Post by Hatholdir on Sept 22, 2021 22:44:20 GMT
Author's Note: This RP's text was taken from an archival thread of mine from the Imladris Forum on the Plaza but it's unrelated to that site and has no ties to the RPing sections of this one. This thread is reserved for myself and Feapoldië if she wants to write here, too; since our "Old Friends, New Friends" story is now taking place on the Beyond Free RP of the Plaza we'll use this place for events taking place in the years after. No one's characters but ours and Sur's will be mentioned in this thread.
i.ibb.co/KWQ8PD9/qd0qg65.jpg
"After the 'breaking of the North' in the Great Battle, the shape of the North-west
of Middle-Earth was changed. Nearly all Beleriand was drowned in the sea.
Taur na Fuin became an island. The mountains of Eredwethion &c. became small isles (so also Himling)."
- Tolkien, from The Treason of Isengard
"And all the coasts and seaward regions of the western world suffered
great change and ruin in that time; for the seas invaded the lands,
and shores foundered, and ancient isles were drowned,
and new isles were uplifted; and hills crumbled and rivers were
turned into strange courses."
- Tolkien, from The Silmarillion: Akallabêth
"Those that sailed far came only to the new lands,
and found them like to the old lands."
- Tolkien, from The Silmarillion: Akallabeth
i.ibb.co/DtLxpHC/f3BwKvj.jpg
"Now the sign of Meglin was a sable Mole, and he was great
among quarrymen and a chief of the delvers after ore; and
many of these belonged to his house."
- Tolkien, from The Book of Lost Tales II: The Fall of Gondolin
"But the folk of Meglin were drawn up in the same place
and sable was their harness, and they bore no sign or emblem,
but their round caps of steel were covered with moleskin, and they
fought with axes two-headed like mattocks. There Meglin prince
of Gondobar gathered many warriors of dark countenance and
lowering gaze about him, and a ruddy glow shone upon their faces
and gleamed about the polished surfaces of their accoutrement."
- Tolkien, from The Book of Lost Tales II: The Fall of Gondolin
i.ibb.co/j8p8sM7/XWzTGmE.jpg
Tuor...seized Meglin...and flung him far out. Great was the fall
of his body, and it smote Amon Gwareth three times ere it pitched
in the midmost of the flames; and the name of Meglin has gone out
in shame from among Eldar and Noldoli. Then the warriors of the
Mole being more numerous than those few of the Wing, and loyal
to their lord, came at Tuor, and there were great blows...and they
were smitten and driven to fly into what dark holes they might,
or flung from the walls."
- Tolkien, from The Book of Lost Tales II: The Fall of Gondolin
"Shields also they made displaying the tokens of many
houses and kindreds that vied one with another."
- Tolkien, from The Silmarillion:
Of The Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor
i.ibb.co/Jcx9gxw/Wp2335217.jpg
Thousands of leagues beyond the shores of Lindon lies a remote island, fair and cool, thickly clouded in concealing vapours. The red glow of forgefires and brilliant lamps kindle bright lights in the drifting mists, welcoming returning mariners to the Island of the Moles. It is a refuge solely belonging to the surviving people of Prince Maeglin and refugees of Beleriand they welcomed in the dark waning years of the First Age. Hatholdir Nârroval, an Elf-lord and metallurgist of Maeglin's of the Mole House, recovered the sword which his chieftain once wielded before his demise. He proclaimed himself lord of the Moles. Hatholdir banded together the Moles hiding from vengeful Gondolin Elves and warmongering Orcs alike; over the years he welcomed any Elf needing sanctuary who either didn't know about the gathering of Elves at the Havens of Sirion or were too far away to risk a perilous journey to them. Of these desperate wanders, it were miners and warriors and quarryingmen and artisans being the most favored but also healers, hunters, weavers, and gardeners and those of other useful talents. Hatholdir established homes for them within Ered Wethrin, specifically the ranges of the gargantuan chain girdling the lands near Tol Sirion and extending west into the Mountains of Mithrim. When the earth-shattering tumults of the War of Wrath broke Beleriand into utter destruction, this territory of Ered Wethrin became an island, one of the largest oversea, which included regions of Mithrim.
Many of the delvers among the Noldor and Sindar who took the badge of the Mole in olden days have laboured in quarries and mines on Tol Noldare; they have extracted valuable kinds of rock and diverse gemstones from the mountains for millennia. Some Moles live in the countryside east of the long stream Araduin, the River of the King, which flowz from the sea. Others are sheltered in majestic chambers underground or below the snow-capped peaks in forests of conifers and shady broad-leaved trees. Mindon Nârroval - The Tower of the Bat - is the impregnable citadel of Hatholdir and his family; it stands loftily atop a steep mountain accessed by four sturdy rope bridges.
Only ships flying black sails emblazoned with the heraldic bat of Hatholdir - his symbol in Aman before the adoption of the Mole in Gondolin - are permitted into the harbours of the island by the sleepless watch, commanded by trusty Ospiel Iuliel. Her guards are assigned to the towering wall of forts built throughout the great mountainous coastline to keep everyone who is not a Mole, one of their relatives, or their most faithful allies out of Hatholdir's domain. If approaching the widest haven from the south, the mariner is greeted by a huge chryselephantine statue of Prince Maeglin constructed of gold and fire-blackened ivory; it was erected eons past with eyes fashioned of Balarian pearls which shine in the beams of sun and stars filtering through the island's mantle of fog. Lighthouses have been raised at the eastern and western havens on the island, guiding the way for Moles who have become sailors piloting freighters laden with Tol Noldarë goods or vessels shipping warriors to Lindonese ports.
Considering the surviving Gondolindrim still dislike Moles for their role in Gondolin's destruction and their attack on Tuor's house, most exports of Tol Noldarë are sent to the markets of Gondor - Dol Amroth, primarily - and those of eastern lands outside of Sauron's dominion. Obsessed with new locations for ore and gems, Hatholdir has commissioned Moles to scour hills of Eriador and the tunnels of the Misty Mountains not claimed by Aigronding and other prospectors from Rivendell or Lothlórien. Hatholdir has sent scouts recently in the last fifty years into the Mountains of Mirkwood unused by Silvan Elves; others have been dispatched into the mapped and unexplored areas of Rhûn to establish mining camps for Tol Noldarë. He wants to hold the allegiance of his people by sustaining their prosperity. He maintains the interest of his fighters by giving them the chance to battle even if it means selling their axes to reluctant Aigronding, Tar-Taidron of the Imladris Guards, as reinforcements or to the rebel kings of the East resisting the dominion of Mordor.
Sending droves of Moles off the island in hope of glorious pursuits and considering the threat of Umbarian siege,
Hatholdir must ensure the survival of his people remaining on Tol Noldarë by making hard choices. He has become involved in the slavetrade of Umbar, buying a small amount of human thralls from Sarabeth Gameela and Matsu Halsad. He has treated them as indentured servants for the Moles who work domestically for a short number of years before retiring peacefully to their individual sector of the island, owning their own lands west of Araduin. As long as they do not contest his leadership, Hatholdir has acted kindly on their behalf so the Mortals may not suffer Umbarian oppression though it means they must never return to the mainland of Middle-earth again.
Both Elf and Man co-exist on Tol Noldarë with seldom uprisings against his benevolent dictatorship. Against the ardent pleas of his wife - Meluiwen - and the wise counsel of close friends such as Erfaron, there's nothing Hatholdir wouldn't do to ensure the security and stability of the Moles even if it means doing something ignoble like shaking the dirtiest hands of Arda. He is feared and admired, respected and hated - a lucky gambler and a neutral party in the wars of the world, helping both Good and Evil to keep his Moles safe and flourishing.
i.ibb.co/CHJRMvc/RC9qUU5.jpg
i.ibb.co/KWQ8PD9/qd0qg65.jpg
"After the 'breaking of the North' in the Great Battle, the shape of the North-west
of Middle-Earth was changed. Nearly all Beleriand was drowned in the sea.
Taur na Fuin became an island. The mountains of Eredwethion &c. became small isles (so also Himling)."
- Tolkien, from The Treason of Isengard
"And all the coasts and seaward regions of the western world suffered
great change and ruin in that time; for the seas invaded the lands,
and shores foundered, and ancient isles were drowned,
and new isles were uplifted; and hills crumbled and rivers were
turned into strange courses."
- Tolkien, from The Silmarillion: Akallabêth
"Those that sailed far came only to the new lands,
and found them like to the old lands."
- Tolkien, from The Silmarillion: Akallabeth
i.ibb.co/DtLxpHC/f3BwKvj.jpg
"Now the sign of Meglin was a sable Mole, and he was great
among quarrymen and a chief of the delvers after ore; and
many of these belonged to his house."
- Tolkien, from The Book of Lost Tales II: The Fall of Gondolin
"But the folk of Meglin were drawn up in the same place
and sable was their harness, and they bore no sign or emblem,
but their round caps of steel were covered with moleskin, and they
fought with axes two-headed like mattocks. There Meglin prince
of Gondobar gathered many warriors of dark countenance and
lowering gaze about him, and a ruddy glow shone upon their faces
and gleamed about the polished surfaces of their accoutrement."
- Tolkien, from The Book of Lost Tales II: The Fall of Gondolin
i.ibb.co/j8p8sM7/XWzTGmE.jpg
Tuor...seized Meglin...and flung him far out. Great was the fall
of his body, and it smote Amon Gwareth three times ere it pitched
in the midmost of the flames; and the name of Meglin has gone out
in shame from among Eldar and Noldoli. Then the warriors of the
Mole being more numerous than those few of the Wing, and loyal
to their lord, came at Tuor, and there were great blows...and they
were smitten and driven to fly into what dark holes they might,
or flung from the walls."
- Tolkien, from The Book of Lost Tales II: The Fall of Gondolin
"Shields also they made displaying the tokens of many
houses and kindreds that vied one with another."
- Tolkien, from The Silmarillion:
Of The Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor
i.ibb.co/Jcx9gxw/Wp2335217.jpg
Thousands of leagues beyond the shores of Lindon lies a remote island, fair and cool, thickly clouded in concealing vapours. The red glow of forgefires and brilliant lamps kindle bright lights in the drifting mists, welcoming returning mariners to the Island of the Moles. It is a refuge solely belonging to the surviving people of Prince Maeglin and refugees of Beleriand they welcomed in the dark waning years of the First Age. Hatholdir Nârroval, an Elf-lord and metallurgist of Maeglin's of the Mole House, recovered the sword which his chieftain once wielded before his demise. He proclaimed himself lord of the Moles. Hatholdir banded together the Moles hiding from vengeful Gondolin Elves and warmongering Orcs alike; over the years he welcomed any Elf needing sanctuary who either didn't know about the gathering of Elves at the Havens of Sirion or were too far away to risk a perilous journey to them. Of these desperate wanders, it were miners and warriors and quarryingmen and artisans being the most favored but also healers, hunters, weavers, and gardeners and those of other useful talents. Hatholdir established homes for them within Ered Wethrin, specifically the ranges of the gargantuan chain girdling the lands near Tol Sirion and extending west into the Mountains of Mithrim. When the earth-shattering tumults of the War of Wrath broke Beleriand into utter destruction, this territory of Ered Wethrin became an island, one of the largest oversea, which included regions of Mithrim.
Many of the delvers among the Noldor and Sindar who took the badge of the Mole in olden days have laboured in quarries and mines on Tol Noldare; they have extracted valuable kinds of rock and diverse gemstones from the mountains for millennia. Some Moles live in the countryside east of the long stream Araduin, the River of the King, which flowz from the sea. Others are sheltered in majestic chambers underground or below the snow-capped peaks in forests of conifers and shady broad-leaved trees. Mindon Nârroval - The Tower of the Bat - is the impregnable citadel of Hatholdir and his family; it stands loftily atop a steep mountain accessed by four sturdy rope bridges.
Only ships flying black sails emblazoned with the heraldic bat of Hatholdir - his symbol in Aman before the adoption of the Mole in Gondolin - are permitted into the harbours of the island by the sleepless watch, commanded by trusty Ospiel Iuliel. Her guards are assigned to the towering wall of forts built throughout the great mountainous coastline to keep everyone who is not a Mole, one of their relatives, or their most faithful allies out of Hatholdir's domain. If approaching the widest haven from the south, the mariner is greeted by a huge chryselephantine statue of Prince Maeglin constructed of gold and fire-blackened ivory; it was erected eons past with eyes fashioned of Balarian pearls which shine in the beams of sun and stars filtering through the island's mantle of fog. Lighthouses have been raised at the eastern and western havens on the island, guiding the way for Moles who have become sailors piloting freighters laden with Tol Noldarë goods or vessels shipping warriors to Lindonese ports.
Considering the surviving Gondolindrim still dislike Moles for their role in Gondolin's destruction and their attack on Tuor's house, most exports of Tol Noldarë are sent to the markets of Gondor - Dol Amroth, primarily - and those of eastern lands outside of Sauron's dominion. Obsessed with new locations for ore and gems, Hatholdir has commissioned Moles to scour hills of Eriador and the tunnels of the Misty Mountains not claimed by Aigronding and other prospectors from Rivendell or Lothlórien. Hatholdir has sent scouts recently in the last fifty years into the Mountains of Mirkwood unused by Silvan Elves; others have been dispatched into the mapped and unexplored areas of Rhûn to establish mining camps for Tol Noldarë. He wants to hold the allegiance of his people by sustaining their prosperity. He maintains the interest of his fighters by giving them the chance to battle even if it means selling their axes to reluctant Aigronding, Tar-Taidron of the Imladris Guards, as reinforcements or to the rebel kings of the East resisting the dominion of Mordor.
Sending droves of Moles off the island in hope of glorious pursuits and considering the threat of Umbarian siege,
Hatholdir must ensure the survival of his people remaining on Tol Noldarë by making hard choices. He has become involved in the slavetrade of Umbar, buying a small amount of human thralls from Sarabeth Gameela and Matsu Halsad. He has treated them as indentured servants for the Moles who work domestically for a short number of years before retiring peacefully to their individual sector of the island, owning their own lands west of Araduin. As long as they do not contest his leadership, Hatholdir has acted kindly on their behalf so the Mortals may not suffer Umbarian oppression though it means they must never return to the mainland of Middle-earth again.
Both Elf and Man co-exist on Tol Noldarë with seldom uprisings against his benevolent dictatorship. Against the ardent pleas of his wife - Meluiwen - and the wise counsel of close friends such as Erfaron, there's nothing Hatholdir wouldn't do to ensure the security and stability of the Moles even if it means doing something ignoble like shaking the dirtiest hands of Arda. He is feared and admired, respected and hated - a lucky gambler and a neutral party in the wars of the world, helping both Good and Evil to keep his Moles safe and flourishing.
i.ibb.co/CHJRMvc/RC9qUU5.jpg