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Great thanks to Songweaver for compiling this and writing this in our forums, and everyone else who has contributed. 

Humans

Q: What is Laketown?

A: Glad you asked!

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A: Not a ton, but we can extrapolate. Positioned between more settled areas, with Mirkwood Forest on one side, and vast swathes of wilderness and mountains on the other sides, we don't know how the city-state of Dale came to be; most likely, it started as a melting pot for refugees of different races of men, including the Rohirrim, Dunedain and Easterlings. We do know that Laketown is unique in that its people spoke a specific, archaic form of the Common Tongue related to Atliduk (the ancestral language of the Rohirrim). It was also unique in that it was a Democracy, with no monarch; the town thrived on trade with its neighbors and was steeped in local politics. Their method of trade was interesting and strange; they floated barrels of goods down the river as the hub between the elvish kingdom and the realm of Dorwinion. Surrounded by water and mountains, Laketown was extremely defensible; however, they could do little to manage the threat of Smaug. It was not uncommon for Smaug to attack Laketown, burn down a house or two, and carry off a maiden; this was a threat that all Lakemen would have been very aware of.

Most importantly, I think that Laketown's being a form of simple Democracy is key. To me, this suggests that the town was likely founded by refugees who had come to be opposed to monarchy. This, in turns, suggests to me that the Lakemen were likely fiercely independently-minded, culturally.

Mirkwood, Orcs, Wargs, Spiders and Dol Guldur

Q: Where Can I Learn More About Mirkwood Forest? 

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