I am extremely pleased to submit a guest post by my Council of Eriador kinmate, Joel. Hang on to somethin', he has uncovered some good stuff!
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Hello folks, it is Joel. I have been playing LotRO for 5 years since the first public beta (commonly known as Founder’s Beta, which started on March 31, 2007). I am still a young hobbit in terms of arriving into the Tolkien scene, having done so in November 2002. One fateful night, a friend of mine had recently acquired the just-released Extended Edition of Fellowship of the Ring and had invited a bunch of us attending the University of Oregon at the time over to see it. I was instantly hooked at that point, and in the course of 9 months, until the end of that following summer, I had devoured the books, gone out and purchased my own set, and started nomming on The Silmarillion.
Since then, my love of Tolkien has grown by leaps and bounds. In April 2004, I joined a fanatics site called the Lord of the Rings Plaza, and was captivated by the ability to roleplay on their forums. Less than 3 years later, I heard this game was coming out within a few weeks, so of course I opted to try it out, not able to get enough of the world of Tolkien, even though I had just about every book concerning Middle Earth written by the Professor and his son.
So, when I stumbled across this blog a couple of months ago, after joining McFarlane’s kin, I fell in love with it. I love the lore, and seeing the lore come to life. I even secretly hoped to one day contribute. Well, I am honored to be given that chance with this guest post. I too, am a completionist, but more often than not, I get that satisfaction and chill when something obscure from the books is brought to life in the game in front of my eyes.
Long introduction aside, let’s get to the heart of this.
The other day, I was wrapping up questing in the new Great River region that came with the recent Update 6, and the last area left for me to do was The Brown Lands. There was a quest that takes you into this camp to burn down some banners flying around their camp. Sounds like a typical quest. I like to read quest text. It makes some folks that I group up with irritated. Even if I have done the quest before, I still love to read the quest. I’m glad I took the time, because for this particular quest, something caught my eye, and cue the “O.M.G. No Way!” reaction.
"The Khundolar have the gall to fly the banners of the Dark Lord at Lashkarg. I have heard that they serve Mordor in direct disregard for the mandates of their master, a man who calls himself Yirokhsar the Blue, a sorcerer of no small power, they say."
Wait. What?! A sorcerer of no small power? The Blue? If I am not mistaken, this could possibly be referencing one of the Blue Wizards that came over from Valinor with Saruman, Gandalf, and Radagast. Together, with a second Blue Wizard (there were a total of 5 that came from Valinor), they journeyed to lands far in the East, but never returned to the west-lands, and not much was known about them.
So, I instantly grabbed my copy of The Unfinished Tales, all while excitedly speculating with our McFarlane, and found the following from Part Four, Chapter II: The Istari (also referred to as “the essay on the Istari”).
"Of the Blue little was known in the West, and they had no names save Ithryn Luin "the Blue Wizards;" for they passed into the east with Curunír, but they never returned, and whether they remained in the East, pursuing their the purposes for which they were sent; or perished; or as some hold were ensnared by Sauron and became his servants, is not now known(3). But none of these chances were impossible to be; for, strange indeed though this may seem, the Istari, being clad in bodies of Middle-Earth, might even as Men and Elves fall away from their purposes, and do evil, forgetting the good in the search for power to effect it." There is a footnote in this passage (in the book it is the third such footnote, so I have left it as 3 in the quote above):
"In a letter written in 1958 my father said that he knew nothing about 'the other two,' since they were not concerned in the history of the North-west of Middle-earth. ’I think,' he wrote, 'they went as emissaries to distant regions, East and South, far out of Númenórean range: missionaries to enemy-occupied lands, as it were. What success they had I do not know; but I fear that they failed, as Saruman did, though doubtless in different ways; and I suspect they were founders or beginners of secret cults and 'magic' traditions that outlasted the fall of Sauron.'" (This is found in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 211, where he responds to a question about the color of the two wizards mentioned in LotR, but never named, among a multitude of other questions).
Hmmm, sounds a lot like the quest text description above, doesn’t it? “I have heard that they serve Mordor in direct disregard for the mandates of their master, a man who calls himself Yirokhsar the Blue, a sorcerer of no small power, they say."
Keep in mind, that the Istari, or “Wizards,” were sent to Middle-Earth by the Lords of the West in Valinor only to move Men and Elves to action against the rising of Sauron. There is so much we could delve into about that alone, but I’ll save that for another blog post that McFarlane can dive into if she wishes.
But while roaming around in the Brown Lands, you do come across Blue Caste Sorcerers. This may allude to one of the Blue Wizards, much like White Hand Orcs/Uruks are under the sway of Saruman the White. Only time will tell if we are able to confront one of these Blue Wizards in the future of LotRO, as this does open up many possibilities for future storylines, especially with not much information on them in the lore.
Sources: Unfinished Tales, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
Showing posts with label Great River. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Great River. Show all posts
March 29, 2012
March 21, 2012
The Brown Lands
Despite every expectation that the name might convey, it was a joy to be able to enter and quest in this area. As is the case with my entire blog, Here Be Spoilers. If you haven't ventured this far in your questing and don't wish to be disappointed, read at your peril!
The Brown Lands feature on various maps of Middle Earth created by Professor Tolkien, and certainly served as the locale for certain points of Lore. When I first learned the term "scorched earth policy" in a history class long ago, I carried that image into every reading of LotR ever after. This region personifies that - this isn't the healthy, earthy brown hues of living things; this is the brown of death. Even the air is tinted brown.
Our main ally post in the Brown Lands is Etheburg. This makes me think of a passage from Unfinished Tales, where Eorl the Young talks about returning after Cirion had granted to him the lands that would become Rohan, leaving some men behind to keep order while others returned home to gather their families and belongings. "....the main force shall remain in the North-east to guard above all the place where the Balchoth made a crossing of the Anduin out of the Brown Lands; for there is still the greatest danger, and there also is my chief hope, if I return, of leading my people into their new land with as little grief and loss as may be." For he planned to bring his people back down the east side of the Anduin (choosing this side despite having to travel in the shadow of Dol Guldur, avoiding travel down the western side of Anduin in part due to it not being easily traveled by horses/wagons but also because it would take them near the "Dwimordene where dwells the White Lady and weaves nets that no mortal can pass" - such a reputation Galadriel built up for herself!).
The Brown Lands have been so for 3000 years - Treebeard references traveling here during the time of the "war between Sauron and the Men of the Sea" to find "a desert: it was all burned and uprooted, for war had passed over it."
This is also the place Turbine has chosen to have the Company encounter the Nazgûl and shoot down him and his mount on their trip down the Anduin, not knowing what manner of foe it was (though Frodo of course had his suspicions). "Suddenly the great bow of Lorien sang. Shrill went the arrow from the elven-string. Frodo looked up. Almost above him the winged shape swerved. There was a harsh croaking scream, as it fell out of the air, vanishing down into the gloom of the eastern shore. The sky was clean again. There was a tumult of many voices far away, cursing and wailing in the darkness, and then silence. Neither shaft nor cry came again from the east that night." Too bad it hadn't fallen just a littttttle more to the west.
But of course the big draw for me to the Brown Lands was the chance of hearing more about the Entwives, and this did not disappoint at all.
As Treebeard tells Merry and Pippin, when the world was young the Ents and Entwives walked together and housed together, but their "hearts did not go on growing in the same way" - what a wonderful way to put it! The Entwives became most concerned with growing things that produced seeds and berries and nuts that could be harvested, things that could be cultivated and trained. The Entwives sought "order, and plenty, and peace (by which they meant that things should remain where they had set them)." Another wonderful description! At the time when the Darkness came in the North, the Entwives crossed the Anduin to plant gardens and fields, and taught their knowledge and skills to Men. But the Ents and Entwives saw less and less of each other as the years passed, until the visit Treebeard made to discover they were gone.
As far as the Ents were concerned, they were gone, not dead. He makes this very clear to Pippin and Merry. As he states, songs were made of the search of the Ents for the Entwives. Some people said they saw them heading west, or east; others said south. Some never saw them at all. Nowhere could the Ents find any trace of them, however, and they eventually returned to their forests. Ent legend holds that the two will meet again some day in a new land where both can be happy, but that it cannot happen until both have lost everything dear to them.
This is why Treebeard is particularly interested in learning more about the Shire; based on the description he gets from Merry and Pippin, it naturally sounds like a place the Entwives would have dearly loved.
In my post on the Old Forest, I talk about how Turbine cleverly found a semi-resting place for these highly sought Entwives. Truly, do the Flowers of the Old Forest quest - use a map if it makes you crazy, several good ones exist! - and most importantly hover over each flower's deed once you complete it. I had always noted that a flower for one famous name was missing, and I wondered why - until now. I won't spoil this, and will instead leave it for you to find in the Brown Lands.
We also see more mention of the Entwives in the dialogue that appears in the green haven, Limlight Glade, you eventually reach when visiting the Limlight Gorge to knock out the quests in that region. If you stay to listen, you also encounter some very neat dialogue between one of the Ents here and an Elf, Ordhrien (who reveals himself to be over 3000 years old), including the following:
Ordhrien says, ''Have you considered the Lady's offer yet Thickbark?''
Ordhrien says, ''Such an alliance could protect both our forests.''
Thickbark says, ''Oh? Indeed. Hrrm...''
Thickbark says, ''Then tell me, where were the Galadhrim when our Gardens were despoiled by the enemy?''
Ordhrien says, ''What?''
Ordhrien says, ''We were fighting... *I* was fighting - on the very slopes of Mount Doom!''
Thickbark says, ''Haroom... No doubt. No doubt. You are a great warrior. That much I can see.''
Thickbark says, ''But Mount Doom was a long way away from the Gardens... a long way indeed.''
Thickbark says, ''Too far and too late, I am afraid, to be of any help to us.''
Ordhrien says, ''Nothing I say can change what happened then. But we can still help each other now.''
Thickbark says, ''Hrrmm... I suppose we could help you, yes. We are still strong. Strong enough for orcs.''
Thickbark says, ''But I do not think you can help us. Hrrumm... It has been too late for that for a long time now.''
The real Lore about the Entwives is less encouraging. Fortunately this isn't mentioned in the Lord of the Rings, so it leaves the ability to conjecture in the LOTRO storyline. Yet Professor Tolkien was frequently asked about the fate of the Entwives. In a letter (Letter 144) the fate of the Entwives does not sound promising: "What happened to them is not resolved in this book. ... I think that in fact the Entwives had disappeared for good, being destroyed with their gardens in the War of the Last Alliance (Second Age 3429-3441) when Sauron pursued a scorched earth policy and burned their land against the advance of the Allies down the Anduin. They survived only in the 'agriculture' transmitted to Men (and Hobbits). Some, of course, may have fled east, or even have become enslaved: tyrants even in such tales must have an economic and agricultural background to their soldiers and metal-workers. If any survived so, they would indeed be far estranged from the Ents, and any rapprochement would be difficult -- unless experience of industrialised and militarised agriculture had made them a little more anarchic. I hope so. I don't know." Readers can and do still debate what this all means, but in the end, I myself am left with little hope that they survived.
That's why I'm so glad Turbine is able to give us a way to experience a happier ending for this great story.
Sources: Unfinished Tales, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
The Brown Lands feature on various maps of Middle Earth created by Professor Tolkien, and certainly served as the locale for certain points of Lore. When I first learned the term "scorched earth policy" in a history class long ago, I carried that image into every reading of LotR ever after. This region personifies that - this isn't the healthy, earthy brown hues of living things; this is the brown of death. Even the air is tinted brown.
 |
| The Desolation of the Gardens |
The Brown Lands have been so for 3000 years - Treebeard references traveling here during the time of the "war between Sauron and the Men of the Sea" to find "a desert: it was all burned and uprooted, for war had passed over it."
 |
| Nice blind shot, Legolas! |
But of course the big draw for me to the Brown Lands was the chance of hearing more about the Entwives, and this did not disappoint at all.
As Treebeard tells Merry and Pippin, when the world was young the Ents and Entwives walked together and housed together, but their "hearts did not go on growing in the same way" - what a wonderful way to put it! The Entwives became most concerned with growing things that produced seeds and berries and nuts that could be harvested, things that could be cultivated and trained. The Entwives sought "order, and plenty, and peace (by which they meant that things should remain where they had set them)." Another wonderful description! At the time when the Darkness came in the North, the Entwives crossed the Anduin to plant gardens and fields, and taught their knowledge and skills to Men. But the Ents and Entwives saw less and less of each other as the years passed, until the visit Treebeard made to discover they were gone.
As far as the Ents were concerned, they were gone, not dead. He makes this very clear to Pippin and Merry. As he states, songs were made of the search of the Ents for the Entwives. Some people said they saw them heading west, or east; others said south. Some never saw them at all. Nowhere could the Ents find any trace of them, however, and they eventually returned to their forests. Ent legend holds that the two will meet again some day in a new land where both can be happy, but that it cannot happen until both have lost everything dear to them.
This is why Treebeard is particularly interested in learning more about the Shire; based on the description he gets from Merry and Pippin, it naturally sounds like a place the Entwives would have dearly loved.
In my post on the Old Forest, I talk about how Turbine cleverly found a semi-resting place for these highly sought Entwives. Truly, do the Flowers of the Old Forest quest - use a map if it makes you crazy, several good ones exist! - and most importantly hover over each flower's deed once you complete it. I had always noted that a flower for one famous name was missing, and I wondered why - until now. I won't spoil this, and will instead leave it for you to find in the Brown Lands.
We also see more mention of the Entwives in the dialogue that appears in the green haven, Limlight Glade, you eventually reach when visiting the Limlight Gorge to knock out the quests in that region. If you stay to listen, you also encounter some very neat dialogue between one of the Ents here and an Elf, Ordhrien (who reveals himself to be over 3000 years old), including the following:
Ordhrien says, ''Have you considered the Lady's offer yet Thickbark?''
Ordhrien says, ''Such an alliance could protect both our forests.''
Thickbark says, ''Oh? Indeed. Hrrm...''
Thickbark says, ''Then tell me, where were the Galadhrim when our Gardens were despoiled by the enemy?''
Ordhrien says, ''What?''
Ordhrien says, ''We were fighting... *I* was fighting - on the very slopes of Mount Doom!''
Thickbark says, ''Haroom... No doubt. No doubt. You are a great warrior. That much I can see.''
Thickbark says, ''But Mount Doom was a long way away from the Gardens... a long way indeed.''
Thickbark says, ''Too far and too late, I am afraid, to be of any help to us.''
Ordhrien says, ''Nothing I say can change what happened then. But we can still help each other now.''
Thickbark says, ''Hrrmm... I suppose we could help you, yes. We are still strong. Strong enough for orcs.''
Thickbark says, ''But I do not think you can help us. Hrrumm... It has been too late for that for a long time now.''
The real Lore about the Entwives is less encouraging. Fortunately this isn't mentioned in the Lord of the Rings, so it leaves the ability to conjecture in the LOTRO storyline. Yet Professor Tolkien was frequently asked about the fate of the Entwives. In a letter (Letter 144) the fate of the Entwives does not sound promising: "What happened to them is not resolved in this book. ... I think that in fact the Entwives had disappeared for good, being destroyed with their gardens in the War of the Last Alliance (Second Age 3429-3441) when Sauron pursued a scorched earth policy and burned their land against the advance of the Allies down the Anduin. They survived only in the 'agriculture' transmitted to Men (and Hobbits). Some, of course, may have fled east, or even have become enslaved: tyrants even in such tales must have an economic and agricultural background to their soldiers and metal-workers. If any survived so, they would indeed be far estranged from the Ents, and any rapprochement would be difficult -- unless experience of industrialised and militarised agriculture had made them a little more anarchic. I hope so. I don't know." Readers can and do still debate what this all means, but in the end, I myself am left with little hope that they survived.
That's why I'm so glad Turbine is able to give us a way to experience a happier ending for this great story.
Sources: Unfinished Tales, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
March 13, 2012
Eorl the Young and Cirion, Steward of Gondor
How is everyone enjoying Update 6 so far? I am loving it! Yes, I had the day off yesterday and spent many hours exploring from the moment my update completed. Some kinmates and I even tried out the new instance last night on Tier 2 - easy it ain't! We worked out how to get past the first boss, but the last boss...I'll just leave that to you all to discover on your own!
New content is always exciting, but particularly with this latest update I expected lore to be abundant in this new area, and already on the first day I have not been disappointed. There is so much lore in previous areas I have yet to cover, and I don't want to engage in spoilers for the new content since it is only a day old.
But just ONE couldn't hurt, right? At any rate, I can't resist. I'm not even going to try to resist.
Let me say I absolutely love the village of Stangard. That's ALL I'll say about it for now. But as I traveled to the west of Stangard, I encountered a truly breathtaking sight - two humongous statues so large it was difficult to fit them in my screen or find a good spot to view them from. It felt like standing underneath a miniature version of the Argonath.
As we learn in a quest line, these noble statues represent Eorl the Young and Cirion, Steward of Gondor, and celebrates the victory on the Field of Celebrant in year 2510 of the Third Age, and the forging of a mighty union that would last over 500 years.
So who exactly were these two, and what was the battle on the Field of Celebrant, and why do we need to know about them?
Cirion was the Steward of Gondor, 12th in line after the last King of Gondor, Eärnur, died/disappeared without an heir (and my goodness, is THAT a story for some other time - although we aren't anywhere near the point of seeing lore about him yet in LOTRO-see my comments below) in year 2050 of the Third Age.
During the time of Cirion's Stewardship Gondor was invaded both by Easterlings as well as Orcs from the Misty Mountains. The host from Gondor was threatened and defeated in one area and driven toward the Limlight, with things looking dire indeed. Cirion had sent a call to help to the north to a people who were led by a man named Eorl the Young.
"Eorl the Young was lord of the Men of Éothéod. That land lay near the sources of Anduin, between the furthest ranges of the Misty Mountains and the northernmost parts of Mirkwood. The Éothéod had moved to those regions in the days of King Eärnil II from lands in the vales of Anduin between the Carrock and the Gladden, and they were in origin close akin to the Beornings and the men of the west-eaves of the forest. The forefathers of Eorl claimed descent from the kings of Rhovanion, whose realm lay beyond Mirkwood before the invasions of the Wainriders, and thus they accounted themselves kinsmen of the kings of Gondor descended from Eldacar." [note from McF: this is NOT the same Eldacar who was a king of Arnor and part of the Tombs of Elendil tour]
Once Eorl heard of the need of his friends to the south, he led a large host of riders and came to the Field of Celebrant - or Parth Celebrant (hey, one of the areas in Update 6!) - as was called the land that lay between the Silverlode and Limlight. The riders from the north helped Gondor utterly defeat the invading hosts.
"Cirion, therefore, in reward for his aid, gave Calenardhon between Anduin and Isen to Eorl and his people; and they sent north for their wives and children and their goods and settled in that land. They named it anew the Mark of the Riders, and they called themselves the Eorlingas; but in Gondor their land was called Rohan, and its people the Rohirrim (that is, the Horse-lords). Thus Eorl became the first King of the Mark, and he chose for his dwelling a green hill before the feet of the White Mountains that were the south-wall of his land. There the Rohirrim lived afterwards as free men under their own kings and laws, but in perpetual alliance with Gondor."
Was the land completely empty when Cirion gifted it to Eorl and his people? Hardly. Ever wonder why the Dunlendings hate the Horse-lords so much? Here lies the root of that hate. As is always the case with history, there's more than one side to a story.
This is why I find Turbine doing such a wonderful job in examining the great events of Middle Earth from more than one perspective. I can't wait to see what I find around the next corner.
Sources: Lord of the Rings Appendices A and B
New content is always exciting, but particularly with this latest update I expected lore to be abundant in this new area, and already on the first day I have not been disappointed. There is so much lore in previous areas I have yet to cover, and I don't want to engage in spoilers for the new content since it is only a day old.
But just ONE couldn't hurt, right? At any rate, I can't resist. I'm not even going to try to resist.
Let me say I absolutely love the village of Stangard. That's ALL I'll say about it for now. But as I traveled to the west of Stangard, I encountered a truly breathtaking sight - two humongous statues so large it was difficult to fit them in my screen or find a good spot to view them from. It felt like standing underneath a miniature version of the Argonath.
So who exactly were these two, and what was the battle on the Field of Celebrant, and why do we need to know about them?
Cirion was the Steward of Gondor, 12th in line after the last King of Gondor, Eärnur, died/disappeared without an heir (and my goodness, is THAT a story for some other time - although we aren't anywhere near the point of seeing lore about him yet in LOTRO-see my comments below) in year 2050 of the Third Age.
During the time of Cirion's Stewardship Gondor was invaded both by Easterlings as well as Orcs from the Misty Mountains. The host from Gondor was threatened and defeated in one area and driven toward the Limlight, with things looking dire indeed. Cirion had sent a call to help to the north to a people who were led by a man named Eorl the Young.
"Eorl the Young was lord of the Men of Éothéod. That land lay near the sources of Anduin, between the furthest ranges of the Misty Mountains and the northernmost parts of Mirkwood. The Éothéod had moved to those regions in the days of King Eärnil II from lands in the vales of Anduin between the Carrock and the Gladden, and they were in origin close akin to the Beornings and the men of the west-eaves of the forest. The forefathers of Eorl claimed descent from the kings of Rhovanion, whose realm lay beyond Mirkwood before the invasions of the Wainriders, and thus they accounted themselves kinsmen of the kings of Gondor descended from Eldacar." [note from McF: this is NOT the same Eldacar who was a king of Arnor and part of the Tombs of Elendil tour]
Once Eorl heard of the need of his friends to the south, he led a large host of riders and came to the Field of Celebrant - or Parth Celebrant (hey, one of the areas in Update 6!) - as was called the land that lay between the Silverlode and Limlight. The riders from the north helped Gondor utterly defeat the invading hosts.
"Cirion, therefore, in reward for his aid, gave Calenardhon between Anduin and Isen to Eorl and his people; and they sent north for their wives and children and their goods and settled in that land. They named it anew the Mark of the Riders, and they called themselves the Eorlingas; but in Gondor their land was called Rohan, and its people the Rohirrim (that is, the Horse-lords). Thus Eorl became the first King of the Mark, and he chose for his dwelling a green hill before the feet of the White Mountains that were the south-wall of his land. There the Rohirrim lived afterwards as free men under their own kings and laws, but in perpetual alliance with Gondor."
Was the land completely empty when Cirion gifted it to Eorl and his people? Hardly. Ever wonder why the Dunlendings hate the Horse-lords so much? Here lies the root of that hate. As is always the case with history, there's more than one side to a story.
This is why I find Turbine doing such a wonderful job in examining the great events of Middle Earth from more than one perspective. I can't wait to see what I find around the next corner.
Sources: Lord of the Rings Appendices A and B
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