Thinking more about Nan Dungortheb, the Valley of Dreadful Death. This is the mysterious land in the foothills of the Ered Gorgoroth (Mountains of Terror), where it was rumored Ungoliant and her spawn fled to and lived for some time. Its primary mention in The Silmarillion after that is when Beren travels through it at great peril. We know little about his journey other than that it was a harrowing ordeal.
followup
Here are some headcanons about the valley and its monstrous inhabitants. I had a lot of fun coming up with strange effects. Also thanks to the lovely @rana-temporaria because talking with them made me want to write about more creepy locations
Nan Dungortheb is a meadow steppe with the foothills of the mountains on its Northern border. The river Mindeb ran on the Western border and the river Esgalduin on the east.
It is cold though with higher rainfall than the mountains. Mists are common, both natural and unnatural. The waters on either side of the vale are largely devoid of fish and what species do live in the rivers are inedible
The spiders of Nan Dungortheb are not true spiders of course and their forms vary widely as does their size. Some appear as mere shadows.
The webs themselves are mildly corrosive and slowly kill the trees they are woven between, creating an eerie landscape of hardened skeletons of wood.
The spinning of their webs produces a lulling sound that is used sometimes to lure prey though most of the elves know enough to be wary.
Just like with Glaurung, the toxins created by these creatures can spread throughout surrounding flora and even infect the water. Run off from Ered Gorgoroth can be deadly. Other times it can cause almost psychedelic effects.
The presence of the spiders and other monsters was partially contained by the Girdle of Melian for the enchantment that wove and sang it was one they despised and avoided. Starved of prey, their own numbers began to decline. Some of course escaped East and their original forms began to more clearly resemble the spiders around them.
When Ungoliant’s spawn die, their forms become even less animal like, becoming spots of darkness that distort or even trap light, further impacting the ecology of the land
Ungoliant crept towards Melkor. Towards the only light now left in these desolate lands untouched by the stars. But he would not give up the Silmarils.
Southward he turned, and south away
his long and lonely journey lay,
while ever loomed before his path
the dreadful peaks of Gorgorath.
Never had foot of man most bold
yet trod those mountains steep and cold,
nor climbed upon their sudden brink,
whence, sickened, eyes must turn and shrink
to see their southward cliffs fall sheer
in rocky pinnacle and pier
down into shadows that were laid
before the sun and moon were made.
In valleys woven with deceit
and washed with waters bitter-sweet
dark magic lurked in gulf and glen;
but out away beyond the ken
of mortal sight the eagle’s eye
from dizzy towers that pierced the sky
might grey and gleaming see afar,
as sheen on water under star,
Beleriand, Beleriand,
the borders of the Elven-land.
Beren departs from Dorthonion, The Lay of Leithian
I liked your post on Nan Dungortheb ! Do you have ideas on creatures there other than giant spiders?
In response to this post!
Thanks so much, Anon! I assumed you meant unusual creatures but if you’d like a proper fauna post let me know!
Here are a couple ideas I had, I’ll probably add to it later
Cave bears. Tolkien said in Valinor there was every creature that has ever or had ever lived on this earth and many that had not. I headcanon many of these prehistoric or fantastical creatures lived outside of Aman as well. The caves and forests of the Ered Gorgoroth provide cover and prey for cave bears and they sometimes travel across Nan Dungortheb to hunt
There are several species of deer, likely roe deer and red deer, that have been changed by their many years in Ered Gorgoroth and Nan Dungortheb, including from drinking from the odd, frigid pools there. While many die or simply migrate towards Dorthonion or Brethil, some remain and resemble something somewhat different. They’re not dangerous, usually, but they are uncanny.
Infected trees like the willow in The Lord of the Rings. They largely remain stationary for years, even decades. Birds don’t perch upon them and it is unwise to pass close by (thinking about corruption spreading through water like it does when Glaurung poisons the pools of Ivrin. Sometimes hungry roots soak up corrupted water)
I imagine there were stories about ancestors to the trolls in Dorthonion. These originated from unknown creatures in Nan Dungortheb that lived in the hills. They were nocturnal and largely harmless though quite territorial.
I really loved @gwaedhannen ‘s post about wanting more strangeness in First Age Beleriand and I had a post awhile back about potential strange ecology for Middle Earth so I wanted to revisit it with some more thoughts!
Following up to my speculative biology ideas for elves,
Like the last list, these are more jotting down ideas, please please feel free to give me any to elaborate on!
Mammoths on the Helcaraxë and other cold reaches. Tolkien talks of all creatures that walk or have ever walked the earth existing in Valinor and throughout Arda hence prehistoric and extinct species can also exist here. I do also headcanon smaller herds of woolly mammoths and woolly rhinos in northern Hithlum and north of greater Beleriand. Stellar’s sea cows in the frozen waters:(
Early cenozoic aquatic birds such as Hesperornis off the coasts of Balar and Alqualondë.
Enchanted orchards of Valinor; large, seemingly abandoned self containing gardens and orchards. There are fruit tree orchards hidden behind ivy covered walls; some always filled with Autumn breezes, citrus groves always kept warm and bright lined with lemon trees and deep green grass. Except for the Maia who tend them, the only beings who enter the orchards are elves who do so, usually by mistake.
There are places throughout Arda where the Music was not well, loud, enough. They can be the size of a footstep or a field and are not fully connected to the space time continuum. Those who tread on them will end up elsewhere in time or space and will never realize what had happened.
In the great expanses of unexplored Valinor, there are coves, glens, lagoons, and all sorts of other places that seem shift and change, being there one day and not the next. Even while walking through familiar, charted territory, there is always the possibility of ending up in a hidden clearing, covered in hanging mosses and with strange lights all around.
The forests of Beleriand are full of strange, sometimes dark creatures that have never been properly documented. They are the strange hybrids of Yavanna’s creations and Melkor’s corruption and a few have escaped the eyes of even the Ainur.
The underground lakes of Middle Earth, especially around Angband contain blind, hungry beings, nourished by the volcanic soils. Strange fungi and lichen stick to the walls of the caverns and passageways beneath the fortress.
There are hot springs in several locations in Beleriand South of the Ered Wethrin (there are many in the Ered Wethrin of course but these are not exactly relaxation destinations). Namely in Himring, throughout Hithlum, north of Barad Eithel, parts of Dorthonion, in the caves of Androth, and parts of the Ered Luin. Not all of these are used by residents and not all maintain safe temperatures or conditions but some do! In many parts of Northern Beleriand, they're used for bathing and communal relaxation. There are other springs throughout the March of Maedhros and I like the idea of Himring being built around a hot spring. There are hot and warm springs in both Nargothrond and Menengroth. The definition of warm springs differs from hot springs only in average temperature
The caves of Menengroth and Nargothrond allow elves and others access to the strange wonders of the underground world of Middle Earth. They are lit by lanterns and by certain bioluminescent plants. There are windows in key areas that allow sunlight to filter into some of the larger halls and though there are small gardens of species that do not require direct sunlight, some are stationed in the areas where sunlight filters in. A small tributary of the river Narog flows directly through one of the great halls of Nargothrond. Its flora and fauna remain untouched by the elves and algae and aquatic plants as well as small fish, salamanders in their early stages, and stranger creatures are visible to see for those who walk along it.
In realms with Ainur or certain Eldar rule, natural life may not follow typical laws. Melian has great influence over the biodiversity and climate of Doriath for example even without meaning to.
The horror potential of the boundaries of the girdle or of Nan Elmoth. Time and space distorting, the forest becoming a maze, bird calls confusing and disorienting unwary or unlucky travelers
The Ered Gorgoroth, the eerie, mysterious mountain range, bordered to the north by Dorthonion and to the south by Nan Dungortheb. It was said the spawn of Ungolian haunted these mountains and the valley. I have some more posts on this but I've always imagined there being many pools and meres in Ered Gorgoroth, many harmless though frigid and some completely corrupted by the powers of Ungoliants spawn and other beings. Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to know which was which until it was too late.
Chemical reactions causing glimmering or colorful water. Elves learn carefully when this has occurred due to natural phenomena and when it is the result of unnatural influence or Ainur presence.
Salt lakes and landlocked waters mimicking ocean conditions. I’ve always imagined there being a lake like lake Baikal in the March of Maedhros
More Bioluminescence
The realms draped in dragon reek especially around Nargothrond. The pools of Ivrin are ruined by Glaurung and they are the source of the river Narog, the largest tributary to Sirion. The entire land could be poisoned. I imagine that plants wither or lose color, birds and frogs stay silent, animals are thrown off of their natural cycles, The orchards in the hills barren or producing foul fruit, strange happenings resulting from drinking from the river Narog or even eating animals that drank from it…
Alternatively the effects of the water where the power of Ulmo is still strong such as in Nan Tathren or the Twilit Meres
The Ered Gorgoroth, the eerie, mysterious mountain range, bordered to the north by Dorthonion and to the south by Nan Dungortheb. It was said the spawn of Ungolian haunted these mountains and the valley. I have some more posts on this but I've always imagined there being many pools and meres in Ered Gorgoroth, many harmless though frigid and some completely corrupted by the powers of Ungoliants spawn and other beings. Unfortunately, it was not always possible to know which was which until it was too late.
Headcanons on the spiders of Ered Gorgoroth and Nan Dungortheb?
Previous post about Ered Gorgoroth
More in the tags!
The spiders of Ered Gorgoroth originate from a nest of Ungoliant well predating the rising of the sun. Ungoliant is not truly a spider of course. To say she (it?) is a spider is merely the most comprehensible description of a form that bewilders and hypnotizes those who look upon it, leaving black singed holes in their memory. She is something else, many things else. But for our purposes, she must be understood as a spider, or something approximating one
The nest she produces likewise is not one of ordinary spiders. Indeed the real spiders of the region are all but driven out, or consumed by the intruders. The nest is nothing but a mockery of other creations. The spawn feed upon light and use it to spin lures for the ever dwindling supply of prey that stumble through the valley.
Their presence was partially contained by the Girdle of Melian for the enchantment that wove and sang it was one they despised and avoided. Starved of prey, their own numbers began to decline. Some of course escaped East and their original forms began to more clearly resemble the spiders around them. The spinning of their webs produces a lulling sound that is used sometimes to lure prey though most of the elves know enough to be wary.
They are most known to the Marchwardens of Doriath and certain Avarin groups. Both populations have lost members to these creatures.
Exactly how they kill their prey is kept rather quiet. All one needs to know to avoid them is to stay well away from their homes.
The spinning of their webs produces a lulling sound that is used sometimes to lure prey though most of the elves know enough to be wary.
In late First Age Beleriand, it has been many years since anyone has truly seen these creatures and they come to be regarded as part of the vast folklore of the area.
From this world building list here! Still accepting them
Previous post
Other relevant posts about the Ered Gorgoroth in the tag!
Is a creature folkloric if it exists? I believe in this instance yes for the tales of what lurks in the Ered Gorgoroth are often told unconfirmed, combining accounts and fears both, passed by word of mouth, only half believed.
The spiders of course are what is spoken of most often. The seemingly peaceful glades glistening with web. All know that travelers fall prey to them though few know any by name who have met this fate. They say a soul can linger for years in those woven prisons, not yet dead but not truly alive.
There are other stories too, told by the captains of Doriath who for ages were the only ones who would or could stray close. Cat like beasts with protruding fangs that would attack any who passed by, elf, man or creature alike
Then there are the fell voices. No one knows if this-if it does truly happen as the tales say-is a phenomenon unto itself or if it is an aspect of another. New parents in Dorthonion are always warned of the children who have strayed too close to the jagged cliffs on the southern border into the mountains, chasing elusive voices that called to them.
There was a reason Emeldir lead her group so out of the way to avoid crossing those mountains
