Henneth Annûn Story Archive

Here's a major league Challenge, one that could be open for an entire year.

There are notes and asides in LOTR that refer to the battles between Lothlórien and Dol Guldur.

The first assualt on Lórien happens on March 11. There are two more, on March 15 and March 22.

"Though grievous harm was done to the fair woods on the borders, the assaults were driven back; and when the Shadow had passed, Celeborn came forth and led the host of Lórien over Anduin in many boats. They took Dol Guldur, and Galadriel threw down its walls and laid bare its pits, and the forest was cleansed." Appendix B, The Tale of Years

Are there any writers in the group who would like to write all or a significant chunk of these events? If you are interested, reply to this post.

Anglachel

 

Hm... actually, my longest and most famous WIP is exactly about that: how Mirkwood and Lothlórien resist the attacks, unite against Dol Guldur and then are redivided between the two Lords, Celeborn and Thranduil. Sadly I only have these works on paper fanzine and in Portuguese.

It'll take some months among revising, translating, typing, beta-reading and publishing, but if you're willing to literally keep this challenge open for a year I can meet it with something like an installment per month. Interested?

Although I'd really like to see more people meeting this challenge, to get political interpretations of the fall of Dol Guldur other than my own.

 

I don't think this challenge can be open for less than a year, truth be told. This is a long-term project.

At one point, I had signed up to co-write some part of this with Adrienne (Right? Didn't we say we'd do this?) and then, well, stuff happened and we never got it off the ground.

If you're interested in reworking your original piece (Hey, can I have a Portuguese copy for my husband? He's Azorean.) I think you should do it regardless of it being a Challenge.

What I'm thinking is to get volunteers between now and the end of the year, then (if there's interest), setting the challenge to run all of next year.

As for the politics side of things, heh-heh. One of my favorite themes.

Ang

 

I can't take this one up for some time, even if the muse hits -- heck, I'm still catching up on my *own* challenges that I've ended up adopting -- but I do have *ideas* on the subject if anyone wants them. I'm just saying, it didn't necessarily involve the Elven equivalent of Grond -- we know Galadriel's got a decent voice . . .

 

Oh, do tell! I'm still dancing little happy circles over your long-ago thoughts about the origins of Frodo's mithril coat. I promise sometime I am going to write a story about the final flight of the Dwarves from Khazad-dûm to the Iron Hills after the Balrog arises, and that coat figures prominently.

Off to keep writing up the Dwarves' version of the Ruin of Doriath,

Ang

 

Yes, Mudge, we did say we would do it. Now that Box is done I'm up for another project. But you know me, there *has* to be romance in it! hehe

peace...crankypants

 

Hey, I can do romance where romance is due!

Galadriel and Celeborn - easy. The longest married couple in Middle-earth, they've got romance, they've got snarkiness, they've got profundity, heck, they've got practical jokes!

Ang

 

Wow! Here I was thinking this was a story crying out to be written, but probably too big for me until I got a bit more practiced in the fine art of Tolkien fandom. But if there's going to be some kind of shared project, I want in!

As a matter of fact I was lying half asleep in bed this morning visualising the meeting between Celeborn and Thranduil in the middle of the forest and trying to come up with some dialogue...no wonder I'm always tired

This is a brilliant idea - count me in!

 

Aww, come one, Marnie, you *know * you want to try this one!

Maybe it can be a joint project over the year, or maybe we can have a couple of teams each working on thier own versions.

Thranduil and Celeborn fans - this story is made in heaven for you folks! Galadriel worshippers (Mike? Mike? Where *are* you on this one? A *great* prequel to "Two Roads West"!) take a crack at the last great battle she is involved in.

Ang

 

Most of the time I keep my challenge responses to myself, mostly because they start out slow and then become 50,000 word monsters(such as the halloween challenge with ghosts) But I would like to try a 20,000 word work with this theme. But I am in need of locational info. Where in the indexes are the info tidbits about this war and is it covered in any of the HOMEs anywhere?


I have the characters all fleshed out, I just need to know where to acquire the details that Tolkien gave us.


E.W.

 

Absolutely, Ang! I absolutely want to have a stab at this one, but I've never written anything with a major battle in it, and my strategizing is not up to much...still, there's always a first time.

What do we do and how do we start?

 

Well, there's just a nice symmetry about it, like with the coat and my idea about Merry & the barrow-blade, (and an idea I have about Shadowfax as well) -- since what Galadriel is doing in the Third Age is all Doriathrin "magic" (veiled and guarded boundaries, causing confusion to the Enemy, weaving cloaks of disguise and unbreakable ropes, making lembas and giving it out (even to dubious strangers,) psychological healing, using silver and water to harness the power of Lorien, all of which are attested in the Lays of Beleriand as acts of Melian or her daughter) it would make symbolic sense -- and be a lot safer for her people -- to *sing down* Dol Guldur from a distance than demolish it with sledgehammers and wedges and hot water and so forth. And since Sauron would have been already dissipated at that point, there wouldn't be any active power resisting her.

 

OK, this doesn't sound like we can get fivev firm commitments to it yet, so it won't go up as a formal challenge. If the number grows to five (There is Dimmie, Marnie and EW right now) it can be reopened.

Ang

 

I want to do it. I've wanted to write something like this for a long time. That makes four. If you accept the challenge, Ang, that would be five.

peace...adrienne

 

I can't promise the time, unfortunately. I'd like to do it, but I'm over-committed.

Ang

 

Hmm... I've been thinking about this one and it's a tempting challenge. I just hope I can do it within a year...


Ying
*off to research some more chara bios in hopes it'll jog some ideas*

 

Even if Ang/Adri count as one, I guess we finally have five! Let's open that challenge already? In a year others may get interested along the way.

 

Okay - this will be a year long challenge, since it could cover some pretty big scope & scenes.

Joint authorship allowed.

Length is left to author, but make it something you can have a good chunk of done by the end of the year. Remember - you have to *enter* before the Challenge cloeses, but you can keep writing.

Ang

 

I just read the directions for the challenge... I'm sorry, but is it only for Lórien point of view of events? Wasn't it supposed to be Lórien or/and Mirkwood? Just asking because our (Dim, Fake & me) fic is more about Mirkwood. But we could do Lórien too if such is the case.

 

Hmm, it is for Dol Guldur, just because that was such a specifically mentioned battle and the idea of Galadriel casting down the wall of the tower was too cool an image to bypass.

What if we expand the Challenge - pick your Elven battle:

Lorien & Dol Guldur
North Mirkwood
Rivendell

Since all three are noted to have been involved in fights, and there are obvious connections between the battles.

And ---

MEGA CHALLENGE

Write up all three, preferably as a joint operation. Can you and/or a team of authors write the story of the Elves' last battle in Middle-earth?

Opinions? Do folks want the Challegen expanded this way? Do we have more takers if you have a choice of battles?

Ang

 

Write up all three, preferably as a joint operation

That was our first intention, Mirkwood, Grey Havens, Imladris and Lórien. We sort of dropped it because it took us two and a half years to write Thranduil's and Círdan's parts... we chickened out.

But I just questioned (not to say coerced) the partners in crime on the backstage and they're willing to finish it now so, if the challenge expands, count us in.

- Daniel

 

Done - and back to you. ;-)

Ang

 

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