Throughout the Tolkien universe, fans of both books and films become acquainted with many Dwarven kingdoms, the most famous of which are Erebor, where Bilbo Baggins and his 13 comrades must take back the great halls from Smaug the Dragon in The Hobbit, and the Mines of Moria, where the fellowship is attacked by orcs wielding a cave troll, and Gandalf falls at the hands of a Balrog to the lament of all.
During the Fourth Age, a new Dwarven realm emerges and is led by none other than Gimli, son of Gloin, who was himself a member of the fellowship on the quest to destroy the One Ring. The quest takes the friends through many strange paths, and into many great battles for Middle Earth. Whilst Frodo and Sam are making their way to Mordor, lead on their own treacherous journey by the creature Gollum, Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn are fighting to protect the Rohan stronghold of Helm’s Deep. The keep is under siege by Saruman’s orcs, an especially strong breed known as the Uruk-hai, and a mass of soldiers and riders have gathered to try to fend them off, and protect the women, the children, and the elderly who are hidden in the tunnels beneath the mountains.
The battle is long and hard-won, and during the fight, a group of men are held up within the caves. The caves lie just beyond the Deeping Wall, at the entrance to a narrow gorge that is easily defendable on all sides, which is what gives Helm’s Deep its Impregnability. The gorge carves through the White Mountains, which is separated from the Mountains of Caradhras and Angmar by the Gap of Rohan. Eomer, who is in charge of leading the Westmark whilst his sister Eowyn protects the people below is one of those ensnared in the caves by ambush, and Gimli is also among them.
Although it is perilous, this time spent in the tunnels beneath the keep proves essential in determining Gimli’s future. As a dwarf, he and his kind have long held a marvel and appreciation for the deep places of the world, and the caves below Helm’s Deep are no exception. For within he discovered a world is beautiful stones and delicate gold, the likes of which have seldom been seen in Middle Earth. After the battle is won, he describes the place to Legolas, telling him of the ‘’Gems and crystals and veins of precious ore glint in the polished walls; and the light glows through folded marbles, shell-like, translucent as the living hands of Queen Galadriel.’’
This is high praise indeed, to liken them to the Lady of Lothlorien, for Gimli holds her in the utmost esteem after she bid him be unblindfolded when entering her realm, and treated like a friend, a kindness that is seldom shown between elves and Dwarves. It is this love and acceptance that fosters Legolas’ own affection towards the Dwarf, and the two become life-long friends. After the War of the Ring is won, they make a pact. Gimli agrees to visit the trees of Fangorn Forest which he greatly fears, and Legolas vows in return to witness the wonders of the caves with his dear companion.
They do just this, and it becomes comically known as one of few times ever recorded that a high elf is left speechless, and a Dwarf is able to better describe the beauty of a place. At the behest of the new king of Rohan Eomer, who once bandied many insults with the dwarf but soon came to respect him as an ally, Gimli also brings with him a host of Dwarves from Dale, and they set up a colony in order to care for and preserve the precious stones under the White Mountains.
Over time the dwarves begin to expand the Glittering Caves, slowly chipping away rivulets and gullies into the walls to widen the great halls, they fill the chambers with lights and maintain their precious contents. As the founder of the place, Gimli becomes the first Lord of the Glittering Caves, and the kingdom becomes one of the most essential dwarven settlements in the Fourth Age. It becomes known ever after as the Kingdom of Aglarond. After a long life, Gimli decides to leave Middle Earth and sail to the Undying Lands with Legolas. It is not recorded who the rule of Aglarond passes to, as Gimli had no wife or heir, but it is presumed that the kingdom is left in safe hands when Gimli, although not technically ever a Ring-bearer himself, just an essential part in the quest to end the war and destroy the ring, becomes the first dwarf ever endowed with the honor of sailing into the West.