{"id":138134,"date":"2019-03-10T15:40:05","date_gmt":"2019-03-10T21:40:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/?p=138134"},"modified":"2019-03-10T15:40:05","modified_gmt":"2019-03-10T21:40:05","slug":"welcome-to-the-second-age-of-middle-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2019\/03\/10\/welcome-to-the-second-age-of-middle-earth.html","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to the Second Age of Middle-earth …"},"content":{"rendered":"

If Amazon’s Middle-earth series is going to be set in the Second Age<\/a> …<\/p>\n

Well, that really doesn’t narrow it down much. It’s a bit like saying, “We’re setting a series here on Earth, somewhere between King Tut and the modern era.” That’s sort of hard to build a coherent narrative around.<\/p>\n

That said, there are two major story arcs taking place in Middle-Earth after Morgoth (Sauron’s former boss and a much more powerful dude than Sauron ever was) is defeated at the end of the First Age. The first is creation of\u00a0the island of N\u00famenor and the rise of the race of Men living there (who are sternly warned by the Powers that Be that they can do whatever they want, as long as they don’t sail west out of sight of their island, toward the Undying Lands, and you know how that<\/em> story is going to end).<\/p>\n

The\u00a0other thing going on during this vast 3500-or-so years is Sauron, having survived the fall of his boss Morgoth …<\/p>\n

a. … becoming an advisor and friend to the Elves, and advising one of them on how to craft\u00a0some nifty Rings of Power, and, through charm and wit and a bit of black magic, cutting himself in on that Ring action: forging the One Ring that has power over the ones the Elves have, as well as others he then hands out like candy (“The first powerful mind-controlling artifact is free!”) to lords of the Dwarves and Men.<\/p>\n

b. taking over Middle-Earth, except for some areas of resistance by Elves and Dwarves, but then being defeated by the prideful Men of N\u00famenor and taken captive.<\/p>\n

c. As a captive, becoming an advisor and friend to\u00a0Ar-Pharaz\u00f4n, the King of\u00a0N\u00famenor. Sauron’s the one who whispers in his ear that all those injunctions against sailing West are “Sad!” and “Unfair!” and “Fake Curses!” This leads to the inevitable N\u00famen\u00f3rean expedition to conquer the West, which in turn leads to\u00a0N\u00famenor being sunk Atlantis-style and only some of the Men who were “the Faithful” getting to flee to Middle-earth proper,\u00a0there founding the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor.<\/p>\n

d. Having survived the drowning of\u00a0N\u00famenor, eventually launching a new war on the Elves and Men, leading to a Last Alliance between those races,\u00a0which leads to the defeat of Sauron — for a time — while the One Ring is lost — for a time. And that’s the\u00a0end of the Second Age.<\/p>\n

Some of this may sound familiar …<\/p>\n