Why only caravans? Do Cirdian's sailors not trade? How was Earendil a Mariner then? He had to earn his wages somehow - beyond the local salt business? Are no ships coming up the Sirion and Narog? Actually the Falls of Sirion cut of Doriath and Tol Sirion but the Narog seems passable - its rapids seem to be North of Ringwil - so Nargothrond should be a rich trading city outdoing Lake Town?
Interesting Questions, but would these sailors deploy by boat to Nargothrond or Menegroth? I doubt it.
Why not? Sailors need goods to sell both ways. If they bring stuff up they bring stuff down to exchange.
Humans and Avari would be it. But would real Avari not avoid sea (reminding them of the call of the Valar they have refused?) Have no problem of the Avari living more up the great rivers. Anduin itself is blocked at the Falls of Rauros. But the rivers of Eriador, future Gondor and Harad should be fine?
Farming yes, but high sea travel for Avari? You would have to convince me.
? Cirdan's? Or Thingol's?
Cirdian's sailors must get some stuff from the Norths to sell in the South. Usually this would be furs.
Not so very much if you already have had millenia of try and error...
He can have Melian take care of that, she has far less reservations in this regard. And as long as he gets his wine on the table Thingol probably does not care much how exactly it got there?
Would need probably an extra thread to do that.
Cirdian has sailors and those must be doing something or the ships will not pay themselves. Cirdian does not need Thingol's approval for every action he takes. As such, Finrod can have deals with Cirdian without Thingol caring much.
But Valinor has been hidden for some time now since the revolt of the Noldor - as we will see soon in Earendil's efforts - nobody can find it yet? Are Cirdian's ships just rotting away in the docks? Doubt so. They have to go somewhere.
Sure.On the ocean!
Mithluin just stated:
soon, not yet?
For humans or elves?
Whom should they pirate on, theres no other sea-faring culture anywhere near. Sure i'd see them fishing, whaling, why not. Whom could they trade wirh? There isn't really anybody in the north, there isn't really anything in the west. They could deal with their own people in the east - but there is no ocean- and the hypothetical dor-winion culture somewhere in the south.I could see that.
Humans, but since the Numenorean kingdoms from the Third Age take a lot of their practices from the Elves, I would imagine the Elves came up with it first.
There are humans down there - and as they did not waste time nomading around propably at some levels of culture? And Avari up the greater rivers? And Cirdian's people themselves might have set up temporary repair and rest havens?
It was Legolas who suggested that? Might be a Telerin custom. But would they have much deads to bury this way - beyond those killed in storms and shipwrecks?
These humans then would be relatives of the later Oathbreakers and Dunlendings, some folk who had the same ancestors as our Haladin and Druedain i suggest. Avari up the rivers makes sense, and yes, the Falathrim may not build steady settlements down there, but maybe camps and repair havens. Námorie and Tremórie are apocryphic names which showed up somewhere, i chose they could be names for the lands south of Taur im Duinath and north of the gulf of Belerlorn -later bay of Belfalas?