Thread:Eras of Arda Team/@comment-30270695-20170714200602

Application for Lord of the Fountain of Gondolin.



Character name: Ecthelion

Title: Lord of the Fountain, Warden of the Great Gate.



IGN: jakub8899



Although this app is about the lore Ecthelion and I didn’t include all that is known of him, I had to improvise most of the story of Ecthelion’s life, however, before I get attacked by lore purists, let me just say that I made it make as much sense and as lore accurate as possible.



Early life: Born in the year 1311 in the Years of the Trees Ecthelion was born to a noble family in Tirion, loyal servants of the house of Fingolfin. Although quite young (for an elf) he vividly remembers the days when Melkor was pardoned and roamed freely spreading lies and deceit among the Noldor, and the destruction of the two trees by Ungoliant. One-day Ecthelion was caught up in a sudden crowd of people, all rushing to the source of a loud, confident voice echoing through the streets of Tirion. Peering over the crowd he just about managed to catch a glimpse of the speaker. It was Feanor himself, speaking out against the Valar. As he stood and listened Ecthelion was pulled into Feanor's ideal. When he saw that the Noldor were preparing to leave, he saw his chance and slipped through into Fingolfin's host.



The first kin-slaying: 

 

After a few days of journey, armoured for war Ecthelion, among the host of Fingolfin arrived at Alqualonde. There he got his first taste of war. The city burned and the smell of flesh and blood was in the air. The screams of sailors and Noldor soldiers echoed through the haven. Ecthelion pulled out his sword and stood there thinking. Is this all worth it? Why does so much blood have to be spilled over such a cause as reclaiming what is rightfully ours? As he stood there wondering a teleri sailor stood 10 metres opposite him. He lifted his board sword and ran at Ecthelion screaming in anger. Ecthelion did nothing, not because he didn't want to, he couldn't, fear had over taken him. He stood and waited for the worst. Suddenly he fell to his side as if pushed and a great strong Noldor warrior stood in his place. He lifted his sword and thrust it into the sailor's stomach with such fury and strength that the rail guard almost appears on the other side of the Teleri. The sailor stood with a deathly grin on his face, he fell to his knees as a trail of blood started running out of his mouth. Ecthelion watched with dread and horror as the limp body fell into the mud, he turned and saw the Noldor warrior who had just killed someone in front of Ecthelion's eyes continue slaughtering the sailors. Ecthelion picked up his sword and stood up holding it in front of himself in a protective manner. He looked around himself and suddenly noticed Turgon his friend from when he was young. Ecthelion ran towards him, jumping over the countless dead bodies and puddles of blood on the ground. "Turgon!" The tall figure with ebony hair and shining around splattered with blood looked around, a slight smile appeared on his face when he saw Ecthelion running towards him. "In the name of Eru! Ecthelion! This is a blood shed... fighting ourselves rather than the true enemy out there--" his voice was overtaken by the sound of cheering Noldor, but was it really such a great victory? The ground was littered with bodies of Teleri and Noldor, and the water turned red from the blood.



Crossing of the Helcaraxe : 

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">After the kinslaying the Noldor realised that many ships have been accidentally destroyed and there weren't enough to take Feanor's and Fingolfin's hosts. Ecthelion and Turgon along with most of the Noldor had taken shelter in the city while Feanor and Fingolfin find a way to transport everyone across the Belegaer. Soon they fell into a deep slumber after the terrible battle, just like most of the soldiers. In the night, they were awoken by several shouts and bells when they walked outside to see what had happened they realised the ships were gone. "FEANOR, HE STOLE THE SHIPS, LEFT US TO THE WRATH OF THE VALAR, TRAITOR!" one of the soldiers shouted as he ran to the quarters of Fingolfin. After seeing what had happened Fingolfin had made up his mind, he was not going to Tirion in shame and after what they had done. They were going to cross the helcaraxe. So, began the journey to and through the cold wastelands of the grinding ice. Many were lost by accidentally wandering off. But many more were lost to the cold, one of them being Turgon's wife, Elenwe. Although Ecthelion's family had stayed at Tirion and he did not have much to lose on the travel. He suffered as much as Turgon did, as he was the closest family he had in this barren wasteland.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">Battle of Lammoth :

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">At the start of the First Age, the host of Fingolfin had finally reached beleriand and the end of the helcaraxe, after many loses to the cold they had finally made it. But the joy didn't last long, just after passing the helcaraxe and coming into beleriand the hordes od orcs which some had never seen before came pouring down the mountainside...

<p class="MsoNormal">"Finally, we have arrived at Beleriand! The time has come to find the traitorous Feanor and his house and take back the silmarills!" The soldiers cheered at Fingolfin's speech not even knowing what would happen next. Ecthelion was hidden deep in the crowd for he remembered still what had happened at Alqualonde and the dread and horror of the event filled his mind still. "We shall ride on no-" Fingolfin was silenced by the shriek of a rain of arrows which had just appeared in the sky. "SHIELDS!" screamed a soldier and lifted his shield to block the arrows, everyone did the same. Ecthelion watched as some arrows managed to get through the canopy of shields and hit several soldiers, they gave out shrieks of pain as they limplessly fell to the ground. There was silence. Then a sudden banging to footsteps getting louder and louder. Out of the forest on the mountainside charged out an army of orcs from Angband, charging furiously without the slightest care about what could happen to them. "Ambush!" Shouted one of the soldiers before an arrow pierced his throat and his body fell down. Ecthelion without thinking pulled out his sword and prepared for the impact of the charge. The masses of orcs bashed against the shields of the Noldor some pierced by long spears. Soon the wall fell and a bloodbath begun. As an orc ran at Ecthelion with a war axe, he ran at the orc in a matter of seconds his sword was covered in orc blood and the orcs head rolled by his feet. Ecthelion felt no pity for these beings, unlike the elves at Alqualonde. The battle went on for hours with many loses on both sides. But soon the elves got the upper hand and the less organised, and weaker armoured orcs fell faster and more often than elves,the orcs were forced into a retreat but Fingolfin wasn't giving up on them do easily. "Get them! Kill them all! For your fallen brothers and sisters" Ecthelion mounted a fallen soldiers horse and charged with the other mounted soldiers, hunting down the orcs to the very last one. Now Ecthelion had tasted battles in Beleriand, and has seen what battle with the orcs of morgoth is like. After the host was gathered together, the fallen were buried including Fingolfin's youngest son. "We must tarry not, for more orcs will come, let's us lament not long and continue".

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">Nevrast and the building of Gondolin: 

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">After passing the Firth of Drengist. Turgon and Ecthelion along with a host of elves established Nevrast and the capital Vinyamar. Nevrast was a small Elvish realm, and therefore not overly disturbed by orcs or other elves, however short-lived. After Ulmo told Turgon to establish a refuge, and led him up the river sirion for Turgon to discover the hidden vale which would later become gondolin, Turgon returned to Nevrast and started planning the building of a city which would resemble Tirion...

<p class="MsoNormal">"Ecthelion my friend, I must ask you a question. For as long as you have been by my side I have never revealed any secrets that I may have. I would like to show you one." Ecthelion was in awe at the sudden change in his friend "well i do belive that there was never a need to reveal your secrets, but if you wish I will come with you". And so they set out, up the river sirion and through to the hidden vale. "before you see what I am about to show you... do you still remember where we grew up? The white streets of Tirion upon Túna?"

<p class="MsoNormal">"There is no way I could forget my home"

<p class="MsoNormal">"Well, well good, come with me". As they stepped through the last pass before Ecthelion lay a huge vale, the emerald green grass shone in the light and the white mountains surrounding the vale towered over it as if protecting it. Ecthelion was speech less, for even in Aman he did not see anything more beautiful apart from the two trees. "As I was saying, Ulmo came to me, and told me to establish a refuge, somewhere were the wrath of morgoth will not reach us and we can dwell in peace. This, this will be Gondolin." After that Turgon bought architects and builders and started the secret construction of Gondolin.

<p class="MsoNormal">Gondolin and Aredhel's escort 

<p class="MsoNormal">After many years the city was complete and Turgon ruled as it's king with twelve lords beneath him, one, being Ecthelion of the house of the Fountain. Ecthelion was one of the greatest of the lords, clad in silver armour adored with a silver spike on his helm.

<p class="MsoNormal">The entrance to the city was guarded by seven gates and by the towering mountains surrounding the city. To keep the city secret Turgon set a law that prevented anyone to leave the hidden valley. This law, however was challenged by his own sister.

<p class="MsoNormal">One-day Aredhel, sister of the king, had enough of the isolated lifestyle. "My lord. I you have kept us safe from the world for many years, I am grateful for that, however my heart desires things out of my reach, I wish to leave to seek out the sons of Feanor, our kin who we have not aren for many years" The king was reluctant, fearing that Aredhel would accidentally reveal the location of the city. Hearing this Ecthelion decided to act. "My lord although i know that you wish to protect Aredhel and the city, but you cannot keep Aredhel in here forever, let her go, and let me take Glorfindel and Egalmoth as an escort". Although still reluctant, the king agreed to this. After preparing they set out, through the seven gates and down the river sirion, the journey was smooth and they did not encounter any problems on the way. Soon they reached Doriath, seeking a safe passage into eastern beleriand, however they were denied entrance by the wardens of Doriath. "I'm afraid we are forced to pass through the hidden valley, which I do not willingly as I have heard many things about the evil of Nan Dungortheb". But he went on, as he had sworn to Turgon that he would protect Aredhel on every step.

<p class="MsoNormal">After a rather calm journey they reached the dark valley, the day grew old and night grew near and darkness started to fill the valley. As they went on through the valley they heard evil sounds which they did not know if they were real or just mere illusions. Soon the darkness overwhelmed them and shadows came down upon them and separated them... "Aredhel!" The elven lords got down from their loyal steeds and pulled out their weapons, still crying Aredhel's name in vain. "We've lost her, what will the king say when we tell him we lost his sister! "

<p class="MsoNormal">" Stay calm Egalmoth, we will find her, it is not rare for people to get lost among the shadows "

<p class="MsoNormal">" They're trying to split us... separate us and kill us...." Glorfindel's calm voice echoed through the valley.

<p class="MsoNormal">Ecthelion felt something. Something like a thousand eyes starring right at them.... He then saw a glimpse of something in the shadow. He pulled his sword which has earned the name "orcrist" after the battle of Lammoth and several other orc encounters after. As he walked up to the shadow, a huge arachnid jumped out at him as quick as the wind, but Ecthelion was faster, he swung his sword and sliced off the arachnid's left legs, he fell to the ground and gave out a dreadful shriek as Ecthelion walked up and thrust his sword into the arachnid's head. Then they realised... The arachnid's shriek wasn't from pain or fear... It was a calling. They found themselves surrounded by hundreds of red eyes staring at them. "RUN" Shouted Ecthelion as they jumped back on their mounts and charged through in the direction of what they believe was home, trampling hundreds of arachnids in the process. After hardly getting out alive they started to work their way back to Gondolin.

<p class="MsoNormal">"What do we tell the king, now that we've lost Aredhel and hardly got out alive out selves?" Asked Egalmoth in a slightly concerned manner.

<p class="MsoNormal">"The truth" Answered Ecthelion calmly. And so they did. After their return, they told the king all that had happened in the Nan Dungortheb. And they mourned the loss of Aredhel, for she was the closest family Turgon had. And so Aredhel was forgotten and the hidden realm lived on, isolated from the outside world.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">I tried to also get into detail on specific things that happened in Ecthelion's life such as the kinslaying at Alqualonde, battle of Lammoth and the escort of Aredhel. In which Ecthelion either did or very possibly did participate in. I didn’t go further since I doubt the time of the server is past this. a lot of this I did have to improvise but I tried to make it as lore accurate and make it make as much sense as possible so please don’t attack me lore purists.

<p class="MsoNormal">Now to why I want to be this character on the First Age server. One of the main reasons why I want to be Ecthelion of the Fountain is because of his potential. As some may know, Ecthelion was one of the first characters Tolkien created, and the fact that not much is said about him isn’t necessarily a bad thing, this gives this character much potential as I could, in a way, “create” a story for a lore character, not only this, Ecthelion may not be the most interesting character in lore, however I do find that he is quite interested in terms of his rank and status. He is one of the twelve lords of Gondolin and Warden of the Great gate, the last gates leading through the hidden passage to Gondolin. I also think that I would do well as this character for several reasons. Firstly, as many people know me from SA being quite neutral and passive in server politics, I would do great in a realm which is meant to be hidden and have very few dealings with the outside world. Secondly, considering there were 12 lords of Gondolin and a king above them I think it is safe to say that I wouldn’t be leading the faction but merely impacting it in some way or form. Also, I have experience rp’ing as characters such as Ecthelion, protective and doubting, like Ecthelion was as we know from “Unfinished tales” that he was reluctant to letting Tuor into the hidden kingdom when they came upon the last gate.

<p class="MsoNormal">Now to how I would take on the role of Ecthelion. Considering that not much is said about him I have many ways to go with him. Although I will go along the lines of Ecthelion’s story which I have written I will be mainly working around the events which happen on the server, as my character I would be quite protective towards the hidden kingdom and loyal to King Turgon and the hidden kingdom. I also do realise that as Ecthelion I will be co-ruling with the other lords and the king, and I will have to be involved in coming to a compromise with the others in different situations, I fully acknowledge this and will do my best to come to agreements with the other lords and king. I also believe that I, as my character could bring in things that others can’t into the First Age server. Unlike most people that I have met on SA I can be passive and neutral but also quite discursive when it comes to certain topics, like everyone, I have a different mindset to others and therefore I would act differently on the server, also, the fact that I would be playing a lore character that has a different story to others basically forces me to play in a different way to others which would bring more depth and diversity into the FA community. Also, although I do have some considerate skill in pvp (something most of good on SA seemed to lack…) I don’t abuse it in a harmful way. When out of character I trying to stay neutral in player matters and show respect for my fellow players in the community. Although I’m not the best leader in terms of controlling players (reason why I’m applying for a lower role this time) I am active and engage in the community and manage to keep players active and not break the server rules and manage to stop my players from unnecessarily starting fights with other facs. (as some may remember, Greenwood was one of the most peaceful and friendly facs on SA, none of our members broke server rules (with the exception of one player), we had the least amount of salt on the whole server and out members mostly stayed active. I also know that many people from SA might have disliked me for how I ruled(mainly my neutrality) I have to remind that I am applying for a character who lives in an isolated kingdom away from the troubles of the outside, which seems to fit perfectly for the kind of person I am.

<p class="MsoNormal">Now to my experience. I have experience with rp, in Minecraft and real life. I have also read the LOTR, The Hobbit, Silmarillion and Unfinished tales books which gives me enough lore knowledge to be able to play on the First Age server. I also have experience with the lotr mod, I’ve played on TOS where I played with the rank of a dwarven thane and also on SA where I played as the Elven King Oropher of Greenwood.

<p class="MsoNormal">Although this was quite a lengthy piece which I did spend many hours on, I thank whoever takes the time to read this and hope to seeing you on the server soon! <ac_metadata title="Application for Ecthelion of The Fountains"> </ac_metadata>