The Downs is 21 Years Old! Let's celebrate!! Birthday Party for all Members

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Estelyn sighed - how long had she been confined to her quarters? She loved her home city of Minas Tirith, but she missed travelling to other parts of the realm since the world she knew had been besieged by an invisible foe. Old tales were rediscovered, old rhymes and songs chanted about the Black Breath, and though all knew that this was not the same, there was much clamour for a new kind of athelas to heal all who were affected. The air did seem to smell fresher when the leaves spread their scent...

She decided to enjoy a breath of fresh air and took a walk around the city streets. As she passed by the thick walls she espied a door that she hadn't noticed before. It looked like it hadn't been used for a long time - the stones paving the steps were moss-covered and the door handle rusty. Obviously no one had entered here recently, and curiosity overcame her normal reticence. When she pushed the handle, expecting resistance, she was astonished that it opened quite easily.

Instead of the dusty, musty room she expected to see, she was blinded by sunshine and took a deep breath of fresh air. A door on the other side was open, but the view was not of the familiar plains and mountains surrounding Minas Tirith. It seemed that many paths and errands met at this portal, and an idea came into her mind unbidden, as if a voice had spoken:

Seek for the forum unbroken:
In the Barrow-Downs it dwells;
There shall be greetings spoken
For the birthday of which it tells.

She stood in the open doorway and spread her arms wide, speaking words of invitation:

Give me your masks, your handgels, you huddled masses yearning to breathe free...

...and knew that this was a space in which all could feel safe and at ease to celebrate together. "Twenty-one years is too short a time to live among such excellent and admirable forum members," she mused. Then she hurried home to change into her favourite festive gown, dark blue with silver stars. There was nothing to prepare in the room, for it was already ready to welcome guests. Who would join her, she wondered.