Trestlebridge
"But the Northern Lands had long been desolate, and the North Road was now seldom used..." –The Fellowship of the Ring, Book I, Ch. 9 At the Sign of The Prancing Pony
Adventurers traveling north from the Bree-land along the mostly-abandoned Greenway will encounter a truly formidable barrier to further northerly travel: the dark cleft of Cirith Núr. Knifing between the North Downs and the southern regions of the shadowed and mysterious lands of Angmar, this dark cleft once held waters flowing out of Emyn Uial in the West. Over the ages, this mighty river has since receded, leaving only the sharp cliff edges and the uncertain depths below.
In the wars long ago between Angmar and the realms of Arnor, the cleft was spanned by a majestic stone bridge and the town of Trestlebridge rose on the southern edge of the cleft to support travelers and trade, as well as the movement of Arnor's troops in the region. Soon, however, the town and its namesake bridge found itself trapped between the two mighty armies. In the latter days of the war, the bridge was destroyed by the retreating hordes from Angmar, and without the mighty span, the town dwindled and was all-but forgotten. In time, a new bridge was built atop the ruins of the old, and the settlement of Trestlebridge again grew from its ancient foundations. With the power again rising in Angmar, Trestlebridge and its sturdy bridge have once more become a major strategic focus in the war between the Free Peoples and the forces of Shadow.
(click on the image for a larger version)
Little is known about the lands between Eriador and Angmar, apart from a few towns and locations on the Middle-earth maps drawn by Professor Tolkien for The Lord of the Rings. This provides a great opportunity for the designers of LOTRO to reveal this world to players for exploration. This opportunity also presents many challenges, of course, since no major additions to the original map can be done without a great deal of care and thought. The strategic town of Trestlebridge and the cleft of Cirith Núr were created specifically for LOTRO to add to the landscape and history of these uncharted regions of Middle-earth. As the gateway to the northern lands, it is just a taste of the dramatic locations that will be found as players adventure from the well-known vistas of the Shire and Bree into the shadowy realms of Angmar and its capital city of Carn Dûm.
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