac Ainaril of Osgiliath (1182-1296), whose works Epitaphs (1233), Remembrance of Akâllabêth (1253) and Lamentation to Narmacil (1294) earned widespread acclaim.

On Airilatailë (12. Hithui) the graves were decorated with white flowers such as alfirin (simbelmynë) or white crysanthemum. Coxcomb was used by the poor. In rural sections were daenic traditions still prevailed, local laymen would light blessed candles on graves and perform their ancient rites for the souls of the dead. Some family members would spend the night by the family tomb replacing the candles as they burn out. Faithful Dúnedain waked in absolute silence, to revere their deceased ancestors and the Downfall of Númenor.

Istari of Gondor
Main Article : Istari

The Istari are a generational group of Magi, that represent the Magi users in Gondor. Their number were never to rise above five official members but after Sauroman betrayed the Istari in favor of Sauron the number now sits at four. The Istari are not headquarted in any one specific spot, and only Gandalf, and Marnia are truly involved in the Kingdom of Gondor in enough face to face behavior's to even know they exist most days.

The Current Istari:
 * Gandalf
 * Hetricio
 * Marnia
 * Radagast

Major Cities of Gondor
Gondor has many cities within its borders but only four have a population that would make anyone be intimitaed and other then Tornost all function as castles alongside as cities. Pelagir was once the largest in terms of population but its exposure to attacks from Mordor and the light defences it had meant that its population was ravaged leaving it quite dwindled.

Arnor
See Also : Arnor The two former founding provinces of Numeron and only remaining Numenor kingdoms, share very little true alliances. While Gondor came to the aid of Arnor during the War in Arnor, this was more to due with the hatred that South Central Europe felt for The Empire then any remaining tie between the two sides.

Roman Empire
See Also : Roman Empire Romans who enter the land of Gondor are immediatly put in jail, and the relationships has deteriated to such an extent that Rome does not recegnize Gondor as the Kingdom of Gondor, and instead recegnizes the state of Umbar as the legitamite kingdom.

Mordor
See Also : Mordor

Umbar
See Also : Umbar Once the most important city in Gondor behind Pelagir, the menipulations of Rome caused their breaking from Gondor, and a nearly constant conflict between Gondor, and Umbar.

Dol Amroth
See Also : Dol Amroth Following the Civil war in umbar the province of Dol Amroth declared its independance as well. This move was unexpected, and because of this Gondor was unable to resist the move.

Kingdom of Lucerne
See Also : Kingdom Of Lucerne