Writing the Prologue

[Gordis]

Finally, I have some thoughts about the Prologue we need to write in order to publish our story. Some time ago Val has posted questions: how long should it be and what about. I couldn't reply at once, sorry Val, because I had no idea myself.

Now I should say the Prologue should be long enough to contain all the information we need to give. And we need to give lots of info for the story to be comprehensible without first reading the Appendices (let us admit - few have ever read them) and without reading Val's timeline and our character info. Most readers of our story have only read LOTR and some have only seen the movies. We should try to make it easier for everybody.

First I thought about making someone explore the ruins of Cameth Brin and find an old chronicle. Then I abandoned the idea - it follows too closely the idea of Khazar's prologue. Moreover, an old chronicle would be boring to read, whether we like it or not.

So I propose to make old Gandalf tell the tale to the four Hobbits - on their way home from Rivendell to the Shire after the Ring was destroyed (sometime in October 1319). Suppose they stopped near the Bridge over Mitheithel (the Last Bridge) and Gandalf remembered a sad legend about a fair maiden who had fallen in despair from this bridge to a watery grave. The hobbits prompt Gandalf for more asking questions and little by little Gandalf tells them what is remembered of the tale. He tells them about the division of Arnor, about Rhudaur and Angmar, about Dunedain and Hillmen, about Cameth Brin fortress and about Tarnendur's family and their sad fate.

Of course, it will necessarily contain some spoilers - but it hardly can be avoided. Maybe it is even an advantage - to stir the interest for the tale. Asking and answering questions is an easy and lively way to present the material - unhurried and comprehensive. After a thousand and seven hundred years only little is remembered and not really accurately - so we can tell only the story's backbone.

In the prologue we will have firmly established and popular canon characters talking - a great advantage for capturing the attention of readers unfamiliar with the Appendices. Also we follow in Tolkien's steps: he made all the Unfinished Tales this way - stories told by Gandalf to the Hobbits in Minas Tirith after the War.

As for the writing itself, I propose the following: let it be our joint chapter. I shall make a post by "scribe" and all of you please log in as "scribe" and edit the story and add to it - everyone in different colors. We will write it together and polish it - as this part should be written well.

What do you think? If anyone has any other plot idea, please, come forward with it - let us discuss all the possible plots!

[Witch-king of Angmar]

"So I propose to make old Gandalf tell the tale to the four Hobbits - on their way home from Rivendell to the Shire after the Ring was destroyed (sometime in October 1319). Suppose they stopped near the Bridge over Mitheithel (the Last Bridge) and Gandalf remembered a sad legend about a fair maiden who had fallen in despair from this bridge to a watery grave. The hobbits prompt Gandalf for more asking questions and little by little Gandalf tells them what is remembered of the tale. He tells them about the division of Arnor, about Rhudaur and Angmar, about Dunedain and Hillmen, about Cameth Brin fortress and about Tarnendur's family and their sad fate." - Gordis

Gordis, this is an idea that really captures my attention. This is the perfect way to tell the tale. The archives are not the most exciting reading for many people; they are mostly a lot of facts strung loosely together. I do enjoy reading them myself, though, and have gathered many things that have stimulated my imagination. Actually, when I think about it, I am surprised that someone hasn't done a fanfic story with Gandalf going deeper into the dry facts of the archives and coloring them with his style. I say go with it. It is a great idea, and I'm all for it.

[scribe]

So here it goes - the Prologue. Please write it, add to it, modify it, polish it! Isn't it fun to write for our favorite hobbits and the Wizard?

Only please, choose different font colours and add a note below showing who worked on it and what color he/she used.

I (Gordis) use black (first come, first served )

The Prologue

Title: "Swift are the Waters of the Mitheithel..."
(more suggestions for the title please!)

October 10, 3019. On the road near the Last Bridge.

At last the hobbits were riding home. The Ring was destroyed, the War was over and they were eager to see the Shire again. They rode at leisure along the Great Road, which was as empty as ever, so they were grateful for the Wizard's company. There was frost at night, but the weather was still fine and the autumn sun played merrily on the red and yellow leaves.

In a week out of Rivendell, they came to the Last Bridge. The sun was already low over the road in front of them, so they found a nice spot for a camp on the steep eastern bank of the Mitheithel. Sam lit a small fire and started cooking a nice supper, fit for the four hungry hobbits and the wizard. Fresh from the Last Homely House, they had provisions aplenty. Frodo sat huddled in a blanket looking at the fire. As ever, with the approaching nightfall, his mood darkened. The others let him be, respecting his need for quiet reflection.

Gandalf, followed by Pippin and Merry, ventured forward to the Last bridge. After the day's ride they were happy for the opportunity to stretch their limbs. Soon they stood in the middle of the sunlit expanse of the bridge that span the river in three graceful arches. Sun was playing on the ancient blocks of white stone covered with moss and lichen. Despite the roar of the water below, the place now looked peaceful and almost serene.

"Do you remember this place, Pip?" asked Merry. "It was right here where we found Glorfindel's green stone and knew it was safe to pass over the bridge."

"Of course, I do, Merry. I think it was a great idea to leave it for us as a token. Don't you think so, Gandalf?"

The wizard shrugged his shoulders. The hobbits noticed he hardly listened to their conversation at all. Frowning, he was looking absently down at the swift foamy water rushing through the stone arches.

"What is wrong, Gandalf?" asked Pippin worriedly.

The wizard sighed and muttered sadly. "Swift are the waters of the Mitheithel beneath the Iant Methed...."
He lifted his head and his gaze wandered north, to the broken crags crowned with the ruins of ancient watch towers.

"I remembered a tale about a fair maiden who, driven by despair, fell to her death from this bridge. This is the ancient Kingdom of Rhudaur and the Shadow lay heavily over this land."

The keen eyes of the hobbits burned with interest. "Will you tell us the tale, Gandalf, please?" asked Merry.

The wizard shook his head. "Not now. Frodo is still ill at ease after we passed the Ford of Bruinen on the Sixth of October. This is a sad and violent tale, not fit for his ears after all he had to suffer. I will be loath to shutter what little peace he was able to regain."

"Then perhaps later, Gandalf? asked Pippin hopefully. "After supper, when Frodo falls asleep? I am sure Sam will be happy to hear the tale, he is the one for such things, especially if it is about Elves."

"I am afraid it is not about Elves, Pip. It is more about Men who lived here. Some were Dunedain, Aragorn's kin, other were from the native tribes of this land - the Hillmen."

"And the maiden who perished here? whispered Merry excitedly. Was she kin to our King?"

"In a way," replied Gandalf. "She was a descendant of Isildur as well, but from another line. She was betrothed to one of Aragorn's ancestors, I heard, Arveleg I, the one who was later killed at Amon Sul."

"At Weathertop?" squeaked Pippin. "How exciting!"

Gandalf shook his head sadly, he hardly found that exciting. He made a sign for silence, as they approached the camp. The supper was waiting for them and Frodo seemed cheerful again. They ate merrily discussing the events back in Gondor and Rivendell.

Soon Frodo lay asleep near the fire. Sam was going to slip in his bedroll at his master's feet, but Merry stopped him, nodding at Gandalf conspiratorially. Surrounded by three wide-eyed hobbits, Gandalf started his tale.

***

Here is the beginning of it. It neeeds to be heavily beta-ed.
And, please someone, continue!
Gordis

[Valandil]

Gordis - I think it's a GREAT idea to have Gandalf telling this tale to the Hobbits.

In fact - if you remember that Bilbo told about how Gandalf "used to tell such wonderful tales at parties, about ... the rescue of princesses..." - that was the very thing that inspired this little detour of my history of Northern Kings. I wanted to make sure we had a tale about an actual rescue of a princess (and maybe even find a way to link it with the brooch that Tom Bombadil took from the barrow! ).

A question - should we have one thread entirely for the prologue itself, and a separate one to discuss our progress on it? Or is it easiest if we keep everything in one thread?

A few small comments on the start you've made:

1. First of all, very good beginning! It's always hardest to do that, and easier to comment on what is first offered.

2. I don't know if Gandalf would consider this an "old legend" - remember, he was in Middle Earth at the time, and probably had a great familiarity with the story. He would likely have personally known the survivors - and many others who could relate the accounts - had probably heard much of the story first-hand, and maybe soon after it happened (with the reasonable assumption that Gandalf probably knew personally at least all the Kings of Arthedain after his arrival in ME - possibly also those of Cardolan and Rhudaur).

3. It might be fun to weave in a reference to "rescue of princesses" - I'll stew a little on just how we may do it.

4. Interesting that this is happening at about the same time of year as our own story begins. (and I just checked - it was October 13 of 3018 when Frodo crossed the Bridge on the way out)

5. I get the impression that it should be getting dark by the time the party has finished eating, but they seem to view the Bridge in full sunlight, after the meal. Also - whether from my own imagination, or something Tolkien writes - I picture the river at this location being at the bottom of a deep gorge. If so - in sinking sunlight, it would be dark down there even if there were still some sun up above (perhaps a nice setting anyway).

6. Maybe I'll even work in something about the Dunedain having built this bridge (my theory) - under Elendil. Don't let me bog things down too much though.

Great start though Gordis... and great idea!

[Gordis]

I am so glad that both Angmar and Val like my idea to make Gandalf tell the story.

Angmar, I am also the one in love with old chronicles, but most readers would find them boring. And we want to hook the readers, don't we?
No, I have NEVER seen a fic where parts of the Appendices are expanded as tales told by Gandalf... Funny it really seems an obvious way to write a good fic. Especially I would love to read a fic with Gandalf's account of his visits to Dol Guldur. Instead, fanfic authors invent all sorts of incredible plots set in the presumably peaceful Fourth Age and rarely turn to the Third Age - to the things waiting for them in the Appendix A.

Val, I have forgotten about Gandalf's tales about princesses at the Shire parties. Cute. Generally I believed him to be very tight-lipped about the real facts before the Ring was destroyed. Only after the war he started to spill out some good tales. Maybe he wouldn't even mention Angmar or Mordor or the Witch-King willingly before the End - bad luck, you know.

Val: "I wanted to make sure we had a tale about an actual rescue of a princess (and maybe even find a way to link it with the brooch that Tom Bombadil took from the barrow! )."

Hmm... I would love to link our story with Tom's brooch, but I fail to see how we can do it - yet. We basically have 3 ladies: Gimilbeth, Odare and Tarniel. Of them all, only Gimilbeth could end up in Cardolan - but Tom would hardly speak so fondly of her, would he? Odare married Beleg and most likely was buried in Fornost. She hardly ever came to Tyrn Gorthad. Tarniel died 60 years before the war of 1409, when the last prince of Cardolan was slain. Perhaps he came to love Tarniel and kept her brooch ever since her death? But that doesn't explain why Tom remembered the fair lady so fondly. It should be a lady whom he knew personally, most likely the Prince of Cardolan's wife or daughter. We shall have to introduce her still, then.

Val: "A question - should we have one thread entirely for the prologue itself, and a separate one to discuss our progress on it? Or is it easiest if we keep everything in one thread?"- As the community wishes. Fine with me both ways.


Val: "A few small comments on the start you've made:
2. I don't know if Gandalf would consider this an "old legend" - remember, he was in Middle Earth at the time, and probably had a great familiarity with the story. He would likely have personally known the survivors - and many others who could relate the accounts - had probably heard much of the story first-hand, and maybe soon after it happened (with the reasonable assumption that Gandalf probably knew personally at least all the Kings of Arthedain after his arrival in ME - possibly also those of Cardolan and Rhudaur)."- Very true. I shall edit out "old legend" Let it be simply "a tale".

Val: "3. It might be fun to weave in a reference to "rescue of princesses" - I'll stew a little on just how we may do it."
Yes. Please do it.

Val: 4." Interesting that this is happening at about the same time of year as our own story begins. (and I just checked - it was October 13 of 3018 when Frodo crossed the Bridge on the way out)"
Right - October is a busy time! Our stoty starts in October. The hobbits went "there" on Oct 13, "back again" sometime after October 6 - that was the date when they crossed the Bruinen. They rode unhurriedly, so they could be at the Mitheithel by the 10 or the 12...

Val: "5. I get the impression that it should be getting dark by the time the party has finished eating, but they seem to view the Bridge in full sunlight, after the meal."

No, Val, they went to the Bridge to stretch their legs BEFORE the meal, while Sam was cooking. I imagine in Rivendell they gave them all sorts of provisions, and Sam most likely prepared a stew and possibly some other dishes as well - it took some time. It would be great if someone expanded the description of the supper preparations a bit - how Sam took out his pans and kettles etc...

In October, the sunrise should be around 8 am and the sunset around 5 pm, I think. They were not in a hurry, so I gather they rode for no more than 6 hours every day. And all the hobbits have been injured recently. It is mentioned in "Homeward Bound" that "the journey went well, and the days went quickly by; for they rode at leisure, and often they lingered in the fair woodlands where the leaves were red and yellow in the autumn sun. At length they came to Weathertop"

So I suppose they stopped at about 4 pm, while the sun was low but still shining. Then while they ate - a long affair with hobbits - the sun had set and they talked sometime by the fire. And then Frodo went to bed, while the others listened to the tale in darkness.

Val: "Also - whether from my own imagination, or something Tolkien writes - I picture the river at this location being at the bottom of a deep gorge. If so - in sinking sunlight, it would be dark down there even if there were still some sun up above (perhaps a nice setting anyway)."I have looked for the quotes. It is important - as we will have the ambush for Gimilbeth set nearby as well.

So
* At the end of the fifth day [from Weathertop] the ground began once more to rise slowly out of the wide shallow valley into which they had descended. Strider now turned their course again north-eastwards, and on the sixth day they reached the top of a long slow-climbing slope, and saw far ahead a huddle of wooded hills. Away below them they could see the Road sweeping round the feet of the hills; and to their right a grey river gleamed pale in the thin sunshine. In the distance they glimpsed yet another river in a stony valley half-veiled in mist."- Flight to the Ford

There is no mention here of the Mitheithel being in a valley. The Bruinen, in contrast, was in a stony valley. Also the fact that they could see the water of Mitheithel from a distance meant there was no deep valley.

**and after a mile or two they saw the Last Bridge ahead, at the bottom of a short steep slope." Flight to the Ford
So there was a short steep slope leading to the bridge from the western side.

***Wind got up, and the willows along the river-bank bent and sighed. I don't know what river it was, a rushing red one, swollen with the rains of the last few days, that came down from the hills and mountains in front of them...
Then one of the ponies took fright at nothing and bolted. He got into the river before they could catch him; and before they could get him out again, Fili and Kili were nearly drowned, and all the baggage that he carried was washed away off him." - the Hobbit

So it seems the waters of Mitheithel were red (if we can rely on the Hobbit at all) but there was no deep gorge.

But, Val, f you are willing to rewrite the description of the bridgin my post, reducing the sunlight - by all means do it!

Val: Maybe I'll even work in something about the Dunedain having built this bridge (my theory) - under Elendil. Don't let me bog things down too much though."

You may be right about the bridge - I figure it was likely built by Elendil in the place of a smaller pre-existing structure. The road was used by the Dwarves even in the Second Age, also it was the road from Imladris to Lindon. There should have been some Second Age bridge, as Mitheithel is surely not a river that could be forded.
Aragorn: "There is no way over it below its sources in the Ettenmoors, except by the Last Bridge on which the Road crosses"

It is completely out of context, but I have just re-read the part about the green stone on the Last Bridge. Why the hell hasn't Glorfindel left a written note along with his token stone? It could have saved Aragorn very precious time - he could have used the road, instead of climbing over this broken Rhudaur terrain for many days! ("'It is a beryl, an elf-stone. Whether it was set there, or let fall by chance, I cannot say; but it brings hope to me. I will take it as a sign that we may pass the Bridge; but beyond that I dare not keep to the Road, without some clearer token.')

[Elfhild]

I think it's a great idea to have Gandalf tell the tale to the Hobbits. Great writing, Scribe! Very Tolkiensque; it looks like a "missing chapter" from LOTR or UT.

I think it would be best to have the lady of Cardolan as a separate character. Otherwise, we might have to do too much maneuvering to make the brooch work as the possession of one of the Rhudaurian ladies. We would have to decide on who this Cardolani lady would be, her relationship with Tom Bombadil, and her importance in the story.

[Witch-king of Angmar]

"***Wind got up, and the willows along the river-bank bent and sighed. I don't know what river it was, a rushing red one, swollen with the rains of the last few days, that came down from the hills and mountains in front of them...
Then one of the ponies took fright at nothing and bolted. He got into the river before they could catch him; and before they could get him out again, Fili and Kili were nearly drowned, and all the baggage that he carried was washed away off him." - the Hobbit
So it seems the waters of Mitheithel were red (if we can rely on the Hobbit at all) but there was no deep gorge." - Gordis

Great story, Gordis! Very Tolkienesque, as Elfhild said.

The archives would be a great treasure house for writers, but I don't think a lot of them even read it. The very name "archives" might seem formidable to them. I have always enjoyed them, and as a matter of fact, when I first read LOTR, I read the archives first.

The reference to the "swollen with the rains of the last few days" would indicate to me the presence of red clay, thus causing the red appearance of the water. Probably, if there had not been a rain, the water would not have had a red coloration. I am very familiar with this type of soil and the erosion that can be picked up in a rainstorm and dumped in the water.

I think the actual prologue should be kept separate from the comments. It would be much easier to divide them up later. I will create a thread now so we will have it for later.

Val, great to see you back!

[Serenoli]

Hey, All! Lovely prologue, Gordis, beautiful start! Oh, its so good to see them again... the hobbits and Gandalf, I mean... Missed them a lot.

I loved your idea, its so much better than Chronicles. I always enjoy the Appendices and the rest, but somehow i never can remember the details very well later on... but a gandalf tale, now that I caould remember well...

[Witch-king of Angmar]

Serenoli, I think everyone is engrossed in Gordis' tale. Gordis makes a perfect Gandalf.

[Gordis]

Ahem... thanks guys, but doesn't anyone else wish to try his hand as part-time Gandalf?

Basically we have to tell the story how Arnor has divided and how Angmar was founded. Also the pieces from the Geographical info thread - description of Cameth Brin and from the Character info thread - about Tarnendur and his family.