Long ago, at the breaking of Thangorodrim, Thaurlach flew to this land and I gave chase.....
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June 21st is a special day because it is a birthday of a person I loved and Played LOTRO in ages past, Furthermore I was inspired and decided to take my time and use energy to honour some of the lore and regions in Lord of the Rings Online.
In Memory of Christopher Tolkien, J.R.R. Tolkien, Shadows of Angmar , Dear people I have lost in Real life and The Elder days of Arda by Duje Belak - also known as
Llimbairedhiel/Limbformstariel/Formennya on server Landroval.
Foreword -
I appreciate everyone for taking their time and as always Thank you for reading in advance by Sea and Stars! I hope my thread will encourage/motivate thee to play through Rift or seek greater lore about Tolkien's Legendarium -
Please note that stated here is based on personal ,experience , in depth -research and inevitably can date back in very early release of the raid that very few souls may remember by now. I have personally done Rift and spent substantial amount of time within Angmar on multiple characters ever since both officially launched in year of 2007
Elen sĆla lĆŗmenn' omentielvo Mellyn!
Tis a wondrous day for it reminded me on dreaded but yet in same time Epic, unforgettable immensely impactful passionate days of Nurz Ghashu and legend of Rift still lives in the memory of many which is in my sincere opinion one of the greatest creations of Lord of the Rings online that stood firm and strong and have had such an impact on enormous amount of players!
Let us start , shall we!
1) The NAME: The Rift of Nurz Ghashu translates on Black speech as "Angry Fires"
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2) ANCIENT beyond knowledge! - A short LORE insight: The Rift of NĆ»rz GhĆ¢shu is located in the far northeast corner of Angmar {Iron-Home} the Angmarim in their desperation have opened a long-sealed door and begun mining for obsidian and iron in a place simply known as The Rift which is named by Angmarim and any common folk venturing there, since it appears to be a litteral Rift in the ground, with a massive crack that was forcefully opened by Forces of Angamr thus uncovered long since forgotten tales and evils. The Rangers of Gath ForthnĆr {which is the only true Bastion of Hope within North-East Angmar is led by the Elf-lord Iorelen, are now keeping tabs on this expedition and need your help.
- Within the Rift of NĆ»rz GhĆ¢shu once thousands of years ago mighty First age city stood and fell to ruin and was later populated by Fire-Giants more appropriately said: The Eldgang.
- Notable features and intriguing facts:
Origin
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- The Rift is Ancient. The phrase Ancient is linked and inevitably connected to the Elder days of Arda, ages dating prior and during First age. Once a mighty Dwarven city stood there but it has now fell in ruin and is place whispered in fear.
Such is the type of Enemy found in your travels and many battles - Ancient Evil category of creatures are the original sworn loyal servants of true Dark Lord Morgoth, not Sauron which is often misleading therefore it is important to note that any Ancient Evil enemy you are facing is not necessarily under service of either Witch-King, Mordirith or Sauron. They operate independently let us say.
3) ONWARDS TO RIFT through Valley of hell - Twas an ardours and extremely dangerous ,immensely difficult to even access Iorelen's camp and getting to Rift in first place in 2007/08
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One or few or full raid had to travers hellish valley of Nan-Gaurth towards dreaded Gate of Gath Uior which was very narrow and filled with massive amount of tightly packed Elite and Elite master creatures of worst sort, notably Giants, Drakes, Gertheryg {Horror-Troll} Gaunt lords that often resulted in death and very close encounters and then entering hidden valley encircled by mountains in which one still had to bypass Elite master Mountain trolls ,Uruks and Evil Hill-men finally climbing up to Iorelen's camp hopefully being saved by Rangers.
There was No Milestone, No Stable-Master nor save place except camp. The most dangerous area ever in history of Lord of the Rings Online was the Far North East- Twas not even a start and yet one was greeted by brave folk of Dwarves,Rangers and Elves sent by Lord Glorfindel.
Usually a kinship had their runner who would if successful summon rest of the party. Luckily there was a summoning horn. Burglar or Captain was the most obvious chance thanks to stealth and Last-Stand or Guardian naturally due to superior defences.
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4) RELEASE: Not only Rift is ancient by itself but actual release dates back longer than you can imagine. The Official release came with Book 11: Defenders of Eriador on October 25th, 2007
Many of older players left , a lot of newer generation of players wonders how did t all started? During Original game there was a massive update in which they added Rift along with Tal Bruinen region as well expanding Misty Mountains with North-South High pass and Infamous Goblin Town. It was a monumental and maybe the best update of Shadows of Angmar.
- I made it, My character cladded in classic Rift Defender's Guardian armour near barter vendors, at very entrance. But tale is only about to begin.
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5) Perhaps the most craziest and bizarre but in end does make sense. - THE First {FIRST AGE} weapons could be found within the Rift.
To further elaborate here on what I wished to state more accurately Yea we do have Legendary First age weapons but subject here is more complicated for newer players - Starting from pure passion of Developers ,particular Purple and Teal weapons, jewellery and armour have had notable description over their icon of their origin, lore, location. Rift loot was extremely ancient and had variety indeed.
Items such are : "Penghest"," Dorlanc", a helm and Bow from Doriath and Doriath was a region in now sunken and almost entirely destroyed beloved Beleriand. Or for instance two handed sword - that the description can be found here - or Crossbow of the Seven Fathers "crafted long time ago where dwarves first appeared in Middle-Earth. Note these are just a few of the examples.
Hundreds of these items exist not only in Rift, but as a world drop or other Old Eriador instances as well proving how creative and willing were they once. Such items sadly do not exist no more. Some of them if not most are intriguing to read adding more immersion and satisfaction.
These are the original First age weapons, Any weapon that dates back to First age used in wars against Melkor. There is a specific hint that can be linked to official lore. These weapons are at least 6500 years old which makes them truly unique priceless relics.
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6) TRANSLATION of Balrog of Morgoth - The Thaurlach last boss found imprisoned ultimately broke free and fallen , but never entirely defeated only his corporeal form ,yet evil spirit survives. which was by far the greatest threat free peoples have faced at least at that period time. However Demons Valarukar or Maiar were one of the most powerful servants of the Dark lord.
Let us break certain words and phrases.
thaurÄ 0 P. masculine name. detestable, abominable, horrible - We shall use Sindarin - S. Adjective. Tis either "Adominable", "Abhorrent" or foul ,now the stench of Thaurlach is unimaginable and yet is horrible to behold. You may pick of one of these , it may be irrelevant which ones
lach 0 S. noun. (leaping) flame / lhach 0 S. noun. leaping flame. Indeed Balrog leaps mighty and his these demons are creatures of Shadow and Flame to conclude safely we can accurately say
Thaurlach translates as The Horrible/Foul/Abhorrent Leaping flame or if you want to stick or just Lach.
Then we can remove leaping.
7) THE Variety of Enemies ,Creatures of service in each role can be confusing and misleading -
There are multiple factions found within the Rift.
1) The most dangerous are combined forces of Ever-Seer and "Thaurlach" However Thaurlach here is the ultimate Evil totally independent and stands alone and certainly has a power to oblieratate anything in his path should he wish - The Ancient evil creature and Valaraukar that are the true threat and Ever-seer is mastermind who poisoned the mind of Giant Asmlof that will turn hostile towards you during clash with Leader of the Fire Orcs {Ghashra} in mighty Colosseum that very much resembles Ancient Rome Architecture. Ever-Seer is directly supervises both of them and can be noted in his speech with Narnulubat , they all bow to him.
2) Fire orcs who are NOT in service of Angmar, these orcs hail from Mordor and they answer to Sauron not Mordirith - " Now they face threats from all sides: the chains of Thaurlach are loosing, the Everseer and his Nameless horde gather, and Fire-orcs in the service of Mordor seek tools of darkness to use in Sauron's war against the Free People's of Middle-Earth"
Now Nameless horde which is one the sub factions of Ancient Evil are those horrible World Eater beings, Darklings that are in direct command of Ever-seer.
3 - Angmarim did sent a Tribe of Fire orcs which was stated in one of the quests provided but that does not mean they are under direct service of Angmarim commanders. We have to understand evil factions all of them ultimately answer to Sauron.
Ancient Evil beings or extreme exceptions such are Dragons or Balrogs do not answer to Gorthaur , but to Morgoth. However when we talk about Angmar- Mordor relation they are nothing but puppets. Witch-King of Angmar and his realm was the gravest threat up to North and False King Mordirih became the steward and just below Witch king, they all bow to wishes of Sauron.
overseers Barz ,Zurm, Hill-men and other Uruks, trolls in early stages of Raid are specifically under command of Angmar and they mine ore and iron to fuel their legions. Fire orces may be allies of Angmar but they do not take direct orders from them.
Finally we have mysterious Fire Giants of
4)- The Eldgang according to lore they were present within the Rift for long time and their skin looks more like a scale of hardy worm ,possible mutations I would say and firey eyes. They were fooled by Ever-seer being prisoners in their own home.
"For many centuries, we suffered the cruelty of Thaurlach, a Balrog of the Great Enemy, and fought against him. When the Blue Wanderers came with the Elf GlathĆrel and chained Thaurlach, our people were glad and helped to watch him. Now the Ever-seer wishes to free Thaurlach and use him for his own evil purposes."
Blue Wanderers are the two Blue Wizards of five Wizards remaining in Middle-Earth. Ever-Seer will be uncovered as true mastermind that wishes to unleash incredible terror.
8) The-Everseer creature seems to be a twisted creation of Morgoth's incomprehensible malice and a true mastermind behind chaos in Ancient Rift -
A Behemoth ,Towering figure of a Nameless creature with Razor sharp spikes and Blades of Teeth he seems to be corrupted and deformed being created in mockery mayhaps same as Elves were created in Mockery of Orcs. Bipedal creature , Part Troll, part something else with multiple eyes and
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9) HIGHLY PRAISED as the Greatest raid ever MADE my enormous amount of people.
As the Pinnacle of the creation and best Raid ever designed by many - Note please that everything I state here is done by prior extensive research and fundamentally ,most essentially and importantly my own personal reflections and experience in game, Furthermore by pools, forums, in game comments, history and quality and also comes as definitive culmination and decision from a player who participated in every single period and went through ever instance even after eons Rift of Nurz Ghashu stood as an example and champion ultimately no other instance have had such an monumental impact, immersive approach, mysterious lore, incredible atmosphere, plot, Legendary bosses , narrative, voice acting , Introduction -Build-up& epilogue , loot overall but in terms of cosmetics, back then bonuses and aesthetics, weapons and jewellery, replay value and longevity, design and magical absorbing soundtrack and Thaurlach fight itself was one the most complex and superbly done forcing players to be aware all the time facing terrible dread and hopelessness. Yet I have more to say soon.
10) Of First age Elf Glathlirel and her fate. -
- will move to Mithlond after the defeat of Thaurlach and appear later on in Court of Celborn in events of Mordor Expansion.
- Glatheriel has an unique set of armor that cannot be seen anywhere else and voice actress has truly calming and elvish voice that has explained the tale very well. Almost Alien looking truly belonging to Ancient ages totally differs for your common warrior.
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A very special and back then extraordinarily unique fully voiced Character which was a rare spot on sharing strong bond with Lord Glorfindel. For I was impressed by her imposing almost queenly appearance. Adamant in her resolve, firm in face of absolute darkness and utterly loyal to her task - She truly stood back then, One must remember players in 2007 haven't had an access to certain cosmetics or variety nor High elven race existed yet. To find such a renown warrior of an forgotten age was truly extremely rare and glorious sight renewing hope.
11) The Fall of Thaurlach - and additional Hope used by Free people to prepare for Dragon Thorog - The legendary trio waged a conversation that marked the end and final epilogue of Rift and the end of sorrowful tale. An extremely crucial quest for lore nerds and anyone willing to witness story's end.
In ages past visualise scenario and gathering of many to get that +1hope to make a difference no matter how to tiny for another Raid boss fight. Yea that was the Broken Chain link triggering epilogue between Gandalf, Glorfindel&Glathlirel. The hope bonus would last 3 hours and then folks would jump on their horses and ride to the gates of Ancient Fortress of Helegrod to face of Dragon Thorog and other evils lurking in!
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12 ) Of Armour of the Gloom bane - Wig-Feld and my obsession with Rift in general. moment I heard, saw and stepped foot inside I was forever intrigued by it and tried to do all I could possibly humanly and high elvishly, Indeed!
Gloom-bane was and remains to very day as an badass and mighty imposing armour that puts almost any other armour shame even to current day. It represents a champion class so well. Rift armour was copied even replicated later in STORE, Skirmish camp and added as future reward for level 115 armour.
Extra Images related purely to Rift and iconic armour sets/weapons -
A Classic Rift fully sporting Set of Armour with Wig-Feld and Massive bow called North-Wind which is also one of the items found within. Her primary weapon is Avorchrist and off hand being Mirrored Ancient Steel sword once more linked to First age of Middle-Earth.
I may translate certain weapons from Rift in near future as well for many can be and they are not a random mix of words.
Once Mirrored weapons did Light damage and were later on hanged to Ancient -Dwarf type of Damage
13) Thaurlach and Rift raid was named one the top 10 ever in history of MMO according to IGN article and I am quoting now - " Even the best prepared groups would end up battling him for the better part of an hour, but it was worth it for the gigantic sword you got to stick on the lawn of your personal home as a trophy"
Which is absolutely true. It was evidently easy to wipe and became disoriented ,demoralized in face of such a true terror that would strike fear even in greatest of heroes.
It took great deal of team-work, skill, patience, preparation , explanation and tiny bit of RNG luck to smite him down and banish his spirit. Thaurlach fight was a pure adrenaline rush as a special cake in epic end after already being mind blown shattered apart for hours before seen seeing him.
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A perfect cloak in my opinion and one of the most well known cloaks in general with a Sword and stars flawlessly matching blades and bulky set of substantial armour ,very intimidating. Developers even added picture of Gloom bane armour to some of the skills of champion such are Fear nothing, True Heroics, Blood rage and so on. There was once old Virtue panel showing off Full set of Gloom bane set as well.
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14) Additional features and information:
If you wish to know more. Knowledge if a true power and always shall be. I HIGHLY suggest vising ,reading, researching and exploring - Quora/Tolkien's Gateway or start reading the Silmarillion that will give you core knowledge and tis a perfect way to get deeper in Secondary world of Tolkien. Save Fall of Gondolin for last.
Additional data-base/ Images/Links can be found by researching my timeline{Reddit Profile} and exploring my You-Tube channels which is just optional that you may find something of similar interest.
About me: Extremely passionate soul. Veteran of countless battles. Lore-seeker. Impossible Nerd and Ancient as the Stars , At the moment playing with my Girlfriend and enjoying older content. If I help but one person i consider it as a victory.
One of my favourite yet extremely straightfoward and simple life moto's and quotes -
**"**A man is never too weak or too wounded to fight. If his cause is greater than his own life."
"However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. Where there's life, there's hope"
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Keeper of the forgotten tales
Limbformstariel - Level 50 Champion
Llimbariedhiel/Formennya of Landroval US - Kinship - "Enyalien Veleriande" In Memory of Beleriand -
Tol Falthui ,Cristannon. Havens of Belfalas-
- My thy Path Ever Be Star-lit , Na lƻ e-govaned vƮn Mellyn -
Duje Belak,Spirit of Fire,
June 21,2021
*Signature*
P.S. THREAD SUBJECT TO CHANGE and eventual expansion, update, fixes, typos, data, links images - etc. It may not be final.
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