[Intro music] Hey everyone, Yoisten here and I hope you all are doing well wherever you are in Middle Earth. Here is the important information from the First Age in under five minutes. To keep this short, my intro and outro will be very quick. Links are in the description, and cards for more complete telling of the history. Thanks for joining me, let's begin our tale. At the beginning of the First Age, after the arrival of the sun and moon, the elves of Fingolfin came to Beleriand in north-western Middle Earth and won a battle against Morgoth's forces, while across the world Men awoke for the first time. Fingolfin's host met that of Fëanor, who's new leader, Maedhros, had been captured. Fingon son of Fingolfin, with the help of Thorondor king of the eagles, would save Maedhros from Thangorodrim (the volcanic mountains outside of Morgoth's fortress of Angband). To broker peace amongst the Noldor, Maedhros surrendered the crown to his half-uncle Fingolfin. The respective lords of the elves would remove across Beleriand, beginning work on and establishing their realms to come. The sons of Fëanor settled in the east, Fingon and Fingolfin stayed in the north (at Hithlum), Finrod went on to establish Nargothrond, and Turgon made Gondolin, as the Noldor went to live alongside the Sindar elves of Thingol and Cirdan the shipwright. After the Noldor were established in Middle Earth, they besieged Angband in a glorious battle; holding Morgoth's keep under siege for centuries to come. Yet, the Doom of the Noldor began to take hold in these years, as Thingol found out about the Kinslaying, drawing more division between the Wood Elves and the High Elves of the West. Morgoth would create the dragons, beginning with Glaurung the father of dragons, then Men would come west, meeting Finrod and then the other elves. The three houses of the Edain, the houses of Hador, Beor and Haleth, would come to live in different places in Beleriand, working alongside the different factions of elves as well. Finally, the time came when Morgoth's forces were ready to reemerge, and so came the Battle of the Sudden Flame. Dragons, Balrogs, orcs, trolls, and other vile creatures came with the eruption of Thangorodrim, driving many elves and men back, and killing many of them as well. High King Fingolfin went to Angband and challenged Morgoth himself, wounding him, but the king died in the end, and his son Fingon inherited the High Kingship after him. During this battle, the man Barahir and his company saved Finrod. Finrod swore him and his line an oath to aid them. He would be called upon by Barahir's son Beren after the man fell in love with the maiden Lúthien in Doriath, setting forth on a quest to reclaim a Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth for the Wood-Elven King Thingol. Although it cost Finrod his life, and many conflicts would ensue between Beren, Lúthien, and the forces of Morgoth- including Sauron- as well as some of the sons of Fëanor, the Silmaril was reclaimed and given to Thingol, and the first union of Man and Elf commenced. In the aftermath of this, the elves and men of the world united to push back against Morgoth; but this became the Battle of Unnumbered Tears instead, where many, including High King Fingon, perished (making his brother Turgon of Gondolin the new High King of the Noldor). In the wake of this battle, the child Túrin came to live at Doriath and was brought up by Thingol. He and his family were cursed, and his story caused much chaos, including the fall of Nargothrond and the death of Glaurung and Túrin himself. After Túrin's death, his father Húrin would be released by Morgoth, and he would bring the necklace Nauglamír to Thingol. Thingol would employ the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains to put the Silmaril and the Nauglamír together- resulting in his death, and strife between Dwarves and Elves. The sons of Fëanor would eventually destroy Doriath in another Kinslaying, attempting to reclaim the Silmaril of their father. Around the same time, Túrin's cousin Tuor had been on a journey of his own from the god Ulmo, who tasked him with warning High King Turgon of the coming end of Gondolin, and so he came there; but the elf king would not heed this warning. Tuor married Turgon's daughter Idril, and they produced a son named Eärendil. Gondolin fell by the treachery of Idril's cousin Maeglin, and Turgon was slain with many of his people. The High Kingship then fell to Gil-Galad, his kinsman. With the coming of Thingol's Silmaril to the Havens by Elwing, a third Kinslaying was launched by the sons of Fëanor, which saw the Silmaril taken to Valinor by the married Eärendil and Elwing. This voyage resulted in the Valar aiding the free peoples against Morgoth, and creating the choice of the Half-Elves. The Valar made Eärendil a star with the Silmaril, and the people of the Valar made war on Morgoth in Beleriand; the War of Wrath, ending with the downfall of Morgoth and many of his most evil works. Beleriand, having suffered too much damage from this war, sank beneath the sea. Many important elves went east into Middle Earth. The faithful men of Beleriand were given the island of Numenor. The sons of Eärendil and Elwing, Elrond and Elros, became leaders of Elves and Men respectively, and the Silmarils found their way into the sky, earth, and seas, with the sons of Fëanor ending their part in the story. Thus ended the First Age of Middle Earth. Thank you all so much for watching! Hit that like button, let me know your thoughts, and thank you to our Valar Tier patrons and YouTube members on the screen and in the comments below. Check out the links in the description to support the channel and to learn more. Thank you so much. See you all next week with a video on the greatest mysteries in Tolkien's works. Thank you all so much for joining me on this adventure; until the next one.