Angmar
Iron Home, the realm of the Witch-King, established in year 1300 of the Third Age in the far north of the Misty Mountains and the wastes of the plain beyond. Throughout its history Angmar has threatened the northern lands of men and elves, gathering orcs and fallen-men, evil spirits and dark creatures of all stripes to its bosom.
"Not all his servants and chattels are wraiths ! There are orcs and trolls, there are wargs and werewolves ; and there have been and still are many Men, warriors, and kings, that walk alive under the Sun, and yet are under his sway. And their number is growing daily."
~The Fellowship of the Ring, Many Meetings
The state of Angmar in TA 3014, as established in Angmar: Coup d’État and Angmar: Queen of Iron:
Though Witch-King was rousted in TA 1975 at the Battle of Fornost, evil has lurked and lingered in Angmar ever since. In recent years activity has been on the rise, at first under Lord of Iron and Steward of Angmar, Damrod. A Black Númenórean nearing the end of his natural life, Damrod sought to maintain his control of the fallen kingdom, even as the Witch-king dispatched a replacement. Amarthel, called Delgaran, was sent north to wrest the throne from Damrod’s failing hands, consolidate Angmar’s power, and forge new alliances with the fell denizens of the northern wastes. And so she did: Damrod’s sudden death during a banquet at the keep in Carn Dûm left the path to her ascendancy clear, and with brutal efficiency eliminated all opposition, and quickly established alliances with the powerful and ambitious at the iron court, the tribe of werewolves which dwelt beneath the fortress, and the drakes of the Forodwaith, led by Tezcacoatl. Having massacred a band of rangers, the Flight of Ravens, and taken its leader’s cloak and mysterious powers over the corvidae for herself, the Delgaran made a message of their bodies: each marked with her sigil, three crimson claw scores, they were piled and burned near Osdolen. The Rangers of the North and the Elves of the Halcyon Guard launched a joint venture to investigate these grim tidings, and found themselves unprepared to meet this new threat. The joint force of elves and men was completely routed, and retreated from Angmar with all speed. Her presence and power thus established, Amarthel Delgaran rules Angmar now as Queen of Iron, building its forces, harassing the free peoples of the north, and awaiting the next major calamity…
Locations
Carn Dûm
The capitol of Angmar, situated at the far western end of the Mountains of Angmar. A fortress carved into precipitous mountain rock, it lay abandoned and fell into ruin for many years. But in these times the city is occupied, and improvements are slowly being made and fortifications restored as the mountain fort becomes a hive of fell activity. Here you may find The Keep: the fortress that is home to the Queen of Iron and her forces, surrounded by a city of stone, crawling with aspirants to power, seekers of violence, opportunists, traders, cultists of the Witch-king, and many others besides- all drawn by the rising dark power in the north.
In Carn Dûm, the keep is alive with activity. Builders huffing hither and thither, repairing constructs both inner and outer that had been allowed to decay, but more deeply, blacksmiths and bowyers and other arms-makers toil, bolstering the armories and outfitting individuals eager to enter the service of the Delgaran. No new formal military structure has yet been implemented, but all comers are being accepted, and rule and discipline enforced by a handful of lieutenants, chiefly Yarltang, a huge, burly orc who came north with the queen from Mordor. He wields both warhammer and bow, and a temper as large as his frame.
A new energy hums through the mountain city; commerce, thievery, gambling, and industry all shaking away the debris of the past decades- centuries, really, and the city is coming to life. But at the center of the keep, the throne room is silent, and dim. Amarthel Delgaran holds no daily court, one never knows precisely where the Queen of Iron may be found. But chances are, if you present yourself in the throne room, she will find you.
Amarthel Delgaran and Yarltang
played by Moriel
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The Dagger
The tavern didn't have a proper name. It was just another rough stone building, set back from the road in lower Carn Dûm a little bit, marked only by wooden sign hanging above the door. The sign carried a rather shoddy, faded painting of a knife lying slantwise over a tankard, so locals called it The Dagger. It was a nervous place to talk and an even more nervous place to eat, but if one kept their wits about them they could come out much further ahead than when they had entered. Inside were many small square tables and plenty of chairs, each table with a candle in the center. How... romantic. The large, three-sided bar was of some dark, slick wood, and housed everything from hogsheads of ale to small bottles of the darkest liqueur.
On the surface at least, The Dagger is your typical inn. Residents of Carn Dûm and those passing through are welcome, relatively speaking--as Angmar is an unwelcoming place--for food, drink, a bed, and a few shadier things. But there are dangers here too, that would be rare to find in Bree or Rivendell. Rumor has it that the tavern is owned by a Southron beauty, but she is nowhere to be found. Instead, the place is run and the bar tended by a tall, thin, elderly man with receding grey hair and an enormous nose, Edgar Balthazar (NPC, playable by all). No one questions how he came to have such an odd name, or why he permits three cats to roam the tavern: one each black, orange, and white, this last with a small pink bow on top of its head.
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The Temple
Some say the Temple is old at Utumno itself. Encircled by crawling and twisted dwarf pines and overlooking its surroundings with a watchful and hungry eye, an arduous climb leads to an open-clearing of rock on one of the most craggen elevations near Carn Dûm. Upon the wide precipice and up to the very wall of the mountain stands a formidable structure. Its paths stained dark, stones ancient and worn smooth by the passage of many feet and its columns proud, smooth, and in the grip of ancient vines. An immense circular courtyard, darkly resplendent in its abandonment. Its ceiling high and open, looking upon the sky and taking the rain in along with the sun. A black slab of obsidian stands vacant and cold in the center, the floor about it engraved with unintelligible signs and letters.
Branching out like a spider's legs are the outer rooms: quarters, teaching chambers, and many other preparatory rooms. Further down the path, winding back toward a greener mountain pass, sit stone-fenced pastures and drafty buildings wherein animals were once kept as food for the temple residents, and higher purposes of offering. Though it has been many long years since the Temple had a resident cabal, acolytes and cultists have begun to drift in, and new souls to seek what secrets it may hold. History, prophecy, medicine and preparation of the dead, incantations, curses, prayers, sacrifices… it is rumored that there are even those who have progressed to sorcery through the blood rites of Morgoth, and that before the downfall at Fornost, the Delgaran herself studied here.
Will you approach the Temple? What have you to offer?
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Mountains of Angmar
The Mountains of Angmar are the northernmost stretch of the Misty Mountains, or Hithaeglir, west of Mount Gundabad where eagles dwell. They are a haven for orcs and werewolves, wights and other foul creatures. The territory is treacherous, dark, and cold north of Mt. Gundabad, the mountains full of winding paths whose origin is long forgotten; high peaks, low valleys, and pools of uncertain friendliness.
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Forodwaith
The great northern wastes, named after the hardy folk who once lived there. These vast lands were made cold and desolate by the evil of Melkor and his fortress Utumno, and remained so even after its destruction. This land is consistently inhabited by no known men, but it is here that many dragons dwell, cold- and fire-drakes alike, earthbound or winged. The chiefest of these is Tezcacoatl, a vast purple-black winged fire-drake, allied with the Delgaran for his own purposes. It is also rumored that other creatures live here; great snow-cats of speckled white fur and curving fang, white bears of enormous size, even creatures resembling mûmakil with huge curving tusks and thick fur, and who knows what other foul creatures besides, remnants of Morgoth’s reign.
Tezcacoatl
played by Moriel
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Icebay of Forochel
Home to the coldest waters in Endor, this bay is protected by the Cape of Forochel, north and west of Carn Dûm. On its shores dwell the Lossoth, also called the Snowmen of Forochel, an isolated group of Men descended from the ancient Forodwaith. They subsist off the frozen land and sea in their remote corner of the world, subsistence hunters and fishermen. When King Arvedui was driven from the North Downs in TA 1974, they did not help him willingly, for they did not value payment in jewels, and feared the Witch-king. But out of pity they fed and sheltered him. When a ship arrived from Círdan to retrieve Arvedui, the Snowmen were amazed and afraid, for they had never seen such a craft before. They counseled Arvedui against sailing in the winter out of fear of the Witch-king’s power. The King did not listen, and his ship was crushed in ice, delivering he and his palantíri to the bottom of the sea. It was not until later in the third age that the Rangers of the North learned from the Lossoth of Arvedui’s fate, and bought back the Ring of Barahir he had given them. Beyond this, little is known of the Snowmen of Forochel, and their interactions with the outside world.
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Rules
-All races welcome; elves/rangers/etc adventuring or investigating in the far north are free to play here, as well as the denizens of Angmar
-Any location in the general geography covered by this thread is open for use, not just those described above
-Please keep overt silliness in The Dagger to a minimum, it’s not On the Rocks
-The current year is TA 3014, but you are free to write in other years
-Double post, I don't care, just don't be a spammer
-Post in any color but foo or neon
Posts made by Black Host minions in this thread will count towards Renown!
This is currently a catchall thread for all Angmar RP, but if certain locations or activities prove especially popular, they may be split off into their own threads in the future! Have ideas, questions, suggestions, etc. for Angmar? Get in touch with Moriel in the Hall of Barad-dûr or on Discord!