Name the Bad Guy Entries.

A handful of entrants gave multiple entries to "Name the Bad Guy"

Our Elven RP leader, Maralee Greenwood, teaches that The Silmarillion states that the Noldor do not speak Melkor's name and that JRRT wrote "The Fallen One" for them to use instead. Quoting Valaquenta, "Of The Enemies":

"Last of all is set the name of Melkor, He who arises in Might. But that name he as forfeited; and the Noldor, who among the Elves suffered most from his malice, will not utter it, and they name him Morgoth, the Dark Enemy of the World."

This could justify the Noldor calling the bad guy Morgoth from the very beginning. Since the Noldor had not suffered anything unusual of his malice by the Noontide of Valinor, we play that the elves call The Bad Guy neither "Melkor" for fear of the power of the name, nor "Morgoth" for it hasn't been coined yet.

The phrase "Fallen One" never appears in Tolkien's the Silmarillion. The word "fallen" appears less than 20 times, and never in reference to Melkor. Still, the elves might indeed use "Fallen One" as the Quenya lantë (a moral fall) suggests "Lantwë". Of the Ainu, though, only Aulë claims "I have fallen into folly" in his chapter. Hearing the useful "Fallen" or "Lantwë" would make Aulë, fallen yet forgiven, regretful.

The Entries:

• ~ "Lantwë", Quenya for "The Fallen One"
• ~ "Límilawë" for "The Chained One"
  
• ~ "i túra nancar" for "The great destroyer"
  
• ~ "Morier" for Dark One,
• ~ "Feuyaer" for the disgusting one
• ~ "Ksher" for the Evil one
• ~ "Oklem" or "Roklem" are Melko and Melkor backwards, so as to mimick his feature that he never did anything on this own but only corrupted and distorted what others had made before, so we do not give him a "new" name but rather take the "old" one and corrupt it ourselves.

the entrants did not attempt to translate these last into Quenya, but I did:

• ~ "First of tyrants", Quenya has no word for tyrant. Perhaps "First Night Lord", or "First Slave Lord" will do: Lómëheru-minya or Mólheru-minya
• ~ "Sourvoice", as stink- holwë + voice óma = "Holoma"
• ~ "Badsong" as bad Olca + song linde = "Olcalin"
• ~ "Shouty" or "Shouter" as "Ramando"
• ~ "The Discordant" deserves some thought:

in JJRT's Ainulindale, other words appear for the Bad Guy once each: "loud", "vain", "clamorous" "braying" "disturbed" "turbulent" "uproar". Three times the word "discord" describes what the Bad Guy makes:

Dis-cord
~Lack of agreement among persons, groups, or things.
~Tension or strife resulting from a lack of agreement;
~strife, dispute, war, dissension.
~confused, harsh or inharmonious sound or sounds.
~a dissonance in music.
~To fail to agree or harmonize;
~clash.

"Discord" isn't in Quenya wordlists, nor most above, but these are:

"NOT" ú-, in-, un-, prefix usually has a "bad" connotation
MUSICAL SOUND lin, lind-, linda
PEACE sérë, rainë, sívë;

suggesting "Úlinwë", "Úlin", "Úlinda", "Úsérë", "Úrainë", and "Úsívë".

The etymological roots of discord offer another direction:

[Middle English, from Old French descorde, from Latin discordia, from discors, discord-, disagreeing : dis-, apart; see dis- + cor, cord-, heart; see kerd- in Indo-European roots.]

HEART hón (physical heart), órë (inner mind), indo (mind, mood), enda (centre, soul or mind), elwen (is early “Qenya”).
BREAK APART terhat-; hat- ; ascat-

suggests: "Hatórë", "Hatenda"

Judging

JRRT's own names that the Noontide elves called The Bad Guy could fit our needs nicely "The Hunter" ("Roimë" in Quenya), "The Dark Rider", ("Moroquen") and "Dark Hunter" ("Moroimë"), even if all are similar to "Oromë".

Top prizes go to "Lantwë" (Fallen One), "Morier" (Dark One), and "Roklem" (arising in might backwards) for whimsey, style and brevity. Honorable mention goes to "The Discordant", translated as "Úlin", "Úrainë" or "Hatórë".

I'd like to make one entry myself, obvious yet overlooked:
"The Bad Guy": "Olcawë", or better, "Úwë".

The Noldor of Tirion in Second Life will soon get ALL these entries and the JRRT to use as they wish. I will take a survey among them after March 14 regarding which of these names actually get used and award another prize at that time.

JRRT Names the Bad Guy

In preparing to award contest entry prizes, first a review of JRRT's words about him are in order. The interesting Tolkien Gateway site about Melko lists many names. Only some of them might have been used in the "Noontide of Valinor".

"Melkórë", "Melko", "Melegor", and "Meleko" are apparently Valarin, (spoken by the ainu) Eldarin, (spoken by the first elves) or Quenya (spoken by our Noldor Elves of Aman) names that Tolkien used in drafts, before he settled on the Quenya "Melkor" translated in the Silmarillion as “He who arises in might". These are likely related to the little used Eldarin (possibly Valarin) name "mbelekôro".

The early elves of Cuiviénen called him "The Hunter" ("Roimë" in Quenya) and "The Dark Rider", ("Moroquen"). There is a non-Silmarillion reference to "Dark Hunter" ("Moroimë") but not in this defining passage:

"if any of the Elves strayed far abroad, alone or few together, they would often vanish, and never return; and the Quendi [elves] said that the Hunter had caught them, and they were afraid. And indeed the most ancient songs of the Elves, of which echoes are remembered still in the West, tell of the shadow-shapes that walked in the hills above Cuiviénen, or would pass suddenly over the stars; and of the dark Rider upon his wild horse that pursued those that wandered to take them and devour them."

"The Enemy" and "Great Enemy" are used thru time for the Bad Guy, but also for his chief in Middle-Earth, Sauron. Word lists render these as "Cotumo" and "Altacotumo"

After the Noontide of Valinor

Feanor once calls the mightiest of all the dwellers in Eä "jail-crow of Mandos", but his name-calling doesn't stick until the darkening of Valinor and his father's murder:

"Fëanor rose, and lifting up his hand before Manwë he cursed Melkor, naming him Morgoth, the Black Foe of the World; and by that name only was he known to the Eldar ever after."

JRRT considered but set aside "Moriñgotho", "Moringotto" and "Moricotto" for "The Dark Enemy" here. The Sindarin "Bauglir", meaning "The Constrainer" appears the Silmarillion often but only as "Morgoth Bauglir".

Also in Sindarin, the elven language of Middle-Earth, are "Belegûr" for "He who arises in might" and "Belegurth" for "Great Death". "Belcha" is not used in Silmarillion, but others have ascribed it to a Sindarin dictionary. It's clearly not Eldarin nor Quenya nor Valarin, since none of those use an initial letter B.

Humans in later ages added "Dark Lord", "Dark King", "Dark King of Angband", "Black King" and "Lord of the Dark" to our antagonist's monikers.

The Bad Guy even gives himself a few titles. When speaking to Noldor, he calls himself "Vala" also, and "friend to the Noldor". When speaking to to Húrin, he claims "Master of the fates of Arda" (rightly belonging to Námo Mandos) and "Elder King", which was accurate in the brief time the Bad Guy was the only sentient creature in the World, until the arrival of meritous Manwë.

Fittingly, the Bad Guy gets exiled the last paragraph of the Silmarillion (emphases mine):

the Valar thrust [Morgoth himself ] through the Door of Night beyond the Walls of the World, into the Timeless Void; and a guard is set for ever on those walls, and Eärendil keeps watch upon the ramparts of the sky. Yet the lies that Melkor, the mighty and accursed, Morgoth Bauglir, the Power of Terror and of Hate, sowed in the hearts of Elves and Men are a seed that does not die and cannot be destroyed; and ever and anon it sprouts anew, and will bear dark fruit even unto the latest days.

Here ends the SILMARILLION.

Name the Bad Guy Contest

Arth Karas here, not quite fully in character as Aulë

Melko has many names in later Ages, but few in the Age of the Trees. As you can see in the chat below, the ones we have are a bit unwieldy or being avoided. Thus, we need a unique and appropriate name to call him.

NAME THE BAD GUY CONTEST

Acceptable names will be:
~ Either chosen or translated directly from JRRT Tolkien sources
~ rooted in Quenya or Valarin or English, since Sindarin, Latin and other such languages are unknown yet in our RP.
~ clearly not some other character nor confusingly similar to such
~ accurate to Melko's character
~ not overly respectful (for reasons of story arcs to come)

Please look over what I have here and send me names by SL IM, which forwards to arth.karas@-at-gmail.-dot-com. Multiple submissions accepted. I will choose the acceptable submissions (and likely write an article here about which and why) based on creativity, originality, duplication and whimsy. After entries are collected thru Jan 1, 2012, I will split a L$ 1200 entry prize among to Sheriwood and ~Aglarond~ group members. All accepted suggestions will go to Noldor Elves of Tirion to use in role play. From their natural selection by use, I will choose a grand prize winner of another L$ 600 by March 4, 2012.

Learn more:

http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Morgoth
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melkor
http://aulethesmith.blogspot.com/2010/09/aule-versus-melkor.html
http://users.bestweb.net/~jfgm/valaquenta/texts/21%20Melkor.htm

Open Chat excerpt prompting this contest:
Second Life, Tirion Forest Sim 01Dec2011 ~ 1400 PST
During a 3 player discussion on Melko's character.

Marwen: The One's mind has turned so bad
Aulë: WHAT?
Marwen: this cannot be a mere coincidence
Aulë is agitated. WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?
Anairë: The evil one do you mean?
Marwen: My lord
Aulë mimics Marwen: The One's mind has turned so bad
Marwen: forgive me Mylord
Marwen: my wording is poor indeed
Aulë: THE ONE is Eru, Ilúvatar.
Aulë: WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU MEANT?
Marwen: The Fallen One
Aulë: pfff.
Aulë: Just call him Melko.
Aulë: Melkor.
Aulë: he's not "fallen" any more than I am.
Marwen: we are not supposed to say his name
Marwen: that's why
Anairë: Lady Yavanna suggested we not name him?
Aulë stammers a moment.
Marwen looks down ashamed
Anairë: You may be safe from his attention Vala Aule...but if we came to his special notice
Aulë: composes himself.
Aulë: Your respect of the Lady Yavanna's suggestions are wholly commendable. I'm proud of you.
Aulë: and I see her point... and yours.
Anairë: We are a little more vulnerable than you are Vala Aule...smiles
Aulë: I'm already Melko's target for mischief.
Aulë: aye... and your keeping a low profile makes sense.
Anairë: Oh he has caused you harm?
Aulë waves aside the question impatiently...
Aulë: but when the names you chose to use infect your very speech and ideation to say such silly things as I just heard...
Aulë: you need to choose another solution.
Anairë: nods
Marwen: we learned at the last barding his name among the Noldor is "The Fallen One"
Aulë: might I suggest something less similar to Eru's name?
Anairë: mmm thinks of a name
Aulë: in my own though, he is often "HotHead"
Aulë: and lately... "Chained"
Anairë: He who is chained would not be mistaken
Anairë: Well unless any Noldor are taken and chained.... shudders
Marwen: and you made the chains
Aulë: aye. I made them special just for him. Fire is my domain as well among the Vala now.
Marwen: so it would be your domain to make an exception here too
Aulë: I have no objections to naming Melko after chains or fire. They are his more than mine.
Aulë: Perhaps I should host a contest...
Marwen: this would leave us at "the chained one"
Anairë: What aspect was he who is chained supposed to have dominance over if the song was perfect?
Marwen: deliberately without capital letters
Aulë: Melko is an aspect of extremes: very hot, very cold, very beautiful, very abhorrent.
Aulë: and he has great gifts in all areas of creation.
Aulë: "what to name Melko, when you must speak of him"
Aulë: yes.... I think I will do that. Sponsor a creative contest to find names for that character...
Anairë: Evil seems a good description of him
Anairë: but there are many names for such an evil one
Aulë: names that are at once accurate, yet not overly respectful.
Aulë hums in thought, taking up quill and scroll.

Relative Quenya Names

This in Aulë's Second Life In-box:

hello

I think you are the language expert in Tirion and I was wondering if you could tell me the correct forms of address for family members as my friend and I are playing aunt and neice. Do you know what the Quenya elvish for these are?

Also mother, father, brother, sister, and if possible, grandparents?

We've been using English terms, but they jar a bit in Tirion. I think the Quenya would be more resonant :)

Thankyou!
Iminwiel

Allasár, Mellonin! (Blessings, girlfriend!)

My favorite source for researching such questions is the website Ardalambion

In the downloaded Quenya files, I use "find" to locate my words of interest:
~~aunt.... not found ...
~~niece... not found ....
Failing there, I look up related words and educe the words we want: aunt = parent's sister. niece = siblings's daughter
~~PARENT #nostar (pl nostari) or ontan (pl ontani) ; also father ontaro; mother: ontarë or ontari .
~~'s is possesive: -rya (possessive suffix, e.g. aratarya "her sublimity". for all genders . words ending in a consonant take the shorter form -ya, e.g. talya “his foot”,
~~SISTER nésa (þ; older form néþa), colloquially also nettë (probably netti-); also "sister" seler (Þ) (pl. selli), onómë, onónë; SISTER (usually not of bloodkinship) osellë (Þ)

so,
~~AUNT: parent's sister: nostar+rya+nésa, shortens to nénostárya. less formal: nettë-ontar-rya, shortens to nettontarya. even shorter, "nettarya".

That is still a bit of a un-resonant mouthful. Maybe something prettier will show up with more searching.

~~sibling... not found. But I have sister, so.
~~BROTHER háno, colloquial hanno . also toron (pl. torni) (= natural brother); cf. otorno "sworn brother, associate".
~~DAUGHTER selyë; also yendë, yen, yeldë, suffixes: –iel (e.g. Uinéniel "daughter of Uinen") obsolete: -wen, -yel.

so
~~NIECE is either sister's daughter: nésiel, nettiel , seleriel or onómiel .... or brother's daughter: hanniel, hánoyel, toroniel
Noldor elves in our early RP age would use archaic forms.: néþyel ( Néthyel) or toroniel. I like those.

You can easily find the other words in the pages above, except for grandparent:
~~ Grand not found except grandchild. After poking around, I find.
~~DOUBLE (prob. adj) atwa, tanta; DOUBLE (vb) tatya- (repeat). (Note: tatya also means "second".) –AT(AT), TATA

This "tatya" is especially apt: the First of the Noldor clan to awaken was named Tata. Then consider AUNT in spanish or french is tanta or tante.

So
~~GRANDMOTHER: tatya-amillië -> tatamillië.
and
~~AUNT = grandmother's daughter: tantamilier. Even simpler:
~~AUNT = second mama: tatyamil.

That resonates.

Love, Arth.

the Naming of Elves

JRRT's elves, according to the notes Christopher Tolkien compiled into a collection called "the Ring of Morgoth", always have at least three names. There is some ceremony about the essë "naming" of High Elves.

1. the public essi ("father-name") is given at birth. Usually the son's name takes after the father and the daughter's name takes after the mother. The father announces it to the extended family and thus the world. The first Noldo king Finwë named his first-born son "Curufinwë" after himself [curu- "skill" + fin "nimble, clever" + -wë "man"]

2. the given-names, most prominent and earliest of these is the amilessë ("mother-name"), based on sight, insight or foresight. These might be public or private, but have more to do with character than family. Finwë's same eldest son was mother-named by Miriel as "Fëanáro" [ fëa "spirit" + nár "flame" + -o masculine]. This, later translated into the Middle-Earth elvish language Sindarin, become "Fëanor". In SL's Arda, that same character as gathered a few of these informal names, "Mundotarië" [nose-high for "Arrogant one"] among them.

3. the epessë ("after-name" or honorific) is a self-chosen name taken at a time of childhood and again infrequently when the elf deems it suitable, usually at times of life changing importance as assumption of a throne or staggering loss. Again these might be public or private, but the first chosen-name is taken and kept private (but not secret) to family when the child has mastered language. That same elf likely kept his own chosen names to himself, since I find no record of it. In SL's Arda, though, that character answers to 'mela' [beloved] from Nerdael (and no one else) and the name of the SL account, "Tlaloc"

Another example of naming is Gil-galad ("Star of Radiance"), which was the mother-name of the last High King of the Noldor. His father-name was Rodnor. Upon becoming king he was given the epessë Ereinion ("Scion of Kings") and called Ereinion Gil-gilad.

In role-play, then, Elves have at least three names: an everyday name from the father about the family, a personal name from the mother about the appearance, and one too private to be uttered out loud. The name players choose for the character can be be assigned to one of the three major sources: father, mother (and other seers) and self for family, appearance, or something ineffable [too private, large or sacred to be said aloud], thus attributed to a childhood source.

Substitute "elf" for "cat" below, and T.S Eliot echoes J.R.R. Tolkien:

The Naming of Cats
- T.S. Eliot
(from "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats")

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey -
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter -
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum -
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover -
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.

Childhood of the Children of Ilúvatar

JRR Tolkien's Silmarillion uses the word "child" hundreds of times, more than "honor", "pain", "life" or "death".

"the Children of Ilúvatar are Elves and Men, the Firstborn and the Followers. And amid all the splendours of the World, its vast halls and spaces, and its wheeling fires, Ilúvatar chose a place for their habitation in the Deeps of Time and in the midst of the innumerable stars."

J. R. R. Tolkien, Ainulindalë

From the Christopher Tolkiens' collection of his fathers unpublished drafts called "Morgoth's Ring" comes "OF THE VALAR AT ITS MAKING", Aelfwine's (narrator's) Preamble:

"The Eldar grew in bodily form slower than Men, but in mind more swiftly. They learned to speak before they were one year old; and in the same time they learned to walk and to dance, for their wills came soon to the mastery of their bodies. Nonetheless, there was less difference between the two Kindred's, Elves and Men, in early youth; and a man who watched elf-children at play might well have believed that they were the children of Men, of some fair and happy people. For in their early days elf-children delighted still in the world about them, and the fire of their spirit had not consumed them and the burden of memory was still light upon them.

Despite the similarities or appearance, Men find elf-children strange: too verbal, too sage, too graceful. The chapter immediately goes on to mention small limbs and stature, skill in words and grace in motion. At the end of the third year, Men outstrip the Elves in stature, while elves "lingered in the first spring of childhood". By age 20, elves appear no more than 7. They attain full stature and shape between age 50 and age 100.

One oddity here is that few of us role-players are old enough to easily be anything but a very young elf, causing an odd gap between what experiential wisdom we are capable of as players and what we should be playing. However, there is a nice ameliorating factor to that in this particular "Age of the Two Trees" RP:

"For Elves and Men are the Children; and since they [the Ainur] understood not fully that theme by which they entered in the Music none of the Ainur dared to add anything to their fashion. For which reason the Valar are to these kindreds rather their elders and their chieftains than their masters;

This nicely lays out the role of Ainur compared to Elves: guides, not masters; kindred, not elders. I've described it as "Regents for the children of the King, raising the children to take on ruler-ship at maturity." JRRT has this to say on that:

"if ever in their dealings wth Elves and Men, the Ainur have endeavored to force them when they would not be guided, this has seldom turned to good, howsoever good their intent.

In a way JRRT is making a rule about education and child-rearing: "Force, when it happens, fails." It goes to back to RP when you are playing a "mature, full grown elf", in this age of the Trees, the race of elves is still in childhood and developing, giving all us RP'ers under the average ave of 75, (this only aged enough to play a young elf) the modifier of elven RACIAL immaturity, making our ages just about right to be elf children or grown elves in the child hood of the race.

From the Christopher Tolkiens' collection of his fathers unpublished drafts called "Morgoth's Ring" comes these bits of Ainulindalë version C:

"Then Ilúvatar spake, and he said: "Behold I love the world, and it is a mansion for Eldar (Elves) and Atani (Men). But the Elves shall be the fairest of earthly creatures, and they shall have and shall conceive more beauty than all my children, and they shall have greater bliss in this world."

"Dying [Eldar] are gathered in the halls of Mandos in Valinor, whence they often return and are reborn in their children."

And from the Ainulindalë version D:

"For Elves and Men are the Children; and since they understood not fully that theme by which they entered in the Music none of the Ainur dared to add anything to their fashion. For which reason the Valar are to these kindreds rather their elders and their chieftains than their masters; and if ever in their dealings with Elves and Men, the Ainur have endeavored to force them when they would not be guided, this has seldom turned to good, howsoever good their intent. The dealings of the Ainur have been mostly with the Elves, for Ilúvatar made the Eldar more like in nature to the Ainur, though less in might and stature, whereas to Men he gave strange gifts."

In JRRT's early drafts, we find a discarded word: "Valarindi" with fragments describing them as the children of the Valar, begotten of their love after their entry into Ea in Arda and numbered among the Maiar. They are the elder children of the World, and though their being began within Ea, yet they are of the race of the Ainur, who were before the world, and they have power and rank below that of the Valar only." This concept of ainu children was struck out of every later draft and is utterly unmentioned in the published Silmarillion except for one story. So if it's true that ainu can breed among themselves, it's hidden.

Children in Tirion

Wedded couples might choose one another early in youth, even as children, and the betrothal awaited the judgements of the parents.

"A year passes between the begetting and the birth of an elf-child, so that the days of both are the same or nearly so, and it is the day of begetting that is remembered year by year. For the most part, these days come in the Spring."

Childbearing is uncommon late in an elf's life. While elves do not apparently age, their energies do dwindle, and childbearing takes a great toll on the mother. This early marriage period is called 'days of the children' and is a merry part of life. To avoid the drama of single-parent-hood, the elves would bear children only in days of happiness and peace if they could.

There were seldom more than four elf-children in any one house, and only once more than six. "Their [elvish] families, or houses, were held together by love and deep feeling of kinship in mind and body; and the children needed little governing or teaching". Linguistically, elves said not "I have three children", but "three children have been added unto me", of "are with me", or "are in my house"

Physically, children naturally resemble their parents, but not necessarily spiritually. The child's fea is not derived from the parent's, but is newly made or newly re-born, according to JRRT.

After bearing Feanor, Miriel simply gave up living. "All my strength has gone into him," she claimed, then she gave up living to rest in Lorien. Morgoth's Ring has a full chapter of the Valar debating and arguing at great lengths over this act and what to do about it, since Finwë himself had moaned "Is there no healing in Valinor?"

It was Nienna who spoke the most tellingly and eloquently, I think, even though she disagreed with Aulë thus:

"the Children are not mighty: in life they are little and can effect little; and they are young and they know Time only. Their minds are as the hands of their babes, little in grasp and even that grasp is yet unfilled. How shall they perceive the ends of deed, or forgo their desires which arise from their very nature, the indwelling spirit in the body, which is their right condition?"

She went on longer, but she'd already convinced us that the Noldor of this age, while mature in body and spirit, are still as children as a race. We ainu, who can see farther in the the future, still should not force them to be anything other than what The One made them.

That is, for better or worse, how the Childhood of the Children of Ilúvatar is to be.

Relational RP

From a 2011/08/13 "Tolkien style and Culture" live presentation at Second Life's Tirion Forest

I've been researching a bit into what elements make RP successful or unsuccessful. Interestingly, they follow the same guidelines for relationships as a whole. Morton Olman MD wrote a successful series of lectures and articles about doctor-patient relationships in 1995 -2010.... summarized in a quirky little article about how to succeed in marriage. Main points extracted below, it applies nicely to business and even fantasy relationships.

TEN WAYS TO
DESTROY
ANY RELATIONSHIP THAT MATTERS TO YOU

1. BE ABUSIVE
2. BE DEFENSIVE
::: Ben Franklin said, "The sting of another's criticism usually comes from the truth in it." Thus, When criticized, look for the truth in it and disregard the false. Apology is almost always helpful, even if you're not wrong.

3. BE CRITICAL
4. BE RIGHT MOST OF THE TIME

from Ogden Nash (reprinted from the June 1994 issue of Readers Digest, p.130) that states this point very well:

To keep your marriage brimming
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you're wrong admit it,
Whenever you're right, shut up!

5. BE SELFISH
6. BE DISHONEST

I'd like to underline something a little strange about when in Role Playing: First, there is no drama like messing up a relationship, using any one of these methods. However, other players may confuse your IN CHARACTER flaws for your own real character flaws. Then you get , not only unhappy characters ( a lovely source of interesting play), but unhappy players ( a nasty source of needless drama )

One little trick we use for physical damage is the prior private Instant Message:

"My character intends to attack yours. Are you willing to play this battle now?"

Sending in an IM before you damage the other in combat draws the distinction between player and character well and keeps the other player happy.

NOW... what if your character intends to damage a relationship? I'd like to suggest the same IM tool for this equally upsetting act:

"My character, for reasons unknown to you, intends to insult you and make your life miserable. May I begin this now?"

For that matter, you might warn your friendly players whenever you intend on a new course of action.

Before quote the other relationship destruction methods, though, I wanted to make this clear: Noldor elves DO argue and quarrel among themselves, more than any other elven race, and at times, quarrel more than even humans do. However, some of the nicest folks I've ever met are in quarrelsome roles here. While not one of them IM'd me to say "I need to quarrel with you", I knew that that was the way they should play their parts, so no harm done to our real friendships even while our characters do not deal with each other well.

#7. BE UNFAITHFUL, perhaps better translated to RP as
#7. BREAK AGREEMENTS.
#8. BE SUPERIOR, which Dr. Orman expands thus:

If you want to destroy any type of relationship, be sure to think of yourself as smarter, prettier, cooler, hipper, or more worthwhile than other people. Make it your habit to put other people down in order to feel good about yourself. Always strive to win any competition, and never give anyone an even break.

Interestingly, one of the hallmarks of Noldor elves before any others is that we do strive, we do compete, and we never give up an advantage. Even among the Vala, Aulë is the most competitive of the lot, and most argumentative.

Elf-maid: "What!--surely not--valaier aule!"
Aule waggles a finger.... "Vala Aulë, please."
Aule: "'valier', you just called me a bunch of women."
Elf-maid bites her lip.
Aulë laughs out loud!

#9. BE CONTROLLING
#10. BE CERTAIN

"Controlling" is clarified thus: Try to intimidate others, dominate them, and keep them from behaving in ways you don't approve. "Certainty" thus:

Never let doubt or contradictory evidence creep in. Never ask for guidance or support from others. And above all else, never admit any shortcomings that might make you appear weak or stupid.
Always appear to know exactly what you are doing, even when you don't have a clue. This will insure you never learn anything new or useful. It will also guarantee that people who love you will get totally frustrated in their efforts to help you succeed and be happy.

Imagine what would happen if you turned to a newbie and asked, "how do I look to you?" Even if the new player thought you looked wonderful, you'd have a new friend in short order. If the new player happened to mention a few things that might look better, then you insult him and make excuses and run him thru with your dagger. ☻ And then send the IM:

"Sorry, I'm RPing a nasty character right now. Are you okay?"

Doctor O adds this important little note to his article:

It is important to acknowledge that all of the patterns discussed in this report have positive as well as negative aspects. For example, being right and being in control are often necessary to succeed in our jobs or professions.

There's much more to this article here and admittedly, the fellow is attempting to sell a book, but it's engagingly written and sensible, I think.

"Peace and Joy and wisdom"

Several years ago, searching thru Tolkien, I found this as a motto for the Arda groups of Second Life in "the Book of Lost Tales"

of more worth than all the glory of Valinor and all the grace and beauty of Kor is peace and happiness and wisdom,

I translated the "peace and happiness and wisdom" using [site] into quenya, " Sére ar alasse ar saila!", meaning (Peace and joy and wisdom!)". This short gesture has been popular since then.

But much darker than the snippet I give is the full quote from a speech of Manwë (King of the Valar, called "Gods" in this version). The Noldor from Kor (Tirion) had behaved selfishly and unfriendly to the Valar and each other. Taking advantage of this created sorry state, Melko caused the first death of an elf, the first regicide, and the first orphan.

Without the Gods who brought you to the light
and gave you all the materials of your craft,
teaching your first ignorance,
none of these fair things you love now so well
ever would have been;

what has been done may again be done,
for the power of the Valar does not change;

but of more worth than
all the glory of Valinor and all the grace and beauty of Kor
is peace and happiness and wisdom,
and these once lost
are harder to recapture.

Cease then to murmur and to speak against the Valar,
or to set yourselves in your hearts as equals to their majesty;

rather depart now in penitence
knowing full well that Melko has wrought this evil against you,
and that your secret trafficking with him has brought you all this loss and sorrow.
Trust him not again therefore,

nor any others that whisper secret words of discontent among you,
for its fruit is humiliation and dismay."

While Manwë certainly preaches eloquently, I am simpler spoken:

if you must chose between
your friendship and your stuff,
choose your friends.
They are harder to come by and harder to make
than anything made by hands.

And, when you make that mistake, as we do because we love our stuff,
apologize and atone to your friends and those that helped you.
and turn away from those that lead you astray.

Letters about Dwarves

This, from a unsent addenda of a letter JRR Tolkien to Rhona Beare in October 1958, colors "The Silmarillion" (published posthumously in 1977 from stories JRRT had been writing since 1914) Chapter 2 "Of Aulë and Yavanna" comparing "Christian Mythology" (JRRT's own phrase) "sin and the fall" to good races erring in his own stories.

Aulë, for instance, one of the Great, in a sense 'fell'; for he so desired to see the Children, that he became impatient and tried to anticipate the will of the Creator. Being the greatest of all craftsmen he tried to make children according to his imperfect knowledge of their kind. When he had made thirteen [One, the eldest, alone, and six more with six mates], God spoke to him in anger but not without pity; for Aulë had done this thing not out of evil desire to have slaves and subjects of his own, but out of impatient love, desiring children to talk to and teach, sharing with them the praise of Ilúvatar and his great love of the materials of which the world is made

The One rebukes Aulë, saying that he had tried to usurp the Creator's power; but he could not give independent life to his making. He had only one life, his own derived from the One, and could at most only distribute it. 'Behold' said the One; 'these creatures of thine have only thy will, and thy movement. Though you have devised a language for them, they can only report to thee thine own thought. This is a mockery of me.'

I notice dialogue differences and a few additional facts in this version of the story: "mockery", "thirteen", and later, "laughter".

Then Aulë in grief and repentance humbles himself and asked for pardon. And he said; "I will destroy these images of my presumption, and wait upon thy will.' And he took a great hammer, raising it to smite the eldest of his images; but it flinched and cowered before him. and as he withheld his strike, astonished, he heard the laughter of Ilúvatar.

'Do you wonder at this?' he said. 'Behold! thy creatures not live, free from thy will! For I have seen thy humility, and taken pity on your impatience. Thy making I have taken up into my design.'

This is the Elvish legend of the making of the Dwarves; but the Elves report that Ilúvatar said thus also: 'Nonetheless, I will not suffer my design to be forestalled: thy children shall not awake before mine own." And he commanded Aule to lay the fathers of the Dwarves severally in deep places, each with it's mate, save Dúrin the eldest who had none. There they should sleep long, until Ilúvatar bade them awake. Nonetheless there has been for the most part little love between the Dwarves and the Children of Ilúvatar. and of the fate the llúvatar had set upon the children of Aulë beyond the circles of the world Elves and men know nothing, and if Dwarves know they do not speak of it.

And one more later paragraph, marginalia to Colonel Worskett in September 1963

No one knew where the Ents came or first appeared. The High Elves said the the Valar did not mention them in the 'Music'. But some (Galadriel) were of the opinion that when Yavanna discovered the mercy of Eru to Aulë in the matter of the Dwarves, she besought Eru (through Manwë) asking him to give life to things made of living things not stone, and that the Ents were either souls sent to inhabit trees, or else that slowly took the likeness of trees owing to their inborn love of trees. (Not all were good [illegible word]) Then Ents thus had mastery over stone. The males were devoted to Oromë, but the Wives to Yavanna.

Nice to find answers about ent-wives, dwarf-wives, and the laughter of The One.

Appearances

(This is a mirror post from Second Life note card by Lihan Taifun of JRRT quotes.)

"Now the Valar took to themselves shape and hue; and because they were drawn into the World by love of the Children of Ilúvatar, for whom they hoped, the took shape after that manner which they had beheld in the Vision of Ilúvatar, save only in majesty and splendour Moreover, their shape comes of their knowledge of the visible World, rather than of the World itself; and they need it not, save only as we use raiment, and yet we may be naked and suffer no loss of our being. Therefore the Valar may walk, if they will, unclad, and then even the Eldar cannot clearly perceive them, though they be present. But when they desire to clothe themselves, the Valar take upon them forms some as of male and some as of female; for that difference of temper they had even from their beginning, and it is but bodied forth in the choice of each, not made by that choice, even as with us male and female may be shown by the raiment but is not made thereby. But the shapes wherein the Great Ones array themselves are not at all times like the shapes of the kings and queens of the Children of Ilúvatar; for at times they may clothe themselves in their own thought, make visible in forms of majesty and dread.
...
"Then Melkor saw ... that the Valar walked on earth as powers visible, clad in the raiment of the World, and were lovely and glorious to see, and blissful. ... His envy grew then the greater within him; and he also took visible form, but because of his mood and the malice that burned in him that form was dark and terrible.

Silmarillion, "Ainulindalë"

[Ulmo] does not love to walk upon the land, and will seldom clothe himself in a body after the manner of his peers. If the Children of Eru beheld him they were filled with a great dread; for the arising of the King of the Sea was terrible, as a mounting wave that strides to the land, with dark helm foam-crested and raiment of mail shimmering from silver down into shadows of green. ... Ulmo's voice is deep as the deeps of the ocean, which only he has seen.

Silmarillion, "Valaquenta"

In the form of a woman, [Yavanna] is tall, and robed in green; but at times she takes other shapes. Some there are who have seen her standing like a tree under heaven, crowned with the sun; and from all its branches there spilled a golden dew upon the barren earth ...

Silmarillion, "Valaquenta"

In Angband Morgoth forged for himself a great crown of Iron, and he called himself King of the World. In token of this he set the Silmarils in this crown. His hands were burned black by the touch of those hallowed jewels, and black they remained ever after; nor was he ever free from the pain of the burning, and the anger of the pain.
...
Nonetheless his majesty as one of the Valar long remained, though turned to terror.

Silmarillion, "Of the Flight of the Noldor"

[Arien, Maia of the Sun] was chosen because she had not feared the heats of Laurelin,, and was unhurt by them, being from the beginning a spirit of fire, whom Melkor had not deceived nor drawn into his services. To bright were they eyes of Arien for even the Eldar to look on, and leaving Valinor she forsook the form and raiment which like the Valar she had worn there, and she was as a naked flame, terrible in the fullness of her splendour.

Silmarillion, "Of the Sun and Moon"


Of old there was Sauron the Maia..... He became the most trusted of the servents of the Enemy, and the most perilous, for he could asssume many forms, and for long if he willed he could still appear noble and beautiful, so as to deceive all but the most wary.

Silmarillion, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"

[During the fall of Númenor] the world was broken, and the land was swallowed up, and the seas rose over it, and Sauron himself went down into the abyss. But his spirit arose and fled back on a dark wind to Middle-Earth, seeking a home.

[After the fall of Númenor, Sauron returned to his old haunts in Mordor, in Middle Earth.] There now he brooded in the dark, until he had wrought for himself a new shape; and it was terrible, for his fair semblance had departed for ever when he was cast into the abyss at the drowning of Númenor.

Silmarillion, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"

But at last the siege was so strait that Sauron himself came forth; and he wrestled with Gil-galad and Elendil, and they both were slain, and the sword of Elendil broke under him as he fell. But Sauron also was thrown down, and with the hilt-shard of Narsil Isildur cut the Ruling Ring from the hand of Sauron and took it for his own. Then Sauron was for that time vanquished, and he forsook his body, and his spirit fled far away and hid in waste places; and he took no visible shape again for many long years.

Silmarillion, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"

[Gandalf describes his battle with the Balrog:]
" ... I threw down my enemy, and he fell from the high place and broke the mountain-side where he smote it in his ruin. Then darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time, and I wandered far on roads that I will not tell.
"Naked I was sent back -- for a brief time, until my task is done. And naked I lay upon the mountain-top. ... There I lay staring upward, while the stars wheeled over, and each day was as long as a life-age of the earth. ... And so at the last Gwaihir the Windlord [Chief of the Eagles] found me again, and he took me up and bore me away."

The Two Towers, "The White Rider"
(According to the timeline in Appendix B, Gandalf was dead for 19 days.)

"If you must know more, his name is Beorn.
He is very strong, and he is a skin-changer.
"... He changes his skin: sometimes he is a huge black bear, sometimes he is a great strong black-haired man with huge arms and a great beard. I cannot tell you much more, though that ought to be enough. Some say that he is a bear descended from the great and ancient bears of the mountains that lived there before the giants came. Others say that he is a man descended from the first men ... I cannot say. ... He is not the sort of person to ask questions of. At any rate he is under no enchantment but his own. ... As a man he keeps cattle and horses that are nearly as marvelous as himself. ...
As a bear he ranges far and wide."

The Hobbit, Chapter 7

"The realm of Sauron is ended!" said Gandalf.
"And as the Captains gazed south to the Land of Mordor, it seemed to them that, black against the pall of cloud, there rose a huge shape of shadow, impenetrable, lightning-crowned, filling all the sky. Enormous it reared above the world, and stretched out toward them a vast threatening hand, terrible but impotent: for even as it leaned over them, a great wind took it, and it was all blown away, and passed; and a hush fell.

Return of the King, "The Field of Cormallen"

"To the dismay of those that stood by, about the body of Saruman a grey mist gathered, and rising slowly to a great height like smoke from a fire as a pale shrouded figure it loomed over the Hill. For a moment it wavered, looking to the West; but out of the West came a cold wind, and it bent away, and with a sigh dissolved into nothing.

Return of the King, "The Scouring of the Shire"

Mahtan's Bride

One cliché solution for a missing role play parent is "she died long ago". I prefer to make the absence more interesting, with a hint that the role could be played when the player appears.

My dear friend Maralee plays Nerdanel, Fëanor's wife. Her character father, Mahtan, played on occasions by other players as suits them, merits several lines in Chapter 4 of "The Silmarillion".

While still in his early youth he [Fëanor] wedded Nerdanel, the daughter of a great smith named Mahtan, among those of the Noldor most dear to Aulë; and of Mahtan he learned much of the making of things in metal and in stone.

(note that Feanor is a youth, so she is therefore older than he!)

Bitterly did Mahtan rue the day when he taught to the husband of Nerdanel all the lore of metalwork that he had learned of Aulë.

Thus, Mahtan doubtless awoke in Cuiviénen and made the great march to Aman, became a magnificent student of crafts that Aulë taught everything he could, then taught the next generation of Noldor elves, including Prince Feanor, what he knew. One can even invent stories about Mahtan easily:

When the Teleri were welcome new arrivals and guests in Tirion for a year, Mahtan was torn because he dearly wanted to be the master architect of Alqualondë for the Teleri, but was newly wed. So in such a time, to choose between go and build, as he loved doing or to stay and be the husband his lady deserved was no easy burden to him. But it was the lady herself who resolved it by insisting that Mahtan teach her stone craft during the building of Alqualondë, so both they went and made themselves a home in Alqualondë as he and the Noldor and Teleri constructed the rest of the city. Then they returned to live in Tirion just before Fëanor's was birth and their home is still there near the palace on the hill.

And of Mahtan's wife, Nerdanel's mother? There is nothing, not even a name on JRR Tolkien's copious genealogies. "Mahtandil" [mah- "great" + tano "smith" + -ndil "beloved"] would be one of her titles. We can guess that Mahtan's bride was not royalty or she would have merited some mention if she were..and we can guess that she, like he, was among the first of the created elves, awoke on Cuivienen and had the urge and courage to make the trek to Aman with King Finwë and others. Without doubt she loves him deeply, not only for who he was, but what he made.

Perhaps the mother was like Nerdanel ["nerdo" strong man +"anel" daughter] .

Nerdanel also was firm of will, but more patient than Fëanor, desiring to understand minds rather than to master them, and at first she restrained him when the fire of his heart grew too hot; but his later deeds grieved her, and they became estranged. Seven sons she bore to Fëanor; her mood she bequeathed in part to some of them, but not to all.

Maralee suggests poetically:
My father loved her as one loves their next breath
yet they were never demonstrative with their love
I do not think I ever remember then holding hands, for instance
but she cared for him in ways that supported his creativity
He spoke of how he would spend long hours sharing his ideas with her
and how she had a gift to refine his ideas without him suspecting this
and she left a longing in my heart for the gentleness she possessed
I only know that my father kept her memory alive always with his enduring love of her
and he was never the same...
He seemed to take her loss and create a new energy with it
perhaps it is why some of his inventions were so intense..

Or perhaps she is something like Yavanna, (Aule teh Smith ::Yavanna = Mahtan the Smith :: [his wife]?), implying that she is intensely interested and skilled in plant and animal life and independent in her thinking and actions.

Perhaps she was close to Miriel and Finwë, the first King and Queen of Noldor, would have been her contemporaries. Perhaps she was like Miriel ["shining jewel daughter"] some in this story:

Míriel was the name of his [Fëanor's] mother, who was called Serindé, because of her surpassing skill in weaving and needlework; for her hands were more skilled to fineness than any hands even among the Noldor. The love of Finwë and Míriel was great and glad, for it began in the Blessed Realm in the Days of Bliss. But in the bearing of her son Míriel was consumed in spirit and body; and after his birth she yearned for release from the labours of living. And when she had named him, she said to Finwë: 'Never again shall I bear child; for strength that would have nourished the life of many has gone forth into Fëanor.'
Then Finwë was grieved, for the Noldor were in the youth of their days, and he desired to bring forth many children into the bliss of Aman; and he said: 'Surely there is healing in Aman? Here all weariness can find rest.' But when Míriel languished still, Finwë sought the counsel of Manwë, and Manwë delivered her to the care of Irmo in Lórien. At their parting (for a little while as he thought) Finwë was sad, for it seemed an unhappy chance that the mother should depart and miss the beginning at least of the childhood days of her son. “It is indeed unhappy,” said Míriel, 'and I would weep, if I were not so weary. But hold me blameless in this, and in all that may come after. She went then to the gardens of Lórien and lay down to sleep; but though she seemed to sleep, her spirit indeed departed from her body, and passed in silence to the halls of Mandos.
The maidens of Estë tended the body of Míriel, and it remained unwithered; but she did not return. Then Finwë lived in sorrow; and he went often to the gardens of Lórien, and sitting beneath the silver willows beside the body of his wife he called her by her names. But it was unavailing; and alone in all the Blessed Realm he was deprived of joy. After a while he went to Lórien no more.

And this, being almost everything JRRT wrote, leaves us digest it and imagine what might have happened to her. And since I don't play the role, I do not get to decide motivations and "speculative history", but can suggest fates:

1. "Mírindil" she chose to be called: Míriel's dearest and closest friend, from the first moments elves walked in the world. Since they were not sisters, they arranged that their children be married, even before thy had taken husbands, that they might become true sisters. Indeed, each took a fine husband, Mírindil naming her daughter after her husband's legendary strength. Nerdanel grew to adulthood, but as events unfolded decades later at Fëanor's birth, Mírindil finally escorted Míriel and Finwë to Lorien, staying behind happily, while Finwë had to return, his kingdom to guide. She sometimes appears in elvish dreams, happy under silver willows beside her sleeping, dearest friend.
   
   
2. Or we can go back to "she died."
   

How to Create RP

From Second Life's Lexie Lucas by an author who wishes anonymity (tell me is you change your mind, author!) but says, "feel free to post that note card on your blog".

OK!

USING YOUR CHARACTER TO CREATE RP
(or: 'How To Avoid Standing About With Nothing To Do')
reprinted with permission of author
=========================================================

Huge sim-wide roleplays are all good and fun, but what happens on the side and in between? This is where your and others' characters come in. These are just some tips to help inspire players to keep roleplay evolving freely on a variety of levels.

1. Character flaws/habits/quirks.
=====================
Your character's strengths are, of course, ever useful to the land, to friends, in battle and other circumstances. But the fun can often arise from a character's weaknesses or flaws. Consider these carefully and how you might bring them into RP.
Your character may have a phobia... Try putting them in a position where this phobia can manifest itself. Perhaps they are an addict... perhaps they are prone to jealousy... store these facts in the back of your head and play on them.
Give your character a habit or quirk to flesh them out. Not only does this give more depth and insight into them, but it gives them something to do. Think about yourself or people you know in real life for inspiration.

2. Goals.
======
Set goals for your character, long term and day-to-day, from the most mundane routines of life to their grandest ambitions – this not only keeps them motivated, but gets them out and about in the sim where they may naturally bump into somebody and get into conversation. The smallest details in your RP can flesh it out. You are creating a life, and that life needs desires and purpose no matter how ordinary. Examples...
X is hungry. X wants to find a meal.
X is dabbling in potions and needs to find ingredients.
X has a friend who is unhappy. X wants to try to help them or cheer them up.
X ate some bad fish and seriously needs to find either a physician or an outhouse.
X is a demonic power-hungry being who ultimately wishes to overthrow the king. Today, X is going to work on turning the king's personal advisor against him.

3. Jobs.
=====
Everybody has a guild they are affiliated with, their main job. However there are work opportunities in the villages which can give you more play and lead to more and interesting RP. Consider having a skill, craft or trade on the side which your character can perform in times of peace. A strong-armed warrior could double as a blacksmith or butcher... a herbal healer might also run a farm... an apprentice mage could sideline as a tavern maid... etc. If there are players already fulfilling these roles, go and make up some excuse to need their wares or craft skills and go RP with them.

4. Variety - the Spice of Life.
==================
Be rounded and varied in your personal storyline. If others find you entertaining, they will enjoy RPing with you. RP isn't always about 'winning'.. it is about mutual entertainment.
Try not to make it kill after kill or tragedy after tragedy. If you are a 'dark' character, try to think of ways to be bad beyond relentless slaughter, as this can put some players off playing with you. Be creative and clever with it. How can you use people or play them off against each other? How can you trick an individual or make them conform to your whim?
Likewise, try not to find yourself in a cycle of getting captured/injured/in dire tragedy and having people rescue you all the time, as this too can become dull very quickly. If your character has been through a huge tragedy, try to find them a pleasant storyline.. see them happy. The more rounded the character's personal storyline, the more interesting they are for others to play with.

5. The Medieval Era.
=============
Medieval fantasy is set in... whaddya know... the medieval era. This is not only for human players - if you are playing a fantasy character from medieval folklore, be sure to do some research about the era. We all create the authenticity of the medieval world we play in. More so, the medieval setting is there to inspire your play. Explore folklore of the time to inspire character. Medieval folklore is littered with fantastic, imaginative storylines, which are begging to be put to use in RP.

6. Help Each Other.
============
Take an interest in other people's characters and their personal stories and goals. Help each other's stories to develop. In a dull moment, why not share stories of your characters' pasts? Who knows... maybe some seemingly unimportant detail might inspire some further RP.

7. Go With The Flow.
============
RP is more like improvisational acting than creative writing. Anything can happen, simply because there are so many minds together at once. Know your character well enough to adapt to any given situation while still remaining consistent and always keep in mind that other characters have their own agenda and motivations and will not necessarily do what you expect.

8. Have Fun. ;)
========

Dawn of the Fourth Age - "Aule in Mandos"

When asked by the RP leaders in Second Life's "Dawn of the Fourth Age" RP why Aulë didn't appear in Alqulaondë more often, the obvious answer is that Aulë bases out of distant Valimar. When asked to provide an RP regarding what he'd been doing, I wrote something they liked well enough to post to their blogspot site with no changes at all (a rarity, I'm told). Disappointingly for me, they chose to have others continue the the story arc without my input. Good luck to them.

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

This letter is carried by a maia in the form of a badger:

"To the High King of Arda, Manwë Sulímo
A letter from Aulë Talka Marda
Written in the Halls of Mandos, the ancient secret cells of Melko,
On this Spring Equinox of the year eleven of the fourth Age of the Sun and Moon

My dearest Lord High King, Aratar and Brother in the will of Eru Ilúvatar:

It is with regret that I find myself detained interminably in the duty of enlarging the Halls of the Dead in anticipation of the armies of the dead that would arrive here at the passing of the Third Age. Although I am weary of this work, I sending this letter at my first opportunity to explain my prolonged absence and request your further forbearance in the completion of my duties.

My duty is ever to oversee, if not construct personally, the major works and domains of the Vala in the World and the immortal souls that dwell there, and this project no less than others has occupied my thought and energies these many long months. A great deal of the needed space has already been hollowed and finished, nearly enough to accommodate all anticipated need for the next few centuries.



Now the trap of Melko, who dwelt for three long ages here in the Halls of Mandos, has sprung on me. He, while here, was not idle: he left what I can only describe as arcane and obscene graffiti on the dark walls and stones deeps around the perimeter of the caverns of the dead, hidden through four long ages until I and my people discovered the beginnings of them while enlarging the Halls. Some of these diagrams and paragraphs, scrawled in Black Speech, in Valarin, in Quenya and Sindarin and Common tongue, and even, frighteningly, in Khuzdul, describe horrible procedures and rituals for making natural beasts into fell creatures, for subverting fair plant-life into poisonous abominations, for devising destructive energies both physical and magical and emotional torments to break the sane mind. Some appear to be insane and demonic raving. Some are taunts written to me by name. Some are potent wards and spells that catch and bend the mind and body and spirit of those who happen on them.

These dark magics Melko left here are most dangerous and strong. On unexpectedly finding and opening these secret cells and the magics therein, six Maiar were quite badly damaged by the energies unleashed on the opening of the wards: those I sent with escort to the Lake of Estë to rest and recover. Three were rendered insane: those I sent with an escort to the Gardens of Lorien to find peace and calm. I dismissed almost all of the Maiar who aid me in this excavation and stone work in the Halls. The remainder I sent to complete the small remaining work of finishing the new Halls extension, then resume their duties in Valinor. There is some secrecy among us about this discovery, but a secret known to more than three is no secret, therefore I asked no oath of them for silence, only their wisdom in sharing what they know.

After hiding the entries to Melko's cell in Mandos, so that none of the wandering ghosts or spirits nearby will happen here, I and only two of the most magically adept Maia in my service are slowly and carefully dispelling the runes and enchantments we find, and wiping away the danger in the walls of the old cells of Melko in Mandos. The magics sometimes surprise me in the strength and subtlety, but I take grim satisfaction in seeing them dissected and dismantled one by one. We are carefully recording what Melko wrote and devised, for whatever else he is, he is clever and subtle. This prolongs the time it will take us to cleanse them all before we vacate this place for it is too fraught with peril until this work is done, thus I am effectively trapped and cannot anticipate the end of it since Melko spent many long idle years creating this ghastly and abominable testament.

Further, I must confess to you now, my Lord, that your brother Melko anticipated that I would be among those who found these writings, and his writings to me personally do pierce my heart. In example, there is one long quarto laying at my feet the troubles of the Noldor: He writes that my dealings with the Noldor was detrimental to them, that my attitude of teaching the most willing while neglecting the unwilling cultivated elitism among them, that my favoritism of some among them harbored alienation among them, that my teaching metallurgy directly brought about the Banishment of Fëanor and therefore the Kinslaying of the Teleri Elves of Alqualondë, that my renouncing my love for them separated them from the Vala who would aid them in Middle Earth, that they would be better and truer Children of Iluvatar had I not meddled in their affairs, that I did a fine job of molding them to be haughty and dangerous, nearly as well as he might have himself. These are clever deceit and false causation in sooth, but also in sooth these echo some of the fears in my own heart. Even now how can I face the Noldor who have returned to Aman when I forswore my friendship and patronage to them in ages past? I would not treat them with enmity, but my heart is broken still, and I cannot face those I once called "Aulendil". I am uneager to walk under the sun or moon or stars of Aman yet for my heart is too heavy for now.

Now I know that I am missed and loved in Aman and I miss these dear ones also. Yavanna or any of the Valar or Maiar would rush to aid me and even dwarves and elves also at even a hint of my request and need but I would not wish this. You know that this news will dismay many into pointless turmoil and rash actions, thus I must invoke your circumspection regarding it, if you will. I fear that even this outcome, of either isolating myself from my loved ones or placing them in peril, is one that Melko devised as an energy draining and time-consuming, delayed and poignant revenge on me for his own chains. It is only a matter of some finite time, though, before this, my fated work, is done and well done.

In the meanwhile, I pray and request that you will advise me as you will. The maia bearing this letter knows the way to me, and can return safely to me on your order. I further pray that you will find some way to relay something of my situation without alarming those we love, and to convey my best wishes and hopes for a speedy return to those who care for me.

I remain ever yours, in the building of Arda,
Aulë Talka Marda

High Elvish marriage

Researching High Elvish weddings is a relatively fruitless task. JRR Tolkien's trilogy and Hobbit contain none of them. The Silmarillion, often detailed, give no details at all about ceremony. "While still in his early youth, [Fëanor] married Nerdanel" is about the longest Elvish description you will find. The only Valar wedding described is thus:

Now it came to pass that while the Valar rested from their labors, and watched the growth and unfolding of the things that they had devised and begun, Manwë ordained a great feast; and the Valar and all their host came at his bidding...
And it is sung that in that feast of the Spring of Arda, Tulkas espoused Nessa the sister of Oromë, and she danced before the Valar upon the green grass of [the island] Almaren.
Then Tulkas slept, being weary and content.

One unusual wedding website quotes extensively from a "Morgoth's Ring" chapter: "Laws and Customs among the Eldar"

"At the end of the feast the betrothed stood forth, and the mother of the bride and the father of the bridegroom joined the hands of the pair and blessed them. For this blessing there was a solemn form, but no mortal has heard it; though the Eldar say that Varda was named in witness by the mother and Manwë by the father; and moreover that the name of Eru was spoken (as was seldom done at any other time). The betrothed then received back one from the other their silver rings (and treasured them); but they gave in exchange slender rings of gold, which were worn upon the index of the right hand.

Also, among the Noldor, it was a custom that the bride's mother should give to the bridegroom a jewel upon a chain or collar; and the bridegroom's father should give a like gift to the bride. These gifts were sometimes given before the feast. "

I extract these elements from the entire quoted text:

Courtship

♥ usually with familial approval
♥ sometimes since childhood
♥ no pre-marital conjugation

Handfasting

♥ in early adulthood, soon after age 50
♥ the father physically giving the daughter's hand to the groom
♥ the families announce betrothal.
♥ the two exchange silver rings
♥ handfasting lasts one year at least, often much longer.


The return of the rings signals revocation of intent to wed. Recall "one year" in age of the Trees is about 9.5 sun-years, so that is a nice long hand-fasting. In modern parlance, the "engagement" is similar: a time where the couple and their families learn to deal with each other and a large project of arranging the wedding celebration itself.

Marriage Ceremony

♥ brides mother and grooms father join the couple's hands.
♥ those parents bless them, solemnly invoking Manwë, Varda and Ilúvatar
♥ the silver rings are returned to one another
♥ gold rings are exchanged

Júli meldanyan, cuilenya ar melmenya

'To Juli my beloved, my life and my love'

The Wedding Feast

♥ occurs before or around the ceremony
♥ the king and/or father usually presides
♥ jewel and jewelry gifts are given to the couple
♥ food and music and dancing and vast attendance

♥ then sleeping happens and life goes on.

Now, to locate some elvish "solemn form blessings" to make a ceremony.

May It Be

Before releasing the 2001 "The Lord of the Rings", director Peter Jackson asked Enya to write and sing a song for soundtrack. Thrilled at the prospect, Enya headed to New Zealand to see the preliminary edits of the film.



May it be;

May it be an evening star Shines down upon you
May it be when darkness falls Your heart will be true
You walk a lonely road Oh! How far you are from home

Mornie utúlië (Quenya: darkness has come)
Believe and you will find your way
Mornie alantië (Quenya: darkness has fallen)
A promise lives within you now

May it be the shadows call Will fly away
May it be you journey on To light the day
When the night is overcome You may rise to find the sun

Mornie utúlië (Quenya: darkness has come)
Believe and you will find your way
Mornie alantië (Quenya: darkness has fallen)
A promise lives within you now

A promise lives within you now





Enya worked with long-time collaborators. Roma Ryan, her lyricist. Nicky Ryan produced, arranged, and managed while Roma Ryan wrote the lyrics. They recorded the song through Enya’s contract with Warner Music in the Ryans’ Dublin studio, Aigle Studio. Like most of Enya’s music "May it Be" is classified as New Age.


Enya performed her song at the Academy Awards on March 24, 2002. She was “absolutely” excited about the performance. For her it was the “first time to be nominated, and to get to perform, it’s just wonderful, absolutely wonderful.”

Human - Elvish Marriage

JRR Tolkien seems to enjoy the theme of mortal man to elf-maid romances leading to marriage. His wife's grave even bears one of these names.

After many alliances in battle and peace, Tuor (a human prince) and Idril (an elven princess) are married by King Turgon (Idril's father) and the entire city celebrates in an early draft. In the final Silmarillion, JRRT only celebrates them with a feast thus:

"the heart of Idril was turned to him, and his to her... So high did Tuor stand in the favor of the King that when he has dwelt there for seven years Turgon did not refuse him even the hand of his daughter;.. Then there was made a great and joyful feast, for Tuor had won the hearts of all that people, save only of Maeglin [a rival suitor] and his secret following; and thus there came to pass the second union of Elves and Men"

The first such was Beren and Lúthien wed in the Silmarillion. In pages and pages of trials, these vows are these:

"as she looked upon him, doom fell upon her and she loved him. But she slipped from his arms and vanished from his sight into the city, even as the day was breaking... and long ago in the Hidden Kingdom she laid her hand in his. Thereafter often she came to him, and they went in secret through the woods together from spring to summer; and no others of the Children of Ilúvatar have had joy so great, though the time was brief"

After Lúthien led Beren before the throne of Thingol, as if he were an honored guest despite her father's outrage at her consorting with a mortal, Beren declares:

"here I have found what I sought not indeed, but finding I would possess for ever. For it is above all gold and silver, and beyond all jewels. Neither rock, nor steel, nor the fires of Morgoth, nor all the powers of the Elf-kingdoms, shall keep form the the treasure that I desire. for Lúthien your daughter is the fairest of all the Children of the World"

Thingol, seething, still echoes his daughters "laying her hand in his" when sending Beren on a deadly quest for a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown, saying: "then, if she will, Lúthien may set her hand in yours."

Later, Lúthien makes her intent clear while Beren is vacillating to continue or end on this quest: "You must chose, Beren, between these two... but on either road I shall go with you, and our doom shall be alike" At last, when Luthien and Beren return to Thingol, 'hand' imagery returns:

"Therefore, at the last he yielded his will, and Beren took the hand of Luthien before her father."

Most well known of all, Aragorn marries Arwen ("the likenes of Luthien") in Minas Tirith in Gondor (image below by the Hildebrandt Brothers) near the end of "The Return of the King":

"last [of the arriving elves] came Master Elrond, mighty among Elves and Men, bearing the scepter of Annúminas, and beside him upon a grey palfrey rose Arwen his daughter, Evenstar of her people.
"and Frodo when he saw her come glimmering in the evening, with stars on her brow and a sweet fragrance about her was moved to great wonder, and he said to Gandalf: "At last I understand why we have waited! This is the ending. Now, not day only shall be beloved, but night too shall be beautiful and blessed and all its fear pass away!"

"Then the king welcomed his guests, and they alighted, and Elrond surrendered the scepter, and laid the hand of his daughter in the hand of the King, and together they went up into the High City, and all the stars flowered in the sky. And Aragorn the King Elessar wedded Arwen Undómiel in the City of the Kings upon the day of Midsummer, and the tale of their long waiting and labours was come to fulfillment"

JRRT writes a precursor to this in "the Fellowship of the Rings" in "Farewell to Lorien", when Galadriel, Arwen's maternal grandmother, asks Aragron's desire:

'Lady, you know all my desire, and long held in keeping the only treasure that I seek. Yet it is not yours to give me, even if you would; and only through darkness shall I come to it.'
'Yet maybe this will lighten your heart,' said Galadriel; 'for it was left in my care to be given to you, should you pass through this land.' Then she lifted from her lap a great stone of clear green, set in a silver brooch that was wrought int he likeness of an eagle with outspread wings; and as she held it up the gem flashed like the sun shining through the leaves of spring. 'This stone I gave to Celebrían my daughter and she to hers; and now it comes to you as a token of hope. I this hour take the name that was foretold for you, Elessar, the Elfstone of the house on Elendil!"
Then Aragorn took the stone and pinned the brooch upon his breast, and those who saw him wondered; for they had not marked before how tall and kingly he stood, and it seemed to them that many years of toil had fallen from his shoulders. 'For the gifts that you have given me I thank you,' he said, 'O Lady of Lórien of whom were sprung Celebraín and Arwen Evenstar. What praise could I say more?'
The Lady bowed her head...

The gift Aragorn dared not ask for was, of course, Arwen herself who dwelt long in Lórien. The hopeful brooch was doubtless the elven marriage gift of a jewel, from the mother of the bride to the groom.

Ring of Doom

Let's say you are to represent the "Ring of Doom"

Here's how to make your representation reasonably close to the ideal:

First, Look up every quote you can find a about it, starting with online wikis and libraries:

Tolkien Gateway:"Ring of Doom" gives:

Máhanaxar also called Rithil-Anamo was the Ring of Doom outside the golden western gates of the city of the Valar. Here the Powers gathered to hold their great councils, bathed in the light of the Two Trees while those Trees still stood, and here some of the most momentous decisions of Eä's history were made. It contains the word Máhan "chief Vala", derived from Valarin Mâchananaškad.

Tracing Mâchananaškad's link gives the Valarin word mâchan "authority, authoritative decision" and *(a)naškad as "ring" whence Black Speech nazg "ring", whence "Nazgul" [Ring-wraith]. A little more work is needed for "Rithil-Anamo" since the link is circular, but you can find risil (or riþil or rithil) "ring" + anamo "of doom" "juridical decision" or "(legal) justice", from nam- "to judge" whence "Námo" [Judge])

Other favorite sites, Encyclopedia of Arda and Lord of the Rings Wiki add a bit more:

Within the circles of the Máhanaxar were the thrones of the Valar and where they pronounced their judgments. Here the great villian Melkor was judged and sentenced for his evils. It was also where the great Ñoldorin elf Fëanor was judged for his deeds in Tirion and where he spoke to the Valar of his intentions, after the killing of his father at the hands of Melkor.

While searching Mahanaxar, you find the image above image by Jacek Kopalski showing tall stone chairs, each with an elvish letter. A central globe shines under the starlight sky. There are eleven lines in the floor, six going to the visible chairs with their gauzy occupants. This suggests eleven chairs. There are Eight Aratar, or 14 Vala that JRRT named that should be there. I cannot justify eleven. No sign of a green mound. No sign of light from Trees. This is a lovely rendering, but not fitting for what we know already.

RULE: Read the actual Tolkien for yourself.

And I got ahead of myself... "Green Mound". From The Silmarillion, Chapter One:

And when Valinor was full-wrought and the mansions of the Valar were established, in the midst of the plain beyond the mountains they built their city, Valmar of many bells. Before its western gate there was a green mound, Ezellohar, that is named also Corollairë; and Yavanna hallowed it, and she sat there long upon the green grass and sang a song of power, in which was set all her thought of things that grow in the earth. But Nienna thought in silence, and watered the mould with tears. In that time the Valar were gathered together to hear the song of Yavanna, and they sat silent upon their thrones of council in the Máhanaxar, the Ring of Doom near to the golden gates of Valmar, and Yavanna Kementári sang before them and they watched.

A lovely description of the Two Trees follows. Well skip over that, other than to note that the Two Trees are very nearby. We're working on the Ring of Doom.

Rule: Look up the word-parts of all Tolkien elvish.

• Ezellohar (Quenya [eˈzelːoxar] from Valarin Ezellôchâr) "the Green Mound". From ezello "green" + ?har (Quenya -sar from Valarin -har)(1)"stone" (2) "hard" (3) "trusted".
  
• Corollairë (Quenya[ˌkorolˈlaɪre]) Green Mound where the Two Trees of Valinor grew. Also called Coron Oiolairë ("Koron"), place-name: the "Mound of Eversummer" where the Two Trees grew. Contracted to Corollairë and Corlairë; or spelt with an initial k. From coron (1) "mound" (2) ("Koron"") "globe, ball" + oio 1) "an endless period" 2) "ever" + lairë (1) "summer" (2) "poem" (3) "meadow".
  

My Quenya Wordlist writes that it's doubtful lairë word carries three meanings, doubting "meadow" as ligitmate. Helge K. Fauskanger also includes some Valarin entries in his Ardalambion (Arda Languages) site

• mâchanâz, pl. mâchanumâz "Authorities", used of the greatest Valar, called Aratar in Quenya. The Valarin word was also adapted to Quenya as Máhan pl. Máhani.
• machallâm properly one of the seats of the Valar in the Ring of Doom, the source of Quenya mahalma "throne" (WJ:399, cf. UT:305, 317
• mâchan "authority, authoritative decision" (WJ:399). The source of Quenya Máhan, one of the eight chiefs of the Valar, though the translation Aratar was more usual. It is an element in Mâchananaškad "Doom-ring", Ring of Doom, adapted to Quenya as Máhanaxar or translated as Rithil-Anamo. (WJ:401)

All this points out that the thrones in the ring are for the Eight Aratar: Aratar ('The Exalted'; arat "high",+ -r = plural). These are named in the Valaquenta:

Nine were of chief power and reverence; but one is removed from their number, and Eight remain, the Aratar, the High Ones of Arda: Manwë and Varda, Ulmo, Yavanna and Aulë, Mandos, Nienna, and Oromë. Though Manwë is their King and holds their allegiance under Eru, in majesty they are peers, surpassing beyond compare all others, whether of the Valar and the Maiar, or of any other order that Ilúvatar has sent into Eä.

In "The Silmarillion" chapter 9, when the Two Trees are extinguished, we learn the area around the Circle is very large:

After a time a great concourse gathered about the Ring of Doom; and the Valar sat in shadow, for it was night. But the stars of Varda now glimmered overhead, and the air was clear; for the winds of Manwë has driven away the vapours of death and rolled back the shadows of the sea. Then Yavanna arose and stood upon Ezellohar, the Green Mound, but it was bare now and black; and she laid her hands upon the Trees, but they were dead and dark, and each branch that she touched broke and fell lifeless at her feet. Then many voices were lifted in lamentation;

Further searching for our keywords, "Ring of Doom" and the elvish words, variations and place names brings up nothing not already covered. At this point, it's

DIGEST ALL THE INFORMATION and USE YOUR IMAGINATION

What were the eight thrones made of? Who sat where, exactly? What decor did they have? Where did the other Ainu and Eldar sit or stand to witness? What was the floor and ceiling? What marks the edge of the circle?

My imagination supplies these answers:

On grassy, green hill, under the starry sky, at perfect triangle point to the boles of the Two Trees, an open circle of eight stone thrones and a space for a ninth toward Valmar gates is surrounded by larger circles of stone seating, ringed about with rivlets of light. Each throne is inscribed with motifs of the intended occupant in this order: Melko (the missing throne), Oromë (trees), Yavanna, (animals), Aulë, (mountains), Varda (stars), Manwë (wind and globes), Mandos (lines), Nienna (tears), and Ulmo (water). Other named and unnamed Ainu and Eldar will have seats nearby, not so grand but equally personal.

When and if it gets built, I'll share an image or two.