The following is a tale of early Edhelion as known by the dwarves who were their neighbours as told by a merchant of the Broadbeams. It has, to my knowledge, no relation to historical events at all and is merely made up of the most spiteful of dwarven rumour. However, it goes some way to explaining why the inhabitants of the Vale of Thrain occasionally refer to their home as being to abode of dragons.
In the Elder Days, the days of Durin, and Linnar and Uri, there was a great host of dragons that plagued the mountains. And many are deeds of the dwarf-fathers of this time, who entombed the dragons within their caves as they slept. And at the end of these days was Mahal finally stirred, and he arose to smash the nest of those serpents. And in so doing the world was thrown into turmoil and the shape of the mountains were changed.
The elves came to these lands fleeing Mahal’s wrath and eventually made a kingdom for themselves in a region by the ends of the ocean. This was agreeable to the dwarves, for no true dwarf wishes anything to do with the sea. But as the years passed the elves grew proud and being long-lived they paid little heed to the lessons of the past. For they had few ancestors to learn from. One member of the royal household even had the audacity to claim that the elves were superior to the other races, for it was only upon them that immortality was conferred. But he was rebuked by the Shipwright, who reminded him that the most noble of the dwarven kings are also spared death. For they but sleep within stone and will one day awaken again to lead their people once more.
Because of this, and numerous other indignities, a council of the wisest of the elves was summoned to spare the crown from shame. And it was their suggestion that the king send the upstart prince to the outermost borders of his kingdom to found a colony there. So he was sent to this place, which lies at the edge of both the lands of dwarf and elf. At first, the prince tried to build strongholds in the mountains, but spurned the offers of the wise king of the dwarves to aid in their building. And when these structures inevitably collapsed he blamed the sheerness of the mountain cliffs, which were unlike the hills to which he was accustomed.
So the elves chose to found their realm in a level valley among the mountains. No dwarf had yet mined there for all such expeditions had always been met with misfortune. Therefore the dwarven king warned the elves that the valley was under some kind of curse. But this was ignored by the prince, for in his pride he was already envisioning a new Gondolin within the secluded mountain valley. And so, the refuge of Edhelion was founded. The elves small towns built upon the slopes and even reopened some of the abandoned mines.
But within a week the first catastrophes occurred. The newly constructed buildings collapsed overnight. Entire companies sent into the mines disappeared without any trace. Believing the problem to be mere earthquakes, the prince ordered the construction to be worked deeper into the mountains, and the mines to widened and supported. And in the next week the same calamity occurred again. However, the elves had come to understand the source of these quakes to be under the lake of the valley. So they set up dams to stop the flow from the waterfalls and began to excavate the caverns beneath.
Deep below the lake, they encountered a great seal of ancient stone. Upon this discovery, the elves sent word to the dwarves about this mystery. And that night, the dwarven king dreamt of his ancestors, warning him that the seal must never be broken. So his advice to the prince was to find another refuge, for this valley was not suited for any peoples to live. But the elves grew angry at this message, and convinced of a hidden dwarven treasure they chose to shatter the seal and explore within.
But beyond were trapped two enormous dragons, one a red fire-drake and the other a white cold-drake. For it had been their fighting which had caused the quakes that had affected the valley. Upon seeing the passage opened the White Worm of Greed overcame the other and shot out of the lake, devouring the prince and his followers on its way. And some time later the Red Worm of Dread also crawled out to seek a new lair elsewhere. Although some versions of the tale end instead with the red dragon dispatching the other, whose bones are still said to lie below the frozen lake. And to this day, the elves deny that these events took place. But the dwarves yet remember, for their tales are as honest and unchangeable as stone.
‘Well, that was pure invention’ I exclaimed to Lorin. ‘Edhelion was founded by scholars and woodworkers, not exiled nobility. And the drake that attacked the Ered Luin had no wings at all’. He simply nodded sagely
‘I take it the Red Worm of Dread is meant to be Smaug, whose scales were of red and gold and lived far to the east of here?’ He nodded again ‘It’s not exactly a well-spun tale’ he admitted, ‘the ones who told it were the previous owners of these halls, who are liable to believe almost any falsehood if it suits them’.
‘Why, that would make the elves of Edhelion responsible for most of the misfortunes of the dwarves in this age. I can see why they told such a story to the Longbeards.’
‘There are other interpretations of the tale’ the dwarf offered. ‘Some think it a lesson on how nothing can truly be built while two peoples are constantly fighting.’
I have nothing further to say on this story, save that it has confirmed my resolve not to leave this valley without the records I came for. Since I have not officially been denied entry to the halls, I shall seek them out myself. I thanked the good merchant for his time and went once more to the gates.
