thirteenth labyrinth

[lord_wizard]

Who: Felix Harrowgate
Broadcast: Starstruck & Fleetwide
Action: Pathstone
When: Today-ish

[Felix is ensconced in Crowley's seat at the communications station, not because he's actually using it, because he has no idea how, but because he can. His own communicator is propped up against the controls as he turns it on with a few hesitant button presses.]

[Video ; Starstruck]

[He opens, as always, with a smile, followed by a slightly less usual pause.]

Some of you may have noticed my recent transfer to the Pathstone. I...apologize for the abruptness of my departure. Rest assured that I won't be scarce, and I intend to make periodic visits to maintain the wards.

I am confident you'll all get along just fine without me as your cook. The ship is well appointed enough. I'm certain my cooking won't be missed as it is, but if you find yourself bereft of my company, you know where to find me.

[His closing smile is smaller because, frankly, he isn't sure any of that is true, but he feels a measure of responsibility for the crew he's left behind.]

[Video ; Fleetwide]

I have had a few suggestions for hand-written archives separate of the network, so I would like to formally announce I will now accept submissions from fleet members for any written materials to be later added to the library. This could be guides about the fleet that the augments do not cover, records of our encounters you may wish to distance from the Atroma, or information about your worlds or skills or any other topic you feel would be useful to others.

[Reluctantly] And, I suppose, if you fancy yourself a storyteller, any kind of fiction as well.

For now you can add your submissions to the network and I will look into printing and bookbinding in the future, once we encounter a planet with those kinds of resources.

[Because real books are much more fun.]

((OOC: If you would like to submit something, there is a form on my journal. Actually writing a book is not necessary, but there is an option to link to the text if you desire. This may be especially useful for user guides and fleet history))

Comments

[bythewaves]

I could teach you, if you were ever curious - the basics, at the least! But if writing seems to work, then provided I do not think too hard about what script I am using, hopefully it will come out in something that everyone can read.

[ Maglor hums softly ]

Mm, well, without being too biased, the Noldolantë would probably be a good place to start - at the least, it would be useful since my family is quite strongly represented here, and it is the tale of our people's rise and fall, in which we all feature... quite prominently. Other than that... mm, I think you would be interested in the Valaquenta, which is the tale of our world's beginnings. And I would always included Daeron's Lay of Leithian, for it's sheer wonder, if nothing else, but it ties in quite neatly with the Noldolantë anyway. There are many others, but those are probably the most wide spanning. Those are all "old" stories, of course - "history". Of things more "current", I would also include the various parts of the tales of the Rings of Power, from their beginnings to their later end, and probably Master Bilbo's There and Back Again, also, which sets up the later events of the Ring War quite nicely.

[lord_wizard]

[This is...certainly a list. He looks vaguely astonished for a moment, caught by immensity of what that offer might entail as well as the generosity. He probably shouldn't be, but part of him is always suspicious of ulterior motives in people]

You have...all of these texts memorized?

[bythewaves]

[ A vaguely slightly embarrassed grin ] I did try not to be too biased, but the Noldolantë is actually my composition.

But either way, I am a bard, and all the tales I listed are the ones that any bard in my world worth their salt should know, even if only the shorter, more simplistic versions. Of course, I have the advantage of having been there, for much of it.

[lord_wizard]

[He forgets, now and then, how absurdly ancient the elves are. It makes remembering that span of history all the more remarkable]

Do you find yourself tempted by bias in the telling of these stories at all?

[bythewaves]

Always, of course. But I tried my best to be as non biased as possible - it is impossible to eliminate fully! But I did try. And the selection I have offered is a good mix. The Noldolante is mine, but the Lay is Daeron of Doriath's, one of the Sindar. The Ring Wars come from many sources, but the last sections, as well as There and Back Again are written by Hobbits. I hope that by including the many different races, the balance might be maintained. Although I suppose I should also include Atalantie, which is Numenor's tale, and that written by one of the Dunedain, the Westmen who escaped from it's fall.

[lord_wizard]

It sounds like a fair and varied enough account from here, but as it stands I know so little of your world, even for as many of you as I have met. And by you I refer to the elven people - is that the correct collective noun? There were hobbits in the castle, I think, but I never had the pleasure to speak to any of them.

[bythewaves]

It is, yes. And well, hopefully if you have the time to read them yourself, it would give you a good underpinning of our history. It is a little limited to the scope of what I know, and thus only truly covers Middle-earth, and the Noldor, for the Sindar have few great lays, and the Silvan are reticient to speak of their pasts. Of Men I could do better, but the Rohirrim are the only other folk than the Dunedain to keep records of their past, and theirs are all vocal, not written.

Ah, is that so? That is a pity! Hobbits are a goodly folk with uncommon good sense. And they are marvellous story tellers, I have found.