Vesuvius, August 1779
Alfano GB and Friedlaender I (1928) La storia del Vesuvio. Napoli: K Holm

A greater element of Mordor than most minions think, Ash is what makes the other races of Middle Earth recognize Mordor as something special. (Besides the obvious, I mean.) Ash was studied thoroughly some time ago by the renowned doctor, Chim Chiminy, who graduated with honors from the school of Chimney Sweepin'... I mean, Finer Ash Diversification. He made the statement, "Ash is a small part of burned material." But what he DIDN’T mention was how many kinds of ash there really are.

There are many different shades of Ash, depending on what the burned material is. The kind most widely found in Mordor is that from Mount Doom, whose Ash is generally a dark, black-hued substance, from the intense heat of burning rock. [See the illustration above: Mount Doom living up to its name, viewed from across the Sea of Nurnen].

Another type of ash is an orange-black hue, left over from the scorched earth of many balrog steps. Yet another is the blood-red/black colour, left over from, well, blood. There is also a greener black shade to be found, left over from the awful days of long ago, when Mordor had... brrrrr.... plants.

And these are just to name a few. The different textures, shades, and forms of ash all depend on what unfortunate got torched. The study of Ash is a lifetime study, with many rewards for the patient student.

Written by Aiwendil Khamul