[SamwiseGamgee]

The Last King of Wargs
For countless generations there have dwelled in the great halls of the Grey Mountains wargs. These, however, were no normal wargs- if such a phrase can ever be used regarding such a magnificent beast. They were the greatest of all beasts: wise, noble, caring and patient to all of Eru’s creatures were they.

The greatest of all these wargs at any given time was the High King. Back at the dawn of Middle earth, so warg-lore tells, Ulmo had blessed the first High King: Khur-ul-na. Khur-ul-na the Great ruled for many lives of men and was the wisest and greatest of all warg lords. He ruled in his palace city of Ilanti until great age took him.

The warg High Kings ruled in peace until the time of Khrak-ma-va the Ruthless. Khrak-ma-va was the great great grandson of Khur-ul-na, and he had a great vision: one glorious, united kingdom of wargs, It was Khrak-ma-va who established the Council of Ilanti- a group of representatives from each of the nine tribes of wargs. The tribes were rebellious, though, and strong-willed. It was his breaking of them that earned Khrak-ma-va his title ‘the Ruthless’.

“History will judge me as it sees fit, but I have done what was necessary for my people,” were the last words Khrak-ma-va spoke before he succumbed to the poison which had entered him by the treachery of the Council, having ruled the united kingdom for ninety-nine years.

Upon his death Khrak-ma-va was replaced not by his son, the rightful heir to the throne of Ilanti, but by Rkhla, leader of the assassination. The rightful king, Khlu-ka-ra, was forced into exile, and there followed his most faithful servants, but most wargs tarried in Ilanti, for they were loathe to leave that beautiful city. The line of Khur-ul-na remained strong, though it would be a great time till it returned to Ilanti.

In the absence of the true kings the history of Ilanti is black. Only one year after becoming king, Rkhla, known also as ‘the Pretender’, dissolved the Council of Ilanti and declared himself Great High King of all wargs. All was not as well as Rkhla would have liked, though: he was without son. It was in desperation that Rkhla the Pretender made a dark pact with Melkor. Rkhla allowed his mate to be ravished by Carcaroth, great lord of werewolves, and by the Dark Lord’s magic a child was born, and he was named Kharak. The exploits of this fell beast are well documented, and his evilness and treachery were darker than any warg’s before or since. Kharak ruled many years and his reign was both great and terrible. All feared him, and he ruled with an iron rod.

Kharak, though, was only a mortal, and when he was felled by an elven arrow in a great battle north of Mirkwood many of his sons followed him in death, though one son was left, and so it was that the new self-proclaimed Great High King was Mhrak. He would be the last usurper to sit upon the throne of Ilanti, and his time came in only the second year of his reign, when Khra-na-ti the Restorer came to the gates of Ilanti.

“I am Khra-na-ti, heir of Khur-ul-na the Great and rightful High King of Ilanti. I call to you now, Mhrak, to give up the throne to your king,” he called. There was no answer, but then suddenly and swiftly through the gate came Mhrak, a fury in his eyes. There, on the Steps of Ulmo outside the gates of the city of Ilanti fought the two great wargs. Mhrak was strong and able, but the blood of Khur-ul-na the Great flowed in the veins of the Restorer and so it came to pass that he dealt the death blow to Mhrak and strode into the city, the line of Khur-ul-na the Great restored. The line of Rkhla was not broken, though, and Mhrak’s son, Kharak, became King of Moria.

For many generations the High Kings of Ilanti lived in peace and prosperity. The Council of Ilanti was re-established and remained pure. They had few comings or goings with the outside world, for they had grown weary of the treachery and evil so rife around them. For a thousand generations the High Kings of Ilanti sat on their thrones and turned their faces away from the troubles of Middle Earth. It was in the years before the Battle of Dale that things changed, when news came to the High King Khra-tha-la that a dark alliance had been formed between the wargs of Moria, the usurpers, and the dark tower of Dol Guldur. Khra-tha-la knew not exactly what this meant, but he knew it to be wholly evil, so on that day he left the city of Ilanti for Rivendell.

His journey was long and dangerous, for many he encountered realised not that there were yet some wargs pure of heart left in the northern reaches of Middle Earth. Indeed, when he drew near to Rivendell he may have been slain were it not for the fact that one of the elven sentries recognised this noble beast. Generations before, Khra-tha-la’s forefathers had saved the elves from attack whilst in exile. Kharak the Great had later claimed this act of bravery he had commanded, but this sentry, Manolas was his name, knew differently.

And so it came to pass that Khra-tha-la held council with Elrond and the two discussed the meaning of this dark alliance. Elrond spoke of a wizard, an Istar from Eru, who suspected that the Dark Lord Sauron was afoot, and that Dol Guldur was his stronghold. Khra-tha-la spoke of Kharak the Great’s treachery and his alliance with Melkor, and so the dark inevitability of the situation dawned upon them. Khra-tha-la offered his services to Elrond, but the Lord of Rivendell bid the High King return to Ilanti and make his people strong, for there would surely come a day when that strength would be called upon.

Khra-tha-la tarried but a few days longer in Rivendell and then made his journey back to Ilanti. When he returned he called the Council to himself and so they decided that the work would begin immediately to strengthen Ilanti and prepare an army.

For many years the wargs prepared themselves and made themselves strong, and yet there was no word from Rivendell. Some grew weary with this state of alert over what they thought nothing, and so the Council urged Khra-tha-la to relent and allow the city to return to normal. The High King was loathe to do so, but his Council had told him what his people wished, and he was a gracious king. He allowed the city to return to normal save but a few of the finest warriors who he appointed the Royal Guard and had trained further.

Finally Khra-tha-la’s faith in the elves was repaid when a messenger came to the gates of Ilanti from Lothlorien, bringing the word of Lord Celeborn and bidding the High King to join in the destruction of Dol Guldur. Immediately Khra-tha-la and the Royal guard readied themselves and rode forth from Ilanti, even allowing the elven messenger to ride upon their backs. And so the High King’s host came to the River Anduin and there tarried for the Lord Celeborn. He arrived not, though, and growing impatient Khra-tha-la rode upon Dol Guldur.

“I am Khra-tha-la, High King of wargs and servant of Ulmo. Come forth, fell beasts and usurpers, and taste my wrath!” called the High King from the tower’s gates. Almost immediately a host of wargs plunged forth and there did battle with the Kinghost. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, and soon all that remained were three wargs, all of the host of Khra-tha-la. Believing victory was his, the High King stepped towards the tower, but was stopped immediately by a terrible screech in his ears, and as he looked up he saw a terrible winged beast with a black rider on its back. He had heard Elrond refer to these creatures- this was one of the nazgul.

The rider swooped down and destroyed both of Khra-tha-la’s companions almost immediately, landing in front of the High King and dismounting. He drew his great, black sword and raised it, “Die now, weakling,” he said, raising the blade, and at that moment Khra-tha-la had a vision, and in it the Lord Ulmo showed him the mighty, dark waves of a storm and yet how a small boat can survive in these billows. In that moment Khra-tha-la lunged forward and landed his mighty paws upon the chest of the ringwraith. A great cold seized his body and he knew he must act swiftly while the Lord Ulmo still helped him, and so he sank his fangs deep into the throat of his foe. Many great minds have since supposed what happened next. Even Lord Celeborn was dumbfounded when he found what had happened, but it is clear that Khra-tha-la, the last king of wargs, on that day killed a nazgul by the grace of Eru.

Days passed and Khra-tha-la lay next to the spot where he had felled the ringwraith, mortally wounded. The fell beast upon which the black rider had sat had long fled. The dark magic which flowed in the nazgul had injured the High King Khra-tha-la beyond repair, and when Lord Celeborn found the great warg there was little life left in the noble beast. Celeborn knelt down next to him and began to weep.

“Surely you, most noble and great of warg kings, Khra-tha-la have sacrificed more than many would dare dream of giving up. My people shall forever be indebted to you,” spoke Celeborn.

“I am the last of my forefather’s line. My kinsfolk have all perished here with me today. Surely I have brought ruin upon my people,” spake the High king, his heart heavy.

“No, noble lord, you have done as you were called to,” comforted Celeborn, “such is the nature of war.”

“Though I live to be older than the mountains and wiser than the Valar themselves I will never understand how men can see wisdom in war,” spoke Khra-tha-la, and with those words his spirit left him and so the line of Khur-ul-na the Great failed. The united kingdom of wargs failed and they each returned to their own tribes and cities, leaving the city of Ilanti to ruin. Still, though, there are those who believe that the Lord Ulmo shall bless another and the throne of Ilanti shall be reclaimed by the High King.