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Tumunzahar makes Menegroth look like a contract project. Which, the Dwarves assure her, it was. The stonework is astonishingly careful and beautiful, silky to the touch up close while from a distance it gives the impression of stretching on forever above, a sky of stone with crystals for stars. Vast natural cave systems are connected by dozens of perfectly smooth, gently sloped broad stone pathways from which the fall, if she fell, would be several miles down. There are handrails. "We use those to move materials carts," someone explains to her, "we're not going to be reckless."
There's an amphitheater, a place where a hundred of the stone walkways twine around to create space for a hundred thousand people to sit in close proximity, and someone is giving a lecture or a demonstration at the base of it, the seats closest to him filled with eager, tiny, bearded Dwarf-children.
And they spiral down, and down, and down, past waterfalls and egg-sized gemstones left half in the rock and halls of crystal. Everything grows gradually more ornate and more perfectly maintained and the clang of hammers fades behind them. "People say," her guide says, "that we only have a council instead of a single King because there were nine winners of the competition to design the throne so we couldn't just select one person to sit it." And they push open the doors to reveal, indeed, nine thrones so elaborate it would be hard to choose between them, and nine squat bearded people sitting them.
I probably shouldn't tell you this, because I approve of you not killing unarmed orcs who are barely out of childhood, good lord, but no, they're not. Melkor can collect their souls but he's not Mandos and can't do anything with them.
It still barely costs him anything. He has, what, a million by now? He honestly might be sending you ones he's inclined to dispose of anyway. Or he might be trying to turn Mandos against you, Mandos might eventually get unamused with your death toll. Though he cares more about Elves than Orcs. And isn't going to do anything for five centuries anyway.
You gonna try overthrowing the Valar? If that's what you want, why not make nice with Sauron? He has all the cards but you have all the leverage.
purposeful_glory
I might have considered it but he's just so darned determinedly evil and the Valar are merely incompetent assholes and therefore a lesser priority.
He is, isn't he? The plan says something like 'the shadow of torment was forever in Nelyafinwë's eyes' and he goes 'okay how inventive can I get with this'. And I'm sorry. About your friend.
Not to rub it in or whatever but 'rescue someone from Angband' is a thing I can do. Once.
And oaths to serve someone are voided if that someone is dead, and unless she had a crush on you I can't think what fault Mandos would find with her, so no later than when Melkor's shredded she'll be fine.
And oaths to serve someone are voided if that someone is dead, and unless she had a crush on you I can't think what fault Mandos would find with her, so no later than when Melkor's shredded she'll be fine.
purposeful_glory
...I don't think she had a crush on me. And that's - well, partial solution, but the most important part.
Fucking stupid to use Elves as the building block for a subservient warrior race, isn't it? They're just too good-natured for it.
Melian wanted you to stay in Doriath and be impossible for Sauron to get any information to, right? She's a myopic prissy creep but she didn't suggest that to annoy you, she suggested it because this was obviously gonna be Sauron's next play and sure enough.
If you change your mind about deals with Sauron, you and I can talk, I can go get an oath with agreed-upon wording from him, I can come back and swear to the wording I heard.
purposeful_glory
If he wants to stop being so fucking evil then it's Valar-in-general who get to lose faster and harder because I'm on hand. Maybe he'd go for it. But if he wants to win and he wants to win under the banner of Being Really Really Evil then it's not gonna work out.
Doubt he's wedded to the banner. I can ask.
I think you're gonna win and take over the world. What do you want, such that when that happens I get to live alone in peace and do my thing?
I think you're gonna win and take over the world. What do you want, such that when that happens I get to live alone in peace and do my thing?
Not in the habit of torturing people. Don't even do a lot of fucking with them. Your settlement's not really very well protected against anyone who has a small animal form.
Echolocation is great. I bet everyone's looking into bat forms now that they've got Miss Invisibility on the playing field.
No comment, sweetheart. Anyway, you either need walled cities or caves, there's a reason the Elves end up always going for one or the two.
The Elves had the enchantment for that even in the old days. Have they forgotten it? That'd be hilarious. I'd be happy to teach someone.