If you want to talk to Annuneryn, that means not tlaking to the Princess, Argentis- how do you want it?
"You have picked a strange time to come and talk to me about this," she says. "But the whole incursion was out of the ordinary."
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"Marriage was the centrepiece," explains Gorlim. "You must understand, much as the Elvish Havens rarely send emissaries to each other, so did Arnor and Gondor over history keep apart. But lacking the Elvish ways of sensing each other' mood, this seperation was more total.
"But this is odder than most people know. You see... the Realms of the Dunadain on Middle Earth were formed by the survivors of Ancient Numenor near the end of the Second Age. Their King, Elendil, formed ONE Human Kingdom, an enormous entity that spread across the whole of this part of the continent. There was no seperation. There were no seperate Kings. There were two parts- Arnor to the North and Gondor to the South- but these were merely two regions of the same Kingdom.
"Elendil himself ruled in Annuminas, the town to the west of here that used to be the capital of Arnor before it split. But he also left one of is sons down in Osgiliath in Gondor to sdministrate that part of his Kingdom. Not to be a seperate King, you understand- simply to represent the King's rule.
"Now, as the Elves know all too well, the Dunadain had little time to enjoy the comforts of their new Kingdom before the Time of the Rings- Sauron spring his deadly trap on Man, Elf and Dwarf alike, and so started the final war. Elendil formed the Last Alliance with the great Elvish ruler Gil-Galad... ahh, the legends of those times. They were unstoppable- no-one could stand against tem in battle save Sauron himself. And stanbd against them he eventually did have to, and as we know, Elendil and Gil-Galad both perished in that final battle. Yet Sauron was not triumphant; Elrond, Cirdan and Elendil's son Isildur held fast in that fight, and Isildur had the final say.
"But it was after that that the troubles started. I am sure you know, Isildur was ambushed and killed by Orcs. When that happened, he was actually on his way back to Annuminas to rule the Dunadain Kingdom, and like his father before him, Isildur left a relative of his in Osgiliath to help administrate things there.
"But Isildur never made it back to Arnor- he was killed on the way. And somehow, over the years, the matter of administrating the Kingdom fell into disarray. Before anyone really knew it, Arnor and Gondor had become seperate Kingdoms- Arnor ruled by Isildur's only surviving son, who had been kept safely in Arnor the whole time, and Gondor by Isildur's Nephew (whose father had also died in that final battle at Barad Dur)- the man Isildur had left in Osgiliath.
"The War with Sauron had left people broken, shattered, busy re-building. Orcs still roamed the countryise. The Elves retreated to their Havens forever. No-one really wanted to travel any more. And so it was, extraordinary as it may seem, that for 2000 years, Arnor and Gondor did not even register each other's existance. In fact, many of the common folk of each Kingdom did not know that another Human Kingdom existed- still less that both were once, and always should have been, but one mightier Kingdom still.
"It was not until Arvedui took the throne that things changed. He opened up new relations with Gondor, approached them as old friends- and, ultimately, took a Gondorian Princess for a wife- the Queen Firiel."
That's very simple, Argentis. Lords are important people- they run the Realm. The army they sent to Baranar was led by Lord Farael; to command an army is always an honour, but only one person gets the job.
An army would have to be vast to need more than one Lord.
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"Well, most peculiar in that there were Orcs in Arthedain at all," says Mallachiel.
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"His plan is dead," says Gorlim. "The opportunity came and was lost."
You doubt he is tempted to learn from a commoner, Argentis.
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"There was no failure from Arvedui," says Gorlim. "There was a fantastic opportunity born out of tragedy. The Gondorian King that Arvedui had set up a relationship with was named Ondoher. Of course, things rather drifted, because almost at the same time Angmar began to build up strength here again, so did the Wainriders attack Gondor. Neither Kingdom could help the other whilst both were beset.
"But King Ondoher and both of his sons died in those times. That was the entirity of the Gondorian line finished. They had no descendant who could claim the throne.
"Arvedui took his chance- he contacted Gondor, and made a claim for the throne. He claimed it on three counts- that with the death of Ondoher and his sons, he (Arvedui) himself was now the only descendant of Isildur who could claim the line. Second, that in fact even if this not were so, according to the rules of Isildur himself, Arvedui actually had a better claim to that throne than any King of Gondor had ever had- because as I said before, there was never meant to be a seperate King of Gondor. And thirdly- that Ondoher had one descendant left, for the line to go down. And that descendant... was Firiel. Arvedui's wife and Queen. By any law of succession, the Kingship should therefore be Arvedui's, as the husband of a female descendant.
"But the Gondorians said no. Their chief Steward was not interested. They tried to reason it out at first, sending a message back saying that only a descendant of Meneldil could take the Gondorian throne. Arvedui sent a very patient reply back, saying that not only was this wrong- it was Isildur's descent that counted- but also that his marriage to Firiel made him eligible on those grounds as well.
"I guess that one must have gotten the better of the Gondorians as far as reason was concerned- they simply sent no reply, and ignored the whole issue. Their war hero, defeater of the Wainriders, a man named Earnil, was given the throne- he had a very obscure ancestral relation to the Meneldil line."
Gorlim shrugs.
"What could Arvedui do? Even if he had the strength to try and force the claim, a war between the two mighty Dunadain nations would be disastrous. Furthermore, Arvedui is absolutely clear- his foundation of a new Kingdom must NOT be based on conquest. He must be accepted as King for it to work.
"And so Gondor have their new line, which has almost nothing to do with Isildur any more. And now, even though the Wainriders are gone, Gondor sends no forces to aid us."
Indeed not- but she was ambushed on the North/South road to Fornost., If you look at the map, that's a HECK of a long way for any Orcs to come from Angmar unnoticed.
Not to mention the Orcs that attacked the refugee camp in the first story- it has mostly been Dunlendings in Cardolan- or the small Orc army that seemed to be in position to attack Baranar. All the traitors in the world couldn't get those forces teleported down from Angmar in time for his/her information to be useful.
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Gorlim shrugs. "What are traditions? to the timeless Elves, they are forever, but not all of us have your... advantages. Gondor no longer remembers the times of old. Their true line is gone. Only in Arnor will you find the true Dunadain. Much has been lost that may never be regained.
"That said, whilst King Earnil is no true descendant of Isildur, and whilst he also represents the failure of Arvedui's hopes, he's not actually the biggest problem. It was a canny and wise mind that defeated the Easterling Wainriders, and he has proven a good King who has kept up contact with Arnor. Indeed, he personally dispatched a large shipment of Mithril to us last year, as a gift of material aid.
This was a plot point in Part I, but likely long forgotten
It's his Lords and Stewards that won't be persuaded to actively aid us. No, there is no hope for Arvedui's plans for Gondor."