Orcs are one of the most recognized enemies from The Lord of the Rings.¹ As a result, rest assured that you’ll not only encounter lots of Orcs in the untamed areas of Middle-earth, but you’ll face lots of different types of them.

In the depths of time, the great race of dragons was bred by Morgoth in his dark realm of Angband. These terrible beasts are capable of spewing gouts of flame and crushing stone and metal with little effort. Few survived the fall of Beleriand, and fewer still remain in the Third Age. Smaug the Golden was the greatest of those who fled to Middle-earth, and he was slain by Bard the Bowman, who became King of Dale.

The winged drakes who now inhabit the stony hills and mountains of Middle-earth are mere shadows of the once-great majesty of their forebears. They hunt the landscape for aurochs, bears, and other large animals with which to feed their young – drakelings – though they will not hesitate to make a meal of stray Hillman or Earth-kin, if the opportunity arises.

Weaker still are the wingless worms who claw their way across the barren plains and hills. Like their winged kin, they live to feed, terrorizing beast and Man alike. Neither drake nor worm possesses the might of the great dragons, but they should not be underestimated. Rumor has it that something in the Misty Mountains is stirring, calling them to gather.

While the fellow shown here is not the only creature of dragon-kind in our corner of Middle-earth, he is the ONLY Dragon: one of the very few remaining in all of Middle-earth. We’ll leave his backstory and name a secret for now…

 

In Elven-tales, the dreadful Mornen, known as a Dark-water in the Westron language, is a creature formed from the depths and brought into being by evil spirits. Rising from the rivers and lakes of Eriador to fight the unwary, these beings of shadow and seething liquid are said to have originated in the darkness of Angmar during the reign of the Witch-king long ago. Their essence remains strong to this day, and they will relentlessly attack the Free Peoples of Middle-earth with no fear of death.

The Dark-water (Mornen in Sindarin, pl. Mernin) is a creature unique to The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar and expands upon Professor Tolkien’s lore of evil spirits bound to Middle-earth by dark powers, such as the wights of the Great Barrows. Adventurers should take warning from the dark mist that often swirls beneath the surface of a lake or swamp before the Dark-water rises to strike with cold hands. They should be especially wary of the crowned Mernen, who rule their kind in mockery of the Kings of Númenór.

These menacing black birds from the lands between the Misty Mountains and the dark forest of Fangorn are often controlled by the forces of darkness, acting from above as the eyes and ears of the enemy. Large and intelligent, flocks of these crow-like creatures darken the skies on their mission of evil. But be warned, even one Craban is capable of alerting the enemy with the swiftness of the wind.

Found in the forested wetlands of western Middle-earth, the bog-lurker lives a concealed existence in the darkened wilds. To the casual observer, the body of the bog-lurker is seemingly made of root and bramble, its back alive with marsh-plants and its limbs formed of bark and wood. Ancient tales tell of the creature working alongside the mighty Ents of Eriador, acting in their service to assist in the shepherding of the trees. While the Ents retreated from those lands, the bog-lurkers remained, living a solitary life separated from their masters, although they are occasionally found in the company of the forest Huorns they once tended.

Bog-lurkers are unique to LOTRO and were designed and visually conceived to be in the same class of creature as Ents and other “natural” inhabitants of Middle-earth. Bog-lurkers tend to stay out of the affairs of the speaking races of Middle-earth, preferring their own isolation to the wars between good and evil. However, in the wetlands of Eriador, adventurers would be wise to be cautious in their presence, as the corruption and darkness of Mordor and Angmar have found their way even into the most desolate marshes. Beware the rustling in the brush. It may be only the wind in the reeds, or it may be a watching bog-lurker, turned to the service of darker powers.

There are more threats in the cliffs and crags of the North Downs than Orcs and evil Men. Many creatures that walk on four legs, both natural and evil, stalk prey in the hills and fields of the North Downs.

In the crags of Nan Amlug, lynx dwell in great numbers. While these mountain cats are mere beasts, with no care for the wars of Men and Orcs, they can still be extremely dangerous. They are able to move about nearly unseen, silently creeping towards their prey, springing upon the unwary with vicious precision. The miners of Othrikar, the dwarf-mines of Nan Amlug, must keep a constant vigil as they journey to and from their tunnels.

At the northern end of the Greenway, beyond the lonely town of Trestlebridge, and in southern reaches of Annundir, packs of wolves roam in search of easy prey. Unlike lynx, wolves are not mere beasts. They are highly intelligent and cunning, but worse yet, they are servants of the Enemy, corrupt and evil. From these hounds of evil were bred the fiercest of their kind, the Wargs. It is said that there was a time as well when fell-spirits were cast into wolves, creating a breed of Werewolves.

Among the beasts that roam the lands, few inspire such respect from hunters as the Aurochs. Related to domesticated cattle, these creatures are known by their massive size and long, curving horns. Once the Aurochs roamed in massive herds all across Middle-earth, but in later days were reduced to a handful of areas on either side of the Misty Mountains.

Aurochs are placid by nature and wish to be left alone, but will attack when approached. An Aurochs gives warning before attacking by twisting its neck back and forth, digging a groove in the dirt with each horn in turn.
Some believe that the Aurochs relate to the fabled Kine of Araw, the quarry of Vorondil the Hunter, ancestor of the stewards of Gondor. It is said that Vorondil took the horn of his prey, and from it fashioned the great horn later carried by Boromir, son of Denethor.

Rumors from northward suggest that Aurochs are now the quarry of hulking creatures who wear the Aurochs’ long horns as part of their hunting garb. Little more can be said of these strange hunters.