Prisoner of Númenor Planning/Discussion Thread

[Sophia the Thunder Mistress]

I had envisioned us winding up in Arnor, rather than Gondor... although I suppose that's debatable (I just have a weird personal preference for Arnor). I like the idea of setting us up at Tharbad. Or what about Vinyalonde? There's an ancient haven there, which would have been long abandoned by this time. It later becomes Lond Daer. The Melethroch lineage could easily set up shop, so to speak, in the ruins of Vinyalonde and rebuild the city?

As for the second son/daughter, how much later is Aldarion than Silmarien? Maybe it would be possible to be descended from a daughter. I like the reference to Silmarien in it. I'll puzzle on it a bit.

We are remaining at Andunie, not Armenelos right?

TomBrady12 is my brother, everybody be nice to him. He's going to be writing a rescuer called Marsillion/Nimilroth.

Everyone- Or rather, all rescuers- I neglected to mention that somebody ought to have some sort of healing knowledge. There's a good chance that we'll get bloodied up a bit. So if someone wants to incorporate that into their character, that would be great... if not, we'll limp.

Sophia

Now taking ideas for a group title for our little sect of Elf friends. The person who contributes the winning name gets... um... rep points from Sophia?

[Sophia the Thunder Mistress]

I got these questions in a pm today, and I can't say I know the answers to them.

What of carrying weapons openly throughout Númenore? Do citizens carry swords on their belts at this time?

Also, I know that they were taller than all other men, but how tall is that in feet and inches. Probibly this isnt ever written by tolkien, but is there any precident set on the board telling their height?

Anybody able to help?

Sophia

[piosenniel]

About weapons . . .

Swords were not worn in Numenor:

Among the wrights of the Edain were weaponsmiths, and they had with the teaching of the Noldor acquired great skill in the forging of swords, of axe-blades, and of spearheads and knives. Swords the Guild of Weaponsmiths still made, for the preservation of the craft, though most of their labour was spent on the fashioning of tools for the uses of peace. The King and most of the great chieftains possessed swords as heirlooms of their fathers; and at times they would still give a sword as a gift to their heirs. A new sword was made for the King's Heir to be given to him on the day on which his title was conferred. But no man wore a sword in Numenor, and for long years few indeed were the weapons of warlike intent that were made in the land. Axes and spears and bows they had, and shooting with bows was a chief sport and pastime of the Numenoreans. In later days, in the wars upon Middle-earth, it was the bows of the Numenoreans that were most greatly feared. "The Men of the Sea", it was said, 'send before them a great cloud, as a rain turned to serpents, or a black hail tipped with steel'; and in those days the great cohorts of the King's Archers used bows made of hollow steel, with black-feathered arrows a full ell long from point to notch.

-- from Unfinished Tales, "A Description of Numenor"

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About height . . .

Actually Tolkien did give an indication in the UT (Unfinished Tales): Look HERE at this B-D thread.

For the actual reference see: Unfinished Tales, "Disaster of the Gladden Fields", 'Appendix - Numenorean Linear Measures'.

~*~ Pio

[mark12_30]

Pio, I'm still pondering the possibilities. Maybe Elendil's first mate. Maybe a cabin-boy. Elendil's tempting. But since I'm waffling, if anyone else wants a particular character, go ahead and let them have it.

[Regin Hardhammer]

First of all, could you give me clarification on "Almaida". I checked The Encyclopedia of Arda, Fonstad's Atlas, and the indexes to Silm and UT. I didn't find it. When I searched on google under Almaida and Numenor, I brought up only three references: two were back to this very thread and one was to a website that mentioned UT, but I still couldn't find the term in UT. Could someone give me a clue? Are we talking about a haven in the western part of the isle?

Wouldn't a group based in the west of Numenor have to have a reason to be there? I assume it would have been particularly dangerous not to go east with the rest of the faithful. Perhaps, even though Amandil never returned, there was still some distant hope that the Elves would send ships to help the faithful. Could our purpose have been to wait and watch for them?

I was thinking of having my character be in the employment of Elendil, a shipowner bringing supplies to the remnant of the faithful left in the west on a small, sleek schooner, perhaps unloading the goods in some secluded cove. My character could also bring news of Elendil's intended departure and the prisoner's capture, or that could be left fo some other character to do. In any case, I could ditch my ship once I realized the group had to go over land to save the prisoner. Would this work with what is being planned?


I am finding it difficult to develop a character until I know why a remnant of the faithful stayed in the west and what the plot will be. I have come up with some names, but I'm not sure about the cases and/or grammar. I would appreciate if anyone else is an expert in Adunaic and/or Sindarin to provide grammatical help.

I chose the first name in Adunaic, Azarmanô, which means azar- the old form of star. Manô means spirit. The closest Sindarin name would be Elkhor. El means star and khor means fiery spirit.

My last name will be Hazadbawîba. What a mouthful! This means seven winds that refers to my family's nautical ties. In Sindaran this is Wawaotok. Believe it or not. Hopefully I won't have to use the last names too much!

If anybody has any suggestions about any of this I am open to them.

- Regin

[littlemanpoet]

I like the idea of Vinyalonde, although Dol Amroth seemed pretty cool to me.

Silmarien was born in S.A. 521. Aldarion was born in S.A. 700. That's 179 years later. Two generations. But you're talking about his daughter, Tar-Ancalimë, his eldest daughter, first Queen by law of Numenor. That would leave the Melethroch in the line of Elros - at least a little longer - which is okay. But maybe the Melethroch clan should be descended from one of Tar-Surion's two sisters, who were both older than he, and refused the sceptre. That would make the Melethroch clan extant as of, say, S.A. 1394, when Surion took the sceptre and by which time his sisters were probably wed to some likely Numenorean man.

Andunié? Not Armenolos? Okay. I thought that if we were some secret clan that was actually trying to make a difference we would have to be well hidden in the seat of governance itself, but maybe your thought was otherwise?

Group title? A rep from Sophia? Woo hoo!

"Nimruzîrim" = "Elf-friends" - but that's probably a bit too obvious.
Balakzir = Ship lovers - too common
Bawabzir = Wind lovers - maybe just as common
huzun = ears
hazad = seven
Hazadhuzun? = The Seven Ears? (chuckle)

Abanaparu's physical description:

6'8". Which is probably just a little humble for a Numenorean. Oh well. (I thought of Aragorn as 6'6" when I first read LotR). Raven black hair, clear face, long nose but not too long. Not too full lips. High cheek bones. Lean but not thin. Grey eyes. His war and hunting weapon is the bow. He keeps a long knife with him, an ancestral one with a silver hilt. Its blade is straight and slender but strong.

Regin, the Numenorean handles are mouthfuls on purpose. The Sindarin would be - ah - not altered but - let's say, refined - to sound pleasing to the Elvish (or Mannish) ear.

[Sophia the Thunder Mistress]

Regin-

About Almaida:

Although descriptive rather than narrative, I have included selections from my father's account of Númenor, more especially as it concerns the physical nature of the Island, since it clarifies and naturally accompanies the tale of Aldarion and Erendis. This account was certainly in existence by 1965, and was probably written not long before that.

I have redrawn the map from a little rapid sketch, the only one, as it appears, that my father ever made of Númenor. Only names or features found on the original have been entered on the redrawing. In addition, the original shows another haven on the Bay of Andúnië, not far to the westward of Andúnië itself; the name is hard to read, but is almost certainly Almaida. This does not, so far as I am aware, occur elsewhere.

-From the Footnotes of the Unfinished Tales, quote courtesy of Pio the Loremaster

I don't think that we're going to actually use Almaida. It seems that Andunie will work just as well. As far as the reason we have remained behind, I think your idea works very well, Regin. If the Faithful were (not exactly expecting, but...) hopeful that there would be aid coming from Eressea or Valinor then it would be sensible for them to have left a token "welcoming committee" so to speak.

Any major objections? If not, I think we can take that as our reason... do you have any brilliant ideas about names for the group?

I love your names too. Particularly the idea that your family name means "seven winds" Littlemanpoet is the one to ask about names. He seems to be our resident linguist. I'm not so good, myself.

I'm going to give you guys a taste of some of the family connections building. My brother (in RL) TomBrady12 is building a character that more than likely will function as Kathaani's protector and who will be a relative of some kind. This is the pm from him where he briefly describes his character:

I was thinking that maybe his father might have been a kind of high profile member of the faithful, who was captured and sacrificed to Melkor. He was kinda scared by this and spent a number of years in middle earth, basically wandering and looing for solitude, before returning and he ends up joining the faithful not terribly long before this takes place (year or two). does this sound workable, im certainly open to any suggestions, ideas, or help.

Just so you guys get a taste of what's going on behind the scenes.

Sophia

[Regin Hardhammer]

The Sindarin would be - ah - not altered but - let's say, refined - to sound pleasing to the Elvish (or Mannish) ear.

Littlemanpoet --

Whoops! How about if I trade in "Wawaotok" for "Liwaiwa" that can mean "Many Winds"? It sounds a bit more graceful than the other I came up with.

I think I can live with Elkhor. It doesn't sound that different than Elrond.

I hope this is an improvement.

****************

Sophia

We cross posted. Many thanks to you and Pio the Loremaster. I didn't check the footnotes in UT!

I'll start trying to work on my profile.

[littlemanpoet]

Resident Linguist? Me?!? I know next to nothing about the grammar of Sindarin or Adúnaic. I just go by what the websites I found tell me, what sounds good to the ear, and what rolls of the tongue - - more or less - -

Well, Regin, that's an alteration instead of a refinement. It's up to you, of course.

This is Sindarin according to the site I use; take a look
here

many = limb
wind = gwae, thúl; plural would be: thyl

Many winds: Limbethyl. I stuck an "e" in the middle because it rolls off the tongue better that way. I don't know if I have any right to do that, but I just go by feel.

Where did you get "Wawaotok" and "Liwaiwa" from?

[piosenniel]

I think Regin may have been looking at a word etymology list, possibly the one at the Ardalambion site. The etymology lists there give the more archaic forms of a word from which the final language developed.

Why don't we all agree to use this site (It's the one lmp is using): Sindarin/Quenyan

It's simple enough without having to go through the headache of trying to download the Sindarin Dictionary (often is seen as a corrupted file by different computers and won't open) or buying the Sindarin Dictionary disc in English/Polish translation.

Ardalambion does have a fuller explanation of plurals and other parts of Sindarin for those who like to delve a little deeper. Unfortunately, it offers no wordlists as it does for Quenyan.

How does this sound?

~*~ Pio

[Regin Hardhammer]

I used the Aradalambion Index to Etymologies by English Glosses, and then double checked it in HoMe, V, The Lost Road, which is Tolkien's original list. You can get to this on-line list by clicking here, then scroll down the page and click on Index to Etymologies by English glosses.... From there you click on index, and it will take you to the alphabet where you click on the letter you want for a particular English word. Once you know the Elvish stem you want, however, it's actually much easier to refer to HoMe.

The Index to Etymologies and LR shows the base stem that Tolkien used to develop the word; Lost Road also lists a number of the words that Tolkien later developed from that base stem. Like you, I am willing to "refine" a bit, sometimes using the stem and sometimes the later words, according to what I like best, especially since these are names. Names tend to incorporate archaic forms and stems as well as literal words.

The "gwae" that you cite, for example, is actually a variant of the one I used in both Wawaotok and Liwaiwa . The original stem for "blow" is "wa-, wawa-, waiwa". This same stem is used in Quenyan, Sindarin, and Ilkorin to form the word wind. "Gwaew" is the more common usage for wind in Sindarin; "waiwa" is used in Quenyan. In this case I preferred the Sindarin stem, which also happens to be a Quenyan word.

The same is true of your word "limb". This is actually a variant of my "Li". The stem for "many" in both Sindarin and Quenyan is "li". Later forms Tolkien listed include "li" (Q), "lin" (S) and "lim" (S) (actually blended with rim), usually at the end of words. I took the stem and used it at the beginning of the word.

Ot, Otos, Otok is similarly a stem for Sindarin and Quenyan for seven. Odog is a later Sindarin word. I didn't like the sound of "odog". I had visions of running in circles and barking!

(I believe your term "thul" actually means breath and is from the root "thu" that means puff or blow.)

If using the original stem is a problem, I will be happy to go back and look at the forms again and come up with something else, using only the later words.

[Regin Hardhammer]

I just cross posted with Pio. I will go back and use the other list and come up with a different name.

[Sophia the Thunder Mistress]

Resident Linguist? Me?!?

Well, you do seem far more adept at naming than me... heck, I pulled "Kathaani" off the name generator and then translated it. I was lucky that I got something that actually translated.

[mark12_30]

Folks,

This game is looking more and more historical-- a very good thing, and also a very time-consuming thing. After some soul-searching and a hectic week I'm realizing I can't do this game justice over the next two months. I've discussed it with Sophia, and I feel it's wise to extend my regrets now rather than later... I wish it were otherwise. This is shaping up as a great game.

Once again, regrets, and all the best. I wish I didn't have time constraints. Enjoy the game!

--mark12_30

[piosenniel]

Bringing this forward:

Players/Characters

Main Characters

• littlemanpoet - Abârpânaru Karíbzîr/Mabalar Melethroch (the captive) BIO/POST NEEDED
• Sophia the Thunder Mistress – Kâthaanî Karíbzîr/Cerveth (the captive’s daughter) BIO/POST NEEDED
• alaklondewen - underground contact in Armenelos BIO/POST NEEDED
• Himaran - rescuer BIO/POST NEEDED
• Meneltarmacil – rescuer BIO/POST NEEDED
• Regin Hardhammer - Azarmanô Hazadbawîba/Elenfairë Ostovaivar – rescuer BIO/POST NEEDED
• TomBrady12 – Nimilroth/Marsillion - rescuer BIO/POST NEEDED
  
  
• 1 rescuer – Numenorean; preferably male (female with adequate explanation)** STILL NEEDED **

~*~

Cameo Characters

• Nilpaurion Felagund - sailor - Númenorean male - Will only appear at end of story while the Faithful attempt to leave the bay. BIO ONLY NEEDED
  
  
• 1 Númenorean leader of the Faithful - male or female acceptable ** STILL NEEDED **
  
  
• 1 sailor - Númenorean male (Elendil may be used but must be true to character. Will only appear at end of story while the Faithful attempt to leave the bay) ** STILL NEEDED **

[Regin Hardhammer]

After careful consideration I have decided that the Elvish equivalent to my Aduniac name will be Quenyan rather than Sindarin. I have looked on the name sight and selected Elenfairë for my first name, elen meaning star and fairë meaning spirit, hence "star spirit'. For my last name I have chosen Ostovaivar, Osto meaning seven and vaivar meaning winds, hence "seven winds". My Adunaic first name will be Azarmanô, azar meaning star and manô meaning spirit and my last name will be Hazadbawîba, hazad meaning seven and bawîba meaning winds.

Therefore my two names will be Azarmanô Hazadbawîba in Adunaic and Elenfairë Ostovaivar in Quenyan. I'm sorry that Mark12_30 won't be playing with us. Thanks to all people who provided assistance in forming my names.

[TomBrady12]

I like the idea that the rescuers stayed in Andunie because they have hope that Amandil will succeed in his mission, and want to stay in the west to witness what happens. I think they should definitely be in contact with the faithful in the east though. Perhaps a messenger should ride to them and inform them that Elendil is nearly ready to put out to sea, with or without them. This would force them to hurry to rescue Abarpanaru and join with Elendil before its too late.

[Himaran]

Just a note:

I will be away from home (and a computer) for Thursday - Saturday. I will try to get my Bio and Post done by Monday.

Himaran

[Sophia the Thunder Mistress]

Have fun on your trip, Himaran. I like your pt, by the way. I hadn't seen it before.

I too will not be around an awful lot for the next three or four days. Push has come to shove on the paper I was talking about, so until the first of Feb. I won't have an awful lot of time for planning. But things will lighten up a lot for me after that, so if you guys want to finish up your bios we can put the final proposal together and get that much closer to starting the game.

Sophia

[piosenniel]

Bringing this forward; please use for your characters bio and first post:

Character Description Form:


NAME:

AGE:

RACE:

GENDER:

WEAPONS (No magical, super-hero, mithril weapons. Just good solid Middle-earth weapons and armor only that is appropriate to the race of the character and the time period.):

APPEARANCE:

PERSONALITY/STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: (No half-Elven characters. No mixed-type characters. No super-heroes. No assassins. No one all powerful, martial arts proficient, or having any magical traits. Just regular characters with normal abilities for their races only):

HISTORY:

__________________________________


First post:

MAY BE PUT ON THE PLANNING THREAD AT A LATER TIME THAN YOUR CHARACTER DESCRIPTION

[littlemanpoet]

Character Description Form:


POSTED TO THE PROPOSAL ON PAGE 1 -- PIO

EDIT PLACED ON 2/23 - PIO


NAME: Abârpânarú Karíbzîr - Strong Handed Man Lover of Horses; Mabalar Melethroch

AGE: 112

RACE: Numenorean

GENDER: male

WEAPONS : Bow that is an heirloom of his house, handed down to the eldest child; bears the stylized, rampant horse of Karíbzîr heraldry, black on white; the bow is white with silver filigree after the manner of leaves on vines. Kept on his person, a knife, quarter of a ranga in length, same filigree, also an heirloom. Straight, with a silver hilt. Its blade is straight and slender but strong.

APPEARANCE: 6 feet, 8 inches (not so tall for a Numenorean, I guess...) Raven black hair, clear face, long nose but not too long. Not too full lips. High cheek bones. Lean but not thin. Grey eyes. His war and hunting weapon is the bow. He keeps a long knife with him, an ancestral one with a silver hilt. Its blade is straight and slender but strong.

PERSONALITY/STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: Abârpânarú is a great lover of horses, as are all of his household. He is one of the Faithful, and most loyal to his kin, then friends. He is aware of the hope of the Elendili to take flight by ship to the shores of Middle Earth in case of the uttermost failure of Numenor. He is clever of mind and tongue, learned, and counted wise by those who know him well; except for one folly: the Kariborim (known in later years as mearas). There are six: two stallions, Khibil (spring) and Nitirú (kindler); and four mares, Kali (woman), Izri (beloved), Lômi (night), and Mani (spirit). It is said of Abârpânarú that they are both his strength and his weakness. He loves them dearly and his commitment to their care and removal from the island is at war with his loyalties to kin, friends, and the Faithful. He would that all goes well, but would find it difficult to choose between kin and the kariborim; harder yet to choose between them and friends. He also keeps forty karibi, stock from Middle Earth, and loves them well, but not as dearly as his kariborim.

HISTORY: Born in 3207, Abârpânarú was the eldest son of Adúnzâirû (west-longing). He has a younger sister, Ziraphel (beloved daughter) born in 3222, who is married to one of the Faithful; Abârpânarú and Inzillomi have one daughter, Kâthâani. Abârpânarú considers his daughter the rightful heiress to all he owns, and remembers the sorrows that have befallen the House of Elros, not least because the rights of first born daughters have been forgotten. He has sworn an oath to his wife and daughter that it would not be so in the House of Karibizir.

Abârpânarú was trained in the care of his family's kariborim, and has trained his daughter in their care. Legend would later have it among the Rohirrim that Béma (Oromë) brought them from west over sea, and so it may be; but this line of mearas, or kariborim, were a gift to the Dúnedain from the Elves of Tol Erresëa, and the house of Karíbzîr was the only one in Numenor who still kept them. In the year 3279 he married Inzillomí Elendili (flower of the night), daughter of Elendil, and named for her full head of raven hair at birth, one of the Faithful, of the house of Elendil.

It is his deepest desire that his seven kariborim should be on board to make the trip. Since Ar Pharazon has left, he has been working ceaselessly to move his kariborim from Andunié in the west, to Romenna in the east, without raising suspicion. He and his daughter Kâthâani have been riding them across the island, to deliver them to his wife's family in Romenna so that they may be taken aboard ship. The King's Men, a dozen in number, confront them, and are bent on taking them captive for treason. Abârpânarú knows that Kâthâani has a palantir in her keeping, in the saddlebag of one of the kariborim. He places himself at the mercy of the King's Men, and sends his daughter and the kariborim away.... but Lomi, his mount, will not leave him. He convinces them not to capture his daughter, and the palantir is kept safe. Both are captured and brought back to Armenelos, imprisoned. His bow is taken from him. He wants it back, but it is not nearly as important to him as the kariborim, or the palantir.

[Sophia the Thunder Mistress]

I'm being a naughty girl who reads the downs instead of writing philosophy papers.


Littlemanpoet I think Kâthaanî would be pleased to ride Izri, provided the rest of the party can keep up!

On a more serious note, are the Karíbzîr... what's the plural of Karíbzîr? The Karíbzîri? Are they seagoing at all?

What is the rest of Abârpânaru's family like? He is the oldest son of the line, yes? Does he have any younger brothers/sisters? Kâthaanî wants to know if she has cousins.

Odd that we thought similarly... I was going to have Kâthaanî carrying a knife of similar description, though much less ornate. Many other things in her tentative profile seem to go well with Abârpânaru's as well. This should be interesting.

TomBrady12 puts forward the following suggestions for our group name: Pelinnost, meaning "Fading House" or perhaps Annanost, meaning roughly "House of Many Years". I prefer the former.

Sophia

[littlemanpoet]

Sophia, having to get Izri (which means "beloved") to Romenna, while staying with your fellow rescuers, is part of the dilemma/conflict that I think will make for interesting story.

Karíbzîr is already the plural. .... for "the house of", but Karíbzîri can serve as the plural for more than one of that family referred to at a time.

I'll add a few relations to my bio to fill out the family.

I'd like to think that Kâthaanî's blade is a gift from her parents, in token of some rite of passage - but she's young for any Numenorean rite of passage, I'm thinking.... Are you figuring on raven black hair for Kâthaani? I've kind of forced the issue...

I actually prefer Annanost to Pelinnost, based on meaning; but would the group take an Elvish name? Wouldn't they take an Adúnaic name?

[Sophia the Thunder Mistress]

I was actually thinking of aging her up a bit, on further reflection she seemed too young. I want her to be very young, but I'm not sure I want her to literally still be a child. My brother and I were discussing relative ages, and he mentioned a quote he'd found in the Lost Road, which mentioned Elendil's son being 48 and "on the threshold of manhood." Under this description Kathaani would be younger than I want her at 21--she should perhaps be late 20s or 30. Does anyone know anything about whether that remained canonical? It would seem logical, since the hobbits weren't nearly as long lived as the Numenoreans, and they didn't even come of age until 33.

As for Kathaani's appearance, I had listed on her (still unfinished) bio that her hair was "dark". I hadn't specified beyond that, but in my imagination it was that shade of almost black that looks black in the shadow and dark brown in the sunlight. Perhaps she got some recessive genes.

This is what I had said about her knife:

She carries a long bladed (now rather dull) knife with a silver hilt which she uses more frequently as a sort of all purpose tool than a weapon. She has been known to use it to pry open simple locks.

I had assumed that the name we used would be Sindarin or Quenya, seeing that it wouldn't make sense to use a group name at all (whatever the meaning) with those who were not members of the group. I suspect that being cut off from the elvish languages might make us more anxious to use them amongst ourselves?

I suspect that my brother will want to play Ziraphel's son.

Interesting coincidence: When I was growing up (in RL) my father had a mare called Kalli.

*runs off to work more on paper and later sneakily tweak Kathaani's bio*

Sophia

[piosenniel]

lmp

Is your character bio ready to place on the proposal or will you be tweaking it a little more?

~*~ Pio

[littlemanpoet]

Pio, I'll be tweaking at least until we get Kathaani's age settled, since Abarpanaru has to be 80 years older than she.

Also, my character appears to be serving as a kind of template for a lot of things, and I feel we need to give the other players a chance to interact with my plans before we settle. Once I'm sufficiently confident that that has happened, then my bio will be fixed.

Sophia, nevermind the heirloom idea for the knife, then. You need to be able to use it in rather rough-and-ready ways.

I'm a little stumped about when Numenoreans came of age. I noticed that becoming a parent seemed to fall in the late 70's, early 80's, which suggests that marriage occurred perhaps five to twenty years prior to that. Age 50 is apparently "manhood", if 48 is on the threshold.

An Elvish name for the group works for me. Your reasoning is sound.

No other new wrinkles from this corner....

[Himaran]

Pio mentioned early on that a particular character should die in the rescue, or the general time period of it, to add a touch of realism. Finding myself in agreement with this analysis, I would like to model my character (still under construction) as one who believes in his own invincibility, only to fall in the struggle... *sniff*

...unless someone else was already planning on taking the part.

--Himaran

[littlemanpoet]

I don't think anybody else has been hot to grab at that one.

Maybe you want to do two characters so that you have one left to write?

"Realism", eh? Another topic for debate, there. I'll leave it go for now. It was that matter of someone dying that kind of had me stewing a bit. Someone dying in the attempt to save one lone man's life? That seemed like a pretty poor bargain. So I kind of like the idea the mearas as an additional motivation for rescuing Abar.

I was also thinking that the capture could be handled differently. It could be that all six mearas are being taken across the island at once, and Abarpanaru sacrifice his own freedom so that the other five can escape, and they are determined to rescue him and his mearas. In fact, I kind of like that better. That way, more (if not every) characters have a mearas. Heck, we can always change the number of mearas if we want one for each character.

[Sophia the Thunder Mistress]

LMP is Kathaani's mother alive? And did we ever determine whether the house of Karibzir had a connection to the Lords of Andunie?

I'm working on her history in my study breaks.

Sophia

[Edit]

The word Mearas comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning simply 'horses'. Its singular form would be mearh, but no character in The Lord of the Rings ever uses that word.

Since Mearas is a Rohirric word, is there any chance we could find a rough equivalent in Sindarin or Adunaic to use instead? Rocharim (Horse-kings) sounds a bit too much like Rohirrim, perhaps Rocherphin (Noble horses) or Rochedair (Fathers of Horses)? Karibarim (Kings of Horses), or Karibhorim (Lords of Horses), or Karibattim (Fathers of Horses)? Or am I overanalyzing just a little too much when the word Mearas seems out of place?

[Sophia the Thunder Mistress]

Kâthaanî's bio is, for the most part, ready and available for public tweaking and I thought it needed a post unto itself.

***********************************

POSTED TO THE PROPOSAL ON PAGE 1 -- PIO

NAME: Kâthaanî Karíbzîr/ “Cerveth” Adaneth Melethroch

AGE: 32

RACE: Men, Númenorean

GENDER: Female

WEAPONS: Kâthaanî carries a long bladed (rather dull) knife with a tarnished silver hilt which she uses more frequently as a sort of all purpose tool than a weapon. She has been known to use it to pry open simple locks.

APPEARANCE: Cerveth is tall (about 6’2”) and more lean than slender. She is long-bodied and narrow, not muscular and slightly wider at the shoulders than the hips. She is dark of hair and grey of eye with a long nose and a well-defined jaw for a woman. She is quite clever with her hands and can manipulate various contraptions easily (locks, tack) She is somewhat ill at ease in the elaborate costumes of the Númenorean upperclass women feeling far more comfortable in simple dresses and with her hair pulled loosely out of her face, and will frequently wears men’s clothes when she needs to ride astride.

PERSONALITY/STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: Kâthaanî is impulsive, stubborn, and easily carried away—but rarely blatantly disobedient. She has a tendency to speak first and think about the consequences later, but as she matures she has begun to learn to control her tongue. She has a concrete sense of right and wrong; she has lived in a fairly sheltered world (even with the turmoil in Númenor) and has rarely encountered a situation where the moral choice is not instantly clear. She has never gotten along well with young women of her age, and consequently has spent much of her time with adults since her early teens. Because of this Kâthaanî considers herself extremely mature, whether or not her belief is correct is a different matter entirely.

HISTORY: Kâthaanî Karíbzîr was born the only child of Abârpânaru Karíbzîr and his wife, Inzillomí, in midsummer of the year 3287. Often called Cerveth, after the month of her birth, she spent her childhood years in a large house on the inland side of Andunië. She sometimes envied those who lived nearer the coast, but their house was ideally situated for her father’s horse breeding, opening as it did on the plains. Her childhood was as uneventful and sheltered as possible, given the circumstances in her homeland. The inner conflict in Númenorean society was almost unknown to her, even though her parents were among the Faithful, as they chose not to discuss it with her until she had reached a responsible age. Nevertheless, the values they taught her were the values of the Old Houses of Númenor. She is well read, her father studied with her as a child and during her youth she became familiar with much of the history of Númenor and some First Age history which has been preserved by the Faithful. She is one of the few Númenoreans of her generation to become fluent in Sindarin and has learned some words in Quenya as well.

Her father began training her in the care of his horses, and particularly the Kariborim as soon as she was old enough, and by her early teens she was an accomplished horsewoman with a sound understanding of her charges and several generations of the most important bloodlines memorized.

As Kâthaanî matured she began to realize that her parents’ views did not reflect the views of much of Númenorean society and she quickly became as ardently Faithful as the rest of her family. In her early twenties her family relocated to a smaller more modest house farther outside the city which quickly became the focal point for the group of the Faithful remaining in Andunië (the Anannost?).

At the turn of the year 3319 Kâthaanî is taking more responsibility for Abârpânaru’s horses as he is taking more responsibility for the family’s political commitments. He has recently returned from a trip to Rómenna and announced that Elendil, the son of Amandil, will soon be leaving Númenor for the Elven Realms in Lindon. Kâthaanî is a little frightened by this news, as her father has every intention of leading the Anannost? to Rómenna to join the soon-to-be-Exiles as soon as possible. She is also disappointed because her father had promised her the foal from his planned breeding of Khibil and Lômi, and it is unlikely that he will follow through with the breeding this spring if they will soon be traveling.

[piosenniel]

There is an older Quenyan word for 'horse':

mairo; the plural of which would be mairor

[littlemanpoet]

I had figured that Inzillomi is alive; I wish there was someone who could play the role. She could turn out to be a pivotal character, considering who she is. If she cannot be played by anyone, then it may be convenient, story-wise, for her to have died in childbirth - - - or something. Her death would make the father-daughter relationship all the tighter. I could go either way, though. She just needs to be played by somebody, I think, if she's going to be alive.

The House of Karibzir take up military service, as do all Numenoreans, I would expect, and to that degree, the family members are associated with ships. However, it is not something that has been "in the family" for many a generation. So the Karibzir take to boats more willingly than hobbits, but it is not a mode of transportation that they love.

Since there has been a marriage between the Karibzir and the Lords of Andunië in the last generation, I should think that the association between the two is warm, at least.

I like Karibhorim (Lords of Horses) best, myself, thought the Quenya word appeals too. I doubt the likelihood of the Karibzir using a word for their horses that is unlike their own family name, though. Although the wear and tear of common usage would probably render it Kariborim, if you know what I mean.

On a related note, the Karibhorim would not be the only horses in the keeping of the Karibzir, only the most treasured. I will edit my character description to give a number of how many horses. I'd say forty would be a seemly number.

Nice touch with the breeding of Khibil and Lômi. I like that. Could function as a promise between the two as an inspiration to escape to freedom and survive.

[edit] I've made some edits to my character description, regarding some of that above. I've made it so that Kathaani is Abar's only child, but left the wife alive so far. I've changed the name of the mearas to Kariborim, and called the lesser horses Karibi. Should that be Karibir? Karibim?

[Sophia the Thunder Mistress]

LMP We can always manipulate Inzillomi ourselves if she becomes important and we can't get anyone to play her. I had supposed she would be the one to more or less commission the rescue party, combined with Kathaani's desperation to go do something.

If Khibil and Lomi's breeding was planned for spring of 3319 and it's now September of 3319 did Abarpanaru follow through with the breeding? If so, horse pregnancies last approximately 11 months, Lomi would be pretty pregnant. Or did he decide postpone?

Himaran check the PMs-es please.

Everybody else, it's getting to the point where your bios should be about done. In the next couple of days, if you could?

Barring official complaints the Kariborim or Karibhorim is what we'll be calling the Mearas, Anannost is what we'll be calling the Faithful at Andunie.

Please try to use the accent marks in your bios and on the game thread, on this thread I don't care. I know they're a pain, blame Tolkien.

Considering a few concerns I've heard... I think that the horses will be a big concern for Abarpanaru and Kathaani, and more or less not a concern for anyone else aside from the practical difficulties of it. The rescuers may even be irritated with the idea that Abarpanaru is making such a big deal about it.

As promised, rep points to

TomBrady12 for the group name.

Sophia

[TomBrady12]

Here is my bio, it is basically finished. I would still be open to some tweaking if anyone has any insight which I may have missed.

================================================== ========

POSTED TO THE PROPOSAL ON PAGE 1 -- PIO


NAME: Marsillion Thoronfaer/Nimilroth Narâkmanô

AGE: 52

RACE: Human/Númenorean

GENDER: Male

WEAPONS: Ziraphel, the mother of Marsillion, presented him with the sword of his father on the eve of his departure for Middle Earth. It was originally intended as a marriage present, but Ziraphel deemed Marsillion's situation dangerous, and felt that he may need to carry a sturdy blade on his person. His mother's forethought proved very useful, as Marsillion used the sword on many occasions. The blade is 33 inches in length, and 2 2/3 inches wide. Its long handle is of a dark brown wood, and intended for two handed use. The guard is short, and of polished silver, as is the crown shaped pommel, the most prominent feature of the sword. This weapon is wielded in similar fashion to an axe. Its wide heavy blade, and two handed design make it an ideal hacking weapon. Marsillion is very adept with the sword as he has participated in a number of skirmishes and small battles, most of which against attacking bandits on the wild roads of Middle Earth.

Marsillion has some skill with a bow; however, he prefers to fight with the sword, and leave the bow for hunting. Marsillion also carries a long dagger inside his boot at all times. He has done so since he was given the blade before his first hunting trip as a young boy.

APPEARANCE: Average height for a Númenorean, Marsillion stands 6'6'' and is of a muscular, heavy build. He is by all means a physical presence. He is stronger than most men his age. His wide shoulders and strong arms contrast slightly with his lingering boyish features. His shoulder length hair is dark blond and wispy, even in light breezes. He is very fair skinned, with a dark brow, and no facial hair covering his strong jawline.

PERSONALITY: Marsillion is still young, and at times suffers lapses of judgment, but is, at his core, kind hearted and generous. He tends to be quiet and reflective, usually content to watch as others bicker and squabble around him, but once inspired to action he can be quite fiery. He is not above taking the counsel of older, wiser souls, but can make quick decisions when situations require it. He is well educated, and quick witted. His years traversing Middle Earth have made him mature beyond his years.

HISTORY: Marsillion was born in 3267 at his family home in Andunië. He was the second and youngest child of Azaruth Narâkmanô and Ziraphel Karíbzîr. His sister, Nîlomîth, was much older than he, and married when he was just a young boy. His father was a renowned naval officer, who through a series of military victories, achieved a nearly iconic status. Ziraphel, the sister of Abârpânaru, was a member of the Faithful, and worked tirelessly to convince Azaruth to retire from the King’s service and join the Faithful. She was a convincing speaker, and her reasoning soon changed Azaruth's loyalties. Marsillion endeavored to be like his father in all ways, and planned to follow his path into the military. Azaruth; however, forbade Marsillion to join the military, stating that fighting for the King was no longer an honorable profession. Azaruth became a prominent leader of the Faithful. He found his fame a curse as well as a blessing, though he was able to convince many people to join the faithful he often found it extremely difficult to keep any secrecy in his life. Ar-Pharazôn got wind of Azaruth's betrayal and sent troops to arrest him in the fall of 3305. When the troops arrived Azaruth and Marsillion were relaxing in the garden outside their Andunië home discussing Marsillion's future, as he would soon be a man. Ar-Pharazôn’s men broke into the home and came upon the two in the garden. They seized Azaruth, and commanded Marsillion to vow fealty to the King, or be arrested. Azaruth, knowing he would be killed, ordered Marsillion to swear the oath to Ar-Pharazôn, and tearfully Marsillion obeyed. Azaruth was beaten in front of friends and family in Andunië before being taken to Armenelos. He was sacrificed to Melkor in the temple of Armenelos on the coldest afternoon of the winter of 3305.

In 3312, at 45, Marsillion became apprentice to Sâpathan Gimilzayân, the head tax and tribute collector of the Númenorean holdings in Middle Earth. Marsillion traveled Middle Earth, from petty kingdom to kingdom, with Sâpathan, collecting treasures beyond his imagination to be shipped back to Númenor. He saw the strain the people of Middle Earth were under, and it went to his heart. It was his job to weasel all the treasures he could from people who fought everyday just to feed their families. Already angry and bitter with Ar-Pharazôn for the murder of his father, Marsillion's rage was fueled as he witnessed the intense greed of his own people.

While traveling, his party was attacked on many occasions by bandits, as well as by local militias. Marsillion found fighting to be a good release for his pent up anger. These attacks, helped make him a strong warrior, even though he was technically not supposed to participate in battle. Marsillion befriended the company of warriors who served as his bodyguard, and with their help he became a master swordsman. His swordsmanship was the only positive gain Marsillion saw from his time in Middle Earth; however, in truth he gained maturity, compassion, and mercy, which were lessons he probably would have learned slowly, or missed completely, had he stayed in Númenor. Tax collector was no position for a compassionate man, and Marsillion did not last long. Being under contract, he could not quit his job, so by night, in the summer of 3317, he came to Umbar and hired a private merchant to sail him back to Númenor. With luck, the ship (the Azargimil) avoided the King's Navy and arrived off the coast a few miles north of Andunië. Marsillion loaded his possessions into a small raft and came ashore alone under the cover of darkness. Travelling secretly and using the name Abârkan, he came at last to his uncle, Abârpânaru Karíbzîr's home outside Andunië, where his mother had dwelt since the death of his father.

Marsillion lived secretly in Andunië with the Karíbzîr family learning the ways of the Faithful, and becoming deeply imbedded in their plans. He grew quite close to his younger cousin Kâthaanî, and became her protector, so to speak. Marsillion found her reckless, and quite frequently in need of protection. He made it his task to look after her safety and well being, and from his arrival in early winter 3317, through the summer of 3319 he spent many hours bailing her out of the trouble she so easily found.

[piosenniel]

Bringing this forward:

Only these writers may post to this thread at present (all other posts will be removed):

• piosenniel
• Child of the 7th Age
  
  
• Sophia the Thunder Mistress – Game proposer
  
  
• alaklondewen
• Himaran
• littlemanpoet
• Meneltarmacil
• Nilpaurion Felagund
• Regin Hardhammer
• samsmyhero
• TomBrady12

[piosenniel]

Bringing this forward:

Players/Characters

Main Characters

• littlemanpoet - Abârpânaru Karíbzîr/Mabalar Melethroch (the captive) BIO DONE ----- ** POST NEEDED **
• Sophia the Thunder Mistress – Kâthaanî Karíbzîr/Cerveth (the captive’s daughter) BIO DONE ----- ** POST NEEDED **
• Regin Hardhammer - Azarmanô Hazadbawîba/Elenfairë Ostovaivar – rescuer BIO DONE ----- ** POST NEEDED **
• TomBrady12 – Nimilroth Narâkmanô/Marsillion Thoronfaer- rescuer BIO DONE ----- ** POST NEEDED **
• Himaran - rescuer ** BIO/POST NEEDED **
• Meneltarmacil – rescuer ** BIO/POST NEEDED **
  
  
• 1 rescuer – Numenorean; preferably male (female with adequate explanation)** PLAYER STILL NEEDED **

~*~

Cameo Characters

• alaklondewen - underground contact in Armenelos ** BIO ONLY NEEDED **
• Nilpaurion Felagund - sailor - Númenorean male - Will only appear at end of story while the Faithful attempt to leave the bay. ** BIO ONLY NEEDED **
  
  ~*~
  
  
• 1 Númenorean leader of the Faithful - male or female acceptable ** PLAYER STILL NEEDED **
  
  
• 1 sailor - Númenorean male (Elendil may be used but must be true to character. Will only appear at end of story while the Faithful attempt to leave the bay) ** PLAYER STILL NEEDED **

[piosenniel]

Before I can open the Discussion Thread that you'll use for the game, all of the needed bios AND first posts will need to be in for the Dedicated Characters.

The Cameo Characters, since they come in later in the game, will only need to do a bio for now.

I will then transfer them in to the approriate places on your game proposal (see page 1 of this thread, posts 2 - 12)

Sophia, it would be good for you to get the First Post for the game onto the planning thread and give any direction you think is necessary about what the other Dedicated Players might want to consider in their First Posts.

Once the Discussion Thread is opened then those 3 character slots left can be filled.

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

I'm going to start transferring bios to the proposal thread.

If you want to change your bio - please edit your original bio post and PM me that you've done so.

[Sophia the Thunder Mistress]

Pio- Alaklondewen's character is a cameo. She won't enter the actual game for several weeks, so there's really no reason she needs to do a first post now.

Hello Nilp- can't tell you how happy I am to see you round here.

TB12- bio looks great.

LMP I've written a slightly melodramatic description of Armenelos, it's a good quarter page in Word, but since the first post really ought to show the capture, I suspect we should collaborate on the rest of it (it is your character...). It has just suddenly occured to me that perhaps it will work out best for Kathaani to be present when Abarpanaru is captured, he is taken, she gets away with all the horses except whichever one is taken with Abarpanaru. It solves the "how does the family learn of his capture?" problem and lets the message gets back to the Anannost quickly and reliably.

It might work equally well to have Abarpanaru captured alone and send the horses back for Kathaani. She would understand that something bad had happened if they came home alone...?

Anyway, you and I need to work out the dynamics of the first post together, so let me know how and what you want to do with this.

Sophia

[littlemanpoet]

Sophia, I like the idea of Abar and Kath being together at the capture. There can be others, such as servants, too, to help Kath when Abar is captured. I'll PM you with my first post, unless you think I ought to just post up here.

[Sophia the Thunder Mistress]

PM is fine. I'll write Kathaani's take on it after I read what you have and then I'll meld them together to make a first post for the game? I'll pm you the result back so you can make sure I haven't done anything blasphemous to Abarpanaru.

For first posts, I trust you guys' judgement for the most part. If you're stuck, I would imagine that a good place to start would be by finding out about Abarpanaru's capture, whether by arriving at the Karibzir house for some reason or because notice has been sent to you from the family, or however you like.

Sophia