Before the Numenoreans Came - Page 3
© Michael Martinez
Eriador had become very crowded in the fifth century. Easterlings of various types had wandered into the region, settling (it appears) in a buffer zone between the older Edainic peoples (mostly Beorians) who lived in the hills of Tyrn Gorthad, the Weather Hills, and the North Downs and the Dwarven and Elven lands around the Ered Luin. The northernmost Easterlings were akin to the Folk of Bor. They were farmers and appear to have been friendly or at least not hostile with the Edainic peoples. But other Easterlings eventually moved on to settle in Beleriand and strengthen Morgoth's forces.
The Elves of Balar and Ossiriand had to know the war was being fought. They would have seen the tremendous upheavals which gradually ruined Beleriand and caused much of the land to sink beneath the sea. The sundering of the Ered Luin so that a great gulf was created there would have announced the fact of the war to the peoples of Eriador. Elves and Men alike must have fled further east, probably beyond the Baranduin, to find a region of land which was relatively stable. The Easterlings in the north may have suffered great losses as those lands began sinking into the Sea.
Tolkien doesn't explain why or how the sea of Helcar was destroyed, but it may be that the lands were raised up so that the waters flowed north and hence around the northern edge of Middle-earth to help inundate the sinking lands in Beleriand. It may be that Morgoth attempted to use the waters to stall the advance of the Host of Valinor. The effect would have been catastrophic for the Elves, Dwarves, and Men living in the eastern portions of Middle-earth. But perhaps there were no longer that many Men living in those lands. After all, Morgoth had concentrated his power in the North-west. He needed all the help he could get when the War of Wrath came.
With the defeat of Morgoth's forces a few evil creatures were able to flee eastward. One Balrog made it to the Misty Mountains, and there hid itself for more than 5,000 years. At least two dragons (apparently a male and female) fled to the Withered Heath and presumably there established a breeding ground which eventually allowed dragons to trouble the world again. Orcs and Easterlings also fled east, and they settled in the northern mountains. The Orcs took Gundabad from the Dwarves, who eventually formed an alliance with the Edainic Men of Wilderland.
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