Eglarest and Brithombar

Haakon

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The two Falathrim cities are very intersting. They are early settlements that remain for quite long, and they are involved in wars, which should show through rebuildíng and evolving of new architecture. And they get defensive walls at some point. We should decide what they look like this season and then we can move on in later seasons. We also need to decide on their setting. The two cities should have slightly different settings, so people can tell the difference at a glance.
 
To me an obvious place to look is the coast of Portugal. Here is an example.
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Here's a setting with some buildings. The cities should have a port as well, but could also have a part which overlooks the ocean.
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This is from the coast of Brittany, France: upload_2017-8-2_10-29-37.jpeg
One of the cities could be lower and more close to the sea.
 
Some parts of the dwellings could be set in the cliff sides. Not exactly like this perhaps, but using the same idea:
stock-photo-landscape-with-mediterranean-sea-in-malta-rocky-bay-and-hidden-boat-house-569206564.jpg
 
For the Nevrast and Lammoth coast settings, I think we should use more northern coasts. Nevrast should have som esteep cliffs, like in Norway. But that's a seperate thread! ;)
 
Beautiful pictures!

I think I#ll gonna collect some quotes from the Books to get a better picture of these havens... I haven't thought much about them so far...
 
One thing I'd like us to keep in mind through this is the fact that these are port cities. While they can have cliff faces, we need to remember that they need shipping access, so either the cliffs have to give way at points, or there needs to be a mechanism to transport people and goods up and down.
 
hhmmm...

Brithon the river-mouth
and the long cape giving protection to the haven


haven at the mouth of the Eldor

Orc-Mountains Extensive highlands cover the entire region
between Brithombar and the range forming the southern
fence of what was later called Nevrast. On the later map
these highlands are retained in the region between the
sources of the Brithon and the Eldor (Nenning), and are too
little represented on my map in the published Silmarillion.

Brithombar and Eglorest were
builded to fair towns and the Tower of Tindobel
was set up upon the cape west of Eglorest to
watch the Western Seas;


Brithombar and Eglarest were
walled about with great walls, and fair towns were raised
within, and harbours with quays and piers of stone. And the
Tower of Ingildon was set up upon the cape west of Eglarest to
watch the Sea; though needlessly, as it proved.


Therefore the
first assault of Morgoth was against Cirdan; and ere the winter
was come he sent great strength over Hithlum and Nivrost, and
they came down the Rivers Brithon and Nenning, and ravaged
all the Falas, and besieged the walls of Brithombar and Eglarest.
Smiths and miners and masters of fire they brought with them,
and set up great engines, and though they were stoutly resisted
they broke the walls at last.

Yet all the lower plain of Sirion was divided from the
upper plain by this sudden fall, which looking North appeared as
an endless chain of hills running from Eglorest beyond Narog in
the West to Amon Ereb in the East, within far sight of Gelion.

Brithombar and Eglorest were rebuilt and became fair
towns, recalling somewhat the havens of the Elves upon the shores
of Valinor.

Nenning for earlier Eglor (at whose
mouth was the haven of Eglorest)

the Havens of the Falas had long existed under the
lordship of Cirdan, and were rebuilt with the aid and skill of
the Noldor of Felagund's following. In the same passage it is
said that Felagund 'raised the tower of Barad Nimras to watch
the western sea',

servants of
Morgoth roamed at will, save in the walled havens of the Falas.
There dwelt still those of the Sindar who still loved
ships and the Sea, and they had great havens at Brithombar and
Eglarest. Their lord was Cirdan the Shipbuilder. There was
friendship and alliance between Finrod and Cirdan, and with the
aid of the Noldor Brithombar and Eglarest were rebuilt...

the
sea-board from Cape Andras to the headland of Bar-in-Myl
('Home of the Gulls'),(8) which included the ship-havens of
Cirdan at Brithonbar (9) and at the head of the firth of Eglarest.

there's far less detail given in the text than i had hoped for...
 
One thing I'd like us to keep in mind through this is the fact that these are port cities. While they can have cliff faces, we need to remember that they need shipping access, so either the cliffs have to give way at points, or there needs to be a mechanism to transport people and goods up and down.
Yes I think I wrote that somewhere between the pictures. That's quite common, to have a city that is high up on the clkiffs but with a seperate port.
 
But it looks like I was a little...well, hasty. We should make at least Brithombar a pure port city. Let's place it at a river mouth.
 
Eglarest seems the most easily visualized. A great tower (which I imagine doubles as a lighthouse), sitting upon a long cape. The city rests upon the cape, and stretches down and around to a deep cove under the cliff face. The lower section of the city should eventually be walled off as a lower ward, and low-walled parapets along the top of the cliff would allow archers to defend the port of the invading fleet that never comes.
 
Both Towns seem to be built in hilly or rocky terrain at river mouths, shielded from the sea by a long Cape and from land by hills...

I believe in Eglarest the Town might be along the Coast on and below the Cliffs or hills while the Cape with the tower rises to the west.
 
The map shows the tower of barad Nimras between the two towns, at the farthest end of a cape. But we won't have that this season.
 
I love the idea of Portugal's coast! Personally, I want to save Normandy/northern France for Gondor's ports. Pelargir, in particular, has always looked vaguely Norman in my mind.

I don't think we need to have either a cliff city or a port. Both can be combined in really interesting ways. Should we be looking for protected basins for the harbors, or are our elves not worried about a naval strike, and so would concern themselves only with defending the town and access to the port?
 
I think they build a walled defense for the ports, if not from the beginning, then after the first attacks.
 
Yes, but I meant defensive from the sea, not from land. Are our elves going to build a port surrounded by a chain of islands, perhaps, to limit the number of entry points for ships? Or build a structure like this?

106%20copy%205.jpg


I don't think that's necessary, unless we give Morgoth a navy, something I don't remember any reference to. But if we don't have them build structures or concern themselves with protecting their sea flank, we could have a battle scene that begins with a group of orcs being smuggled onto the port on small boats at night: a classic sneak-attack move.
 
from the text I had imagined it looked more like this:

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but you're right... according to the maps the Tower if more far away from the towns
 
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