Sauron's chief stronghold has long been the land of Mordor, a place of ill-fortune and fell reputation that lies between Gondor and Khand. Mordor is a ruined and evil place, a land that has endured too long under the shadow. History does not tell of Mordor before Sauron began to dwell there at the start of the Second Age - no name from earlier times is known. In the years of Sauron's power it became the most feared realm in Middle-earth, a shadow that could stretch across the face of the world. Even its name - literally translated as 'the Black Land' - is a title bestowed as a result of the Dark Lord's presence.

Mordor is ringed on three sides by forbidding mountains. Though they primarily for Sauron's first line of defence, these mountains are also a cage to pen the disloyal and unwilling amoingst his servants, as well the innumerable slaves and prisoners interred in the dungeons of the black land. These silent borders are almost unassailable, for in addition to the substantial natural barrier presented by the towering spires of rock, many dread and foul creatures inhabit the tunnels and caverns beneath the peaks - creatures that even the Orcs dread an encounter with.

The only true entrances to Mordor are watched with ceaseless vigilance. Minas Morgul sits like a corrupt spider in Ithilien, above Cirith Gorgor sit the twin towers of Narchost and Carchost, whilst another tower whose true name has been long forgotten rests beside Cirith Ungol. Ironically, these fortresses were built by Gondor in years past, after Sauron fell beneath the Last Alliance. Originally intended to watch Mordor and prevent the Dark Lord from rebuilding his strength, these aged but strong towers have been taken and corrupted. Now infested with Orcs they have been turned to a new purpose - to defend Mordor against their creators - a grim barrier to a forbidden and terrible land.