#Orodruin

[riding-with-the-wild-hunt]

"They had come to the desolation that lay before Mordor: the lasting monument to the dark labour of its slaves that should endure when all their purposes were made void; a land defiled, diseased beyond all healing; unless the Great Sea should enter in and wash it with oblivion." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers, "The Passage of the Marshes"

@tolkienhorrorweek day 3 ⇢ mordor + "the pitiless land" || GEOGRAPHY OF MORDOR

[ID: an edit comprised of seven banners in muted natural tones.

1: A lake surrounded by mountains overhung with mist and trees giving way to gravel banks. White gothic-style text in the center reads "Lake Núrnen," and below that in a thin sans serif, "the lake of sad waters" / 2: A valley between dark mountains, with a dirt path leading through it. Text reads "Udûn" and "the dark valley" / 3: A rocky plain leading towards distant mountains that fade into a dark, smoggy sky. Text reads "Gorgoroth" and "the plain of deadly fear" / 4: An erupting volcano in the dark. Text reads "Orodruin" and "the burning mountain" / 5: Sharp mountain ridges with snow along the lower slopes beneath a cloudy sky. Text reads "Ered Lithui" and "the ashen mountains" / 6: Bare rock mountains beneath clouds. Text reads "Ephel Dúath" and "the mountains of shadow" / 7: Pale rock formations on an arid plain, with slopes rising in the distance. Text reads "Lithlad" and "the plain of ashes" //End ID]

[gnomescarfcomics]

Middle-earth shots of the week

[ladylethargy]

The Cracks of Doom

[welcometolotr]

the years of the trees (big sister doesn't listen) vs. the first age (big sister has no choice but to listen)

(orodruin & mairon, circa tfo chapters I:29 and II:9 respectively)

[saurongorthaur9]

The Lord of Mordor by saurongorthaur9

[elronds-library]

he reached out with everything he had and offered it all

by ambrorussa (@welcometolotr)

Part 14 of The First Oath

In this tale, Maedhros’ fate does not end in the fiery depths of the world’s center. In this tale, someone with love to spare saves his body and mind and gives of themselves so that he might go on to live again. In this tale, Maedhros lands – a little wholer, a little haler – in just the right position to save someone he loves. In this tale, the world becomes just a little bit kinder.

Teen, No Archive Warnings

Words: 8,453

[lorica-art]

Еще одна хуманизация Ородруина. Случайный рисунок

Orodtuin humanization

[ocktavo]

Orodruined - A Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor no commentary longplay

[basket-of-potatoes]

The next one :)

[niennawept]

How long did it take to dig from Orodruin (Mount Doom) to Tirharad?

This post contains spoilers for Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Content warning for mentions of enslaved labor.

Let's do some calculations!

According to WWI trench digging statistics, it takes 450 men about 6 hours to dig 250m. Tirharad is approximately 145km from Orodruin.

Assuming that they work 24 hours a day and make four shifts:

Two 7-hour shifts of captive Southlanders would cover the entire period of daylight in summer reasonably far south (although summer/winter periods of daylight are questionable on a flat Middle-earth). Based on the very scientific method of eyeballing pictures of trenches in WWI and pictures of the trenches in Rings of Power, I think that they could reach 275m of full-width tunnel/day.

Two 5-hour shifts of uruks during the night. Uruks are stronger and have better stamina than humans and are used to tunneling through solid rock. I estimate that they could go double the distance and tunnel 500m of full-width tunnel/day.

Every day, about 775m of tunnel is created.

So we solve for days:

145,000m / 775m/day = about 187days, or about 6.23 months.

Important Caveats:

I don't think there are that many Southlanders! This would require 900 Southlanders to keep up this schedule. There are a couple of ways to address this:

The conditions appear to be very bad for the humans. We clearly hear them crying out and see at least one whip. The uruks are abusing them horribly to make their quota for the day. Even if there are fewer humans, they are likely producing more work than they should be.

There are more humans than we are shown. Perhaps, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the scale is off? Almost everywhere in the show feels a little sparsely populated.

What about the minor tunnels (under towns)?

I think that these don't require as much man/uruk power to create and seem to be primarily used for spying or taking humans by surprise.

Personally, I think a lot of them are taking advantage of some naturally occurring phenomena like rabbit warrens. We do know that rabbits lived in Ithilien in the Third Age, I don't think it's a stretch to say they live in the Southlands in the Second Age.

Natural land formations and tunnel width:

There could be natural formations that help OR hinder this progress. Consider a ravine that roughly follows the path they want for a 15 kilometers - now we've shaved off roughly half a month. Or perhaps the bedrock is higher in places and they have to either break it or tunnel wider to accommodate the amount of water needed. That might slow them down.

The water does seem to be pressurized, at least slightly. It would be too convenient for the entire path between Tirharad and Orodruin to be downhill, so it's likely that there is some engineering happening to force the water to flow relatively quickly to Mount Doom. It could be that some sections are wider and others narrower to help keep up this pressure.

I'm gonna say with all these caveats, you could argue that the actual timeline is anywhere between 5 months and 8 months.

[tamariasykes-art]

"You opened up Pandora's box You don't know what you just unlocked" "I lose all control Let go of my darkest thoughts" "Cause I see the truth, we were stacked against the odds And I pray that hope's not lost"

Pandora's Box by MARINA

[tenth-sentence]

There above the valley of Gorgoroth was built his fortress vast and strong, Barad-dûr, the Dark Tower; and there was a fiery mountain in that land the Elves named Orodruin.

"The Silmarillion" - J.R.R. Tolkien

[ainu-blog-official]

On the ring

If I were Sauron, why would I make a ring? Why the heck would I put all my soul and essence into something that someone can just yeet into a volcano? To look fucking pretty?

No shit I'm putting it into Shelob. Then she can carry it around in her little cave and not get fucking stabbed off of me.

Or how about just doing the exact same thing to myself?? It's an infinite power hack /hj

Melian

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

"...AND IN HIS FORGING; AND IN THE MIDST OF THE LAND OF MORDOR HE HAD FASHIONED THE RULING RING."

PIC(S) INFO: Spotlight on a Tolkien Legendarium piece titled "The Forging of the One (Ring)," artwork by Ted Nasmith, gouache on illustration board. First appeared in the new illustrated edition of "The Silmarillion," published by HarperCollins in 2004.

Resolution at 892x1359 & 736x1152.

"[Sauron] came in secret... to his ancient kingdom of Mordor beyond the Ephel Dúath.... There... was a fiery mountain in that land that the Elves named Orodruin. Indeed for that reason Sauron had set there his dwelling long before, for he used the fire that welled there from the heart of the earth in his sorceries and in his forging; and in the midst of the Land of Mordor he had fashioned the Ruling Ring."

-- "The Silmarillion," c. 1977, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age," written by J.R.R. Tolkien

Sources: www.tednasmith.com/tolkien/the-forging-of-the-one, www.henneth-annun.net/events_view.cfm?evid=1085, & Pinterest.

[lesdeuxmuses]

Orodruin - Ruins Of Eternity (Cruz Del Sur Music, 2019)

[saurongorthaur9]

A quick drawing of our Dark Lord from this afternoon