Lithlad

Lithlad
Concept art of Lithlad from Middle-earth: Shadow of War
Type	Region
Level	Darz-ghûrum
Location	Eastern Mordor
Appearances	Middle-earth: Shadow of War

“Sure its hot in Lithlad, but it's a dry heat.”

— -- Hûmgrat the Elder

Lithlad is a location in Middle-Earth: Shadow of War. It is a great plain located to the south-east of Gorgoroth. Volcanoes enriched the area with large amount of ash, which has made the ground perfect for dry-land farming. Lithlad is the setting for the Desolation of Mordor's DLC storyline, which sees Baranor attempt to seize the fortress of Shindram.

In-Game Description

A desert land south-east of Gorgoroth, Lithlad lies under a punishing sun. Famed for its harsh cliate and the were-wyrms that dwell within its sands, few dare to venture there. While Sauron maintains a fortress in Lithlad, its far from the strategic concerns of his empire. The fortress of Shindram is poorly resourced and occupied by Maurauder Orcs who spend their days drinking  and gambling, far from the front lines of the Dark Lord's War.

Lithlad is home to a mercenary company known as the Vanishing Sons, who have made their home in an ancient Númenórean fortress. It is also a land favoured by hunters who stalk the were-wyrms and explorers who pick through the technological remnants the Númenóreans who once occupied these lands.

History

Lithlad was once a land occuped by the Númenóreans, an ancient race of men who made it a part of their empire during the Second Age, prior to their fall. At some point after this, the desert of Lithlad fell under the heel of Sauron, and it became populated by an army of Marauder Orcs who occupied the Fortress of Shindram. Dialogue from idle Orcs in the area hints that due to its lack of any real importance, Shindram and Lithlad came to be mocked by other Orcs. The Vanishing Sons also took up residency within Lithlad, and began selling their services to local Marauder Orcs for Gold and to prevent them from being wiped out. The Dwarf known as Torvin, also eventually came to claim a place of residence in Lithlad, both hunting down the legendary Were-Wyrms, and also started seeking Númenórean devices and tinkering with it to make it work again.

Eventually Captain Baranor arrived in Lithlad with a handful of remaining Gondorian Soldiers who survived the Fall of Minas Ithil, with the intention of making contact with the Vanishing Sons mercenary company, a company of Easterling Men who had come to also occupy the region, and hiring them to assist him in laying siege to the Shindram Fortress. Venturing through a canyon and reaching the open sands, Baranor and men noted the Were-Wyrms that stalked the desert sands and were promptly attacked. After his men had fallen prey, Baranor himself was nearly dragged beneath the shifting sands to be devoured, before being rescued by the Dwarven hunter known as Torvin, who saved him from certain death with a Númenórean Gauntlet.

Dragging both Baranor and the Were-Wyrm to a cave beneath the mesa, Baranor awoke, and was provided with a Gauntlet to assist him in his journey around the region. Following Torvin to his camp at the top of the mesa with the use of the Gauntlets grappling hook, Torvin explained  the origins of the wrist-worn device, and struck a deal with Baranor, promising the Gondorian Captain that if he brought him more Númenórean tech, he would restore it to order so he could use in the field.

Later on during a raid on an Orc caraven with his brother Serka, Baranor learned about spilling grog tanks to attract Were-Wyrms, and made the decision to spill some grog in order to attract the Rumbler, a Were-Wyrm of massive size, to collapse the canyon and stop the Orcs from recieving supplies, though in the process he angered his brother as he too had come to depend on the flow of caravens coming through the canyon as he used it to fund his mercenary company and keep the Vanishing Sons loyal to him.

Eventually the Vanishing Sons, led by Baranor, layed siege to Marauder Fortress of Shindrâm to claim it as a new dwelling for them. After besting the fortress Overlord, Takra the Sandspider, they instead opted to lay waste to it by spilling many barrels of grog, and from the top of the mesa, Baranor, Torvin and Serka watched as the Orcs stormed the fortress to find it empty, moments before the Rumbler, attracted once more by the spilt grog, burst forth from the ground to wreck the fortress.

Composition

Lithlad is a large desert filled with rocks. Scattered across Lithlad are ancient Numenorian structures. The bones of a deceased dragon can be found in the desert