This is Tolkien Weekly #3. Look for Part II of The Saga of Khazad-dûm next week. Your thoughts, comments, and predictions are appreciated!
The Saga of
Khazad-dûm
M.R. Michel
I
The Misty Mountains lie between
Eriador in the east and the Valley of Anduin in the west of Middle-earth. The northernmost peak is called Gundabad and
the southernmost is named Methedras. The
kingdom of Khazad-dûm is in the center of the Misty Mountains, and three peaks
make up this ancient realm: Caradhras,
or the Redhorn; Celebdil, or the Silvertine; and Fanuidhol, or the
Cloudyhead. Long have the Dwarves dwelt
in these halls, and there they have built great works of stone and of precious
metals. In these mountains Durin the
Father of Dwarves was awoken by his creator Aulë the Smith of the Valar in the
time before the Firstborn were raised by the breath of Illúvatar, and here also
the Dwarves waned as a people at the end of the Fourth Age with the coming of
the Age of Men.
It came to pass that in the latter
part of the reign of King Durin VI, during the Third Age, there was issued a
decree in Khazad-dûm for the procurement of mithril to increase the wealth and status
of the dwarves beyond reckoning. To
please their King, the dwarves quarried deep into the roots of Caradhras where light
had never shone, and where there walked deep shadows and there dwelt a tangible
darkness. In due time the Dwarves loosed
an ancient evil upon the world, and many there were who gave their lives to
protect the carven walls of Khazad-dûm.
This is their tale, steeped partly
in glory and partly in sorrow.
There is a stairway that descends in
a spiral from the lofty keep of Durin’s Tower to the lowest extremities of
mount Celebdil in the kingdom of Khazad-dûm, and the Endless Stair is its
name. Of all the stone works of the Dwarves
this stair is one of their most prized, and no one has ever been able to count its
thousands of steps. Each step was cut
with skill and patience, and many Dwarves spent their entire lives upon the
construction of this great stair. Oftentimes
a courier would bring news, gems, or gold to and fro upon it, and so it was
that Flón son of Lûn ascended from the depths of Celebdil on the Endless Stair.
He sought an audience with King
Durin VI and Náin I the King’s son, who was often by his side to give him
advice in matters of the kingdom. Durin
VI sat on a dais known as the Golden Firedrake Throne. The sides of the throne were made of pure
gold, and silver scrollwork was etched upon the scaled cheeks of the
dragon. Its eyes were vibrant, red
rubies and its teeth were made from the bones of a lesser firedrake that had
been slain during a great battle in the Second Age. The dragon head clutched a milky pearl the
size of a troll fist in the tip if its jaws.
It is said that in times past Durin III had sent an expedition to Gondor
past Dol Amroth to the shores of the Bay of Belfalas, and that three dwarves
perished in the waters of that bay to find a pearl of untold worth, the Pearl
of the Golden Firedrake.
Thus it was that Durin VI looked
down upon his subject from his golden throne and spoke.
“Why do you come before this throne,
Flón son of Lûn? The mind of a king is
not idle, and does not deign to speak on lowly matters.” King Durin VI spoke haughtily, as one who was
steeped in pride, for in his reign no threat had come against the gates of
Khazad-dûm and the riches of the dwarves had increased sevenfold.
“I come bearing ill news, O king. Long have your servants delved
deep into the roots of Celebdil. We have
mined mithril that has been made into coats of mail and helms of untold worth,
and many of us have given our lives in those deep, dark tunnels. The life of a mining dwarf is not without
peril, sire.
“The vein of mithril that we have
been mining since our fathers’ time has been completely tapped out, and we can
go no further. There is no hope of
procuring more ore through this route.
It is our wish—”
“It is your wish?” the king cried
out. “Would you go against the decrees
of your king? I must have mithril, and
you will mine it for me! The glory of
this House must be greater than all the splendor of the Elves, so that in
Valinor the mighty spirits look across the waters and become jealous of our
fair realm. Is there no way to mine more mithril? Is there no way for you to obey your king?”
Then Flón looked greatly troubled,
for there was a way that the miners might follow the edict of the king, but it
was not without peril that they might undertake it.
“O king, there is a way, but it is
not my place to say whether it might succeed.
In the roots of Mount Caradhras we might find the ore, but it is a dark
and dangerous place. There are
drawings…my great grandfather was part of a surveying crew that briefly
explored the depths of that place, but they proclaimed it unfit for mining.”
“Only I might declare what is and is not unfit,
Flón.” King Durin VI looked at his son
and advisor, who stood by his side. “Hear
the verdict of the king: when the Daystar
has risen in the East twenty times, you will have established a new mining
expansion beneath the roots of Caradhras.
My son Náin will watch over you and keep me informed of your
progress. If my edict is not carried
out, then it will go ill with you, Flón son of Lûn.”
Flón groveled on the ground in front
of the Dwarf-lord.
“Your will is just, sire.”
Thus it was that Flón son of Lûn was
put in charge of mining mithril under Mount Caradhras, and Náin I son of Durin
VI reported on his progress; and Flón was given twenty cycles of the sun to
accomplish the edict of the king.
Looking for Part II? Click here to read it.
This is a fan fiction story set in The Lord of the Rings universe.
It is Tolkien Weekly #3 on Blaster Bolts & Galaxy Lore.
Your questions and comments are appreciated.
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