A task for an Artificer [Open]

[laurefindil]

Hello, I do hope I am using this correctly.

I am looking for an artificer to assist with a project. It has come to my attention that the stools on this train are, 'one size fits some of the people' and not adjustable. Would anyone be interested in taking on a project to create stools that can change height?

Comments

[so_dark_a_road]

It's a longish list. I wrote songs for Finrod, Maglor, Celebrimbor, and Aredhel. And I wrote a few for people you've never met -- my ex-lover Yukari, and a woman named Sansa. If you're interested in hearing any of them, I'll gladly sing them for you. And I'd love it if you accompanied me! Mother has Maglor's harp, and we can borrow it.

[ Plenty of time to think about classification! ]

Hmm. Not so easy to define Elvishness when we are so various, especially if we think of First Age Elves? Maybe we'd better start with the easiest. Hobbits? What would you say their characteristics are? You've already mentioned a prodigious appetite. [ He makes a humorous gesture of diving into a handful of food and munching it down with great enthusiasm. ]

[laurefindil]

Absolutely. Do you think Lady Nerdanel might be interested in joining us? And anyone else who would be interested, of course. Music is not unique to Elves after all.

The appetite, they are also rather small, of course. They also have an Earthiness to them, you should have met Sam, he was an amazing person and quite a good Gardner. It would be a mistake to consider them pacifists simply because they are peaceful, however.

[so_dark_a_road]

Mother might well be interested. Her art was always sculpture, but she appreciates music. And there might be others who would like to join us. There are a number of people on this train who love music.

Hmm. So, for Hobbits, the characteristics are appetite, earthiness, and. . . being not quite pacifists? All right, then, lets move on to Dwarves. How would you define them?

[laurefindil]

Then let us create music! How does one start a...Bardic Circle on a linear train? Where would we have it? How often? When should we start?

Well, Dwarves are grumpy, good with their liquor (though not as good as elves, of course), stubborn as can be, surprisingly good singers, very fond of gold and shiny things, naturally good with their hands, and well, they do love a good fight. What is your opinion?

[so_dark_a_road]

[ He smiles. ] Linearity and circularity, opposite characteristics, yes? But the easiest way to start a Bardic Circle would be to get on the network and advertise. And as for the where, I vote for the Garden Carriage. It has very few plants but lots of stone, and the sound of music bounces off the stone in a most wonderfully resonant way. Fantastic acoustics!

As for the Dwarves, I can't argue with any of that! I spent a good deal of time interacting with them during the Beleriand years. Caranthir did, too. He made a lot of gold off them. I mostly just learned from them. And it certainly was fun to drink, sing, and fight with them at a feast. [ He grins and swings his fists merrily, pretending to fight with a Dwarf friend. He lets the imaginary Dwarf knock him out. ]

All right, then, shall we move on to mortals? What do you think are their characteristics?

[laurefindil]

I can do that. I think I am getting the hang of this thing. [he laughs] Watch though, the next time I use it I will do something odd, just because I said that!

They are good fun at a feast, I do agree. You should have seen Aragon and Arwen's wedding feast. It lasted for six and a half days. [He laughs at the sight, especially since the tall Curufin had to bend over to get mock hit.]

Men? Sure, pick a hard one. There are so many different kinds. But for the most part the Men of my acquaintance aspire to greatness...even when they don't. [he laughs yet again.] They are hasty beings, driven by their limited lives to do as much as possible, but they are....I'd have to say they are more defined by their diversity. Some are good singers, some are good fighters, some are good drinkers, etc. It is hard to pick a single trait that I would look at and say, "that is to be a Man." What would you use to describe them?

[so_dark_a_road]

I think you will be fine on this train, using the network. [ He laughs, too. ] Go ahead, do something odd! Be an Elf of your word!

I wish I had been alive in the Second and Third Ages, as I have said. I could have attended King Aragorn's and Queen Arwen's wedding feast and gotten drunk with you and the Dwarves and anybody else who cared to raise a glass with me. [ He mimes getting up off the floor and lifts an imaginary glass to his boisterous imaginary Dwarf friend and then to Glorfindel. ]

My perception of Mortal Men is much like yours. We Fëanorions had some mortal tribes as allies, and I got to know some of them. Yes, they are hasty, due to the need to achieve their goals and dreams in a very short time. I'd say that's their defining characteristic, actually.

[laurefindil]

I didn't say it would be on purpose! [Glorfindel laughed.]

It was a feast to remember, to be sure. The Dwarves were crashed out on the floor, the people of Gondor and the Rhohirrim, were embracing each other as long lost brothers and sisters. Indeed, Faramir and Elowyn pledged their love at some point during the festivities. I do not thing Eomer was particularly happy about losing his sister, but he was quite impressed with Faramir, so that did take the sting out of it. You would have fit right in, I am certain. Poor Legolas had to mostly behave himself as he was representing the Greenwood. Mostly.

So, who does that leave us? Elves? How would you define us?