Recaps

After Gondor’s victory, Allen encouraged Aragorn to establish himself as king in Eriador and promised support, then returned to Rhovanion and reunited with Ymira. The allies departed with spoils and supplies, while Allen’s plans for trade and a future alliance left the story poised for the next stage of the struggle against Sauron.

• Lindir, Legolas, Aragorn, and Gandalf made plans to travel through Eriador and Gondor, while Aragorn chose not to reveal his identity in Gondor.
• Allen advised Aragorn to build a kingdom in Eriador before seeking Gondor’s throne and offered him resources and support from Rhovanion.
• Allen attended Ecthelion II’s investiture as Steward, then negotiated trade arrangements with Gondor and Rohan before setting out for home.
• Allen returned to Wilderness Town in autumn and reunited with Ymira after more than half a year away.
• Allen sent the Dúnedain home with gold, silver, iron armor, and their horses, while the Woodland Realm’s elves and the dwarves also departed with their spoils.

Allen discussed Grim and Klethi’s possible marriage with Beorn, then proposed that Beorn’s people settle south of the Old Forest Road and guard it from threats in Dol Guldur. The chapter left Beorn agreeing to ask the other Skin-changer families, while Allen and Ymira continued home and reflected on the young couple’s prospects.

• Beorn asked Allen whether Grim and Klethi would suit each other, and Allen said the young people should decide for themselves.
• Allen worried about the Half-orcs and other dangers in Dol Guldur threatening the Old Forest Road.
• Allen proposed that Beorn’s people establish homes south of the road and protect it, and Beorn agreed to ask the other Skin-changer families.
• On the ride back to Fisslet, Ymira asked Allen about Grim and Klethi, and Allen said their relationship should develop naturally rather than be arranged for political reasons.
• Allen joked that Grim would likely be henpecked, and Ymira asked what the word meant.

Allen returned to Fisslet and reviewed reports on Lake-town’s growing prosperity and newly completed ships. Ymira welcomed his invitation to visit Lake-town in a fortnight, though she still had to arrange her state duties.

• Allen and Ymira returned to Fisslet, where Winterhold, the new castle built by Artimenner and Tyr, had been completed and decorated.
• Allen considered a costly plan to fortify the Old Forest Road but decided to give Beorn and the Skin-changers time to consider his proposal to guard the frontier.
• Allen read Firentis’s reports describing Lake-town’s booming trade and its new harbor and ships designed by Itariel.
• Allen invited Ymira to visit Lake-town with him in a fortnight, and she was delighted but considered how to manage her duties.

Allen spent the day handling Rhovanion’s finances, farming plans, and local disputes while Ymira was away, then considered how to govern the abandoned lands east of Mirkwood. He planned to grant fiefs there to veteran cavalry and use apprentices, settlers, and prisoners to develop the land, with Firentis overseeing the effort.

• Marnid presented Allen with Rhovanion’s income records, and they discussed tax and trade plans for the coming year.
• Carl and other elders briefed Allen on regional crops and farming, while Allen fined two farmers who had fought over water and promised to inspect their irrigation.
• Allen learned that Ymira had gone to Eowya, leaving him to handle work she had planned to finish before her trip to Gondor.
• After reviewing Alayen’s report that the Easterlings had abandoned eastern Rhovanion, Allen considered granting fiefs to establish control over the distant region.
• Allen planned to knight more than three hundred veteran cavalry, assign prisoners and graduates of the Knight Apprentices to them, and invite Northern Men to settle under their administration.
• Allen decided that Firentis would oversee the settlement and defense plan.

Allen and Ymira traveled toward Lake-town when Dwarves secretly serving Sauron ambushed their river flotilla. The attack became a full assault, and Allen prepared to fight back.

• Allen sailed north along the Running River with Ymira, the Twilight Knights, and the Maiden Rangers.
• Hollimion noticed Dwarven ships crowding the river and raised enchanted shields to protect Allen and Ymira.
• The Dwarves fired a barrage of arrows, while the Maiden Rangers returned fire and Malherb and Deshavi fled south to raise the alarm.
• Allen recognized the attackers as Far Eastern Dwarves serving Sauron and realized the Dark Lord had arranged the ambush.
• The Dwarven leader ordered his warriors to kill every Elf and human aboard, beginning the full assault.

Allen swiftly defeated a Dwarven ambush with Chain Lightning, captured the surviving attackers, and ordered his group to wait for help from Heidelberg. Unbeknownst to him, a Dwarven leader wearing a ruby-set gold ring watched from the pine woods.

• The Dwarves attacked Allen’s flotilla with arrows, but Allen struck them with Chain Lightning and Hollimion led the Twilight Knights in binding the fallen and capturing survivors.
• Allen ordered the sailors to trap the remaining enemy boats, and the Maiden Rangers boarded them as the Dwarves surrendered.
• After counting the dead and prisoners, Allen decided to consult Thorin about how to handle the captives and promised compensation to the families of sailors killed in the attack.
• Hollimion asked whether to proceed or wait for reinforcements, and Allen ordered the wounded sent to Heidelberg while the others waited for more sailors.
• Several Dwarves watched the aftermath from the pine woods, including a leader wearing a gold ring set with rubies.

Sauron watched Allen defeat his ambush and began plotting another scheme against the north. After ordering the captured Dwarves imprisoned, Allen offered Alayen an Elixir of Immortality and asked him to decide whether Caroline should risk taking one too.

• Sauron used the Palantír Stone to observe Allen and, despite the failure of his ambush, devised a new plot for the north.
• Alayen arrived with cavalry and asked Allen how to handle the captured Dwarves.
• Allen ordered the Dwarves shackled, kept on thin porridge, and imprisoned in Heidelberg, forbidding Alayen from torturing them.
• Allen considered whether to give Alayen and Caroline the Elixir of Immortality, uncertain whether it would work safely on a native of Middle-earth.
• Allen told Alayen he could have an elixir but could not guarantee it would work on Caroline, leaving Alayen to discuss the risk with his wife.

Allen inspected Itariel’s river warships in Lake-town and ordered a fleet built to defend Rhovanion’s rivers. He appointed Firentis Marshal of East Rhovanion and tasked him with establishing a settlement and defensive district along the Running River.

• Itariel described a large river warship and two smaller boat designs, and Allen approved their capabilities.
• Allen ordered Malherb to build at least four large ships per year, beginning with twenty large ships and fifty troop transports.
• Allen planned to combine the fleet with Firentis’s cavalry to defend the Redwater River against Easterling invasions.
• Allen assigned Firentis fourteen hundred cavalry and appointed him Marshal of East Rhovanion, granting him authority over human soldiers and militia east of Mirkwood.
• Allen gave Firentis Ashur’s palace and surrounding lands, and planned for him to recruit Northern Men near the Running River when spring arrived.

Allen stayed in Lake-town with Ymira, inspected the town, and planned new waterways to improve trade between the Long Lake, the Running River, and the Lonely Mountain. On the journey to ask Thorin for the Dwarves’ help, Allen traveled with Thar’s Blackhair Dwarves and discussed their losses to an Easterling tribe.

• Allen and Ymira stayed in Lake-town for the New Year while officials and neighborhood committees organized the local celebrations.
• Allen toured Lake-town and decided to ask the Dwarves to build two waterways connecting the Long Lake to the Running River.
• Allen took Ymira and his Personal Guards toward the Lonely Mountain to present his plan to Thorin.
• Thar and a party of Blackhair Dwarves joined Allen on the road, hoping to enter Thorin II’s service.
• Thar told Allen that Easterlings had killed most of the more than a hundred Dwarves who had traveled with him, and Allen sympathized with their losses.

On the road to Lonely Mountain, Allen told Thar about his friendship with Thorin and admired Dale’s restored farmland. As he camped for the night, Allen weighed the political stalemates in his simulations and focused on befriending the Noldor Elves as the first step toward rebuilding Pendor.

• Allen praised Thorin to Thar, confirmed they were close friends, and said he planned to ask Thorin for a favor.
• Allen and his party crossed Dale’s fertile, restored plains toward Lonely Mountain and stopped to camp as night fell.
• Allen reflected that the Druya Order threatened his progress on the Fantasy Continent, so he had delayed advancing there until he gained more power.
• Allen recalled how Graveth used gifts and a false alliance with Swadia to suppress opposition, then sent Graveth a letter bearing a single enormous “6.”
• Allen concluded that founding a kingdom in Pendor could break his wider stalemate, but his hidden valley near Sarleon was too small to serve as a base.
• Allen continued prioritizing good relations with the Noldor Elves, which he considered central to his role as the Prophet’s Child.

After warning the Noldor Elves of Juda’s planned raid, Allen led a ranger unit that defended the forest without losses, then helped rescue Fennis of Dikit and brought him to Elaraclay. Ardalia honored her promise by letting Allen learn about runic equipment, and he began searching the Fantasy Continent for gems.

• Allen placed second in Elaraclay’s tournament and received a Dragon Tear Gem from the Noldor Council.
• Allen learned that Juda was gathering Khergit tribes to raid the Noldor Forest and warned the elves.
• Israndir gave Allen command of a ranger unit, and Allen’s squad killed over two hundred Khergit without losing a member.
• Juda diverted his army into the Sarleon Realm, where the Khergit began raiding while Ulric’s forces struggled to respond.
• Ardalia asked Allen to find Fennis of Dikit, and Allen rescued the bookseller from Earl Sigismund in Fierdsvain.
• Allen brought Fennis to Elaraclay, began learning about runic equipment, and set out to seek gems across the Fantasy Continent.

Allen found the Water Stone after realizing he had to blow the Star Horn himself, then ended the exhausting simulation and returned to his journey. He reached Dale with Ymira, where Bard welcomed them and their families exchanged gifts.

• Allen traveled in disguise with Momocha’s caravan to Jelkala, then searched the Gobi Desert for the second gem.
• After Momocha suggested blowing the Star Horn, Allen summoned a blue light and obtained the Water Stone, Gift of the Ocean, exchanging it for its abilities.
• The Star Horn gave Allen a clue about a sealed divine power, and Allen ended the simulation to rest.
• Allen and his companions shared breakfast with Thar, then parted ways near Dale as Thar continued to the Lonely Mountain.
• Bard welcomed Allen and Ymira to Dale, where Ymira gave gifts to Tilda and Sigrid, Allen gave Bain a Noldor Rune Bow, and the girls performed a dance.

Allen visited Thorin at the Lonely Mountain, discussed threats from fallen dwarves and plans to develop Lake-town and reclaim the Grey Mountains. After celebrating with his old companions, Allen and his queen departed for Lake-town with a timetable agreed upon with Thorin.

• Thorin told Allen he could decide what to do with the captured dwarves, and Allen chose to keep them in his workshops while hoping they could return to their former selves.
• Allen and Thorin discussed how to identify followers of darkness, but neither knew a reliable method, and Balin suggested observing their behavior.
• Allen presented Thorin with a water-powered river-channel plan for Lake-town, which dwarf builders developed into workable construction plans requiring some mithril.
• Allen reunited with Bombur and their companions for a long feast, then promised to host another gathering the following summer.
• Allen and Thorin discussed securing the Grey Mountains: Allen planned to settle herders near the Langwell and Greylin, while Thorin planned to send Balin and Dwalin to investigate and establish a foothold.
• Allen and his queen agreed with Thorin on a rough timetable for their plans and set off for Lake-town.

Allen traveled to Eriador to invite Gandalf to witness his marriage to Ymira and reunited with Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Bilbo Baggins at Bag End. After Gandalf accepted, Allen located Maglor’s Silmaril in a deep ocean trench guarded by enormous monsters but could not retrieve it.

• Allen announced his wedding to Ymira, and Jeremus and Artimenner recalled their old bet over whom Allen would marry.
• Allen crossed the Misty Mountains and followed Gandalf, Aragorn, and Legolas to Bag End in Hobbiton.
• Allen reunited with the travelers and heard about their journey through Enedwaith, Bree, Fornost Erain, and the ruins of Annúminas.
• Allen asked Gandalf to witness his marriage, and Gandalf agreed while Legolas, Aragorn, and Bilbo Baggins congratulated him.
• Allen used his ability to locate Maglor’s Silmaril beneath the sea but found it too deep to retrieve and guarded by enormous monsters.

Allen and Ymira married in a grand celebration in Winterhold, where guests from across Middle-earth exchanged news before departing. Afterward, Allen resumed his work on Noldor rune-forging and developed Greenleaf Armor, though scarce materials and the difficulty of the craft limited production.

• Gandalf declared Allen and Ymira husband and wife, and their wedding began a seven-day feast attended by friends and envoys from across Middle-earth.
• Allen agreed to Thorin’s request to let Thar manage a Lonely Mountain shop in Fisslet.
• Guests exchanged news about Middle-earth, including Fili learning that Durin’s Bane still ruled Moria and Thráin lived in the Golden Wood.
• The guests departed over several days, leaving Allen to begin making rune equipment after his friends and visitors had left.
• Allen reproduced Noldor archer armor in Middle-earth, named it Greenleaf Armor, and organized its production with his smiths and leatherworkers.
• Allen found that limited magic-dust supplies and the difficulty of rune craft prevented him from equipping his army, so he decided to seek Lady Galadriel’s help.

Allen visited Galadriel in Lothlórien to find a substitute for the rare substance needed to activate his armor runes. He learned to make Ithildin through a blessing ceremony and left considering an expedition into Moria to recover mithril.

• Allen sent Gael to request a visit to Lothlórien, then traveled from Fisslet with Ymira after Galadriel agreed.
• Allen showed Galadriel his rune craft and explained that he lacked the magical substance needed to activate the runes.
• Galadriel identified Ithildin as a substitute, used Allen’s last piece of mithril to demonstrate how to make it, and performed a blessing ceremony on the resulting silver sand.
• Allen used the Ithildin to make a rune plate for Greenleaf Armor and confirmed that it worked, then learned the ceremony from Galadriel over several days.
• Allen discussed further rune applications with Galadriel and considered retrieving the mithril and treasures abandoned in Moria, while weighing how to involve Thorin and the Dwarves.

Thorin agreed to let Dáin, Ori, and Óin guide Allen into Moria to seek mithril, and Allen prepared his Elven guards and weapons for the danger of the Balrog. With Haldir’s help, the party reached Dimrill Dale and approached Moria’s ruined gate.

• After Dáin urged him to support an exploratory journey, Thorin agreed to send Ori and Óin with Dáin to aid Allen.
• Allen prepared his Elven Personal Guards, cloaks, rune bows, and Tranquil Rain to help his party evade or fight Moria’s dangers.
• Dáin, Ori, and Óin arrived at Winterhold, and Allen set out with them and his troops for Moria in April 2948.
• Allen visited Galadriel for another Elven cloak, and she gave him one and assigned Haldir to guide the party toward Dimrill Dale.
• After reaching Lothlórien’s northern defenses, Allen’s party rested overnight, then crossed the Silverlode and advanced toward Moria’s gate.

Allen’s party entered Moria’s First Hall and seized it from the Half-orcs, using the enemy’s internal feud to conceal their approach. With the hall secured and both passages watched, Allen gathered his forces and the three Dwarves to plan their next move.

• Allen kept his party concealed near Moria’s eastern gate and decided not to risk involving Bilbo Baggins or the One Ring.
• Three Half-orcs left the gate, and Allen overheard them reveal that Fimbul and Azog’s followers were fighting over leadership.
• Allen and two Twilight Knights killed the three Half-orcs in the valley and used the intelligence to guide their advance.
• Allen led his strongest Twilight Knights into the First Hall during a shift change and left four Knights guarding the passage toward the Second Hall.
• Allen’s forces attacked the Guardroom, killed its Half-orc captain and occupants, and stopped other enemies from escaping or raising an alarm.
• Allen’s men, the three Dwarves, and the rest of the gate guards assembled in the secured First Hall to plan their next moves.

Allen led his squad through Moria in search of mithril and treasure while avoiding the Half-orcs, then reached the Sixteenth Hall during a battle between rival factions. After the Half-orcs withdrew, Óin recognized the hall as the former home of the House of Durin, and Allen began exploring it.

• Allen explained why Dáin, Óin, and Ori had been kept out of the First Hall battle, then learned more about Moria’s layout from the Dwarves.
• Allen guided the Rangers through the Second Hall, avoiding foul-smelling passages and marking a route upward to the Sixteenth Hall.
• Allen heard Half-orcs fighting ahead and hurried his squad toward the noise.
• Allen and his squad hid as Blackface and Fimbul’s factions fought in the Sixteenth Hall, then watched both sides leave.
• Óin recognized the Sixteenth Hall as the House of Durin’s home, and Allen led the group inside to search for treasure.

Allen's party searched Moria's Sixteenth Hall and found a hidden Dwarven treasure chamber filled with mithril and other valuables. Allen located the Axe of Durin, but it was in a Half-orc chieftain's lair, used as decoration on his throne.

• Allen and Óin searched the plundered Sixteenth Hall, where Óin grieved over the destruction of his kingdom.
• Óin discovered a secret door that opened into a treasure chamber containing mithril armor, weapons, and other valuables.
• Allen's party gathered the treasure while Hollimion and Ori explored toward the Third Vale, and Dáin guarded the First Hall and Khazad-dûm Bridge.
• Dáin's guards killed Half-orcs attempting to leave Moria, and he was astonished when Allen's party returned with a rich haul.
• Allen located the Axe of Durin among loot in a crowded Half-orc chamber, where the chieftain had set it into a throne made from Dwarven armor.

Hollimion’s squad retreated from the Armory after hearing a faint, terrifying breathing sound in the darkness, while Allen provoked a renewed conflict between two Half-orc factions to create an opportunity to recover a Dwarven battle axe and claim more mithril. The chapter ended as Blackface arrived with his warriors, forcing Fimbul’s faction toward battle.

• Hollimion heard faint breathing on the stairs to the Armory and ordered his squad to retreat, leaving the exploration unfinished.
• Hollimion returned to the First Hall and found Allen gone while Noldor Rangers moved their gathered supplies out of Moria.
• Allen shot two Half-orcs near a concealed passage, killing one and wounding the other, then escaped to provoke the factions into fighting.
• Fimbul questioned whether to retaliate, but his Half-orcs grew furious and demanded battle.
• Blackface arrived with his warriors, and Fimbul’s faction prepared to fight.

Blackface defeated Fimbul and ended the struggle for Moria, while Allen recovered the Axe of Durin and decided to continue toward the Balrog. After seeing the sleeping creature stir and settle back down, Allen concluded it was not yet time to confront it.

• Blackface attacked Fimbul's forces, and Fimbul surrendered, ending the fighting for control of Moria.
• Allen returned the Axe of Durin to Dáin, who recognized the Dwarven heirloom and reacted with excitement.
• Hollimion told Allen about the strange breathing in the Armory, and Allen identified it as a sleeping Balrog.
• Allen decided to continue exploring Moria, both to gather more mithril and to assess the Balrog for himself.
• Allen went alone toward the Armory, saw the Balrog open its fiery eyes and shift before falling asleep again, and decided not to approach it yet.

Allen and his companions gathered mithril in Moria until a horn woke the Balrog, forcing them to flee. Allen drew the creature away from the escape route and attacked it as his followers carried the treasure to safety.

• Dáin, Óin, and Ori chose mithril armor while Allen’s Noldor Rangers packed ingots into crates.
• Allen prepared to lure the Balrog toward the Bridge of Khazad-dûm while his forces guarded the retreat.
• A horn sounded, the Balrog woke, and Allen ordered his companions to run with the mithril.
• Allen drew the climbing Balrog away from the stairway by insulting it, and the creature chased him.
• Allen fired two Chain Lightning bolts at the Balrog as the Twilight Knights loosed six frost-powered arrows.

Allen and his companions fought their way through Moria while the Balrog pursued them, forcing them to flee toward the Khazad-dûm Bridge. The Balrog reached the bridge behind them, and Allen unleashed his newly mastered Tranquil Rain as his last resort.

• Allen paralyzed the Balrog with Chain Lightning, sent his men ahead, and attacked the demon before it knocked him back and shattered his shield.
• The Balrog fell into the abyss but climbed back up, while Blackface and Fimbul rallied the Half-orcs to pursue the intruders.
• Allen caught up with his companions and led them into the Second Hall, where the Elves were holding back waves of Half-orcs.
• Allen charged out of the passage and regrouped with his men as the Balrog entered the Second Hall, then ordered everyone to flee across the bridge.
• Hollimion deflected the Balrog's whip with his shield as Allen reached the far side, and Allen unleashed Tranquil Rain over the pursuing Balrog.

Allen trapped the Balrog with Tranquil Rain and frost arrows, then led his expedition out of Moria and back to Lothlórien. After resting and thanking Galadriel and Celeborn for their help, he prepared to return to Fisslet.

• Allen used Tranquil Rain to weaken the Balrog, and his Noldor Elves froze the demon with a volley of frost arrows.
• Allen led his party out of Moria as the Balrog broke free and sent Half-orcs after them, but white mist slowed the pursuers and drove them back.
• Allen reached Haldir's outpost at the Golden Wood, rested, and gave mithril gifts to Haldir and the Galadhrim.
• Allen met Arwen and then described Moria and his struggle with the Balrog to Galadriel and Celeborn without explaining his powers in detail.
• Allen gave Galadriel and Celeborn mithril armor, jewelry, and ingots, and they gave him the methods for making Miruvor and Lembas.
• Allen finished his visit to Lothlórien and prepared to return to Fisslet.