Rhun

So, Rhun is the East that gives the Easterlings their name. It is to the east of Rhovanion and north of Mordor. It is known for basically being wild and uncharted. Four of the seven dwarf clans originated here. All of these clans sent troops to fight the War of Dwarves and Orcs. Many of these fled here when the War of the Ring was brewing. So too did humans and elves. The morality of a particular ethnic group can largely be predicted based on how far west they moved out of Rhun. Elves moved the furthest west, some making it as far as the Undying lands where the Valar live. The noblest of the humans made it the Numenor. Meanwhile the somewhat less noble but still predominant good "middle men" settled in Rhovanion. Meanwhile the mostly evil Southrons and Easterlings stayed at the same longitude. Both Melkor and Sauron had huge interest in the area. This paid off. The Easterling troops from this area were great help to their military efforts. Gondor had control over western parts of Rhun, but this influence declined with the line of kings. Other people hunted the white cattle that lived in this region. Sauron also was able to hide out here for 400 years. Travellers were rare. Apparently the Blue Wizards were the main ones to come and stay. Saruman visited before settling at Isengard. Neither Gandalf or Radagast went out that far. Aragorn did visit - which proved fortunate for the Easterlings. He found there that many good men could be found in Easterling culture. This prevented him from butchering them. To me, it was implied he might have been tempted to if not for his first hand experiences.

Geography

The Sea of Rhun is the defining geographic feature of the area. It is an inland sea whose western shores border Rhovanion. According to the Atlas of Middle Earth, it is 17,898 square miles and possibly salt water. It is speculated that it shrunk significantly over the years. The River Running and Redwater fed the sea. THere was mountain range on the southwestern side and a forest on the northeast. There was a small island inside it. This was where many of the Easterling invasions of Gondor were staged and the furthest extent of Gondor. The main forested region was the far east near the Orocarni mountain range. I don't have much information on this beyond that. Though it is speculated that the dwarf clans from Rhun awoke here. Somewhere there was a large desert. The plains of the region are where the Easterlings were able to develop and exploit their chariots to maximum effect. This proved devestating when they moved into Rhovanion.

Fauna & Flora

It is being dominated by "nameless plains and forests unexplored". We can assume then that we can expect their wildlife to be based on these biomes. There was wild white cattle that outsiders hunted near the Sea of Rhun. These Kine of Araw were far larger and more splendid than real life cattle. Their horns were massive and provided the horn that Boromir had during the Fellowship of the Ring. It is also around this area that the prime wine producing region is located. We can assume then that the Sea of Rhun is mostly plains. They are compared to the Texas Longhorn, just bigger and wild. Wereworms were said to be found in the far eastern deserts. These are huge burrowing creatures seen in the movie version of the Battle of Five Armies. We don't have much to go on with these creatures, but are supposed to be based on the much smaller Mongolian Death Worms. Apparently, mere touch causes near instant death and severe pain. They too travel underground. It is claimed to have the ability to kill by spraying venom or with electric charges. There are also large, human eating cats that live in the area. Beyond that, I have no real information.

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