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Autumn 9 Fourth Age 1430 Shire-reckoning 
the ashes of a black sleep scatter fell {{ WORDS on {{ HOWLING winds |
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| The Story So Far | |
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| Topic Started: Oct 19 2009, 12:36 PM (128 Views) | |
| heatherbee. | Oct 19 2009, 12:36 PM Post #1 |
Andrea's Grasshopper
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The Story So Far As major plots are created and played out, a summary of events will be posted here so members can stay caught up with current events and everyone can review what has already happened. ENEMIES AT HOME AND ABROAD Timeline: 6 Fourth Age - present Threads: The Awakening, The Kidnapping, Rescue and Recover, Atalantë, Startling Revelations MAGE Timeline: 6 Fourth Age - present Threads: Revealing the Magic THE BREATH OF THE DEAD Timeline: 6-7 Fourth Age Threads: Thûl-in-Gyrth, Hands of a Healer, Uraes, Eye of the Wind, Current of Hope WITCH HUNT Timeline: 7-8 Fourth Age Threads: And So Comes A New Year, No Tomorrow THE GRAY MAGIC Timeline: 7-9 Fourth Age Threads: a precious thing, something wicked this way comes, & he sayeth ,, vengeance is m i n e SCIONS OF THE THIRD AGE Timeline: 9 Fourth Age Threads: Cloak & Dagger THE SECOND COMING Timeline: 9 Fourth Age Threads: the ashes of a black sleep scatter, fell {{ WORDS on {{ HOWLING winds Edited by heatherbee., Oct 31 2009, 09:28 PM.
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| heatherbee. | Oct 19 2009, 01:02 PM Post #2 |
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Andrea's Grasshopper
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In the year 6 of the Fourth Age of the Sun ... Our story begins in the sixth year of the Fourth Age of the Sun. The peace Middle-earth had known since the downfall of Sauron and the ending of the War of the Ring was about to end. In the quiet of Mount Doom, silent since the One Ring was destroyed in its fires, a Lieutenant of Barad-dûr gave all the strength and power left in his blood. He poured his malevolent magic into the lands of Middle-earth. From the accursed mountain spread a darkness that awoke in the hearts of men, elves, dwarves, and all inhabitants of Arda. Called the Hand of Sauron, known as the General of Sauron’s Army, he is a vile and twisted man who seeks only destruction, desires only power, and knows only torment. In the West, the New Year is celebrated in the Merethrond, the Citadel of Minas Tirith, by the unsuspecting Free Peoples of Middle-earth. Not many months later, in Eriador, Milo Brandybuck, a Hobbit of no great importance or rank, begins to feel disquiet with his tranquil life. He sets off to Bree, with the intention of visiting Weathertop before returning home. He meets in the Prancing Pony a young Dúnedain woman called Haeleana who offers to lead him there. Together, they approach the watchtower of Amon Sûl. During the night, Haeleana is taken from her bed. When Milo finds her, she is unconscious. A man, whom he calls a magician, is performing a dark ritual. Frightened, Milo stumbles and hits his head. When he wakes, Haeleana is leaning over him, apparently unharmed yet unable to remember anything of the previous night. They leave for Gondor, Haeleana intent on informing King Elessar of Milo’s story. While Milo and Haeleana travel south, Hand of Sauron comes north to Eregion and the Mines of Moria. Now with Uruk-hai and Orc followers, he is able to enter and travel through the ruined dwarf city unharmed. A rebellious and unfortunate Gondorian Lady, Celarwen, who has fled from her home and the cloistered life she hates, arrives at the Doors of Durin at the same time. Seeing an opportunity to make his presence known, Hand of Sauron takes Celarwen as his prisoner. Although Hand of Sauron sends a note of ransom to King Elessar, and a search party comes North, Lady Celarwen is not found. The note was a clever ruse designed to lure the search party, which included the King and Legolas, into an elaborate trap and their deaths. Elessar and Legolas escaped, but Celarwen’s fate will remain forever unknown. Perhaps some unfortunate slave to Hand of Sauron or a corrupted convert, no one in Gondor can know. Bolstered by his first victory, Hand of Sauron conceived to bring the threat closer to Gondor. Using plague rats from Harad, followers of Hand of Sauron enter Minas Tirith and release the vermin. It does not take many days before the plague has broken out. Called Thûl-in-Gryth, the Breath of the Dead, the illness causes first fatigue and fever before a heavy delirium and unconsciousness follow. Within the month, all its victims die. It will be another nine months of night-and-day work for the Healers of Middle-earth. Among those falling ill are Lady Eowyn. Infected worst of all, friendly countries send Healers to aid Gondor. Along with King Elessar, it is two Rohirric Healers who will find the cure to Thûl-in-Gryth. Diore and Eolystan discover patients who should be near death alert and well again. The cure, they realize, is an herb called Uraes which grows only on the banks of River Harnen in Harad. While his deadly scheme is destroying the West, killing thousands without any effort on his part, Hand of Sauron scouts locations for his fortress in the north. He comes upon an ancient castle in the Icebay of Forochel. Naturally protected from invaders, like Barad-dûr and Angband before, he claims it as his own. He calls it Atalantë, the Downfallen, unwittingly revealing his history as a Black Númenórean. And so ends the sixth year of the Fourth Age of the Sun. In the year 7 of the Fourth Age of the Sun ... Our story continues into the seventh year of the Fourth Age of the Sun. The restless stirrings that had begun last year increased to a frantic pace, leaving none in doubt that the whispered rumors were true. The year started on a hopeful note, when Prince Erchirion of Dol Amroth sent a missive to the kings and rulers of Middle-earth. A cure to Thûl-in-Gyrth—the Breath of the Dead—had been discovered at long last. The rare herb called Uraes grows only in Harad along the banks of River Harnen. What might have been a time of great joy at the news became a tainted affair. The New Year’s Day celebration was to be held in Ithilien—an open-air setting free of the stuffy, plague-infested cities. Queens Arwen and Lothiriel were in attendance, along with other ladies of their courts, Gwenneth of Gondor and Lyda of Rohan. A wandering Dunedain, Esril, also attracted ill attention, though he was no threat or menace. While the Free Peoples of Middle-earth gathered to celebrate, the servants of Hand of Sauron held congress too. At the height of the festival, a murder of crebain attacked the gathering, and as they flew away, they left a token from the enemy: a human hand severed at the wrist and branded with the black Eye of Sauron. In the chaos that followed, Morion, a twisted elf in league with the enemy, spewed vile half-truths at his audience. His words played on their greatest fears and threw the crowd into a trebled frenzy. The elf and Erchirion dueled, leaving the Prince scarred and defeated while Morion escaped. In the following weeks, interrogations were held in Ithilien. Among the detainees was Esril the Dunedain. But Morion remains at large, and while he is free his words verifying the existence of a Lieutenant of Barad-dur called Hand of Sauron are the greatest threat to the West, for blows to hearts and minds are often more deadly than bodily wounds. While all of the West searched for Morion and his peers, Prince Erchirion was sent to Harad for the herb Uraes and was joined on board his ship by his father, Prince Imrahil, a Rohirric Healer called Eolystan, and two dwarves of Aglarond, Arran and Orrin. After surviving a naval battle against three Corsair ships, the Gondorian vessel sailed into the mouth of River Harnen. Sequestered away in his fortress Atalantë, Hand of Sauron sends his servants abroad to search for one source of magic he knows exists—the Elven jewel carried by the witch woman. News reached him that the magical jewel had been located in Rohan. He set out at once to find the woman, now bent on revenge against her. Instead, he discovered that his Orc servants have lied to him; the witch is dead. The jewel had been passed on to her daughter, Gwenneth. Hand of Sauron offers Gwenneth a deal. He will spare the village around the Aldburg from destruction by his Orcs and Wargs if she willingly accompanies him on a journey. She agrees under duress. With Gwenneth drugged by one of Morion’s sleeping potions, Hand of Sauron begins the trek to the Paths of the Dead where he plans to use the Elven jewel to restore some of his former magic. And so ends the seventh year of the Fourth Age of the Sun. In the year 8 of the Fourth Age of the Sun ... Our story continues into the eighth year of the Fourth Age of the Sun. Though the year is pocketed with hope, it begins and ends in disaster for the free peoples of Middle-earth. After arriving at the Paths of the Dead with Gwenneth, Hand of Sauron meets with his most loyal servant, Faeleth, and completes the ritual to restore his dark magic. With victory fresh in his mind, he orders Gwenneth taken to his fortress Atalantë while he attends to business in the South. Meanwhile in Harad, Erchirion manages to secure enough uraes to cure Gondor and her allies across Middle-earth. He returns to Minas Tirith to consult with King Elessar briefly before returning to Edoras where he expects to see his sister and Gwenneth. During his stay in the city, he is summoned to the high court where Esril, falsely accused of treason, will be put on trial. Crowds gather to watch the traitor’s fate. Among the witnesses are Araseth, Edhan, Erewen, and Araloth. In the middle of Erchirion’s testimony against Esril, the true culprit reveals himself. Morion announces himself in spectacular fashion. He attacks Edhan and then Erchirion before Swan Knights injure him with arrows and detain him. The fight leaves Esril wounded, but a free man. On the seventh level, another crowd has gathered for a different purpose. Out of Ages past, the wandering elf Elmo arrives in the South to share news he has learned from his time in the North. He warns Queen Arwen, Araloth, and Nariel that Hand of Sauron has established a fortress in the Icebay of Forochel and that he is building an army of wights. While the men of the West debate and fight small battles, Hand of Sauron strikes with all his might at the city of Edoras. Bringing three operatives—Faeleth, Morion, and Merileth—it is his plan to burn the capital of Rohan to the ground. Hand of Sauron, Faeleth, and Morion each set alight one corner of the marketplace, but Merileth quails and flees. In the chaos that follows, the wraith Jabbar attacks from the sky and Kohr brings his Orcs by land. Edoras might have been lost but for the brave people there that day. Merry, Pippin, Legolas, Sarion, Eowyn, Lothiriel, Lyda, Murazar, and Leod—each in Edoras for his or her own purposes—come together and save the city from the fires. Hand of Sauron has shown that no one is safe. Edoras has been burned, but saved from total destruction. Both sides claim a victory. And so ends the eighth year of the Fourth Age of the Sun. |
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edge created by tiptopolive of ifsz
Graphics by heatherbee. Small buttons by Tue.
Graphics by heatherbee. Small buttons by Tue.
