Journeys discussion thread

[Earniel]

Thanks, I looked up the chapter in The Hobbit for the scenery near Rivendell. Can't beat that for detail. And I have to say that the lovely Middle-earth Atlas has been very useful for me in RPG's.

'Utterly and completely' Check. Will try to remember.

If you want to do a warm-up for a post, there's still the placeholder for Alariel's dream in Tom Bombadil's cottage.

[Rían]

oh, cool - that might be fun ... I don't have the energy for details, but a dream can be not accurate and it's ok.

My bday is coming up in a few days - I think I'll ask for that MIddle-earth Atlas. I've heard a lot about it.

[Varnafindë]

I think I got that atlas a while back - but then I haven't seen it for a while

It must have gone hiding, but if it comes forward again, I'll put it to better use.
I've got another atlas by another artist, one only of Frodo's travels, so it may not be very useful for most of our tale.

But we're still in the area that it covers, so I might have a look. (If it hasn't gone hiding as well, but at least I've seen it more recently.)

I'll have another good look at that chapter of The Hobbit.
Bilbo & Dwarves came to Rivendell at a happier time than ours, so there may not be as many singing Elves in the trees in our story (and perhaps it's our Gondolin Elves who teach the Rivendell Elves about Tom Bombadil and his way with songs anyway).

[Earniel]

Well, I can only recommend it. The maps are beautiful and clear and you can tell from the text as well that a lot of effort went into it.

But I'll be honest and mention that I pretty much only use it for RPG. I have charted much of the way our Elves have gone since Mithlond with it and it often lay next to the computer during LLL.

[Willow Oran]

So... I think you guys totally summoned me, because I've been on a decidedly non-Tolkien kick for over a year and busy with grad-school applications, and then I suddenly started missing this and got the urge to write Glor again. So if we're still doing this, even at an Entish pace, I'm still in.

[Earniel]

Willow! *glomp* Now that's some timing. You must be like Gandalf, never late or early, but arriving precisely when you mean to.

[Varnafindë]

WILLOW!!!

I was saying that Rameldir and Ainon should go for an afternoon walk (I guess including some hunting), but now maybe Glor should be with them as well?

And I have some new ideas for their weapons sensitivity project - I think I ought to write you a PM ...

[Willow Oran]

Venturing out to stumble across the visitors does seem to be in order.

[Rían]

Willow!!!

Oh, how nice! yay! *dances around*

So nice to see you, and have people posting here again!

[Willow Oran]

Today's episode: Glor tries to be sneaky, and Aredhel is a terrible influence from beyond the the Halls of Waiting.

[Earniel]

But of a death wish, eh?

Well, it's not like he died and came back again or anything, is it?

[Varnafindë]

He fell down a mountainside once, closely accompanied by a balrog.
Now he's climbing up one, alone.
Symbolic?

[Willow Oran]

More foolhardy than symbolic.

It did occur to me yesterday that if one really wanted to give Glor a death wish, they could kill him off a second time during the war in Eriador/last alliance and then have him re-re-embodied and returning again as Gandalf's companion in the third age. All the dates are accurate!

But that would be cruelty to fictional characters. My Glor just has a shoulder demon that sounds like Aredhel at her most persuasively reckless.

[Varnafindë]

Do we need a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Fictional Characters?

I could make one on LiveJournal

Edit:
It might not get many members!

Edit 2:
I think I should make it the Society for the Prevention of Unnecessary Cruelty to Fictional Characters - then it could discuss the degree of necessity in each case

[Willow Oran]

I have a shirt for the 'Society for the Protection of Honey Dipped Elves'... but the front reads 'Glorfindel is my House-Elf', so it might not count.

[Varnafindë]

I have introduced Kemmótar - he just needed a name, and I went to Ardalambion to get him one from Now We Have All Got Elvish Names

GEORGE: "Earth-worker", from Greek gaia, ge "earth" + the base of ergon "work". Kemen is Quenya for "earth" (KEM), but what is "worker"? Mól "slave, thrall" (MÔ) seems to be too harsh a word. However, we can add an agentive suffix to the verb móta- "labour, toil" given under the same stem. The suffix -r is used on another verb ending in -ta (envinyatar "renewer" being derived from the verb *envinyata- "renew" - see Vinyar Tengwar #34 p. 11). Combining kemen "earth" and *mótar "worker" we get Kememmótar (with the same assimilation of nm to mm as we observe in elen + makil = Elemmakil *"Star-sword" in UT:45). Kememmótar would probably become Kemmótar by haplology.

Btw, Ainon got his name from the same site some years ago ...

[Varnafindë]

Willow and I are working on a new post together
Expect it to still take some days, but we're getting there.

[Earniel]

Take your time.

Looking forward to it!

[Willow Oran]

My sense of direction goes twisty every time I try to visualize Rivendell's geography, which is why I've been trying to describe it more precisely. Hopefully working?

The plan is to have our characters find yours... assuming we don't manage to get our characters lost themselves. Experienced elves though they may be, I can see it happening.

[Earniel]

There isn't that much information on the direct surroundings of Rivendell, and coupled with the fact that it's very effectively hidden for centuries, yeah, twisty seems appropriate.

Our Elves aren't lost. They know where they are, it's just Rivendell that's lost, not them! But they'd like to be found nevertheless.

It would be funny though, to have your characters find ours and confess: "I know where Rivendell is! Just... not right now at the moment..."