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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.
purposeful_glory
I managed. I had books. Eventually I had Sigyn. I had, in its peculiar way, the Tesseract. I suppose people might be frightened of me but they could also just think I was lying, if it came to that, unless I was holding an infinity stone while telling the story, which seems like a dumb thing to do.
Or unless you brought some curious Quendi along. Though if you expect a bad reaction, might be wise not to do that.
purposeful_glory
I would expect to see a bad reaction coming early enough to teleport away. I know Lúthien wants to see Asgard. Tyelcormo mentioned it too, I intend to take him on a bilgesnipe hunt.
I have no idea what a bilgesnipe is but am sure he'll love that. Hey, give us all free will and he can date girls.
purposeful_glory
If you mean he can do this on Asgard, Sigyn can help him find the ones who don't think boys knowing how to shoot things is a turn-off!
If he just makes it known that he's only interested in girls who can take him in a fight, will this successfully filter for the ones he wants? Because that's his policy here and serves well enough, but Asgard has frankly bizarre ideas about sex and gender.
purposeful_glory
That will filter, yes, with some talk in the background he can ignore; anyone who doesn't want to fight a boy will rule him out. Unless he pulls Sigyn-like shenanigans which seem unlike him.
purposeful_glory
First time I met Sigyn he infiltrated the practice hall pretending to be a girl. He wanted a chance to fight Thor. When we got him to show his face Fandral was very alarmed about where she recognized him from.
Can't see Tyelcormo pretending to be a girl, or having a particular desire to fight your sister. He hesitates, no, that's not true, he probably would, but if she has a policy of not fighting boys I expect he'd just prod Irissë into doing it for him.
purposeful_glory
He fought Fandral first, beat her, Thor said she'd fight him if he told us his name, and then it turned out he was a boy; and she was concerned it would hardly be fair, and I said I'd fight him too if that would spread around the embarrassment enough to suit her; she agreed and she beat him and I lost to him.
Then I don't think I understand why it'd be unfair to fight a man, but not unfair to fight a self-trained woman.
Our norms are very demanding and sometimes misguided but can hardly be accused of being unfair or - arbitrary - in the way yours seem to be.
He raises an eyebrow. There are gendered differences in aptitude and inclination but not in what's permitted to you.
Hmm. Women are statistically likelier to be healers, less likely to hunt, likelier to do precision craft work like magic items or decorative art. Men usually cook, except lembas, which one of the Valier taught us and which come out better with a woman baking them. None of these tendencies are strong enough that you'd feel surprise at meeting someone in a profession not associated with them. Except that every advance in mathematics has been made by a woman and it is surprising to meet men who are good at math. Men don't tend to get anywhere on math proper but often make contributions in theoretical engineering. I can't imagine anyone saying it'd be unfair to have a contest because of the gender of the participants.
purposeful_glory
I do not think you have done the rigorous experiments necessary to show that these differences are innate. It is especially bizarre that there is a food that comes out better if a woman bakes it. That's just weird.
Those experiments would require Father to be more authoritarian than he's generally inclined. I suppose eventually he might be willing to do it for the sake of knowledge. The Valar's personal magic can work as they please and if a Vala decides that hers works better for women then it does.
purposeful_glory
Oh, well, if the Valar are doing it on purpose that's another matter, I suppose. What a waste of being a Vala.
He smiles. They also built a paradise. It's quite nice there. Anyway, if you told people that all of those tendencies aren't innate I think they'd say 'oh, all right' and go on with their lives, they don't have tremendous cultural weight.
purposeful_glory
Perhaps. I mean, there are races with enormous mental sexual dimorphism but Quendi do not manifest it in any customary way. More study needed, where by needed I mean pretty thoroughly optional as long as nobody's actually refusing to teach little boys math.