Treachery of Men Discussion/Planning Thread

[Folwren]

<- Uldor at present.

Yes, yes, you are quite right, Elempi. I shall write a post this evening, quite sure. It's nearly time for dinner now, though, so I can't write at present.

-- Folwren

[Folwren]

I edited my original post. Just so you all know and in case some of you had already read it.

[littlemanpoet]

Yowza! That last post has bite! Way to go!

"They fear me." HEE HEE!

(Elempi gets carried away with glee.....)

[littlemanpoet]

What happens next?

I could have Lachrandir trade more snide remarks with Uldor, but that's getting old.

Is Ulfast going to require Mem to sing?

Seems either some kind of action is needed, or this feast and day could be wrapped up if there's nothing left to happen.

[Folwren]

You're right, Elempi. I'm toying with the idea of putting up a save and letting it work as a place for people to put posts into if they want to write more for this evening. With that up, we can continue on to the next day, or the day of the hunt, which may be best.

Does anyone have any alternate ideas or objections or anything before I put a save up? We really need to continue so the Borrim players can get back into action.

-- Folwren

[Nogrod]

I'm so sorry I have been taken away from all this the last weeks - and will be hands full of work for a few days still.

Just work from early morning to over midnight every day...

But I'll be back as soon as I can. Within a week I hope.

[Durelin]

I am here, with net access again after moving into college and figuring out my college's retarded server.

Actually, I am liking it here.

Anyway -- I imagine it will be the men on this hunt, leaving perhaps Embla and Jord to have some more quality time? I doubt either of them would want to tag along anyway...

[Lalaith]

Has anyone seen my husband?

[Folwren]

I'm not sure, Lalaith. I really don't know what Child's been up to.

Shall I put up a save for the finishing of this evening, folks? I believe I will Monday, unless people protest, and we'll continue onto ... some other day.

Sorry it's been so long.

-- Folwren

[Folwren]

Hm. I am having a terribly hard time coming up with a proper post to move the time forward.

Does anyone have any suggestions/ideas for how the muster should begin? What would need to be done?

Does a camp need to be set up so that men can go there and prepare?
When should the muster start? Should it be before or after the hunt?
What other details need seeing to?
How long would it take?
Any answers will be welcome. I'll put up a Save today and not write a post after that and if anyone else wants to write, then go ahead.

-- Folwren

[littlemanpoet]

Does anyone have any suggestions/ideas for how the muster should begin?

Lots of barking dogs and horses and men. Lots of servants running around at the beck and call of their masters.

What would need to be done?

gear readied. arrows refletched. bows tested. food prepared. hooves shoed. horses groomed. men's pride flattered. boasts and jests bandied back and forth

Does a camp need to be set up so that men can go there and prepare?

no. I don't think so. This is a one day deal. meals on the way.

When should the muster start?

just after dawn

Should it be before or after the hunt?

Huh? Oh, you mean the muster is for the army to march and the hunt is a separate thing. Right? I thought you were talking about mustering for the hunt at first. Or are you? I'm confused.

[Folwren]

I'm talking about the muster of the seven thousand men that Lachrandir came to demand of the Ulfings. You can find it in this post. I believe it needs to be begun immediately and I wish to describe how Uldor would go about getting it started.

-- Folwren

[littlemanpoet]

So the little hunting expedition doesn't take place before the muster? If not, how can it take place at all?

[Folwren]

I figure the muster is going to have to begin soon. The seven thousand are not all in that one little area. Uldor can begin sending messengers out to spread the word and the men that are mustered can be told to begin congregrating at X at a certain time, which could be any time that we choose.

No, the Hunt can go forward as planned, but the muster of people in other villages and places must begin at once, as I see it.

-- Folwren

[littlemanpoet]

Okay, that makes sense.

Um, I have a request. Anybody who knows me probably figured this was bound to happen. I like writing Lachrandir, but he is an adopted character. I have an idea for another character I'd like to write into this rpg, a "sooth-sayer", except that his words would not sooth but rile. He is already rather well formed in my mind. The idea is that he is either an Ulfing or a Borrim, and through means uncertain, seems to know what's actually going to happen, at least in general, and he declares it to whomever will hear. As a warning.

May I present the character descrip?

[Folwren]

It sounds fine to me and if Piosenniel does not object, I think it would be fine. Sounds like a lot of fun, actually.

I don't know how Uldor will like it, though...I guess it depends on just what the seer foresees and prophesies.

-- Folwren

[piosenniel]

lmp - the new character is fine - just get the bio on board here before you post for him.

[Durelin]

Ooh, Thuringwethil's going to *love* him....

[Lalaith]

Embla's got her "eye", too, so maybe it might make the Borrim camp atmosphere a bit too intensely prophetic if you made your chap a Borrim as well, elempi...might work better as a Ulfling? Whatever, I don't mind...

[littlemanpoet]

Thanks for the permission and the comments, all.

Lalaith, thanks for verbalizing what I was already thinking in a general but vague sense. Ulfing he will be. I think that'll work better.

And Durelin, I had thought about how 'Thorn' would get along with Thuringwethil....

Bio coming soon. Thanks again!

[Folwren]

We'll look forward to that, Elempi.

I put up a post, sending out messengers. It occurred to me as I posted it though - would that be all it took? Someone coming out, reading an order, and then leaving again? Would the men answer and come as bidden? Anyway, I did it.

Will someone be willing to move time forward to the hunt date?

If anyone has something that has to be accomplished before that time, let me know and we can hold up on it a little while. But not too long.

-- Folwren

[littlemanpoet]

NAME: Thorn

AGE: late fifties

RACE: Ulfing

GENDER: Male

WEAPONS: oaken staff covered in totemic carvings of beasts and birds, topped by a lifelike representation of an owl; bow and arrows; a dagger; a carving knife.

APPEARANCE: weather beaten, wrinkled and craggy; hair is stiff and gray, cropped short and uneven, ears are visible. His eyes are dark brown. He is average height for a man. Wears handmade boots, trousers and tunic of deerskin; a dark brown and weatherstained woolen cloak with attached hood worn only during inclement weather. Has a leather waterflask hanging to one side.

PERSONALITY/STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: Curt, to the point, even to the point of being harsh and offensive (this can be seen as both strength and weakness). Keeps his secrets. Astute about people and their motivations, but not gregarious. Prefers wandering in the wilds to human company. Makes certain of what he says before he says it. Loves children and is compassionate to the powerless.

HISTORY: Oldest of three children, he was a very smart child but nothing came naturally to him. He had to figure out everything through studying and experimenting, from swimming to whittling to shooting an arrow to conversing with other people. At his time of testing, age 14, he stayed in the wild for the seven appointed days, but did not come back to his village. They searched for him, and finally gave him up for dead, unsurprised at his supposed failure to pass his testing. But he had figured out how to survive in the wild, and saw no point in returning to the limits of his village. Hungry for knowledge, though he did not know it at the time, he wandered far and explored the wilds, ever curious. He lived alone for years.

One day, being alone and quiet, he came within a half a moment of surprising an Elf. This Elf was intrigued by a human that could move so quietly, especially one so unfair to look upon and like an Elf in no other way except his woodcraft. This Elf, named Celehan, was not of the Three Kindreds who went westward, but was of the Laiquendi; however, he had come west as far as the eastern feet of Ered Luin before turning back, quailing at the relative proximity of Thangorodrim. Celehan taught Thorn many things, including the gift of foreknowledge, for he recognized the singular percipience of Thorn's Fëa, and trained it and him.

After a few seasons (a little over a year), they parted ways amicably, for Celehan wished to go eastward while Thorn sought westward, and finally rejoined his people; but he had been changed by the years and by his newfound wisdom. The Ulfings that welcomed him were rare. So he wandered often in the wild, returning to his people now and again with words usually bitter to hear.


------------------------------


FIRST POST FOR THE GAME:

Thorn sat on a seat of moss that covered a fallen tree. The sun was westering and he was staring at the eyes of Owl. Some folk had guessed that his forethought came from the staff itself, that an Owl fëa had been caught and enslaved to his will. Foolishness. Owl's eyes served as a point of focus so that his own fëa could be fee to catch echoes of the Song that Celehan had taught him.

Thorn's teacher had told him that he had wakened beneath the stars long, long ago, and had been taught by one who had come from the West, who called himself the Great Hunter. That one had called the Eldar to come west, and Celehan had, with many others, harkened to the call and journeyed west. But the farther west he had come, the harder the road until the fear of Thangorodrim had stopped him. So Celehan wandered the wilds of Middle Earth, still hearing the Song though not crossing the Great Sea to be with his teacher.

Thorn listened for the Song. Sometimes it sounded unclear. At such times he would look to his own heart to see if he had allowed his steps to wander from the truth and the right. Usually he found some way in which he had, and when he eschewed such ways, found that the Song could again be heard. He could hear it now. Doom was afoot for the Ulfings, his people. Their lords would lead them into evil. It was time to return to his folk and tell them what he knew. He set his face westward, for he would have to pass north of the Ered Luin and come south to meet the Ulfings.

[littlemanpoet]

Thorn's "first post" is up for review on this thread now too. Please let me know what you think. It's just above this post.

[Folwren]

Elempi,

Your post looked fine to me. As I've said before, he sounds like a very interesting character. I hope, for his sake, he does not run in Uldor's way very much.

-- Folwren

[littlemanpoet]

I've put Thorn's first post up on the rpg. That means I've double posted. I'd apologize but I'm not sorry. If my fellow writers don't want me to double post, they'll need to post more often.

Incidentally, is Celuien going to be available to post for Ulfast? If not, what is going to happen to that critical character?

[Folwren]

I don't mind you double posting. But I do agree that it would be extremely nice of other people posted more often.

Celuien....*Folwren looks sad and slightly confused*....I don't know. She hasn't contacted me at all about this game, either here or by PM. I will write her, though.

Who else is here to post? Can someone possibly move time forward to the day of the hunt, or do you want me to do that? It could really be done by any character in the game, seeing as most everyone will have some part in that day.

-- Folwren

[littlemanpoet]

It might be beneficial to take a rough poll of who is actually around to write before starting the Hunt day, as it will involve writers of Borrim who have not been around in a while.

[Folwren]

I just PMed a couple of them. Do you suppose I should do the same for the rest? Or should I expect them to check on here?

If you're around on this thread, go ahead and post and let me know, please!

-- Foley

[Nogrod]

I just answered your PM Foley but your PM box was full and the message didn't get through...

But as I said there: I've had a lot more work this late summer / early fall I could ever have expected and have just been unable to take time for any RPG's. Which is a great pity as I like them that much.

But it should ease up right now and I'm planning on updating myself with the RPG's I'm in this week / weekend so maybe the next week I could be back once again.

Thanks for your care Foley. I do appreciate!

[Folwren]

Dear friends,

About two months ago, right when Anguirel left our midsts, I said some rather hard things that shouldn’t have been said. I mistook his offer of a kiss and responded accordingly to what I thought he meant. I over-reacted, and I am sincerely sorry for it.

But Anguirel was not the only person I wronged. I also insulted Mithalwen, still being under my incorrect illusion of what was meant by the ‘kiss kiss’, and for that I am very sorry.

As Mith said thus -

"Really Folwren, shame on you. For someone who generally seems to try to see the best in people you have managed to put the most unpleasant spin on something quite sweet and innocent."

I quite agree and am (far too late as it may be) ashamed and sincerely sorry for my misunderstanding and incorrect reaction.

If I also insulted or turned any one else away, I wanted to apologize to them, too. Please believe me when I say I had no intention whatsoever to offend or be rude.

-- Folwren

[littlemanpoet]

I have another post for Thorn just about ready, but left it at work and have no desire to try to put it together from recall. So I'll try to post it during lunch tomorrow.

I really do hope that this rpg, which has lots and lots of potential (go read the first page full page!), can get going again.

Please?

[Mithalwen]

Thank you for that.

I am sorry that the game has been held up. I have had a lot of RL things going on and while my depression about the whole wretched matter did not encourage me to make the Downs a priority, sincerely my absence is not simply due to a fit of pique (at least not entirely ). I wished a harder role on myself than I anticipated when I pleaded with Ang to let Lachrandir have a Page and have found writing him mucn harder than I expected. I am shortly leaving for Oxonmoot. I will try to get to grips with him on my return.

[Folwren]

Mith, I'm so glad. Thanks so much. I'll be looking forward to your post. Glad you'll be coming back soon.

Can't stay longer. May write something tomorrow.

-- Foley

[littlemanpoet]

I'm not the leader, no-one has anointed me with the role, but I'd love to see this thing show a heartbeat.

If I may make so bold as to ask, which writers are still writing? Please make yourselves known.

If we know who our active writers are, then we know which characters to write the rest of this rpg around, and it gains focus and momentum. So let's hear from everyone who plans to post here, okay?

[Lalaith]

Well I'm happy to participate but there's very little my character can do at the moment, as far as I can see.

[littlemanpoet]

Originally Posted by Lalaith

Well I'm happy to participate but there's very little my character can do at the moment, as far as I can see.

Your character's husband gave her an assignment of sorts, allowing her to rove free of the homestead, and with the focus on Thuringwethil. Durelin is still writing when she gets a chance, far as I know. However, do you feel that your character might take advantage of her newfound freedom to do more than spy on Thuringwethil? And if so, what or whom might she encounter?

[Child of the 7th Age]

I will be reading over the threads tomorrow and trying to unthaw my brain. If anyone has ideas for the Borrim and/or my character, please let me know on this thread or by p.m.....

[littlemanpoet]

I don't know how clearly it is worked out when the hunt is versus the muster. I guess the muster has started and will take one week? Two? During that time the hunt takes place. Wouldn't the hunt take place the next day? Or was it two days after the feast?

Posts could be written describing preparations for the hunt, whether of the hardware variety or the human contact variety.

[Folwren]

Thanks, Elempi, for taking hold of the reins. I kind of needed it just now, having been extremely busy this last week. My business will continue over the weekend and only on Monday will I be back in full force again. . .

Originally Posted by littlemanpoet

I don't know how clearly it is worked out when the hunt is versus the muster. I guess the muster has started and will take one week? Two? During that time the hunt takes place. Wouldn't the hunt take place the next day? Or was it two days after the feast?

The hunt is taking place one week after the feast. It says so in the invitation that Khandr sent to the Ulfangs. This week should be written quickly, maybe within two or three posts from different people.

Posts could be written describing preparations for the hunt, whether of the hardware variety or the human contact variety.

Yes. That sounds right.

As for the muster...no one, so far as I know, has any characters really affected by the muster, so that really doesn't need to be addressed until after the hunt. I think Uldor is expecting his messengers back within a week. So I plan on writing concerning that after we have finished the hunt.

Thanks again.

-- Folwren

[littlemanpoet]

That means that Thorn (and Fleet) will be there by the time of the Hunt. Hmmmm...!