Not sure. Of course, Albion does have giants as one of the local powers...
The Kings of Men: Lord of the Rings/Warhammer Fantasy CK II Quest
- Thread starter DragonParadox
- Start date
Are you sure? Money isn't a huge constraint right now, and ninja flash bombs would be awesome.
And it might lead to gunpowder or other advanced explosives.
Kornet
Quite possibly a sloth abomination
- Location
- Mother Russia
As long as we ae discussing weird, but theoretically achievable weapons, we might have the tech to employ poisonous gasses. Mind you, I doubt we can store them in gasous form, but making two-section fragile containers filled with chemicals which produce posonous gasses when mixed (like, say, mixing potassium permanganate and hydrochloric acid to get gaseous chlorine) should be within our capabilities.
- Location
- Germany
§ . we are already using Guldur far too much for my taste.
Massgamer
Advance toward the Future
- Location
- The Future
I think three personally for better defense, use against monstrous units, and we can use it on the Dragon more effectively.
But remember that there is a difference between cultural integration and full ethnic mixing. For example, the Irish, Germans and Poles are completely culturally integrated into American society, with the only signs they were there being a drinking festival, some types of sausages, and beer. They are also completely intermixed ethnically, where many American Caucasians have no idea if they have Irish, German or Polish heritage. They've been in America for about 100 years.
The Vietnamese, by contrast, have been in America for about 50 years. The second and third generations are almost completely integrated culturally. Intermarriage is, however, still rare.
So when you're talking about timelines for cultural integration, and for for intermarriage to spread the Gift of the Valar, you're talking about two separate, but related, processes. And the magical elements introduced will skew things beyond any real world analogues, but almost certainly in the direction of making things more difficult.
As far as I can ascertain, you're arguing for this scenario:
That as soon as Gaels move in to Arnor, lower class Dunedain will leap at the chance to marry these new immigrants- so much so that within one or two generations, there will no more pure blooded Gaels, unless more have moved Arnor in the intervening years. At the same time, Gaels with enthusiastically embrace Arnorian customs, with no friction or resistance. And so within two generations, Gaels will be so thoroughly integrated into Dunedain society that the only sign they were ever there will be occasional festivals with traditional Gaelic costumes and Gaelic food.
Even in that insanely optimistic outlook, you still have two generations of mutant children, Chaos cultists, and untrained potential sorcerors that Dunedain laws are not equipped for dealing with.
Again and AGAIN this argument goes on...
It's like listening to a record set on repeat...
It's like listening to a record set on repeat...
Doomed Wombat
Let's go Darling!
- Location
- Dancing on wires!
It really is.
What is it about this thread which inspires such circular arguments.
Doomed Wombat
Let's go Darling!
- Location
- Dancing on wires!
@BrightFusion I'd go for 3 we have been using to much Guldur at the mo.
- Location
- Germany
No
I am not THAT optimistic
.But, well, it HAS worked in Arda.
Or there would not have been an Arnor or a Gondor.
There seems to be a basic disagreement about how alien/Disgusting/dangerous the Gael are.And how strong our cultures differ.
Also, remember, Humans seem to be naturally inclined to exogamy... we like the strange and exotic in our sexual partners- if they are not too strange and exotic.
I really would like some hard and fast estimated numbers abouthow many mutants/Beastmen/Mages to expect, based on our knowledge.IC and OOC.
All that arguing, with one side being perhaps too optimistic (Mine) and the other being too pessimistic-in my estimation- is getting us nowhere.
I repeat.I am knowing of the dangers.I just am not sure how great they are, how prepared or unprepared we are and - well, if we can even afford not to take risks here. The numbers seem to show to me we have to either take that risk or end up Firmir-fodder.
@Alex pears
No idea.
It could be that there is a basic difference in worldviews here, but I doubt it.
I have been as guilty of using ad hominem arguments as others here and am not proud of it....
But , well, we care because it is an very interesting quest?
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Depending how fleshbane acid work it may be enough to allow normal troops to damage Monsters making it very valuable.
On the other hand better siege engines are always good.
Regarding fire, one important thing to remember is that it stop regeneration while running into fire resistance.
On the other hand better siege engines are always good.
Regarding fire, one important thing to remember is that it stop regeneration while running into fire resistance.
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Analysis: Blood of Heros
FieryMatter
Fire and Fiery
- Location
- Beyond the Sunset Sea
Analysis: Blood of Heros
N.B. I wrote all 3 analyses in this series when on another long-haul flight. I thought this would be a more productive use of my time then spending all of my flight watching TV.
N.B. I would definitely not have time to write any more analyses within the next week or two. At most I would finish my planning analysis series.
A common argument against integrating the Gaels into our society is that we would end up with loads of men who are far weaker and shorter lived than the Dunedain. After all, the Gaels were not as blessed as the Dunedain. While this may make sense on a superficial level, time and time again this theory had been proven wrong, and it is a very perilous position to adapt.
1. 'Ordinary' people are capable of great deeds
During the First Age, the elves were undoubtedly the dominant power of the Children of Iluvatar. Men were shorter lived, weaker and had far less lineage than the elves. However, while the elves were being destroyed by Morgoth, nearly every time they gained a reprieve it was at the hands of men – the Men of Hador buying time for Turgon's troops to escape, Tuor warning Gondolin in advance and hence resulting in an escape tunnel being built, Beren willing to go on the quest to retrieve the Silmaril. The War of the Elves and Sauron was won by neither of the named factions, but the Numenoreans who saved the elves at the last moment. Even during the Elder Days, at the height of the elves' power, the scrolls of history were full of the names of Men.
One of Arnor's greatest heirlooms is the Ring of Barahir. During the Battle of Sudden Flame (4th Battle of Beleriand), the elven king Finrod was cut off with only a small army and would have been captured or killed in battle. His vassal Barahir cut through Morgoth's ranks with a shield wall of men in order to rescue him, sustaining great losses in the process. Finrod then gave his ring to Barahir as a token of gratitude. The ring is an artifact that shows how sometimes even 'stronger' races may need the help of those seemingly lesser than them. Elendil, as Barahir's descendant and King of the Dunedain, would most likely remember this lesson.
Later on in Arda's history, the Numenoreans themselves were under desperate attack by Sauron. The arguably most decisive moment during the War of the Ring was when the Rohirrim, who were just normal men like their Edain forefathers, launching a desperate charge to aid Gondor, which was a Dunedain kingdom-in-exile. Although the Rohirrim were not all six foot tall nor did they live for centuries, they still made a huge mark in history. The One Ring was not destroyed by some great elven lord, nor a fierce human warrior, but by hobbits who were simple country folk.
The Gaels are to the Dunedain what the Edain were to the Eldar. The Eldar, although mighty, would have fallen long ago without the 'less worthy' Edain. The Dunedain may be blessed, but the Gaels, given appropriate resources and under the right circumstances, could be great heros as well even if they do not have a single drop of Numenorean blood.
2. The Eldar's example during the Elder Days
When the elves first met men, they didn't immediately start planning how to outcompete them nor did they turn all men away. Great fiefs were granted to human leaders, and although the elven kings grieved for their vassals when the Gift eventually took them, there was always a next generation able to carry on their legacy. This turned out for the better for them, although Middle-Earth eventually came under the Dominion of Men, the elves would have suffered far worse had they chose to turn the Edain away.
3. The Dunedain incorporated the locals as well OTL
In the original timeline, Elendil and his sons also came to Gondor with 9 ships. While 9 ships is quite a lot, Gondor and Arnor were already strong enough to participate in the War of the Last Alliance only a century after their foundation. This would not have been possible at all if Elendil only based his kingdoms around the 9 ships of men he had. The locals were not all Numenorean either, especially in the case of Arnor. (Gondor already had Numenorean colonies like Pelargir there)
If Elendil didn't accept the local non-Dunedain populations into his new kingdoms, the War of the Last Alliance would have ended rather badly as he simply would not have the numbers. Gondor and Arnor would never have had a chance to flourish.
785 words
@DragonParadox
1st analysis in Gael sequel series.
Kornet
Quite possibly a sloth abomination
- Location
- Mother Russia
Because it really is a hard decision? Because a case can be made fir morality or immorality of both approaches?
This quest has something few other quests do: meaningful hard decisions. This is a large part of it's appeal. Unfortunately, it comes with some drawbacks, which we are currently experiencing.
Doomed Wombat
Let's go Darling!
- Location
- Dancing on wires!
I know, twas a rhetorical question.
Analysis: Settling the Gaels
FieryMatter
Fire and Fiery
- Location
- Beyond the Sunset Sea
Analysis: Settling the Gaels
While my previous analyses explained how we should deal with the Gaelic Question and why, this analysis would provide a comprehensive plan to settle them within our lands once we sort out which ones are willing to become citizens.
1. Factors to consider
-The initial number of refugees would be comparatively small, especially as we only take those who are willing to integrate into Dunedain society. However, as word spreads and people become desperate the number may increase.
-We want to integrate as many as possible and perhaps promote Dunedain-Gael marriages where feasible, in order to increase the number of people with Numenorean blood.
-We have little information about the Gaels and we are still trying to figure out solutions to mutants and how to deal with truthsayers. This means that we would take a more cautionary approach at the beginning.
2. How to settle them
-A dedicated fortress is to be built near our southern borders. This fortress would serve two purposes – to guard our borders and reinforce Arnor's sovereignty over those lands, and house and process refugees. The entire border is also to be fortified and more outposts could be built along the border serving the same purposes.
-The southern borders would be surveyed via palantir, an easy task since we are tracking refugees, not enemies, and if any large parties are seen rangers would be sent to intercept them. The Gaels entering Arnor would have a choice – they can choose to acknowledge our claim over the land and jurisdiction within the lands themselves, then head to the border outposts to sort out their status and where they would go. If they do not acknowledge our claims, they are welcome to leave the lands and the rangers can show them the way out. Once at a border outpost, they would be provisioned as adequately as feasible, and given another choice.
-They could choose to refuse the king's overlordship and remain in Arnor purely for humanitarian reasons (i.e. not get eaten by Fimir). Under this, they would be treated as guest workers and under the wardship of the government; they would be housed and fed but would have to work for the nation. They could stay at the fortresses to aid with construction, and are welcome to stay as long as long as the danger persists. Once they have demonstrated that they are of good conduct, they could also go visit other Arnorian cities, which could be a motivation for them to choose full citizenship.
The advantage of this is that the guest workers can help work for their upkeep, which means less cost in terms of Arnor and we could also get our border fortifications strengthened. This would also be in the personal interest of the Gaels since it would deter beastmen raids, so for their personal safety it is unlikely they would slack at the job. The main restrictions on guest workers are that they cannot travel freely, jobs are assigned by government and cannot own land, however they are still to be treated with respects as guests.
-They can also choose to be subjects of the King, acknowledging him as their overlord which supercedes all of their clan ties although it would be made clear that relatives can still live together, and some sort of Gael leadership can still be maintained. They would also need to be willing to integrate into Arnor's society, including learning Adunaic and adapting Dunedain customs, and willing to maintain an open mind to cultural change. Gaelic subjects would be treated as equal subjects of Arnor.
-Individual Gaelic subjects or small families would be put into small groups and settled within the existing Dunedain settlements. The small groups allow them to have a few familiar faces in a strange land, which would make them feel more comfortable. These groups would be outnumbered by Dunedain and hence would integrate much more rapidly.
-Larger groups which choose to stick together would be settled at outposts, such as the Lion's Fort, or in new suburbs of existing settlements. This way, their wishes could be respected while they can still be integrated more easily as they would remain in close contact with the existing population. This would also conveniently boost the population of these outpost settlements, which is something we lack. Over time, entire suburbs would be integrated culturally.
-If there are any Gaelic lords who want fiefs within our land and have enough people, these would be negotiated on a case by case basis. However, in all cases an essential condition would be that they need to follow Dunedain lordship customs, as these are Arnor's lordships and not Gaelic ones.
3. Advantages of this system
-We would not suffer from an economic crisis from the task of housing all of these Gaels as they would need to work.
-We can integrate Gaels more rapidly, especially with smaller groups and individuals.
-Our settlements and fortresses can be built far more quickly due to the increase in manpower. With enough people you don't need very strong men to build strong fortresses.
-Increase in our local reputation, especially our tolerance of Gaels while still maintaining our culture.
860 words
@DragonParadox
2nd analysis in this series
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Not bad.
Analysis: Cultural Integration
FieryMatter
Fire and Fiery
- Location
- Beyond the Sunset Sea
Analysis: Cultural Integration
Now that we have dealt with how to settle the Gaels, we need to examine the future of Arnor's culture and norms as well as the supernatural problems the Gaels would bring. For the purpose of this analysis, only Gaelic citizens, who by definition are willing to integrate, would be discussed.
1. Cultural Integration
-Arnor's official languages would be Adunaic/Westron (new name as Gaelic influence would seep in) and Sindarin. Both languages are widely used among the Faithful as they haven't abandoned the elven tongues yet. All first-generation Gaels would be taught at least one of the two so that they could communicate easily with the Dunedain, while all children, Dunedain or Gaelic, would be taught both. This would be a prerequisite for citizenship so there won't be any opposition among citizens (any who oppose would be guest workers, not citizens)
-At the same time, Gaelic would be taught as a foreign language. There would not be a ban on using Gaelic either. Nobles would also be encouraged to at least have some passing knowledge in Quenya. The ideal endgame is a Westron in WHF where Adunaic is influenced by Gaelic, in the same way that English was formed IRL.
-Dunedain architecture would be exclusively used within Arnor. Since the Dunedain are at least a millennium ahead in terms of technology and engineering, this would not be a problem either. I have yet to meet someone who would choose a mud hut over a granite house, and if that were the case we would still be living in mud huts today.
-Same with clothing simply due to practicality, although if any Gaelic features prove practical they would be adopted. Only Dunedain armour would be used due to the vastly superior protection it affords.
-Older Dunedain bachelors would be encouraged to take Gaelic spouses instead of Dunedain ones, since they would die at roughly the same time hence alleviating the problem regarding one spouse seriously outliving the other. This would happen politically, as Dunedain commoners may choose to marry Gaelic lords for a claim on the lordship, and it could also be a government sponsored policy.
2. Solving supernatural problems
-The main problem is that the Gaels do not have the longevity of the Dunedain nor their stature. To this effect, Elendil is to perhaps plead to Manwe via Finrod/religious offerings in Arnor itself for the Gaels' wellbeing. He would plead that the Gaels who dwell alongside the Dunedain could naturally increase in lifespan over generations to be at least comparable to the Numenoreans, in the same way that the Edain's lives vastly improved as they lived alongside the Eldar. While this may or may not work, people would know that at least he had tried and the Gaels would appreciate him for it.
-Another prayer is to be offered to Eru to grant the Gaels who do not have Dunedain blood and yet live alongside them the Gift of Man.
-N.B. Due to the Dunedain's advanced medicine, it is likely that the Gaels can live out their full lifespan in most cases anyway. Their medicine is actually better than us in that it can cure literally any natural disease apart from ageing, and given the fertile nature of Albion it is likely that Gaels would live to around a century even without a single drop of Numenorean blood. Still less than half of Numenorean lifespans, but not a bad start.
-Since we only have dissenting truthsayers who haven't contacted the Fimir (my previous series reward) they wont' be corrupted. They could work alongside the mage wardens in fulfilling their duties. This is also a good way of having Dunedain and Gaels working together.
-The beastmen issue would have to be treated more carefully. A group of the best wardens, truthsayers and sidhe would try to find a long term solution, along with the biologists, but in the short term any beastmen would have to be put down.
660 words
@DragonParadox
3rd and final analysis in this series.
@BrightFusion great series. Will post rewards as soon as I think of some.
Wrote my first part of that book about magic in the world.
2218 words.
Send it to PM to see if it's canon-compliant enough to be used, then start on working the second part that might end up as the last one, if not followed by a third part.
EDIT: It was!
2218 words.
Send it to PM to see if it's canon-compliant enough to be used, then start on working the second part that might end up as the last one, if not followed by a third part.
EDIT: It was!
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Omake (Canon): Tome of the Arcane, part 1
Tome of the Arcane, part 1
The Magizks Of The Worlde
Author: Nolondur No-one's son
- First words
'What you see before you is the culmination of more than a decade of workings and sweat of mine own making, all in effort to gather the most fact-based tome of the energies and fluctuations of power both within and outside of this new world.'
'This tome has gone through the hands of the royal family, hands of sidhe and has been approved as safe content by both. I hope it shall bring you knowledge of dangers, opportunities and existing entities all. Let the Valar be my witness when I swear that no harm shall come from reading the words I've written on these pages.'
- How this book came to be
'It must be mentioned that when I began this journey of discovery, it was originally intended for a far different tome to be written, about the Sidhe themselves being the absolute focus.'
'It had been a year after our king sailed to the court of the Sidhe and returned with our otherworldly visitors with their distinct peculiarities.'
'I have always been a curious mind, even as a lad. The only knowledge I had and wouldn't touch or seek, were those of the infernal tomes and knowledge of the arch-evil itself, but other, safer sources of knowing had always called out to me like a a moth is called by fire -
albeit with far less accidental suicide if I do say so myself.'
'Nevertheless, these mysterious people intrigued me immensely - I had to learn more about them and I commenced an unofficial fact-gathering mission, talking with sailors and guards that had had been part of the crew on the ship - truly, the knowledge I learned was intriguing and sporadic both, with talk of a great banquet and challenge of arms where Prince Elendur dueled and claimed victory three times.
Yet this did not fill the pit that was my curiosity, only brought it to the front. So much was still not known, so much still unanswered.'
'On the day I heard that one of the sidhe was a sorcerer of sorts with energies arcane, was the day where my thoughts, just like the thoughts of many of our kin, ground to an halt like before walls of a fortress. I couldn't understand how such a thing could exist and be allowed to walk in the halls of our new home - yet I am og the sort that seeks out the reason for such acts instead of simple guesswork. There was no sight I would consider more unlikely that our wise king would follow in the footsteps of those who had so hunted us - as so, the only reason I could see this happening was if there was a fundamental difference 'between the sorcerers of the King's Men and the sorcerers of the Sidhe.
This hypothesis however, while clearing our king from malicious intent as to be expected, was still just a hypothesis, a guesswork.
I would not leave it that: I had to know. My focus had completely shifted from knowing about the sidhe to knowing about if this power was a danger or not.'
'So did I seek one of these sidhe and attempted to reap knowledge from talks with this being, only to find myself flummoxed before this woman who spoke in riddles and half-hidden smiles, her eyes glinting at the mix of jest and slight ridicule she dispensed at me.
Undeterred, I would attempt to speak with these impossibilities of the sea again and again. Slowly did the work progress, but progress I could still claim, for while they spoke in riddles they spoke of the subject matter and as my understanding grew so did their curiosity of some of their number turn towards me. For I had began to speak in riddles back to them, if not surprising then at least humoring them that one of Man would try to use their own ways to speak with them.'
'As time passed, It became clear to me that while each sidhe did have more knowledge about these energies they utilized for their shifting shapes and how one of them could control water as if it was part of her very being - than any of Man of Arnor could boast, their knowledge was less academic and more of knowledge towards their own bodies and the ways to use it in ways that would not harm them - but did some of them let slip that there were ways a Man could use a sorcery in ways that they as a whole could not. This had intrigued me as much as it brought fear into my heart, if such things could be co-opted as back in the old lands of our home.'
'It took me a whole circle of an week to decide how to proceed next. Yet in the end, the decision I would make seemed so obvious at that time. I felt it impossible that all of sidhe did not have the aptitude towards progress and preservation of knowledge. So I decided to go for the source. I bartered, I gambled and I begged, for all the sidhe I could find, for them to allow me to meet one of their learned individuals.'
'Finally, my call for knowledge was answered: one sidhe whose name I had never heard, nor seen before on lands of Arnor, had one day appeared to me during an evening walk. Here, she gave me an choice: she shall take me to meet one of the sidhe knowledgeable of the energies in a way most couldn't match. In return, the sidhe I would meet shall have me as their servant for a year and a day.'
'I accepted.'
'Even knowing what that sentence truly means now - of how long "a year and a day" truly meant for the sidhe - I would still make the same choice.'
'Those were years... well spent.'
'When began the night after the day after, I took a rowing boat up to the sea, where I met my guide. She held a talisman to me and ordered me to put it on; and the moment I put it on did she pull me down to the water and I found myself able to breath without air. Transforming into marine-life, she pushed me back to the boat after being satisfied that this, this item of power was a functional one. The water around the boat sped up, faster and faster, until I found it submerging and following an underwater current towards the unknown.'
'I couldn't tell you how long it took for me to reach my destination, nor could I write down of how the place that would be my residence looked like from the outside, for during the travel I found myself in a trance. The first clear memories I would have would be of me snapping awake within a hall made out of living underground plant-life and rock. Noticeably, the room I currently inhabited was one of air and not water, seemingly a guestroom of sorts for men when the lord of the residence would such want to host.'
'Finding the talisman that had given me the ability of watery breathing sitting on a table close-by, I placed it again on my neck and dropped myself onto a hole on the floor that led to areas filled with it; there did I meet my host and the sidhe I had been looking for - their identity I shall not give, for their first demand was that I would never share it with others without their permission.'
'They explained to me that while I would be able to learn from them, they shall have the right to learn from me - knowledge for knowledge, an equal exchange for both Beings of learning. Just to be certain the balance of scales was in order, I told that I was planning on spreading the information I would gain to the rest of my kind and they answered that I was allowed to write the things I learned and spread them to my people - after all, my servitude during the discussed time was the price for that particular caveat as otherwise they would have simply made dealings in knowledge with knowledge without the Oath of Year and a Day.'
'So it was that I started my work in earnest: with questions flying to one another we both began to write down the information given by the other, albeit I still not know the material they wrote on, for it was no paper as was to be expected from a being that lived underwater where the material would be useless. They were focused closely on the Older Lores of our people: wanting to know of the past of our old world - indeed, the reason they had found this arrangement appealing was so they could be the first of their kind to truly know and learn all of the older tales, for the Sidhe enjoy the arts of songs and tales, both which the delegation send to the sidhe courts had offered by the bards that took part in the meeting. Yet this had only enhanced the need of knowing my host felt, just as the knowledge about the deeper depths of the power had called to me, for my people to know from the best source possible in order to guard against a possible threat.'
'Luckily for me, I could provide the asked price easily enough, for as an dedicated scholar I did not just remember the stories vaguely, for I had taken every word to memory. Even some of the actual songs I could still remember, allowing me to write the notes the original tales were sang with.
The tales of the birthing of the worlde did they find the most important; and so did they enjoy the words of splendor and power that he had me recite the music notes I've heard before starting the actual story and they began to play them with their own harp as I began.'
'At the part of betrayals of most foul by the workings of Melkor, Later named Morgoth, did my host open in tears and shouts of rage; so large was their reaction that they broke one of their harps, throwing it at the walls while the emotions overtook them. They made me recite the descriptions of the Great Trees where light shined down upon the worlde and later did I find them, painting with colors of real world and imagined onto canvas that couldn't be truly only from this worlde, trying to give life even to an imitation of that time of joy and brightness as if in effort to defy this beast that they themselves had named a Chaos God - while uncomfortable and unwilling with agreeing of Melkor being the exact same as the Primal Evils of these lands, I did say and admit that even if these two forces were of different sorts, they and their forces both were still Forces of Destruction onto themselves like no other, in any case.'
'So the time passed and the part of my bargain where I was a servant rose its head, as my host send me to do certain tasks and actions such as cleaning important artifacts of sorts. I shall not go into detail there, for what is important that I noticed that time seemed to move slower than it should. In time, I realized that the bargain I had struck was far longer-reaching than I had thought, but I felt no hurry to leave as I still had much to learn about the energies; energies I could at that point already name as either realms of madness or realms of magic, depending who you asked.
Indeed, my host noted my acceptance of the newly revealed fact and said to me smiling that I had learned an important lesson to bring to the Dunedain, saying that while they themselves would only keep me there until the transaction was complete in full - as I would wish it to be, in truth -, some others would have taken longer advantage from a servant with this much to give them.'
'Indeed, the sidhe saw nothing wrong with what was happening and thus I came to the realization that they truly were a being like no other: their minds and thought, while could follow the workings of a human (as I would later learn, to the point where they may decide adopt the culture of Man as their own and life as like one of us), others of their kind who did not do so could prove to be dangerously deceptive.'
'Not evil, for my host truly did not see it as an dark act and I felt no malice - yet this teaching I shall bestow to you alongside the other words written on these pages, to be careful of agreements made without looking at the specifics agreed upon carefully'.
'Finally, after many years of mutual discovery and teachings, both my host and I found ourselves at a point where everything we could (or at least were willing to) share, was shared. I left the place I had worked on tirelessly for at least a decade of time if not more, only to find that the worlde had only gone through a much smaller number of time.'
'A Year... and a Day.'.
2218 words.
The Magizks Of The Worlde
Author: Nolondur No-one's son
- First words
'What you see before you is the culmination of more than a decade of workings and sweat of mine own making, all in effort to gather the most fact-based tome of the energies and fluctuations of power both within and outside of this new world.'
'This tome has gone through the hands of the royal family, hands of sidhe and has been approved as safe content by both. I hope it shall bring you knowledge of dangers, opportunities and existing entities all. Let the Valar be my witness when I swear that no harm shall come from reading the words I've written on these pages.'
- How this book came to be
'It must be mentioned that when I began this journey of discovery, it was originally intended for a far different tome to be written, about the Sidhe themselves being the absolute focus.'
'It had been a year after our king sailed to the court of the Sidhe and returned with our otherworldly visitors with their distinct peculiarities.'
'I have always been a curious mind, even as a lad. The only knowledge I had and wouldn't touch or seek, were those of the infernal tomes and knowledge of the arch-evil itself, but other, safer sources of knowing had always called out to me like a a moth is called by fire -
albeit with far less accidental suicide if I do say so myself.'
'Nevertheless, these mysterious people intrigued me immensely - I had to learn more about them and I commenced an unofficial fact-gathering mission, talking with sailors and guards that had had been part of the crew on the ship - truly, the knowledge I learned was intriguing and sporadic both, with talk of a great banquet and challenge of arms where Prince Elendur dueled and claimed victory three times.
Yet this did not fill the pit that was my curiosity, only brought it to the front. So much was still not known, so much still unanswered.'
'On the day I heard that one of the sidhe was a sorcerer of sorts with energies arcane, was the day where my thoughts, just like the thoughts of many of our kin, ground to an halt like before walls of a fortress. I couldn't understand how such a thing could exist and be allowed to walk in the halls of our new home - yet I am og the sort that seeks out the reason for such acts instead of simple guesswork. There was no sight I would consider more unlikely that our wise king would follow in the footsteps of those who had so hunted us - as so, the only reason I could see this happening was if there was a fundamental difference 'between the sorcerers of the King's Men and the sorcerers of the Sidhe.
This hypothesis however, while clearing our king from malicious intent as to be expected, was still just a hypothesis, a guesswork.
I would not leave it that: I had to know. My focus had completely shifted from knowing about the sidhe to knowing about if this power was a danger or not.'
'So did I seek one of these sidhe and attempted to reap knowledge from talks with this being, only to find myself flummoxed before this woman who spoke in riddles and half-hidden smiles, her eyes glinting at the mix of jest and slight ridicule she dispensed at me.
Undeterred, I would attempt to speak with these impossibilities of the sea again and again. Slowly did the work progress, but progress I could still claim, for while they spoke in riddles they spoke of the subject matter and as my understanding grew so did their curiosity of some of their number turn towards me. For I had began to speak in riddles back to them, if not surprising then at least humoring them that one of Man would try to use their own ways to speak with them.'
'As time passed, It became clear to me that while each sidhe did have more knowledge about these energies they utilized for their shifting shapes and how one of them could control water as if it was part of her very being - than any of Man of Arnor could boast, their knowledge was less academic and more of knowledge towards their own bodies and the ways to use it in ways that would not harm them - but did some of them let slip that there were ways a Man could use a sorcery in ways that they as a whole could not. This had intrigued me as much as it brought fear into my heart, if such things could be co-opted as back in the old lands of our home.'
'It took me a whole circle of an week to decide how to proceed next. Yet in the end, the decision I would make seemed so obvious at that time. I felt it impossible that all of sidhe did not have the aptitude towards progress and preservation of knowledge. So I decided to go for the source. I bartered, I gambled and I begged, for all the sidhe I could find, for them to allow me to meet one of their learned individuals.'
'Finally, my call for knowledge was answered: one sidhe whose name I had never heard, nor seen before on lands of Arnor, had one day appeared to me during an evening walk. Here, she gave me an choice: she shall take me to meet one of the sidhe knowledgeable of the energies in a way most couldn't match. In return, the sidhe I would meet shall have me as their servant for a year and a day.'
'I accepted.'
'Even knowing what that sentence truly means now - of how long "a year and a day" truly meant for the sidhe - I would still make the same choice.'
'Those were years... well spent.'
'When began the night after the day after, I took a rowing boat up to the sea, where I met my guide. She held a talisman to me and ordered me to put it on; and the moment I put it on did she pull me down to the water and I found myself able to breath without air. Transforming into marine-life, she pushed me back to the boat after being satisfied that this, this item of power was a functional one. The water around the boat sped up, faster and faster, until I found it submerging and following an underwater current towards the unknown.'
'I couldn't tell you how long it took for me to reach my destination, nor could I write down of how the place that would be my residence looked like from the outside, for during the travel I found myself in a trance. The first clear memories I would have would be of me snapping awake within a hall made out of living underground plant-life and rock. Noticeably, the room I currently inhabited was one of air and not water, seemingly a guestroom of sorts for men when the lord of the residence would such want to host.'
'Finding the talisman that had given me the ability of watery breathing sitting on a table close-by, I placed it again on my neck and dropped myself onto a hole on the floor that led to areas filled with it; there did I meet my host and the sidhe I had been looking for - their identity I shall not give, for their first demand was that I would never share it with others without their permission.'
'They explained to me that while I would be able to learn from them, they shall have the right to learn from me - knowledge for knowledge, an equal exchange for both Beings of learning. Just to be certain the balance of scales was in order, I told that I was planning on spreading the information I would gain to the rest of my kind and they answered that I was allowed to write the things I learned and spread them to my people - after all, my servitude during the discussed time was the price for that particular caveat as otherwise they would have simply made dealings in knowledge with knowledge without the Oath of Year and a Day.'
'So it was that I started my work in earnest: with questions flying to one another we both began to write down the information given by the other, albeit I still not know the material they wrote on, for it was no paper as was to be expected from a being that lived underwater where the material would be useless. They were focused closely on the Older Lores of our people: wanting to know of the past of our old world - indeed, the reason they had found this arrangement appealing was so they could be the first of their kind to truly know and learn all of the older tales, for the Sidhe enjoy the arts of songs and tales, both which the delegation send to the sidhe courts had offered by the bards that took part in the meeting. Yet this had only enhanced the need of knowing my host felt, just as the knowledge about the deeper depths of the power had called to me, for my people to know from the best source possible in order to guard against a possible threat.'
'Luckily for me, I could provide the asked price easily enough, for as an dedicated scholar I did not just remember the stories vaguely, for I had taken every word to memory. Even some of the actual songs I could still remember, allowing me to write the notes the original tales were sang with.
The tales of the birthing of the worlde did they find the most important; and so did they enjoy the words of splendor and power that he had me recite the music notes I've heard before starting the actual story and they began to play them with their own harp as I began.'
'At the part of betrayals of most foul by the workings of Melkor, Later named Morgoth, did my host open in tears and shouts of rage; so large was their reaction that they broke one of their harps, throwing it at the walls while the emotions overtook them. They made me recite the descriptions of the Great Trees where light shined down upon the worlde and later did I find them, painting with colors of real world and imagined onto canvas that couldn't be truly only from this worlde, trying to give life even to an imitation of that time of joy and brightness as if in effort to defy this beast that they themselves had named a Chaos God - while uncomfortable and unwilling with agreeing of Melkor being the exact same as the Primal Evils of these lands, I did say and admit that even if these two forces were of different sorts, they and their forces both were still Forces of Destruction onto themselves like no other, in any case.'
'So the time passed and the part of my bargain where I was a servant rose its head, as my host send me to do certain tasks and actions such as cleaning important artifacts of sorts. I shall not go into detail there, for what is important that I noticed that time seemed to move slower than it should. In time, I realized that the bargain I had struck was far longer-reaching than I had thought, but I felt no hurry to leave as I still had much to learn about the energies; energies I could at that point already name as either realms of madness or realms of magic, depending who you asked.
Indeed, my host noted my acceptance of the newly revealed fact and said to me smiling that I had learned an important lesson to bring to the Dunedain, saying that while they themselves would only keep me there until the transaction was complete in full - as I would wish it to be, in truth -, some others would have taken longer advantage from a servant with this much to give them.'
'Indeed, the sidhe saw nothing wrong with what was happening and thus I came to the realization that they truly were a being like no other: their minds and thought, while could follow the workings of a human (as I would later learn, to the point where they may decide adopt the culture of Man as their own and life as like one of us), others of their kind who did not do so could prove to be dangerously deceptive.'
'Not evil, for my host truly did not see it as an dark act and I felt no malice - yet this teaching I shall bestow to you alongside the other words written on these pages, to be careful of agreements made without looking at the specifics agreed upon carefully'.
'Finally, after many years of mutual discovery and teachings, both my host and I found ourselves at a point where everything we could (or at least were willing to) share, was shared. I left the place I had worked on tirelessly for at least a decade of time if not more, only to find that the worlde had only gone through a much smaller number of time.'
'A Year... and a Day.'.
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Wow that was magnificent I can't wait to see where you take this.
It might be interesting if you do a secret chapter written by Anardil detailing knowledge of Guldur (not like actual spells or how to learn it but more like what signs, what it does, things of that nature) only available to certain members of Anorian government. A sort of extension to the original book.
Massgamer
Advance toward the Future
- Location
- The Future
To @DragonParadox from @BrightFusion since his internet isn't letting him connect to SV for awhile contacted me via SB to pass on these points to you.
What does he mean "wait for him"? How long is he going to be off then? I thought it would take two turns about until the Gael are here?
Massgamer
Advance toward the Future
- Location
- The Future
Said when his exams are done in a week or two he should be able to access SV again.