FINAL SESSION
The characters stay in Aman for an unspecified period of time. Kjartan speaks with Legolas and Gimli, both of who fought against the undead, and gives them news concerning their old friend Aragorn's rule. Erinel plays chess with an ancient hobbit and narrowly beats him. The old hobbit rewards her with an autographed copy of There and Back Again as she realizes that it is Bilbo Baggins. In time they leave the Undying Lands, but they are forever changed. The mortals who fought in defense of Aman will find their lifespans significantly lengthened. The elves who return to Middle Earth, very few, find themselves with an aura of majesty that awes most mortals.
They eventually arrive back in Gondor to find that they have been away for nearly 40 years. Aragorn, beginning to weaken with age but still sharp-witted, is saddened to learn of the passing of his old friend Gandalf. For his huge part in organizing the forces of Gondor and acting as the king's representative, Kjartan is made High Envoy of the kingdom, to be treated as if her were an extension of King Elessar himself. Tark is invited to rule in the North as the lord of Fornost, but he declines. Tark takes his leave and disappears from history, at least for awhile.
Erinel and less than 200 elves, all that remain in Middle Earth, settle in Eregion. Erinel, tur to the pact she made with the spirits of the land, becomes the new caretaker of the once great elf wilderness. Cirion, now a soldier without a war, becomes her consort. The mysterious white elf, having survived near certain death by the merest thread, accompanies her kin to Eregion, but choses to live apart,, hiding herself in her sorrow in the dense wild lands. She is named "Engwath" by the other elves, which means "Pale Shadow." It refers both to her albino countenance and enigmatic demeanor as well as the fact that since the death of her husband she has become a mere reflection of the cunning and unstoppable individual that she once was.
Ain-Ain is given stewardship of Isengard to protect it from those who would seek to mine it's knowledge for evil purposes. In time her name is all but forgotten and she is simply known as the Witch of Isengard. She devotes her vastly extended lifespan to learning all of Saruman's secrets, in particular the whereabouts of the two remaining Istari.
The surviving dwarves return to Moria and seal the great gates behind them for all time.
the remaining hobbits settle in Forlindan where they become great sailorsand merchants. the hobbits of Forlindan become known in future generations as the Seawise. Many of the hobbits who once lived in the now wasted Shire settle in the area around Bree, which is fast becoming a major power in the Northlands.
As promised, Aragorn gives the land of Angmar to the Haradin and Rhunites where they build a great Caliphate created when a prince of Harad married an Easterling sultana.
Orc tribes come down from the Grey mountains, fleeing a powerful foe that they wil not speak of. They settle in the lands West of Angmar in Upper Arnor. For many yers there are skirmishes between the outlanders of Angmar, the folk of Fornost, and the orcs. the rangers appear for the first time in generations to patrol the borderlands and keep the orcs or the outlanders from becoming a threat to Elessar's kingdom. Aiding the rangers is a warrior who is known only as the Dead Man, a grim figure who died yet still walked and went on to fight the threat of the Harbinger across middle Earth and into the Undying Lands. He is treated with a superstitious dread by the orcs, who flee at the mere thought that he might be in the vicinity. The people of Fornost and Bree regard him with only slightly less awe and trepedation.
Umbar is now held by the undead and has become a dark and dangerous plae for the folk of gondor. The rangers watch Umbar as well, ready to fight if need be. umbar is ruled by a powerful entity known solely as Vlsotholis, who has made no moves against Gondor either foul or friendly. The creatures of Umbar seem content to rule themselves away from the rest of the kingdoms of Man for now.
And there are times where a lone wanderer has been sighted aross the land from anywhere from Bree, to Gondor, to Eregion, to the Northern Wastes: a small, dark hobbit who's eyes gleam with wisdom like the Istari of old....
Well, that's it. It's over. I feel so drained and a little sad. It's kinda like losing an old friend who you knew would leave one day. In the next few days I will be posting my final thought on how the campaign developed vs. how I thought things would go.
In the meantime, please give me feedback. What did you all think? Did it seem like we captured the spirit of Middle Earth? Was it too combat intensive? What did you think of the characters/NPC's/villains? What did you think of the way it all turned out? Let me know.
Peace.
