Geographical Notes: (revised 1/5/04)

I am assuming a forest stream, not on any of the original maps, that runs from the "mountains" in the middle of Greenwood in a south-westerly direction, finally emptying into the Anduin some ways past Dol Gundur. The oily black unpleasant pollution is spreading slowly northwards from the direction of Dol Gundur, against the current, as the Necromancer's power grows and overshadows Greenwood with his evil influence. It is not the "Enchanted River" encountered by Bilbo and the dwarves in The Hobbit, but similar in character. It may have dried up in the hundreds of years between the Fallohide's emigration and the time of The Hobbit, or there may be some other reason it does not appear on any of the maps drawn in these modern times.

The earliest recollections of the Fallohides suggest that they were a peaceful farming people in the upper vales of the Anduin. Scraps of remembered oral history indicate that they were driven from the land into the wood (Greenwood the Great) by Men who coveted their rich farmlands. Within the sheltering eaves of Greenwood they received aid from an unexpected source, allowing them to survive and adapt to woodland life. To escape being hunted like animals, they removed southward, finally establishing a community about halfway between Dol Gundur and the Old Forest Road. There they lived quietly for many years, forgotten by Men (except for the handful of good-hearted Men who traded with them, but kept their existence a secret at the hobbits' request) and overlooked by Elves and others, until this story begins.

The terrain described in the crossing of the Misty Mountains is based upon descriptions in The Hobbit. The Fallohides crossed the mountains nearer to the path of Bilbo and the dwarves, to the North of Rivendell, rather than the way the Company took, to the South, in Fellowship of the Ring.

The terrain described in travelling from the woods where Men of Rhudaur hunted, to Rivendell, is based upon The Hobbit. Borders set forth in The Atlas of Middle Earth were used to determine that it was the Men of Rhudaur who encountered the Fallohides immediately before they were guided to Imladris by the son of Elrond.

The descriptions of Rivendell come from The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Ring, along with quite a bit of daydreaming.