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The Blue Mountains

There were, however, dwarves on the road in unusual numbers. The ancient East-West Road ran through the Shire to its end at the Grey Havens, and dwarves had always used it on their way to their mines in the Blue Mountains. They were the hobbits’ chief source of news from distant parts - if they wanted any: as a rule dwarves said little and hobbits asked no more. But now Frodo often met strange dwarves of far countries, seeking refuge in the West. They were troubled, and some spoke in whispers of the Enemy and of the Land of Mordor.”

-
FotR Ch. 2: “The Shadow of the Past”


This is ArdaCraft’s recreation of the Blue Mountains, also known as the Ered Luin, from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

Lore

In the early days of Arda after the fall of the Two Lamps, the Blue Mountains were formed as the Valar widened the Great Sea and thrust Middle-earth eastward to protect Valinor. The Blue Mountains lined up with the Grey Mountains of the northlands, forming the western wall of Arda.

Sometime during the Years of the Trees two Dwarven Fathers awoke under Mount Dolmed and founded the two westernmost houses of the Dwarves (the Firebeards and Broadbeams). They subsequently built two great city-states, Nogrod and Belegost.

In the First Age, the Blue Mountains were an unbroken line separating Eriador from Beleriand. Seven rivers flowed from its western side, and the land these rivers flowed through was known as Ossiriand. Later, when the Green-elves settled there, the land was called Lindon, and the mountains sometimes referred to as the Ered Lindon.


The Blue Mountains Minecraft Map


The Blue Mountains were ruined during the War of Wrath at the end of the First Age, and in the south central end of the range the sea broke through (as can be seen on the map above). The River Lhûn now flowed through the mountains to the Gulf of Lune. On the western side a part of Lindon remained, and here the retreating Elves built the kingdom of Lindon, ruled by Ereinion Gil-galad, last High King of the Noldor.

The Dwarven cities of Nogrod and Belegost were also ruined when the mountains were broken, and the survivors migrated east to Khazad-dûm (Moria), joining Durin’s Folk there.

In the Third Age the Blue Mountains saw the return of Dwarves due to the isolation/stagnation of Khazad-dûm, and the later awakening of Durin's Bane (the Balrog). It later became the new home for many of Durin's Folk who were exiled from their halls in Erebor by Smaug the Dragon who had driven them out. After the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, King Thráin II established his throne in the Northern range beyond the River Lhûn, and later his son Thorin ruled after he went missing. This outpost became known as Thorin’s Halls.

Construction

The Blue Mountains are an on-going, complex project which involve several stages of construction. Firstly, the terrain is created in WorldPainter (though later improved in-game with VoxelSniper) with attention paid to geologic and botanical accuracy, and then added to the map. Secondly, the construction of the various locations within the mountains begins.

When completed, there will be roughly twelve dwarven mines in the Blue Mountains - some abaondoned and ruined, and some still in use. Every effort has been made to make these mines as functional and realistic as possible, with underground streets, workshops for professions ranging from carpenter to goldsmith, record rooms, bathouses, kitchens, forges, waterworks and even cesspits all built.



The Blue Mountains form part of a larger project which seeks to recreate Middle-earth in its entirety. Credit goes to Fornad and wheellee for WorldPainting these mountains, Guan and Soap887 for leading the dwarven mines, and to the entire community of builders for helping out.

The Blue Mountains 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 at http://ardacraft.me/
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1
12/06/2017 11:04 pm
Level 40 : Master Dolphin
Xeont
Xeont's Avatar
i'm speechless
1
09/26/2017 1:36 pm
Level 64 : High Grandmaster Blockhead
Mine Maus Craft
Mine Maus Craft's Avatar
Beautiful :-)
1
08/30/2017 11:17 am
Level 49 : Master Crafter
mick_5
mick_5's Avatar
Very nice
1
01/16/2017 2:31 pm
Level 49 : Master Wolf Whisperer
Drayman
Drayman's Avatar
I love the hills in the forest, looks so nice!
1
01/15/2017 4:33 pm
Level 24 : Expert Artist
Buglis
Buglis's Avatar
Such a good map! Good Job!
1
01/15/2017 9:28 am
Level 41 : Master Loremaster
lmN8
lmN8's Avatar
Brilliant and beautiful
1
01/15/2017 8:59 am
Level 2 : Apprentice Prince
Saruman_nl
Saruman_nl's Avatar
Splendidly done! I have very high hopes for this project: ArdaCraft. The detail and dedication you put into your work is magnificent!
1
01/16/2017 4:36 pm
Level 2 : Apprentice Miner
Guan_Yu007
Guan_Yu007's Avatar
Je kunt altijd meedoen om het nog beter te maken :P
1
01/18/2017 1:35 pm
Level 2 : Apprentice Prince
Saruman_nl
Saruman_nl's Avatar
Mijn vaardigheden zijn niet geschikt voor een project zo groot als deze... :/
Ik kan bouwen als ik goed mijn best doe, maar zo goed als dit kan ik dan ook weer niet bouwen.
1
01/23/2017 7:53 pm
Level 2 : Apprentice Miner
Guan_Yu007
Guan_Yu007's Avatar
Je bent niet de eerste die dat zegt haha, anderen die dat hebben gezegt helpen nu. ^^
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