Things Under Way

 At the moment, watching Fellowship of the Ring while maintenance works on the toilet seals.

A part of today's work will involve moving of some stuff as I begin the create a space, easily shifted and changed at need, wherein I can, should I so choose, take photos and perhaps an odd video in the Waystation,

At this time I have no way to change the appearance of the wall and such, hence the Gondorian banner there. Over time I'll come up with some bits I can put in place and take down at need to give it a better flavor. Also the application of some hangers for the LED lanterns. The candles look real enough and can be spaced about as needed. Mug(s), probably my oak 'x' chair (a good incentive to repair the leather seat and get it back in service), perhaps some other banners or whatnot. Antlers on the wall maybe. We shall see what I come up with.

Then, in proper Ranger-Harper attire, I can take photos, perhaps make an odd video (in which I will have no idea what to say). I can likely do the odd kit commentary, perhaps a bit of arrow fletching or something, who knows? 

I could show my Easterling bow, the nice quiver for it. Perhaps work on the bow quiver itself on occasion. Tooling and whatnot. I have a great many skills and fair bit of knowledge. Perhaps some will be useful, maybe even fun, one never knows, some of them might be okay...

It ought to be fun, and illuminating, to try. 

Eledhwen

Changes

 Shoulder injury, Covid, etc. These things have wrought changes. Of course they have.

The shoulder injury is mostly healed although it still causes trouble with drawing a longbow. The discovery that using a thumb ring with my composite bow is still an option. Something about the rotation of the arm with this method circumvents the injured area. At least it seems so.

The bow is a Scythian replica, made for me in Hungary. I have a nice belt quiver as well, which even has a tree of life or something similar tooled into it.

This old Ranger has traveled widely in her time. To lands East of Rhûn and the Bitter Sea, to the South to Far Harad where the stars are strange. Into the far North where the ice folk live. I have met with those of Khand, Easterlings, Wagon Folk, and the Haradrim, among others. 

Small wonder then if I have chosen an eclectic mix of kit over the years. 

While I turn more to harp and flute than to sword and bow these days, I still have the ability to sting at need. 

It is a strange thing, to wander the roads and paths of the world. A strange, wonderful, beautiful thing. 

Eledhwen

Minhiriath

 I am the Bard of Minhiriath. More accurately, the Harper of Minhiriath. While I do play a wide variety of instruments, the harp is first and foremost.

I have been working on various pieces inspired by, influenced by, and informed by the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. I use the appendices, the books, and the Histories series, and all the others too.

I have chosen Minhiriath because in the 4th Age it is largely empty. A town or two there of very small size, ruins, encampments, those are about the size of it. At one time the land was covered in dense forests of fir and pine. In the 2nd Age the Men of Numenor came and built a base at Tharbad, where they built many ships. They logged the land intensely for the trees were tall and straight, good for masts. 

When the Dark Lord's armies came against Eregion they assaulted Tharbad, Sarn Ford, Lond Daer Enedh. Lond Daer was founded by the Numenoreans as Vinyalondë, a great seaport. They also razed the countryside, burning and cutting until it was nearly a wasteland.  

Here in the 4th Age I wander the lands, telling tales and aiding in the reclamation of these abused and all but abandoned lands. Minhiriath lies between the Greyflood in the South and the Brandywine in the North. The once-great road that ran from the South, through Tharbad, on to Sarn Ford, and beyond to Arnor marks a rather infirm Eastern border.

Here, in Emyn Vorn, within the remnants of the great forest, I live in a small cottage I call Nandarolondë. I am seldom there, as I spend most of my time roaming the lands, gathering and telling stories, singing the occasional song, teaching such histories as I may.

♪ Beneath the boughs of Emyn Vorn, lonely remnant of a forest shorn..♪

I shan't put any more here. Indeed, what little I have placed is likely too much, certainly so to certain friends. I shall leave it nonetheless.

The Bard of Minhiriath

Eledhwen Aldanildë

 Yesterday Amazon released the long awaited 'Rings of Power' series. It is set in the Second Age of Middle Earth. I watched both starting episodes and I will watch them again to look for things I may have missed, as I always do with films.

First off, in my own opinion, it is not really a Tolkien story. To my mind they took Tolkien's Silmarillion and used it to inspire their work to one degree or another, alongside the Appendices of the LotR trilogy.. It does play fast and loose with the Lore, completely replacing known story lore with their own ideas. To my mind it is more reminiscent of the old D&D movies kind of mixed with Willow. It is most emphatically not Tolkien. I got no feeling of returning to Middle Earth from it at all. 

This does not mean it is bad watching. As a fantasy series it holds much promise. It has its own very interesting parts in it that moved me nicely. I will continue to watch the series.

I do not give a damn about the racial casting in the film. I know what the lore says, the Silmarillion is my favorite of all the Master's works and I have read the Appendices more times than I can count. I know Hobbits aren't mentioned at all in it, although they are in the Appendices. In the first case Tolkien never really specifies whether all are the same color race or not. Mostly when he uses 'dark' it has to do with evil or unenlightened. Eol comes to mind, and the Elves who never went to Aman are of the latter type. Bear in mind that the realm ruled by Thingol and Melian brought forth the fairest flowering of Elven peoples ever seen in Beleriand. Thingol was a 'Dark Elf' and Melian a Maia. No Noldorin were part of that flowering, and indeed, they rather led to its downfall in some ways.

Dwarf women. Very cool. Beardless. Very cool. I wasn't nearly so impressed with Durin IV. Love the 'Aulë's Beard' oath.

The show does play very loose with the timeline in the Lore. They also imply Morgoth 'fell', as if in battle. That's not what happened and it most certainly wasn't the Elves that accomplished it. The Elves were incapable of truly defeating Morgoth, it was Tulkas who wrestled with him at the end. They depict the Elves as being on the hunt for Sauron. Not really the way things happened. They went to war on Morgoth for his theft of the Silmarils. Sauron was a Lieutenant, a Maia of fire who had been corrupted by Morgoth. Sauron managed to fool them with his 'fair likeness' more than once. He didn't lose the ability to do this until the fall of Numenor. Which he accomplished using the weaknesses of men.

I did like the depiction of Eregion, and of the Dwarrodelf. Well done, I though. I'm rather glad they steered clear, so far, of trying to depict Valinor. I'm curious of their depiction of Numenor...we have only the trailers so far.

Most of my negative reactions, or at least, unenthusiastic reactions did have to do with casting...mainly because their casting of Elvish folk did not seem on target. In the LotR trilogy and even in The Hobbit trilogy, the Elves looked pretty convincing to the type described by Tolkien. They gave me the feeling of being tall (Elves were taller and stronger than Men), elegant, and beautiful. Nothing at all like the Elves in this series, who came across as shorter (Galadriel is shorter than a Man), their faces are not longer, rather shorter and kind of pinched. I'm not someone who casts people for parts. All I can say is that those playing the parts, save for Gilgalad, do not awaken in me identification as Elves. 

In short, I find it a good fantasy series with the potential to be great. It is not Tolkien, to my mind. Does that matter? Only to me. 

Eledhwen i Minhiriath

 It has been a while. The plague isn't over, yet people decided they were tired of dealing with it and have simply ignored it...a very bad precedent. Nothing like asking to be smacked with a club. So it goes.

My own depiction of a Ranger is changing. Not the basic nature, just some of the details. 

I'm taking up my quarterstaff again, coupling it with either sword, long knives, or axe, alongside my sling and bullets. It isn't just whim, over my life I have been kind of battered about. As we get older these kinds of injuries continue to deteriorate even as we try to prevent it. So I am looking at things that will get around some of the difficulties that are slowly winning in my own case.

Gandalf uses his staff and a sword (Glamdring). I can see no reason why I cannot do the same as a Ranger. I can even carve the staff to take a sling, thereby making it a staff sling. Quite a powerful weapon. It doesn't require the main strength that archery does. One could also shape the ends to take spearheads and buttspikes, keeping those in a holster or something when a humbler appearance is needed.

I've moved more into grey clothing, with accents of green and brown. Very easy to disappear into the wilds. Adding in some color, or white, for the seasons, makes it a year-round outfit.

Using the sling, or staff sling, requires the carrying of a bag in which reside the stones for said weapon. I learned to make them from clay, pewter, or lead. Baked, clay is some seriously mean ammunition. Pewter is hard hitting, though not so much as lead...and pewter is better for the environment.

Most people today wouldn't recognize a sling unless it was in use. A staff is a staff, until it becomes a spear, or a bludgeon, or a sling-staff. 

A pretty humble combination of things on the whole, and I remain committed to being very worn and nondescript in appearance. If I have anything of fair type, such a brooches, they will be worn at gatherings like faires. Never in the forests on patrol. 

I suppose one could say I am influenced by my military past. They would be right. However, I don't try to make things camouflaged, just worn and earthy toned. 

I still do archery and am currently trying to return to being able to hunt. Yet another injury I am recovering from.

My most recent appearance is still a bit behind where I want to be.

Some people think the bycocket is too medieval. Perhaps. Tolkien drew from medieval history for his people though he himself said there was no analogy to real life. He was creating a new mythology for Britain and in doing so was creating an obviously fantasy myth. Medieval authenticity is fine to draw from, yet it isn't the be-all, end-all, despite what a lot of medievalists think and pressure others toward.

Here I will post some of my thoughts on all of this. Some pieces of fiction of my own devising. Photos, etc. 

Enjoy, or not, as best suits you.

Eledhwen