The Song of the Roots of Hithaeglir is an apocryphal legend in the Elven culture, known primarily by the residents of Lindon. It told of a rare Ore beneath the Misty Mountains that contained the light of the lost Silmarils, having been caused by a battle fought atop the mountains by an Elf and a Balrog of Morgoth.
History[]
Long ago, a battle - not over honor or duty, but over a tree - was fought atop highest peaks of the Misty Mountains. The tree was believed to have hidden the last of the lost Silmarils. On one side of the battle was an Elven warrior, with a heart as purse as Manwë, who poured all of his light into the tree to protect it. On the other, was a Balrog of Morgoth, who channeled all his hatred into the tree to destroy it. Amidst their unending duel, lightning ensnared the tree. A power was forged from their conflict as pure and light as good, and as strong an unyielding as evil. The power seeped down the roots into the mountain depths, where it waited for centuries to be found.[1]
The power created an Ore, later named Mithril, that ran plentiful under the Dwarven kingdom of Khazad-dûm.[2] Prince Durin's insistence to mine despite the perilous affects led to the awakening of a Balrog.[3]