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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.
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Everyone present is not a Balrog and is willing to abide by the laws of the city or leave! Some of the Elves confirm this with a lot of emphasis on the 'or leave'! Maitimo comes outside in armor, eight pointed star on his chest, hair braided very elaborately, and the Elves' eyes narrow and he greets them by name. He does not ask after their families, but he gives the impression he could do that by name too.
Hello, he says to everyone. I am Nelyafinwë Maitimo; I built this city and govern it. It was built for Elves and Men are very different, and it took Elves long ages to come to love living in cities, but I hope you will find happiness here regardless. The northwest corridor of the city is yours to live in; you can make and enforce your own laws, if they are just ones, and if problems arise we will navigate them later. I understand it there are many more of you coming, so you can come in and start looking at how to arrange things for the rest of them.
Hello, he says to everyone. I am Nelyafinwë Maitimo; I built this city and govern it. It was built for Elves and Men are very different, and it took Elves long ages to come to love living in cities, but I hope you will find happiness here regardless. The northwest corridor of the city is yours to live in; you can make and enforce your own laws, if they are just ones, and if problems arise we will navigate them later. I understand it there are many more of you coming, so you can come in and start looking at how to arrange things for the rest of them.
purposeful_glory
Loki decides to send the narrow-eyed Elves home to tell everybody they're fine. She will be along the next day at the latest to turn them back into Elves. She's going to help these Men get settled in and make a plan for helping everybody else settle in.
While she's ushering people in, Is knowing everybody's name your thing? Should I introduce people?
While she's ushering people in, Is knowing everybody's name your thing? Should I introduce people?
I got most of them already, he says, but certainly - or family units, other things I should know -
purposeful_glory
...You got them how? I didn't bring you a census. Do you want a census, I have one.
Yes, I'd love one. I listened to everyone's thoughts during the identity-verification.
purposeful_glory
That was creepy. I know you only have a phrasebook of the language and you can lean on the telepathy if you have to get past the language barrier but I'm right here now, how was that necessary? Also I could have sworn my helpers told me they'd explained how to sort out private thoughts -
I wouldn't have done it if I thought they hadn't.
purposeful_glory
And they mostly happened to be thinking their names in public?
No, thinking about the person currently verifying their identity. Most people are less concerned than you with privacy and have lots of their thoughts public.
purposeful_glory
Ugh. Fine. Creepy but I'll get off your case. So Loki identifies for him the married and the close-enough and the - well, not technically siblings, but there's that cluster she thinks of that way they're so close - and she didn't put any kids in this batch but that one thinks she's pregnant. No really elaborate dynasties here, there has hardly been time. She attached a census to a few paper scraps for him. It has pictures and occupations and marriages and (if applicable) children and werewolf status.
Thank you. Are the Nolofinweans inclined to tolerate me? I was planning to invite them to a committee on planning how the city can generate a surplus fast enough to send apology resources west, but it isn't immediately obvious to me that I have enough goodwill even for that.
purposeful_glory
They weren't happy that I was accepting such a large favor from you even though they didn't have any better ideas, although they seemed marginally happier about it when I reminded them that I'm why you can offer anybody favors at the moment. I can try to sound them out on the committee.
Just tell them that since I'm a generally dishonorable scoundrel you can ignore me if I ever try to call the favor in.
Their grievance is entirely legitimate; I am not taking it lightly.
purposeful_glory
But the Men have not inherited it and shouldn't be encouraged to.
And hopefully won't, because I'll spend the next few days showing them how indoor heating and plumbing work in my pretty city, and talking governance with whoever I should be discussing that with, and giving people presents and so forth.
purposeful_glory
Of these the one best equipped to take point on internal-to-Men matters is Julit but you'll probably intimidate Oen or Pral less. Their singing rocks etcetera didn't make the trip; are there random things around for me to enchant or should I just stick a song to the pregnant one's shoe and bring a bag of rocks next batch?
I'll have someone bring us a couple thousand matching stones right away; I have all sorts of things like that around for decorating. I'm not intimidating when I'm not trying to be. I made a calculated decision that I'd rather have the Nolofinweans go home muttering 'how arrogant he is, what a blatant play for Feanorian pride' than 'he seemed apologetic what's his real scheme'.
purposeful_glory
Fair enough, but Julit has already seen you, being all intimidating, and she's generally nervous about new people - which looked like she was just generally timid until she was about six months old and knew everybody in passing, and then it looked like she'd outgrown it, and then Dwarves came by. I'm sure you can charm her if you try, of course.
Trying to charm specific Men honestly feels a bit unfair. How many batches are you expecting to need to bring them all over?
purposeful_glory
This batch is small and filtered oddly; the rest will come across five hundred or more at a time, should have them all out in a couple weeks.
Filtered to be people you could afford to lose, if the Enemy figured this out?
purposeful_glory
Yes, although please don't tell them that in so many words. And I left the werewolves behind because they're nontrivially defensively valuable there and more redundant here.
Of course I wouldn't tell them. Werewolves turn into birds with no problems?