Chapter Summaries

After Harlaus’s death, Dilinard secured a peace with the Nords and worked to consolidate his claim to Swadia while Allen rested at Wincord Castle. In Middle-earth, Gondor’s crisis deepened and Allen lacked allies against the Easterlings, but he gained Sunno as his fief and received word that Lady Gilraen would meet him before October.

• Sulton Jarl surrendered Rud Castle and left with his soldiers, peasants, and supplies, allowing Dilinard to trade the castle and denars for a five-year peace with Ragnar.
• Harlaus’s loyalists opposed Dilinard, while Lady Aesona seized Sunno and claimed the Swadian throne; Allen’s father told him to secure his succession at the family assembly.
• Allen returned to Wincord Castle to recover, while Thengel’s letter reported that Cair Andros had fallen and appealed for Allen’s help defending Gondor.
• Allen concluded that Rohan and Gondor could not reinforce him against the Easterlings, and he continued building his forces while awaiting a better source of income.
• Allen advanced events in the Simulator until he gained Sunno as his fief, and the Dúnedain wrote that Lady Gilraen would meet him before October.

Allen returned the Star of Elendil to Gilraen and secured five hundred Dúnedain for his coming war against the Easterlings. Gandalf then arrived with news of the wider conflict, leaving Allen to prepare for the war while knowing his attempt to delay the War of the Ring had failed.

• Allen welcomed Gilraen to Wilderness Town and asked after her son, Estel.
• Gilraen agreed to send five hundred people to Allen, including three hundred experienced warriors and two hundred auxiliaries, with Abinas helping manage them.
• Allen reflected on his failed search for Gollum and concluded that he had only a few decades before the War of the Ring.
• Gandalf arrived after Thranduil and Galadriel had refused to send aid to Gondor, and said he planned to seek help from Glorfindel.
• Gandalf told Allen that Saruman had joined Gondor and Rohan at the front against Mordor, while urging Allen to attack the Easterlings soon.

Allen prepared for a war against the Easterlings by gathering intelligence, requesting aid from his allies, and receiving the first Dúnedain Rangers in Wilderness Town. Thranduil agreed to supply weapons and armor while guarding the Running River, and Allen awaited Thorin's reply, which promised even greater assistance.

• Allen sent mounted scouts and eight senior Friends of Animals into eastern Rhovanion to locate the Easterlings and, if possible, visit the Northern Men in their canyon.
• Allen wrote to Thorin II, Thranduil, and Lady Gilraen to request aid and arrange for Dúnedain reinforcements before the expected autumn war.
• Abinas led the first group of Dúnedain Rangers to Wilderness Town, where Allen arranged mounts and supplies before Abinas took most of them toward Heidelberg to scout and skirmish with the Easterlings.
• Thranduil replied with longbows, spears, armor, and arrows, promised to guard the Running River, and requested supplies and wine in return.
• Allen decided to lend Thranduil's oversized Elven plate armor to the Dúnedain Rangers, and half a month later Thorin's reply arrived with an offer of even greater assistance.

Allen prepared for the war against the Easterlings by securing Thorin II’s military support and strengthening his resources through the Simulator. While hiding from the Druya Cult in the Fantasy Continent, he discovered a treasure ruin, obtained the Sky Stone, and found that the Star Horn pointed toward another gemstone.

• Thorin II agreed to send Dáin with a thousand Dwarven infantry, lead four hundred Goat Riders with Kili and Fili, and supply Allen with armor before the war.
• Allen raised money and equipment by restoring Sunno’s trade routes and hunting Druya followers, then dismissed most of his companions and hid with Momocha in the Vaegir forests.
• Allen and Momocha tracked Druya soldiers into a cave near Sharpshade and found them fighting two Trolls in a treasure hall.
• Allen destroyed the hall’s oil lamps, causing the Trolls to vanish, then killed the remaining Druya soldiers and claimed the Sky Stone.
• Allen took the Star Horn from a wooden chest, and it revealed that he should camp in the desert near the lake to the southwest when the stars shone.

Allen tested Eye of the Sky and Chain Lightning before returning to Zendar and ending his Fantasy Continent simulation to focus on the coming war. Ashur continued expanding his power in Rhovanion and prepared to invade south, unaware that Allen had gathered intelligence and was preparing to strike first.

• Allen used Eye of the Sky to locate Momocha, then tested Chain Lightning on Snowfield Bandits and killed or incapacitated more than a dozen of them.
• After returning to Zendar, Allen learned that the Druya Cult had eased its pursuit, though only about half of his former followers had returned to him, and he ended the simulation to prepare for war.
• Ashur established Chariot City as his main base, attracted nearly ten small Rhun tribes to Rhovanion, and planned to cross the Running River and invade the southern regions.
• Bal consolidated control of Red River Town after fleeing Grim, while Ashur chose to tolerate his growing independence and waited for a chance to bring him under control.
• Kurda settled in Ironwall Town, and Ashur strengthened him despite his defeat at Lake-town and his retreat from the battle in which Khamûl disappeared.
• After learning that Northern Men were scouting his territory, Ashur stationed two warlords near Heidelberg but continued preparing his southern conquest, unaware Allen was readying an attack.

Allen completed his preparations to invade Eastern Rhovanion and sent intelligence to Thorin II and Thranduil, announcing that the war would begin in a month. After that month passed, he ordered a surprise attack on an Easterling camp and told his commanders to let no one escape.

• Allen equipped his forces with armor and weapons, assembled recruits and allied troops, and used ten honor points to obtain Noldor Rangers, Noldor Maiden Rangers, Gryphon Knights, Mettenheim Deathseeking Warriors, and Sapphire Rune Bows.
• Allen judged that his army could challenge Ashur's forces but sought to avoid a costly pitched battle against the Easterlings' potentially vast army.
• Allen sent Gael and Baren to deliver intelligence to Thorin II and Thranduil and told them he would begin the war in one month.
• After the month passed, a young girl used her night hawk, Little Gray, to confirm that no Easterling sentries remained near the camp.
• Allen ordered the girl to tell Firentis and Alayen to attack and instructed Hollimion to let no one escape.

Alayen’s force launched a night assault on Rabat’s Easterling camp, using the battle to train its inexperienced Recruits while keeping Rabat waiting for reinforcements. As Klethi and Grim led a charge through the eastern gate, Rabat’s defenders began to flee.

• Hollimion’s cavalry and a night hawk scout eliminated the Easterling patrols, allowing Alayen’s force of more than two thousand to approach the camp undetected.
• Alayen’s archers killed the sentries, and Recruits battered down the gates while elite infantry fought into the camp and killed two hundred defenders.
• Rabat saw the attackers’ numbers, blamed Ashur for misleading him, and sent chariots to ask Bamund for help as he gathered his elite warriors to defend himself.
• Alayen held back his troops under Allen’s orders, leaving the northern gate open and letting the Recruits gain battlefield experience while the sides remained locked in a standoff.
• Klethi arrived riding Grim and said Firentis had taken the cavalry and Allen had ordered the battle finished quickly; she then charged through the eastern gate as the Easterlings fled from Grim.

Allen’s forces defeated the Easterlings at the camp, and Allen’s Chain Lightning drove Rabat and his elite soldiers to surrender. Rabat revealed that the Blue Wizard Alatar had once urged his tribe to resist Sauron, and Allen ordered the prisoners sent to Heidelberg before riding north to reinforce Bunduk.

• Grim, the Gryphon Knights, and the Mettenheim Death Swordfighters broke through the eastern, western, and southern gates, while Brendan blocked the northern exit with a fire built from the ruined gate.
• Allen advanced on Rabat’s position with his elite troops as the Recruits guarded nearly a thousand surrendered Easterlings and Klethi gathered freed slaves.
• Rabat planned to capture Allen, but Allen struck his soldiers with Chain Lightning, killing many and forcing Rabat and his elites to surrender.
• Rabat told Allen that the Blue Wizard Alatar had visited his tribe and spoken against Sauron, and Allen recognized that the Blue Wizards might still be working against the Dark Lord.
• Allen ordered Brendan to escort the prisoners to Heidelberg and then led the rest of his forces north to reinforce Bunduk.

Firentis ambushed Bamund's reinforcements in the wilderness, where his Heavy Cavalry and Abinas's horse archers routed and slaughtered the Easterlings. Firentis killed Bamund and ordered his troops to kill every enemy still holding a weapon.

• Firentis led his cavalry to intercept Bamund's force between the Easterling camps, while Abinas prepared to attack its chariots and cavalry.
• Bamund spotted Abinas's golden-armored horsemen and ordered his cavalry and chariots to charge west as Firentis's Heavy Cavalry struck the marching infantry from the east.
• Firentis's charge smashed through the Easterling spear formation, and he ordered his cavalry to pursue the fleeing survivors.
• Abinas's tribespeople surrounded Bamund's force and showered it with arrows, killing his guards and overturning his chariot.
• Firentis pinned Bamund to the ground with a javelin and ordered his troops to kill every enemy still holding a weapon.

Allen’s forces captured Bamund’s camp after a fierce battle, and Allen assessed the casualties and organized the camp as a forward base. He outlined a strategy to weaken Ashur’s Easterling tribes through rapid, coordinated strikes before Ashur could assemble a larger army.

• Bunduk and Wulf captured Bamund’s camp after fierce resistance, killing most of its defenders and freeing the slaves who had been held there.
• Allen arrived at the camp, heard Bunduk’s account of the battle, and ordered the dead soldiers’ remains returned to Wilderness Town while the wounded, freed slaves, and captives received care and arrangements.
• Allen ordered Bamund’s camp fortified as a bridgehead, using its supplies and captured armor, valuables, and horses to rest and equip his army.
• Allen told his subordinates that his forces could not defeat all the Easterling tribes in a direct battle, and explained that Thorin’s Dwarves would besiege Kurda in Ironwall Town before moving south.
• Allen laid out a plan to use elite cavalry, animal scouts, and the Skin-changers to strike scattered Easterling tribes quickly, prevent messengers from reaching Ashur, and weaken his forces before besieging Ashur’s main camp.

Hollimion killed fleeing Easterling scouts while Allen’s forces captured a camp, but Kurda’s cavalry fled the Dwarves and stumbled into Allen’s territory. Kurda split his riders to escape toward Chariot City, forcing Allen to send Hollimion and pursue them before they could alert Ashur.

• Hollimion killed an Easterling scout with his Sapphire Rune Bow, then learned from Emily that another rider was fleeing northwest toward Chariot City.
• Allen’s army attacked an Easterling camp, and his Chain Lightning broke the defenders’ resistance and forced them to surrender.
• Kurda returned from a visit to find Iron Arm Town taken by Thorin II’s Dwarves, then fled south when Goat Riders approached his colleague’s camp.
• Kurda’s riders entered Allen’s territory, and Allen ordered Klethi to alert Hollimion and asked Abinas to gather help.
• Allen pursued Kurda’s exhausted cavalry, but Kurda split his riders into small groups heading toward Chariot City.

Ashur discovered that Allen’s forces had struck his Easterling followers and ordered his army to move north before spring. Allen, learning his mission had been compromised, abandoned his attack on the final camp and called for Thorin’s help as he regrouped at Bamund’s camp.

• Ashur examined frozen, shattered Easterling corpses and learned that silver-armored riders had attacked his followers near the camp.
• Ashur realized Rabat and Bamund had stopped reporting and ordered Mad to send cavalry to investigate the other tribes.
• Ashur ordered his forces to prepare to march north after lunch, and Tad reported that the troops were ready.
• Allen watched the final Easterling camp while Klethi told him Hollimion had failed to kill the last enemy rider without alerting the Easterlings.
• Allen abandoned his plan to attack the camp, ordered everyone to assemble at Bamund’s camp, and asked Klethi to send Thorin a message requesting help.

After Thorin’s Dwarves destroyed three Easterling strongholds, Tuck brought word that Allen’s plan had failed and that he urgently needed help. Allen’s retreating army prepared to face an unknown cavalry force, then discovered it was led by Lindir and included more than two thousand Elven riders; Lindir began explaining how the reinforcements had come.

• Thorin considered delaying his advance south because a severe blizzard was approaching, but Tuck delivered Allen’s message that a large enemy army was pursuing him and he needed help.
• Thorin ordered Dwalin to escort the human prisoners to Ironwall Town and told Dáin to gather the Dwarves to march south toward Allen.
• Allen assessed the losses and prisoners from his campaign before Klethi warned him that a fast cavalry force was approaching from the east.
• Allen ordered Alayen and Firentis to arrange the infantry and cavalry for defense, then recognized Lindir leading a friendly force of more than two thousand Elven cavalry.
• Lindir greeted Allen on behalf of Elrond and Círdan, and began explaining that Mithrandir’s visit had led to the Elves’ arrival.

After Mordor renewed its assault on Gondor, Turgon’s appeal prompted the Elves to organize aid, while they first redirected Lindir’s cavalry to help Allen in Rhovanion. Allen received Gondor’s plea as Thorin II and the Dwarven Goat Riders arrived, leaving him to decide whether to march south after securing victory over Ashur.

• Gondor repelled Mordor’s first offensive with help from Rohan and Saruman, but Sauron gathered forces and threats soon appeared along Gondor’s borders.
• Turgon convened Gondor’s council, and a sage urged him to appeal to Círdan by recalling the ancient friendship between Elves and Númenóreans.
• Círdan brought Gondor’s letter to Elrond, who sent Lindir and nearly two thousand cavalry south and asked Gilraen about Dúnedain support.
• Elrond and Círdan learned that Allen’s war against the Easterlings had begun, so they sent Lindir’s cavalry to assist Allen while Círdan sought Galadriel’s help for Gondor.
• Lindir delivered Turgon’s blood-speckled appeal to Allen, who weighed whether to march south after his war with Ashur.
• Thorin II arrived from the north with the Dwarven Goat Riders as Ashur raged over the destruction of his camps.

Ashur halted his pursuit of Allen to wait for reinforcements, then suspected an enemy ambush and ordered his army to prepare for battle. Allen, Thorin II, and Lindir chose a direct attack, and Ashur recognized their approaching forces as humans and Dwarves with no Elves in sight.

• Ashur learned that most of the tribes under his command in Eastern Rhovanion had been destroyed, so he halted his pursuit and waited for reinforcements.
• Ashur spotted a lone gray bird and, suspecting the enemy was nearby, ordered his army to form up defensively and sent Mad east to scout.
• Thorin II urged Allen to attack the Easterlings with their cavalry, and Lindir said a direct confrontation would save time but leave the decision to them.
• Allen agreed to Thorin II's plan, with some changes, and the allied forces advanced toward the Easterlings as they ate.
• Ashur saw the approaching human and Dwarf forces, realized no Elves were present, and ordered his soldiers to arm themselves and form up.

Tuck watched as Ashur’s Easterling army engaged the allied Dwarves and humans, whose archers inflicted heavy casualties before the battle turned into a desperate struggle against the Easterlings’ superior numbers. As Alayen’s lines neared collapse and Ashur advanced to witness victory, Mad arrived from the north warning him that an ambush was underway.

• Tuck flew north to report to Thorin II as the two armies prepared to clash.
• Bunduk’s Woodland Dweller archers used Elven longbows to devastate the Easterling Longbowmen with their first volley.
• Ashur ordered an all-out assault, and the Easterling infantry pressed the allied humans and Dwarves into a widening, bloody battle.
• The Dwarves held their ground against Ashur’s elite soldiers, while Alayen committed reserves to prevent the Easterlings from surrounding the allied line.
• Ashur sent cavalry against the Dwarven chariots as they charged to relieve the pressure, but his own cavalry hesitated.
• A large cavalry force appeared from the north, and Mad warned Ashur that it was an ambush and urged him to run.

Allen’s forces routed the Easterlings after Ashur fled, and Kurda persuaded the remaining fighters to surrender by promising they would not be enslaved. Allen ended the battle with the Easterlings in custody as heavy snow began to fall.

• Ashur ordered a retreat after Hollimion’s cavalry pursued him, and his flight shattered the Easterlings’ morale.
• Allen led his heavy cavalry into the Easterling elites while Lindir’s Elves pursued fleeing soldiers and the Dwarves and spearmen held the enemy back.
• Allen’s cavalry killed hundreds of Easterling elites in their first charge, then regrouped to prepare another attack.
• Kurda urged the Easterlings to surrender, explaining that Ashur had fled and Allen would not enslave them.
• The Easterlings laid down their weapons and surrendered as snow began to fall, and Allen recognized that he had won the war.

Ashur escaped west through the snowfall after his army was shattered, while Allen abandoned the pursuit and led his forces and prisoners back to camp before the blizzard worsened. Allen had already decided to march south to reinforce Gondor.

• Ashur fled the battlefield on horseback as heavy snow covered his tracks, and he resolved to send Tad to relocate their remaining people while he reported to Sauron.
• Allen followed Hollimion through the snow, but stopped the pursuit because the blizzard threatened his force and the prisoners.
• Allen returned to the main force, where his soldiers gathered the Easterlings’ supplies and held a large number of prisoners.
• Lindir considered the Elves’ distrust of the Easterlings and chose not to advise Allen, whom he believed had planned the battle carefully.
• Allen had designed the battle to limit losses among his cavalry and horses, since he intended to march south and reinforce Gondor.

Allen treated the critically wounded after the battle and arranged for the uninjured to return toward the Anduin River Valley while a small force remained in the freezing wilderness. After leaving the medical tent, he met with Thorin and Abinas, then learned Klethi had gone off alone and sent Grim to find her.

• Allen stabilized the gravely wounded, reassured a young soldier who had lost his right hand, and left the remaining care to the field medics.
• Allen had Firentis lead the uninjured warriors and most prisoners toward the Easterling camp, while he kept guards and scouts behind to protect the wounded from threats in the wilderness.
• Thorin and Abinas asked Allen to discuss several matters with them, and Allen invited them into his tent to escape the cold.
• Allen asked Grim where Klethi had gone and ordered him to take Wulf to find her and bring her back.

Allen, Thorin, and Abinas discussed the war against Gondor and agreed to send their forces south to help. Allen accepted the Dúnedain’s request to serve under his command, while Thorin considered sending Fili to lead the Dwarven troops.

• Thorin asked Allen for his assessment of the war, and Allen said Gondor’s position was manageable with its allies but identified the Haradrim and Corsairs of Umbar as major threats.
• Allen showed Thorin Turgon’s appeal for aid and said he would take his battle-ready cavalry south to support Gondor.
• Thorin agreed to send Dwarven troops, and Abinas asked Allen to let the Dúnedain join the campaign under his command.
• Allen accepted Abinas’s request and estimated that Gondor’s combined forces had a strong chance of victory.
• Thorin decided that Fili should lead the Dwarven army to gain experience and confidence, then told Allen he needed his help with something.