Hall Of Fire This Weekend - Of Men
Demosthenes @ 11:11 am EST

This weekend, Hall of Fire returns to discussing the Silmarillion. Chapter 12 -- Of Men -- begins with the Valar withdrawing more and more from Middle-earth and its inhabitants, both elves and Men. Why is Ulmo -- perhaps the one least suited to the task -- the only one who seems to care?

Does this seem like a wise move? If the Valar were at all interested in the Children of Ilúvatar, why do they they turn away and leave them to Morgoth?

Could it be that the Valar themselves are weakening, and less capable of intervening in Middle Earth except as allies? Or having been burnt in trying to befriend the Elves, are they simply wary of the greater pitfalls that may await if they are to meddle with the fate of the more mysterious Second Children?

Instead, it appears as though the human race was simply turned loose on the earth. No Vala came to guide them. Is this the core reason why they come to fear rather than love the Valar? But then, if they had no contact, how would humans know to fear the Valar? How mcuh of this is the responsibility of Morgoth and how much may be due to those first early dealings with the Moriquendi -- the elves that never went to Valinor?

We are told that at the rising of the Sun, humans awoke in a place called Hildórien in the eastward regions of Middle-earth. Is there any significance to this location? And why does the Sun first rise in the West? Is it to draw them towards the Valar?

We are also given a list of names, in true elven style, for the newcomers:

Atani : the Second People
Hildor: the Followers
Apanónar: the After-born
Engwar: the Sickly
F'rimar: the Mortals

They are also called Usurpers, Strangers, Inscrutable, Self-cursed, Heavy-handed, Night-fearers, and Children of the Sun.

From these names alone, we get a picture of elves as standoffish, resentful, and fearful. Was this the attitude of the Eldar in the beginning, or is this an example of revisionist storytelling? Is the attitude justified?

And why are humans characterised as being at strife with the world and at variance with the Powers? They are creations of Ilúvatar, after all, just as the elves are, so why should they be portrayed as being at odds with their creator?

Join us in the Hall of Fire on Saturday September 10 at 5:30pm EDT as we discuss the decisions made by Elrond and Cirdan at the end of the Last Alliance of men and elves, and the beginning of the Third Age.

Time and date:
Saturday September 10

America:
5.30pm EDT
4.30pm CDT
3.30pm MDT
2.30pm PDT

Europe:
10.30pm UK
11.30pm Central Europe

Asia-Pacific:
7.30am (Sunday) Brisbane
7.30am (Sunday) Sydney
9.30am (Sunday) Wellington

Chats usually last 45 mins to an hour, and are very newbie friendly. Simply drop in and join the conversation!

Where?

Chat happens on #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net - the TORn IRC server. You can connect instantly via our java chat client that works inside your web browser (find it here! ) or choose to install a dedicated chat program such as mIRC on your computer.

To find out more about using mIRC to connect to TORn IRC server, check out these instructions.

Upcoming topics:

Sat September 10 - Silmarillion Ch 12
Sun September 18 - Silmarillion Ch 12

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