Thread:Eras of Arda Team/@comment-26556622-20170908193549

Mae g’ovannen mellon-nin, it has recently come to my attention that the position of Elu Thingol is unoccupied at the moment and as the title and place of this post suggest this is my application for said role, for Thingol is possibly my favourite Tolkien lore character of all time and being able to play him on a server with such cool modifications would be wonderful.



‘A king there was in days of old: 

ere Men yet walked upon the mould       

his power was reared in caverns' shade, 

''his hand was over glen and glade. ''

Of leaves his crown, his mantle green,    

his silver lances long and keen;  

the starlight in his shield was caught,     

ere moon was made or sun was wrought.’ -Lay of Leithian Canto I



For Elu Thingol, or Elwë Singollo as he was called at birth truly was one of the elder kings of Middle-earth. Having been born in Cuiviénen during the years of the trees. When the Valar discovered the elves of Cuiviénen, Oromë handpicked 3 ambassadors amongst their 3 tribes, to visit Valinor and lead their people west. For the most populous of the three, the Telerin, he chose Elwë. And so he saw the light of the trees and from that day was counted amongst the high-elves of the west, wiser than those in the east.

He convinced most of his people to go west and lead them across the blue mountains into Beleriand. And whilst the Vanyar and the Noldor all got to Aman, the Teleri slacked behind for they had lost Elwë. Unknown to them he had wandered into Nan Elmoth and there followed the song of nightingales, send by Melian the maia. Who had decided to wander the shaded woods under the starlight of Middle-earth, away from Valinor, where she used to serve Irmo in the garden of Lórien and where she sang so beautifully at the mingling of the light of the trees, that all of Valinor, ainu, bird, beast and even the wind would listen to her voice. When Thingol reached Melian in the heart of the forest he came under her spell. Entranced they looked at eachother… for hours… days… weeks… months. Half the Teleri under Elwë’s brother Olwë had already given up the search and crossed the sea to Valinor. But then, he emerged from the forest as the king of all Beleriand, or Eglador as they called it, land of the forsaken, for they had been left behind. But under the enlightened rule of Thingol and his wife, the Teleri of Beleriand grew wise and powerful, and they were the Sindar, or grey elves.

Now Thingol established himself in the woodlands of Region and Neldoreth and decided he needed a grand hall to rule his realm from. Guided by Melians visions he enlisted the dwarves of Belegost into his service and the elves and dwarves together dug the most marvellous of all dwellings in middle earth, Menegroth. The thousand caves they called it, and its pillars were like the beeches of Oromë filled with light from golden lanterns and animals carved from stone. The floors were of many coloured cobbles and the halls were filled with the sound of water trickling from silver fountains into marble basins and the songs of Melians Nightingales. It was a palace that rivalled the bliss Valinor across the sea.

Then however the shadows grew in Midle-earth as Melkor destroyed the trees of light and returned to his fortress in the North from whence he sent forth many orc legions to ravage Thingols realm. With the help of Denethor though at the cost of that kings life, Thingol led his armies against the forces of evil in the first battle of Beleriand and the first war the elves ever fought. And he was victorious, beating the orc forces as Amon Ereb.



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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">‘In after-days, when to the shore              

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">of Middle-earth from Valinor      

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">the Elven-hosts in might returned,           

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">and banners flew and beacons burned,  

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">when kings of Eldamar went by 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">in strength of war, beneath the sky         

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">then still his silver trumpets blew

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">''when sun was young and moon was new. ''

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">Afar then in Beleriand,   

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">in Doriath's beleaguered land,    

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">King Thingol sat on guarded throne         

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">in many-pillared halls of stone’ -Lay of Leithian Canto I

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">And so the hosts of the Noldor returned to Endor, and King Thingol granted them many lands, and offered them friendship, for they had beaten back Morgoth all the way to his foul gates and secured the north. Only later he found out about the heinous deeds sparked by the Fëanorians after his half Noldorin cousins had told him. Thingol was furious, and incited a ban on high-elvish across all of Beleriand, and the sindar of all realms complied. No Noldor save from Thingols familymembers were afterwards allowed within Doriath, and none could in fact enter, for Melian had enchanted the borders of the forest many years ago and only those that the king or queen allowed to enter, would be able to enter the forest.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">I will not cover the later parts of his lore, for the roleplay history of the server hasn’t really touched upon Beren yet, and as such it doesn’t seem all too necessary to speak about Thingols action in those cases.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">So, why would I make a good Thingol. The first quality I’d bring up is my deep love for the land of Doriath and the character, they are my favourites in all of Tolkiens lore and they have always sparked my imagination, especially Menegroth, the thousand caverns. I have ruled Lothlórien several times on different servers before as king and always had a stance to outsiders similar to that of Thingol, none allowed. I’ve have experience as an elven ruler in roleplay and would very much stick to Thingols character and base my decisions on what he would do in the lore, which was always what was best for his people and at times himself. He lead Doriath into a period of hostile isolationism which is an interesting concept to roleplay. I would also pick up any of the duties expected of a king, such as maintaining the faction, helping newcomers and helping staff wherever they need it.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">Next to my love for the lore I’d also greatly enjoy indulging in some building projects, Menegroth itself first and foremost (might need to ask previous Thingols permission to work/rework it though as the cave that’s already there is amazing) Menegroth however isn’t the only lore build in Doriath, Hírilorn, Iant Iaur and the guarded bridge over the Sirion are some of the other possibilities. If my building skills are taken into question, I have a bit of recommendation of the mod team itself, for I hold the exclusive title of ‘buildmaster’ gained during one of the mod team organized building contest (In this case easterlings, but frankly I’m better at elvish and dwarvish styles). I became third in said competition with my version of the tower of Khamûl. I would probably go for a very different approach to Menegroth but I won’t reveal all my plans on the matter yet for it would make this post endlessly long.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">I hope my application will be accepted of course but if that is not the case I understand and will try to aim for something lower next time. I thank you for reading it none the less and farewell, or as we elves would say ‘Hannon le’ and ‘Novaer’

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">~Mythrandir01 <ac_metadata title="Application for Elu Thingol/Elwë Singollo, King of Doriath"> </ac_metadata>