Orcs of the Misty Mountains

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Orcs of the Misty Mountains
Information
Other Names	Goblins
Dominions	Misty Mountains Gundabad Moria Goblin-town Angmar Mirkwood Isengard
Cultures	Gundabad Orcs Moria Orcs Goblins Dol Guldur Orcs Isengard Orcs
Languages	Westron Black Speech
Units	Army of Gundabad Hordes of Moria Hordes of Goblin-town Army of Angmar Army of Dol Guldur Army of Isengard

The Orcs of the Misty Mountains were a collective Orc sub-race used and partially made by Sauron and his chief agents - the Witch-king, Azog and Saruman - throughout the Second and Third Ages that inhabited the Misty Mountains. A mostly a disorderly degenerate rabble, they were nonetheless efficient warriors and laborers when in large numbers and made up many of the Dark Lord's northern hordes.

Having survived Morgoth's defeat in the ancient War of Wrath, these Orcs swarmed over the Misty Mountains' caverns and were drawn into Sauron's service, fighting in the War of the Last Alliance. Following their Master's ousting, they lost all unity and divided into squabbling petty realms and a variety of breeds. The Orcs of the Misty Mountains shared a bitter enmity with the Dwarves, having sacked and claimed Gundabad; Gundabad would soon become these Orcs' capital. As the Watchful Peace neared its end, the foul things regrouped under their returned Master's government and became bolder in their waylaying of travelers and open attacks against the Free Peoples. Led by Sauron's champion, Azog, the Orcs of the Misty Mountains warred with the Dwarves of Erebor and took Moria, which hence became one of their main strongholds. The Defiler would command a great army of these creatures in a short-lived campaign to conquer northern Middle-earth for the Dark Lord, only to be defeated in the Battle of the Five Armies.

By the War of the Ring, a large number of Orcs of the Misty Mountains had been recruited by Sauron's puppet, Saruman, to serve as both manpower and in raiding parties in his war with the Rohirrim. Lowly Goblins continued to infest Moria's halls and multiply in its fissures, with small warbands attacking the Galadhrim of Lothlórien; these creatures attacked and pursued the Fellowship of the Ring during the journey through the mines. Orcs of the Misty Mountains also formed the vanguard of Sauron's northern hosts and besieged, the Blue Mountains, the Woodland Realm and Erebor. Their Master's final downfall ensured the defeat and retreat of these cave-dwellers.

History

As Morgoth's defeat in the First Age's War of Wrath drew near, the Orcs of Angband fled the fury of the Valar into the Misty Mountains, where they found sanctuary and established a network of underground tunnels in the caverns.

In the Second Age during the reign of Sauron, the population of these Orcs increased and they spread their petty realms and encampments throughout the Misty Mountains, though they avoided approaching Khazad-dûm out of fear of the Dwarves of Durin's folk. Millennia spent in the caves had taken its toll on many of these foul things, resulting in a decrepit lowly appearance akin to that of the mythical apes in the far south. Commanded by Sauron, the Orcs of the Misty Mountains battled the Dwarves multiple times for control of Gundabad.

In the early Third Age, an Orc warband out of the Misty Mountains ambushed the King of Gondor, Isildur, at the Gladden Fields and slew him, avenging the defeat of their old Master, Sauron, and causing the One Ring's loss in the Anduin for many centuries. The Orcs of the Misty Mountains eventually drove the Dwarves out of Gundabad, turning it into their capital. From here, the cave-dwellers struck out on sorties, waylaying travellers in Eregion and near the Anduin vale. Around the time of their old Master's return, they became increasingly bolder in their aggression towards the Free Peoples; the Goblin denizens of Goblin-town, however, seemed to have acted more autonomous and remained isolated with their own affairs. During the War of Angmar, Gundabad Orc hordes were compelled into service of Sauron's chief general, the Witch-king, and fought in his army against the Men of Arnor, as well as the Elves of Rivendell and Greenwood, up until the fall of Angmar.

The awakening of the Balrog had driven the Dwarves from Khazad-dûm, with the Orcs of the Misty Mountains entering and occupying the ruined mines in the chaos unleashed by "Durin's Bane". Being a primitive people and already revering Sauron's demonic might, the Moria Orcs may have similarly taken up the Balrog as another deity. Much like with the Dark Lord, they both feared and emulated the fiery creature as an object of worship.

During the Watchful Peace, Goblins of the Misty Mountains led by their king, Golfimbul, ranged deep westwards and attempted to invade the Shire, but were defeated by Bandobras Took and the Hobbits in the Battle of Greenfields; the chieftain's descendants never forgot this humiliation and longed for revenge.

In preparation for his northern campaign, Sauron sent his vassal and general, Azog, with fresh legions into Moria, to strengthen his hold over the Goblin horde. The Orcs' control over ancient Khazad-dûm was contested by the Dwarven refugees of Erebor, who, having been driven out by the Dragon Smaug, sought a new home. During the Battle of Azanulbizar, Azog beheaded Thrór, but was himself wounded by the king's grandson, Thorin; the Defiler and his forces were pushed back in the wake of Oakenshield's rally into the mines. Though largely assumed dead following the battle at Azanulbizar, Azog had survived and helped muster Moria Orcs into an army for Sauron at Dol Guldur in Mirkwood; this army, when joined by Smaug, would mount his Master's conquest of Middle-earth by reclaiming Angmar. In spite of Smaug's unforeseen death, Azog's army marched at Sauron's command towards Erebor, where they descended upon the squabbling hosts of Thranduil, Bard and Dáin Ironfoot. The Dol Guldur Orcs and their war beasts held the upper hand for much of the battle, slaying countless Dwarves of Iron Hills and Mirkwood Elves before the gates of Erebor, while also besieging the Lake-Men in ruined Dale. Thorin Oakenshield's charge, however, took Azog's host by surprise and turned the tide. Having feared such an event, Azog had beforehand sent his spawn, Bolg, to bring out the army of Gundabad as reinforcements. The second army, though, was vanquished by the Skin-changer Beorn and Gwaihir's Great Eagles. The Battle of the Five Armies, ended in the Defiler's demise and the defeat of the forces marshalled for the Dark Lord's war.

The defeat in the Battle of the Five Armies notwithstanding, the population of Orcs of the Misty Mountains continued to increase and boldly expand and harass Free Folk. On rare occasions, Moria Orc warbands trespassed the borders of Lothlórien, making attacks on Galadriel's people before being each time cut down by Haldir's Galadhrim guard. These Goblins also brought an end to Balin's expedition, massacring the Dwarves to the last.

Having sworn Sauron fealty around this time, the corrupted Istar Saruman recruited a large number of Orcs of the Misty Mountains into his service, which were supplemented by Orcs he bred around Orthanc at Isengard. The majority of these Isengard Orcs made up his workforce, laboring to fortify the ringed walls and build dama and a network of wooden war machines. Deeming them a mostly ineffective fighting force due to their weakness to sunlight, Saruman also had them "farm" the improved Uruk-hai in birth-pods in the water caverns, both for the second army forged for Sauron and for his own loyal elite company - through which he would try seize the One Ring before his Lord. Nonetheless, Saruman still used common Orcs in scouting and raiding parties to spy on and harass the Rohirrim peasants.

During the War of the Ring, Orcs from the Misty Mountains made up the vanguard of the resurgent army of Dol Guldur, led by the Nazgûl Khamûl and the Mouth of Sauron, and were also seen in the forces given by Sauron to his newest vassals, the Goblin Gorkil and the Dragon Drogoth. These Goblin hordes attacked Elrond at Rivendell, while also besieging the Woodland Realm and Erebor. Saruman also dispatched raiding parties of Isengard Orc warriors and Dunlending marauders to wreak havoc in the villages of the Westfold of Rohan, sowing fear of the corrupted Wizard and his Lord among those who opposed them. A large warband clashed with Rohirrim defenders led by Théoden's son, Théodred, and endeavored to slay the king's heir. Following the Battle of Helm's Deep and the destruction of Saruman's army, this Orc force was destroyed in the Ents' assault on Isengard, having been either crushed by the vengeful Tree-herders of Fangorn or drowned by the flood. The northern Goblin hordes were utterly defeated in the Battle of Dol Guldur, which coincided with the destruction of the One Ring and the final downfall of Sauron.

Appearances

• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (as Gundabad Orcs)
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (as Gundabad Orcs)
• The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (as Moria Orcs and Gundabad Orcs)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Also as Moria Orcs)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Amongst the Isengard Orcs)