Centre-pieces to much of the action within The Lord of the Rings, the Palant’ri are one of the most mysterious and, to the annoyance of its writer, ‘magical’ items in Middle-earth. Powerful spheres used to communicate, the Palant’ri play an instrumental part in linking the events of The Lord of the Rings together and even setting them in motion. This weekend, the Hall of Fire crew invite you to join us as we discuss:
The Palantiri
Which came first; the betrayal or the Palantir? By looking into the seventh of nine Palantir, did Saruman become ensnared by the lidless Eye of Sauron? Or was the will to deceive his allies always there? Similarly, why did Saruman the White fall to the ‘dark side’ while Denethor in contrast simply lost his sanity? Do the Palantiri by nature perceive the weaknesses and fears of its users and focuses on them; were they designed to seek trouble rather than watch for it?
Which begs the question, do we truly understand how the Palantiri work? To call them simply tools for communication would be understating a power and potential within them that goes much deeper. Could the Palantiri have been used in a more productive way in the War of the Ring? Why did Gandalf not use a Palantir a long time ago to keep the growing evils in Middle-earth in check?
All these questions and more will be discussed this weekend as we deal with a topic on which a whole chapter in Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales is based.
Upcoming Discussions: Nov 23 & 24 – TTT Book 4, Chap 9 – Shelob’s Lair Nov 30 & Dec 1 – TTT Book 4, Chap 6 – Forbidden Pool
Place: #thehalloffire on theonering.net server; come to theonering.net’s chat room Barliman’s and then type /join #thehalloffire .
Saturday Chat: 5:30 pm ET (17:30) [also 11:30 pm (23:30) CET and 7:30 am Sunday (07:30) AET]
Sunday Chat: 7:00 pm (19:00) CET [also 1:00 pm (13:00) ET and 4:00 am (04:00) Monday morning AET]
ET = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast CET = Central European Time, Central Europe
As we enter November, the last full month before the release of The Two Towers, our chapter by chapter discussions on the middle installment of Tolkien’s trilogy are coming to a close. This weekend, the Hall of Fire crew are going to discuss a chapter which leads to the climactic encounter with Shelob which ends The Two Towers:
Book IV, Chapter VII: Journey to the Cross-Roads
Departing the company of Faramir and receiving their final meal in relative comfort before setting foot into the land of Mordor, Sam and Frodo put their faith in Gollum who desires to bring them through Cirith Ungol and into the heart of the evil that lurks there. Discovering an ill omen on the way in the form of a defaced statue from the glory days of Gondor, there is no doubt that the happy days spent by the Hobbits in Hobbiton are long-forgotten.
Join us this weekend for one or even both of our scheduled chats! Remember, the Hall of Fire is not only for Tolkien scholars but for novices too, and it’s one of the few chances available to talk Tolkien with your fellow fans.
Upcoming Discussions: To Be Confirmed
Place: #thehalloffire on theonering.net server; come to theonering.net’s chat room Barliman’s and then type /join #thehalloffire .
Saturday Chat: 5:30 pm ET (17:30) [also 11:30 pm (23:30) CET and 7:30 am Sunday (07:30) AET]
Sunday Chat: 7:00 pm (19:00) CET [also 1:00 pm (13:00) ET and 4:00 am (04:00) Monday morning AET]
ET = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast CET = Central European Time, Central Europe
We resume our Two Tower’s chats this weekend with Frodo and Sam still with the Men of Gondor at Henneth Annun. His own fate – and that of the quest – undecided, he is summoned by Faramir only to discover that he must to decide the fate of another.
Book 4, Chapter VI: The Forbidden Pool
Fate, chance or providence has lured Gollum back to Frodo’s side. Frodo discovers that, even with an opportunity, he is not easily able to disnown his feelings of obligation toward Gollum. It appears that although Gollum is bound to Frodo by his promise, Frodo is similarly bound to Gollum, something that could prove to the detriment of the quest.
Be sure to join us this weekend in one of our two scheduled discussions!
Place: #thehalloffire on theonering.net server; come to theonering.net’s chat room Barliman’s and then type /join #thehalloffire .
Saturday Chat: 5:30 pm ET (17:30) [also 11:30 pm (23:30) CET and 7:30 am Sunday (07:30) AET]
Sunday Chat: 7:00 pm (19:00) CET [also 1:00 pm (13:00) ET and 4:00 am (04:00) Monday morning AET]
ET = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast CET = Central European Time, Central Europe
Broken from the Fellowship and taking their own route to Mordor, Sam and Frodo happen upon Men from the land of Gondor, a foreign land of which they know little save from what they learnt from Boromir. The true intent of Faramir, Prince of Gondor, remains unclear to them and it is only an encounter with Gollum that proves to them his worth as an ally. This weekend, the Hall of Fire crew invite you to join us for:
Book IV, Chapter V: The Window on the West
This chapter is noteworthy because it draws out in detail some of the finer characteristics of Faramir and the qualities that make him a very different person to his brother. Through his renouncement of the One Ring, and his fairness when treating with Gollum’s infringement on sacred ground, we slowly see the greatly-revered Prince of Men that becomes so highly thought-after in The Return of the King. If you’re a Faramir fan, or believe you can bring something more to the chat, join us this weekend in one of our two scheduled discussions and join the fun with your fellow Tolkien fans!
Upcoming Discussions: Oct 26 & 27 – TTT Book 4, Chap 6 – Forbidden Pool
Place: #thehalloffire on theonering.net server; come to theonering.net’s chat room Barliman’s and then type /join #thehalloffire .
Saturday Chat: 5:30 pm ET (17:30) [also 11:30 pm (23:30) CET and 7:30 am Sunday (07:30) AET]
Sunday Chat: 7:00 pm (19:00) CET [also 1:00 pm (13:00) ET and 4:00 am (04:00) Monday morning AET]
ET = Eastern Time, USA’s East Coast CET = Central European Time, Central Europe
Today at 9:00 pm EDT, TheOneRing.net will be hosting a Developers chat with Black Label Games and Surreal Software. They’ll be discussing Surreal’s The Fellowship of the Ring for PS2 and PC, and Black Label Games’ future LOTR video games. If this is your cup of tea, be sure to come along and bring your questions!
For those in Europe: Saturday, October 19th, 2.00 am. For those in the USA: Friday, October 18th 9:00 pm EDT, 6:00 PDT.
