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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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purposeful_glory
Yeah, that's probably not gonna avoid happening in a way I can avert by telling the Men something. It will have to avoid happening in some other way.
The Valar trap the invading army by leveling the mountains over them. Not on them, over them - so they're alive, and now undying as they desired, but entombed there forever. Then they sink the continent the invading army originated on.
I told you, the original history is ugly enough most people in Sauron's place should be satisfied.
I noticed.
It's pretty cute, really.
They're at the city.
Yes.
purposeful_glory
So down she goes, and she is accordingly buried in birds, but she at least doesn't have to do all five thousand of them herself.
And everyone is swiftly debirded, or as swiftly as this can be done.
Don't get yourself stomped, that'd be really disappointing.
And she turns into a bat and flies off.
purposeful_glory
And Loki spins up the lie detector and verifies everybody for their entrance. This takes a real fucking long time.
Maitimo meets them all at the gates to deliver the same speech, with the addition that they are probably tired and hungry by now and there's been food brought to their quarter of the city for an arrival feast, and that they'll all be shown to the city's ampitheatre tomorrow for announcements and a welcome concert.
A pleasure. Getting everyone moved in may take us a while. I'm sharing this with your Elves as well - and he broadcasts a map of their segment of the city, people per apartment, apartments per building, strategic considerations, have someone in each building who can report to me, have someone in each building who can handle distribution of necessities -
Are you assigning apartments based on whatever the Men consider a family structure? one of the Elves asks. A man and two women together, two men raising a child -
The customs of Men are utterly uninteresting to me, he says, I'm assigning apartments to get all of the Men into apartments, and hardly condone by housing them whatever they get up to there. That's your concern.
And Men are assigned apartments.
Are you assigning apartments based on whatever the Men consider a family structure? one of the Elves asks. A man and two women together, two men raising a child -
The customs of Men are utterly uninteresting to me, he says, I'm assigning apartments to get all of the Men into apartments, and hardly condone by housing them whatever they get up to there. That's your concern.
And Men are assigned apartments.
purposeful_glory
Thanks, Loki repeats when he abdicates concern for irregular Mannish family structures.
And to the Nolofinwëans: Now that we're all here do you want to stay or go?
And to the Nolofinwëans: Now that we're all here do you want to stay or go?
They are definitely not leaving all of the Men - who they mostly know quite well, and care for deeply - in Feanorian hands. Or alone in a new and confusing environment in general, this is going to be quite an adjustment and it'd be better to remain.
purposeful_glory
Okay. Be good guests, please.
Maitimo, when do you send couriers? Can I stick letters in with the next mailing?
Maitimo, when do you send couriers? Can I stick letters in with the next mailing?