#by Kurunir
#title:Farinor's Diary
#author:Farinor of Arnor
#types:forochel, forodwaith, eriador
#Especially for the LotrReworked project
#All dates are taken from RingCraft posts

[Most of the entries in the diary are unreadable, many pages are completely missing, but some of the lines can still be read. The letters are drawn in beautiful calligraphic handwriting]

November 19, 1974 of the Th...rd Age
Truly, today is a terrible day for all Dúnedain! The pride of Arnor, Severin the Royal, Fornost fell under the onslaught of the troops of the Angmar Witch-king. Cursed be his name! I would gladly give my life defending the last street free from enemies... But we were ordered to retreat from the city and unite with the remnants of His Majesty's army. We will avenge the fallen defenders of Fornost!..

November 24, 1974 of the Third Age
For several days now, we have been defending the Northern Highlands together with our gallant king. And every day the onslaught of Angmar is getting stronger, and our soldiers are getting smaller. Soon there will be very few of us and we will have to retreat again. But where?

November 30th...
I write these lines in haste, because at dawn we need to hit the road again. On the evening of November 25, the orcs of Angmar and the traitors from Rhudaur surrounded our camp and treacherously attacked us. There were thousands of them... The King, along with me and several dozen other soldiers, managed to break out of the encirclement, taking with him the relics of our people... My brother, Farengar, gave his life, covering our retreat... His Majesty Arvedui decided to take refuge in the north Ered Luin, waiting for help from the elves of Lindon and from our brothers in Gondor.

December 15, 1974 of the Third Age
...We settled in an old dwarven mine in the Blue Mountains. It seems that it was abandoned by the previous owners for a very long time... I hope the stories about the reliability of the dwarven buildings are true and this cave will not fall on our heads... It is not known how long we can hold out here. Provisions are barely enough for two weeks...

December 28, 1974...
...For several days we have all been starving. Some of us are unable to stand upright. I myself can barely hold the pen... Some of ours suggested to His Majesty to seek help from the snow people known as the Lossoth. At another time, I would not entrust my life to the northern savages, because who knows, perhaps they are bloodthirsty and cruel, or in general, are servants of evil... But now we and our king simply have no choice... Tomorrow we go to Forochel Bay lands

January 3, 1975 of the Third Age
Finally some good news from the last few months. Yesterday we got to the settlements of the Snow People. The inhabitants of Forochel turned out to be not as wild as I thought. Although they were not very happy to meet with us, the snowmen still shared their food with us and agreed to shelter us for a while ... These Lossoth are strange people. They build houses out of snow, make bone weapons, worship incomprehensible animals... Fortunately, they hate the orcs just like we do... It is not known how long we will sit in these cold lands.

January 31, 1975 of the Third Age
Praise the Valar! We have received word that Lord Lindon Cirdan has sent a ship for us. We will be saved soon! A month spent visiting the Lossoth was not in vain. In such a short time, our peoples were able to find a common language... We tried to teach them our craft, but alas, to no avail. The only thing we managed to achieve was to teach them to write in a lightweight Westron, and even then not all of them.

February 3, 1975 of the Third Age
Finally, we will leave these harsh lands! The long-awaited ship has arrived today. How glad I am to see the beautiful elves!.. In a few hours we will sail south. A couple of minutes ago, I heard the Snowmen trying to no avail to persuade His Majesty to wait out the winter, when they said the Witch-king is especially strong, and hit the road only in the spring. In vain did King Arvedui reject this wise advice. The catastrophe in my homeland, Cardolan, has shown us that the Dreadlord is indeed a powerful sorcerer...

...There are only a few minutes left before sailing. Each of us in his own way thanked the snowmen for their hospitality. Someone donated weapons and tools, someone jewelry, someone limited themselves to a kind word... I donated several books and writing utensils to the Lossoth, including a copy of this diary.

Well, it's time to board. I have a bad feeling... I hope the cursed magic of the Witch-king does not touch the elven ship and we can get to Lindon. May Eru help us to make this difficult path...




