Eledhwen...

Eledhwen. That is my name in the realms of Arda. Surname? Glad you asked. That would be Taur'Nandaro. Fully translated to common it would be Elf Sheen Forest Harper. Suitable. Fitting. Not so much a surname as a descriptive name. Works for me.

I am far more Harper than Ranger these days, although both are present, naturally.

I am working out how to make a good case for one of my smaller harps such that I can carry it on saunters through the hills and forests. With my staff, my Harpers' Long Knife, a sling, and my harp, I am so very well armed only a fool would try me.

I would we could have a Ranger Moot hereabouts. That would be an awesome thing. There are too few of us, sadly. There are few places with good land for a camping outing and away from people and modernity. Densely populated tiny state, drawback of. ;) One adapts.

I still shoot the bow. I still hunt with it.

I still have my spear...I still wish I could hunt with it.

I have my sword...hell, I'd be happy just to be able to carry it out there.

I do  have my harp, and it is a weapon deadly indeed, when needs must.

I am working on woolen garments since Winter is nearly here...although I am not at all certain how cold it will get this year. Also linen garments. I have chosen to use my calcei for shoes, mostly. The hobnails give traction and they look great! I am considering dying them.

Various pouches and such to be made. A Crane Bag of course, this one designed with pockets for things like tuning wrenches, tuners, etc. In addition to the usual items.

Here is the Ranger-Harper in a circle of stone;

Namarië

Adapting and Enjoying

Mae Govannen!

I have to say, I am having a lot of fun moving from Ranger to Taur'Amandil Istalindir. I am, in fact, a little surprised.

I had mentioned before that this gave me leeway being a Ranger did not. I hadn't really thought about just how much. It is fairly substantial, if only in minor ways.

For example; I can wear my full circle cloak of brown wool, two layers, since I don't have to run and it is very heavy. Minor point. I can use pretty much any 'earthy' colors as a Taur'Amandil. Browns, greys, greens, some blues, golds, reds, and even purples. Subdued earth tones. I can, should I choose to, use a plaid bit of fabric as a kind of cloak and catch it up with a penannular brooch, of which I have many. I do not have to cleave to a specific style, that is, I do not have to look Viking, Saxon, Medieval [insert country]. I can explore other options. I can, should I choose, use a peplos over a tunica. Or a robe over a tunic. Pants or dresses, or even skirts. Running through the forest hunting orcs isn't my primary pursuit. I shall ensure long robes are split fore and aft, both for mobility and riding.

My name is 'Eledhwen' - 'Elf-sheen', 'Morwandil' - 'Blackstaff'. As long as my staff is basically black, I am good to go. ;) I will, naturally wear a lot more grey and black since the one is so neutral and the other is...well, me. Suitable to a female Druid, a Witch, a Priestess; I am all of those.

Tools...well, the usual ones I always use in the manifest world; sickle, knife, staff...also my sling, which I am placing a lot more emphasis on. My bow...I shan't ever give those up. Shoulder bag...aka Pilgrims' Bag, Market Bag, etc. I am thinking of making some pewter pins for it so I won't be stuck with only medieval types. I still have Ranger stars, six pointed, which I shall treat as stars of Eärendil and therefore usable by the likes of me. All know the story of the single recovered Silmaril, after all.

I come from the Houses of Beor and Haleth, and these things suit me well.

Soon now I will begin getting photos of a Taur'Amandil in the forests. We shall see how those are received. Perhaps I shall do some tutorials on things like making sling bullets, braiding slings, staff making and work. I know staff combat as it is, a very eclectic system blending elements of a variety of cultures. Suitable. I can say some I received from the Elves, some from my own Houses of Men, others from the Woodmen and other groups of peoples. I don't need to justify it, naturally...just my imagination tends to take off at times.

I may try my  hand at some simple beadmaking as well. Lampwork they call it, we shall see.

As I say, I am finding this direction to be eminently fascinating and deeply satisfying. Most of all, a lot of fun.

Under the Sweet-scented Firs
Eledhwen Morwandil, Istalindir.

Another Brick in the Wall

Mae Govannen!

Further work on the changes; I have moved away from calling myself a Loremaster....it makes me uncomfortable to claim mastery in things as a general rule...even when I have, by whatever standards, achieved such in a given area. It's just me. I dislike things that make me seem better than others...I am no better than anyone else. I detest the concept of 'elevation' with a virulence that would surprise a lot of folk...oh, people know I dislike it, they just do not know how much. I digress.

As a result, I've gone with Taur'Amandil, a devotee of the Green, as it were. Follower of Yavanna perhaps. A Druid...literally 'Forest Friend of Aman'. More than that; Taur'Amandil Istalinidir...effectively a Druid-Bard (Forest Friend of Aman Spellsinger) in Elvish...in Middle Earth even. It fits..in real life I am that, as well as an Ovate...a Seer. It fits me well in both 'realms'.

Yes, I know, others will nab the names and start using them, including those who have no qualms about being better than other folk. There is nothing I can do about that. I will go on in my own way as I choose...it is what I do.

The two names are going on my lyre in flowing Tengwar script. I may even put them on my harp(s) down the line. Also my name; Eledhwen Morwandil...that is, in the Common Tongue, 'Elf-sheen Blackstaff'. Elf-sheen may be a bit pretentious..although I have used the name so long now I am loathe to give it up...I'll just say it applies to my hair, which is like fine silk and has a natural sheen to it, especially now it is all silver.;)

I can rationalize almost anything. ;) That may, or may not be, a good thing. Hehehehehe

Quarterstaff (spearhead in the pack), Elven hunting knife, sling, composite bow, I think I am well armed. I may have my leaf-blade shortsword down the line as well. Sickle for ritual things...a Druid thing. This one is Bronze, a casting from a mold taken from a find in Britain...bronze age, obviously.

Making the big crystal stone into a Seeing Stone. It would be cool if it were possible to make it a Palantir. Alas, that is not possible. It will do as my Seeing Stone though, and has already proven to be useful that way. I am making a bag for it here soon. Heavy..it weighs eight pounds.

I have a lot more leeway in this persona than I did as either Ranger or even Loremaster....the latter feeling more like a Wizard than not. I have more leeway in clothing, weapons, gear, activities...makes me a lot happier. There are not yet a lot of Taur'Amandili (that I know of) who will begin to pontificate on what is right, what must have been done, what is authentic enough, opining it is not being done 'right', etc. I am the only one I know of just now...and I know that will change. Still, I will keep on keeping on.

I love Middle Earth and all the wondrous things it does and can encompass. People drive me rather nuts so I tend to solitary pursuits, mostly. I get tired of groups very quickly, it does not matter how cool they are, I just tire of the constant human tendency to try to assume some level of dominance. Not everyone does that, of course. Enough do, however. Witness what is going on in the Manifest right now. I get on well in St. Huberts' Rangers as there aren't any living anywhere near me. :) ME Rangers are similar in this regard.

I really am quite anti-social in many ways. I really prefer people at arms length...with some individuals being exceptions...that is, persons. As a Druid, and a Solitary one, it is suitable.

Eledhwen Morwandil
Taur'Amandil Istalindir

Of Harpers and Spellsingers

Mae Govannen;

The readjustment continues! No surprise. With it, names, ideas, thoughts, even 'titles' of a sort, are all being played with. I am not posting this to FB as every time I do this sort of thing, suddenly the names I have been tinkering with show up in use by other people where they weren't before. This last time an individual had the kind courtesy to ask first...and I have no problem with it. I do get annoyed when I am trying to use something and find suddenly that someone more well known in some corners has appropriated it suddenly and is now being recognized that way. That is the danger of social media in the form of FB. This page has far fewer viewers and I know them, or well, most...the security is pretty tightly wound up here and while I have posted the URL in comment replies now and then, I can tell from the analytics that it hasn't much affected things. So on with it then.

Eledhwen 'Blackstaff'....Eledhwen Morwandil. Easy yeah? I am keeping the name Eledhwen. A nickname or surname of 'Blackstaff', in the Common Tongue, seems reasonable. Especially since the new staff is black. It will have a little color and there are painted designs to come, yet the main color is black. I will also be wearing a lot of black.

I have been referring to myself as a Loremaster. That is, after a fashion, accurate enough. However, I tend to work magic more often with my harp...so the word 'Spellsinger' is, in a number of ways, even more accurate. The word for that is 'istalindir'..making me an Istalindir. Sort of. I like the flow of the word over Lorekeeper, which is ki'irar, or the made-up word of noletule, which is literally lore master. I am definitely a nandaro...a harper. I do spells, although I use my harp to chant or sing them, so Ista...spell....lindir...singer...seems appropriate.

Loremaster, or Lorekeeper sounds more prestigious I suppose. I am not a big one on prestige. Flow or words matters...the proper flow of sound *is* magic, or rather, a carrier of magic...and it also helps form it.

I know, I know, people think magic is a joke. Fine by me. I do not. I have practiced it for decades in this lifetime, and for many more lifetimes before that. Keep in mind, ritual, and prayer, are forms of magic...spellweaving via motion and sound. Think about it. I just use magic not bound to some specific religious dogma...a 'wilder' sort of magic.

It was once well known, and later widely related, that Bards...real Spellsingers...could actually create using music. No surprise when one understands that every single thing has is vibration, frequency, sound if you will. Knowing which ones to use to accomplish something is at the heart of this. The Great Song of Creation. I believe our own attempts to make music are attempts to reach out for and grasp that song.

Remember also that Arda, that includes Middle Earth, was created in song...along with everything else...by the Ainur singing for Eru. Think about that bit.

So yeah, call me crazy. I use magic. I admit it. I constant work to understand it better and refine it. I am not even close to the ancient Spellsingers of legend..yet I do what I can.

So Spellsinger is probably a closer description than Lorekeeper. Regardless, I shall go with Istalindir...

Eledhwen Morwandil, Istalindir

Under the Sweet-scented Firs

A Change in the Wind, says I.

Mae Govannen!

Things have been changing fairly rapidly here in Nandalad. From names to pursuits to crafts...much change indeed.

I am entering the Winter years of my life. Recognizing this, and the limitations to some pursuits that it brings, and seeing the slow drift of change for what it has been, I have simply embraced it and gone full forward.

I am shifting from the Ranger...to the Loremaster. I would say 'Wizard' yet they were Maiar, the Istari. While the word does mean 'Wise One(s)', so far as we know all of the wizards were Maiar. There were witches too, and sorcerers, mind. The Witch King comes to mind..once a human sorceror. Galadriel is called a witch. Humans pursuing magic and knowledge are not out of place. We also have the term 'Loremaster'...and that is applied to people deemed as wise or deeply versed in various kinds of lore. Magic is a kind of lore. Since I practice magic daily, and I study all sorts of lore, I think 'Loremaster' is fitting.

To that end I have been redesigning some clothing...really just adding to what I have. There really is no need to invent new items whole cloth. I am doing so in a place or two just because. For example..the wizards' hats...we have the one Gandalf wears, very familiar, and in the movies the cap Radagast wears, and Saruman appears not to wear one at all. Since the appearance of other wizards than Gandalf are not very detailed at best, I think we can go with the idea that there was no uniform appearance for wizards, witches, sorcerers, or loremasters. That being determined, I thought about what I wanted to use. The hood on the robe, certainly. Yet a hat is useful. My eyes fell on a wool felt Scythian style hat....bingo!...I at once realized one of these in a darker color would be excellent! They look rather like Phrygian hats, yet they have a neck drape and two cheek drapes. Adding some embroidery and some metal bits...there we go. Sorted!

Colors...I thought I'd go all green...and have since decided not to do that. Rather, I am going a combination of dark charcoal grey and black, with green and brown leather bits. Trims or decorations, if any, in gold. The base color I am thinking will be black...so no one can claim I am 'stealing' Gandalfs' name of Mithrandir..the Grey Pilgrim. The hooded robe and hat will be charcoal grey, the secondary color. I'm thinking more of a name like Morandir, or if you have to have a female indicator, Morandirya. Black Wandered, Black Pilgrim, whatever. In the SCA my oldest name was Talon the Black...precisely because I wore almost entirely black, from hoof to plume, as the saying goes. ;)

Another name option is making something up...something like, Starmantle...which in elvish isn't so nice really; Gilgollo, or Elengollo. The last one isn't so bad, really. Still...not nearly as good as 'Starmantle'. Of course, that makes me want to ensure there are stars on the mantle...not hard to do with my Forandiri armory...the white fir tree with an arch of seven six-pointed stars of Earendil. A bit ostentatious...yet with a Loremaster I can do so if I choose.

Mind you, I still do all the wilderness things I have ever done..some more carefully than before; climbing, tracking, trailing, reading sign, bushcrafting, etc. I still do archery, make bows and arrows, use slings and make slingstones. I still have my long knives, particularly my elven hunting knife.

Additionally to those...I now have my staff. This one is being purpose made for magic and a more Wizard like appearance..though no less real for all of that. An ash shaft about six feet long, tapered at one end, butt cap on the other. Painted black...and the top cap, actually a steel butt cap, can be removed and replaced with a spear head should need ever arise to do so. Their sockets are all but identical. I am currently working on the designs to be painted onto the shaft...and some leather wrappings strategically placed. Yes, it is primarily a loremasters' stave..yet it is also a combat quarterstaff. The wild is the wild, after all.

I am making a Codex. This is part of real life pursuits that are  overlapping with this...an intentional streamlining as well. It is a slowly growing book of wild plants, animals, tracks, thoughts, spells, recipes, and whatnot. A Codex. I have no name for it as of yet. We also make essential oils, distill our own liquor (in legal quantities), brew ale and mead, and grow a garden. We make balms, salves, soaps, and candles.

It can perhaps be claimed that these are not Ranger pursuits and so have no real place on the MERF. I do not really agree, yet we shall see if folk have interests in these things as well. As I slide from a Ranger to an ally of the Rangers and into the role of Loremaster, I still have my love of Middle Earth, which will never leave me.

Namarië
Morandirya

Random thoughts

Mae Govannen!

It has been quiet here in Nandalad, and in the surrounding region as well. I patrol, as is my duty, yet for the most part the patrols are time in solitude and contemplation, although I remain alert...to do otherwise could be dangerous to my health.

The following are a series of thoughts I have had of late..they may make sense, they may not, yet my mind has been wandering these avenues.

Of late I have had a lot to think about. I am still capable, if not so fast or strong as once I was, yet my condition improves steadily. Still, age is a factor...and I find the sword is not so appealing to me as it once was. Not because I do not like them....more I have no further need of the status, real or imagined, these weapons bring with them. The mystique. I stopped wearing armor long ago as well.

I am far more interested in tools that are also weapons, like the axe, the knife, and the bow. Yes, the bow. It is a tool...I hunt with it, after all. I also like the staff, which can be weapon or support...or capped with a head, a spear at need.

My hands turn more to the harp and staff these days, than they do to the sword or spear. I am no Istari, no Maia of the Blessed Realm...just a human like other humans. Yet I have gathered some wisdom over the years, some knowing of various things, secret and non-secret alike.

I will not put down the bow, the axe, or the knife until it is time for me to leave this world and I lay me down to it. However, the staff is more often my friend, and the animals and plants.

Perhaps I am some kind of Ranger Bard morphing into something Druid/Witch/Seidr after all. Whichever it is, I am aware I have drifted somewhat out of line with the mainstream of the MERF. I have a sort of Rohan type of persona...really Norse, yet the two are fairly close.

Eledhwen en' Randiromar, Nandalad.

Of Learning and Time

Mae Govannen, Wes thu hal!

The light grows longer, and stronger, with each passing day. Soon the Spring will take hold in earnest, as ever it does.

I wait now only for my Bow Horse to be sorted. I shall be in full operation before the month is out, most assuredly. I may have sorted a method for making a variety of interesting arrowheads using a very small forge. I will have to experiment when time allows. I shall soon be entirely self-sufficient in the matter of archery and related items. It does not mean I will not purchase things from time to time, only that I won't have to just to get things done. That is a relief.

In the City of Smiths I learned ways to shape the metal into arrowheads without having to weld much of anything. In the Bards' Keep I learned the working of wood for instruments. On the Island of Apples I learned to read the strands of existence. In the unnamed port I have been learning the making of ships. I cannot explain it to folk, although Wizardly types seem to find nothing strange in it. I dream, I know how to do something. Recalled from other lives, I am told, else the Spirit wanders to learn. I do not speak of it often, and then only to a rare few.

So it goes. The days pass, time flows by, the Winter of my life moves on toward the Rebirth of a new Spring of the Spirit. The Cycle is never ending. All things in their time and as they are meant to be.

For now, making, watching, defending, patrolling..these are the orders of my life. Livened with some harp or lyre music, along with the flute now and then. It is, and has been, an interesting life. Full of learning. It has had its share of trials, yet also triumphs.

Today I shall, perhaps, wander through the slowly awakening forest, perhaps in the garments of the Rohirrim women, perhaps not. We shall see.

Nama'rië

Of Archery

Mae Govannen! Wes thu hal!

Some of the Rohirrim wander through Randiromar from time to time. After all, their fathers are held to have come from the Northlands, albeit on the other side of Greenwood from here. I have more than a little in common with them, I find.

I am soon to assemble and set up my bow bench, which I will carve and customize to include a Hnefatafl board in the seat. This bench has been made to be easily assembled and disassembled such that I can easily take it out of doors on a pretty day, or work with it indoors in inclement weather. This one is made of high quality if not the strongest of woods, as it is pine for the most part. I am thinking I may make another one of, perhaps, oak, or maybe hornbeam, both of which are easily gotten here. Much, much, heavier, indeed, yet also a bit more robust. Still, what I have works and that is all I require of it for now.

The 'Northlands Archery' niche is taking shape, what with the string jigs, spine testers, fletching jigs, and so on present. Also a cresting 'spinner', flight cutters, glues, saws, draw knives, spoke shaves, scrapers, axes, and various other items needful in the making of bows and the arrows they launch.

In the meantime, forest wandering, to include along the river. I hope to have watercraft this year to aid in keeping the river free of dangers. Those that go on two legs, at any rate.

Eledhwen

Wilderland & Things

Mae Govannen!

It has been a long while since last I sat to record my thoughts here. Wilderland leaves me little time for recreation these days, now the Shadow has arisen once again. It may not be quite so dire as once it was, yet it is dire enough. It requires watching, and resisting, and the simple folk require guarding and defending. That is the Rangers' charge and joy.

I am fitting a new handle to my elven hunting knife, among other things. There are new bows, and bows under construction, along with new arrows. Arrowheads from Gondor await mounting. There is much work to be done. The Winter does not offer me so much leisure as it might other folk. Winter is the dark time of the year, and many dark things move while most folk are snug in their homes. We keep watch.

****

Tomorrow we are supposed to get a good snowfall...some 3 to 6 inches of it. We are far, far, behind where we ought to be this time of year. It does present an opportunity, however; we shall go out in the storm and get some photos, perhaps some video, of myself in my kit. If we get video that will be a first. The photos, during a snowstorm, ought to be a lot of fun. Perhaps I will shoot a stumper if we record it; that could be interesting. I cannot build a fire here...there are very strict regulations in place, so it would have to be a patrol video.

I am looking forward to it, indeed. :)

Eledhwen