ISENGARD g e o g r a p h y The Misty Mountains run some nine hundred miles from their northern-most point all the way down—past the fortresses of Gundabad, Rivendell, and Moria— to Methedras, the ‘Last Peak’ of the mighty range. There, a great, sheltered valley lies between the eastern and western spurs of Methedras, b<strong>order</strong>ed on the south by the Gap of Rohan. The river Isen runs southward through this vale, also called Nan Curunír, fed by many springs and lesser streams from the rain-washed foothills of the Misty Mountains. Nan Curunír was once green and fair, a pleasant and fertile land; of late the region has grown into a rugged wilderness choked by weeds and brambles, overrun with rank grasses, riddled with caves inhabited by small beasts, increasingly devoid of trees save the burned and hewn stumps of once mighty groves. Only within the great Ring of Isengard remains some testament of the natural grandeur of the Vale, for here streams still feed a few acres of green grasses, blooming gardens, and copses of giant oak trees. Yet even this last remnant of nature bears a secret taint, for it is tended by the slaves of Saruman, who are bent beneath his overpowering will. r oa d s a n d t r a i l s ‘[T]he highway became a wide street, paved with great flat stones, squared and laid with skill… deep gutters, filled with trickling water, ran down on either side.’ — The Two Towers The most-travelled road in the region is the Great West Road, known as the South Road past the Gap of Rohan in Dunland, and also the Westfold Road where long-dead Masters of the Westfold paved it with broad stones in its course through their land. The Great West Road continues southward from the Fords 0 of Isen—the point where it crosses the River Isen—toward Helm’s Deep, on to Edoras, and, eventually, to Minas Tirith. The second most important travel-way in the Wizard’s Vale is the ancient highway known to the denizens of Isengard simply as ‘the road.’ It begins just outside the gates of Isengard, where the ground is firm and level. Here it more resembles a wide street than a road, for it is constructed of massive slabs of stones, so skilfully joined that not a blade of grass shows in any joint. As it leads southward, the road becomes rougher and eventually meets the Isen, thereafter following its western bank for some thirty miles to the Fords of Isen, where it intersects with the Great West Road. Upon crossing the Great West Road, the road from Isengard becomes not much more than a trail that continues southward along the edge of the White Mountains, joining a network of footpaths that cross Drúwaith Iaur, Old Púkel-land. To accommodate his ever-growing armies of soldiers and servitors, Saruman widened and fortified a network of roadways leading eastward from Isengard. Damming the Isen created a fordable stretch of river in the north of the Wizard’s Vale, and a trail known as the High Path crosses there, passing in switchbacks over the high hills south of Methedras and skirting the southern edge of <strong>Fan</strong>gorn Forest. Another track, the Low Path, branches from the High on the eastern side of the ford and heads south before turning east to the Eastern Outpost of the White Hand (see pages 63–4) and beyond. Of course, many lesser roads and trails also cross Nan Curunír, most created not by design, but by the daily tramp of the boots and naked feet of hundreds, if not thousands, of Saruman’s soldiers and slaves going about their master’s business. <strong>bon</strong> <strong>olivier</strong> (<strong>order</strong> <strong>#42065</strong>) 8
1 Nan Curunír <strong>bon</strong> <strong>olivier</strong> (<strong>order</strong> <strong>#42065</strong>) 8
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table of Contents introduCtion: the
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made from polished black granite an
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- Page 21 and 22: 1 The History and Life of Isengard
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- Page 27 and 28: sometimes in their place), some por
- Page 29 and 30: are arranged. Above this, the Livin
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- Page 33 and 34: on either side of the grand stairca
- Page 35 and 36: contains quarters that have served
- Page 37 and 38: Treasury of Orthanc The stout door
- Page 39 and 40: and chimneys range in size from jus
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- Page 43 and 44: When the Men of Gondor held Angreno
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- Page 47 and 48: Before the Fourth and Fifth Portion
- Page 49 and 50: But as Saruman’s ambitions grew,
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- Page 53 and 54: the fire of orthanC ‘How? How can
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- Page 75 and 76: saruman fallen To bring this descri
- Page 77 and 78: When Gandalf drove Sauron from Dol
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- Page 85 and 86: Dunlending Craftsmen Skilled labour
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- Page 91 and 92: StatiSticS: add elite order captain
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