The First War of Beleriand and the Vale of Nan Dungortheb
After the first war of Beleriand, I refrained from having any part in the wars against Morgoth. So did Eöl, my master, who shunned the unquiet of war. In Nan Elmoth we turned to our own. But as Nan Elmoth fell outside of Melian's Girdle, we were left to protect ourselves from whatever evil dared set foot in Eöl's realm. In those days, we need not contend with much evil yet, as even the accursed sons of Fëanor had not yet drifted towards the shores of Beleriand, bringing with them war and unquiet. Peace lay over the forest still and times were good.
But in following Valian Years, there came to the forest of Nan Elmoth creatures of horror that had until now remained with their fellow offspring in the terrible vale of Nan Dungortheb, which lay just south of the Ered Gorgoroth and was infamous for its eight-legged shadows. During this time the spiders of the shadowed vale could move about unhindered as the Noldor had not yet settled in Hithlum - the arrival of these usurpers, therefore, being as much a curse as it was a blessing in the early Years of the Sun.
Thus, before that time, we were left to fend for ourselves. Eöl was quick to respond, and together with him we faced these shadows under the eaves of the forest, using the weaponry and armour we had at our disposal. We were successful in defending Nan Elmoth from certain destruction, but we knew that the perils of Nan Dungortheb would ever remain a blight and it was only a matter of time before such evil would dare set foot inside our forest again. In response, Eöl devised a black metal, supple yet hard and any blows withstanding. He named it Galvorn, though it had carried many other names beforehand. To me it has ever been known as Rodeol, the metal of Eöl, a sibling to the dwarves' mithril in both quality and rarity.
Dagor Bragollach and the Breaking of Beleriand
But after Eöl's death, and my return to Nan Elmoth, I knew that war would soon come again to Beleriand. In my time in Angband, I had seen terrible creatures of fire ready to be set loose upon the siege of Angband and break the Noldor to the ruin of all. If that were to happen, I feared what would become of the forest of Nan Elmoth. With the Dagor Bragollach, my portends were realised and Morgoth's forces soon swarmed out of the Pass of Aglon and later out of the March of Maedhros where a great host of orcs and a terrible beast of fire called Glaurung destroyed the land, threatening the dwarf road that passed westward towards our forest. Orcs crossed the river Gelion into Eastern Beleriand and some found their way into Nan Elmoth. We knew how to repel these invaders, using not the tactics of open battle, but by stealth and ambush, with wizardry and poisoned blades. But we could not linger in our home much longer, that much we knew. Some left to find their own way, but I decided to head east to the protection of the Ered Luin and the comfort of friendly dwarf faces and then onwards to the great forests of Eriador. By some miracle we survived that travel along the dwarf road. We witnessed the scorched plains of Thargelion and some hundred Years of the Sun later: the very breaking of Beleriand.
The Blades of Eöl and the Use of Poison
The weapons we used in our defense during this time were forged in Nan Elmoth. Some by our own hand, yet some by Eöl himself. None of the ones we carried were of the quality of Anguirel or Anglachel, however, but they were well crafted nonetheless. My own sword, Ninioleg or 'Weeping Thorn', also called Angnir, the Weeping Blade, was made from Eöl's black metal galvorn, which shines like black glass. It served me well throughout the years.
Like Eöl, we coat some of our weapons in a poison of our own making. A wicked deed to some, but not wholly to us. We brewed poison using the glands of the spiders we had faced and studied its effects in Nan Elmoth to better understand the weapons of our enemy.
We learned how to make our own poison afterwards and we learned how to cure it. Coating our arrowheads and blades in poison were a means to use Morgoth's wizardry against him. Paired with our way of fighting, using stealth and ambush, poison was used to terrible effect upon our foes. And if by some ill streak of luck we were to fall victim to the dark lord's own poisonous devices, we would know how to act against it. For the knowledge of poison proved more useful than the healing powers of our kin, which often came too late.
