The Rings Of Power: 8 essential locations you should know before you watch

By the time of The Lord Of The Rings, the Elves of Middle-earth are somewhat scattered into individual dominions like Rivendell, Lothlorien, and Mirkwood. While they’re still found all over the map in The Rings Of Power, a key feature of the Second Age is the centralized power of Lindon, the realm of High King of the Elves Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker). And as you might expect, it’s glorious to behold.Located on the far western edge of the continent, Lindon represents a link between Middle-earth and the home realm of the Elves, Valinor, also known as the Undying Lands. By the Second Age, Morgoth’s War of Wrath had whittled away parts of western Middle-earth, leaving Valinor further away and Lindon as the seat of power bridging the divide between mortal realms and the eternal paradise where the Elves were born. That context means that Lindon is both vitally important politically, as the seat of Elven power in Middle-earth, and spiritually, as it’s where Elves sent back to the Undying Lands will bid farewell to the continent. It’s also, as gateways to paradise should be, a beautiful realm filled with structures made in harmony with the earth, and tributes to Elven achievements and losses in their struggle against the forces of Evil. By the Third Age, Lindon will have been reduced to little more than a port where ships depart for Valinor. But here in the Second Age, it’s a gleaming realm of peace.

The Third Age has its Hobbits, but the Second Age is home to Harfoots, secretive, small-statured creatures who have not yet settled into The Shire and built their comfortable holes. Though they’re physically much like Hobbits, and often share the same distaste for adventure and surprise, Harfoots are migratory creatures, and when we meet them in The Rings Of Power, the wilderness of Rhovanion is their homeland.Located to the east of the Misty Mountains and north of what will eventually become Mordor, Rhovanion is a rich, wild land full of creatures, wild fruits to be scavenged, and perhaps most importantly for the Harfoots, places to hide. Like so much of Middle-earth, it will change dramatically by the time of the Third Age, when shadow falls over the woodlands of Rhovanion and transforms them into Mirkwood, but by then the Harfoots will have moved West into Eriador, and eventually the Shire. For now, it’s a lush land full of secrets, where some enterprising young Harfoots might find trouble if they’re willing to go looking for it.

During the War of Wrath, Morgoth (the original Dark Lord) sought to mold Middle-earth in his own dark image, and he had more than a few converts along the way. While Orcs and other foul creatures were certainly more obvious allies, some humans also sided with Morgoth, and when they lost the war they were treated as second-class citizens by the victorious Elves.Centuries later, as the Rings of Power begins, these humans are relegated to the Southlands, a hard environment where they scrape by under careful watch by the Elves. It’s a precarious way of life, and the harshness of it means that some men might still be willing to turn back to darkness if given the opportunity. While it’s not obvious as the series begins, that opportunity might be far off. If at where The Southlands lie on the map of Middle-earth, you might notice that the very same landscape has transformed into the volcanic waste of Mordor by the Third Age.

Speaking of realms that aren’t faring well by the time we see them in The Lord Of The Rings, there’s Khazad-dûm, the Dwarven kingdom in the Misty Mountains that’s perhaps better known to fans of Tolkien’s trilogy as Moria. Yes, this is the place where Gandalf fell in The Fellowship Of The Ring, but you might not recognize it that way when it appears in The Rings Of Power.While we know that the Dwarves eventually dig too deep and awaken a darkness within the mountains, Khazad-dûm in the Second Age is a wealthy marvel of stonework and Dwarven technology, presided over by King Durin III and his son, Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur). With The Rings Of Power, we’ll get to see not only what Moria was like in the days before shadow and flame consumed it, but how the Dwarves and the Elves got along before everything descended into war once again.

Of all the locations viewers will get to know throughout The Rings Of Power, Númenor might ultimately prove to be the most consequential. Its rise–literally, it was raised up from the sea as a gift to the leaders of Men after the War of Wrath–and subsequent fall are defining moments in the Second Age. And while other parts of Middle-earth have been depicted in some form onscreen before, the series will be Númenor’s live-action debut.Essentially Tolkien’s riff on the legend of Atlantis, Númenor is a powerful, advanced island kingdom of seafarers, builders, and legendary warriors that gave birth to a race of men with exceptionally long-life due to their Half-Elven blood (Aragorn, the eventual King of Men in The Lord of the Rings, has Númenorean heritage) and an eye towards growth and prosperity. As for exactly how the great island kingdom came to fall … well, you can read all about it in Tolkien’s work, but we’re going to steer clear of spoilers here for the sake of newcomers. Just know that, despite all of its shining achievements, all is not as sparkly as it seems in Númenor.

Though the primary seat of Elvish rule in The Rings Of Power is Lindon, there are other wondrous places to behold in Middle-earth that were built by the Elves. One of the most important, at least as far as the Second Age is concerned, is Eregion, located just west of the Misty Mountains near the gates of Khazad-dûm.Because of its location, Eregion has the potential to be a key pivot point in the relationship between the Elves and Dwarves of the Second Age, but for the purposes of the series, it’s even more important because of the presence of Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards). A legendary Elven smith carrying on the proud traditions of the craftsmen who came before him, Celebrimbor makes his home in Eregion, and it’s there that he will contribute to the titular Rings. How and why Celebrimbor creates these rings, and who influences their crafting along the way, is all for the series to tell you, but if you’ve read The Lord Of The Rings, you know it’s about much more than making some cool jewelry. Eregion’s just one of many important locations in this series, but you’ll never want to lose sight of what’s going on there.

In the trailers for The Rings Of Power, you may have noticed Galadriel spending quite a bit of time in a snowy landscape, climbing ice cliffs with her knife and searching for something evil amid the freeze. Though we don’t yet know exactly how much we’ll see of it in the larger series, this is a glimpse of The Northern Waste, or Forodwaith to the Elves. In terms of the land itself, it’s exactly what it sounds like: A wasteland of snow and ice that’s barely habitable and full of threats from both the elements and the creatures who dare to live there. In terms of The Rings Of Power’s story, it seems Galadriel is convinced that Sauron and his minions might be hiding out there, biding their time and building their strength. Is she right? We’ll just have to watch and find out.