Tapestry of Dreams, Part 2 Discussion

[littlemanpoet]

Without comment, our dear Helen has posted as Avarien who has taken residence in Mellonin. I guess I finally figured that out. I'm stunned by the depth of it. See what I mean!?!? THAT's what we've been missing. Helen? Are you going to come back again soon? If so, this could take a completely different direction than we've been casting about to take it. Sigh.

[Imladris]

This is probably stupid of me but there are too many pages to weed through to find my answer:

Who is Avarien?

And, I've been wanting to ask this for a very long time now (ever since mark said she could not be involved with the rp) but I didn't want to be a wet blanket: would it be wise and fruitful to the story to continue without mark12_30?

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Hey Elempi, feel free to answer me on here or via PM, but do you have any ideas/requests for the save that is possibly more likely to be filled tomorrow than today, due simply to how much homework I have?

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

LMP: I've got a post up for you to play with. Raefindan and a stranger lady saying things Indil doesn't understand. Indil hearing voices the Elf doesn't. Do with it what you like.

[mark12_30]

Nice, Fea! We cross-posted. Where exactly are Indil and Nastyelf?

If there are any issues with the Ravion post, sing out.

Immy & lmp-- I wish Orual would come back too. SHe writes a much better Ravion...

[mark12_30]

Immy,

Can Gwillion interact at all with landlubbers? Can Avarien somehow see/hear her, or is Aeron the only one?

All, what's the status of Erebemlin's group? Frantically searching for Indil? Where are they?

[littlemanpoet]

I am loving the new depth we have back with Helen writing again and others picking up on it. Thank you very, very much for coming back.

Originally Posted by Helen

All, what's the status of Erebemlin's group? Frantically searching for Indil? Where are they?

Do you have Barbara Strachey's "Journeys of Frodo"? If so, then I'm basing things on map 43.

If not, I'll try and describe what I'm looking at. From Minas Tirith the Great West Road runs due north for toward the Anduin and after 25 miles enters the Grey Wood. After perhaps 10 more miles the road rounds the foothill called Amon Dín, on which is set the first of the seven Beacons. (From the eastern foot of this hill is a small tributary that runs into the Anduin; where this river meets the road, is the new village where the "Four Hobbits Inn" (created in this rpg) is located, about 10 miles north of the beginning of the Grey Wood.) From Amon Dín the Great West Road now runs west, into the Drúadan Forest, which surrounds Eilenach, the foothill on which is set the second Beacon. Amon Dín and Eilenach are about 15 miles apart. Due south of Eilenach is the great Mount Mindolluin, the first of the White Mountains, at the eastern foot of which is Minas Tirith. The peak of Mindolluin is 25 miles west of Minas Tirith and 20 miles south of Eilenach,which is itself 5 miles south of the Great West Road.

It was never established where the women came into the White Mountains, but the most reasonable guess is that they followed the same road that the Riders of the Rohirrim took through the Druadan Forest (to bypass the orc encampment), which intersects with the Great West Road in the middle of the Grey Wood, about 5 miles south of the "Four Hobbits Inn" village. From this road the women slowly moved south and west until they were at the southernmost reaches of the Druadan Forest (where Rûgh lives), which climb the feet of Mindoluin as high as 2,000 feet.

What I'd like to suggest is that the cottage of Saethryd is just beyond the western edge of the Druadan, near the source of the river that flows out of the White Mountains about half way between Nardol Beacon (the 3rd) and Eilenach; this puts the cottage at roughly 2,000 feet high and 14 miles west-southwest (that means halfway between west and southwest) of Eilenach.

Tharonwë is moving quickly upward and south-southwest, to the pass between Mindolluin and the next unnamed peak, which is at least 5,000 feet up but less than 6,000. Mindoluin rises to above 11,000 & the next to over 9,000.

Tharonwë is about 10 miles north-northeast of Nimrodel and 7 miles south of Saethryd, and Raefindan and company are a half day's march (2 miles) behind him. The way is getting steeper and the time it takes to climb a mile will lengthen, so we are still perhaps a few days away from the climactic events. The longer the group is with Saethryd, the farther behind they get. One problem to solve is how to slow down both Tharonwë and the Raefindan group so that the Ravion group can catch up. The only thing that comes to mind is that Tharonwë injures someone and the rest have to halt; but that doesn't slow down Tharonwë, which maybe is okay because that gives time for his attempts to woo Nimrodel without the others around time to be told. That would be very interesting to write.

Actually, the way these maps look the way does not get very much steeper to the pass between the two peaks, so maybe we should have Nimrodel somewhere up higher on Mindolluin?

[littlemanpoet]

Originally Posted by Imladris

This is probably stupid of me but there are too many pages to weed through to find my answer:

Who is Avarien?

And, I've been wanting to ask this for a very long time now (ever since mark said she could not be involved with the rp) but I didn't want to be a wet blanket: would it be wise and fruitful to the story to continue without mark12_30?

Very astute questions, all of them.

Avarien is apparently an Elvish woman Helen dreamed up who, as the name suggests, was "Unwilling, a Refuser". She refused to go over the Sea with Amroth and his kindred; so unlike Nimrodel, who wanted to but tragedy overcame her desire, Avarien is one who refused to go and may have hindered Nimrodel. So the sense from Helen, I believe, is that Avarien is guilty of having hindered Nimrodel from following Amroth, and is now very sorry for it, and is now willing to make amends in whatever way she can. I don't know if Avarien's féa is in Mellonin after years spent in the Halls of Mandos, or not. I'm not sure Helen had that worked out.

That Helen posted tells me that she still cares about it enough to follow it if she can't find time to post. That she made no comment to accompany her post tells me that she really is short of time. No wonder, with a family that has doubled in size (from just the two of them to 4, the additions being 2 very, very active young Russian boys who keep them very busy).

That Helen posted at all, and without comment, suggests to me that she is willing to let us make decisions we deem appropriate in order to write the story the best way we know how, in order to achieve the ultimate plot goal. Sometimes that means leaving characters behind that are no longer useful.

Originally Posted by Fea

Hey Elempi, feel free to answer me on here or via PM, but do you have any ideas/requests for the save that is possibly more likely to be filled tomorrow than today, due simply to how much homework I have?

Only that if you can think up some deviously evil thing that Tharonwë might do to hinder, injure, maim, or otherwise be nasty, to various and sundry members of the party, be my guest, because so far I haven't thought of anything.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Originally Posted by littlemanpoet

Only that if you can think up some deviously evil thing that Tharonwë might do to hinder, injure, maim, or otherwise be nasty, to various and sundry members of the party, be my guest, because so far I haven't thought of anything.

Right then. I like my poetry class enough to pay attention, but I'll brainstorm evil in my two undesired hours of 17th century lit.

[Nurumaiel]

It's Monday and, as promised, I'm ready to go again.

But I've been absent for such a time that I must admit I'm a bit uncertain as to what is needed of Leafa and/or Liornung. What ought I to do?

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

And a nine hour day turned into a thirteen hour one that just, finally, ended, and tomorrow is twelve hours straight again...

So I have no real idea of when I'm actually going to be mentally or physically capable of writing a post.

[littlemanpoet]

Originally Posted by Nurumaiel

It's Monday and, as promised, I'm ready to go again.

But I've been absent for such a time that I must admit I'm a bit uncertain as to what is needed of Leafa and/or Liornung. What ought I to do?

We've kind of established that Leafa and Ædegard are going to stay with the recovering Mellonin, and that Liornung is going to volunteer to continue on, but needs a Ranger's assistance to get back to the others, so Ravion will help him find his way back to the others before he returns to Mellonin.

If you need more info than that, please ask.

Fea, thanks for the update. I can be patient. Maybe I can even try and come up with something nasty for Tharonwë to do.

[mark12_30]

Originally Posted by littlemanpoet

Avarien is apparently an Elvish woman Helen dreamed up who, as the name suggests, was "Unwilling, a Refuser". She refused to go over the Sea with Amroth and his kindred; so unlike Nimrodel, who wanted to but tragedy overcame her desire, Avarien is one who refused to go

yup

Originally Posted by lmp

and may have hindered Nimrodel. So the sense from Helen, I believe, is that Avarien is guilty of having hindered Nimrodel from following Amroth, and is now very sorry for it, and is now willing to make amends in whatever way she can.

You put it better than I thought it...

I don't know if Avarien's féa is in Mellonin after years spent in the Halls of Mandos, or not. I'm not sure Helen had that worked out.

True, I haven't

That Helen posted tells me that she still cares about it enough to follow it if she can't find time to post. That she made no comment to accompany her post tells me that she really is short of time. No wonder, with a family that has doubled in size (from just the two of them to 4, the additions being 2 very, very active young Russian boys who keep them very busy).

That Helen posted at all, and without comment, suggests to me that she is willing to let us make decisions we deem appropriate in order to write the story the best way we know how, in order to achieve the ultimate plot goal.

I'm kind of guest-posting... thinking that it seems to be moving slowly enough that I can drizzle in once or twice a week? I hope?

Only that if you can think up some deviously evil thing that Tharonwë might do to hinder, injure, maim, or otherwise be nasty, to various and sundry members of the party, be my guest, because so far I haven't thought of anything.

Creepy danged dark-elf... brrr.

Regarding Ravion leaving-- oy! FOr how long? Mellonin will sink again without him. Ain't love grand.

[mark12_30]

....it's vewy vewy quiet.....

[littlemanpoet]

Nice to have you back and saying such things, Helen. I've been bloody busy at work lately. I'll have time to post something quite soon. Actually, I did earlier but I saw Fea's save and so halted in midstep, and am now waiting for her.

[mark12_30]

OK! Firefoot, Roheryn just scented Rugh's presence.

Nuru, would you like to have Liornung and/or Leafa try and catch Roheryn? He'll be aloof and reluctant, knowing that he is waiting on an elvish lady for orders. And there's Rugh out there waiting to be discovered (by the humans anyway.)

What will our wild mountain people do next? Once Mellonin/Avarien are travelable again, do they join us as we head over the White Mountains by the path Nimrodel took? COuld be fun.

Girls: No, THIS way. Mountain folk: You crazy, that way big icy rocks. Guys: Sure, pick the toughest route. Girls: fine, let's go home. GUys: Nothing doing. March! Girls: We're cold. GUys: Egad, whose idea WAS this? MOuntain folk: Ask big icy rocks.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Originally Posted by littlemanpoet

Actually, I did earlier but I saw Fea's save and so halted in midstep, and am now waiting for her.

Egads, don't wait for me! If you beat me to a post, seriously, have at it and I'll work off of you.

It takes 12 hours per week inside a classroom to be called a full time student. I worked out my schedule last night... this term I'm in a classroom with a teacher for 27 hours a week. That's not counting homework or my part time job. And I love to sleep at night. So yeah, seriously? If you have time and energy and inspiration, feel free to jump in ahead of me, even if I've got a save up.