As the clock ticks down and the number of days until the Fellowship of the Ring dwindle more and more (two years really flew by), solid information on the ins and outs of the Fellowship is hitting the Internet thic and fast. If you blink, you’ll easily miss a fantastic image or tantalising piece of info. This weekend, the Hall of Fire takes a break from our Chapter discussions to discuss the Latest News and Rumours from the Fellowship of the Ring.
!Warning: Spoiler Discussion!
A Cannes Footage review. A beautifully detailed image of Legolas. A rumour of a new trailer in September. Fantastic picture after fantastic picture and some great quotes both sent to us by the same Ringer Spy. A redesign of the Decipher website, and some great info about our staff visiting DragonCon.
All that happened this week, and it’s only a Wednesday.
See what I mean? Even I didn’t even notice some of that news until now! And when you look at the bigger picture over the last couple months, and we’ve seen the TORn exlusive Witchking Armour, leaked scripts, Gimli trying to break the ring and Aragorn receiving the sword Narsil from a statue in Rivendell. Some of what we’ve heard over the last two months could be false, some could be mis-inteprated and some of what we’ve read might rear it’s head in three and half months time as we’re watching, and cast our minds back to this very moment when we think, “Hey, looks like they were right after all.”
Whether you like the changes you’ve heard and or all for them, or think that every day Peter Jackson’s trilogy strays another step from the books, we want to see you! Whether you’ve been checking each and every news article this Summer and knows more about this subject that most, or you’re searching TORn archives for some of the tidbits I’ve just mentioned, we want to see you! This weekend is going to be a chance to talk with your fellow ringers about the number one picture in your life at the moment, so come visit us once, twice or three times this weekend!
Recomended Reading: MTV VMAs Commercial > Movie FAQ > 4 Lord of the Rings Trailers > Detailed Look At Council Of Elrond Changes > Witchking Armour > New Lord of the Rings Poster > Ringer Spy Morgoth1970 Stills 123
Place: #thehalloffire on theonering.net server; come to theonering.net’s chat room Barliman’s and then type /join #thehalloffire .
Saturday Chat: 7:00 pm ET (19:00) [also 12:00 am Sunday (0:00) BST and 9:00 am Sunday (09:00) AET]
Sunday Chat: 8:00 pm (20:00) AET [also 11:00 am (11:00) BST and 6:00 am (06:00) ET]
Sunday Chat: 6:00 pm (18:00) BST [also 1:00 pm (13:00) ET and 3:00 am (03:00) Monday morning AET]
ET = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast BST = British Summer Time, GMT +1 hour AET = Australian Eastern Time, Australia’s East Coast
Upcoming Discussions: Sep 15 & 16: FotR Chapter Discussion – A Journey in the Dark Sep 22 & 23: LotR Character Discussion – Aragorn Sep 29 & 30: FotR Chapter Discussion – The Bridge of Khazad-Dum.
Out rolls August, in rolls September and with it a new set of Hall of Fire topics! With 3 months plus to go until the films, it’s fitting that the beginning of this month coincides with the theme of this weekend’s discussion: the beginning of the Fellowship’s journey. The Hall of Fire staff invite you to join us for three great discussions on:
Book II, Chapter III: The Ring Goes South
“Now the tale of Nine is filled. In seven days the company must depart.” The words of Elrond after Pippin’s plea for himself and Merry to be part of the Fellowship. The four Hobbits, Gandalf, Strider, Boromir, Legolas and Gimli face the most important journey of their lives. And as Frodo receives Sting and mithril chain mail from his Uncle Bilbo, we witness the end of Frodo the Hobbits and the beginning of Frodo the Ringbearer.
The first leg of the journey is to the Redhorn Gate, a pass under the peak of Caradhras. But as brave and valiant the Fellowship are, they are no match for the cruel and harsh conditions of the lofty peak. With freezing temperatures, piercing blizzards and an impassable terrain, the group of Nine are forced to turn away, defeated not by the armies of Sauron but by Nature itself.
We’ve seen various images from this sequence in the films, from Boromir looking at the ring as he holds it in the snow to Bilbo and Frodo talking in their room for one last time. This is the chapter that deals the first blow to the morale of the Fellowship, and also leads them to a different and more fatal path. We’d love you to join us this weekend and join in on what should be a fantastic discussion on the story.
Place: #thehalloffire on theonering.net server; come to theonering.net’s chat room Barliman’s and then type /join #thehalloffire .
Saturday Chat: 7:00 pm ET (19:00) [also 12:00 am Sunday (0:00) BST and 9:00 am Sunday (09:00) AET]
Sunday Chat: 8:00 pm (20:00) AET [also 11:00 am (11:00) BST and 6:00 am (06:00) ET]
Sunday Chat: 6:00 pm (18:00) BST [also 1:00 pm (13:00) ET and 3:00 am (03:00) Monday morning AET]
ET = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast BST = British Summer Time, GMT +1 hour AET = Australian Eastern Time, Australia’s East Coast
Upcoming Discussions: Sep 8 & 9: The Latest Movie News & Rumours Sep 15 & 16: FotR Chapter Discussion – A Journey in the Dark Sep 22 & 23: LotR Character Discussion – Aragorn Sep 29 & 30: FotR Chapter Discussion – The Bridge of Khazad-Dum.
Just when you thought you’d seen it all Barliman’s became the stage for a shock marriage between lovebirds Demosthenes and Melian, Ringer spy and Barliman’s regular Barliman sent in the following report…
In the early hours of last sunday (of course that all depends on from whose timezone your looking at things) I had the honour of being the Ringbearer on the surprising wedding of two of my regulars, Demosthenes and Melian. What a glorious moment it was. Before a crowd of Aussies and insomniac Americans Demosthenes pledged a vow that would make a grown man (like myself) cry, I wrote it down to remember;
‘Neither rock nor steel, not the fires of Morgoth, the wrath of Barliman and even the evils of Powers That Be, shall keep me from the treasure that i desire. Above gold, above silver … above silmarils. For Melian, mistress of mayhem, mightiest of maia. Melian, will you cleave to me?’
*snif*
After this Melian swooned and the ceremony began, in which Rev. MobyDick of The World Church performed a moving ceremony complete with homage to Professor Tolkien and Frank Vincent Zappa. With MadMax as the best man and Altariel as bridesmaid (before she unfortunally had to run off on a more urgent errand I deem) and of course myself as the Ringbearer (I’ll never get tired of saying that). After Demosthenes braided flowers through Melian’s hair and (as he said) ‘kissed her tastefully’ the reception took place in which it rained cake and snowed champagne, or the other way around, I can’t recall ’cause everyone was in an utter state of bliss. Which reminds me, some (Demosthenes) still needs to pick up the tab…
well, words fail me to describe the feeling of happiness that spread around my bar, if you’ll excuse me I think I’m gonna go wipe away another tear now..
A big thanks to Barliman for sending in this report, and as I gathered the happy couple is currently on their honeymoon in, where else, our very own bar! So don’t hesitate to come on in and congratulate them!
For a lot of people, the Silmarillion is the next logical step for people who begin to appreciate Tolkien literature. Just as The Hobbit is more akin to a children’s storybook tale, The Silmarillion is considered to be one of the more thought-provoking and enriched pieces of J.R.R’s work. But no-one would say that the book is easy-reading: spanning thousands of years, thousands of people and thousands of places, the Silmarillion is often too much to take in for one reading.
A Guide To Reading The Silmarillion
First there was Ilúvatar, The One. Then there were the Ainur, some of which became the Valar: Manwe, Melkor, Ulmo, Aule, Orome, Mandos, Lórien, Tulkas, Varda, Yavanna, Niennas, Este, Vaire, Vana and Nessa. Their servants were the Maiar, Ilmare, Eonwe, Osse, Uinen, Melian and Olórin to name but a few.
Quite a lot of names for just three eight pages isn’t it?
Reading the Silmarillion for the first time, people always comment on the volume of information hitting you in the space of a couple of chapters. Though the Silmarillion is by no means a lengthy book, the content itself can become almost off-putting at times. It gets to the stage that after completing the book, you find yourself getting mixed up between Beren and Turin only weeks after.
And that is where this week’s Hall of Fire comes in. This week we’re going to discuss, debate and swap tips on the process of reading the Silmarillion. Whether you’re having problems remembering the seven sons of Feanor (there was a guy with a M in his name there….somewhere…) to knowing your Minas Arnor from your Minas Tirith, you should pay a visit to us this weekend on one of our three different chat sessions! From wisened veterans who knows every name from the book backwards to those just discovering Tolkien, everyone is welcome!
Place: #thehalloffire on theonering.net server; come to theonering.net’s chat room Barliman’s and then type /join #thehalloffire .
Saturday Chat: 7:00 pm ET (19:00) [also 12:00 am Sunday (0:00) BST and 9:00 am Sunday (09:00) AET]
Sunday Chat: 8:00 pm (20:00) AET [also 11:00 am (11:00) BST and 6:00 am (06:00) ET]
Sunday Chat: 6:00 pm (18:00) BST [also 1:00 pm (13:00) ET and 3:00 am (03:00) Monday morning AET]
ET = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast BST = British Summer Time, GMT +1 hour AET = Australian Eastern Time, Australia’s East Coast
Curunir has been slaving away at his computer writing this report on some of the goings-on at Barlibash, held this year in Chicago, on August 2-5. For the news, click here
Only in dire times would a parly be called at the House of Elrond, bringing Man, Elf and Istari together to discuss the faith of Middle-Earth and it’s inhabitants. But these are dire times indeed, and as the threat of the Enemy looms over the world as a shadow, the Council of Elrond commences. This weekend, we invite you to come discuss a chapter that would change the lives of nine people and save millions of others:
Book II, Chapter II: The Council of Elrond
A difficult task has already been accomplished by four hobbits who, with the help of Strider have brought the One Ring safely to Rivendell, protecting it from Sauron’s Ringwraiths. But now that it is here, the time has come for a decision to be made: what shall become of it?
Such is the levity of this decision, Elrond has requested the presence of a representative of the great races of Middle-Earth: Boromir of the men of Gondor, Legolas of the Elves of Mirkwood and Glóin of the Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain. But just as they are unlike in body in mind, they are undecided as what to do with the ring.
Should it be destroyed, as Gimli the dwarf wishes?Should it be used as a tool against Sauron? Or should it be cast back into the deepest sea, and beyond the reach of any member of Middle-Earth? As the counsel of Gandalf, none of these. A Fellowship shall go forth to Mordor, and throw the ring into the Cracks of Doom, and with it’s unmaking bring down the foundation of Sauron’s evil power itself.
These were the decisions faced by the Council of Elrond, and it is these decisions along with many others that we hope to discuss with you this weekend! Do you believe that Boromir was right to wield the ring? Or Gimli to destroy it? Was the decision of Gandalf to have Frodo bear it into Mordor foolhardy?
Whether you share one of these opinions or none at all, we want to hear from you this weekend! And don’t forget, we are giving you three opportunities to join in this great debate.
Place: #thehalloffire on theonering.net server; come to theonering.net’s chat room Barliman’s and then type /join #thehalloffire .
Saturday Chat: 7:00 pm ET (19:00) [also 12:00 am Sunday (0:00) BST and 9:00 am Sunday (09:00) AET]
Sunday Chat: 8:00 pm (20:00) AET [also 11:00 am (11:00) BST and 6:00 am (06:00) ET]
Sunday Chat: 6:00 pm (18:00) BST [also 1:00 pm (13:00) ET and 3:00 am (03:00) Monday morning AET]
ET = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast BST = British Summer Time, GMT +1 hour AET = Australian Eastern Time, Australia’s East Coast
