Lore

Several years after the Sack of Erebor by the dragon Smaug, the exiled King of Durin's Folk, Thrór, was murdered by Orcs. His son Thráin II led a host of Dwarves from his and other houses in a great war against the Orcs of the Misty Mountains. After that, Thráin's people moved to the hills of Dunland and stayed for some time before moving to the Blue Mountains and establishing their Halls in T.A. 2802.

For nearly forty years, Thráin ruled his people in the Ered Luin, but was driven to obsession by his ring of power. In 2841 he left with a small group of followers to return to Erebor. But in 2845, while encamped on the eves of Mirkwood, Thráin was captured by the servants of the Necromancer and taken to Dol Guldur; where he was tortured till his death many years later. His followers (including Balin and Dwalin) did not know his fate, and after searching for days they returned to the Ered Luin.

Thorin was made the ruler of Durin's Folk, and under his leadership, his people prospered, their trade increased as well as their numbers - not only from birth, but also from wandering Longbeards who had come to join Thorin's realm.

Thorin ruled in the Ered Luin for nearly one hundred years, until he met Gandalf the Wizard who helped him concoct a plan to take back Erebor from Smaug. In 2941, he left his halls for the last time on a quest to take back his former home. After many months Thorin and Company took the mountain as theirs and Thorin declared himself King under the Mountain after Smaug was killed; but after a great battle with Orcs and Wargs Thorin was mortally wounded and died.

After Thorin's death, his cousin Dáin II Ironfoot of the Iron Hills became king of Durin's Folk; and when news reached the Ered Luin that Erebor was retaken, it is believed that many of its inhabitants moved to the Lonely Mountain. Thereafter, Thorin's Halls became a sub-realm of Durin's Folk.

In the time our map is set, some dwarves were moving back to the Blue Mountains to escape the growing shadow of Sauron, and the halls were being slowly repopulated.


Construction

Thorin's Halls is the largest dwarven project on our map so far, and one of our largest projects overall. It has taken more than two years to complete, and is incredibly detailed. An indication of the professions and guilds represented can be seen in this document. There are over one thousand beds in the halls. The sheer scale of the mines alone can be seen here.

The only way to understand the true scale of this project is to join our server and warp to it!

For anyone who is interested in seeing a detailed timeline of the project's construction, the Thorin's Halls project thread on our forums provides a good overview.

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Thorin's Halls forms part of a larger project which seeks to recreate Middle-earth in its entirety. Credit goes to Guan, Poppleman, Soap, Ytsen, Aptipild and creepyboy666 for leading this project, and to the entire community of builders for helping to construct it.

Thorin's Halls can be viewed from above on ArdaCraft's dynmap. There is no download available, but ArdaCraft is a non-whitelisted server which anyone is welcome to come and explore, provided they have installed our modpack first.

All information can be found on our website.