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 Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 6:25 pm
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 6:31 pm
Second Age for Dummies :: Numenor
Before we begin, keep in mind that this is written for someone with only the slightest knowledge about Arda. Why is it here, you ask? I figured that perhaps it would be easier for new members to join if they knew more of the backstory behind the War of the Last Alliance.
3000 years ago, after Morgoth was captured, the Valar gave to the High Men a really cool island within sight of Aman. It seemed cool at the time, but this was in reality a Big Mistake on the part of the Valar. They told Men not to come to Aman, ever, so what they basically did was showed them a piece of chocolate pie and told them not to touch it. Ever. It's no surprise, really, that eventually the High Men turned against the Valar.
One day, the King of Numenor heard Sauron claiming he was the King of Middle-earth. Numenor-king got angry and assembled a huge army. The army was so huge that Sauron's army fled at the sight of them. Numenor-king took Sauron captive and dragged him back to Numenor.
To make a long story short, Sauron lied to Numenor-king about lots of things, and did it in such a way that he earned Numenor-king's trust. At this point, Sauron convinced Númenór-king to attack Aman, where the Valar lived. "Numenor-king deserves that chocolate pie, after all!" Numenor-king agreed.
At that point a super-huge army was assembled, even bigger than the huge army that captured Sauron. Numenor-king sailed to Aman, and he was about to beat the Elves there badly when the Valar begged for Eru to help. Eru did help; he entombed the super-huge army under the mountains, and sunk Numenor. The Kingdom of High Men perished from the earth. Forever.
But it was not all sad. Elendil was the leader of the Faithful; that is, the High Men who still respected the Valar. Realizing that doom was upon them, Elendil forbade any of the Faithful to join Numenor-king. Before the Fall of Numenor, he had his people board nine huge ships. When Eru sunk Numenor, he also caused the winds to push the nine boats away from the ruin.
Elendil and his people landed in Middle-earth. Realizing that Numenor was lost, they founded two great kingdoms; a pale shadow of the majesty of Numenor, but still nearly the greatest kingdoms of Men ever. These are known as the Realms in Exile. They are Gondor and Arnor.
"Out of the Great Sea I am come! In this place shall I abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world." ~ Elendil, upon arriving on Middle-earth
~~~
The Kings of Numenor are descended from Elros Tar-Minyatur. He is the brother of Elrond, and he chose to live the life of Men. He is also the son of Earendil. Earendil is the guy who saved the world from Morgoth; but that's First Age stuff.
Numenor-king's actual name is Ar-Pharazon. He wasn't supposed to be the king, but he forced his cousin to marry him so he could usurp the Sceptre (the Numenoreans used a scepter rather than a crown to denote kingship).
Elendil is distantly descended from the Line of Kings. A long time ago one of the kings had a daughter, but the laws at the time said only guys could rule the kingdom. So, she moved away and married some guy who lived in the port of Andunie. Her son became the first Lord of Andunie.
Elendil's father was a Lord of Andunie. His name was Amandil. Amandil was a good friend of Ar-Pharazon, but he was Faithful to the Valar. When Amandil realized that Ar-Pharazon was accepting the counsel of Sauron, he left Numenor, in a vain attempt to appeal to the Valar for forgiveness. No one ever saw him again, and its very apparent that the Valar did not accept his appeal.
In Numenor, there was a white tree called Nimloth, and it was basically the most holy thing on the island. When Sauron came, he ordered the tree destroyed. He was too slow, however, because Elendil's son Isildur managed to save one of its fruits before it was burnt.
Ar-Pharazon's wife, AKA his cousin, AKA Tar-Miriel or Ar-Zimraphel, was of the Faithful. Unfortunately, because she was the king's wife, she could not make it to the nine ships of the Faithful before the Fall. As Numenor began to drown, she attempted to save herself by climbing the Meneltarma, the Holy Mountain. She didn't make it; she drowned.
Also, Sauron didn't just convince the Numenoreans to attack the Aman; he also convinced them to worship Morgoth.
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 6:32 pm
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 6:33 pm
Second Age for Dummies :: GondorWhile Elendil was having tea-parties with Gil-galad in the north, his sons were having tea-parties with each other in the south. The sons of Elendil, Isildur and Anarion, landed in the south, in the Numenorean city of Pelargir (the Numenoreans founded many cities on Middle-earth). Pelargir had been Faithful to the Valar, so the sons of Elendil were at no risk. During the course of the next year, Anarion would raise the tower of Minas Anor, and would be its Prince. You may better know Minas Anor as Minas Tirith, the city seen in Return of the King. Isildur, meanwhile, would oversee the construction of the tower of Minas Ithil. 2000 years from now, Minas Ithil will be captured by Sauron and be turned into Minas Morgul. That's a long way off, though. Right now Minas Ithil is pretty! 
Minas IthilThe sons, together, built the city of Osgliath. It would be in this city that they would take up joint rule of Gondor; although both respected their father, Elendil, as the High King of Gondor and Arnor. Isildur and Anarion are basically just governors serving their king. The river Anduin flows through Osgiliath, and it is on the bridge that spans the river that the Dome of Stars was erected. The Dome of Stars is where the seat’s of Isildur and Anárion is found. At this point, Osgiliath is probably more beautiful then Minas Anor and Minas Ithil combined. "This city was once the jewel of our kingdom!" ~ Boromir, The Two Towers movie, extended edition (Or, at least I hope that's where it came from...) In the west of Gondor, at a place known as Erech, Isildur set down the gigantic stone he dragged out of Numenor. This stone was perfectly spherical, which makes it unique enough, but the fact that it came from Numenor makes it even greater. Numenor is lost forever, and anything that can be traced back to the High Kingdom now carries great significance. It is before this stone, the Stone of Erech, that Isildur will invoke the oath he places with the Men of the Mountain. 3000 years later, his descendant, Aragorn, will invoke that same oath. It is at Erech that he will summon the Dead. Now, keep in mind that the Faithful think that Sauron is dead at this point; he was on Numenor when it Fell. This is why Isildur and Anárion found a kingdom so close to Mordor. When Sauron comes back, he will attack Gondor. Fortunately, the might of the Numenoreans is not yet dwindled, and he has little success. In fact, Gondor effectively limits his ability to attack the rest of Middle-earth, and it isn't until he surprise attacks Minas Ithil through the pass of Cirith Duath (later known as Cirith Ungol) that any real threat is made.
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 6:34 pm
CalendarsA picture is worth a thousand words, so rather than blab on for awhile I'm just going to skip to the calendars. Any confusion can be directed to the Out of Character thread. ~~~
Reckoning of Rivendell
~~~
King's Reckoning
~~~
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 6:38 pm
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 6:59 pm
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:18 pm
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:19 pm
Marriages of the Eldar and Edain
Tolkien never recorded any more than four marriages between Men and Elves. These would be Luthein and Beren, Tuor and Idril, Earendil and Elwing, Nimrodel and Imrazor, and Elessar and Arwen. Yet his histories span thousands of years, with Men being awake for 7000 of them. Why then so few?
Elves only wed and have children in times of peace.
By the time the Eldar and the Edain encountered one another in Berleriand, the Eldar were at war. This was the time of the Siege of Angband, and the Quendi would not take the time for relationships and weddings at this point in time. One fine example is the love affair between Aegnor, prince of the Noldor, and Andreth, a woman of the Edain. They loved each other, but due to the war, Aegnor refused to be wed. He later died in the unexpected Dagor Bragollach, and so they were forever separated.
By the time the wars against Morgoth ended and the Second Age was begun, Men and Elves were estranged, thanks mostly to the deeds of Uldor the Accursed. The Elves mostly returned to Aman, and the few Men that remained loyal to the Eldar were given Numenor. They were separated, and would so remain until the Dominion of Men, when all Elves sailed West.
Now, I will briefly describe the marriages between Elves and Men that we know of, and explain how it is that they could have occurred.
Beren and Luthien :: When Beren came unto Doriath, it was still protected by the Girdle of Melian. This Girdle protected Doriath from all outside threats, and despite the Dagor Bragollach some years earlier, this realm still knew peace. Doriath was not at war, and so Luthien was willing to be wed and have children.
Tuor and Idril :: Tuor and Idril were wed in the Hidden Kingdom of Gondolin, which was protected from Morgoth by the Encirclign Mountains. Turgon had chosen a policy of seclusion and isomlation, and though this would one day be its unending, for a long time it brought to Gondolin peace and prosperity. Gondolin was not at war, and so Idril was willing to be wed and have children.
Earendil and Elwing :: Technically there are no Elves present in this union, as both Earendil and Elwing are Half-elven. Even so, by the time they met, the war was pretty much over, with Morgoth being the clear victor. Besides, for a time the Havens of Sirion had peace and prosperity, which they believed to be the blessing of Elwing's silmaril. Thus were the two wed.
Imrazor and Mithrellas :: Imrazor, a Dunadan of Belfalas, married Mithrellas, a maiden of Nimrodel (who in turn was the beloved of Amroth, the Third Age king of Lorien). The second millenium of the Third Age was relatively peaceful. Their son was the first prince of Dol Amroth, and Imrahil, as well as Finduilas wife of Denethor were their descendants. Faramir and Boromir have more Elven blood than Aragorn due to this marriage.
Elessar and Arwen :: Though they exchanged vows during a time of war, the two were not actually wed until the War of the Ring was won.
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:20 pm
Fate of the Half-elvenWhen Earendil sailed to Aman, seeking the pardon on the behalf of the Noldor and pity on behalf of the Edain, he defied the Ban of the Noldor, for he was of half-Noldorin blood. Mandos sought to punish him, but in the end, it was decided by Manwe that he would remain in Valinor, forever separated from his kin, Men. To Earendil, a new doom was bestowed, by the grace of Iluvatar. Earendil, his wife Elwing, and their sons the Half-elven would be given a choice: to choose their doom as they deem fit. If they should wish it, the can walk the earth forever, until its ending, or to accept the Gift of Death, and eventually pass forever from Arda, beyond the Walls of the World. Accepting the Gift was an irrevocable decision, however, not only for the Half-elven, but their descendants as well. Once a Half-elven accepts mortality, there is no forsaking it, and their children will be doomed to mortality as well. If, however, a Half-elven finds his heart lies with the Firstborn, he will remain Half-elven, and the choice of doom will pass onto his sons and daughters. In this manner was the choice of the Half-elven bestowed to Arwen, Elladan, and Elrohir, the children of Elrond, and yet denied to Vardamir, Tindomiel, Manwendil, and Atanalcar, the sons and daughter of Elros. It should be especially noted, however, that this special doom was granted to the sons of Earendil only. All other children of Eldar and Edain were granted a separate doom: As they were one half Man, it follows that they have mortal blood in their body. Even the smallest ounce of mortal blood seals the fate of a Half-elven. They are mortal, and numbered amongst Men. So, unless one could claim ancestry from Earendil, a Half-elven is little more than a Man. This is most ironic, as Dior, Thingol's Heir, would be a Mannish king of an Elven-kingdom.
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:21 pm
Free Will
Wow this post needs rewriting.
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:24 pm
Nature Spirits
An essay on Tom BombadilThe context: This post was made in response to a well thought out post that Tom Bombadil was Aule, which I sought to debunk. I have slightly edited the post to better fit the Annal's mood, but still, keep this in mind as you read on. Tolkien himself decided that Tom was: An enigma. He didn't want Tom to be explained. In his opinion, every good mythology needs something inexplicable; an undefinable element. Good old Iarwain Ben-adar is Tolkien's undefined element. Any guess put forward is just that: a guess. This doesn't make it less fun to try and figure it out, though. First of all, Gandalf and Elrond both state that in the end, Sauron would overcome Tom Bombadil, even in his own land. I find it incredulous that any Vala could be overcome by a lowly Maia. The Council of Elrond 'But in any case,' said Glorfindel, 'to send the Ring to [Tom] would only postpone the day of evil. He is far away. We could not now take it back to him, unguessed, unmarked by any spy. And even if we could, soon or late the Lord of the Rings would learn of its hiding place and would bend all his power towards it. Could that power be deifed by B ombadil alone? I think not. I think that in the end, if all else is conquered, Bombadil will fall, Last as he was First; and then Night will come. I admit that this is ony the guesswork of Glorfindel, but he is a High Elf, an Elf of Valinor, so I would be willing to put a lot of trust into his belief. Furthermore, it is written in the Quenta, that following the Breaking of the Lamps, the only Valar to return to Middle-earth were Yavanna (whom we have concluded is not Goldberry) and Orome, and these were brief visits rather than extended vacations. Ulmo never really left, but no one here is claiming that Ulmo = Tom, so that's a moot point. Gandalf tells us that if we were to ask Bombadil to take the Ring, he would do so, but he would not understand why, for he would not understand the need. Yet the Valar were sent to Arda to govern the world for the Children of Iluvatar. How could he not understand this final struggle with the darkness, that so greatly affected the Second-born of Iluvatar, and to a lesser extent the Firstborn? And finally, just to repeat, Aule is the Vala of the material of the earth, not that which grows on it. Yavanna is the Vala of that stuff; and not the waters and streams which Goldberry symbolizes. So, then, what is he? It is clear that Tom is not a Vala, for he is not powerful enough. But he is too powerful to be an Elf, a Man, or a Dwarf. And obviously he isn't an Eagle or an Ent, and certainly not an Orc, a Troll, or a Dragon. That leaves the following: 1) Maia 2) Something else; possibly a nature spirit? Gandalf refers to Tom as Eldest, First. If he were a Maia, this would have enormous consequences; he has to be one of the following: 1) First Ainu. Ever. Yeah, right. 2) First Ainu to enter Arda. But this was Melkor. 3) First Ainu to come to Middle-earth. But Melkor descended upon Endor, and Melkor was first. Thus, process of elimination rules that Tom can't be an Ainu. Tom He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless--before the Dark Lord came from Outside Once Melkor set into being his plans, the world was never again "fearless". Hence, the Dark Lord of whom Tom speaks must be Melkor. So Tom was in Arda before Melkor came from outside. But Melkor was the first of the Ainu to descend upon Arda. ...so Tom cannot be an Ainu. By process of elimination, Tom must be Something Else. I nominate some sort of random nature spirit that was created alongside Arda and was there even before the first of the Ainu even saw it. And Goldberry, except she's the daughter of a nature spirit. The concept of a nature spirit that's existed since the beginning is actually rather complicated. It explains a lot of stuff found in The Hobbit and the early chapters of The Lord of the Rings that otherwise simply doesn't make sense: Old Man Willow, giants, non-Entish moving tree things seen near the Northfarthing, etc... It's kind of a dissatisfying answer, as Tolkien never made the existance of these spirits explicitally clear. We need to take some liberties with the good professor's writings to make use of this explanation. But this is also the only answer I find that can sort of make sense. My opinion, then, is that Tom Bombadil is a nature spirit.But, above all else, we must remember: An ENIGMA!!!That, my friends, is my viewpoint of Tom, in a nutshell.
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:25 pm
Firiel's Song
FÃriel's Song Ilu Ilúvatar en káre eldain a fÃrimoin
ar antaróta mannar Valion: númessier.
Toi aina, mána, meldielto - enga morion:
talantie. Melko Mardello lende: márie.
En kárielto eldain Isil, hildin Úr-anar.
Toi Ãrimar. Ilyain antalto annar lestanen
Ilúvatáren. Ilu vanya, fanya, eari,
i-mar, ar ilqa Ãmen. Ãrima ye Númenor.
Nan úye sére indo-ninya sÃmen, ullume;
ten sà ye tyelma, yéva tyel ar i narqelion,
Ãre ilqa yéva nótina, hostainiéva, yallume:
ananta úva táre fárea, ufárea!
Man táre antáva nin Ilúvatar, Ilúvatar
enyáre tar i tyel, Ãre Anarinya qeluva?
The Father made the World for Elves and Mortals
and he gave it into the hands of the Lords. They are in the West.
They are holy, blessed, and beloved: save the dark one.
He is fallen. Melkor has gone from Earth: it is good.
For Elves they made the Moon, but for Men the red Sun;
which are beautiful. To all they gave in measure the gifts
of Iluvatar. The World is fair, the sky, the seas,
the earth, and all that is in them. Lovely is Numenor.
But my heart resteth not here for ever,
for here is ending, and there will be an end and the Fading,
when all is counted, and all numbered at last,
but yet it will not be enough, not enough.
What will the Father, O Father, give me
in that day beyond the end when my Sun faileth?Firiel's Song can be found in the Fifth Volume of the History of Middle-earth series, The Lost Road and Other Writings. It itself was written by Tolkien for his novel about time travel, The Lost Road, which he wanted to use to link the story of the Quenta to our modern history. In this novel (which didn't get very far), a father and a son are offered the chance to travel back in time. They accept, and they eventually wind up in Numenor, just before the Downfall. They come to Elendil's house, and in the window sits Firiel the wife of Orontur, singing a rather tragic song. I'll now highlight three points of interest. - Iluvatar literally means All-father. The word Eru, which means the One, is only used in the most solemn of occasions. - It is said in the earlier versions on the Quenta that the Powers made the moon as a memory of the fading Eldar, but they did not ignore Men. For Men they crafted the Sun. Both are beautiful, but clearly the sun is more radiant. Neat little analogy I think: the Elves get the Moon, which is beautiful but dimmed. Men get the sun, which is beautiful and really, really bright, and soon Men will have dominion over Middle-earth. - All things must fade, even the world of Men. This song in particular is lamenting the almost inevitable fall of Numenor. However... whereas Elves know their fate after their fading, what will befall Men is unknown. What will the All-father do for Men when their world is ended? None can say, not even Mandos. This is one of the reasons they fear death and the unknown. And, finally, this poem was written in Qenya, not Quenya. Qenya is basically pre-Lord of the Rings Quenya. When I posted this in the RP, I updated it a bit so it seemed more Quenya-ish. The more observant among you may have noticed this. The song in the Annals are more accurate to Tolkien's writings.
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:26 pm
The Light of the Two TreesI'll admit it; the Two Trees, having been killed off nearly four thousand years ago, are hardly relevant to this RP. Still, the following post is something that many Tolkien addicts find interesting, so I thought I'd post it in here anyway. You can always skip this post if it offends you for some reason. 
((Click the broken x for a larger picture.))Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, Silpion is an earlier name for Telperion. But even though the name of the silver tree is changed, the concept of the waxing and waning of the Two Trees remained moreorless constant. Telperion, the silver tree, was the first of the Two Trees to sprout, and when it did, it was already in blooming. Laurelin the Gold sprouted one hour after Telperion did, but didn't start blossoming for another six hours. The one hour between the sproutings of Telperion and Laurelin is known as the Hour of Opening, and is not counted in the first day. Each of the Trees blossoms for a period of seven hours. Telperion, as stated, flowered first. Laurelin started to blossom when Telperion was one hour away from completely waning. Telperion, in turns, begins to blossom when Laurelin is one hour away from waning. Thus, there is a one hour period of mingled light between the waxing and waning of each tree. The first day is held to have started with the sprouting of Laurelin the Gold, one hour after the sprouting of Telperion. The first day is held to have ended with the first complete waning of Laurelin's light. Thus, one day holds twelve hours. And so it would continue until the poisoing of the Two Trees, with each day beginning one hour after the waxing of Telperion, and ending one hour after the next waxing of Telperion. There is no nighttime during the Years of the Trees, save in Middle-earth, where there is no daytime. It is simply one long day, divided into several smaller days of twelve hours.
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Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 6:46 pm
Family Tree
Tolkien's work on the geneology of the principal characters in the Silmarillion was quite complex; if you have ever seen a comprehensive family tree involving everyone you may recall that much of it is a zig-zag of line darting there and back, uniting Elves and Men alike in one colossol document.
Last Alliance further complicates matters by using the last revision of House Finarfin, in which Oropher is the son of Angrod, not Finarfin himself. Furthermore, Gil-galad is the son of Oropher and not Fingon, as was stated in the published Silmarillion. This was the chosen action because while I do love the published Silmarillion, I am in fact loyal to what Tolkien had intended.
Still, that is not the only complication. Last Alliance allows further marriages between Elves and Men, and also accepts family members that do not exist in the Silmarillion. A noteable example is Isilien, the daughter of Gil-galad, who went on in life to marry Anarion, the son of Elendil.
All of this in mind, keeping Gil-galad and Elendil's rather extended family straight can be bothersome. For your convenience, I have put together a simple family tree that includes all the principal characters, both canon and original.
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