Elunor & Istril

09:14] VillainEducated: Hello. Think at some point during this fellowship phase Istril would probably approach Elunor and ask for her advice/wisdom on magic rings (generally) and on what she thinks of Erynol's ring specifically
[10:00] VillainEducated: Gently though as Istril has been warned by another character who shall remain nameless that rings are a sensitive subject for Elunor
[14:27] Tits: Elunor would shoot you an intrigued but also concerned look as you would ask this before sighing and murmuring "of course she would mention it," and would take her somewhere very private and away from other listeners. Either outside of Laketown proper and away from the paths but close to the lake itself, and then would start to explain. "You too are intrigued by them? I would like to ask first of all what do you know of them in your own experience because it will mean I might not need to cover some material if you are already familiar with them? "
[14:53] VillainEducated: Istril would say something to the effect of "I do not know anything of the lore of the rings, other than what is well known  of the corruption of my people by the nine. But what I do know is their effect on the people who wear them for prolonged periods and I am discomforted by what I have seen of Erynol and his change of character. These and other artefacts make me wary of any treasure and in the past I have avoided them and all knowledge of them for that reason. But now our party seem to be encountering strange and wondrous items and I crave knowledge so that I am not stumbling around blindly in the dark. So tell me all you know, or as much as you feel able, and presume no knowledge, for this is not my area of expertise or experience"
[14:55] VillainEducated: And I want to do an insight check on Elunor. To see what her emotional state is when she's relating information. Looking particularly for whether this is merely scholarly interest or whether there's a pull of corruption / longing as well
[14:55] VillainEducated: (insight was 14 ugh)
[14:55] Tits: if you beat 21 you will automatically succeed
[14:55] Tits: and let me roll for deception
[14:56] Tits: and you somehow beat it
[15:07] VillainEducated: :blush:
[15:07] VillainEducated: tell me everything
[15:09] VillainEducated: (within reason)
[16:01] Tits: Elunor is for the most part, reserved... cautious... almost paranoid about any matter relating to the rings as she tries to hide a deep unease and swelling of emotions on the topic. She would turn her head and continue: "I see. In the aeons, before now, before even I could gaze upon stars above, when the Noldor still dealt with their exile from Valinor in the lands of Eregion where Celebrimbor was Lord of Elves and one of the finest smiths since his ancestor Fëanor himself, in fact the leader of the Gwaith-i-Mírdain the smiths whose traditions I have now mastered. Then, when my mother was a mere child, in the 1200th year of the 2nd age, a maia by the name of Annatar  and emissary of Valinor came to meet... Celebrimbor and revealed that he was a Lord of Gifts. He was of a most fair deposition, and whose nature was most captivating to those who knew him. He offered the master-jeweler and his guild of jewel-smiths a way of making Rings of Power. Celembrimbor and his followers were easily tempted, for in their nobility they wished to bring Middle Earth the beauty of Valinor which many still held onto within memory. The nature of the Rings were that they would cease the tides of entropy upon the mortal world, to preserve that which was loved and cherished but most importantly increase the potency of all who bore one even in the face of the whims of nature. Over the course of four centuries, my mother came to watch and aid the Gwaith in their great task and so one by one the rings were forged. To King Durin the Third was granted a ring by Celebrimbor himself, as an example of his deep friendship for the Dwarves and in the absence of Annatar who had left, forged three more." Elunor would pause and begin to recite verse she knew all too well.
[16:02] Tits: She spoke the poem in Sindharin with an unusual intensity:
"Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie
One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,
One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie."
[16:13] Tits: "For you see, my dear Istril, we were all deceived by the Dark Lord Sauron, who wore once more another face, for which he used to scheme and to betray for he poured his malice into the Ruling Ring, his will to dominate and all his power to make his immortal nature bound to it. And thus began his first attempt at domination but the wisdom of the Elves and Celebrimbor's private forging of the Elven Rings left them without the same taint as the others and so they knew of Sauron's trickery and so their forger, he had hid them and I do not know where they are." Elunor pauses, and takes a deep breath before continuing rather hesitantly gazing off: "But enraged at this rebellion, Sauron set forth to exterminate his greatest aide and set siege to Eregion laying waste to many and captured Celebrimbor. Under torture he revealed where the sixteen other rings were held but he did not disclose the location of the three and so enraged had his body... defiled with arrows and used as a banner by the forces of Sauron as they hunted the others." Elunor would pause for a bit here and say:  "While the rings can be used for their original purpose, they are objects of evil - portals to the darkness of Mordor while also enhancing what the others might be capable of. Erynol wearing one for 18 months has been exposed to the shadow in a way I would not wish upon anyone, let alone an immortal like him."
[16:13] Tits: sorry for the wall of text
[16:14] VillainEducated: (no worries this is great)
[16:16] Tits: if you want to roll an insight, beat 13 and you'd be good there
[16:16] VillainEducated: Ok one sec
[16:16] VillainEducated: 22
[16:16] Tits: What even if your bonus now?
[16:16] Tits: 12+?
[16:16] VillainEducated: +10
[16:17] Tits: Oh wow
[16:20] VillainEducated: So Istril would say hesitantly "I know little of this. But do you think Erynol's ring to be one of the rings in the poem you spoke? Or is it one of the lesser rings perhaps? I do not understand why it was found in a spider's lair, nor why Erynol's mother deemed it safe"
[16:20] Tits: You would get the distinct impression that Elunor is hiding many things, and has a deeper familiarity with this matter than even she is letting on. More than a purely scholarly interest, and is almost an obsession for her, a monomania she cares about deeply for reasons not known.
[16:21] VillainEducated: (wonderful, another person to rein in lol)
[16:23] Tits: "I must assume, that it was a lesser ring of power, lest it be instead the one but I could not identify it without further studies, of it but now it is lost," she would say. "There is a Rings of the Elves, one of which is lost in these lands but I doubt it as they lacked the jems which Narya, Nenya and Vilya are infamous for."
[16:24] Tits: (I wonder what the vampire showed Elunor :thinking: )
[16:29] Tits: You also suspect that this not the only thing she hides.
[17:40] VillainEducated: Istril is going to put a hand on Elunor's arm, meet her gaze and say "you are older than me beyond count. And after I am dead and gone to dust and beyond this world to be reunited with those I love you will remain here and grow in wisdom even further. So I hesitate to say what I am about to say. But I can see that this topic affects you more deeply than scholarly interest. I know little of treasure and artefacts and what I see reinforces my strong mistrust of them. So I ask you now to be truthful with me. Do not send me blindfolded into battle. Aramir wears his warg cloak ever more possessively, Erynol has secretly hoarded this ring for so long now it has begun to change him, and who knows which other members of our party carry treasures that corrupt them. We saw a vision of the future, a terrifying vision, and I fear for my children. I will do all in my power to protect them and work here a brighter future for them and for all free folk. So if there is information you can arm me with that you are not telling me, please, I beg you, take me into your confidence. I will not betray your trust not judge you for choices you have made."
[17:41] VillainEducated: (let me know if you want me to make a persuasion check :blush:)
[17:42] Tits: nah we don't do persuasion checks between players and you may find this amusing in the meantime https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/545762768997974017/656187634841812993/1576473220135.png

[17:43] VillainEducated: Oh wow
[17:51] VillainEducated: That's pretty epic
[17:52] VillainEducated: Not something I would do but takes a lot of guts
[17:52] VillainEducated: (also a much bigger issue in the US, tho becoming more so here)
[17:52] Tits: That is indeed unfortunate
[17:54] Tits: "You are wise, to avoid such things for their fate is doombound quite often, something I should know all too well, it is such a quiet thing, to fall. But far more terrible is to admit it. So keep your distance if you can from them and keep the others away from them as well, for harm will only come to them should they continue with such artefacts." She sighs once more and turns to gaze directly at Istril, "I will tell you all that you wish to know but I must ask of you to keep it a secret for which you will not utter even a whisper with exception to those who do know, even on the pains of death. I trust you with this for in you I have found someone pure of heart in many ways - a kindness as nourishing as the alms of Imlardis. Can you promise me that?"
[18:00] VillainEducated: "yes. I will not speak of it to any others for I sense it is not my secret to tell."
[18:32] Tits: With great hesitation Elunor would begin to say the following: "The reason why I travel for the most part wearing another face and speaking little of who I am is that, my kin were of a bloodline most cursed. I am Elunor vos Fëanor, daughter of Galadian and Nenaron, granddaughter of Celebrimbor through Galadian and in turn the last scion of the House of Fëanor which brought great tragedy to Middle-Earth in ages long past. My grandfather Celebrimbor forged the rings with the aid of Sauron unknowingly and so in his hopefulness has created the doom and the instruments which now hurt our companions. But he further still spited the Dark Lord and so he holds a particular hatred for my kin, attempting to repeat the defiling he unleashed upon Celembrimbor upon his daughter in a caustic rage but due to the aid of my father she avoided his direct wrath. Instead she was cursed, to wilt in both her spirit and in her form until she all but ephemeral with her memories and even herself lost. She passed before we could send her to Valinor to aid her, but my father took her there to lay her rest. What makes this all the more bitter is that the instruments of beauty for which were ours by right were stolen from us, by the  Dark Lord  a second time. I am to loathe to show my face, to give others my true name in case the servants of the shadow do what they have done to my kin before me, onto them and and cursed to never be able to truly live at peace so long as the dark lands of Mordor are ruled by the betrayer and so long as his servants like the nazgul roam the lands of Middle Earth. I refuse to be the prey they seek to hunt, and let them be full of woe when they realise that and let me reclaim that which was mine so the blood which my kin have spilt, such as Curufin and Fëanor even in the first age can be redeemed for I may never know the beauty of Valinor so long as the damning of Mandos still lingers."
[19:07] VillainEducated: Istril is silent for a long time thinking
[19:23] VillainEducated: And then says "In my bloodline and kin are many stories of woe and disposession. I do not claim to know anything of the pain you have suffered for it seems to me a grand thing of high tales over many years, of the like that those of the race of men perhaps cannot know. But I see fear and pain in you, and anger at your denied birthright. And I would counsel you that such anger and grief for what is lost can eat away at you like rot inside a tree, and in time result in as great a poison and shadow on your soul as any prolonged discourse with the enemy may bring. So I would counsel you to fight the shadow for the memory of those you love and hold dear still in your heart, not for revenge at the things that the dark lord stole. Perhaps though I speak of things I do not understand, for I would give away all the rings in Middle Earth in a heartbeat for the chance to change my past and put aside my regrets." She stops for a second and takes a breath, then continues. "Forgive me, I think I speak of things beyond me that I do not understand. I read people, not artefacts or weapons of power. And I would spare you any more pain than you have gone through. I promise you, on my life as a descendant of Elendil, that I will not speak of your secret to any who you have not already brought into your confidences."
[20:18] Tits: With that that Elunor would offer Istril a kind smile after what seems to be a moment of realisation on her part, "I owe you my eternal thanks and let them be eternal as I. And don't worry, I have a high patience for dealing with the shadow and the main reason why I am still here is to protect others from what fate has befell my kin. And let me tell you this, the reason I reveal this to you is that I have faith in your wisdom, for you are among the wisest I have met in my time walking upon these lands. Know this well descendant of Elendil, that you have my aid when your descendants do need it lest injury or death come to me first." She would then pause, and more cheerfully add: "We should be getting back soon, I think the others might notice at this rate."
[20:20] VillainEducated: "thank you for your kind words, though I fear they are not necessarily deserved. I agree we should go: I do not like to leave Erynol unwatched for too long at the moment."
[20:25] Tits: "Nor do I, at this rate, albeit I am working on something that may aid him in future less we encounter the Ringwraiths in his dreams more."
[20:27] VillainEducated: Istril shudders "I never want to see anything like that again."
[20:28] Tits: "Well on the bright side you can't."
[20:29] VillainEducated: She gives Elunor a look. "There is more than one way to see"
[20:29] VillainEducated: And smiles slightly at the idea of a 514 year old elf making a joke