11 Winterfilth (October), Third Age 3020 I arrived in the Shire smelling faintly of apple woodsmoke and rain, a scent that seemed to put the hobbits at ease even before I spoke. Harvestmath had thrown its bright shawl over Hobbiton: garlands of dried corn and marigold, lanterns carved into grinning …

15 Gwirith (April), Third Age 2524 In the lingering twilight beneath northern Mirkwood’s tangled canopy, I stood at the threshold of ancient history—the lost halls of Thranduil, abandoned centuries before in the fading splendor of Greenwood the Great. Moss-covered stones, half-hidden by vines and …

6 Hithui (November), Third Age 2542 In the deep heart of Mirkwood, beneath tangled branches that twisted upwards like grasping fingers, I first sensed the tremors. Subtle at first, they soon became impossible to ignore—a gentle shaking felt more keenly in the soles of my feet than observed with the …