Fortified by Turin II, the 23rd ruling steward of Gondor, during the 30th century of the Third Age, Cair Andros was an island on the Anduin River just north of the White Tower that guarded entry into the lands of Gondor and Rohan. It was a spectacular island and fortress, shaped like a huge ship with a high prow heading upstream. The flow of the river breaking fiercely against this 'prow' explains the name, which means 'ship-long-foam'.

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Literally meaning 'light cleft' in the High Elven tongue, Calacirya was also called the Pass of Light for it was the only pass through the great Pelori Mountains in the Undying Lands, and in the Ages of the Trees of Valar the blessed light of these trees flowed through this gap.

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The 'Quenta Silmarillion' tells how those Elves who arose in Middle-Earth came to the Undying Lands in the time of the Trees of Valar. These pilgrim people were called the Calaquendi or Light Elves.

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Cheif city of the hidden Elven kingdom of Lothlorien was Caras Galadon, 'city of trees'. It was literally a city of elaborate tree houses or 'telain', built in a huge walled grove of giant silver limbed mallorn trees in the heart of Lothlorien. It was also the royal court of Celeborn and Galadriel, rulers of Lothlorien and the highest ranking Elves remaining on Middle-Earth during the Third Age.

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Wolf of Angband. Carcharoth, meaning 'the Red Maw', was the greatest Wolf of all time. Guardian of the gates of Angband who never slept, he was reared on living flesh by Morgoth duriing the First Age of the Sun. During the Quest of the Silmaril, Carcharoth bit of Beren's hand and swallowed both the hand and the Silmaril in it.

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Elven king of Lothlorien. Celeborn was a Sindar prince of Doriath and kinsman of King Thingol. During the First Age of the Sun he wed the Noldor princess, Galadriel, who gave birth to their only child, Celebrian. When Beleriand was destroyed, Celeborn and Galadriel fled to Lindon until the eigth century of the Second Age, when they settled in the kingdom of the Elven smiths of Eregion. Later Celeborn and Galadriel founded Lothlorien in the Golden Wood on the Silverlode River.

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Called the Silverload in the Mannish tongue, and Kibil-nala by the Dwarves, the Celebrant is the Elvish name, meaning 'silver course', for the river which flowed from the White Mountains through the pass of Azanulbizar, through the golden wood of Lothlorien and on into the Great River of Anduin. During the Third Age of the Sun, the Fellowship of the Ring followed its course from the gates of Moria to the golden wood of Lothlorien.

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Elven princess of Lothlorien. Celebrian was the only daughter of King Celeborn and Queen Galadriel. At the end of the first century of the Third Age of the Sun, Celebrian married Elrond Half-Elven of Rivendell. They had three children: Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen. While travelling from Rivendell to Lothlorien, her entourage was attacked by a band of Orcs. Although she was rescued by her sons, she sustained a poison wound which wouldn't heal. She suffered for a year, but finally sailed to the Undying Lands where the Valar would cure her.

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Elven king of Eregion. Born during the Ages of Starlight, Celebrimbor was a Noldor prince, the son of Curufin and the grandson of Geanor, who created the Silmarils.

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In the Elves kingdom of Lothlorien there was a hill where the Elf King Amroth built his house during the Second Age of the Sun. Songs of the Elves tell how in sorrow for his lost love, the Elf maiden Nimrodel, Amroth threw himself from an Elven ship and drowned in the sea.

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Elven lord of Grey Havens. In the Ages of Starlight, Cirdan became Lord of Falathrim. Cirdan means 'ship-maker', and his people were the first on Middle-Earth to build ships. After the sinking of Beleriand, Cirdan became the Lord of the Grey Havens. He was considered one of the wisest of the Elves and was given Narya the 'ring of fire' by Celebrimbor.

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The Black Gate and the Towers of the Teeth were the mighty barriers built across the 'haunted pass' called Cirith Gorgor, which was the main entrance to Sauron's evil realm of Mordor. This was the largest pass into Mordor and the one most powerfully defended by Sauron during the Second and Third Ages.

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In the Mountains of Shadow that form the western wall and border of Mordor there was one little-used pass called Cirith Ungol, the 'pass of the spider'. This secret pass was used by the Witch-king of the Nazgul in the 2000 of the Third Age when his forces poured out of Mordor and beseiged Minas Ithil. Minas Ithil fell and was renamed Minas Morgul, the 'tower of the wraiths'. For the next thousand years the pass was closed, for this was where the giant evil Spider called Shelob made her lair. Sauron thought that now none may enter his realm by that route.

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Of the Dragons that Morgoth brought forth from Angband during the First Age of the Sun, there were many breeds. Some were breathers of fire, others had mighty wings, but the most common were the Cold-drakes, who had no power of fire or flight but had strength of tooth and claw and a mighty armour of iron scales.

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In the Third Age of the Sun the dreaded Corsairs of Umbar tyranised the coastlands of Middle-Earth for many centuries. the sight of their black sailed dromonds always filled the peoples of Middle-Earth with fear, for they held many warriors and were driven by the power of slaves pulling many oars. They were counted as the cheif enemies of the Dunedain of Gondor and Arnor until Aragorn, son of Arathorn brought a phantom army out of Dunharrow to the Corsairs' black ships at Pelargir. He was able to take all their ships from them and they were defeated for the last time. Aragorn used the black ships of the Corsairs to bring the allies of the Dunedain victoriously into the Battle of Pelennor Fields.

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Tales tell of a breed of large black Crows that lived in Dunland and the Forest of Fangorn in the Third Age of the Sun. These birds were named Crebain in the language of the Grey-elves, and were the servants and spies of evil powers. During the War of the Ring they searched far and wide over the lands of Middle-Earth for the bearer of the Ruling Ring.

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Crows were always the chief carrion birds of Middle-Earth and they carried a reputation of being allied to the Dark Powers. As was common among birds of Middle-Earth, the Crows spoke a dialect of bird-tongue, although it was the opinion of Dwarves, who knew the language, that their discourse was as ill-disposed as that of evil race of Orcs.

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In the wooded province of North Ithilien, in the realm of Gondor, was the Isle of Cair Andros, which like an anchored ship, rested in the River Anduin. On this island grew the fairest of the trees of Ithilien. They were called Culumalda, which was 'golden red', for such was the hue of their foliage.

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