+choke+
Aman, you haven't lost your touch in the past two years. In fact, you've gotten better. Now it's up to me to catch up, I guess. A fantastic post. And, to everyone else, I see there are lots of events so early in the game. Do I have the timeline right?
Ferethor's assassination attempt on Aman (Years before the roleplay) -->
The rumor of Gondor vs Umbar war -->
Thistle's escape attempt (Day before the roleplay starts) -->
Ferethor hears about the war and drops the oar (The day the roleplay starts) -->
Fame and Fortune sets off.
Oh, and
Thistle, this would presumably give our characters a chance to interreact - although Ferethor's going to be out cold most of the time. They'd throw us into the slave quarters for recovery, right?