During the War of the Ring, the strange forest giants called Ents came in battle against the Orcs and Men of Isengard. Half Men, half trees, they were fourteen feet tall, and the eldest had lived in Middle-earth for nine Ages of the Stars and Sun.

    Lord of the Ents was Fangorn who in the common tongue was called Treebeard. He was huge and ancient, for he belonged to the tallest and stongest race born into the World. Like oak or beech was the huge rough-barked trunk of Treebeard, while his branch-like arms were smooth and his seven-fingered hands were gnarled. Treebeard`s peculiar, almost neckless head was tall and thick as his trunk. His brown eyes were large and wise and seemed to glint with a green light. His wild grey beard was like a thatch of twigs and moss. He was made of the fibre of trees, yet he moved swiftly on unbending legs with feet like living roots, swaying and stretching like a long-legged wading bird.

    Elvish histories tell how, when Varda, Queen of the Heavens, rekindled the Stars and the Elves awoke, the Ents also awoke in the Great Forest of Arda. They came from the thoughts of Yavanna, Queen of the Earth, and were her Shepherds of Trees. Shepherds and guardians they proved to be, for if roused to anger, Entish wrath was terrible and they could crush stone and steel with their hands alone. Justly they were feared, but they were also gentle and wise. They loved the trees and all the Olvar and guarded them from evil.
    At the time of their awakening Ents could not speak, but the Elves taught them that art, and they loved it greatly. They delighted in learning many tongues, even the short chirping languages of Men. Dearest of all they loved the language they had devised themselves, that none but Ents mastered. It rolled deep and full from their tongues as slow thunder or the timeless booming of waves on forgotten shores. In the slow passing of Entish time they formed their toughts in unhurried meditation, and framed them into speech as undisturbed and rolling as the changing seasons.
Though Ents at times had great gatherings, called Entmoos, for the most part they were a solitary folk living apart from one another in isolated Ent houses in the great forest. Often these were mountain caverns plentifully supplied with spring water and surrounded by beautiful trees. In these places they took their meals, not solid food but clear liquid stored in great stone jars. These were Ent-draughts and the magical fluid glowed with gold and green light. And in the Ent houses they took their rest, often finding refreshment in standing beneath the crystal coolness of a waterfall cascading throughout the night.
    So the Ents lived out their wise, almost immortal lives, and the many races of the Earth thrived and declined around them without troubling their greatness. Only when the foul Orcs came armed with weapons of steel were the Ents roused in wrath. The Dwarves too were not loved by Ents, for they were axebearers and hewers of wood. And it is said that in the First Age of the Sun the Dwarf-warriors of Nogrod, who had sacked the Grey-elven citadel of Menegroth, were caught by Ents and utterly destroyed
    Ents, in the years of Starlight, had been both male and female, yet in the Ages of the Sun the Entwives became enamoured of the open lands where they might tend the lesser Olvar - the fruit trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses and grain; whereas the male Ents loved the trees of the forest. So it was that Entwives went to the open Brown Lands, where they were worshipped by the race of Men who learned from them the art of tending the fruits and the crops of the Earth.
Yet before the end of the Second Age of the Sun, the gardens of the Entwives were destroyed, and with the gardens went the Entwives. Among them was the spouse of Treebeard, Fimbrethil, who was called Wandlimd the Lightfooted. No tale tells of their fate. Perhaps the Entwives went to the South or East; but, wherever it was, it was beyond the knowledge of the Ents of the Forest, who wandered in search of them for many long years.
    So, though Ents could not die in the manner of Men, through age, they became a dwindling race none the less. They were never numerous, and some were slain with steel and fire, and no few Entings came after the departure of the Entwives. As well, the vast forest of Eriador where many many once roamed had, by the Third Age, been hewn down or burnt, so only the Old Forest, which bordered the Shire, and the great Entwood of Treebeard remained.
    By the War of the Ring Treebeard was counted among the three eldest Ents who had come forth under the stars at the Time of Awakening. Besides Treebeard, there was Finglas, which means "Leaflock", and Fladrif, which means "Skinbark", but the latter two had withdrawn even from the affairs of other Ents. Finglas had retreated in Ent fashion into the nature of his being and had become "treeish". He moved but little and few could tell him from the trees. Fladrif had battled alone against Orcs, who had captured his birch groves, slain many of his Entings, and had wounded him with axes. He eventually fled to live alone on high mountain slopes.
    Though only Treebeard of the elders remained limb-lithe and active, there were many younger Ents. Throughout the Entwood there was discontent because the Ents were being harassed by servants of Sauron, who inhabited neighbouring Isengard. So they entered the War of the Ring, and this was the great March of the Ents. Rank upon rank of the Ents marched on the stronghold of Isengard. With them came the Huorns, the Tree-spirits whom Ents commanded and whose strength was nearly as great as their own. The very walls of Isengard were torn down and destroyed by Entish wrath and the power of Saruman was shattered. The Huorns advanced into the Battle of the Hornburg like a marching forest, and the legions of Saruman were exterminated.
After the War of the Ring, the Ents again lived peacefully in the Entwood, yet they continued to wane and the Fourth Age was believed to be their last.

The Appearance of Ents:

    Though the oldest of all the speaking people, the Onodrim ("Enyd") were dormant until the coming of the Elves. The Quendi taught the Ents to speak, and inspired them to become mobile.
    The shepherds of the forest, Ents resemble trees. Their sub-groups resemble specific tree species. They display astounding variation in both size and character. Ents are exceedingly wise, although not very quick of thought. Accordingly, they are slow to take any rash action.
    Ents are basically gentle by nature, but when angered they can be tremendously fearsome. Even as the roots of trees can crack huge rocks, so can the ents - in a matter of seconds. Onodrim are also exceptionally tough. They  are almost impossible to kill, except by intense fire.
    A dwindling race, Ents have a tendency to revert to their dormant, "treelike" form. They do not reproduce, for the males and females became sundered long ago. The disappearance of the Ent-wives - who, over a span of many years, have virtually vanished of this very special species.
    The Huorns, or thee-spirits, are guarded by, and closely related to, the Ents. These wild creatures are Ents who never stirred or who lost track of their cultural heritage (due to weariness, forgetfulness, or simple bitterness). It is possible, over time, for an Ent to become a Huorn, and vice versa.
 
 

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