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Old 09-02-2003, 09:11 AM   #56
Estelyn Telcontar
Princess of Skwerlz
 
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles)
Posts: 7,645
Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!
Silmaril

Merisuwyniel rode amidst the Fellow/Galship and the Sorethighhim, her eyes shining with excitement. Despite being an emancipated shieldmaiden, she had found the recent display of male prowess extremely exhilarating. Now that the groups had become friends, the level of Westestosterone conversation that surrounded her was quite stimulating – or perhaps the wave of feelings that came over her was encouraged by the music still being played by the Riders’ Big Band?

Ah, the music! She listened enraptured, wishing that she too could take part in creating something so wonderful. She fingered the Entish Bow, wondering if more strings could be added to make a harp of it. The agitated vibrations with which it responded to that thought caused her to abandon the notion, but the idea continued to nag at the back of her mind.

She had been trained in all of the arts a shieldmaiden needed, except music! How could it be that this important area had been neglected? All Elves, of course, can sing, for they begin to learn the art before their letters. Snatches of a song long forgotten came back to her memory:

Mother says I was a dancer before I could walk,
She says I began to sing long before I could talk…

…I have a talent, a wonderful thing,
’cause everyone listens when I start to sing…

I’ve been so lucky, I am the girl with golden hair,
I wanna sing it out to everybody:
What a joy, what a life, what a chance!

So I say:
Thank you for the music, the songs I’m singing,
Thanks for all the joy they’re bringing.
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty,
What would life be?
Without a song or a dance what are we?
So I say thank you for the music,
For giving it to me.


Nevertheless, the fact remained – she had never learned to play a musical instrument. The knowledge rankled, and she resolved that it was imperative to fill this gap in the long list of her abilities as soon as possible.

° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °

Thus occupied, she was startled to find that they were already approaching the city of Improvas. Proudly it stood upon the crest of a rocky hill, and a glint of gold from the roof of a hall at the very top seemed to flash a greeting to them. The leader with the magnificent feathered plume, whom the others had respectfully called “Yoman” – or was it spelled “Éyoman” in their language? – guided them to a hospitable looking inn. A horse’s head upon a background which almost looked like a bed (too strange to be possible, Merisu decided, and hoped for an explanation later) swung above the open door, and its lettering pronounced this to be the Horse Head Inn.

“Here you shall find accommodations for staying in our city,” Yoman told them, “and for your horses as well – Sethamir’s Stable and Instrument Repair Shop next door will lodge your steeds. We shall come to join you as promised for welcoming drinks when we have taken care of our own mounts. The Innkeeper, Dêthderrydol, (‘a half-enigma’, he added in a whisper) will welcome you in the meantime.”
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'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...'
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