[Legendarium, The Silmarillion] – Background Information Lord of the Rings – The dark forces – Morgoth, Sauron, Balrog, Gothmog, Ancalagon, Dragon, Glaurung, orc, Easterling, Werewolves and Vampires
Morgoth, the first dark lord(Melkor)
Morgoth in Sindarin means “The Dark Enemy of the World” while Melkor in Quenya means “He who rose by might”. Sauron, who was once a Maiar, has corrupted under Morgoth and served as the lieutenant of Morgoth. Morgoth or Melkor was once a Valar, however he envied the power of creation the Flame Imperishable possessed by Eru Ilúvatar.
Ainulindalë or the Music of the Ainur was a harmonic music that Ilúvatar planned to sing with the Ainur to shape the Ea, the universe created by Ilúvatar.
However, Melkor makes a discord as a revolt against Ilúvatar which distorted the world that Ilúvatar intended to create. After Ilúvatar sent the Ainur to manage Arda, the earth of the Legendarium, Morgoth wanted to reign over Arda and started a war against the Valar against the will of Ilúvatar.
Morgoth has corrupted Maiar including the Balrogs and Sauron while creating a dark army for his ambitions. Morgoth headquartered in Utumno where he has built the underground stronghold Angband where the Two Lamps of the Valar couldn’t reach.
Morgoth was responsible for the destruction of the Two Lamps the North Lamp Illuin, and the South Lamp Ormal.
Also, he was responsible for the destruction of the Two Trees of Valinor, the Silver Tree Telperion and the Gold Tree Laurelin as he allied with the Ungoliant the elder spider and the thievery of the Silmarils. Morgoth was responsible for the First War of the Valar, War of the Powers and the War of the Great Jewels.
Morgoth was defeated at the final battle of the War of the Great Jewels, the War of the Wrath and banished to the Timeless Void. However, Sauron and the remnants of his dark army still threatened the safety of the Middle Earth.
Sauron – The second dark lord
Sauron was once a Maia that served the Master of Craftsmanship the Valar Aulë. He was named Mairon and he was one of the most powerful Maiar.
The name Sauron in Quenya mean ‘abomination’. As a skilled craftsman, Mairon always desired perfection and secretly grew a desire to control all the creatures of the Arda and started to admire Melkor. Sauron eventually corrupted and became the lieutenant of Morgoth and later, became the second dark lord succeeding Melkor (Morgoth).
After the defeat of Morgoth in the War of the Wrath, Sauron pretended to ask for forgiveness while he secretly built forces in Mordor to conquer Middle Earth. Sauron was responsible for forging the One Ring and the nine rings for men, seven rings for the dwarves and the three rings for the elves.
Sauron was responsible for the destruction of Eregion and Numenor. Sauron was defeated at the Battle of the Dagorlad as part of the War of the Last Alliance, however he restores power and once again tries to take over Middle Earth at the timepoint of the Lord of the Rings.
Balrogs
Balrogs were also once Maiar that were the lesser level of the Ainur which were equivalent to angels of the Legendarium. However the Balrogs pledged their allegiance to Melkor and joined the dark forces as the elite forces. Most balrogs were killed throughout the constant battles between the Valar and the elves.
One balrog managed to survive and hibernated beneath Khazad-dum or Moria, the kingdom of Dwarves where the dwarves have awaken by accident as they mined mithril.
This balrog was referred to Durin’s Bane and eventually annihilated the dwarf kingdom of Moria. This balrog Durin’s Bane eventually fights with Gandalf.
Gothmog, the mightiest Balrog
Gothmog was responsible for the security of Angband, the underground fortress of Morgoth and was the most powerful balrog also referred as the Lord of the Balrogs. The name Gothmog in Quenya meaned ‘dreadful power’.
Gothmog was one of the strongest forces that Morgoth ever possessed and saved Morgoth from the Ungoliant after Morgoth stole the Silmarils, killed the Noldor elf king Fëanor and killed Ecthelion. Gothmog died together when he killed Ecthelion at the Battle of Gondolin.
Dragons and Glaurung the Great Worm
Morgoth created dragons as orcs were too weak to fight against the Noldor elf army. The First dragon that appeared in the Silmarillion was Glaurung which was also called the Great Worm as Glaurung didn’t have any wings.
The dragons were intelligent, cunning creatures that were obsessed with treasure and possessed powerful might and eve several abilities such as seducing other creatures. Glaurung was one of the most powerful forces that Morgoth had, however Glaurung was killed by the human hero Turin who was the son of Hurin.
Ancalagon the Black – The strongest dragon in the Legendarium
Although Glaurung was considered one of the first dragon and the father of the dragon, the most powerful dragon was Ancalagon the Black.
The dragon Ancalagon and the balrog Gothmog were the most powerful elite force that Morgoth had while Sauron was more of the strategist even though Sauron served as second in rank. Ancalagon the Black was even the largest of the dragons that existed.
Ancalagon the Black was powerful enough to even threaten the Valars. Eärendil the great half-elf half-human(father of Elrond and Elros)and the eagles of Manwë led by the Eagle king Throndor himself had to fight Ancalagon all together to defeat it at the War of the Wrath.
Werewolves and Vampires
Morgoth also bred werewolves and vampires to support his army. Draugluin was the first werewolf created by Morgoth at Angband and served as the king of all the werewolves. However, Draugluin was killed by the wolf Huan who helped Beren and Luthien that attempted to steal the Silmaril from the Iron Crown of Morgoth.
Carcharoth was the strongest werewolf that ever existed and was the gate guardian of the underground fortress of Morgoth Angband.
Carcharoth was also killed by the wolf Huan, however his poisonous fangs enabled him to take out Huan as well.
Wargs were also descendants of Draugluin. Thruingwethil was a vampire who served as a messenger of Sauron that could transform herself into a bat. Thruingwethil was also killed by the hound Huan. Although not mentioned, Draugluin and Thruingwethil may have been corrupted Maiar.
Orcs and Easterlings
The origins of the Orcs are unknown. However the orcs were twisted creatures that were created by Morgoth himself in Angband for the purpose of serving as grunts for Morgoth’s army. Orcs described in the Silmarillion and the Legendarium are much smaller than humans and specialized in designing weapons and machines.
Tolkien described the orcs as twisted creatures from nature that naturally hated all men, dwarves and elves. The orcs would continuously serve as the main footman of the dark army throughout the ages. Easterlings were also humans that lived in the east lands of Rhun that served for Morgoth and Sauron since the First Ages.
