Friends of Nimrodel: Tapestry of Dreams - Discussion

[mark12_30]

RPG Proposal Under Development: "Friends Of Nimrodel (http://members.cox.net/hrwright61/FONRPG.html) "

Greetings and Salutations...

The Snowed Inn thread in Rohan and The Seventh Star in Gondor have seen the loss of Mellonin's brother Mellondu; Ædegard's confusion over his young friend Mellon's strange behavior as a long-lost elf-lord; and Raefindan's confusion over his own identity and origin, and his dark and puzzling dreams.

The questions raised by Raefindan, Mellonin, Mellondu, and Ædegard will draw them northward, eastward, southward, and finally to the sea, some leading, some following, some hunting. The outline for the story is under development and can be found at the above link; it will be oficially submitted soon.

The main requirement for joining this game is a zeal for (and devotion to) canon. We will attempt to provide a canonical resolution to the tale, while still enjoying a challenging RPG and playing with time-travel ("Lost-Road" style.) Hence, devotion to canonicity (especially in character behavior and morality) is the first requirement of "high quality" for this game.

It will be the joint responsibility of the RPG team to maintain a high standard of quality and adherance to canon. If conflicts arise (especially regarding adherance to canon) there is a predetermined method of settling disputes which will hopefully prove helpful-- and also maintain the peace!

Writers from Rohan and Gondor are invited to apply. Writers from the Shire may also apply if you so desire.

If you would like to explore a canonically-feasible 4th-Age ending to the tale of Amroth and Nimrodel, consider joining the game.

--mark12_30

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[Bêthberry]

Helen,

It is good to see the possibility of some more action in Gondor.

If I may, I have a couple of short comments to make.

First, in your post here you say,

The outline for the story is under development and can be found at the above link; it will be oficially submitted soon.

However, I was always under the impression that Gondorians did not have to submit game proposals to anyone to game in Gondor or Rohan for that matter. (I know that The Shire is now closed and Gondorians must seek the approval of the Shire mods there.)

By the responsible, creative and meritorious way they have gamed, they have earned the trust and right to be able to start games on their own. Indeed, I don't think there has ever been a Gondorian proposal committee as there has been in The Shire and Rohan.

Second, the way you have moved to the White Horse in Rohan is clever, but... that thread is nearing its limit and I was going to close it this week. Also, the Innkeeper your character is seeking is in the process of disappearing mysteriously (as her latest post suggests).

Did you have plans for more posts at The Horse? Let me know via PM and I will incorporate your ideas with the new Rohan plans.

The new Horse will be set in a different time.

I love it when plots thicken.

:D


Bêthberry

[mark12_30]

Dear Bethberry,

Thanks for your kind note!

"Officially submitted"... well, perhaps I should say officially posted. Submitted for applications. (It still needs spellchecking & sanity checking, etc now that I'm back from overseas and a bit more relaxed!)

I did notice Innkeeper-Bethberry's departure (I love dropping-out-of-windows!) and was planning on having Mellon/Amroth ask for Bethberry, be referred to Aylwen, and take it from there. Bethberry was supposed to let Ædegard know when Mellon/Amroth woke up, but that will fall through, and Ædegard will have to find out some other way. Mellon/Amroth will ask for a horse, expecting generosity due to his royal blood; I wonder what the Rohirric response will be.

Mellon/ Amroth and Ædegard need to set out for Lorien from Somewhere in Rohan. We had actually planned on making it a bit nearer the Gondor/ Rohan border, in an attempt to synchronize timelines, but I got less picky as time passed and the Snowed Inn faded from view...

I suppose we can roll with the punches in whatever new timeline you choose-- we could even have your current White Horse denizens dreaming about "The year the stable burned down, and the strange elf-lord/ young man that came thru town."

:eek: :rolleyes: ;)

lmp, any comments?

[Bêthberry]

Plots, like soups, become more savoury as they simmer. :smokin:

How much time do you need in Edoras? There is still room on the thread and if you want to do a series of posts with Aywlen that would be fine.

Who's to say that Bethberry won't make a clandestine appearance to your blacksmith?

Also, I will post an announcement on the White Horse planning thread that Writers of the Mark are eligible to apply for Gondorian games and that you are specifically inviting them to apply for this one. There are so many restrictions on who/how one comes to Rohan that many of them probably are not aware they can game in Gondor with the Game Manager's approval.

When I drop from windows in RL it is really more along the lines of slapstick. ;)

Bethberry

[mark12_30]

Bethberry,

Many thanks. As to how much time I need in Edoras: Your offer should provide the leeway I need. Essentially: long enough to raise some eyebrows, re-find Ædegard, hopefully attract some fellow adventurers, borrow a horse, and head northward. Depending on the interest garnered it could take two or two-and-twenty posts. I'd guess more like four-to-eight on my part.

Amroth/ Mellon would no doubt be glad to see Bethberry, who after all showed him the most deference of all the adults involved. In her absence, his hope for finding a mount may grow quite thin.

--Helen

[Mithadan]

To clarify, since there appear to be some questions, those on the Gondor list (as is Mark12_30) can start a game in Gondor without first submitting a proposal. The game owner may recruit anyone from any of the RPG forums to participate but is responsible for keeping up the standards of the game. Although a Gondor member may start a game in Gondor (but not in any of the other forums) without submitting a proposal, it is expected that the game will be well-thought out, planned and run. If it does not fit Gondor's standards, the game can be shut down or it may be suggested that the game be transferred to another forum.

This is for information purposes only. I'm sure that Mark12_30's game will meet Gondor's standards.

[mark12_30]

Mith, thank you for the clarification and the encouragement.

[mark12_30]

Uh Oh-- now that I've posted in Talan's dreams that Amroth's hair is golden: is Amroth blond or dark?
The poem says "flowing hair", not "golden hair". My bad? I'll have to investigate Amroth's historical hair color... this may change to "straight vs curly" or something like that...
EDIT No, it's OK gold. He's Sindarin; and/but in Unfinished Tales p. 254, it says "Until the rising sun gleamed through the clouds and far off lit his bright hair like a spark of gold." So-- golden hair it is.

I think the basic "proposal" is ready; and, I'll try to streamline the plot synopsis and get both of those posted here hopefully at lunchtime.

[mark12_30]

Friends of Nimrodel: Tapestry of Dreams

PROPOSAL


Title:
'FRIENDS OF NIMRODEL'
Basic Storyline:

There are three threads to this story. First thread: Mellonin's brother, Mellondu, is missing, and Mellonin is trying to find him. Concurrently, Nimrodel is lost ("Where now she wanders, none can tell, in sunlight or in shade"), and although Amroth (in the halls of Mandos) is waiting for her to sail west, she is waiting in Middle Earth for him to come and find her. Mellondu, via ("Lost Road"- style) dreams, becomes Amroth's vehicle for doing so. The third thread is the history of Imrazôr and Mithrellas which will be connected to this via ("Lost Road"- style) time-dream-travel by Raefindan. This thread informs the other two and helps bring closure to the story.

We will know the story is over when Amroth and Nimrodel are reunited, and Mellonin and Mellondu (as himself) are reuinited. It would also be nice if Raefindan figured out who he really is, along the way.

Starting Location: Minas Tirith, at the Seventh Star
Likely destination: Edhellond, via Rohan, Lorien, the Anduin past Rauros, Belfalas, and other locations including Erech.

Important:
The story of "Nimrodel's Friend" will be as canonical as possible. This has several ramifications.
One is plotline; we will all strive to weave this story into Tolkien's Legendarium as plausibly and accurately as we can. This will be a team effort and there may be times when we seek help outside the team. I will provide reference material (especially on Amroth/Nimrodel/Imrazor/Mithrellas ) so that players can be thoroughly familiar with the gaming fabric.

Another is the behavior of the characters. Activities of the characters will adhere to Tolkien's standards of morality, nobility, and general behavior. Remember that he had high standards of behavior and lived by them. This RPG will adhere to those standards. Our characters' faults and struggles will be appropriate to those of characters striving to maintain an honorable, upright, moral life and lifestyle. When in doubt, look to Aragorn, Faramir, Eowyn, Eomer, Gandalf, Frodo, Sam, Arwen, Galadriel. If they wouldn't do it, your character probably shouldn't either.

Timeframes:

i) This game takes place in the fourth Age at around year twelve or so.
ii) The story itself or plot covers late Fall FA12 thru spring FA13, roughly months (or years).
iii) This game requires a time commitment of three to four months from me, the game owner and from the major players.

Characters:
Main character types are:
Men of Gondor, men of Rohan, elves of Lorien, men along the Anduin, men of Dol Amroth, and men and elves of Belfalas.
Secondary character types likely are:
Good: see main character list above.
Bad: leftover orcs, hostile/resentful Haradrim, and other hazards from the War of the Ring and the Southlands. There is plenty of room for adventure and conflict all the way from Rohan, thru Lorien, down the Anduin, and into Beleriand. (And Erech.)
Character types which would not generally belong: hobbits and dwarves unless they are serious travelers or merchants.

Main characters already cast are:
mark12_30 will play Mellonin, Mellondu/Amroth.
littlemanpoet will play Raefindan/Imrazor, and Ædegard.

Needed characters:
Highly qualified writers will be considered to play Nimrodel (past and present).
Mithrellas, Nimrodel's elven traveling companion who marries Imrazor, bears his children, and then disappears
possibly Prince Imrahil
Other adventurers from Rohan, Gondor, possibly Lorien, or anywhere else along the route.

***************

Rules (Helen's Version) for the RPG

Canon to the left of them,
Canon to the right of them,
Canon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered...

No, I didn't misspell "Cannon." I mean "Canon", as in the Canon of Tolkien's writings.

My most important goal for this RPG is that it be as canonical in spirit, morality, character and theme as possible, and in style and detail as practical for the skills of the team involved. Note that there is a hierarchy in importance there.

The following items

Spirit
Morality
Character
Theme (which I will define below)

I consider crucially important. My goal (whether it is possible or not, only time will tell) is to produce an RPG that Tolkien would read with approval. That means that although the plot is our own and some (but not all) of the characters are our own, they must fit in with Tolkien's legendarium, chronologically, logically, morally, and thematically.

Style
Detail

are nice-to-haves. It is far more important to me that the plot and the characters unfold and behave in ways that fit, spiritually, morally, and thematically, into Tolkien's legendarium and his outlook on life, heroism, morality, and virtue. In terms of Style and Detail, do your best and ask for help where you need it. If detail is an issue, the team will be here to help you out-- more about that in a moment. In addition, here at the Barrow Downs we have some of the most passionate canon-guards around. When a canonicity issue arises that cannot conclusively and peacefully be resolved within the RPG team of writers, a canon expert from the Downs outside the game will be consulted (top on the list are lindil and Mr. Underhill) and their decision will be considered final and binding.


***************

Mellonin is a servant-girl in Minas Tirith. Mellondu, a young blacksmith-in-training, is Mellonin's younger brother. Both grew up in Gondor and are servants in Minas Tirith. Mellondu has disappeared, and Mellonin is looking for him. She takes a position at The Seventh Star hoping to hear news of him.
There she meets a redheaded man who does not remember who he is or where he came from. For lack of a better name, he is called "Red-Haired Man": Raefindan. He begins to have troubling dreams about Nimrodel's handmaiden, Mithrellas. In Raefindan's dreams, he is Imrazor, who loved Mithrellas and married her. Raefindan's dreams puzzle and distress him, and he discusses them with Mellonin.

From Nimrodel's tale:

1000 yrs before War of the Ring
Amroth loves Nimrodel and she him. Nimrodel and Amroth decide to sail west; Amroth prepares the ship; Nimrodel travels to meet him, and is lost in the mountains. Amroth's ship is blown away from shore; he dives in to swim back to her, and is lost.

Mithrellas is separated from Nimrodel. Imrazor the Numenorean living in Belfalas, finds (and marries) Nimrodel's handmaiden Mithrellas. (Unfinished tales, page 260) She bears him two children, a son Galador and a daughter Gilmith, and then (I'm guessing she'd at least wait til they were full-grown) Mithrellas slips away at night and "he saw her no more"..."


The Song:



An Elven-maid there was of old, A shining star by day.
Her mantle white was hemmed with gold, Her shoes of silver-grey.

A star was bound upon her brows, A light was on her hair
As sun upon the golden boughs In Lorien the fair.

Her hair was long, her limbs were white, And fair she was and free;
And in the wind she went as light As leaf of linden-tree.

Beside the falls of Nimrodel, By water clear and cool,
Her voice as falling silver fell Into the shining pool.

Where now she wanders none can tell, In sunlight or in shade;
For lost of yore was Nimrodel And in the mountains strayed.

The elven-ships in haven grey Beneath the mountain-lee
Awaited her for many a day Beside the roaring sea.

A wind by night in Northern lands Arose, and loud it cried,
And drove the ship from elven-strands Across the steaming tide.

When dawn came dim the land was lost, The mountains sinking grey
Beyond the heaving waves that tossed Their plumes of blinding spray.

Amroth be held the fading shore Now low beyond the swell,
And cursed the faithless ship that bore Him far from Nimrodel.

Of old he was an Elven-king, A lord of tree and glen,
When golden were the boughs in spring In fair Lothlorien.

From helm to sea they saw him leap, As arrow from the string,
And dive into the water deep, As mew upon the wing.

The wind was in his flowing hair, The foam about him shone;
Afar they saw him strong and fair Go riding like a swan.

But from the West has come no word, And on the Hither Shore
No tidings Elven-folk have heard Of Amroth evermore.



Here Tolkien's original tale stops and "Tapestry of Dreams" begins.

After Mithrellas leaves Imrazor she returns to the mountains to look for Nimrodel. She travels far west (towards Lefnui?) and finds the wandering Nimrodel, and persuades her to return to Edhellond and look for Amroth.

Nimrodel has found his corpse (uncorrupt) washed up on shore, somewhere on the Belfalas. Since he is uncorrupt, she hopes in the possibility he might return to that body instead of being reborn as an infant, so she lays him in a few feet of clear water (a la dead marshes, only he doesn't rot) and waits (for a couple of decades) over his body for him to return.

But the Valar don't want to send Amroth back; They want her to come west; so they wait, hoping that she'll catch the next ship. Amroth is stuck in Mandos, waiting and hoping.

Nimrodel waits beside Amroth's body for a long time; however, Nothing Happens, (while Mithrellas and Imrazor are happily building a family, and Amroth is waiting in the Halls of Mandos for her to sail west.) and eventually Nimrodel despairs and loses her reason.

She returns alone to the mountains, where she finds the Stone of Erech. She waits there, drawn to it in her madness and despair, and the dead come. She recognizes their despair in hers, and chooses to stay with them, dwelling in her memories of Amroth while she is awake, and dreaming of him while she sleeps. In her madness she willingly participates in their curse. The Valar realize this and further refuse to send Amroth back to her while she is under the curse.

Mithrellas finds her, after a long hard search. She waits on her, and takes care of her. For long years they dwell there, til they forget their names and take names given them by the dead. When Elessar breaks the curse and frees the Dead during the War of the Ring, Nimrodel and Mithrellas are freed as well. (Nimrodel is, however, still mad, completely living in memories of Amroth.) They wander west from Erech, through the cleft above the penninsula that juts into the bay of Belfalas, straight to the coast. They follow the coast up through Enedwaith over the mouth of the Isen, up into Miniriath, to the mouth of the Baranduin. There they halt; short of the havens, they turn south and return to Belfalas.


Mellondu in his delirium begins dreaming that he is Amroth. In his dreams he progresses thru the story til Amroth's ship has been blown away from shore, and Amroth has jumped in to try and swim back, and has drowned; he is now in the halls of Mandos (stuck) and cannot wake up. Amroth, trapped in the halls of Mandos, is trying to find Nimrodel, who has never come west. He enters Mellondu's dreams via Osanwe; Mellondu willingly agrees to help him, but his personality quickly fades besides Amroth's strength, and as a result, Mellondu has faded almost entirely. Mellondu shows up in Rohan with no clear idea who he is. He calls himself "Mellon". Several snowball fights later he is feverishly, deliriously sick. He awakens thoroughly convinced he is Amroth, Nimrodel's long lost love. But his new identity brings some interesting side-effects: osanwe, and knowledge and memories spanning thousands of years. In Mellondu's body, Amroth sets off to find Nimrodel.
Ædegard pities the crazy blacksmith and asks for permission to follow him. His father, unable to spare additional men decides this is Ædegard's 'coming into manhood', and sends him alone. His father also sends word to Gondor which says essentially: addled & raving blacksmith has fled northward to search for Nimrodel. He may be joined by other companions.

Ædegard and Mellondu/Amroth ride north from Eastfold over the Entwash, follow the Entwash up to Fangorn, then between the Forest and the Wold, up to the borders of Lorien.

"Amroth" presses into the forest, and is immediately challenged by border-elves; he demands news of the Maiden Nimrodel, is told that 'she departed for the havens long ago', he realizes they mean Edhellond, and "Amroth" turns south. They chase the river to Rauros. (They could be joined at this pooint by one or more genuine elves.)

They travel to Edhellond (evading all contact with Gondorians, Mellondu/Amroth is interested only in getting to Nimrodel as quickly as possible).

Meanwhile, at the Seventh Star, Raefindan discusses his dreams about imrazor and Mithrellas with Mellonin. She has had some puzzling dreams of her own. She and he both agree that somehow, some way, Mellondu is mixed up in all this-- and they set off to find out why, and how, and where he is. By then news has reached Gondor of the addled young blacksmith who set off for Lorien. They set out in pursuit. with whatever companions join them (from the Seventh Star, or along the way.)

Grand adventure ensues... (all players fill in the blank)

Mellonin, Raefindan, Nimrodel, and Mithrellas end up together at the climax of the story.

How it all ends I haven't decided; Mellondu may actually die, or may wake up and regain his own identity. I don't think Amroth will re-incarnate... I think Nimrodel needs to sail west to find him. Or maybe, she needs to actually die of a broken heart and meet him in the halls of Mandos. Not sure. As you can see, there are plenty of loose ends; I half expect Imrahil to make an appearance. We need adventurers, and there can be many skirmishes along the way; it's a long journey from Minas Tirith to the old elvish havens in Belfalas. Ædegard and Mellondu arrive at Edhellond, find it deserted, and Mellondu somehow slips into a long sleep of despair-- does he jump out of the boat and half-drown himself, and get rescued but never really wake up? Comatose?? -- anyway, Ædegard watches over him til the questers show up. He's dreaming that he's Amroth in the halls of Mandos. Possibility: Ædegard could find Amroth's body too; one is dead, the other sleepeth... Maybe that's how Mellondu realises in the end he's NOT Amroth, being faced with the body of the elf-lord.

[Imladris]

Name : Aeron

Age 17

Race Gondorian

Gender Male

History Aeron’s mother died in child birth and his father disappeared shortly after. Ever since then he has lived off the streets, roaming from village to village, stealing first from hunger and then out of the pure fun of it. However, he was caught stealing fine jewelry from a wealthy merchant in Minas Tirith and he fled, dodging his pursuers like a shadowy promise.

Personality Basically he's full of life, not really understanding what it means to be selfless, reckless, brave, carefree. He's particularly dangerous because nobody really knows what he's thinking. He doesn't anger easily but he also keeps a mask of reckless arrogance on his face. He's clever, quick thinking, and an excellent liar. He is extremely proud, leaps before he thinks, anxious to precipitate verbal fights, and sarcastic. He is not skilled in the use of weapons but can fight fairly well with his fists.

If he sees an opportunity to implant a seed of jealousy, to arouse a fight, to steal anything from a piece of bread to a gem studded ring, he would not hesitate to do it. But this should not be interpretated as a malicious or malign spirit: he sees the world as a game, a sport.

On the flip side of his "bad" side, Aeron knows how to have fun. He enjoys living and nothing bothers him much.

Appearance Aeron is tall, thin, and wiry. He doesn't believe in washing his black hair often, so it falls in greasy waves to his shoulders (I suppose that if a person wanted to look, they could see lice scuttling across his scalp, carrying on their parasitical business).

A small knife is sheathed at his leather belt and beside it hangs a pan flute.

It's not the longest bio ever, but is this good, mark 12_30? I’ll have a first post, as soon as I read some stuff at the Seventh Star… ;)

Cheers!
Istawen

[mark12_30]

I like it. You can flesh it out more as you read; likes/ dislikes, physical descriptions, etc. Temper? Pride? Can he sing? Spunk is good. I hope he's a real trouble-maker.

Good to have you with us!

[Nurumaiel]

A rough first draft of

Liornung' Bio

NAME: He goes by Liornung, though his actual name is Sarig

RACE: Of Rohan

GENDER: Male

AGE: In his twenties

HISTORY: Sarig was born the son of a stablemaster in Edoras, the seventh in a family of ten. He lived not an extraordinary life, though he did have his share of excitement and mischief. He had always been interested in music but began considering taking it as a trade when a wandering bard of Gondor passed through Edoras. This bard, delighted with Sarig's eagerness for learning as well as his talent, taught the lad how to play a fiddle. When he left Edoras to go back to his own home he also left Sarig his own fiddle. Sarig practiced diligently daily and as well as learning many tunes, he dug up as many old songs and stories as he could find in Edoras. When he reached his nineteenth year he left home to travel about Rohan to find more tunes, songs, and stories, earning his keep with his music. By the time he turned twenty he had found and learned many of such things and took on the occupation of a 'rambling fiddler,' giving himself the name Liornung to describe himself, for it means 'learning.'

APPEARANCE: Sarig, or Liornung as he should rightly be called, looks as most folk of Rohan do. He is tall, with fair hair and blue eyes, these eyes constantly sparkling with fun and mischief. He is strong in both body and mind, the one from his long and often difficult journeys on foot throughout Rohan and the other from his studies in the history of his land. His dress is not rich, for neither is he, but despite his mud-stricken clothes he always manages to impress people favorably without speaking any words by his lively, kind eyes and his cheerful, friendly face.

PERSONALITY: Liornung's parents gave the greatest care to raising all their children, wishing them all to be good and noble with no lack of kindness and charity. Liornung has very high ideals that he tries every second of his life to live up to. He is very firm in the virtues of charity and patience, tested and polished by his wanderings throughout Rohan. Indeed, he is often in deep poverty though he had made much money that day for he had given it all away to those poor who were in need of it. Rather than pay close attention to what others do to seek out their faults, he wholly applies himself to watching diligently over himself and correcting his own faults, though he isn't in the least ashamed to correct others when he does notice their faults in a kind, gentle manner, concerned only with their own good. Insults and jeers from various audiences have given him a great deal of humility and very much self-control. He has learned to willingly admit his faults when they are pointed out to him, and accepts it as a favor being done to him even when presented in the rudest manner.

And while all these and more make him very fine indeed, he has not yet acquired perfection in these virtues and does not think he ever shall, though he strives to. He often falls into temptations to commit acts that are against this virtues and nearly as often falls into them. He has been known to make uncharitable remarks about someone behind their backs, and sometimes even straight to their faces. Coming from a family that naturally has quick tempers, many is the time his self-control has not been strong enough and when insulted he replies in a very biting and clever manner back. He detests gossip of any kind, yet he himself makes rude remarks to and about other people.

But while he often contradicts the virtues he tried so hard to practice he is always afterwards in a deep spirit of reptentance and nearly inconsolable when he has realized how wrong he was. And how fortunate it is that he was graced with such loving, tender parents who never ceased in teaching him what was noble and good and the horror of what was not, for in his travels his has often been thrown together with unseemly characters of bad influence who would have no doubt changed him for the worse if it had not been for the knowledge his dear sweet parents had imparted to him.

And as for his natural personality disregarding his faults and those virtues which he practices, he is as everyone in his family. Mischievous to the extreme and never hesitating to play a prank on someone providing it should cause them no harm; fun-loving and willing to dance out the most difficult dances, play the most difficult games, or sing the most difficult songs with no hesitation; brave, indeed, for didn't he rescue his older brother from perishing in a stable fire when he was still just a lad? It cannot be denied that he is full of adventure, and his days of wandering on old roads have made this feeling keener within him. He is particuarly fond of large families full of children, but when his friends and family suggest that he get married himself he tells them most earnestly that he in all his life shall never be married, though he loves his nieces and nephews. His greatest weapon is his fiddle, used for winning the hearts of little boys and girls, though he can use a sword when absolutely necessary. When he dances he prefers to dance alone rather than with any young lassies, but he will consent to it if very much pushed to it. He speaks softer than he sings, which surprises many people for when they hear him sing they believe that he must speak just as loudly. But in truth he speaks very little, except when a grand mood comes over him, for then he cannot stop. He treats everyone as if they were his friends and he had known them all his life, and sometimes believes he has after a long night of singing in a tavern. He has no difficultly in making friends... his smile charms everyone, or at the least everyone who might appreciate a very dazzling smile.

[Orual]

I posted some questions on the "New Game Come to Town" thread in Rohan, but I want to make sure I get a profile in, so here goes. This is likely to need revision, and I'm absolutely open to suggestions and corrections.

NAME: Ravion

AGE: 35

RACE: Man; Ranger

HISTORY: Ravion was born in Bree to a young woman of Bree and a Ranger. He was trained as a Ranger by his father, and was soon recognized as a quick study. Although he was competant with a bow and more than competant with a sword, his skills were predominantly in reconnaissance, so when things began to stir and war seemed imminant, he was set to protecting the Shire border. His job was to keep quiet and fight only when necessary, something that irritated the ambitious young warrior. He found himself at loose ends much of the time, and, though things heated up as the years progressed, he always wanted something more.

At the end of the war, Ravion's father joined Aragorn in the south, where he fought bravely and died a hero. Ravion was present at the last battle, but never forgave himself for not being present at his father's final moments. In addition to this, once the chaos of the war had ended, he found himself again without a task. The peace that came after Elessar came to the throne of Gondor left no place for a young, energetic warrior with dreams of further heroism. He now spends much of his time hunting out pockets of orcs who escaped the war.

APPEARANCE: Ravion looks younger than he is, with bright green eyes and a mouth prone to smiling. He keeps his hair short, and it is brown, flecked already with grey, as are his small beard and moustache. He somewhat shorter than most of his Ranger brothers at 5'9", which was something of a touchy subject for him, and compactly, solidly built. His sword is of his own make and somewhat rough in appearance, but well-made and sturdy: his scabbard and belt, however, were his father's. He still wears mainly the clothes he wore as a Ranger, in greys and greens and browns. They are worn and comfortable, much in accordance with his personality.

PERSONALITY: Ravion is a man with a huge amount of unspent energy. He can be quite moody, the life of the party one moment and a bitter man too old for his years the next. Before the war he was very cheerful and personable, well-liked and friendly. Now he is very frustrated and can be a little volitile, lashing out at people in sudden bursts of anger.

Nevertheless, this is an aspect of his personality that he tries to suppress. At his heart he is a good man, and tries his hardest to be friendly, but his bitterness over his part in the war has made him a difficult person to get along with. With the people he gets closest to, he can seem very helpless and desperate, almost childlike, in his battle against his own frustrations.

The truth of the matter is that he feels guilty about his father's death, and thinks that, had he been there, his father could have been saved. He wants desperately to make it up to the world, or to his father, but he doesn't know how. He spends a lot of time at inns, hoping to find a worthy cause, someone to help, so that he can atone for the sins he has projected upon himself. There is nothing he wants so much as to be forgiven, and he is willing to go to any length to achieve forgiveness and peace.

All of this establishes itself in mannerisms that seem very quick and nervous. He fingers his scabbard endlessly, for example, and every night he lies in his bed, staring at a necklace given to him by his mother: it is a white-green stone with a square hole in the center, tied to a leather strap. It has his father's name engraved on the side that he keeps to his chest.


So, just tell me what needs to be changed, and I'll change it.

~Orual

[mark12_30]

Orual, that looks great to me. Poor guilt-ridden soul... I like him! I imagine he'll end up in plenty of testy spats with either Mellonin or Ædegard, depending on whether he starts from Rohan or Gondor. Any preference? How does he team up with them?

Nuru-- my goodness, such scruples! He makes me feel like a scoundrel. Welcome aboard, and delighted to write with you again.

[Imladris]

Okay I edited my profile and it's longer now...when I write I need to get to know my characters as it were so that's why it's kind of...short.

I also changed his name. I like this one much better.

[Orual]

Many thanks, Helen! I was planning to have him currently residing in Gondor, staying somewhat close to Aragorn as a link to his father. He spends much of his time traveling, but could be in Gondor in time to join the team.

By the way, hi, Imladris and Nuru! Imladris, heh, I can hardly flit across a game thread without finding you! You obviously have fine taste. And Nuru, can't wait to write with you again...I missed you...!

~Orual

[mark12_30]

First, I'm deighted with the writing team so far!

Second, I've been thinking about the story to date. It needs to be concatenated and brought into its own thread, and in the process some editing will be done. The main points of editing that I will do are these:

1. Mellonin's sickness will shrink from three weeks to three days (it's hardly important to the story how much time I spent in Guam :D )

2. The events at The Seventh Star will shrink down to a brief introduction and a summary of what happens to Mellonin until Raefindan enters the picture

3. Although I am very fond of the Snowball Fight scenes, they will stay in The Snowed Inn, and I will find some other reason for Mellondu's fever (such as travelling a week with no cloak.) I think I will leave the Inn scenes there (Felly and Ru are too charming to lose.)

I'll be working on that this weekend; hopefully that will give you all less to sort through while you prepare your first posts.

There's room for more gamers! Writers still interested in joining the game can either post here or in the thread "New Game In Town" in Rohan, or PM me; in addition, there are plot threads dangling in both The White Horse Inn and The Seventh Star; join in at will.

--mark12_30

EDIT: That'll also give me a chance to clean up some problems that still lurk in the above pre-game synopsis. I missed several glaring inconsistencies... :rolleyes:

[Nurumaiel]

Thank you, Helen, for your acceptance. Do you think Liornung is too good? After going on a bit about his virtues I found he seemed as though an angel and tried to give him some faults but it was rather difficult without contradicting his virtues. I tried to balance them out a little so he was at a point where he knew these virtues and understood them well but wasn't yet a master at always acting well in them. I've been reading Fabiola and with those characters so deeply impressed on my mind... if you think Liornung is too good I'll gladly edit a bit.

Hullo Imladris and Orual! 'Twill be a pleasure to work with you both again! *bows*

By the way, Helen, what nature would you like our first posts to be?

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

mark12_30 (I feel so stupid because I just now understood your screen name...:rolleyes: ),

I've written up a bio! Yay! This game sounds way too cool to pass up! Let me know if you want anything changed/edited and it will be done.


Name: Bellyn, or “Bella”
Age: 18 or so
Race: Gondorian
Gender: Female

History: Bellyn was born the youngest child of a cartographer and his wife, and the only sister to their two sons. As a child Bellyn was like most other little girls of Minas Tirith, playing or following her mother around everywhere. Besides this, Bellyn also loved to draw. Not like other children’s abstract scribbles, but sketches that Bellyn liked to spend whole days working on to make perfect. This talent was always developing, and Bellyn always worked to make herself better at drawing, sketching, and other such artistic works. Bellyn’s father was always away to distant lands making maps and gathering details for his occupation, and he’d rarely come home in Bellyn’s early years, and even then he’d only stay for a day or two.

When Bellyn was twelve her mother and oldest brother died of some disease that had taken it’s course through Minas Tirith that particular year. Her father returned home, and after his wife and child had been buried and farewells had been said to their spirits, he locked himself in the house for days on end, staying in his wife’s bedroom and trying to call on memories that did not exist for his lack of being home. Angry with himself and without memories of his beloved wife and firstborn son, Bellyn’s father ordered everything packed up and they all left to go to Edoras, in Rohan. Bellyn’s father yearned for a new beginning, and he hoped that he would find it in Edoras.

All the while Bellyn grew better and stronger in her art. Her father prompted her to help him in his business, and draw final-draft maps of different areas. Bellyn agreed, hoping she’d see more of her father. However, he continued his former ways and always went off to graph and map distant lands, leaving Bellyn in the care of her remaining brother. Bellyn began to spend more and more time at the local inn, and soon was spending whole days inside drawing her maps feverishly and devotedly – maybe ordering side dishes of pastry cakes in the process. :D

Personality: In spending most of her time at the Inn, Bellyn quickly learned to be open-minded and take first impressions at a glance. She is always able to think abstractly, and likes to think everyone is good until proven otherwise. As an artist Bellyn has learned to appreciate the creative side of everything, and loves music, dance, and of course art. However, Bellyn wants nothing more than to be the one exploring, not just the one making the maps. Bellyn can recite the coordinates of any place in Middle-Earth, but she’s never been to any of them. All she wants is to be able to see what they look like in reality, not just on paper. Bellyn is usually never cynical, but likes to be analytical and always thinks things through to determine what course of action to take. Thus she always thinks before accusing and everything she says has had tremendous contemplation put into it.

Appearance: Bellyn’s hazel eyes are always alive, making them the only differentiating feature included with her rather plain face. Her once-swarthy skin has paled with all the time spent indoors drawing maps, and with the disappearance of color, a slight dusting of freckles has arrived. Bellyn’s smile is always weak and faltering, her chin is stubborn and her eyebrows never help depict any emotion. Her hair falls long to the middle of her back and is in a dark brown shade near to black, with a slightly wavy, frizzy, messy look about it. Bellyn is rather average in build, though she is rather short for her age, which makes her look a bit stockier than she really is. Bellyn wears flowing skirts of dark red or beige, and rarely wears shoes since she is always indoors though she does own a pair of boots that are a bit too small for her now.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Aylwen

[littlemanpoet]

I'm in this one up to my eye teeth, since I'm responsible for Raefindan and Ædegard. I promise bios for both of them as soon as I can find time. Please be patient, I'm feeling huge pressure from a self-imposed deadline and have only three weeks to plow through perhaps 200 manuscript pages of a story I'm writing when I'm not doing other things like keeping the Hills of Evendim rpg going, etc. (Heh - not to mention keeping food on the table).

It's good to see Imladris and Nurumaiel here! You two have helped make Hills of Evendim a lot of fun (but enough about that).

Helen, you are putting together a great rpg here. I'm honored and eager, and looking forward to all of the interesting time travel possibilities that Tolkien has laid the groundwork for in his Lost Road.

[mark12_30]

Nuru: No, I don't think your violinist is too good. A character like that can easily get so wrapped around his own scruples that he slows to a standstill, or gets completely flummoxed, and will have to be snapped out of it by either circumstances or his companions.

Aylwen: good, thoughtful bio. I'm wondering, though, how she will end up on the trail with the Rohan contingent; I don't think Ædegard would go for having a "girl along, to have to take care of". He's got to "take care of" Mellon/Amroth already, in his mind. Mellon/ Amroth will be too focused on his search to care...

On the other hand, if she were to be rebuffed, get stubborn, and then follow (or stalk) them til they were quite well on their way, they'd be "stuck" and would have to take her under their wing, so to speak. You could have a lot of fun with that. Or you could find a good reason to team up with Nuru's fiddler. Food for thought...

[littlemanpoet]

Please let me know if you have any "yeah buts", or questions, or desire for further development.

NAME: Ædegard

AGE: 21

RACE: Human

GENDER: Male

WEAPONS his father's broadsword hangs over the mantle, and is an heirloom to Ædegard. He also carries a dagger, and can use a hammer quite well.

APPEARANCE: 5' 11", brown hair, blue eyes, looks young for his age, his beard is quite soft and fuzzy; has Rohirrim look about him in general; a happy face when he smiles; seems suspicious when he frowns. Strong in chest, shoulders, and right arm. No runner.

PERSONALITY/STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: Practical. Surly when pushed beyond his normal preferred limitations. Not used to surprises; doesn't like them. Cautious. Fun loving. His parents and their wellbeing are very important to him. Loves the old songs and stories about the War, but doesn't want to live any such life. His weakness, in his own eyes, is that once he has locked into loyalty with someone, he stays loyal to the bitter end.

HISTORY: He is a wheelwright, only child of a wheelwright; his father is lame from the War of the Ring, and his mother takes care of them both; Ædegard provides for his parents and lives at home. An artisan by nature and skill. Befriended Mellon in the middle of a snow ball fight.

************************************************** **

NAME: Raefindan (or Red)

AGE: 22

RACE: Human

GENDER: Male

WEAPONS: None unless you include soup ladle, fork, and knife, and now, a scrub brush. :)

APPEARANCE: 6'1", a mop of red hair, dancing blue eyes, a little thin. His hands and face give him the appearance of upper class life style, but his mannerisms deny it.

PERSONALITY/STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: Witty, intelligent, given to words and phrases that seem out of place in Middle Earth, always willing to translate. Not a clutz or ungainly, but has no weapons skills at all. Quick to make friends. Bears some hidden pain that his dreams of Imrazor and Mithrellas bring to the surface.

HISTORY: He cannot remember anything before a few days ago when he stood outside Minas Tirith, in awe. He found the Seventh Star Inn, where he was welcomed, made an employee, and was befriended by Mellonin.

[mark12_30]

lmp, thanks for the bio sketches. Reading them I almost feel like I've met those guys somewhere ... :p if only I could remember where... :rolleyes: :D

I guess to be thorough, I should do a bio for Mellondu and Mellonin-- and maybe Amroth too!

I am so delighted with the way this team is shaping up.

Eru is good.

--mark12_30

ps. Since I can't resist, here's a preliminary character list. Think of it as a toast and celebration...

Established characters:
littlemanpoet: Raefindan and Ædegard
Aylwen Dreamsong: Bellyn the thoughtful mapmaker
Nurumaiel: Liornung the idealistic, scrupulous fiddler
Orual: Ravion the restless, guilt-ridden ranger
Imladris: Aeron the theif and lively rascal
mark12_30: Mellonin and Mellondu/Amroth

Open characters:
Mithrellas
Nimrodel
more adventurers

[mark12_30]

Sorry I haven't put up the edited Introduction yet. Real life intervened (in a good way) this weekend. I'll keep at it.

Grace and peace, --mark12_30

[mark12_30]

It's up all but the second post, which is saved on another computer. It still needs a little fine-tuning, but I hope it is easier for the team to get reasonable bearings on the storyline so far!

[Orual]

Helen,

I just realized that I haven't submitted a first post yet. Just ouf of curiosity, would you like one?

Regards,
~Orual

[mark12_30]

Orual,

Thanks for checking! No rush, though; I'm still hoping for a few more players (a few more travellers, and Nimrodel and Mithrellas) and there is a lot of material to digest. If you are ready for a first post, that's great & go ahead & put it here. If you need a little more time, that's OK too.

For that matter, if any of you (besides lmp who already has two) feel like taking on a second character, just let me know, and post the bio. I was hoping that Mellonin would have a female travelling companion of some sort. Aylwen's character (Bellyn) is based out of Rohan, so I'm assuming she would be travelling with Ædegard and Mellon/Amroth; there's a propriety issue there too, depending on how it's handled.

Too bad Mellonin is a servant herself. Kind of hard for her to have a handmaiden in that case. My other option is to have her travel disguised as a man (she does have her brother's extra clothes) and Raefindan be sworn to secrecy; dicey though. Although there's Trilogy precednce in Eowyn. Maybe I'll do that.

Ooo -- then Aeron the thief can figure it out...

[Imladris]

Ooo, that sounds great, mark 12_30! Aeron could then figure it out if that's what you decide to do.

If you wanted a female travelling companion (unless somebody else wanted to play her), I could change Aeron's history so that he had a sister who. Might provide some humerous rivalry. *shrug*

On another note, it's going to be great playing with you guys Orual and Nurumaiel ! Thanks for the welcome and I'm sorry I was so late in returning it...

I shall work on a first post...

So cheers to all!
Istawen

[mark12_30]

Istawen, how's this: Aeron is originally from a village several days north of the city, where his sister still lives. Aeron figures out Mellonin's disguise, and bargains with Mellonin that he'll keep his mouth shut if and only if she lets BOTH him and his sister join them.

So as they pass his old village, he fetches his kid sister-- who is also adept at disguising hersef as male. So we end up with two unlikely sets of night-time-camping companions-- Aeron's rather rascally tomboy sister camping with Mellonin-disguised-as-her-brother-Mellondu, and, Ravion the Ranger and Raefindan ( who are both refined and very gentle ) camping with rascally Aeron. That would be a challenge for all of them...

Orual, does that sound like fun? I can imagine the feuding between Raefindan and Ravion on the one hand, and Aeron on the other. And then there will be the odd twist here and there when Aeron and Ravion agree, on things like woodcraft and tracking (in which Raefindan is no expert.)

Heh, heh, heh... :cool: :p :D

[Imladris]

Yes!!! You have a brilliant mind, mark 12_30!

Yours, radiating with excitement,
Istawen

[mark12_30]

Bellyn and Liorning are starting out in Rohan-- do I have that right? And Aeron and Ravion are starting out in Minas Tirith? Straighten me out if I need it.

--still on the lookout for more adventurers, possibly including Nimrodel, Mithrellas, and maybe a Lorien elf or two

[Imladris]

Name Gwyllion

Age 15

Personality Like her brother, she is very rascally and mischievous. She is an excellent actor, sometimes bordering on the “melodramatic” as Raefindan would say. Because she is not quite as quick thinking as her brother she is not nearly as good a liar. Thus, she stalls either by sobbing as her mind races to think of a heart wrenching story or by playing the role of a melancholy girl plagued by grief. Naturally, she is not as good a thief as her brother. Every time she tries to pick a pocket she gets caught, though sometimes she can talk her way out of it by being as cute and adorable as possible. Aeron though that they could make a team, but due to miscommunication and sibling rivalry (Aeron secretly though Gwyllion was being lazy), the team never worked, each blaming the other for each successive failure.

Their mother died giving birth to her. Gwyllion, not surprisingly, blamed herself for their mother’s death. The children endured under the rule of a resentful father, but Gwyllion always tried to love him. When he left them eight years later, she was sure he’d come back some time. Aeron always said he’d come back when they were both in their graves but she would merely answer with a disdainful snort. Aeron once told her that they had to cut her from their mother’s womb and that she was covered with blood when the midwife pulled her out and handed her to the waiting arms of her father. Because of that, she now suffers from a severe case of Hematophobia, the intense fear of blood. Because of this severe case of Hematophobia, she is uncomfortable around things that are red, scarlet, and reddish brown (the latter reminds her of dried blood).

She is rather sensitive to criticism, but who isn’t? She has quite a temper that her brother loves to spark into flames, but usually reveals itself under the slightest peeve. However, she has learned to control it, and it only escapes as muttered fumes.

She loves to draw and has a unique talent at caricature.

Appearance She has pallid skin from hiding away in their crumbling hut, drawing pictures, fiddling around with cooking, polishing her varied jewels. Around her neck, there is a dirty leather thong the end of which disappears under her dress. From this thong hangs a sapphire ring with golden veins threading their way through the murky, sea blue stone. This was the first piece of jewelry that Aeron had first stolen and she treasured it.

She usually wears a dark blue dress that hangs skimpily from her scrawny frame. Her jet black hair is braided in a crown upon her head and Aeron himself can’t remember the last time she had untwined it and actually washed and brushed it. Her deep brown eyes are large, glimmering with mischief. Her cute little nose is lightly freckled.

[Orual]

That sounds fine, Helen. I think I'll wait a bit on my first post, but I've started working on it, so it shouldn't be too long.

The plan with Aeron and his sister that you talked about in your post sounds great. I can see Ravion proving a somewhat difficult companion for Aeron...careful, Imladris, for this frustrated Ranger can both bark and bite, and has little tolerance for foolishness!

Oh, and yes, Ravion's showing up in Gondor. At the Seventh Star, if I'm not mistaken, and probably a little tipsy. A long, bad day, a nice pub, a little ale...the makings of a decision to go on a quest!

By the way, I'm just not going to bother to fix my spelling error in my last post. Just imagine that I was getting kicked in the stomach, and I actually meant to say "ouf". 'Cause I'm kind of French. Or whatever.

[mark12_30]

Thanks, Orual! I'll be looking forward to Ravion's visit to the pub. Glad he gets ouf once in a while. :p

[Imladris]

I can see Ravion proving a somewhat difficult companion for Aeron...careful, Imladris, for this frustrated Ranger can both bark and bite, and has little tolerance for foolishness!

Woohoo!

mark12_30 , will Ravion know that Mellonin is a woman?

Cheers!
Istawen

[mark12_30]

That's Orual's call; at first, anyway. He'd figure it out within a day of travel (Rangers benig what they are) but it'll depend on how he and Mellonin meet.

Hey-- Orual, do you want Ravion to be the one who brings the rumor from Rohan of the addled blacksmith who thinks he's an elf-lord?? Ravion could have heard the latest news from someone at the Gate, or whatever...

In that case, if you want Ravion not to know at first, then Raefindan could tell Mellonin, who could disguise herself before she introduces herself to Ravion.

But like I said, that's your call. Have fun!

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

Nuru -- Care to have our characters team up a bit, as they are both heading out from Rohan? :D

Helen -- Where should the Rohan folk go from there to meet up with everyone? Or am I totally lost (<--might be the case...)?

Yay!

-Aylwen

[mark12_30]

I had imagined the Rohan adventurers would be following (or perhaps tracking) Mellon/ Amroth as he headed north to Lorien.

They will be in advance of the team from Minas Tirith, unaware of the pursuit.

The team from Minas Tirith will be trying to catch up, figure out what's going on, why Mellon is heading to Lorien, etc.

Most of Mellonin's hunt is to figure out why Mellon has gone on travel and catch up with him-- and once she does finally catch up with him (very late in the game) to figure out how to get through to him.

In terms of the Rohan contingent, if you have other ideas, let me know! We can toss plot options around.

[Orual]

Hey-- Orual, do you want Ravion to be the one who brings the rumor from Rohan of the addled blacksmith who thinks he's an elf-lord?

That'd be perfectly fine. He'd have ample opportunity to have gotten wind of such a thing while traveling.

As for whether Ravion knows whether or not Mellonin is a woman...well, if they meet at first at the Seventh Star, he'll probably be too drunk to figure it out. But Helen's right, as a Ranger, he'll probably guess it soon enough. But I have a question...

In that case, if you want Ravion not to know at first, then Raefindan could tell Mellonin, who could disguise herself before she introduces herself to Ravion.

I'm confused by this. Would he have to know that Mellonin is a woman before he retells the weird story that he heard that one time of the blacksmith-turned-elf-lord? I was thinking that he'd just let it slip at the Star, and events would unfold from there.

Correct me if I'm wrong, though! Oh, and by the way, do I need to establish Ravion at the Seventh Star thread before the game starts?

Oufingly yours,
~Orual

[mark12_30]

Seventh Star-- no, I think the game has sifted here. Just put a first post onto this discussion thread and I'l weave as neccessary.

I still need to grab the last few posts from White Horse Act II.

Your ideas all work for me, Orual! A tipsy Ravion it is. Let slip whatever works, and Raefindan can take it frm there.

By the way (speaking of Raefindan) lmp has some deadlines to deal with, so his characters won't be particularly talkative until those deadlines release him... I'll carry conversations if neccessary.

I'll get those posts from White Horse Act II, and y'all can gin up some first posts and put them here. Any questions / ideas, fire away!

[Nurumaiel]

Aylwen, 'twould be a great honor for our two characters to team up. You mention your own character's interest in music as well as her knowledge of the places of Middle-Earth. As Liornung is a fiddler as well as a wanderer both these interests are shared by him.

[mark12_30]

Moved to game thread: title "White Horse Inn"

[mark12_30]

I think we've got enough to go on now so that we can start putting "first posts" together.

Mellon/Amroth is walking northward as Ædegard, Aylwen, and Talan (if he stays in the picture) look on. (He will break into a run soon and start making some distance, neccessitating pursuit on horseback if anyone hopes to catch him. Depending on how the Rohan team plays it, you could be tracking him for a while! However, since he is not a real elf, but an elf-mind linked via osanwe with a man, Mellon's body will weaken faster than Amroth expects.)

Somehow Word must reach Ravion that a crazy young blacksmith is running northward.

Mellonin and Raefindan will get motivated when Ravion arrives at the Inn.

FYI: I'm realizing that Mellon/Amroth is a bit of an enigma. Mellon/ Amroth was originally intended to be dream-time-travel, and there has been plenty of that (while Mellon was alseep in the Inn), but in addition, Amroth (in the halls of Mandos) is actively using Osanwe during Mellon's waking hours, and Mellon's personality is almost completely overpowered by Amroth's fiery spirit. That's why he keeps acting like an elf (including Osanwe, etc) yet finding that "his" body has strange limitations. Why Amroth considers the body to be his own, I'm a little fuzzy on; I think it has to do with the fact that Mellon was completely immersed in dreams, and took on Amroth's identity anyway. So in that sense, he's not fighting back, and has lost himself under Amroth.

I think I owe this idea in part to Child of the Seveth Age (Sharon/ Cami) who had discussed the loss-of-identity idea with me in regards to both Sindo (In The Fairy Wife) and Frodo in Valinor.

[Imladris]

First Post

Aeron pushed himself against the Inn’s barn, trying to huddle in the shadows. His stomach contorted into a twist of hunger, and he gasped. Cautiously, he peeked around the corner. They have not found me -- yet. He remembered the baying hounds, the sound of tearing cloth as he scampered through the forest like a hunted cony.

A weak smile flitted across his face and he rummaged in his pocket for something: a thing of beauty, a thing of worth, a thing that was priceless. It was a necklace: the chain was fine gold inlayed with beads of pearls. At the end was a scarlet tear: a ruby that hung heavily from the chain. He clenched it in his dirty palm and grinned. He had been careless, and how he was fleeing for his life from the wealthy merchant he had stolen it from. Leaning against the barn, blowing his black bangs from his eyes, he caught sight of a rope stretching from a cottage window to a dying oak. Breeches of varying sizes hung from it, white blouses fluttered listlessly in the whispering breeze.

A keen glint flickered in his brown eyes, and he slipped from the shadows and jogged to the to the clothesline. With a furtive glance, he pulled a pair of trousers and a white, roomy shirt from the line and crept back to the stables. After hiding the clothes in a bundle of straw, he grabbed a wooden bucket and made his way towards a pump. He filled it as fast he could and, with as little sloshing as possible, carried it back to the barn. Tearing his clothes off, he poured the water over him, scrubbing his skin vigorously with his knuckles as he did so. That ought to keep the hounds off my scent… he whispered as he washed the grime from his body. Shivering, his teeth chattering, he changed into the freshly stolen clothes, transferred various belongings from his old clothes to the new, strode back to the line, and replaced his torn, ragged clothes. As soon as he saw they were hanging safely on the line, dangling as if they had been there as long as the others, he wriggled his eyebrows at them, grinning. “You’ll be in good hands now. Some dame will patch them with loving hands and you will no longer have to brave the terror of forest thorns.” With a mocking snicker at his farewell, he strolled lazily down the dirt way, keeping a sharp eye out for a thing to eat.

Whistling a Gondorian marching saw, he observed each passerby minutely. He had never before been the town of Minas Arnor, the Tower of the Sun. He scratched his scalp absently: it itched, as if a million little legs tripped merrily along it. He must remember to have his sister, Gwyllion look at it. Ah, little Gwyll…she would be happy about the necklace and bury it somewhere in the weed ridden yard. Or under the rotten floor boards of their humble hut. He wondered where else she hid his loot -- what she did with it. With a broad smile he shrugged it off. As long as rich merchants strutted the streets of Gondor, they would not starve. As long as farmers raised their chickens and their cows, they would be in no lack for meat or frothing milk. He smiled, chuckling quietly.

He ran is fingers through his hair, scraping the skin with his nails. Narrowing his eyes, he surveyed the fingernail: there was a small mound of dirt and dead skin, but it seemed to be moving…or something (maybe many things) were moving in the mound. With a shrug, he wiped the gunk onto his new trousers and continued on his way. He’d have to find a hat to add to his disguise, just in case one of his pursuer’s had followed him to the Tower of the Sun.

A girl, a basket of crimson roses hanging from her arm, was speaking with a jolly, red faced man. His ruddy cheeks were smudged with flour, and he leaned on a wooden roller. She was sneaking pieces of dough and popping them into her mouth, giggling all the while. Subtly he changed course and drifted towards her, snagging a rose as he passed by.

He laughed and twirled the green stem through his fingers, cleverly avoiding the thorns that protruded from the smooth, slightly knobby surface. A young lad strode quickly by, a simple hat upon his head. It was made of a soft brown material, but it hung low on his brow, as if he was hiding underneath its shadow.

Casually turning around, Aeron leisurely followed the boy down the straight streets of the city and wasn’t too upset when he turned aside at an inn called The Seventh Star. The lad went to a table where there were two others while he himself went to the bar, to see if he could get a bite to eat and mug of ale to drink. As he ate, he kept an eye on the table and the men that sat at it. He could have stolen any number of hats, but that particular hat was just the right shade of brown and it was always more fun and clever to steal from a person than from an establishments who sold hats.

“Your meal will be six pence, young sir,” the serving girl said, her red lips formed in the usual business smile.

Aeron cocked his head at her, rummaged in his pocket, and pulled out a handful of small coin. “Keep the change, lass,” he said as he leaned on the counter and smiled at her.

A flush washed over her pale features, and a light of reality glimmered within the smile. With a neat curtsey and a murmured thank you, she put the money in a drawer and stared at him. The smile had faded, replaced with a slight curve of her lips. Her eyes were wide and round and it was as if she was wondering shy he had given her such a substantial tip.

At the annoyed call of another customer, the girl rushed away, leaving Aeron alone. He watched her out of the corner of his eye, and he saw her leave for the kitchen with an exasperated roll of her eyes. As soon as the hallway had conveniently swallowed her up, Aeron glanced quickly to see if anyone was paying particular attention, jogged his empty cup with his elbow and watched with satisfaction as it clattered to the ground behind the counter. Launching himself over it, he kneeled jerked the door open, and grabbed the pouch of money. With nimble fingers he poured the coins from the pouch into his pocket. From the other pocket, he pulled a handful of pebbles and, with a stifled giggle, put them in the sack. With a gleeful grin, he put the pouch back. Standing up, he made his way near a table where the lad with the nice hat and the others were drinking and chatting. “Just a matter of waiting,” he whispered to himself. Stealing a hat had to be handled with a certain amount of delicacy after all.
*****************

If you don't like it, just let me know and I will edit it or whatever.

Cheers!
Istawen

[mark12_30]

I like it.

I think Raefindan and Ravion are going to have their hands full!!

(edit)

By the way, if anyone is still looking for a tune to match "The Lay of Nimrodel", "Jock O' Hazeldean" (in Imladris' sig) is a superb match.

The tune used by "Starlit Jewel" (written by Marion Zimmer Bradley) is also very good.

I think the very best one is on Tolkien Ensemble's "At Dawn In Rivendell", though. If you don't have that one yet, run out & get it, or borrow it. They found a real Legolas to sing it. ;)

[Orual]

The back-alleys of Gondor were mottled with small puddles from the last rain. The heavy tread of thick boots punctuated the otherwise quiet atmosphere, which could be construed as either tranquil or gloomy, depending on your disposition. Ravion took it as gloomy.

"Ravion!" The man looked in the direction of the call, and saw a young boy running up to him. "Ravion! Where're you headed? You look like you're in a foul temper." The boy paused. "Can I go with you?"

Ravion raised an eyebrow at the boy, who was, like many of the children who followed Ravion, a street urchin, perhaps an orphan. Ravion didn't ask many questions--in fact, it occurred to him just now that he didn't even know the boy's name. "I'm going to an inn to drink, and you may not come with me," he said. The boy's face fell, but Ravion held firm. "I have had a remarkably long day, boy, and I don't need you hanging off of me with a sad face to make it any longer. Here's some money--now leave me be!" The boy's face lit up as he grabbed the money and ran off. Ravion sighed deeply and continued walking.

He didn't have any clear idea where he was going, just that he was planning to go somewhere and have a drink or two before going to bed. He had told the boy the truth: it had been a long day. He had just gotten back to Gondor from a long journey to the north, past Rohan, where he had heard tell of a small band of orcs. It turned out that the rumour was nothing but that, a rumour, and there were no orcs to be seen. So tired, frustrated, and grumpy, he had returned to Gondor, with nothing but a few tales to tide him over. Odd ones, to be sure, but nothing that could relieve him of the disappointment.

As a 'leftover Ranger', as he put it, a Ranger without much meaningful work left to do after the War, he pursued any word he could pick up about bands of orcs, or any other threat to the safety of Middle-earth. Fortunately for the people of Middle-earth, but somewhat less fortunately for Ravion, word was getting harder and harder to find. It used to be that all you had to do was tilt your head a little and the sound of trouble would fall right into it, but that wasn't true anymore. Now you had to go out and actively look for it. It wasn't like that when his father was alive.

His voice still caught when he spoke of his father. His father, who had fought and died alongside King Elessar, his brother Ranger. His father, who had done more in that one, final battle then Ravion could hope to do in a lifetime, now. Angrily he kicked at a building, stubbing his toe violently and quickly wishing he hadn't been so rash. He bit down hard on his lip, limping on down the street.

What place was this for a Ranger? What world? What was left for a young man who knew nothing but war, when only peace remained? Was there anywhere left to go, any cause left to represent? Was there anything left but bitterness and frustration?

Feeling quite wretched and still very much in pain, Ravion stumbled along. Even from a distance he could feel the warmth and comfort emanating from an inn down the road, drawing him towards it. He needed now more than ever to rest. Perhaps he could check his foot, see if he'd broken anything...maybe get a room, just stay away from his home a while. His empty, sullen, quiet home. There was no life in it, only silence, and that was no way to live.

The Seventh Star, the sign proclaimed, was the name of the inn. A good name, Ravion decided. Promising. It was worth a look, not to mention the fact that it was right there, and he was tired, hungry, thirsty, and in pain. The case for the Seventh Star was getting better and better.

Ravion stepped in and let the warmth that had been promised from down the street seep into his body. He looked around for a moment, then, reassured that there was no danger--he had not yet shaken off his Ranger's first instinct to assume somebody was going to kill him--he went to the bar and ordered a drink.

Maybe tomorrow would be a better day.
***

Comments? Criticism? Caffienated drinks? Send it my way.
~Orual

[mark12_30]

Orual-- no, no complaints! I like him already. A lot. Looking forward to the rest...

EDIT:

By the way, I'm trying to get a mental picture of each of you as writers and people, so I've been browsing profiles and questionnaires (remember "All About You"? I have very little info on either littlemanpoet or Imladris. If that's how you like it, I don't mean to pry! But if you'd like to add an "All About You" post or whatever that would be good too...

Part of the reason why I'm asking, is that I like to understand where people are coming from morally and spiritually-- mostly so I can avoid offending folks unneccessarily. Also I find it easier to explain what I'm thinking if I understand where others are coming from.

I think I'm formulating an RPG Writers' Questionaire of my own as I write this... (bubble, bubble, simmer...) Sure enough, here it is-- Please note it's totally OPTIONAL... :) If you do decide to fill it out you can either PM or email anwers-- no need to post 'em here if you don't want to.

optionaloptionaloptionaloptional
AllAboutFriendsOfNimrodel.rtf (http://members.cox.net/hrwright61/AllAboutFriendsOfNimrodel.rtf)
optionaloptionaloptionaloptional

[Imladris]

I considered pasting this to the end of my first post, but then I decided against it. So here it is:

The usual "All About You" questions:

Name (that you go by) : Sonja

Age: 16

Occupation: Student, aka, aspiring writer of fantasy and other genres of interest.

Future Aspirations: Becoming a famous writer, good artist, and living in Europe for three years or so.

Goal in life: See above.

Short term goals: Passing my school subjects *cough* Algebra *cough*

Passion: Writing, reading(when I have the time which seems to be rather scarce of late), thinking up stories and characters...

Hobbies: Er....crocheting sporadically?

Famous for (brag about yourself): Uh...I haven't really done anything that grand....but I haven't broken any bones if that counts.

Fave book: That should be plural so here's a list: LotR, the Prydain Chronicles, Chronicles of Narnia, The Westmark Series, Lord of the Flies, Brave New World, Animal Farm, 1984, The Outsiders, and various others.

Fave movie: Also should be plural: LotR, PotC, Edward Scissorhands, Benny and Joon, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, and Blow (No I don't like Johnny Depp... *cough*). Oh, and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Fave sport: Not a big sports fan but I guess soccer is good. And horseback riding.

Fave store: Any good bookstore.

Fave music: A variety: Mozart, Bach, Grieg, Handel, POD, Linkin Park, Oldies, PotC Soundtrack, Peter Pan (2003) soundtrack, and Edward Scissorhands soundtrack.

What you can't stand: Idiots who think they're smart, relatives who are nice to you because of duty and to maintain good appearances in public and hypocrites.

What you plain dislike: Would country music qualify?

Who you admire: I think this one will remain unanswered...

What you most love to do: Write, read, watch good movies, serf the BDs...

Your self-confessed flaws: Selfishness, bad temperment, etc...

What intrigues/fascinates you: Right now it's mental illnesses and phobias (the fact that I have a developing phobia of germs would, naturally, inspire that intrigue). And people intrigue me -- some people at least. I like staring at people's faces, seeing how all the shadows play into making things look 3d, etc.

What scares you: Manipulated children's toys (I couldn't watch Toy Story I because of that), walking alone in a dark street, the feeling of aloness.

Quotation to live by: All what you can do is decide what to do with the time that is given to you.

Value-specific:

What do you want most in a friend? Loyalty and honesty and one who is not too stuck up to enjoy life.

What do you want most in a teacher? Understanding and patience.

What do you want most in an ally? Willingness to help.

What do you want most in a team-mate? Eagerness and a strategical mind.

What do you want people to remember most about you? That I was somebody who broke the mold...or something. That I was kind and considerate and always willing to be there when you needed it. That I was a good listener...

Writer-specific:

Your favorite work you've written so far: Um...considering that I have five novels or more in the works (I've lost count somewhere along the way) and I haven't finished any of them and since I don't really have time to write short stories, I can't really answer that question. My favourite novel needs to be rewritten again so...but I did write a nice depressing, fatalistic short story called "Turning a Corner" for a writer's workshop that I think is most excellent...

Your favorite character so far: Arielle, Ivy, and Carmen -- two girls from the novel that needs to be rewritten again.

What you plan to write soon: A historical fiction novel, a novel based on a short story or myth or legend that I read somewhere, a science fiction novel, a novel based on the future, a fantasy novel.

What inspires you to write: Music. It's all about the music.

What makes your writing stall: Bad things I've heard/seen/thought. I know it's a stupid reason, but I'm afraid that I'll ruin the story when I'm in such a nasty mood...

Do you get writers' block and how do you overcome it? Yes, I get writer's block. I think about my characters, think about the period of time in which I'm writing, listen to some music that puts me in that right mood, try to draw my characters, etc.

Middle-Earth specific:

Your favorite ME character(s)? Legolas rocks (even before I saw the movie he rocked). I guess Sam and Pippin would also be my favourites, along with Eomer.

What do you like about them? Legolas...well, he's an elf who's a mighty fine shot with a bow. Need I say more? Sam is so...loyal and good and brave (I don't like that he was mean to Smeagol/Gollum, though). And Pippin is just so loveably funny and foolish. I guess they're the people I look up to and I can sort of identify with Pippin.

Your favorite moment(s) from the Trilogy? When Eowyn and Faramir fall in love and when they kiss on the balcony. Yes. That is my favourite, but there are others too -- many others.

Your favorite plot twist(s) from the Trilogy? I suppose Strider being a good guy and the king of Gondor no less and Gandalf coming back from the dead as it were, even though I don't like Gandalf the White.

Looking at your personality as it is, what race do you belong to in Middle-Earth and why? Must I answer that question? I like to eat, am fairly hot tempered and moody...I guess a mixture of hobbit and dwarf? 0_o

What race would you *like* to belong to in Middle-Earth and why? The elven race. They are so beautiful and smart and just...so mysterious. Like twilight or moonlight. They live forever, but can only die of a broken heart and wounds. The inherent sorrow that accompanies their race appeals to me.

What place(s)would you live in Middle Earth and why? It's a toss up between Rivendell (the last homely house sounds so fun with the singing elves), Lothlorien for it's quiet, mystical, and golden elegance, and Ithilien because...well, we don't really know much about Ithilien now do we?

Where would you want to visit? The Shire just so I can see the hobbits hairy feet, drink their ale, eat five or six times a day *cough*, and so that I can hear them dance and sing. The Hobbits seem like merry folk.

How would you travel? Astride a sable horse's back!

Besides the usual camping & travel stuff, what single special item is in your knapsack and why? My blanket. My blanket that I've had since I was three and is soft and tearing from all the loving it has endured. What can I say: I'm a child at heart.

[Orual]

The Usual Suspects:

Name (that you go by): Just call me Ishm--that is, Orual.

Age: Older or younger than you.

Occupation: Student.

Future Aspirations: Actress/writer/director (I want to be Amber Benson when I grow up)

Goal in life: To be well-respected and loved and successful and, if possible, rich, and to have a wonderful family, and to "live so that when (I) come to die, even the undertaker will be sorry" (Twain).

Short term goals: Graduation?

Passion: Acting, writing, family, music.

Hobbies: Reading, rock climbing, doodling

Famous for (brag about yourself): Being self-deprecating and over-confident at the same time. How's that for a conundrum? That and I have a big vocabulary. Katzenjammer.

Fave book: Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Cheaper by the Dozen, Help! I'm A Prisoner in the Library (because I loved it when I was a kid), Siddhartha

Fave movie: The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Princess Bride, Finding Nemo

Fave sport: Not much of a sports person, but I did watch the Superbowl...does Frisbee count?

Fave store: I'm with Aylwen...music stores. Also, most local stores...big, national chains creep me out. They're so devoid of character.

Fave music: Most alt-rock and punk. blink-182, Third Eye Blind, Staind, Brand New, Switchfoot. But also older stuff, like the Beatles. And I like Jimmy Buffett, but only in small doses.

What you can't stand: Ha ha! Do you have all day? But my number one dislike is disloyalty.

What you plain dislike: Prima donnas, math, and Hummers.

Who you admire: My mother and father for putting up with me my whole life!

What you most love to do: Acting, writing, and spending time with my family.

Your self-confessed flaws: I'm self-deprecating, I'm bossy, I'm tempermental, I'm loud, I'm obsessive, I worry too much...

What intrigues/fascinates you: Anthropology. The study of people is absolutely astounding to me.

What scares you: Roaches, heights, darkness.

Quotation to live by: Just to shake things up from all the solid, inspirational, serious quotes..."Seize the moment, 'cause tomorrow, you might be dead." --Buffy Summers


Value-specific:

What do you want most in a friend? Loyalty. Period.

What do you want most in a teacher? I want someone who cares about me specifically, about my needs, and my future.

What do you want most in an ally? Someone who cares about the cause as much as I do.

What do you want most in a team-mate? Well, team-work is always nice, and trustworthiness, but also a sense of individuality: working by himself or herself within the team.

What do you want people to remember most about you? I want people to remember me as somebody who cared, even when it didn't concern me personally...somebody who really wanted to help people, someone who reached out and touched the community. Plus somebody who was 'cool' and friendly and personable.


Writer-specific:

Your favorite work you've written so far: An unfinished fantasy novel. Working title: The Dragonlands.

Your favorite character so far: Jules Alrose, a nineteen-year-old boy thrown into the middle of a conflict much bigger than him. He doesn't really understand what's going on, but he knows that he has some part in it, and he's willing to fight for his friends and what he believes in.

What you plan to write soon: I have a couple of stories in the works, and I'm going to try my hand at some poetry.

What inspires you to write: Well, I get these images...just solitary images that develop into stories. Weird, I know...

What makes your writing stall: Knowing where I want to get, but not knowing how to get there.

Do you get writers' block and how do you overcome it? I get writer's block all the time. I overcome it by writing.

Middle-Earth specific:

Your favorite ME character(s)? Sam.

What do you like about them? He's the best friend I never had.

Your favorite moment(s) from the Trilogy? I was bawling my eyes out when Sam had to abandon his pots and pans in Mordor...but I loved it when Sam woke up and realized that it was all over, and that Mr. Frodo was safe, and that he was done.

Your favorite plot twist(s) from the Trilogy? Well, I rather liked the Scouring of the Shire, and the fact that Frodo couldn't stay in Middle-earth. Both very sad, but so true to life.

Looking at your personality as it is, what race do you belong to in Middle-Earth and why? I'm a Hobbit. Sturdy and not overly inclined to work, but trustworthy and fun. I hope.

What race would you *like* to belong to in Middle-Earth and why? Hobbit. Or maybe a human.

What place(s)would you live in Middle Earth and why? The Shire. See a theme here?

Where would you want to visit? Why? I'd want to visit Rohan, because it's a perfect combination of the Shire and Gondor.

How would you travel? By foot with a pony.

Besides the usual camping & travel stuff, what single special item is in your knapsack and why? My teddy bear, Bob, because I can't sleep without him.

[mark12_30]

Waaaaahoooooo!!! First posts AND replies to the questionnaire!

I am one **LUCKY** gamer; you guys rock. Happy Helen.

c|_|

Orual: caffeinated drink. pretend the mug holds cappucino?? or whatever you like... I like white-mocha-caramel with soymilk... ...you?

[Imladris]

Methinks you should do one too... :) ;)

[mark12_30]

Yes'm. :) ;)

The usual "All About You" questions:
Name (that you go by): Helen
Age: 42
Occupation: programmer
Future Aspirations: stop being a programmer... write or make music or teach instead
Goal in life: To hear the words "Well done good and faithful servant" from God on judgement day.
Short term goals: mark12:30 (Love God with all heart, mind, soul, strength.)
Passion: Seeing God invade everyday life.
Hobbies: Music, writing, hiking... Barrow Downs...
Famous for (brag about yourself): singing and guitar playing.
Fave book: LOTR; George MacDonald's What's Mine's Mine; MacDonald's other fantasy
Fave movie: LOTR; Passion of the Christ; Ben-Hur.
Fave sport: Swimming; rowing; hiking.
Fave store: bookstores and music stores. Oh, and stores that sell elvish earrings and clothes (elf-mart...)
Fave music: Celtic; Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata; Tchaikowski's ballets; mellow Bach.
What you can't stand: Guilt trips.
What you plain dislike: People that hand out guilt trips like they are God's Will.
Who you admire: My aunt the nun. Mel Gibson. Tolkien. Frodo. Aragorn and Eomer.
What you most love to do: (blush) read good reviews about my writing...
Your self-confessed flaws: procrastination and laziness.
What intrigues/fascinates you: not my job, that's for sure.
What scares you: Being stuck at my job for another twenty years.
Quotation to live by: "We'll muddle through somehow."

Value-specific:
What do you want most in a friend: Compassion and mercy.
What do you want most in a teacher: patience
What do you want most in an ally: loyalty
What do you want most in a team-mate: love of God and desire to serve Him
What do you want people to remember most about you: Hopefully that I helped them love God more

Writer-specific:
Your favorite work you've written so far: "The Fairy Wife".
Your favorite character so far: Bolco; and Lindo.
What you plan to write soon: I'd like to do a screenplay.
What inspires you to write: Usually one-liners or intriguing questions... God, bottom line.
What makes your writing stall: A sense of boredom or futility.
Do you get writers' block and how do you overcome it: I hear that journalling (stream of consciousness) is good. But I suspect prayer is better.

Middle-Earth specific:
Your favorite ME character(s): Frodo; Aragorn; Eomer.
What do you like about them: Frodo-- Sensitivity and depth (he's both profound and funny.) Aragorn-- purity of heart and motive, and he's funny too. Eomer-- loyalty and humor.
Your favorite moment(s) from the Trilogy: Eomer's song at Pelennor (out of doubt...); Sam's song in Cirith Ungol; his embrace of Frodo in the tower; his visions of Frodo shining.
Your favorite plot twist(s) from the Trilogy: Gollum's near-repentance as Sam holds Frodo asleep.
Looking at your personality as it is, what race do you belong to in Middle-Earth and why: Eh... probably some nondescript race south of Gondor that doesn't come to the battle when called... I've been too lackadaisical lately about many things.
What race would you *like* to belong to in Middle-Earth and why: Silvan elves, because they're woodsy and natural and artistic (and musical) without being stuck on themselves.
What place(s)would you live in Middle Earth and why: Hmmmmm.... Ered Luin, maybe. Remote from all the fuss, but still elvish (and so, musical) and it has woods and the ocean and mountains all at the same time. Or-- Evendim, it's near the Shire but also has water and hills.
Where would you want to visit & Why: Rivendell (elves! Music! Dancing on the riverbank!) Lorien (Elves! Music! Dancing!) Gildor's camping area (Elves! Music! Dancing!) Thranduils' halls (Elves... you get the picture...)
How would you travel: With elves if I could; with hobbits if I could; I'd bring a horse to ride or pack; and hopefully I wouldn't have to shoot and skin critters. Ick.
Besides the usual camping & travel stuff, what single special item is in your knapsack and why: Pennywhistle. Maybe a tiny harp. ...live without music? Not.

[alaklondewen]

This is my checking in with the thread. I am working on a bio for a Lorien Elf, and I'm very excited about this game. :)

I do want to toss around some ideas about my character's role. I had planned for him to be a border guard that would find the characters as they come near the forest, however, Helen suggested two ideas about his either having been a loyal servant, or at least a friend, of Amroth, so he would recognize the Amroth's thoughts, OR his being a personal enemy of Amroth who maybe loved and lost Nimrodel. Oh, the intrigue. I need to think about this a bit more, but I was wondering what exactly Amroth/Mellondu will do in Lorien, so I will understand my character's role in the action a bit better.

I may fill the survey out afterwhile...we'll see. ;)

[mark12_30]

Alaklondewen had contacted me about her interest in playing a Lorien elf (Hurray!) and I am delighted to have her on board! Please join me in welcoming her to our little band of adventurers...

Alaklondewen, one of the reasons I like the idea of Amroth and your character already having made osanwe contact is that you could begin writing now, and not have to wait til Mellon and Ædegard arrive at Lorien.

I had planned on having Mellon proceed straight to the falls of Nimrodel, search the area (obviously not finding her) and then proceed into Lorien to ask the first border-guard he found. Said border-guard replies "She departed for the Havens long ago" and points southward towards Belfalas; Mellon/Amroth understands immediately and sets off.

That border guard need not be your character. Your elf could stand there and argue with him, or meet him later and get the news and give chase, or ... whatever you like.

Glad to have you on board! If you need/want to toss ideas around, please do!

[Nurumaiel]

Helen,
To repeat what Aylwen said our first posts are on the way. It's quite necessary for me to do mine and post it before she can do her own, so she's waiting on me. I hope to have it finished quite soon.

As for the survey, here you are:

Name (that you go by): Generally my first name, which I shall not mention, but other times Nurumaiel
Age: n/a
Occupation: I don’t like to consider anything I do as work, but sometimes I sing, sometimes I play music, and occasionally I’ll take the stage.
Future Aspirations: I really want nothing in life save perhaps going back home to my river again. Indeed it isn’t even Heaven I look forward to, for what I want is to have served God in the way that pleases Him regardless of what happens to me.
[b]Goal in life: Just that… to serve God as He wishes regardless of anything that may come of it.
Short term goals: I’d like to go on a grand hunt to find old ballads and songs that I don’t already know… like I said earlier I’d like to go home to my river and live there till the day I die.
Passion: That is a bit of a strong word. I love dearest my Lord and then my Lady, sweet Mother Mary.
Hobbies: Singing, I do suppose. I enjoy acting... on the stage... I enjoy learning songs and stories that I don’t know, and I love to ramble out and away when evening approaches.
Famous for (brag about yourself): I don’t know if I’d like to be famous, but I particularly enjoy being famous amongst dear friends and relatives because they like me. I suppose the tin whistle might count for something, though.
Fave book: I don’t think I need say Lord of the Rings? :) Fabiola is excellent, as are the books by Father Finn. I don’t see a favorite play category so I’ll slip Shakespeare into this one... and others, though I just can’t seem to recall right now...
Fave movie: Again, Lord of the Rings is a given. I also very much loved Seven Samurai. And Throne of Blood was very good, too. I haven’t seen the Passion movie yet but while I don’t think I’ll enjoy it very much I also don’t think it could make me a worse Catholic. I also have high hopes for the movie Thérèse.
Fave sport: Probably football… it runs in the family.
Fave store: Bookstores are fine, and music stores are also fine, though nowadays the selection of really good music is very limited.
Fave music: Irish music/songs, I suppose. I can’t really help it. I grew up with it. I really hate to go into this subject because it’s been a long-lasting joke amongst my brothers and I to, when we’re asked to state our favorite music, compliment ourselves. :D
What you can't stand: see below
What you plain dislike: Abortion. The majority (not all) of singers nowadays. I hesitate to call it music.
Who you admire: I do admire most of the saints, in particular the early Church martyrs
What you most love to do: See ‘Hobbies’
Your self-confessed flaws: I often become too homesick... but as for real flaws? I don’t like to take anything seriously. If I can’t make it fun I don’t like to do it. I have a rather quick temper and am often impatient. In fact, let me put it this way: I have so many faults that it would take pages to write them all down... I’m not very good.
What intrigues/fascinates you: the saints. It never ceases to amaze me what they’re willing to go through for Christ.
What scares you: I’m often tempted to be afraid of things but I try my utmost to fear nothing but falling into sin.
Quotation to live by: There are so many I can’t even begin. One that particularly struck my fancy, however, was that the greatest honor to any man is to suffer for Christ...

Value-specific:
What do you want most in a friend? This is difficult to say. I hate to say a friend that’s Catholic, because some of my best friends aren’t, but perhaps it would be safe to say that what I want most is a friend who would at least make a wonderful Catholic?
What do you want most in a teacher? see above
What do you want most in an ally? see above
What do you want most in a team-mate? see above
What do you want people to remember most about you? I might like it better if no one remembered me at all, but I would accept people remembering me as long as I hadn’t lived my life so they would, but I had lived my life for God.

Writer-specific:
Your favorite work you've written so far: I haven’t finished any yet, so I can’t say.
Your favorite character so far: I love them all, I truly do
What you plan to write soon: A historical book, either about the early Church times during the persecutions or perhaps the potato famine.
What inspires you to write: Everything inspires me to write. Something someone says or does; majestic cliffs rising over the sea; a song of love and heroes and battle... anything.
What makes your writing stall: The desire to stop writing in fear that someone might not like that I’m a Catholic and that my views are Catholic, though that’s easily dealt with. And, of course, when a certain little hobbit in the family goes to the hospital...
Do you get writers' block and how do you overcome it? I do get writer’s block, and often. What I always do is act out the scenes from my book. Generally I still have the ideas, I just don’t want/don’t know how to write them down on paper. I’ll get simple props (sticks as swords, etc.) and act it out by myself or with others until I get myself excited and willing to write again.

Middle-Earth specific:
Your favorite ME character(s)? I do like them all. Save, of course, those evil ones.
What do you like about them? If I’m to be bold, I love them because Tolkien was Roman Catholic and that shines out so clearly in his characters to my eyes.
Your favorite moment(s) from the Trilogy? I did enjoy it all. In all truth I cannot think of any specific moment that was my favorite of favorites, just as I can’t pick out for anyone my favorite song.
Your favorite plot twist(s) from the Trilogy? As a writer I have to like them all.
Looking at your personality as it is, what race do you belong to in Middle-Earth and why? Perhaps a hobbit... I love to sing, to dance, to simply have a wonderful time, and to look out a window and see a little town with wonderful people and a sweet river pleases me more than looking out to see majestic castles and armies... well, actually, just armies. I like to look out and see all that I mentioned with the addition of a majestic castle.
What race would you *like* to belong to in Middle-Earth and why? Any race that doesn’t live forever, can travel but still have a lovely home to return to, and most importantly enjoys singing and playing music and telling grand old tales.
What place(s)would you live in Middle Earth and why? I wouldn’t like to live in Middle-earth. I know that’s rather... er... horrid to say such a thing. But, you see, the Shire may have green grass and lovely rivers and friendly, kind people, and the other lands of Middle-earth may have majestic castles, but none of them can compare with my lovely river and friendly, kind people and majestic castle and everything else.
Where would you want to visit? Why? Visiting is a different matter. I like to go exploring. Everywhere, I suppose. It might be nice to even get a peek of Mordor in the sense that I can then say I did. ‘Tis like the hideous rollercoasters you don’t necessarily want to ride but you want to have ridden them.
How would you travel? On foot, with a horse and a dog, and my family.
Besides the usual camping & travel stuff, what single special item is in your knapsack and why? A certain tin whistle is because I can’t even begin to imagine how lonely I’d be without it. And not just any tin whistle, but a very special tin whistle that I’ve grown very attached to. I’d also bring my hat from Donegal so I could tuck my hair up into it and out of my face when it gets annoying.

[mark12_30]

Nuru, the thought ofyou acting out your stories makes me smile. You are such a sweetie.

If you don't mind my asking, and I mean it this way-- what qualities are you looking for in a friend that you think of in terms of "would make a good catholic"? Are you thinking virtues (which ones: I've often wondered what the official list is, do you know?), faith, prayer life, ... love of what's holy? Appreciation of beauty? Respect and admiration for holiness in people? Interest in the sacraments?

Goodness, Nuru, now that you brought it up, I'm really quite curious. Can you put it in terms of Tolkien and what he was like, or in terms of his characters? Are any of them "perfect examples", such as Sam or Strider or someone else...? And why? Which Tolkien character would be most at home in your church and why?

Wow, this is a fascinating idea.

Thanks for posting, Nuru, and I'm looking forward to your writing very much.

Oh, wait, one more thing. Can you tell me more about that tinwhistle? What is its story?

Fair's fair: my favorite pennywhistle is a Generation D, in good shape, nickel; only a few toothmarks on the blue mouthpeice. I have another, a nickel & blue Generation G (they're so little! :D ) that I've had for... hmmm.... since I was a -- sophomore? No, wait, freshman in college-- 1980. So that pennywhistle is 24 years old. It actually has slight wrinkles in the pipe where it has gotten bent-- somehow. Probably from being in a suitcase.

(I also bought an Oak D, black mouthpeice. I like giving whistles away, but I gave away my first Generation D and regretted it. The one I have now is a replacement. So I keep a spare.)

I'm amazed (and can you tell I'm happily excited?) about this team that has assembled. Eru is very, very good. Awesome. Totally awesome.

[mark12_30]

"Nurumaiel The Alternately Bold And Shy" sent me a PM with lovely answers to all my questions. I'm in the process of begging her to post them here, but she's off researching characters in Tolkien and what their virtues are. No wonder I love her so much.

I was right about the tin-whistle; she says it doesn't have much of a story, but I lovingly disagree. I think it's a sweet story although short.

We seem to have quite a few minstrels here! Guitars, piano, violin, flute, whistle, voice...! Maybe we should find sheet music for "The Lay of Nimrodel". Anyone interested? Oooo! Wouldn't it be fun to have musical sound bites to go with this story!

I wonder if I could mount them on my website and we could link to them in the story. No bandwidth issues that way. Hmmm, hmmmm....

Looking forward to hearing from each of you again....

:wanders off, humming and singing:

[b](edit)[b]

Nuru never got around to posting her responses here-- and I just found them in my PM log. So I'll quote them below. Is she Irish, or what! Love it! No wonder she writes peppy tunes.

I really know of no official list of what 'makes a good Catholic,' so to say, but above all things love of God, for if one truly does love Him then everything else will slip into place. Indeed I've heard that the simple and only way to become a saint is to love God, for if one really loved Him they would try their utmost to refrain from sin and do naught but to please Him which would, naturally, make them saints if they persevered.

Humility, charity, purity, meekness, love, kindness, and so on and so forth are all virtues which Catholics try to practice, and many's the one I've heard making sore complaint about how hard it is to remember to be all those things at once. But as I already mentioned, 'love God with all heart, mind, soul, and strength' and everything else will come naturally.

I have a fancy to read the Lord of the Rings trilogy again and jot down the characters' virtues, etc. and then again what they lack and learn more about it myself. I've never thought of it in specific terms but now you've made me quite interested.

As for my tin whistle, nothing special was ever of it only that it's the only tin whistle I've ever played and it's been around for ages. One grows rather attached to such things, I suppose, and it does play a sweet melody. The black mouthpiece, however, is quite riddled with teeth marks and beginning to crack. I fear in moments of frustration when composing music I have ground my teeth, quite forgetting to take the tin whistle out of my mouth first. There's actually a little hole in the mouthpiece that makes the music wisp when you play the higher octave if you don't play in a certain way. I don't think I could compile a list of all the places this tin whistle has been..... I take it everywhere, regardless of whether I play or not. Much easier than trying to find room in the crowded car for a guitar or a safe place for a fragile fiddle. And with a dreamy expression on my face, I wonder if some day I'll be able to purchase my very own concertina.....

I don't quite know how old my tin whistle is, for it was my father who purchased it. In truth, it isn't mine yet for it's still his, but I like to refer to it as 'mine' as in 'my friend.' I'm often laughed at for calling an instrument my friend but in all truth I don't know what other name to give an instrument that comforts me in such loneliness, laughs, sings, and all other things with me!

Must run now. I'm eager to look more into the subject of Tolkien's characters and their morals.

God bless ye!
~Nuru

[mark12_30]

Maybe an explanation of my purpose behind these questionaires would be appropriate, since posting a questionnaire (with answers) is a very unusual thing to do in an RPG discussion thread.

So, is it appropriate to an RPG discussion thread? I think it is, especially here. There are fewer rules in Gondor, and the success of the RPG depends on goodwill and mutual understanding, and the ability to work together. The better we understand each other, the better we can work together; at least, that is my hope and my plan...

We are writing about "Friends of Nimrodel" who will incidentally become friends with each other. What we value as important in life and in friendships will no doubt surface in our writing, and I think that's a good thing.

It will be interesting when we finish the RPG, to look back, and look at what our priorities were, and whether that impacted our writing, or even the other way around: if our values were impacted, deepened, expanded, or elaborated on by our writing; and especially, if our values were affected (impacted, deepened, expanded, or elaborated) by each other as we wrote.

So my short-term goals are: understanding what each of us values, especially in terms of friendship, writing, and priorities; but also just understanding who we are as individuals, so that we can write together-- and also just plain be nice to each other.

So.. hence the questionnaire. It was an odd thing for a gameowner to do-- but I'm glad I've learned all this stuff; I'm more confident that we'll be able to iron out wrinkles as they surface.

And I think it highlights that Eru has assembled a good team. (Didn't I say that already?) ;) :p :D

[mark12_30]

Nuru, Aylwen, littlmanpoet, and anyone else thinking about participating on hthe Rohan side, please read the edited White Horse chapter (above the questionnaires.) Does it work for you all?

"Eothain" was an impulsive substitute for Talan (Daniel Telcontar's character.) If anyone likes Eothain (I sort of do, but I have enough characters!) he can be carried along / adopted/ adapted....

If it's OK I'll ut it back in the game thread, so let me know.

[alaklondewen]

Alright, the game will take place around year 12 of the Fourth Age. Galadriel has left, I know, but is Celeborn still Lord of the forest? I was thinking that there probably aren't many fair folk left in Lorien by this time, but someone must be there for Erebemlin (my char :D) to be guarding the border. Also if he is to follow or accompany Amroth/Mellondu, which I think once he sees his master again he will not be able to stay behind, he will not leave his position without the permission of the appropriate authority.

I think this is important to the details in my bio, that's why I'm asking before posting. ;) Thanks.

[mark12_30]

Alak: very good point. Serious kudos, o ye defender of the canon... :D

Here's what I found regarding Celeborn's departure:

Appendix B: "After the passing of Galadriel in a few years Celeborn grew weary of his realm and went to Imladris to dwell with the sons of Elrond. In the Greenwood the silvan elves remained untroubled, but in Lorien there lingered sadlyonly a few of its former people, and there was no longer light or song in Caras Galadhon."

So if you think it makes more sense, your character could be "lingering" instead of "guarding."

Good work.

[alaklondewen]

Thank you, Helen. I will certainly take "defender of the canon..." as a compliment. :)

Here is a draft of sorts for Erebemlin...I am still developing his personality, so that will change and grow as we progress in creating the story.

~*~*~*~

NAME: Erebemlin

AGE: 3065

RACE: Sindarin

GENDER: Male

APPEARANCE: Erebemlin’s golden hair hangs without curl or wave midway down his back. He keeps two braids, one on either side of his face, and ties a leather band around the rest to hold in position. The ellon has a large presence with a height of close to 7’, broad shoulders, and thick legs. His eyes, which are clearer than blue, confidently gaze down the long narrow nose that shadows his thin lips. Although it rarely does so, when his mouth curls into a smile it covers the width of his face. Often when one sees this rare occurrence, one cannot help but stare.

PERSONALITY: Erebemlin can easily be described as somber. He does not speak negatively without reason; rather he rarely speaks at all. Others have often been offended by Erebemlin for he does not laugh to be courteous. So many stories and anecdotes have been lost on this ellon.

Erebemlin has always found it difficult to show affection, and strong emotions make him feel uncomfortable. This does not mean he doesn’t feel strongly about certain people or situations, rather he sees the feelings as a weakness.

HISTORY: Erebemlin was still very young when the last Alliance between Elves and Men was formed, and he remembers the air of uncertainty that filled the forest during the next several years. A clear picture still remains in his mind of the day his father followed Gil-Galad to Imladris, and how he never returned. Tumegil, Erebemlin’s father, was slain in the Battle of Dagorlad alongside King Amdír.

When Amroth took his father's place as King of the Forest, Erebemlin felt a strong connection with the new King, since they had both lost their fathers. It was at this time the young Erebemlin swore an allegiance to Amroth. He was 25. As soon as he had permission, the young ellon began training and learning the ways of the Tirith. He was finally allowed to join the guard as a squire. Throughout the years Erebemlin strived to do his best in every position his held until he was finally given the title of Silmaethor (Shining Warrior). Taking his status seriously, Erebemlin was known for his “no nonsense” approach. Erebemlin served his King with every ounce of his being, and although he may not have realized it, he looked to Amroth as a father.

When Amroth left for Valinor, Erebemlin grieved silently and bitterly. Part of him wanted to follow his master; however the forest still needed him. His service was respected by Galadriel and Celeborn also, and when they departed soon after the War of the Ring, Erebemlin was soon one of the few that lingered in Lorien. He saw himself as a protector of the forest. He knew the mountains were not rid of the nasty Orcs, and he would not leave Middle Earth knowing Lorien could be taken by those despicable creatures.

~*~*~*~

I am open to suggestions, and if anything needs to be changed, I will do it. :)

[mark12_30]

Alak--

Fun! Especially since Mellon is a young (17-year-old) blacksmith of only average height, or a little less... Somehow I picture him at 5'9, maybe 5'10.

What does Erebemlin mean? I find Ereb is lonely, and lin is pool or mere; em is what? And which syllable is the accent on? (It fights me, like Celeborn and Celebrimbor.)

Wow, he's **really** tall even for an elf... From what I ran across last night looking for Celeborn's departure date, Galadriel was tall at 6' 4". So Erebemlin is Seriously Tall. Will he accept nicknames like Halad (tall) and Mindon or Minas (Tower)?

An elf who rarely smiles-- also very unusual. Will you develop that? He's had an entire age, since Gil-Galad (three thousand years plus plus) of living in Lorien, and he doesn't smile. ....Tough guy? Does he laugh?

....ellon = male elf. Got it.

[alaklondewen]

Yes, he is "seriously tall". He is an intimidating figure, for sure. I think he would allow a nickname, but he would most likely just look at whoever said it without a real reaction.

Erebemlin means Lonely Bird...accent on Er- and -em-. I see him as someone who has been lonely since his father died, and he has tried to fill that space with his loyalty to Amroth and Lorien.

I most certainly plan to develop his character, and use his non-smiling nature in the game. I'm sure he may smile on occasion...a rare occasion. It may be something where he has been with Mellon/Amroth on the road for some time, and something humorous is said or happens, and Erebemlin actually smiles or jokes and everyone stops and stares in shock.

If you think he's too serious, I can work on it. However, I want him to be intense.

[mark12_30]

Oh, intense is good. There will be a LOT of intensity in the Rohan-based troop-- Amroth; Ædegard; Liornung the introspective fiddler; and now adding Erebemlin to them... Bellyn the mapmaker will be the only cheerful one among them... will she go stir-crazy?

Good stuff. Looking forward to the strange forest-meeting already...!

[mark12_30]

Progress summary:

Normally Gondor doesn't require bio's and first posts; however, they are handy tools and you're all used to doing them. So since that's the pattern that works, we'll use it. lmp's first posts are already up (since he was working with the characters in all three of the Inns...) He's ready.

Actually-- like lmp, my first posts aren't a problem, but-- I'm the only one who hasn't posted bios on this thread! Guess I should do that! I will write bios for Mellonin and for Mellondu (Mellon/Amroth).

Except for Mellonin's bio (Helen blushes) the entire 'Tirith Team' looks ready to me; am I right about that?

I just posted the White Horse Inn section on the game thread to give the 'Rohan Clan' a bit of a boost. (Me, too.)


MINAS TIRITH:

mark12_30:
Mellonin: Bio and First post. Ready.

lmp:
Raefindan: Bio and beyond First post. Ready.


Imladris:
Aeron: Bio and First post. Ready.
Gwyllion: Bio.

Orual:
Ravion: Bio and First Post. Ready.

ROHAN:

mark12_30:
Mellondu/Amroth: Bio and First post. Ready.

lmp:
Ædegard: Bio. First Post already incorporated; active.

Nuru:
Liornung: Bio and first post. Ready.

Aylwen:
Bellyn (Bella): Bio. EDIT: and first post-- READY!!

WOOO HOOOO!!! (as of 3-19)

LORIEN:

Alaklondewen:
Erebemlin: Bio.

[alaklondewen]

I'm looking at a map right now, and I'm wondering which path Amroth/Mellon will be taking. Will he follow the mountains from Edoras and go through Fangorn to meet Nimrodel from due south, or will he cross the plains where he might follow the Entwash and go around Fangorn coming to the South Eastern Border of Lorien before getting to the River? Or is there a completely different way he will come?

I was thinking about either having Erebemlin do something, such as kill a stray Orc and burn its body, that the travellers would see from afar. This would just tie them together before they actually meet.

If Amroth were to come to the forest first, Erebemlin could tell him Nimrodel has been long departed, but Amroth doesn't want to listen to him still having a hope of finding her there. An argument follows and Erebemlin ends up accompanying them to the falls to prove a point maybe.

[mark12_30]

Alak, I think Amroth would go due north from Edoras, which would put him on the east edge of Fangorn; skirt the eastern edge of Fangorn; then when he gets to t he northeast corner (where the river Limlight exits the forest) he would turn north-north-west (call it 345 degree bearing) and go straight to the falls of Himrodel.

He has two reasons for skirting Fangorn; one, it's slow to travel in; and two, he found Nimrodel on the borders of Fangorn once before when she fled from the Durin's Bane chaos. He'll skim Fangorn's border, keeping an eye out for her.

However, he will be searching mentally as well as physically, scanning the forests (borh Fangorn and Lorien) for her mind, via Osanwe. I would expect Erebemlin to sense that.

(Nimrodel closed her mind long ago in despair, according to our story, and is lingering still in the Paths of the Dead... effectively sheilded from Amroth's searching, as she has been the past thousand years.)

I need to get those bios up! One thing is taht Amroth thinks his "swim" was only a few weeks ago, not a thousand years ago. ONe of the conditions for his return was that he could tell no one of his stay in the halls of Mandos. So he agreed to forget about the last thousand years (or they wouldn't have let him come back.)

I'll try to get those bios up tomorrow during lunch break. The weekend was crazy (but excellent.)

Love ya'll-- Helen

[mark12_30]

BIO FOR MELLONIN AND MELLONDU

Finduilas and Fingon are the daughter and son of a once-noble famiy in Minas Tirith. Their family is now financially reduced to servant-class, and the children shy away from using their noble names, preferring their nicknames of Mellonin and Mellondu (Lightlove and Darklove, referring to their normal moods-- the girl often cheerful, the boy often moody and despondent.)

Mellonin was apprenticed as a household servant at age fifteen. She is now twenty years old and has been employed in that house for five years. Mellondu was apprenticed as a blacksmith two years ago at age fifteen and is now seventeen years of age.

They are both slender and slightly under average height, darkhaired, and grey-eyed. In normal servant's attire neither would stand out in a crowd, but both are pleasantly attractive when well-groomed. Mellonin's arms are muscular for a girl's, and Mellondu's arms are strangely wiry and slender for a blacksmith's. Both have heavily calloused servant's hands. They resemble each other very closely, so that when well-groomed, Mellonin is a handsome girl and Mellondu is a beautiful boy. Mellonin can comfortably wear Mellondu's clothes.

Mellonin is normally high-spirited and cheerful when happy, feistly and petulant when annoyed or challenged. She has learned to quell this (with some difficulty) and be submissive to those in the wealthier classes, but she will not hesitate to argue with someone she considers an equal. She is uneducated with the sense of inferiority that can bring. She enjoys singing and learns whatever songs she can, and teaches them to her brother; her voice is low for a woman, his voice is high for a man, and when singing in unison they can hardly be told apart.

Mellondu is normally softspoken, shy, withdrawn and dreamy, disliking arguments of any kind, and is used to doing what his sister suggests. He has no problem submitting to authority, and if he is unhappy with the present moment he escapes to his own dream-world. Being slender he is self-conscious that the other blacksmiths are twice his size. While he wants to be good at what he does, and is respected by those around him, he feels out of place in his profession. But he is disinclined to say so.

He cheers up out of doors and around children, and prefers wilderness to the city. He loves old songs and legends, is a bit of a romantic, and would love to go exploring if he could afford it (and had his freedom.) He loves Inns, will listen to anyone sing, and music of any kind entrances him.

AMROTH

After drowing in his attempt to return to Nimrodel, Amroth awakens in the Halls of Mandos. Expecting to be immediately returned to her, either as a child, or reincarnate in his old body, he is dispmayed when that possibility is refused. The Valar want the elves to come west, and are not willing to send Amroth east again. They order him to wait in the hope that Nimrodel will soon sail west.

She never does, imprisoned by her own grief at losing him, and wandering in the darkness between Erech and Dunharrow. Her loss of reason only harden's the Valar's determination not to let Amroth return to Middle-Earth. Determined to return to her, he in turn refuses to be born or reincarnated in Valinor. In this stalemate he subsists for a thousand years.

When the Rings of power are destroyed and the Ringbearers sail west, and the large elvish migration occurs still without bringing Nimrodel, Amroth argues that he must be allowed to return and search for her. He suggests osanwe as a compromise, and the Valar agree. under one condition: that all his memories of Valinor be supressed completely, and he return ignorant of the last thousand years.

Searching for someone to share thoughts with, he encounters Mellondu in his usually dreamy state. Mellondu's mind is wide open and submissive. In his dreams, Amroth opens his life's memories to Mellondu, who happily receives them and enjoys them, escaping into a fantasy far more real, exciting, and romantic than he could even have invented. He gladly adopts Amroth's desires and hopes and purpose. His personality is completely submerged and engulfed by the spirit and will of Amroth.

Mellondu submits so completely that Amroth quickly forgets there is another mind sharing the young man's body with him, and when the Valar finish the bargain and remove his memory of the intervening thousand years since his death, Amroth even forgets he is in another body other than his own. According to the agreement, Mandos and Lorien continue supressing any of Amroth's thoughts that might expose the strange situation he is in; he is aware of certain strange details (such as the callouses on his hands being different and thicker than they once were, and the race of men being collectively taller than he remembered them to be) but with a combination of Elvish arrogance, interference from the Valar, and his own burning focus on his purpose, he dismisses such unimportant details and grows impatient and dismissive of those who mention them. He will permit no distraction from his search for Nimrodel, and whenever he can spare attention from his immediate surroundings he is restlessly searching with his mind for any sign of her between Lorien and the Bay of Belfalas.

She remains hidden, her mind completely shadowed and shut, in the Paths of the Dead.

[Imladris]

Hey, mark12_30 , I keep on forgetting to ask you if it's alright if I don't do a first post for Gwyllion? The reason I ask is because you have a little "ready" after the people with bios and first posts....

Cheers!
Istawen

[mark12_30]

Sure, that's OK. You can weave her in as we go by the town.

littlemanpoet is working hard under a (self-imposed) deadline of finishing his novel by the first day of spring. I've been relaxed about starting the game so as not to pressurize him any more than neccessary... but I think we do need to start soon, so we don't lose all momentum.

I think as soon as we have first posts from Liornung and Bella we'll open the game.

[Nurumaiel]

Apologies for the delay. Here it is, in all its humble glory. If you would like anything at all changed, do let me know and I will do my utmost.

First Post for Liornung

"'Twas a fine tune, Liornung."

The young fiddler turned to the man behind the counter and gave a little bow, mumuring his thanks and frowning thoughtfully at his bow. "I thank you, kind Master Ealdor," he said, "but I think that it sounded a bit odd. I fear that I have perhaps delayed overmuch in use of the rosin."

"Nonsense!" Innkeeper Ealdor cried, laughing a little. "You say it only to find fault with yourself, I know that much. Do you not think it would be wiser to simply accept that you had done a fine job, though in humble enough manner? Do not be so humble that you cannot see the facts as they stand before you."

The fiddler blushed at these words but continued to persist. "I do think it has been too long since my bow has last felt the rosin," he said again.

A young girl leaning against the door to the kitchen jumped forward with eagerness and touched the innkeeper's sleeve, saying, "Do not listen to him, Father, for I saw him just this morning sitting in that very corner, rosin and bow both in hand and in all truth he was not merely holding them to stare upon them."

"Miss Blostma, I fear you have me caught," Liornung said, bowing politely to her. "It does bother me to say from my own lips, however, that I played a fine tune and finer than many others before me. I think I shall content myself to merely think it." And then, sitting back in his chair and putting his boots upon the time despite the protests of the innkeeper's daughter, he began to play a soft, quiet tune, filled with such unspeakable sorrow and loss.

The inn there were inside could just barely be called that. Most simply referred to it as Ealdor's Inn, for it had no real name. It was a rare occasion when one other than a dear friend stepped into the inn, though it did sometimes happen. The inn was in a quiet corner of Edoras, and few people ever chose that inn to spend time in. Glancing around the dark room, dimly lit by the fire which threw strange shadows upon the faces of all, Liornung recognized everyone save a young woman sitting in a corner. She was staring into the fire, every so often tilting her head to the side a bit to gaze at him. She appeared quite lost and forsaken in the inn, and Liornung didn't wonder for it was almost certain nobody knew her and she knew nobody.

As he finished his tune he considered speaking to her and bringing her to know everyone in the room so as she should not feel so alone, but Old Secgrof called out to him, "Master Liornung, do you ever write songs?"

Liornung shifted his gaze from the girl to the old man sitting by the fire and, a playful little smile upon his face, replied, "Why, yes, I do, when there is anything noble enough to write about. I did write a song about the brave men who perished in a stable fire, but I was quite young then." The smile on his face growing wider, he added, "The leader of these brave men was my brother who in truth did not perish and was quite as young a lad as myself, but that would not have done for an epic tale." Old Secgrof chuckled a bit, and then he fixed and inquiring glance on Liornung. "I am under the impression that you have some special reason for asking this, Master Secgrof?" he asked uncertainly.

"Oh, not really," Old Secgrof said, shaking his head. "I was just thinking that some bard, or maybe even a wandering fiddler as yourself, should write about that crazy blacksmith."

"Crazy blacksmith?" Liornung frowned in thought. "I've heard no news of a crazy blacksmith. What is this you speak of?"

"A mad blacksmith," Blostma said, "is running north of here. The boys here in Edoras have been wishing with all their wills that they were older, for they think it would be an enjoyable sport to track him, especially as he's crazy and might be some danger."

Liornung touched the strings of his fiddle and gazed up at the ceiling of the inn. "It would be an adventure," he said. "It's been a long while since I've had an adventure. You say, Miss Blostma, that he's headed north from here? And you do mean Edoras by 'here' and not simply Rohan?"

"Yes," Blostma replied, looking a bit startled. "Surely, Master Liornung, you don't mean to follow him? It might prove most dangerous."

"I would like to follow him, but I might not wish to catch him. The following would be quite adventure enough, and perhaps I could find a few pleasant inns wherein dwelt those with willing ears for times further ahead." He put his bow to the strings again and was about to pick up another tune when Old Secgrof held up his hand to stop him.

"Master Liornung, I'm challenging you to follow the blacksmith and catch him, and when you've finished your adventure return here with your song," the old man said, his eyes locked onto the fiddler's.

Liornung was surprised. "Why, Master Secgrof, why does it mean so much to you?" he asked, hoping that his words did not sound too impolite.

Old Secgrof blushed a bit and stared at the ground, and then he murmured quite inaudibly. "The young man is crazy, that much has been said, and perhaps quite unable to defend himself against any dangers. He is heading into lands that I don't very well fancy, and I shouldn't like any harm to come to him."

"Master Secgrof," Liornung said in an awed voice, bowing quite low, "you have a most kind, compassionate, caring heart and alas that I do not have the same." He set his fiddle and bow against a chair and studied Old Secgrof's face for some time before speaking again. "You wish me to follow this young man and see he comes to no harm, if I do find him. Or persuade him to turn back, perhaps?"

"Whatever you might think is best."

"No need to look so ashamed, good master!" Liornung cried. "You are quite noble. I would readily do this if only to honor your most noble heart, but I do not know the lands well enough to track a man, and I am poor for following a map."

"I was no so serious about it," Old Secgrof said briskly. "You needn't worry yourself, Liornung. I'm sure the lad can take care of himself."

"But I cannot let one such as yourself worry so much about it. I have no knowledge of tracking, I cannot follow a map well and I only know these lands in the ways I travel them from inn to inn, I own no horse, but I will find some way to do it for your sake. I don't think I would mind going to those lands if only I knew the way. What an adventure it would be!" With shining eyes, he moved to the fire and sat himself down opposite of Old Secgrof. "You sit there, good Secgrof, and I shall sit here, and we shall think together and come up with some way to do this task."

[mark12_30]

Shucks, Nuru, he's **adorable**. I'd set him up with my own neice...

:eek: ;)

... properly chaperoned, of course. :D

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

Hey everyone,

Here's the first post for Bella...

First Post

Black faded into shades of grey that, in turn, smoothed into the beige-cream color of the parchment Bellyn was sketching on. The fiddler continued his tune, and Bellyn scribbled down the main outline of his body while he was still playing. Bellyn knew that if she wanted to get the proportions and body just right, she’d have to work fast before the fiddler stopped playing his lovely instrument. Of course the young man did not know about Bellyn’s drawing of him, and if he caught her staring Bellyn knew she’d blush crimson and crumple up the paper.

So, working quickly, Bellyn finished the outline of the instrument and man just as the last note began to ring and fade into the air. Bellyn sighed and put down her dulled pencil while the young minstrel began to playfully argue with the Innkeeper and his daughter about the performance. Examining at the drawing with slight disgust, Bellyn shoved it into the empty pack on the floor next to her feet, promising herself that she’d finish it later. Looking back at the table she occupied alone, Bellyn inwardly scolded herself for dallying and not doing her work. Maps were splayed out on the table in front of her, and a quill pen was left dry next to a jar of the finest black ink that Bellyn had made herself.

Bellyn returned her gaze to the fiddler, and was taken aback to find that she had caught the young man’s gaze as well. The fire flickered and lit Bellyn’s papers but she kept her attention on the minstrel, and Bellyn wondered what he was thinking so deeply about. Then his attention was called away as one patron of Ealdor’s Inn asked the fiddler about song writing. At this Bellyn turned away and went back to her papers.

Until part of the conversation being held between the fiddler – it seemed Liornung was his name – the old man, and the Innkeeper’s daughter caught Bellyn’s attention.

"A mad blacksmith," Blostma said, "is running north of here. The boys here in Edoras have been wishing with all their wills that they were older, for they think it would be an enjoyable sport to track him, especially as he's crazy and might be some danger."

Bellyn looked up from her maps for perhaps the hundredth time and smiled faintly, thinking that the boys of Edoras were certainly right in their desire for adventure. Bellyn, as an artist and a woman, had spent many years drawing and copying maps of places that her father the cartographer had been to. Yet Bellyn hadn’t left Edoras in many years, and even when she had it was not for adventure, it was not for glory.

"It would be an adventure," The fiddler, Liornung, said. "It's been a long while since I've had an adventure. You say, Miss Blostma, that he's headed north from here? And you do mean Edoras by 'here' and not simply Rohan?"

Bellyn became more and more interested with each passing moment. Oh, how she longed for a chance to be out in the world. Bellyn could recite any coordinates of any place in Middle Earth, and could recall lore of places long gone and countries faded and lost to the memories of normal men, but Bellyn had never been to any of them. Still, Bellyn knew what her father (who was away, like always) and brothers would say if she suggested or even hinted at her traveling off on some wild goose chase. Bellyn knew they would say naught for a while, then laugh, then ask if Bellyn had lost her mind.

For a few minutes the conversation became lost to Bellyn, and she began packing up her maps and readying for home. She wanted to speak to the fiddler, though, to find out what he knew or what he thought of the “crazy blacksmith” situation. Before Bellyn could stand from her seat or do anything, something else in the conversation caught Bellyn’s attention.

"Master Liornung, I'm challenging you to follow the blacksmith and catch him, and when you've finished your adventure return here with your song," The old man smiled slyly for just a moment, but then locked glances with the young fiddler.

Inaudible mumbling ensued, and Bellyn tried her best to listen and make certain that she did not miss anything important. What Liornung said next made Bellyn smile and made her glad that she was so well acquainted with the geography of Middle-Earth.

"You are quite noble. I would readily do this if only to honor your most noble heart, but I do not know the lands well enough to track a man, and I am poor for following a map."

I know the lands well enough! Bellyn cried to herself, excitement beginning to show on her pale face and color beginning to come back to her freckle-dusted cheeks. And I am the best at following a map, even if it is one of the few things I am good at!

"You sit there, good Secgrof, and I shall sit here, and we shall think together and come up with some way to do this task."

The young artist knew it was time for her to speak, and she knew it as well as she knew the exact distance from Minas Tirith to the lands of ancient Lothlorien. Bellyn grabbed her pack of maps and slung it over her shoulder before leaving her spot by her table and shyly walking up to the fiddler Liornung.

“You do not need to think for long,” Bellyn began, getting Liornung and Secgrof’s to turn and look at her. “I can help! I’m a cartographer,” Bellyn knew it was a bit of a lie, for she had never really been anywhere, but she told herself hesitantly that knowing where everything was on a map was almost as good as having been there anyway. “I’m a cartographer, and I know all the lands of Middle-Earth! I can help you track any man you must find, Master Liornung!”

---

Helen or Nuru, let me know if you want this changed or expanded in any way. I worked around using and making up dialogue for Liornung, Nuru, so that I didn't do anything wrong with him that he wouldn't do. :)

-Aylwen

[mark12_30]

Hooray! We are good to go for the Minas Tirith group and the Rohan group!

Erebemlin can put up a first post anytime his author is ready... Since he won't be encountered (strictly speaking) til Lorien, that gives Alak a bit of time.

Tomorrow, I will start moving the first posts to the game thread, and give the whole thing one last edit. After that I'll open the game.

EEEEEEEEEYYYYYYAAAAAAHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

:D
:p
:D

[mark12_30]

****clear ringing of silver trumpets****

Glad I am to announce that "Tapestry of Dreams" is open for play!!

To quote The Conspirators Unmasked:


Farewell we call to hearth and hall!
Though wind may blow and rain may fall,
We must away ere break of day
Far over wood and mountain tall.
...

With Foes ahead, behind us dread,
Beneath the sky shall be our bed,
Until at last our toil be passed,
Our journey done, our errand sped.

We must away! We must away!
We ride before the break of day!

Well, those from Minas Tirith will be walking, but... you get the idea.

[mark12_30]

Hi-- lmp has asked me to get Ædegard started on his way, so I'm doing to find him some horses and victuals, and send him north.

[mark12_30]

Nuru and Aylwen-- I'm not sure whether you meant to go along with Ædegard or to chase him; so I left it open; you can either watch him ride off alone, or you can catch him quick-- whatever works for your plan!

Orual, I'm going to give Imladris a bit of time for an intervening post if she wants one and then I'll send Raefindan by Ravion's table-- Unless you want Ravion to go and challenge the aspiring young hat thief? :p :cool:

[Nurumaiel]

I have posted and Liornung and Bellyn have set out to follow Ædegard after pausing a moment to talk with Theolyn and Freawine. I don't know now if you, lmp or Helen, whoever would be doing it, would like to do an Ædegard post with the two catching up with him, or if you, Aylwen, would like to do a Bellyn post and have her converse with Liornung a bit, or any other options. Do you even want Liornung and Bellyn to catch Ædegard that same day? Do whatever you think is best.

[Imladris]

Sorry I haven't had time to post, but I'll get one up tonight more than likely...

[Orual]

Orual, I'm going to give Imladris a bit of time for an intervening post if she wants one and then I'll send Raefindan by Ravion's table-- Unless you want Ravion to go and challenge the aspiring young hat thief?

I'm not sure what you mean by challenge....challenge him to what?

[Imladris]

How about when he tries to steal her hat? That way, it would give me something to actually post about... :p Plus give Aeron a lesson in behaviour. mark12_30 and Orual, is that okay?

[mark12_30]

Sounds great to me!

(mouse peers around corner to watch the show)

[Imladris]

mark12_30 and Orual , I hope my post is alright. Please tell me to edit if it's not. If it is alright, then Aeron will more than likely try to escape again...

Cheers!
Istawen

[Orual]

Fun fun fun, Imladris! I think Ravion's fixing to make an enemy...

~Orual

[mark12_30]

Wow.

You guys rock... what a team.

**Wow.**

I'm off to an appt-- I'll check in again late this evening-- but don't slow down for me!!

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

I hope to have a Bellyn post up late late tonight or tomorrow after track! Sorry for the slight delay...

Nuru -- Liornung is so cool! :D

-Aylwen

[mark12_30]

I forget where we left off in terms of "will Ravion know when they start out that Mellonin is female"--- but that's why I had Mellonin get suddenly shy about going to Ravion's table. Feel free to either bring Raefindan into the conversation or sidetrack him...

[mark12_30]

lmp-- fun stuff! How long is Ravion going to sit on Aeron, I wonder... Ravion's a stocky, solid fellow, and Aeron isn't!

And Ædegard-- ooooo, cranky!

I love it.

How about we toss the idea of trying to fool either Ravion or Aeron with Mellondu's disguise in her brother's clothes. It'll just be her way of travelling incognito, but the troop will know. Aeron can still threaten to spill the beans-- in a village, or wherever they are when he decides his sister should come too.

[Imladris]

Dare I say these words? Poor Aeron! ;) Nah, just joking of course. I've thoroughly enjoyed it.

And speaking of Mellonin trying to fool the troop or whatever we decide, how exactly is Aeron going to get in the troop, if ye don't mind me askin'? ;)

This has been absolutely great so far....:D

Cheers!
Istawen

[mark12_30]

:D

Aeron's travels... How about as "punishment" for stealing and as an opportunity to reform, Ravion puts Aeron to work for a day while they're preparing for the trip-- carry this, carry that, pack this, pack that. They'll keep a close eye on him, but there's still plenty of room for further mischief on Aeron's part. Then Aeron gets the idea to come along; heuses all his charm; much skepticism, huge debate...

Orual, what do you think?

[Orual]

That sounds great to me. I can't wait to get on the road, start developing the relationships between the characters...I think they'll be very complex and fun to write.

Speaking of relationships, just to clarify, my kind of weird, cryptic post was Ravion having one of those weird premonition feelings you get when you meet somebody you know will be a large part of your life, or at least a catalyst for some major turning point. You don't know how you know it, but you just do. Yeah, I know you're confused, but it's okay, so's Ravion.

~Orual

[littlemanpoet]

Sorry, I'd do the research but I don't really have the time. Is this Faran falsely accused, or the real thief? Or is it Aeron? Help!

[mark12_30]

When Aeron was caught stealing the hat, he was asked for his name-- he said "Faran." He lied, of course, but in the intervening posts he was referred to as Faran til he finally admitted his real name.

Point-Of-View, I guess.

Speaking of Aeron, the hat, and his real name... who are these shadowy pursuers that he so fears? Could the fear of them give him added impetus to leave Minas Tirith as soon as possible? Even if it means agreeing to do what Ravion orders him to do? Is he frightened enough that Ravion could get a deal out of him-- say, Ravion's protection for Aeron's obedience?

[Imladris]

Heh, I guess I wasn't too clear about Aeron.

He stole an expensive ring from a wealthy merchant in Minas Tirth. Naturally, the merchant wants it back. I had indeed planned that Aeron would join them just to evade his persuers. Yes, I do believe that Aeron would make a deal -- but only if the deal included his sister...

Sorry I wasn't clear. :(

[mark12_30]

My good Imladris, you probably WERE clear, I have brain-like-sieve, remember? :rolleyes:

So-- looks like we've got enough to get out of the city. Orual, you can proceed with "indenturing" Aeron. Once that is settled, the four can relax and chat over some ale, and Mellonin can ask for news about her brother (the current excitement has temporarily diverted her...)

So... this be the plan: Aeron's enslavement; Ravion's revelation; a day of hasty preparations; and-- departure!

I was going to suggest that Aeron foot the bill for the preparations, but he will no longer have his hefty coin bag, will he... shucks.

Raefindan and Mellonin as yet have no weapons, do they? Hmmm. I was going to have Mellonin buy a knife, and outfumbled it.

Orual-- I'm glad Ravion is the sort that has premonitions! It'll come in handy for lots of plot twists, I hope? I **love** writing in response to surprises...

[Imladris]

Actually, Aeron still has the money he stole from the Inn. From your last post, Mellonin suspects he was the one that stole it, but she, as yet, have no solid proof. So, if you wish, Aeron can still foot the bill... ;)

[mark12_30]

Morien is watching, and even if he wasn't, the other three wouldn't do that. Unless someone can think of a believable plot twist in which Aeron can lie like a rug and pin the blame on someone else-- and who would believe him, since he has the amount of the Inn's earnings in his pouch? It would have to be some story.

Unless he can pull that off, we will have to scrounge. None of our characters are particularly rich... Mellonin has a few coins put by, Raefindan I don't know. I don't think Mellonin has anything she could sell... who knows, we may end up doing chores-for-food as we travel!

Orual, Ravion can hunt, right? Venison, rabbit, maybe some birds...

We could all get pretty hungry along the road. Or sick of meat.

[Imladris]

I'm sorry my post is so short...I wrote it up last night and I couldn't think of anything more to say...

Of course, Aeron isn't going to give the money over just like that, so he decided to imply that another person did it...hope that is okay with everyone. :)

Cheers!
Istawen

[mark12_30]

Istawen, your post was long enough to do what you wanted to do with your character-- and that's exactly long enough! Good post! I'm looking forward to Orual's response.

How is the Rohan team doing? Do you want to catch up to Mellon/Amroth, or shall I keep him ahead for a little longer? His mannish body won't be able to keep ahead of those horses for much longer anyway. I should think they'd catch him fairly soon.

[mark12_30]

I see you, lmp... Hmmm, three pursuers on horseback. What's a weary elf-man to do?... ...Nuru, Aylwen?

Orual, **great** post! Ravion fascinates me.

[mark12_30]

Ravion is not alone; he shares his vice with an ancient elf-lord, apparently.

ps. As long as they are in-character-and-canon, and don't turn the entire storyline inside out-- please, please, don't be shy about plot twists and surprises. I like 'em. Go ahead and put them into the storyline. If they're way out, we can complain on the discussion thread and edits can be made. So if in doubt-- try it! We can always edit. And the game moves more quickly, and is more challenging that way.

[alaklondewen]

I've posted Erebemlin's first post. I do apologize for its short length, but I was uncomfortable taking him further as the point of the post might be lost. Please let me know if anything needs to be edited.

Thanks!

~ Alak

[mark12_30]

alak, your post was great! The length, I thought, was just right.

I only had one question on the use of "intellection"? I'm no English major! But I wondered...

I loved the hints you put in.

Nuru-- you and I cross-posted, and I didn't see it til just now. Good thing it worked out! I don't think any editing is neccessary. (Wow, huh?) Loved your post, especially the aprt about Liornung habitually talking to himself!

osanwe thread (http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=1214)

[alaklondewen]

Thanks, Helen. :)

I went back over that section, and I reworded it slightly. There should be no question now.

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

Posted! I did a lot with all the other Rohan characters in my post, so Nuru, lmp, and Helen, if you want me to change anything let me know and it will be taken care of!

-Aylwen :)

[mark12_30]

Hi Aylwen! Good post! I like Bellyn's compassion, and it will probably be the best key for the group to work with Amroth. The contrast between the appearance of Mellon's body and the activity of Amroth's mind and spirit is lots of fun!

One change-- I don't think anyone had dismounted. The whole horse-"stealing" scene takes place as the three are approaching Mellon-Amroth, and happens in maybe ten seconds. I picture Ædegard's temper flaring, but I wanted to leave that up to lmp!

[Imladris]

I'm sorry I haven't been posting. Things have gotten a tad busy. My deepest apologies. I shall try to post tomorrow.

Cheers,
Imladris

[mark12_30]

In general: When pressed for time, feel free to put up a brief post as appropriate. Handing the momentum to another team member can buy you some extra time.

The story is rolling along beautifully, by the way, and I am thoroughly enjoying it! Liornung's behavior might not have surprised Amroth, but it sure surprised me. Sounds like Ædegard has some struggles coming his way...

I've been pondering Mellonin's next few days. She is in service to Estelyn, who is royalty. I'm hoping that Estelyn would have left instructions with Morien the Innkeeper to outfit her with a few simple things, and I'm also hoping that he would likewise help out Raefindan as best he could. Little things like a dagger, and a pair of boots... although, now that I think of it, I should think Mellonin would have had some boots of her own.

Orual, I forget-- does Ravion own a horse or does he walk everywhere like Strider did? Maybe part of that pearl necklace will go towards a pack horse.

[Orual]

Ravion owns a horse--well, sort of "owns". He still has the one he stole during the War, that he just never got around to returning... :p

[mark12_30]

Ah! Excellent! Then the pearls can buy food and such.

Gee, I'm good at spending someone else's necklace, aren't I?

Does Ravion's horse have a name? Ædegard's elderly bay mount is still Anonymous, poor fellow. Woundn't it be funny if his name was "Minstrel", with all the tension between Ædegard and Liornung? :D

[littlemanpoet]

Since Ædegard's old bay was named by his father, and just happens to be a mare (making this up as I go) ---- she is named Gerta. Sorry, no minstreling. :D However, Liornung is free to try serenading Gerta if he likes. :p

[mark12_30]

I'd better edit-- I had Ædegard calling her "Old Boy!"

[mark12_30]

This team continues to perform. Great posts, everyone! Love the developing tension between Ædegard and Liornung.

In another few posts, we may have a visit from Estelyn; I invited her (as Mellonin's soon-to-be-ex-exployer) to put in an appearance. Please make her feel welcome.

The road calls! The horizon beckons! To Rohan, and beyond...

[mark12_30]

**More silver trumpets ringing**
Aylwen Dreamsong has just been admitted to the List of Members who can initiate RPGs within Gondor!

Congratulations, Aylwen!

Mellonin is waiting at the Seventh Star to buy you a glass of wine and listen to you sing!

[mark12_30]

Tapestry team, Nurumaiel just confirmed my suspicions: that the song Liornung sang in post #48 was indeed composed by Nurumaiel herself.

I have quite enjoyed it. It has a classic celtic melancholy, a clear rhyming scheme, and a good cadence (appropriate for a rider.) Kudos, Nuru!

[Nurumaiel]

Thank you yet again, Helen, for your kind words.

I feel as though I should do another post for Liornung but I'm not quite sure what to write. More talk between those members of the company, or will any event take place? In all truth I've quite forgotten whether it is morning or evening. Will they be stopping soon to eat something or rest their mounts or camp or.....?

By the way, greetings to you Estelyn! *bow*

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

Thank you, Helen. :) I'll be at the Seventh Star soon enough.

And, I agree whole-heartedly with Helen on your song, Nuru. Very lovely indeed. Though I am in the same boat, for I have also forgotten the time of day...in any case, I don't think anyone would mind if you had the group take a pit-stop. I will post soon, conveying Bellyn's awe at a kind comment from Aedegard. :eek: ;)

Welcome, Estelyn!!

[Imladris]

Just to make everything clear: Aeron is up to his old tricks again when he says that Gwyillion is his older sister. She's really two years younger than he I think. He said that to make the group more likely to accept her.

Congrat, Aylwen, for being initiated into Gondor! And welcome Estelyn!

[Orual]

I've posted, and Ravion is graciously deferring the decision on Gwyllion's acceptance into our little clique to Mellonin, mostly because he doesn't want to make it himself.

Back to horsey stuff. Ravion's horse's real name is Laurëroch (as in, the name he had before Ravion stole him), but Ravion calls him Gond, alternately because he's 'dumb as a rock' and 'stubborn as a rock'. So his name is Gond, or at least that's what Ravion will tell you.

~Orual

[mark12_30]

But who knows all this besides the horse? ...and them mind-reading elves....

:eek: Ruh Roh.

Gwyillion can come-- double jeopardy, though!

[mark12_30]

Minas Tirith: We need to post a few more hour's worth of stuff before Estelyn can post, so let's cover some time.

[b]Orual[/i]-- Would this be a good time for Ravion to issue some orders, and send us out with mental lists to buy, gather, prepare and pack? We don't need much detail, but a few details would be nice. (drawing a blank on specifics, help me out here, team!)

[Imladris]

Well, they'd nead food (probably something similiar to cram, but I don't know if Gondor had such a thing), blankets, herbs for cooking/healing, and that's about all I can think of...

[Orual]

I hope my post was okay; it was a little short, but hopefully fairly accurate. I kind of made things up on the spot. ;)

~Orual

[mark12_30]

It works! Mellonin and Raefindan have scurried to procure. Aeron, you're on the spot again...

Reminder... the Rohan contingent can always jump in any time... don't be shy!

[Imladris]

Okay...I've posted for Aeron and a mighty short post it is too.

Orual , I had Aeron address Ravion as Sirrah in my post. I don't know if you know this (I didn't until just some time ago), but Sirrah is a contemptuous form of address... ;) Aeron is a rather...brazen fellow...to put it lightly. :)

Cheers,
Imladris

[littlemanpoet]

And to whom and what gaol, pray, is Ravion or Mellonin going to turn in Aeron and Gwyllion, out in the wilds, far from anywhere, when they misbehave and try to run off? Should be fun. :D

There is a slight problem with "sirrah", in that it is Shakespearian English, and therefore an anachronism in Middle Earth, Fourth Age. Now, Raefindan could get away with it, for quite legitimate reasons that will probably be revealed over the course of the rpg, but that's an entirely different thing. I'd suggest a derogation more in keeping with 4th age Middle Earth, whatever that may be.

[Imladris]

Erk. Thanks LMP...*goes and edits...*

Edit: Okay...I searched...and I searched...and I searched some more for an Anglo Saxon dictionary that would convert to English but I didn't find one. I also searched for web sites on the Westron language and I still couldn't find one. I searched for Middle-earth Insults and I couldn't find anything. It appears that the elven tongues have pretty much monopolized the web. I don't want Aeron to openly insult Ravion -- I mean, he's not the brightest kid on the block when it comes to respect for authority, but he's not stupid enough to openly insult Ravion.

So, why do I want Aeron to insult Ravion? He's grown up most of his life without authority, and now he has just become bound to Ravion. Not only that, Ravion really rubs him the wrong way. Every since he stole that necklace, things have been going wrong for him. Now, he and his sister have been threatened with jail life, so what can he do other than subtly insult Ravion?

Sorry for going into that humungous explanation, but I just wanted you guys to know that I did have a reason for this. Which brings me to my next question. Is there anything Middle-earthan that is a sly insult?

Thanks.

[mark12_30]

Tolkien wove his insults into the dialog. "Stupid, fat hobbit." How about this for a name: "Wormtongue."

Perhaps simple irony? "I await your command, O Master of my Every Moment." "Of course I will obey the Dominator of my will and destiny." Or something a little more subtle than that.

Bellyn, we have a map question courtesy of Ædegard! Aylwen, you're on. Co-ordinates! Estimates "As the Crow Flies" versus "as the horse struggles"! An erudite dissertation on the history, legends and rumors associated with each landmark!

[Imladris]

Okay...I edited it. After thinking about your good example of irony, I decided to just have Aeron call him "Lord Ravion." That shouldn't be too bad...hopefully.

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

Alrighty, I'll get a post up tomorrow afternoon, since it's been a busy day. Sorry for the slight delay, guys! :(

-Aylwen

[Imladris]

Orual , I had a short conversation with Ravion and Aeron in my post and I hope that I didn't use your character ill. Please let me know if it's alright. :)

Cheers,
Imladris

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Thanks for the friendly welcome, all! Estelyn will be making a brief appearance to free Mellonin from her service and wish her well. I'm writing a post for her that will go up as soon as it's finished - this evening, I hope, or tomorrow at the latest.

[mark12_30]

Estelyn--

Many thanks for the blessing and sendoff. And, for keeping Mellonin in your service-- nice touch!

Raefindan (by now) has water bottles, flint, pans, and a dagger, and a bow with full quiver. Mellonin has procured food. No doubt Ravion is a master at packing quickly and efficiently! We await his orders. Shall we depart at dawn, or make some distance tonight?

:p

**the horizon beckons**

:D

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

Rohan team - do forgive the rather short post, I was just quite busy yesterday and did not want to hold anyone up, so I thought I might as well post when I could. :confused: My apologies!

-Aylwen

[Nurumaiel]

My lady Bellyn, Liornung has done what has been requested of him. A light-hearted, quick, and happy song as been sung and the Rohan group proceeds ever onward!

[littlemanpoet]

Thanks for posting Raefindan, Helen!

Just a few verrrrry minor quibbles (if you feel like fixing them fine but don't feel obligated):

Raefindan would speak in contractions: don't, I'm, we're, can't, etc.

His vocal filler would be a silent pause instead of "ah" - and if you can find a place where I've used vocal filler besides silence, prove me wrong and I'll just blush. :D

Instead of Good sir, he'd say "sir"

The last couple of questions were great! I could not have done any better. Verrrrry nice touch.

:)

[littlemanpoet]

I'm sorry to be a real pain, but I need to get this out there, and please understand that this probably is more my problem than yours.......

I'm not sure I'm comfortable with Ædegard being that downright mean. If I may put words into his mouth through your pen, Instead of:

"...but Ædegard gave her an evil look and interrupted her before she could continue.

"We will decide when we must, and I think that the morning is early enough without your stories and silly children's tales!" Ædegard snapped, mounting..."

how about this?....

"...but Ædegard blew an impatient sigh and interrupted her before she could continue.

"My question was about the distance to Lorien, not about the Entwash and its legends. Let us move!" Ædegard mounted..."

Dour and haunted Ædegard may be, and it's okay for Bellyn to THINK he's bitter, but I don't want him to come off as some kind of malicious Bill Ferny type. Ædegard will not cut people down in mockery. Please say that's all right with you...

*****

As for asking for a song, it might be better said that Liornung doesn't THINK he ever would. I hope I'm not trying to be too subtle with this.

"Critical view of all things and people!?!" - - - Augh!

"It was indeed odd that the young man should expect so much of others yet not be willing to give equally as much himself." - - - Could you please show me how I've made Ædegard look this way to you? Are you sure you're not reading stuff into him that I haven't written?

Maybe I need to just let your characters think what they will, and let the story run as it will, but this is really, um, bugging me, to have Ædegard misunderstood, not at just a character level, but at a writerly level, if you know what I mean.

I'll try to explain better. Ædegard is a protagonist, kind of closed, a bit dour, having lived a very small life, limited pretty much to four dark walls. He knows how to have fun, and whereas he speaks only what he thinks is necessary to get across what he means to get across, he's not the kind who would stamp meanly on someone else's treasures. Nor is he the kind who expects perfection from anyone. He has lived a limited life, and a quiet one, and what I HOPE I have shown with him is that he's not used to such boisterous noise, but is beginning to think that maybe it's good for him, which he tried to show by offering the praise to Liornung's song. Yes, his own thoughts inside his head may suggest a quickness to judge, but he's careful what passes his lips.

I apologize if I'm cutting this too fine.

[mark12_30]

littlemanpoet,

Thanks for the clarifications and suggestions. We'll work as a team to bring out the complexity and subtlety of Ædegard's character. Our current tendency to oversimplify him is partly my fault for making him so cranky in my first couple of posts. I do apologize. Please let me know if there is anything in the older posts-- or any of my posts-- that I should soften or deepen, and I will hasten to edit!

Reading your post makes me wonder if he has some similarities to Ravion-- great heart, gruff troubled exterior. (Must be a guy-thing. :rolleyes: How's that for an unsubtle oversimplification???)

...okay, I repent in dust and ashes: "Mea culpa." I will try to be better at getting inside his head, and seeing (and portraying) the compassion he hides. He was the first one to champion my crazy blacksmith, after all.

:D

--bolco / Helen

[mark12_30]

Alaklondewen,

That last osanwe of Amroth's was a wild shout... Especially if he was listening, it's possible/ probable that Erebemlin overheard it. ;)

--bolco / Helen

ps. Nuru-- Another admirable poem. Do these songs have tunes? :p

[Nurumaiel]

littlemanpoet, I understand your feelings, and I must admit it was rather difficult for me to lightheartedly look upon what Ædegard thought of Liornung. I do apologize if my post makes it sound as though Ædegard is a nasty one, but I myself in all sincerity don't believe he is and have been able to understand a bit of his personality as you have described it by how you have written your posts. However in your posts it is easier to see Ædegard's true personality for you also include those thoughts and feelings which he never speaks aloud. What he does speak aloud to Bellyn and Liornung is often a bit gruff and annoyed and it might give the impression to those who cannot see his thoughts (namely Bellyn and Liornung) that his personality fits his words. Liornung is a character who does not think it is an honorable thing to judge those by what they say but rather how they are, yet this is one thing he seeks to improve himself on for he doesn't have high skill, shall we say, in it yet.

But this by no means signifies that this is what I think of your character, and I do believe your posts would show readers his true personality rather than what his companions think of him. And take comfort that as Liornung spends more time with Ædegard he will begin to see more of what the latter is wholly like rather than mere first impressions. I do admit most humbly that I had forgotten Ædegard's kind comment upon Liornung's song while I did notice it and was intending to have a few understanding words exchanged between them.

Do you have any suggestions for how I should change the way I write of him? For while I did not think it would be well that Liornung think differently of Ædegard so quickly it is quite possible and perhaps even very probable that more than merely describing what Liornung thinks of him I have also given anyone who might read what I have written that that is how Ædegard really is. I will accept any suggestions most gratefully, and I hope humbly. :D Thank you!

Helen, I have been composing various tunes for Liornung's little songs, but haven't gotten so far as the ones I have posted upon this site. I am considering, however, creating just a little website entitled 'Liornung's Book of Songs' with all those songs he has composed and their basic melodies.

Must run now! Thank you for your attention so far! :)

[littlemanpoet]

Thanks, Nurumaiel. :)

Since Liornung's thoughts are the location of what I was troubled with, I have nothing to offer - Liornung may think what he likes, of course. Face it, this is going to be an interesting "push his buttons" relationship between Liornung and Ædegard. Let's have fun with it! :D

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

:eek: Sorry, I'll edit a few things for Ædegard and make sure to check with you, lmp, before I do anything silly with someone else's character. :)

[Imladris]

Would it be alright if Aeron and Gwyllion lived in a small village a few hours from the Seventh Star?

Cheers,
Imladris

[mark12_30]

Fine by me!

Regarding the visit to Mellonin's parents, they will have rushed out to a Gondorian "pawnshop" and sold one of their last remaining heirlooms so that Mellonin & co will have some travel money. It's a modest sum but it should help the travellers buy some food when they run out. She can feel suitably guilty.

Anyone who wants to can bring us through the stables and down to the seventh circle to Mellonin's parents' room. I'll add the heirloom sale at that point. (Feel free to just save me a spot, and it can get pasted in.) And then it's off to pick up Gwillion, and then the open road!

I will post an outline one of these days about the overall chase. I was debating pursuing the Anduin, but with Nimrodel's love of water it is a logical place for Amroth to search. So down the Anduin it is.

For now, "We ride North!" (Okay, 'we're' walking, 'they're' riding, but who can resist a good Eomer movie quote??)

I love this team. You guys are the best.

[Nurumaiel]

As for Liornung being able to think what he pleases..... alas that he can, for it's going to haunt him through future nights when he realizes how unfair he was to his companion! But I'm hoping for a very firm friendship between the two before the end of the game.

Any idea where our Rohan group will be going from here? Unless, of course, something has already happened. I haven't read the most recent posts on the game thread yet.

If this is a very foolish question and the answer is very obvious I apologize, but it has been torturing me for the past few days but I can never remember to go look through the game plans to see if it mentions something on this.... are the Rohan group and the Gondor group going to join up at some point in the game, or will they remain separate groups for the length of the journey?

[mark12_30]

WHen the two groups will meet... Good queston. Given that the Rohan group is on horseback and the Minas Tirith group is on foot, not for a while. I think (A) the Minas Tirith group will try to procure horses in Rohan or (B) they will beg or borrow some boats, down the Anduin (perhaps they will find Aragorn's boat on the Amon Hen side and Friodo's boat on the Amon Lhaw side...)

Anyway, 1000 years ago Nimrodel stopped by the stream of Gilrain (in south Gondor) because it reminded her of her own stream. There she fell into a long sleep and so "missed the boat". Erebemlin and Amroth will learn this and carefully search the length of the entire river. If the Minas Tirith group hasn't caught up yet, they will at that point.

For one thing, they will need Raefindan's dreams to find out more about what happened. Raefindan will be Amroth's key to learning the details of Mithrellas and Imrazor. From that he will deduce that Nimrodel was imprisoned with the dead. Then they'll go to Erech, and beyond, into the Paths.

The trip to Lorien and down the Anduin can be made in as little, or as much, detail as the game produces. Whether we waltz from Rohan to Lorien and down teh Anduin to South Gondor completely unmolested or battling every inch of the way, who knows? Time will tell. Perhaps there'll be a happy mix.

[mark12_30]

Hello Tapestry team,

I want to reiterate how much I'm enjoying this game; the character interactions are complex and therefore fascinating, the action/drama possibilities are wide-open, and I think the team is one of the best on the Downs. :p :D Go ahead, tell me I'm biased. I don't care. :D

So, what's next? Let's have some ideas? Ents and huorns at Fangorn? Orcs? Trolls? Dragons from the North Mountains????
And for Ravion's Rangers... A less than enthusiastic welcome in Rohan? Some sort of conflict as 'Ravion's bandits' traverse the Pelennor (hard to imagine...?) Ravion's personal enemies (does he have any?) Aeron's irate "benefactors"?

Let the imaginations run wild...

[Imladris]

Hey,

I was planning on having my next post to be about Aeron picking Gwyllion up. Do you also want me to bring the group to the village in that post (kind of like a forwarding post), or do you just want to have the individual members do their own posts bringing them to the village?

Did that make sense?

Cheers,
Istawen

[mark12_30]

We have lots of ground to cover so I think it's best to go ahead.

In general, if anybody has a reaction of "Hey, wait, I had something I wanted to do three posts back...!" then we can always paste it into a previous post. That's part of co-operating in a complex game. The writer who wants the pasting asks the writer who has the needed spot. Or, depending on the complexity, we can leapfrog; copy the post , add it in at the end, and then delete the original.

So when in doubt, people, surge ahead! I'm looking at the maps, now (making some zoomed-in maps of the ground we will be covering in this game) and I'm looking at between 1,500 and 2.000 miles.

That's on a par with Frodo's trip.

(If I sound a little surprised myself, well.....)

Travelling: IO went hunting on the net for rate of travel data. I found this much. PLEASE add your two cents worth, everyone! Nuru, you ride, don't you? How far could you go on horseback in one day?


On FOOT:
3rd infantry 25 to 30 miles daily;
polish atrocities: 25 to 30 miles daily
bad day: 12 or 15 miles daily
at 3 miles/hour, six hours is 18 miles; 8 hours is 24 miles

Frodo: averaged 17 miles/ day from Bag End to Rivendell? Referred to by mapmaker as "forced marches"...?


on HORSEBACK:
With horses swift as the wind (Mearas or Akhal Teke):
Probe, an emperor of Rome, is known to have been presented with an Akhal-Teke horse that could cover the distance of 150 kilometers a day for up to ten days in a row. (Translation... 1 km = 0.6211 miles ) 93.165 miles/ day. Good heavens, that's incredible!

Cavalry: 35 miles daily (which one? What nationality?)

As we know, the Magyars' main occupation was animal husbandry, especially horse-breeding. Their horses, relatively small but very strong, had great speed and stamina. Each soldier had 3 or 4 horses, riding them in turn so as not to overtire any of them. Thus the army was able to cover 25 to 30 miles daily for weeks,/22/ whereas the western knight-armies rode a maximum of 12 to 15 miles a day for only a few days.

In the year 937, a Hungarian army of 8-10,000 light cavalrymen rode 5,000 miles in ten months. Unmatched achievement in military history, Ferenc Julier, Magyar Hadvezerek.

American West: He marched with a large wagon train to carry forage for our horses, for we were to be gone nearly four months, and could not expect to find adequate pasturage along our route. We arose at 3 A. M., marched at 4.30, and halted for camp on the best water we could find, averaging thirty- three miles daily throughout the march.

[mark12_30]

Love these latest posts. Ravion's motley band is going to be a lot of fun!

[littlemanpoet]

Funny, this same topic came up at FWW (for those of you who want to know what that is, PM me). Here's what I wrote there:

I have an atlas of the journey from Hobbiton to Mordor. On 9/24 Frodo, Sam, and Pippin traveled 24 miles, stopping for supper and walking with Gildor and the Elves. They made 14 miles through the Midgewater marshes in one day (Oct. 3). On Oct. 18 Glorfindel pushed them through the night, on the East Road, and they made 30 miles on foot before they were allowed a 5 hour rest. Then they put in another 20 miles, on road again, the next day. Okay, that's something for on foot.

Hmmmm.... horses.....Wouldn't you know the maps are less helpful? I'm looking at Rohan. Gandalf's and Pippin's ride took 3 days and covered 300 miles. The march of the Rohirrim by horse from Edoras to Minas Tirith had them going about 60 miles a day. Hope that helps.

[mark12_30]

Profoundly quiet today... Are most of us busy Wednesday? (I have band practice.)

I've brought a suspicious dog towards Ravion's group, guessing that Gwillion will react fearfully. Imladris, is this right or does she love dogs fearlessly?

The dog seems to me just a foreshadow of things to come; he doesn't need to be a big deal. Or-- if somebody feels like making him a big deal, have fun.

It's quiet in Rohan... Anybody there?

[mark12_30]

Thursday, April 08, 2004
Hi all,

I've been looking hard at maps.

First of all, the head start that Amroth, Ædegard, Liornung and Bellyn got on Ravion turns out to be very good news. According to Ravion,

"I was in Rohan not a week gone by... ...and he is no longer in Edoras, as I said. As I also said, he is headed north. No one knew where he was bound."

So let's say the Rohan team had a week's head start. Maybe a little more.

I make it 300 miles from Edoras to the stream of Nimrodel at the Lorien edge. Average Cavalry speed is 33 miles per day, but Mellon-Amroth is pushing hard, and although he can't match Shadowfax's speed (100 miles a day) he's faster than 33 mi/day. Let's call it 45 miles / day to Lorien, since he's guessing he'll find Nimrodel there and the horses can rest. (He'll be wrong.) So, he gets to the edge of Lorien in a week. In other words, our timescales are a bit skewed; the Ædegard group is a week ahead of Ravion's group. We can either leave it that way for a little bit, or do some hasty writing and "catch up" timewise.

Timewise: As Ravion is leaving Minas Tirith, Erebemlin is meeting the Rohan group.

So let's say Erebemlin meets them where the Nimrodel-stream meets the edge of Lorien. He gives Mellon-Amroth the news that "She departed for the Havens long ago." So instead of searching along the banks of the Nimrodel-- the banks of which, Erebemlin assures him are quite deserted-- They immediately skirt the south of the forest and follow the Anduin river; the horses are growing weary.

So as Ædegard's group is heading south from Lorien along the Anduin on weary horses. Let's say they slow down to under 30 miles per day. Ravion's walkers are heading north-northwest, skirting the banks of the Anduin. Let's say they struggle along at twenty miles a day.

Somewhere between Rauros, Sarn Gebir, and the East Emnet, I'm guessing they will either hear word of Ædegard's group, or, they will actually find their trail. So at that point, they turn and follow the trail.

Do they each have horses by that time? What do you all think? Would some herdsman of Rohan take pity on them and offer them horses? (It's been nice working with Echo and the old Bay Mare, so... I confess I like the idea.)

I'm going to rough all this out on a map, and put it up on my website. It'll be a large map showing from the Bay of Belfalas to Lorien, with the trails I just described roughed out on it.

The Map (http://members.cox.net/hrwright61/TapTPM.JPG)

Comments....?

Grace and peace, --mark12_30

[mark12_30]

I've also been thinking whether we want to compress time. I lean away from this in general, but in a game where this much distance is covered I felt I should think it over. I came up with a few ideas.

The obvious one is the old "And then after a whole month had gone by, our heroes found themselves at such and such a place." I grant that sometimes this approach is very neccessary, especially for games with a tight time-limit. I suppose it'll do in a pinch... However, as a writer, I've never cared for it.

But another option would be, when we reach a section of the journey where we want to really make tracks, each writer could describe one full day of travel, as briefly or as detailed as you like. I confess I like this option a great deal.

For an extreme moment, let's imagine the game from here on out as as Amroth's entire 2000-mile journey. Let's say he *just * started out. On horseback (good old Echo!) and guessing 25 miles/ day, that averages out to 80 days, or a little under three months real-time.

Amroth is combing river banks and searching hard, whereas Ravion's group is just trying to find Mellon-Amroth. So even if they are on foot, they can take certain short-cuts. And they may not be on foot for very long depending on the generosity of Rohan's East Emnet.

Gondor games have no set time limit. If we want to, we can cover the entire 2000-mile journey, both groups, in hour-by-hour detail, and take as long as we want to do it. That's up to us as a team. We can stretch this out for nine months if we want to. (Yes, once I was in a game from February to November. And I was the short-timer rookie in that game. Others were in it for much longer.)

I say all this mostly because the idea of a game that went on forever was stressing me out! But if we shoot for a day per day (so to speak) we're still looking at about three months from now. If we want more detail, fine. But we've got other options than the "disappearing month syndrome."

Thoughts and comments?

[Imladris]

Hmm...travel is such a bother. I'm not really sure if there is a good way to do it.

For an extreme moment, let's imagine the game from here on out as as Amroth's entire 2000-mile journey. Let's say he *just * started out. On horseback (good old Echo!) and guessing 25 miles/ day, that averages out to 80 days, or a little under three months real-time.

Does that mean a day of travel corresponds with a day of real time? If so (and I could be misunderstanding you), wouldn't that be a little tedious?

Wouldn't it be easier if we kept the the time hazy and not go into detail about it? Or would that not be up to Gondorian quality of games? I could be wrong here (it's been awhile since I've read LotR), but wasn't Tolkien himself kind of hazy about the travel time and how long it took them to get place to place?

That's my inexpert opinion at least.

[mark12_30]

Does that mean a day of travel corresponds with a day of real time? If so (and I could be misunderstanding you), wouldn't that be a little tedious?

Certainly, if we made it a law and beat each other up about it, it would be awful. (Bleah!!) However, we could just use it as a heplful rule of thumb to guess how long the game will take (For instance, "Gee, we seem to be taking about three writing days to write one game-day, this could end up taking nine months!")

Wouldn't it be easier if we kept the the time hazy and not go into detail about it? Or would that not be up to Gondorian quality of games?

If the time gets TOO hazy, then That actually makes things harder in a complex game. We've always had a calendar-keeper (in our long game it was Pio) who kept us all sane and on-track.

I could be wrong here (it's been awhile since I've read LotR), but wasn't Tolkien himself kind of hazy about the travel time and how long it took them to get place to place?
If you check out the appendices (The Tlae Of Years) he was *incredibly * specific. He kept track of things like the phases of the moon, and where Aragorn was in Rohan while Sam and Frodo were in Ithilien. He made sure that all the various characters in all the different places were matched up and in sync. So he was actually quite "fanatical" about the times. He had to be; he had to have the Morannon battle at the same time as the destruction of the Ring. He timed it down to hours, and in the end, minutes.

It'll be easier for us, though, because we're going to meet up before the end...

(edit) The other reason to be careful about travel time is simple credibility. You avoid making mistakes like, "The wondrously athletic elf-maiden swam upriver all night long and finally reached the source of the river by dawn..." But oh by the way, THAT river is over 150 miles long from spring to ocean. So-- swimming upriver, she would get there before Shadowfax travelling on land? Hard to imagine and harder to believe.

[mark12_30]

Blessed Good Friday and Happy Easter, everyone!

Just a quick clarification for tonight, and tomorrow I'll try to detail a timeline:

Ravion was in Rohan, and heard that the crazy blacksmith had gone north alone and on foot. Then he headed to Minas Tirith. Between the time he heard about Mellon-Amroth's departure from Edoras, and telling Mellonin about it, a full week went by.

Ravion sets out from Minas Tirith a full week after Mellon-Amroth sets out from Edoras. So Mellon-Amroth has a week's head start on Ravion.

However, right now, Ravion is one day away from Minas Tirith, and Mellon-Amroth is two or three days away from Edoras. So the journey is uneven, timewise.

Tomorrow morning I will make a timeline that corresponds to the map I drew. Don't let that stop you from posting! Just keep travelling for now; we're not about to meet up anyway. That'll be a bit further on down the road. So we can still have plenty of character interaction as we eat up the days.

Since today was Good Friday I saw "Passion" again. Tomorrow's the first day of fishing season, so my husband will be out near the water. I'll be watching ROTK with a friend.

Happy Easter!

Grace and peace, --mark12_30

[Nurumaiel]

Lovely, lovely, littlemanpoet! You've given Liornung the perfect opportunity to talk about his family, the pride of his life, dearer to him than his fiddle. I will be rather busy as can be imagined until about Tuesday, so if I can't come up with something before the game moves on I'm sure you'd have no objection if I PMed my post to you when it's done and you can put it below yours?

Have a lovely and blessed Easter, everyone!

[littlemanpoet]

I can do that, most certainly, Nurumaiel.

After I posted that up, I noticed my unintentional rhyme within Ædegard's own dialogue. :p I decided to leave it in as an interior joke. Enjoy my embarrassment! :D

[mark12_30]

Imladris, Aylwen & lmp: great posts!

Sorry I have yet to post a timeline. Busier day than I had planned.

Roughly:
The game begins in the late Autumn/ Early winter. Mellon dreams of Nimrodel, and Amroth's dreams and purpose take over, and he heads Northwest, but veers west and ends up at Edoras about two weeks after he left Minas Tirith. At Edoras he grows feverish and convalesces several days.

Four days after Mellondu disappears, Mellonin begins work at the Seventh Star. (She is joined by Raefindan during her first couple of days.) She is there a week and a half, and then she also takes fever and is sick, dreaming deliriously, for the same three days.

Mellonin and Mellondu recover at the same time, and Mellon-Amroth heads north from Edoras. Ravion departs from Rohan for Minas Tirith. Mellon-Amroth walks a day and sleeps one night before Ædegard, Liornung and Bellyn catch up to him.

A week later Ravion arrives in Minas Tirith, speaks with Mellonin, and they leave that night. (No rest for Ravion!)

Now, should we use a Middle-Earth months, or January, Feburary, etc? Personally, since Tolkien translated LOTR into English months, I have no problem using them, and I think it would be easier on all of us to do so. If anyone is passionate about using the elvish months, let me know & I'll edit the timeline to indicate that.

So let's say Mellondu disappeared in late November; how about Nov 21.

Here's a start on the timeline:

Nov 21: Mellondu disappears from Minas Tirith.
Nov 24: Mellonin hired on at the Seventh Star.
Dec 5: Mellonin and Mellondu both sick of a fever, & dreaming.
Dec 8: they recover. Mellon-Amroth walks northward from Edoras.
Dec 9: Ædegard, Bellyn, Liornung catch up with Mellon-Amroth. Ravion departs for Minas Tirith.

Right now, writers' time, Ædegard's Rohan group is on Dec 10 or 11: current time frame for Ædegard, Mellon-Amroth, Liornung, Bellyn. This team can post and travel with abandon, since Ravion is already pushing Dec 17.


Dec 15: Ravion arrives in Minas Tirith.
Dec 16: Ravion awakens with hangover, & speaks with Mellonin. They depart that evening. Mellon-Amroth arrives where the Nimrodel meets the edge of Lorien and is met there by Erebemlin.


Dec 17th: Ravion's group is heading northward for Rohan, a bit westward from the Anduin.

Once Ædegard's group catches up to Ravion's group on Game-Time Dec 17, they will have arrived at Lorien, met Erebemlin, and be heading southward along the Anduin. I'm imagining that Ravion will catch Mellon-Amroth's trail, or rumor of their passing, in the East Emnet at or above the Sarn Gebir. (See map.)

At this point, Ravion's troop needs horses or boats or something. If they travel on foot, the horses of Rohan will leave them far behind!
...More to follow later.

[littlemanpoet]

In some post way back there, featuring Ædegard leaving Edoras, I think, I have spring on its way and the snow disappearing. If I can find it, I'll go back and edit it.

I thought both parties were traveling northwards. ??? :confused:

[mark12_30]

littlemanpoet wrote:
I thought both parties were traveling northwards. ??? :confused:


In writers-time, Yes; today "as the gamers write", both parties are now going northward--because Ædegard's party is almost a game-week behind. How far out from Edoras is Ædegard, as of this writing? Three days? I'm calling it Dec 10 or 11, but I should go back thru and verify.

In four or five more days Ædegard-game-time, they will reach Lorien and meet up with Erebemlin who will steer them along the Anduin-- southwards. At *that* time (Dec 16 or 17) Ravion's troop is just starting out.

I'll edit below to clarify.

In the meantime, what to do? I suggest the Rohan writing team proceed with lengthened stride (but let's not be too hasty, hoom hom-- *enjoy* the character development while eating up the miles and the days.) Meanwhile, Ravion's writing team can proceed at a liesurely pace (writing-wise. The characters are still pressing to make up for lost time.)

Sound reasonable?

[alaklondewen]

Helen, would you mind attaching this to the bottom of post #68?

~*~*~
The golden forest was pleasantly quiet as Erebemlin moved soundlessly through the trees. He was following a set of deer tracks that were heading toward the river. If he found the animal delayed by the water’s edge, there would be enough fresh meat for the next few weeks. With winter on the way, the ellon knew the importance of having meat before he and the others found themselves without for the remainder of the season.

As he neared the river, its quiet murmur met his ears. He stopped momentarily, leaning against a mighty mellorn and loosely fitted an arrow to his bow. Steadying his hand, he inhaled deeply and swiftly stepped over bringing the weapon to his eye and pulling the arrow back in one sweeping moment. The buck stood only a few yards from his position, and he readied himself to fire.

The arrow, however, never flew. Just as Erebemlin began to loosen his grip, a cry filled the forest. Speak to me. O Nimrodel, Nimrodel, sing to me again. Then, as quickly as it came, the call was gone. The hunter lowered his weapon and opened his heart searching for its source, but the thought had departed.

Nimrodel. Erebemlin was perplexed by this mysterious cry. The thoughts were so desperate, but who would be searching for the maiden who had long been lost to the world. He could think of only one, but his King had departed long ago for the lands West of the sea.

[mark12_30]

Oooh! Delighted, Alak. Wonderful post!

Nuru, Imladris, Aylwen, & Orual-- I missed you all last evening! lmp, alak and I spent quite some time on yahoo chat. If you have (or obtain) a yahoo ID (which is free, and handy) you can use a java popup chat window (available at the bottom of this (http://messenger.yahoo.com/) page), log onto yahoo, and chat. We can set up a narrow-focus "room" for just this team. If any of you are interested in trying that, PM me! It helps move the game along, instead of waiting for PMs.

[mark12_30]

I just edited my latest post because it was too much of a dead-end for the day. :( Hopefully it'll be easier to play against! Please reread. :rolleyes:

I was reading the "Resources for RPGs" thread in THe Shire and ran across a link Imladris supplied. It's here (http://www.sfwa.org/writing/chadvce.htm) . Very helpful. That (and lmp's advice about flabby adverbs, and point of view, and characterization-- hey, lmp, you da man-- ) ranks high up there on the list of "Helpful Advice." CHeck it out.

[mark12_30]

Okay! It's a bit on the baffling side but here it is.
I've added the timeline (http://members.cox.net/hrwright61/TapestryTimeline.htm)
right after the
map (http://members.cox.net/hrwright61/TapTPM.JPG)
on the tapestry info page : Tapestry Docs (http://members.cox.net/hrwright61/FONRPG.html)

Although suggestions are welcome the point is simply, Rohan group has several days to catch up, and Minas Tirith group can take their time for a while. And in the future hopefully we can avoid the confusion. As the game owner-- I'm sorry I didn't catch this earlier! Hopefully we can bring everything to a common date shortly; that will make the logistics less confusing.

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

Thankies for all the reference pages, Helen! :)

And, you're a sly one, asking Bellyn to sing...;)

I'll get a post and song up tonight, since it's my night off!! (YAY!)

-Aylwen

[Nurumaiel]

littlemanpoet, I've worked out a couple posts. It would do me a great honor if you placed them below two posts of your own which I have specified. They are as follows:

------------------------------------
under your post #82......
------------------------------------

"The tale of it?" Liornung blushed slightly but it was clear he was more than eager to tell. "What you have said is true... the Bards of Rohan have rarely put rhyme in their verse and their great songs have been sung without. Yet I learned the art of song not from one of Rohan but from a wandering minstrel of Gondor who always sang in rhyme. Indeed, this fiddle is his that he left me, and 'twas he who first named me Liornung. The name my mother and father gave to me is Sarig, but I do forbid anyone to call me thus." And, a twinkle in his eye, he looked at each member of the company in turn.

"Yes, indeed, it is a name to avoid! But as I was saying before, it was that wandering minstrel who brought me to sing in rhyme. He sang for me a lovely song. He was not as I am. You see, he had a lover in Gondor waiting for him, and I have never fallen in love and don't fully intend to. He was fair eight and thirty years when he first passed through my land and stayed at my father's home, when I was but a lad. He spoke to me a little of her, calling her fairest and dearest, her heart the sweetest and kindest, and though I daresay now all say so much of their lover's, as Amroth would surely say of his, I have rarely seen a man love as that minstrel loved his Gondor maid. He would often describe her to me in a verse, saying:

"Dear are her charms to me,
dearer her laughter free,
dearest her constancy.

"She was of Rohan though he had brought her to Gondor to wait for him at his mother's home. He would have married her long before that time but he could not bring himself to lay aside his roaming just yet. He did tell me once, however, that two years forward he would abandon all roads, build a little home, and take her for his wife. I have not heard of him since, but I pray the two of them are happily wed." He paused a moment before continuing, and his voice was quieter when he spoke again. "Once I heard him singing a song he had written to her, though he did not know I was closeby. It was a charming little song, very simple, but full of such love and devotion. I heard it only once yet it has ever been in my mind. It ran thus:

"Do you see yon bonnie minstrels as they go along
a-trippin' and a-skippin' to the lilt of their song?
And, lassie, they sing a song for thee
so jump up, bonnie girl, and come away with me.

A minstrel's fare is poor if his songs do not please
but if hunger faced us I should love you 'fore life ceased
and with my dying breath I would take you on my knee
and I would tell you truly how much I loved thee.

But if my songs should pleased and bring us some food
still I'd love you as ever a man could
and I'd play you a tune 'neath some shady tree.
So jump up, bonnie girl, and come away with me.

And if there came children a home they should not lack.
I'd set aside my songs and take my fiddle from my back
and I should love them however many there may be.
So jump up, bonnie girl, and come away with me.

And when, my darling girl, we are both frail and old
and your hair turned to white and lost its lovely gold,
though youth had with time decayed still I would love thee.
So jump up, bonnie girl, and come along with me.

------------------------------------
under your post #87
------------------------------------

Liornung's eyes travelled over the campsite and he nodded in satisfaction. "'Tis a lovely place to camp, and I am amazed at the feel of the very air, which speaks of Éomer and his company even better than the song you have sung, good Ædegard. I do not mean, of course," he added, his voice hasty and confused, "that the song was not worthy of the place."

"I do think you are correct," Ædegard reassured him. "Not all things can be put into song. The song spoke of this place, yet this place is this place."

"That is," Liornung said, "quite right." He picked up his fiddle with a little smile upon his face. "I'm going to sing a happy little song for you. I have sung too much, I fear, of lost loves and faraway loves and longing loves, things that bring woe and sorrow. What about loves that are there and happily content?" And so he picked up a merry tune and began to sing.

Come all you lads and lassies and listen for awhile.
I'll sing to you a verse or two and try to make you smile.
But if instead you weep with grief, do not be ashamed
for others who have heard this song wept, more than can be named.

Fal-la-do-la-do, fal-al-the-day.

There was lad who rode out one fair and pleasant day.
From Rohan and to Gondor he carelessly did stray.
He had no mind for love or any lassies fair
till he met a maid, soft was her smile, dark was her hair.

Fal-la-do-la-do, fal-al-the-day.

"Oh lassie fair of Gondor, do come away with me,
mount your horse and take my hand and come to my country.
I'll give you all you wish for and sweet home
and rover though I am for you I'll cease to roam.

Fal-la-do-la-do, fal-al-the-day.

"Oh lad with the golden hair, truly I love you
but if I went away what would my poor sick father do?"
"Oh take him lassie, take him if you'll come with me.
I'll give you all you ask for, no want will come to ye.

Fal-la-do-la-do, fal-al-the-day.

The lad left and the lassie followed with her father ill.
They built a house and she truly loved him with a will.
I've told you a happy tale of a young rover
and how he won the heart of the fair maid of Gondor.

Fal-la-do-la-do, fal-al-the-day.
Fal-la-do-la-dee-la-fal-do-lay.

As he ended his song he threw back his head and laughed. "Before any of you speak of it, I do know that my songs are often of wandering rovers and their fair maids, but in all truth so seldom am I in one place for a long time that the only romances I know of are those of the road. Yet I do know of a poor peasant lad who married a poor peasant lass he had loved all his life. I will put the tale into verse a sing it for you on the morrow."

------------------------------------

Thank ye kindly!

[littlemanpoet]

Glad to oblige, Nurumaiel! Great songs!

I kind of felt like we might have already passed the Entwash and the Mounds, but it's an important spot for Ædegard, being a born and bred Rohirrim, having drunk and gobbled the stories and songs of the War of the Ring that he was almost to young to remember. Anyway, I'm really enjoying this poem and song fest! Great stuff! :) Um, Helen's turn, isn't it? :p

[mark12_30]

All right, lmp, I'll think of something... :D ruminate, ruminate.... (uh-oh, that's not phrench, is it? Must celticize.)

Aylwen, clever choice of songs-- and classy adaptation! It's a rare song, you sure know where to look to find good ones!

Nuru-- tunes, babe, we need TUNES! ;) How about wav files? Does your computer have a mic? (And I *still* owe your wee hobbit some mp3s... the days are too short.)

[Nurumaiel]

Aylwen, quite a lovely song! Did you write it or adapt it? If the latter, where can I find the original words? It's taken my fancy, I must admit, and I've never heard it before.

Helen, as for tunes I have quite a few tunes for Liornung's song, yet the problem is that they're songs that he hasn't yet sung in either Friends of Nimrodel or at the White Horse. I'm putting together a book of his tunes with lyrics and I'm working on jpg files that will have the tunes though it is very basic and you won't be able to find 4/4 measures or 3/4 measures specified or the like. I'll probably put up a website if you really are interested that will have those lyrics and the tuen jpg images. I do have a tune worked out for the Fair Maid of Gondor song he just recently performed for the company, but I can only give it to you the way I scribbled it down, which are a series of C's and D's and E's and so on and so forth up to B's. Here it is now, and I'll let you know that capitals represents a note in the higher octave. I'll kill myself today over making the jpg images, however. :D

Naturally the song is sung/played quickly and merrily. The tune is the same throughout the whole song, save the final chorus but I don't have my notebook with me and it's slipped my mind.

c a g f d c c c d c d e f
for
Come all you lads and lassies and listen for awhile.

c a g f d c c c c d c d e f
for
I'll sing to you a verse or two and try to make you smile.

c C C C a C C C a g f a D C
for
But if instead you weep with grief, do not be ashamed

C a a a g f c c c - d c d e f
for
for others who have heard this song wept, more than can be named.

c c c c C - a a g f
for
Fal-la-do-la-do, fal-al-the-day.

I really will work on those jpg images today so it can be seen which notes go with which words! :eek:

As for wav files, this computer I'm currently working on doesn't have a mic but I do believe another one does and I could transfer the files to different computers. I wouldn't mind playing the tin whistle and putting it on the wav file and I suppose I could sing but it's rather likely a fit of shyness will take me and I'll hesitate. :o I suppose I could attempt to play the tin whistle and then sing and put the two together...... I'll PM you about it, though, and let you know what I can manage!

[littlemanpoet]

I sang it! I did, I did. Helen can promise you that I know how. I almost did the same thing to her on YIM that you put on this thread. What a lively tune! :)

[mark12_30]

littlemanpoet is ahead of meee!

:rolleyes:
I tried but wasn't sure of a few things-- Is the little c the root of the scale and the big C the octave above it and the other notes in between? Does the initial 'a' go down from the c or up? And is it in the key of c? or a minor? I'll be glad of the whistle version. Like I said, lmp is ahead of me this time!

At lmp's prompting the Rohan group has moved forward another day (to morning of Dec 14.) As always posts can be inserted if need be. Ædegard doesn't dare ask Amroth to open the morning's game-- so who's next, Ædegard or Liornung? Or Bellyn?

Speaking of Bellyn, she shyly mentioned the Lay of Nimrodel after her opening song, and I had a mental image of the Valar (Mandos and Lorien) clapping their hands over Amroth's ears as she said it. I guess we'll say that Amroth was temporarily distracted by Valarish interference.

However, Ædegard, Bellyn, and Liornung please feel free to discuss it. The topic will come up, repeatedly I'm sure; but the Valar are not allowing Amroth to "remember" the intervening 1000 years, and he will always (always) draw a blank about them. He thinks the storm was a few months ago, and he doesn't remember his swim to shore very well (for instance that it was ill-fated.) He doesn't quite relate that to the dreams.

Alaklondewen, this will be a challenge for Erebemlin to deal with. Osanwe will convince Amroth that Erebemlin isn't pulling a fast one on him; but Amroth won't grasp the significance of the 1000-year gap. He'll just keep saying that he has to find her. His stubborness and Valar-driven mental block will seem like stupidity at times, or perhaps worse.

[Imladris]

I posted for Aeron and Gwyllion, and I do hope my post wasn't too terribly confusing...

I took the liberty of hastening it to the morning, but after I posted the post I realized that I probably shouldn't have done that because of this confusing time travel thing. If I have done wrong, let me know.

However, I do hope that you will forgive the numerous "Bad Forms" references that I borrowed from Peter Pan, and the highly used (probably over used) stunt of using a burning blade from PotC....but I couldn't resist, Mate.

I wondered if I should use the Bad Form because it is Peter Pan...but then I didn't think it sounded too modern for LotR. But I am just an amateur so please correct me if I was mistaken and I will gladly edit to something else.

Cheers,
Istawen

[mark12_30]

Imladris, we can debate the use of the phrase "Bad Form" over the next few posts... after I eventually finish chuckling. What a great post!

Can't wait to read Ravion's response.

[Nurumaiel]

Helen,
I can't answer your questions at the moment but I'll let you know that I've recorded Fair Maid of Gondor on tin whistle and it's just a matter of moving it to this computer and putting it on a webpage. I'll let you know when it's up. There's also one other tune I have done that sounds lovely with the tin whistle and guitar merged. I don't know about my voice, however. I'm having a difficult time getting the hang of how to sing it well and in a way that it will match the tin whistle perfectly when put together. I'll work at it, though!

I've posted for Liornung and he's sung a new song..... he's writing songs too fast! I can't come up with the tunes, let alone record them. I really need to get a mic on my computer so I can lock myself up all day and work at it.

Liornung has started the day's game! Who wants to go next?

[mark12_30]

Nuru-- Lovely, lovely, LOVELY!!

Tapestry Team--

Recently the question came up "is it okay if I introduce anther character". The answer is, for all of us, a resounding Yes.

This is Gondor-- so create, develop, carry, and kill off major and minor characters as you see fit! If the rest of us are horrified by something canon-hostile we will say something (won't we.) But this is your story as well as "mine"; own it. Own your characters-- as many as you want to carry, for as long as you need them. If you are interested in "The Other Thread" (Ædegard's or Ravion's, whichever you're absent from) and wish you were involved, then invent a plausible character and go investigate there.

(Before you kill off somebody else's character, perhaps it's best to ask.) :rolleyes:

Plot twists are what make Gondor so much fun. Don't be shy.

[Nurumaiel]

I just barely have time to post and say that Liornung's Book of Tunes (http://www.geocities.com/ctbsl/lotr/liornung.html) is up though it is not completed, with two wav files actually on there and two more that have been recorded coming soon, as well as lyrics to the majoirty of his songs. Fair Maid of Gondor wav file is there, too! The wav files take awhile to download, naturally (they're wav files), and the lyrics don't have their tunes with them yet, though I am going to work on it. Enjoy!

Helen, I don't have another character to add to the game but I do believe I'm going to think one up just so I can use that option. :D No bios necessary?

[mark12_30]

another character ... No bios necessary?

NOPE! You've each earned my trust. Besides-- this is Gondor. If you want a bio, feel free; if not, go ahead without one!

Nuru, that songbook looks Awesome. Don't forget your copyright statements! lmp's the expert on that. This computer is too slow & old for wav files (yeah, it's a dinosaur) but I'll check them out tomorrow! Yippee!

[mark12_30]

Immy---- Lllllove it!!! You go, girl!

[mark12_30]

Nuru, those wav files are awesome. The "Fair Maid of Gondor" is hard to sit still to, and "My Love Has Roved Away" is ... well, heartbreaking.

At this point, I'll pull a Liornung, and pat myself on the back saying "I pushed her into it!"

;)

[Nurumaiel]

Helen, Liornung thanks you kindly for the compliment. I've put up the tune for O'er a Little River, the first song he sang for the Rohan company. Unfortunately the server I use will only let me store up to 20 MBs of files on it, which would probably be about nine or ten wav files of just tin whistle, but I wanted to have the guitar and maybe even the vocals. Perhaps if you wanted to have the tunes for all time you could record them on a cassette tape, or burn the wavs onto a CD, or download them or something? With guitar and vocals I'd probably be able to put up only one or two wav files at a time! That is, if Maercwen sings the whole song through. I have one tune with guitar and tin whistle and it's (*cringes*) 9 MB.

I'm slowly forming an idea for another character to introduce to the game. The grand entrance :rolleyes: will probably be shortly after the Gondor and Rohan teams unite (even greater :rolleyes: ). Which day (game-time) will they bump into each other?

[mark12_30]

Nuru, m'girl, that I do not know!

I know that they will be together by the time that Amroth finds Nimrodel. And probably before. So that means, somewhere between Tol Brandir or the Emyn Muil where Ravion picks up Amroth's trail-- and Edhellond/ Dol Amroth/ Bay of Belfalas. And it could be ANYWHERE along the journey. Honestly-- I don't know when Ravion will catch Amroth!

Maybe one of you knows, but I do not.

Perhaps we will just have to play the game to find out.

[Nurumaiel]

Helen, then let's just play it by ear, shall we? I'm toying with the idea of introducing a gypsy to the company.... Yet I do know if I'm following our rules about canon? I don't believe Tolkien ever said anything about gypsies in his works but that doesn't prove they didn't exist, or so I hope and believe. I compare it with the example such as if I wrote a song but never mentioned it to anyone, just because I hadn't said anything about the song wouldn't mean it didn't actually exist. In fact it most certainly wouldn't, because it would exist. That is merely my view, however, and if anyone feels I'm going against canon please take me to pieces. However if Tolkien did mention gypsies somewhere in his works I would love to know where.

Rohan team, I've taken the liberty of bringing Dec. 14 to a close. If any of you have a post you'd like to make before that evening, merely PM me with your post or put it here and I'll paste it above mine.

[mark12_30]

Nuru,

What an interesting idea. I'm not aware that Tolkien ever mentioned "gypsies" as such; perhaps because (if I recall correctly) gypsies were originally a particular strain of nationality...? I seem to connect them vaguely with the Hungarians somehow, not sure if that is correct.

However, Tolkien spoke plenty about wanderers, loners, and nomadic sorts of people. Roads were dangerous, and not just because of the trolls.

The Rohirrim generally strike me as a clannish people. But you could develop a case for the Rohirrim way out on the fringes of Rohan (beyond Fangorn!) being more separated from Rohirric society, and absorbing a little more culture from everyone who comes their way-- elves, dwarves, Gondorians, and... whoever. They'd have a variety of songs, woundn't they?

I'll go check my indexes (indices, only it sounds funny) and see what I can find.

Letters: No mention of Gypsies; Wanderers: one mention (unexplained) of Wainriders. I googled it; Here's what this page (http://www.fact-index.com/e/ea/easterlings.html) says about Wainriders:

Wainriders
The Wainriders were a confederation of Easterling tribes who were united by their hate of Gondor, fueled by the dark lord Sauron. Following the Great Plague which weakened Gondor, they started their attacks in 1856 (T.A.), defeating the Gondorian army and killing king Narmacil II. They rode in great wagons and chariots (which gave them their name), and raided the lands of Rhovanion, destroying or enslaving its people. Gondor gradually lost all of its possessions east of Anduin to them. The thirtieth king of Gondor, Calimehtar son of Narmacil, defeated the Wainriders at the plain of Dagorlad, buying some rest for his land. However the Wainriders struck back in 1944, allying themselves with the Haradrim of Near Harad and the Variags of Khand. They managed to kill king Ondoher and all his heirs, but instead of riding on to Minas Anor and taking the city, they paused to celebrate. Meanwhile, general Eärnil of Gondor's southern army had defeaten the Haradrim, and rode north to defend his king. He came too late to rescue Ondoher, but managed to totally defeat the Wainriders. Eärnil was crowned king. After this defeat the might of the Wainriders was broken, and they retreated east. They still held Rhovanion, but never troubled Gondor again. It later turned out that their attacks were staged by Sauron, and allowed him to reclaim Mordor while Gondor's watch was diverted.
Interesting; sounds quite gypsy-ish. I wonder if a few of their ancestors still lingered in Mirkwood around Dol Guldor, and perhaps mingled with the folk across the Anduin. Now, that really might make them outcasts!
From the same page:


Balchoth
The Balchoth were a fierce race of Easterlings, who attacked Gondor while under orders of Dol Guldur. In 2150 they overran the plains of Calenardhon and almost destroyed the army of the Ruling Steward Cirion, but were defeaten by the Éothéod under Eorl the Young. Like the Wainriders they rode in chariots and wagons, and they may have been descendants of this people.

Variags
The Variags were the people of Khand, and they first appeared in the West in 1944 of the Third Age, fighting alongside the Wainriders. They later appeared during the battle of the Pelennor Fields. Little was known about them, but they appeared to be a race of horse-men much like the Rohirrim, although they were fiercely loyal to Mordor.



Either way, I *love* the idea of songs floating past on the breeze. Very, very nice.

You know... my husband's computer has a microphone on it, too... (glances at her pennywhistle lying next to the keyboard.) Disk storage, we need disk storage.

[littlemanpoet]

I suggest that these wanderers not be exiled Rohirrim. It would be more likely for them to be a group of Easterlings from somewhere between the Rhun and the Ered Lithui (or farther east). With that origin, you could feed in a Hungarian style culture for them (you were right, Helen :)), and make them as gypsy as you like. They would have had to pass between Rhovanion and the Brown Lands, crossed the Anduin by whatever ingenuity they could fashion, such as building temporary rafts from stray logs to ferry their carriages (or whatever you want to call them), then move on westward between Lorien and the Limlight. They surely see the mountains rising before them, and would probably be wondering whether to settle and become farmers, or continue to move on and see who they could trade with, or whatever. What did gypsies do to survive, anyway? Sell? Hunt? I don't know.....

[mark12_30]

Wow, that was quite an intersection of ideas! lmp, didja see the edits on the wainriders and other easterlings?... shoo!

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

I love your idea, Nuru!

I know I'm a little late here with this idea...but I thought I'd include some info...

I'm not aware that Tolkien ever mentioned "gypsies" as such; perhaps because (if I recall correctly) gypsies were originally a particular strain of nationality...? I seem to connect them vaguely with the Hungarians somehow, not sure if that is correct.

This site (http://www.geocities.com/Paris/5121/vlib/introduction.htm) has a lot of information on Roma.

"The Roma are an ethnic minority whose origins began on the Indian subcontinent over one thousand years ago. Because they arrived in Europe from the East, they were thought by the first Europeans to be from Turkey, Nubia or Egypt, or any number of non-European places. They were called, among other things, Egyptians or ‘Gyptians, which is where the word "Gypsy" comes from."

I think this quote is why I'm not entirely sure if they'd be called "Gypsies" in Middle-Earth if they did exist, but it depends on how Helen wants it.

"Most Roma have always referred to themselves by their tribal names, or as Rom or Roma, meaning "Man" or "People." The trend is to eliminate the use of derogatory, pejorative and offensive names, such as Gypsies, and to be given proper respect by the use of the self-appelation of Roma, or Rroma. Gypsies, although offensive to most Roma, is still a proper name."

Anyway, the idea sounds like a great deal of fun, Nuru, and I think if you just use lmp's idea of them being Easterlings it would work out fine. Helen, do you think the wanderer's should have a name other than 'Gypsies' or is it okay to use? I just wanted to make sure.

Also, in my last post it is still the night of the 14th, but after Amroth leaves for I assumed that he left at night. If this isn't right, just let me know and I'll edit a bit.

[Nurumaiel]

Thanks for all the suggestions for the gypsies! I was aware that the name actually referred to a particular race, but it's become a habit around this house to use it as a reference to 'the travelling people,' whatever race they happen to be. I preferred Liornung to say 'gypsy' oppose to 'tinker' or 'rolling stone' or any other such name. I love the idea of the Easterlings...

However my idea with this group was using the term 'gypsies' as a group of wandering people rather than the Roma, or in this case Easterlings (I'm not Roma, but I'm sometimes referred to as the 'Whistling Gypsy,' merely implyng that I'm a whistling, singing person who spends much time wandering through the woods and the like). It would be a very old group of wandering people... if they were to mention their history when the Rohan company encounters them perhaps it could have started with a few Easterlings travelling many, many years ago, years before the War of the Ring, and it had grown over time as lone wanderers from Rohan and Gondor joined them. How would this work?

I could work it either way, that is, use gypsy as a term referring to the Roma or in the game the Easterlings, or as merely a group of wandering people. Let me know what you think.

[mark12_30]

Nuru--

I like the people and what you are doing with them and how Liornung relates to them. The rohirric family I think littlemanpoet wil have something to say about-- he seems to have strong feelings about it and I'm not sure why but I respect his opinions highly, so if he feels strongly about it, we'll weigh that quite heavily.

Other than that-- I just think the word "gypsies" is jarring. But I have an idea: WHy not come up with an old-English word tht means "wanderers" or "carriage-riders" or something, and use that? Maybe lmp could help, or Bethberry, or somebody.

Sound doable?

[Nurumaiel]

Helen,
I would like to know what littlemanpoet says about it, but I personally don't see what the problem would be with a Rohirric family that wandered about. After all, Liornung is of Rohan and he wanders about. Just a warning, lmp..... if you don't like it I'd like a valid reason why they shouldn't be in there. ;) :) I would have to come up with a new character to introduce to the game other than the one I was already intending, which would be a bit of a bother yet I could manage. The main problem is that I've already grown a bit attached to this character I plan to introduce and would hate to have it discarded.

The Old English word for 'wander' is scriþan and 'travel' is faran. However I don't know Old English grammar and wouldn't know how to change it to 'wanderers' or 'wandering people.' If anyone more knowledgable would like to help out...? Of course there could always be an adaption of the name as for gypsies.

If you really detest me using the word gypsy I shan't, but I think it is a very enchanting word and like to use it. That, however, is not a very good reason for using it. I just believe that a word of that sort would also appeal to Liornung's imagination. Somehow the Old English words for wander and travel don't hold the same enchantment.

Interesting discussion, by the way. :D

[littlemanpoet]

Thanks for asking about it. My only concern regarding the Rohirrim is that Anglo-Saxon people (circa 400 to 1000) who wandered were pretty much limited to clerics, pilgrims, and beggars; and it was indeed true that some people fit all three categories at once. :) They tended not to have generational histories, which is what you're intending for your wanderers. I say that only because the Anglo-Saxons are Tolkien's template for the Rohirrim.

That said, it must be noted that the Rohirrim have been in Rohan (formerly Calenardhon) since Third Age 2510, which, if we are in, say, the first decade of the Fourth Age, just over 500 years. That's a pretty long-lived civilization. Still, Rohan has been ravaged by war. I find it striking that by and large, the breadth of Rohan is pretty much unpeopled. That's a lot of wandering room. Over that span of time, I can imagine a clan having, for one reason or another, picked up roots, and decided to become Wayfarers.

But whatever got them uprooted would have to be quite powerful, to change their way of life. So give them a powerful reason to have uprooted themselves from their cultural base, as compared to all the other Rohirrim who have remained rooted. It seems like a tall order to me, but doable. If you'd like some help with it, I'd be happy to. You'll notice that I bolded Wayfarers. That would be the Anglo-Saxon name that is most fitting. Use if it you like.

Hope that helps to both clarify my (mild) opposition to the idea in the first place, as well as ways to account for it. :)

[Nurumaiel]

littlemanpoet,
This is truly lovely. I think this is the first RPG where I've had to work to get something right and not simply be able to do it or be told I couldn't......

Is this group of travellers, or wayfarers (which is almost as striking a word as gypsies), there are a few other Rohirric people besides those which were mentioned, though the majority are made up of the Easterlings. Perhaps these people could have, in either the recent War or some older war, lost their homes and taken up wandering, being encountered with poverty and no way to earn back what they had lost and seeing it as the only way of life? Perhaps there were Rohirric families that were not pure Rohirric and a bit more adventurous than the others (rather like the Tooks and the Brandybucks?) and when the wandering Easterlings passed by they took up a notion to follow them? Do help me think of reasons, for I need a wide variety. Though the Rohirric in this band of travellers are not many there are still a few of different families and situations and it would be nice to know they have different, valid reasons for becoming wayfarers even if it's never mentioned in the game because they're never mentioned. If you like, littlemanpoet, you could even have your character talk about with various Rohirric people and give 'histories of the leaving home' for them actually inside the game.

As for the Rohirric family I've already mentioned, they had no strong reason for leaving their home. The father was a wanderer in his younger days (perhaps a beggar or even a minstrel of a sort as Liornung) and he took a fancy into his head to go on the road again despite family. This lack of strong reason is why his wife doesn't like it and his daughter doesn't like it (and the other children? I don't know if there are other children yet), and also why he probably will be going home sometime soon. Of course I don't know that he'll go home, but everything is against him. It's a bit awful that I don't know my own characters, isn't it? :rolleyes:

Let's have fun working this out, for it's a discussion I've never seen anywhere before and I'm enjoying it. :D

Helen,
Last night was an awful one for me... I'm developing a cold and a sore throat kept me awake most of the night (singing in the choir didn't help, either, though the guitar was awfully fun).... so waking up in misery I don't know if I can handle another character at the moment. Perhaps just a passing whim.... as the character was going to be from the gypsy group (I can say gypsy on the discussion thread, can't I?) I'm just thinking of having those two groups (the gypsies and the Rohan company) be travelling along with each other for a few days before the gypsies veer off. Maybe Dec. 17 or 18. So the character would be rather temporary, and this would give littlemanpoet and Aylwen to play around with characters they could only post about once, if they cared to. Is that all right with you?

[mark12_30]

THis morning I thought of another possibility which (to me) has a certain appeal. Since we are in year 12 or 14 or so of Elessar's reign, he has pardoned the Easterlings and made treaties with them. It is probable that Rohan is now at peace with the Wainriders of Southern Mirkwood. They could be there by treaty. So they could also be called "Wainriders".

What think ye?

NURU: we cross-posted, whups. "Wayfarers" is indeed a romantic name. In terms of how long you want to carry the characters-- that's up to you, you invented them! Well, it's partly also up to the plot, if you know what I mean, but If you want the gy-- er-- Wayfarers ;) to be temporary they're your characters. On the other hand, if another writer falls in love (in a writerly manner o' speakin') with one of your gy-- er-- Wayfarers :p :D then they can nicely ask you for permission to carry that character themselves and it will be between you and said writer.

Once in a while minor characters tag along, carried by the team as a whole, for large parts of the story, and that's okay too.

Working this stuff out is half the fun, eh?

[Nurumaiel]

Helen,
I think we cross-posted. :D

I vote for hearing what littlemanpoet says about your suggestion, for I really don't care as long as I get my gypsies. :rolleyes: :D

----EDIT----

On the other hand, if another writer falls in love (in a writerly manner o' speakin') with one of your gy-- er-- Wayfarers then they can nicely ask you for permission to carry that character themselves and it will be between you and said writer.

Or, on the other hand, I could give full permission now to all the Rohan company to come up with gypsy/Wayfarer characters in the group and post about them once, twice, or have them stick around for the whole game! We have near our company now a rather large group of people where you can do all the character-creating you want. Just have fun with it!

[mark12_30]

...and I hope you feel better very soon. Get some sleep...? ;)

[littlemanpoet]

The War of the Ring is pretty powerful a reason to pull up roots and change from farming to wayfaring. So if you're NOT going for the generational thing, that works fine.

My question is, what do the Wainriders, Easterlings, Wayfarers, and all, do to keep body and soul together? The options I can think of are herding, performing (a very tough life), or bartering. Anything else? Man, I don't know. Herding would be the securest, considering that you take your food with you on the hoof, but it also means that you need wide lands for pasturage that nobody else claims, or you run into squabbles with landowners, which I'm sure wayfarers do all the time.

Actually, this was the reason there was constant movement from Asia into Europe for so many centuries, because there was land to be had, and not so many people in the way. Such seems to be the case basically everywhere in known Middle Earth (from Rhun to Ered Luin).

As to specifics for Gondorians and Rohirrim, any mixture of ethnicities only occurs during times of extremity. Yes, a War of the Ring would be one such. Orc raids that destroy a homestead would be one way. One's lands turned into a battle field would be another (but very limited) way. One's bread winner being killed in the war might cause a woman to pick up roots and children and tag along with a passing caravan, a most desperate decision but not at all unlikely, given the context. Orc raids seem to be the raison détre, or however that phrench phrase is spelled - that most rpg'ers seem to fall back on. I'd like to see us be more creative than that. Sure, that could be the reason for one family, but let's try and think up others.

Having helped not at all and complicated matters further, I'll stop now. :D

[mark12_30]

Okay, I just realized something potentially *very* comfusing is going on.

On the one hand, I'm insisting that Nuru use a non-anachronistic, linguistically consistent name for her "gypsies"-- I think I'll call them "our wayfarers" because Amroth is about to start a conversation with a stray one-- but one post later, Raefindan's dog is being called "George". What's going on?

It all goes back to Raefindan's original character development.

Raefindan is a time-traveller-- who doesn't *know* he's a time traveller. littlemanpoet is using the "Lost Road" method of time travel (via dreams) to displace a 20th century man (Roy) to Middle-Earth. The variation in what lmp is doing, is that this 20th century man is remembering bits of 20th century language, and it is slipping out of him. This is the readers' only real clue that Raefindan doesn't belong in the Fourth Age.

lmp is using some *very* subtle signals to get this across. For one thing, notice lmp's use of contractions. (i think they're called contractions? Grammar was 20+ years ago...) -- words with an apostrophe made from two other words. Don't for Do Not, Won't for Will Not, It'll for It Will... etc. Anyway-- you'll notice that when lmp writes a post, the only character to use apostrophe-words is Raefindan. That's because it's a modern speech pattern. All the other characters use non-apostropheed words.

Any other kind of anachronism is designed to make Raefindan stand out like sore thumb; to show the reader that He Doesn't Belong. He's a stranger and an alein in this place.

So the dog is very anachronistically named "George", or Jorge because he can't remember how to spell it.

Another anachronism: Raefindan's strategy of slowly introducing the dog to Gwillion. I'm guessing (correct me, lmp) that Raefindan is attempting to de-sensitize Gwillion to the dog because he understands some amount of modern psychology-- although he doesn't know why or where it came from. Again, this will make him stand out. Mellonin will be bemused by it all, Aeron may be a bit surprised that it worked-- but pleased-- and Ravion will wonder where this redheaded stranger came from, anyway.

There is an order and a logic to the anachronisms, and it's part of the story being woven about time travel and dreams. Raefindan has traveled to Middle-Earth from the 20th century; *then* he travels back via dreams a thousand years and experiences the life of Imrazor. This is the thread for connecting Amroth and Mellondu, in the end; Raefindan will have lived out both timeframes and will understand both stories, better than any of the other characters (except Erebemlin, but he was only in the northern part of the story.)

And in the very VERY end, it'll be interesting to see what happens to Raefindan, and where he finally ends up.

Does it make sense? Please ask questions if you have them.

:smokin:

[littlemanpoet]

What a great post, Helen! That was downright fun to read. :D

Please, please, please, can we stop calling them gypsies and start calling them wayfarers? 'Cause if Raefindan ever runs across them in this rpg, guess what he'll call 'em? :p

Nur, I'm a little fuzzy on what's expected of Ædegard right now. He'll "introduce us to all of them"??? To all the wayfarers? If that's what Liornung expects, he doesn't understand Ædegard yet..... :D

[Nurumaiel]

littlemanpoet and Helen, I'm in total agreement about ceasing with the 'gypsy'... as long as you'll permit me to call them 'gypsies/wayfarers' on the discussion thread? In truth gypsies isn't a very canon name considering how it originated, I'll admit most humbly. I don't regret calling them gypsies on the game thread (*wicked look*, but I'm sick and wicked right now), though I am going to edit and name them wayfarers as we've actually come up with the name. But I sparked an interesting discussion, eh? Please note I'm also in a very conceited mood. Comes from writing about conceited characters and acting them out, I suppose. Though it seems needless to say I'm not talking about Liornung. :D

Nur, I'm a little fuzzy on what's expected of Ædegard right now. He'll "introduce us to all of them"???

Did I really have Liornung say all of them? *blushes* Ugh, apologies. Let's just leave it in there and put it to Liornung's absentmindedness. I have begun to notice he's a bit absentminded at times. It's rather interesting how you learn things about your characters that you never knew before whilst you were writing, isn't it?

Ahem!

Well, what Liornung meant to say (*more blushes*) is that while he is fetching the water he would like Ædegard to give all their names to the one lassie. "This is Bellyn, that was Liornung, etc." :D

Interesting what I've heard about Raefindan. Maybe we could have the wayfarers/gypsies (I put wayfarers first, is that better? :p ) stick around until the Gondor company shows up just so Liornung can hear what he'd call them.... depending, that is, when the Gondor company shows up. I think eventually the Rohan company will outride the wayfarers. Raefindan sounds like an awfully interesting character. *mutters something about the need to pay more attention to the Gondor group*

Now I'll go edit Liornung's posts and change 'gypsies' to 'wayfarers' and then curl up and watch a movie and take Helen's excellent advice and go to sleep despite all inclinations to sit up late writing and tin whistling. It sounds like our confusion is getting cleared up, which is lovely, though the discussions were grand. If I ever have more time I'll wander over to the Books section for a little while.

By the way, Helen, I'm looking forward to Amroth's discussion with the stray gypsy... er, wayfarer.... if it hasn't occurred already? I'll go check the game thread.

[Nurumaiel]

Er... I know I said I'd edit and then go to bed, and while I did the former I thought I'd make another post in reply to littlemanpoet's. Liornung has had some serious words with Miss Argeleafa and has suggested something that might greatly upset Ædegard... then again it might not. I haven't the faintest idea so I left what happens next to you, lmp. Liornung is expecting Ædegard to fly into a terrible rage; if he doesn't Liornung will be awfully shocked so if that's how Ædegard's personality would compel him to be have fun with Liornung's pleasant surprise! :D

If Ædegard does fly into a rage, whether explosive or silent, as Liornung expects him to do, we can have fun with that, too.

Either way Liornung probably won't change his mind. He'll just change Ædegard's. :D ;) And again either way, have fun with either Ædegard's anger or Liornung's shock at the lack of it. I frankly don't know how I expect him to react!

All right, then, I've given you something to work with, I've actually decided to bring a new character into the game (if I change my mind tomorrow I've given myself the father's decision to fall back upon), and having done a lovely night's work I'll bid you all a good night and a good morrow. Or, in better words, 'good night and joy be with you all.'

[mark12_30]

Nuru, I found myself putting words in poor, homesick Argeleafa's mouth... words from this (http://www.jens-nicolaus.de/Song%20For%20Ireland.htm) song.

mp3 here (http://www.chivalry.com/cantaria/lyrics/song-for-ireland.html)


This (of course) reminds me of my own 'homesick anthem' (http://www.electricscotland.com/poetry/canadian_boatsong.htm) (for a place I've NEVER been! ... Yet still, the blood is strong, the heart is highland...

[Nurumaiel]

And while we're speaking about Argeleafa, Helen, what is your opinion of her? Are you in favor of her joining our Rohan company or would you rather she just went home with her father?

Both are darling songs. My own personal 'homesick' song is a modified version of Carrickfergus (http://www.jens-nicolaus.de/Carrickfergus.htm), changed to be Carrick-on-Suir. But it is a bit different than the version on the site you've given me (guitar chords! Lovely!). Verse 2 there would actually be Verse 3 and the new Verse 2 would run....

My childhood days bring back sad reflections
of happy times spent so long ago.
My boyhood friends and my own relations
have all passed on now like melting snow.
I'll spend my days in endless roaming;
soft is the grass, my bed is free.
Ah to be back now in Carrickfergus
on that long road down to sea.

Suir... Darling little river... and all the lovely people that I knew... I'm making myself homesick, I'm afraid, and I can't let myself do that. I had a bad enough spell in November and December and I'm determined to have a lot of fun here. I dreamt I was back home last night, as a matter of fact.

So you're homesick for Scotland? I have never found myself in truth homesick for Scotland though I have gazed from time to time wistfully towards Cawdor Castle. Alas that it should fall upon my family that we were descended from the Campbells of Cawdor (alas Cawdor is now for the tourists and not for its rightful owners... I'm in a story-mood today, and that idea is sweet to think on... the rightful owners. Can the tourists all be minions of the enemies of Bonnie Prince Charlie? We can watch the Battle of Culloden from Cawdor ;) ), though I do hope we're a better lot. Hold! I mustn't talk about my family history here, though it is a favorite subject of mine. Unless you consider it getting to know me better? ;)

Aylwen? What about you? Are you in favor of Argeleafa joining the company or not? littlemanpoet? I'm afraid to make up my mind for myself. I might not be thinking quite straight in my illness... then again I might be thinking straighter than before and doing something wonderful....? Maybe? In my personal opinion Argeleafa is a sweet girl, but I don't know if she should actually be part of the company.

[mark12_30]

Nuru, I'd better not vote, as I have just saddled myself with ANOTHER Mellon!! We're just such a Friendly group. Although, I suspect (and hope) that Ædegard will rename the grimy young Mellon in a big hurry.

Maybe he'll even call him something nice. :p

I learned "The Water is Wide" as another lament entirely. Guess I'd better bone up on Carrickfergus!

So you're homesick for Scotland?

Aye, always have been. It's in the blood. Mountains and hills call, so does the rain and the fog. So does the cold grey sea. Spring air calls me to the reel, or to a pipe.

[mark12_30]

Nuru & lmp, this is delightful! I like these Wayfarers. I'm pondering Amroth's response.

One thing to keep in mind is that Alak is waiting (breathlessly) under the eaves of Lorien to join the game. Stopping to rest Amroth right now will hold her back from joining the action and I'd rather not do that. So I'm thinking of having Amroth's stubborn reply be, "I'll rest when I get to Lorien and not before." I'm still percolating how to do it, since Liornung's plea was so persuasive...

On another note--

In past games I've found that it helps to keep the game moving if you have a good guess who has the opportunity of posting next. This isn't a rule, or a controlling thing.. it's just so that we have an idea who is on when, in case it will help move the game along (generally I've found that it does.)

What I think I know:
mark12_30 is generally on early morning, lunchtime, and late evening Eastern Standard time... and whenever else I can pop a window up. :p
littlemanpoet is generally on evenings, Central time.
Alak is generally on Evenings (Central or mountain time? I forget)
Imladris checks briefly afternoons and is on in the evenings Pacific time.

Now for the wild guesses. For Aylwen , Orual and Nuru I didn't know where to begin guessing! I did a post-search & looked at yoour recent post times... I hope that wasn't too nosey?

Aylwen Dreamsong: Previous posting pattern of noonish and evenings Eastern time?
Orual-- Looks like Noonish & evenings, eastern?
Nuru-- Previous posting pattern (Eastern Standard time:) 1 AM, 1 PM, and sometimes 4 -6 pm. Somehow I don't think you're on the east coast...?

Again, youare all free to tell me to mind my own business. But if we post leaving specific openings for another gamer, understanding the schedule does help to keep things moving. Sometimes leaving multiple openings is also helpful.

[alaklondewen]

Helen, I am looking forward to joining the action, but don't let me hold back something that could be really great. I'm fascinated with these wayfarers also, so it is fine with me if you want to explore your possibilities a little longer. I will post this evening for Erebemlin.

My posting times...I always check in in the mornings, and can post in the evenings, especially Monday, Wednesday, and the weekends.

Have a great day!

~ Alak

[mark12_30]

Alak-- okay! So, a one-day delay, then... Amroth will put up a mild argument and then 'crash'.

[Imladris]

Imladris is generally on afternoons Pacific time (is that right?)

Fairly...I don't like to spend a lot of time on in the afternoons during school (which just started up again) because then I eat up all my homework time *cough*. I pop in for about thirty minutes, catch up on stuff (chat to my friend that is across the ocean), and post in the evenings.

Cheers,
Istawen

[Nurumaiel]

Yes, I suppose it does seem obvious I'm not on Eastern time. I really don't have any set time for getting on. Generally I will get on towards evening when the day is finishing, sometimes in the morning... it just depends on when there's time to spare.

Now, Alak, are you just saying that to be polite or do you really not care? It would be quite simple to handle. Amroth can stay and one of the Rohan company could do a brief paragraph describing what happened next (how Argeleafa joined them, etc.) and we could bring the day to a close very quickly. Or we could just linger. It depends on how you feel about it.

[alaklondewen]

Nuru, I promise I'm not just being nice. I am captivated by this story as a reader, not only as a player. I think if you can do something great with the wayfarers, or Argeleafa...do it. I would prefer to wait to join (I have a couple of posts up my sleeve before Erebemlin joins anyway), than to hinder creativity. :)

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

Mid-Afternoon to evening Eastern Time, for me (close enough, Helen! ;)) but on weekends it's any old time.

I'll be getting a post up soon, promise. :)

Have a great day,
-Aylwen

[littlemanpoet]

My posting time is either in the afternoon, 3 to 5 (eastern - believe it or not, Michigan is on eastern time) - or in the evenings, 7 or 8 to 10 or 11. And Saturday mornings, and Sunday afternoons.

I have a writers' festival to attend Thursday, Friday, and Saturday this weekend, and I don't know if I'll get a chance to post here or anywhere. You're all doing a great job of carrying my characters, so feel free to do so.

Seee you soon (Sunday).

[mark12_30]

lmp, may your writers' conference be a rich blessing to you.

The rest of us:

Rohan: In case you're asking "what's going on with "Pig/Boar/Mellon2"? He's demonstrating how he got his name, for one thing. For another, Amroth won his loyalty by treating him warmly and affirming his humanity, but he's highly sceptical of seeing the same from the others. The wild behavior is (a) jealousy over his newfound NewFriendAmroth-- mine, mine, you can't have him; and (b) defending NewFriendAmroth from the highly suspect and unproven Others.

Amroth is passed out cold and won't wake up for a good two or three sleep cycles... so you've got plenty of time to tame the wild boy. But you've got to keep him from dragging Amroth away in the meantime.

Watch those teeth.

Ravion's Ramblers: Let's get a solid 2 days of travel in so that Imladris can bring her Nassssty Merchantssss into the picture.

[Nurumaiel]

Helen, I did get the impression that Pig (he really needs a new name; Liornung is never going to refer to him as that! Amroth calls him Mellon.... should the other group members pick up on that?) was a bit jealous. Liornung is generally a very understanding type but he does have faults and considering he just got bitten by a fierce wayfarer lad he probably isn't feeling too understanding right now, though I don't believe he'll lose his head. :D I'm thinking of Argeleafa take a hand at bringing the lad to reason. After all, though she was only with the wayfarer group a short time the boy would still be more familiar with her face than Liornung or any of the other Rohan company.

Well, she'll consider worth a try, anyway. :D

[mark12_30]

Great posts, everyone!

I'll post but mine will be brief... I'm trying hard to catch up on some sleep tomight. "Mr. Scott, force yourself to relax..."

Have fun and don't wait for me!

[mark12_30]

Imladris, Orual... LOVE IT!

...and I wonder when Amroth is going to wake up to...

[mark12_30]

Imladris has finished Moria! A rousing ending, the stage littered with gore, corpses and appropriate pathos. Well done!

Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!

[mark12_30]

Hi all,

Ravion's Other ranger has entered the firelight. Nuru, Aylwen, lmp, have sme fun with him... If the ranger is left with the mistaken impression that WildMellon is the crazy blacksmith, so much the better. (More stress for Mellonin later...)

Hey, guess what I just bought? Strunk & White's Elements of Style. Great bedtime reading.

On the more mundane note.. I keep thinking that one of these days we will have to take steps to clean up the typos we have drizzled along the way. We could set up a routine before the thread gets so long it's a hideous chore... Or leave it all til the end, and do it all at once... somehow.

Any suggestions? Or am I crazy for even thinking about it?

--mark12_30

ps. Immy, I *so* love how Aeron's own traps close in on him. Beautifully done.

[alaklondewen]

I, for one, would rather fix any mistakes in my posts now, than wait until the end. Please, if you see anything in my posts, don't hestitate to correct me (be gentle ;)). I always proofread but I'm far from perfect.

[Imladris]

Yes...I think that I'd prefer to fix the typos now...let's se...three in just last post? I have faster fingers, thoughts change in midsentence...then the fingers can't keep up with them. ;) What can I say...I once skipped half of the sentence...

Anyway...

Imladris has finished Moria! A rousing ending, the stage littered with gore, corpses and appropriate pathos. Well done!

Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!

A toast! *holds glass*

And...

ps. Immy, I *so* love how Aeron's own traps close in on him. Beautifully done.

Why thank you. :)

[mark12_30]

...my typos could be registered as deadly weapons...

How about I start running pages of the thread through Word and send results via PM as neccessary?? It'll take me a few days to get to it.

I'm off to early dreams tonight-- exhausted; too much music that went late into the night. Please, keep the game driving forward. If somebody wants to wake Amroth up and send him (and Echo) galloping towards the Edge of Lorien, that's fine. Just please let Alak and I do the introductions between the elves an the Pseudo-Elf.

[littlemanpoet]

I finally caught up on everything that got posted by last NIGHT. Now I have to catch up on everything that got posted TODAY!.

Just two points for everybody's attention:

(1) Ædegard is being altogether too even tempered about this Easterling. Of course, I wasn't around to take care of things, so oh well. I can make up for it. Ædegard is a bit of a Rohirric bigot. It's the only way to put it. He can abide Gondorians, and would love a hobbit, but anybody else earns his suspicion, at best.

(2) Maybe I'm just being a language persnicketer, but I have a really hard time with a Gondorian Ranger using words like "extrapolate". That kind of speech ought to come from Raefindan, if anyone, and Gwyllion should be getting stuck on the word, wondering if Ravion's mad, or is saying something about extra potatoes!

Let me know what you think of my notions, please. :)

[Orual]

lmp--

Language persnicketers rock! Thank you for your input. I guess it was probably me using the word "extrapolate", not Ravion. I'll go and change it. Thanks!

~Orual

[Imladris]

Orual, these first two paragraphs in your latest post gave me the impression that you think that Gwyllion is his older sister, when in fact she is his younger sister. At the beginning I had him lie about her age and tell the others that she was his older...now he slipped and he told Ravion that she was two years younger than himself.

Cheers!
Imladris

[mark12_30]

lmp-- Suspicious Ædegard! Right-ho, I shall edit later this morning, and then let you know by post # where I have edited. There are a couple of places you could paste some real animosity into my posts if you'd like, I'm thinking anywhere WildMellon stands over Amroth-- that should make Ædegard bristle? PM any inserts you'd like (or post 'em here) and I will gladly paste them in. I will edit in any case.

Thanks for helping me keep your character honest!

;) :cool:

And Orual: Continuing Kudos on Ravion's Inherent RangerNess. Bent weeds and brown grass... :)

[mark12_30]

lmp, I have edited posts #129, 136, 139. Please let me know if they are OK now, and if there's anything you would like to add.

I think I was the main problem? Glad you said something.

[Orual]

:smacks forehead:

Thanks, Imladris! I don't know where my brain was last night when I typed that up...I just mistyped. You know how that happens? When you know what you want to write, but it just comes out a different way entirely...I'll go fix it posthaste.

[Imladris]

Hehehe...do I know that Problem? *laughs* He and I are old aquaintances...yes we are.

[mark12_30]

You guys are da BEST. ~*~*~ Ahem-- Well Written, Everyone.

Orual-- *lovely setup*. Let's keep Erundil on track with WildMellon and let him ignore Amroth (Amroth can either sleep thru the whole discussion or depart for Erebemlin's bonfire as soon as he wakes up.)

I realise character development is taking a great deal of maneuvering, and that game-time is progressing at a crawl. But I think that's okay for now. I'd rather let it unfold with all the lovely character development for now. I suspect the pace will pick up soon enough.

When (and if) the team agrees that we want time to really fly, we can go to the travelling-day-per-post idea, and show the meaning of haste...

[mark12_30]

The silence is deafening. Was sending Amroth off in a wild rush to meet Erebemlin a disruptive thing to do? Let me know if you want me to edit!

[Orual]

Everyone--

My computer is on its last legs. I want to warn all of you that my ability to post may be spotty in the near future, unless and until we get a new computer. I have access to public computers, but not all the time. I'll try to get on as often as I can, but I probably won't be able to post as regularly for a while.

I'll let you know as soon as my situation changes.

Thanks!

[littlemanpoet]

Thanks for the edits, Helen. Under your hand, Ædegard has become again very much in character. He isn't going to immediately trust Erundil either. I'm a little dry in terms of creativity right now, so please feel free to use Ædegard and Raefindan. Sorry to disappoint.

[alaklondewen]

Helen, a very uncomfortable Erebemlin has turned the focus to Wild Mellon. Let me know if that is satisfactory.

Also, Celegtâl and Caranduin are still outside the forest and will see the others from the Rohan group coming. They know not of Amroth and the boy, so we can play with that. :)

[mark12_30]

Alak, that works just fie. I'm thinking that Amroth would still be quite weary at this point-- pondering a relapse into fever, maybe. He's pushing his poor blacksmith's body too hard, and his elvish spirit is too hot for it anyway... so to speak.

Wild Mellon: I'm thinking he's seventeen like Mellondu, but (mal)-nutritionally stunted to the size of a fifteen year old. I guess if that's still too old (we have called him young several times) I could go with sixteen-but-looks fourteen. Any objections?

Having lmp and Orual on limited-posting is a challenge! I think the rest of us should just plow ahead.

Rohan troop: Nuru, lmp, Aylwen, and now Orual: dive in anytime. If Orual doesn't post soon we can all carry her new ranger til she returns. Alak-- Fun! I'm glad you "posted" elves to look out for Ædegard & co.

Gondor troop: We need to get past the mouth of the Entwash (the delta) and get to the Sarn Gebir area. Let's make some tracks; our characters can "argue" along the way! Immy, you and I can carry that group til Orual and lmp return to full-strength. Raefindan will ask Ravion for archery lessons when they stop "tonight" (gametime) so Mellonin, Gwill, and Aeron can have some time to talk.

Meanwhile... Lord? Could you get Orual a new computer? ...please? Or if not, then at least a way to post? :cool:

[Orual]

Helen, you have a way with prayer.

I've been lucky enough to be able to use the library computer until we get a new computer, which should be soon--my entire family is having issues with a lack of Internet, so we should get it within the week. Hopefully.

So false alarm!

Anyway, I've posted for Ravion and Erundil. Erundil's is short, as I wasn't exactly sure what was needed. Tell me if there's anything more you guys need.

[mark12_30]

Orual: Erundil's post seems very appropriate to me as is, given the circumstances.

I am quite delighted to see you-- and your rangers! Hurrah!

[littlemanpoet]

Just a couple language notions. But tell me if I should just mine my own business.

I'm choosing to by NOT picky about descriptions.

Character words and thoughts are another matter. :D

Actually, these aren't even suggestions for change; just points to ponder, and if you feel like using them, great. If not, that's fine too. But I'll let you know if there's one or so that I consider "egregious" (latinate).

post #167:
Latinate: demanding / Anglo-Saxon: urging

post # 168:
Latinate: languish (great word by the way!) / Norman English: moulder / Anglo-Saxon / waste away

Actually, that's all for now. I'll shut up now.

LMP

[mark12_30]

lmp,

Please don't shut up. No-one admires monks more than I do. Nevertheless, I'd hate to end up with a troop of italian gondorians tracking an eored of latin-monkish rohirrim talking to a gaggle of french elves.

That said: I did edit, and substituted urging for demanding-- but it wasn't urging on Aeron's part, it was clearly an ultimatum-- my sister comes or forget the whole deal. So what's Anglo-Saxon for blackmail?

Good night, all-- I had hoped to post tonight but early tomorrow will have to do. Don't wait for me if you feel like posting!!!

And no, Alak, it's not 7:30 my time. It's 10:30! :p

*waves and yawns*

[mark12_30]

For Nuru, wherever she is (I hope all is well) :

Come by the hills to the land where life is a song
And sing while the birds fill the air with their joy all day long,
Where the trees sway in time and even the wind sings in tune,
And cares of tomorrow must wait till this day is done.


...Amroth should listen...

[littlemanpoet]

... it just doensn't have the rich vocabulary we're all used to with modern English.

Blackmail? huh, that's not bad itself, actually, although I think "mail" is a French Norman word. (1066 and all that).

Black guard? again, norman french.

Turn-coat, maybe? No, that's traitoring.

Take basic English and compound, maybe. Um, it's a demand.... um..... order? he bade him... um..... to bid ......

Anglo Saxon "spanan" = urge, persuade, entice, but that doesn't help us at all. Arg! If only my Bright's glossary went both ways! oh heck, Norman English is good enough. Tolkien used lots of it. - - guard. tobacco was borrowing form Spanish, I think. So do your best.

insist? oh, I give up.

[littlemanpoet]

Tolkien exercised one very critical element of language that most of his followers tend to overlook...... contraction. Many words in Sindarin and Quenya, I recollect, are built from compounds of smaller words. The new word almost never contains every last letter and syllable of the two words used. If I had any smarts at all, or time, I'd do some research to back this up, but well...... :p

Anyway, Nethgwador is a case in point. Some aspect of the word would disappear, that which the tongue passes most lightly over in the language. You can see this all over the English language.

Kneel. ... knife..... thought..... through...... notice the silent letters? They weren't always silent. the latter two were spoken with a guttural in the throat, like a dog growling, I suppose. Hard to do. No wonder we don't anymore.

Back to Nethgwador. Say it fast. Notice what starts to disappear when you say it fast enough? The Elves, I'm thinking, intuitively know what letters are going to drop out of a compound word, and would name accordingly, especially taking into account the daily wear and tear.

So I'll make a suggestion or two on this account, base on my own attempts to say this name really fast: Nekwador. Nethador. Nethwador. The latter may be the best one. You decide.

[alaklondewen]

I edited and added an extra scene onto post #161.

[littlemanpoet]

Well, I get to point out my own mistake. Tolkien never, ever used the word, "tobacco", anywhere that I can think of in any of his writings. He talked about it aplenty, but always referred to it as "pipeweed".

Which makes my main point way better than I could. Two simple English words are combined in a whimsical, picturesque manner, such that the cured vegetable matter, imported from Spain, Virginia, or wherever, that Englishmen stuff in their pipe bowls, becomes a completely Hobbitish thing - from the South farthing no less, called pipe weed.

Does that do us any good regarding such words as "demand"? Heck, I'm still wracking my brain on that one. Anyway, I enjoy the challenge of trying to find ways of expressing things the way I imagine Tolkien would have. Okay, I'll be quiet with the linguistics stuff and try to get Ædegard and Raefindan in gear again.

[Imladris]

Lmp, even though I enjoyed your post immensely (go Raefindan!) you said that the merchant was an "overfed man" when in fact he is rather quite skinny... ;)

Cheers!
Imladris

[littlemanpoet]

Oops. I fix. Sorry much! :p

[alaklondewen]

My last final is this morning and I will be back in the swing of things. I'm
*really* looking forward to writing with the group as a whole.

[mark12_30]

You go, girl, and God bless your finals! See you soon.

[Imladris]

I will do my best to have a post for Aeron and the merchant and perhaps Gwyllion today if possible....schedule was too busy yesterday...

[littlemanpoet]

Just a small point, alak: Ædegard is (I think) 20 years old. He doesn't mean to appear to be an older man. If you want your elf to see him that way, okay. That's all. :)