It was never told who Sauron was or where he had come from. All that was known was he appeared in Mordor and forged the one ring that bound the other rings of power to it. With the one ring he began to conquer the lands about his desolate domain. The elves were always good at keeping secrets and Sauron was one of them. He had been an elf at one time.and Elrond knew him well and had come to Middle Earth with the other Elves. Somewhere in the bowls of Mount Doom as he explored it, an ancient evil took control of him and when the rings of power were created, he created the one ring and through horrible torture and magic he turned his fellow elves into the Orcs and waged war. The humans and Dwarves never knew this and even after his defeat that knowledge was not told to any one. But the elves were ones for keeping records on everything and in them was the history of Sauron. In those records it also told that Sauron had a brother that had traveled far to the east after he had explored the bowls of Mt Doom with Sauron. What became of the brother. The records never showed. For he seemed to have just disappeared, or so it seemed. But they did fabricate a story about how Sauron came to be. Some powerful entity in the begining that turned evil as he joined another of his kind in trying to rule the other powerful entities or gods as many might take them to be. That was but to cover up the true identity of Sauron, for the elves feared that mankind and the Dwarves would turn against them if they knew the truth.<br/><br/>Now many years had past since those troubled times when a few Hobbits showed the world what they were made of. Mordor was destroyed and remained a wasteland. Gondor flurished under Arragon. Rohan grew strong again and was a strong ally to Gondor. Samwise raised his family and then one day a grey ship arrived and took him to the Misty Isles, the last ring bearer, even if it was but for a short time. Merry and Pippen also married and raised families. Many a times they visited Gondor and Rohan, but eventually died and were buried beside their kings.<br/><br/>The orcs had scattered through out the lands as did the mercenaries that had flocked to Sauron. There were still many battles and troubles through the years following Sauron's second defeat. The elves were gone, the dwarves retreated to their mountains. It was the time of man now. But a new trouble was brewing further east, past Murkwood and the Lonely Mountain.<br/><br/>But from the west, across the ocean came a few Gray Ships. They were not there to pick anyone up but to let some off. A number of Elves had returned. They had been born in Middle Earth, and not on the Misty Isles. This was their home and where their hearts lay. Some were returning to Rivendale. Here they would raise their families and hopefully over the years would begin to repopulate the elven city. It was the time of man now, so they kept to themselves mostly. They did not let humans know they had returned and with their magic, kept them from finding Rivendale again. But a few set out to find adventure and their own ways. Lothran was one of those. He had been at Helms Deep and at the battle before the Gates of Mordor when Frodo and Gullom had fought within Mount Doom for the One Ring and it was finally destroyed. He had seen the lands of Rohan, Gondor and the like. He wanted to see what lay beyond the Lonely Mountain to the East.<br/><br/>He journeyed with his elven friends till they reached Rivendale and then he continued on east through Murkwood and on to the Lonely Mountain. Here he paid his respects to the New King Under the Mountain before traveling on. He died his hair black and kept it long to cover his ears, and he wore his hood up over his head most of the time as well. He had heard other elves long ago had traveled east but no one had heard from them or seen them. They did not return to the Gray Haven and take ship back to the Misty Isles. Another task he had set for himself. Find them and see why they had not heeded the call, and if it was because they wished to stay, perhaps join them.'<br/><br/>Lothran rode eastward, beyond where anyone knew what lay ahead. Over grassy plains and through forests but finally by a great river that ran from the north to the south he came to a walled town populated by humans. He was briefly stopped at the gate but then allowed to enter. For a human town it was remarkably clean. The streets were paved by flagstones and the buildings were built of wood and stone and looked as if they were kept in good repair. At an Inn, the Eagles Rest, he found out the name of the town, Sacoran. It was a river port, one of many along the great river.<br/><br/>He took a room and placed his personal gear in his room before sitting in the Inn's tavern to get a decent meal and some drink. He had been traveling for a very long time and camping out in the open. He hoped for a good meal. He leaned his bow and quiver of arrows against the wall behind him. His two twin swords he carried on his back under his cloak. He surveyed the room as he awaited his food and drank sparingly of the mug of wine he drank from.