Session 4-20: Episodes 9 (& 10)

MithLuin

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We are moving into the end of the Season now! Four-five more sessions remaining before we hit post-season.

Session 4-20 will be on Thursday July 25th. Episode 9 will focus on the Dagor Aglareb and will include Edhellos' unwitting treachery and the capture of more elves (possibly Rog and Annael?), and Episode 10 will cover a bunch of things - Ulmo's dreams to Finrod and Turgon, Fingolfin's acceptance of the Ban, the forging of Narsil, and establishing the Siege of Angband.

Gantt chart (for reference): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...j3TpG3Bnt1hPqHBaGL17TB0Y8/edit#gid=1115838130
 
In the Dagor Aglareb, Morgoth's forces burst through the Noldor's defenses in two places, the Pass of Sirion and Maglor's lands in the east. Edhellos' treachery could be something that undermines the defenses of one or both of these places.

Here are some possible things she could do:
  • Convince leaders to remain in their strongholds rather than facing the enemy in the open (foreshadowing Maeglin in Gondolin)
  • Have a moment of apparent lucidity in which she uses her position as herald of Angrod to order soldiers away from where the attack will take place
  • Create a false report of a disturbance elsewhere that Finrod and/or Maglor take soldiers to investigate, leaving their fortresses less protected
  • Work magic to keep clouds or smoke in the sky during the day (maybe with some kind of creepy possessed singing)
  • Structural sabotage - perhaps something to undermine repairs after the earthquakes that preceded the battle
  • Let Morgoth's sneakier forces (cats or vampires) into the stronghold at night
  • Destroy messages from other realms warning of the impending attack
  • Convince everyone to hold a festival so they are not prepared :)
In the script I wrote, I made Edhellos a weaver before she took on the role of Angrod's herald. One idea I have for the reveal of Edhellos' treachery is for her to carry a skein of thread of a particular color around in her madness and intentionally leave a piece of this thread in the place(s) she commits her treacherous act(s) for someone to find.

To tie in with the episode about the Mereth Aderthad, in which Luthien thwarted Sauron's attempts to magically cause hostility between the Noldor and Sindar with the aid of Daeron and Maglor, maybe Edhellos could be sent to Maglor for healing. Finrod, who realized that there was evil magic in Sauron's music at the Mereth Aderthad and that Luthien's song countered it, could recognize something similar in Edhellos' condition and suggest that Angrod or Orodreth take Edhellos to Maglor, as seeking help from Luthien and Daeron in Doriath would be out of the question with the recent reveal of the Kinslaying. This would give Edhellos a chance to do something treacherous in both the Pass of Sirion and Maglor's lands.
 
I think it's a question of how involved we want her 'Trojan horse' incident to be. The simplest, most straightforward way for her to undermine the Noldor would be to have her sleepwalking to open gates from the inside for the enemy. That would be the let the cats in option above.

For the more involved examples, we would have to interweave her actions with the unfolding battle. Certainly possible, but we should probably try to plan these concurrently.

One change we have made from the published Silmarillion is that Minas Tirith is already constructed. And we've had Thuringwethil spying on the plans for it. It would be reasonable for an injured Edhellos to be taken there...so do we want that to be one of the focused targets in this battle?

An earlier suggestion was to have her involved in the surprise attack down the coast (which is being conflated with the Dagor Aglareb). Certainly, some of the ideas about intercepting messages or giving seemingly lucid orders to have troops in the wrong places would work there...but why would she be there? Is that where she was found and they're afraid to move her too far in her condition? If so, Angrod will come to her.

Also a reminder that Aegnor needs to break his sword in this battle.
 
Personally, I'm for having her role be as simple as possible. Opening a postern (which my phone refuses to allow me to type) gate or something like that. Something easily programmed into a shattered mind. Lucidity would imply that her mind isn't broken so much as suppressed.
 
I think one thing we have to keep in mind is that some Elves are going to be making some bad choices coming up in the next couple seasons (example Turgon sealing up Gondolin and not coming out later on, or Nargothrond tossing out Finrod and building a bridge) that we want to preserve as bad decisions and not turn into ploys from the Enemy.
 
I think one thing we have to keep in mind is that some Elves are going to be making some bad choices coming up in the next couple seasons (example Turgon sealing up Gondolin and not coming out later on, or Nargothrond tossing out Finrod and building a bridge) that we want to preserve as bad decisions and not turn into ploys from the Enemy.
For building a bridge, I think that might be ambiguous whether or not that was intended by Morgoth for Gwindor to escape, find and assist Turin, and then have Turin, in his reliance on martial action, make all these changes that enable Morgoth to find Nargothrond and make it fall.
 
I think it's a question of how involved we want her 'Trojan horse' incident to be. The simplest, most straightforward way for her to undermine the Noldor would be to have her sleepwalking to open gates from the inside for the enemy. That would be the let the cats in option above.

For the more involved examples, we would have to interweave her actions with the unfolding battle. Certainly possible, but we should probably try to plan these concurrently.

One change we have made from the published Silmarillion is that Minas Tirith is already constructed. And we've had Thuringwethil spying on the plans for it. It would be reasonable for an injured Edhellos to be taken there...so do we want that to be one of the focused targets in this battle?

An earlier suggestion was to have her involved in the surprise attack down the coast (which is being conflated with the Dagor Aglareb). Certainly, some of the ideas about intercepting messages or giving seemingly lucid orders to have troops in the wrong places would work there...but why would she be there? Is that where she was found and they're afraid to move her too far in her condition? If so, Angrod will come to her.

Also a reminder that Aegnor needs to break his sword in this battle.
Geographically, where will Dagor Aglareb be?
 
Geographically, where will Dagor Aglareb be?
The main thrust of it hits Dorthonion, I think, but there are also engagements in the east, and along the Sirion. The final moments are when the Noldor encircle and destroy the retreating army as they approach Angband.
 
Angband has no navy, and all of Morgoth's forces hate the water (because Ulmo). It's an attack over land, but along the coast, so in the far west of Hithlum.
 
Angband has no navy, and all of Morgoth's forces hate the water (because Ulmo). It's an attack over land, but along the coast, so in the far west of Hithlum.

Is this described somewhere in HoME? Because the PubSil just says they go down the Sirion. I've read somewhere that Cirdan was involved in repulsing this force, but nothing about a coastal offensive.
 
Suggestion for Episode 10 regarding order of events: Maedhros visits Belegost to commission Narsil for Aegnor. As Telchar works on Narsil, that's where we get the flashback regarding Eol and his black swords.
 
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