Two Kings

"In the year leading up to the War of the Ring, messengers from Mordor came to Dale seeking news of Bilbo Baggins and the Ring that he bore. King Brand did not answer their questions, and he feared that Dale would be attacked from the east. Being under threat for years, the attack finally came. In March of 3019, armies of Easterlings and orcs, sent by Sauron, crossed the Redwater and forced Brand to retreat to Dale.

The combined forces of the Men of Dale under King Brand and the Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain under King Dáin Ironfoot marched out to meet the Easterlings in battle. For three days of heavy fighting, two Kings fought side by side in the Battle of Dale.

Not able to hold the numerous Easterlings and orcs back, the Men of Dale and the Dwarves of Erebor retreated into the the Lonely Mountain, but not without a great loss; on March 17, King Brand was killed at the gate of Erebor. This was the last day also for Old Dain Ironfoot; he was slain as he stood defending the body of Brand.

For seven days the Men and Dwarves barricaded themselves in Erebor, until news came from the south of the defeat of Sauron. This caused the northern Easterling army to lose heart. Seeing the morale of their foes the new kings of Dale and Erebor (Bard II and Thorin III Stonehelm) broke the siege and chased the Easterlings out of Dale; finally they were able to revenge their fallen Kings."
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Drawing ink + graphite pencil work. Angle is a bit odd but it was the purpose - yet it proved to be very tricky to transfer this well enough into digital form.