Thorin Oakenshield

""If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. But, sad or merry, I must leave it now. Farewell.""

- Last words of Thorin Oakenshield

Thorin Oakenshield is one of the main characters of J.R.R. Tolkein's novel, The Hobbit. Thorin is the son of Thrain, the last king of the dwarvish kingdom of Erebor before it was destroyed by the dragon, Smaug. Thorin had previous led a campaign against the orcs of Moria, where he fought off the leader of the Orcs, a giant orc named Azog. Thorin held off Azog and his massive mace using only an oaken branch, earning him the name "Oakenshield". Later, Thorin, accompanied by twelve other dwarves, the wizard Gandalf, and the hobbit Bilbo Baggins went off on a quest to reclaim the Arkenstone, symbol of the power of the King of Erebor from Smaug. Thorin first found his sword, originally an elvish blade known as Orcrist, the Goblin Cleaver, in the horde of a group of trolls which were outwitted and tricked into staying up past sunrise- fatal for their kind- by Bilbo.

Thorin would first use his sword, along with Gandalf's sword, Glamdring, the Foe Hammer, after they escaped from the captivity of the trolls of the Misty Mountains. Thorin would go on to face a race of highly predatory, sentient giant spiders in Mirkwood, and escape from the captivity of the wood elves along with the rest of the group, before landing in the town of Esgaroth, or Lake Town.

From there, Thorin and the others ventured to the Lonely Mountain, former seat of the King of Erebor, and discovered the hidden entrance, which could only be seen by the last light of Durin's Day. Bilbo was the first to infiltrate the underground chambers that had become Smaug's lair, evading detection aided by a magic ring he found in the goblin's lair (unknownly the One Ring forged by Sauron). The dragon later escaped, and attacked Lake Town, only to be killed by a black arrow fired by Bard the Bowman.

After Smaug's death, Thorin was barricaded in the Lonely Mountain by the men of Lake Town and the wood elves, hoping to force him to share the treasures captured from Smaug, which Thorin refused to do. All three of them were beseiged, however, by a horde of 15,000 orcs and wargs. The the elves, men, and dwarves were forced to ally against the invading horde, and ultimately proved victorious when they were rienforced by 500 veteran dwarvish warriors from the Iron Hills, as well as the Great Eagles of the Misty Mountains and the skinchanger Beorn, in the form of a giant bear.

While the battle was as victory, Thorin was mortally wounded, and died shortly afterwards. Thorin was buried in a tomb under the mountain along with Orcrist and the Arkenstone.