[Birdland]

Welcome to Mirkwood, Guido and Isilya! Here is the history or your kingdom and its King, Thranduil, plus his first take on the summons of King Elessar. Pay attention to Thranduil's character. Though he won't be traveling with you, he IS your king. You'll want to be very aware of his attitude towards other races and trade in general, (no matter what you may think of of them personally. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] )

A Short History of Thranduil and Mirkwood

Thranduil was the King of Mirkwood, the great, wooded Elf Kingdom that lay to the east of the Anduin Vales. His people were the Silvan Elves, descendents of the Nandorins who had turned their back, (some say in fear) on the Gift of the Valar to dwell forever in Valinor.

A people such as this are bound to become known as a independent, proud race ( though “stiff-necked” and “pig-headed” were also terms used to describe them). The Silvan Elves shunned the great works of art, architecture and metal-craft that marked the reigns of the other Great Elf-Lords. They had long preferred the more “simple life, natural to the Elves, before the invitation of the Valar had disturbed it.” So the Elves of Mirkwood were always known to be more pastoral and rustic then their more lofty cousins of Middle-Earth. (“provincial” and “backward” were also terms used to describe them, though not where Thranduil could hear it.)

Thranduil had inherited his kingdom after the War of the Last Alliance. The young Elf had witnessed the disastrous charge of the outnumbered army of Malgalad, and had watched his troops - dead and alive - sink forever into the depths of the Dead Marshes. He had stood with his father before the gates of Mordor, and been by his side when he fell. He had stood helpless as Isildur had shunned wisdom and seized for himself the Ring that should have been destroyed.

The horrors of the War at Dagorlad would haunt his dreams through the centuries. “If ever he looked south, its memory dimmed the light of the Sun.“ And though it was said that Mordor “was now broken and deserted and under the vigilance of the Kings of Men, fear spoke in his heart that it was not conquered forever: it would rise again.”

On the road home to his Kingdom, he passed through Lorien, and there met Nivala, who would become his wife. Her heart was touched forever by the sad, young (by Elf standards) King. And his tales of the Greenwood, where the life loved by Nimrodel had forever been preserved, kindled a longing in her. She married Thranduil, and left her life in Lorien forever.

They had three sons. Orodan, and then Finwë, were born early in the Third Age, and assisted their father in the ruling of his kingdom during the years of the Long Peace. A third son was born, surprisingly, in the time when the Necromancer took up his abode in Dul Goldur. His mother, delighting in this gift, named him “Greenleaf”. In her heart, he was a reminder of new life in a land where the trees were darkened, and the court of a King had retreated underground.

(Author’s note: Hey, I’m with Martinez on this one. Legolas is no more than 600 years old in the years of the War of the Ring.)

Thranduil’s distrust of Men, Dwarves, and even his own kin in Lorien had grown through the years He fought the growing darkness in his kingdom alone (or so he thought) and blamed the short-sightedness of Men, and the greed of the Dwarves, for his growing troubles and misfortunes.

It was at the Battle of the Five Armies that Finwë was slain. Nivala had long argued with her husband, considering it folly to try to seize the treasures of the Lonely Mountain as his own. With the death of Finwë, her long love for Thranduil died, as well as her love for Middle-Earth. She sought the Havens, and sailed to the West. Thranduil forbade her name ever to be spoken again.

During the War of the Ring, Thranduil and Orodan led their people against the forces of Sauron. He was reluctant allies with King Bard II of Dale, and Thorin III of the Lonely Mountain. But Elrond credited him and his neighbors with stemming the tide of the Dark Lord in the North, and preventing the Western Lands from falling, even as Gondor stood before the Dark Lord’s gates to the South. Despite the victories, Thranduil still mistrusted the Kings of Men. He had heard their promises in that past that Sauron would never arise again. Even the final destruction of the Ring could not fully convince him that the Darkness of Mordor was truly gone forever.

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First Post

Thranduil’s Halls were always slightly damp. If skilled Dwarven craftsmen had been allowed to appraise the situation, they would have solved this problem by re-routing underground streams and providing much-needed ventilation. But no Dwarves had ever been in the underground Halls of the Silvan King - save one group, and they had departed as soon as able.

When Celeborn had visited Thranduil after the Victory, he had suggested that the King might want to relocate his seat to another area. “A new court, to go with the new name. The Kingdom of Eryn Lasgalen should be ruled from above ground, as befits this new Age of Light.” Thranduil thought to himself that Celeborn should go chase after his wife in the West, and leave the ruling of his kingdom to him.

Besides, Thranduil loved the Old Halls, damp as they were. They represented the long fight that he had waged to keep the Darkness at bay. Mirkwood may not have been protected by one of the Three as Lorien had, but against Spiders, Orcs, and Sauron himself, his people had prevailed. They may have been assailed, but they were never routed.

Thranduil picked up the missive that had been delivered to him. He had expected such a summons. King Elessar had wasted no time in attempting to bring the races of Middle-Earth into the Mannish fold. Thranduil did not begrudge Elrond’s fosterling his Rule. The Fourth Age would be the Age of Men. It had been long foretold. But he would see that there was one outpost of the Eldar that would remain for all time. Let the others flee to the Havens. The Silvan Elves of Eryn Lasgalen would abide. And when the Darkness arose in a new form - as Thranduil knew it would - then the summons from Minas Anor would take an entirely different tone.

It was the second letter that made the King return to his table again and again. The letter from Legolas, the first he had received since he had sent his youngest son to Imladris two years ago. “Letter” some might call it, but it seemed more like a tome. Legolas had written of all that had happened to him since he had left his father’s realm to attend the Council of Elrond. Moria, Helm’s Deep, Fangorn. It was all there. Nivala’s favorite had traveled far, it seemed. He wrote in glowing terms of his companions, both Man and Halfling. (Thranduil smiled to himself as he read Legolas’ descriptions of the Ring-Bearer and his companions. He had always had a sneaking admiration for Thorin’s Halfling squire.)

And he read of Legolas’ sworn friendship with the Dwarf Gimli. The praises of the Dwarf-Kind’s bravery, his devotion to the Lady of the Wood, his skill at arms and craft, even his poetry as he described the “Glittering Caves” of the Rohirrim. Legolas had said all he could to convince his father that , in bonding himself in friendship to one of Durin’s Folk, he had not lost his mind.

But it was the last pages of the letter that drew Thranduil to return to his desk and read again and again. The descriptions of Ithilien. The intention of Legolas to remain there. The humble request to his father that he inform his people of this Garden of the South, and permit such as would choose to come there to live.

The intention of Legolas to remain there. The intention of Legolas to never return home.

“So once again, Men and Dwarves have schemed to take from me my treasure.” Thranduil crumbled the page in his fist. Then he laid it gently on the tabletop and smoothed the wrinkled paper. He took up the letter and laid it in a box of mallorn wood, which he locked with a key held only by him. Finally, with a sigh, he turned his attention once more to the summons of the King.

Thranduil rang for his butler. When the Elf servant appeared, he said “Find Orodan. Send riders to the corners of the kingdom, if need be. Tell him his father has a mission for him.”

(RPG requirement - I will need someone to play Orodan, son of Thranduil and older brother of Legolas. Other representatives may also accompany Orodan on this mission, either male or female, but please keep in mind that diplomats are required more than warriors. Also needed will be servant-escorts for the representatives. (Trusted companions along the line of Frodo’s Samwise,) who will guard the representatives and see that their needs are met on the long road to Minas Anor. And if they are good at spying on other representatives they might meet on the road - so much the better.)