ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
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Post by ArPharazon on Mar 19, 2010 20:32:11 GMT -5
Calion:
Riding along the path, Calion too noticed the shadowy feeling. Whatever was going on here was near, because it was quickly growing stronger as they moved. He had a sense of foreboding clouding his mind.
He had spent the night taking rest and letting his wound heal, while going over some details in his head, and wondering what had happened to his brother. He had felt that a reunion would not be long waiting, but under what circumstances he could not yet see. Now his wound, by time, care and simply being Elven, was barely noticeable, and Calion was on high alert and ready to confront anything barring their path. But still he was worried.
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Calaron:
Two nights had passed since the events at Thranduil's Halls. Not long before the second nightfall, Calaron had arrived at the spot by the road by the means of a large wolf, bred in the service of the Orcs and their allies, and ready to bring its old master, now residing within an Elf, anywhere he wanted to go. The presence was getting stronger now, having dealt a great blow to Calaron's resistance at the Halls, and would be exerting full control were it not for the rain, seemingly washing its influence out of the very air, and dampening the effects. But it was confident that what remained of the Elf's spirit would not be able to fight back in any significant matter.
He had chosen this particular spot to make an easy ambush. The path was narrow and would hinder any attempt to flee by horse, the trees and shrubbery were close up to the road and would hide him from sight, and its large distance from the Halls made the incoming party's delays by night more likely, giving Calaron all the time he needed to set up his plan and gathering the forces to execute it. Now he had picked a particularly thick tree 2 lines away from the path, to wait for his target.
Nocking an arrow to his bow, he glanced back. Calaron had gathered a small force during his journey and since his arrival here. He had sent out messengers to contact Orcish parties in the northwestern parts of the forest, and summoned wild beasts under his command through the shadow he now radiated strongly, notably spiders out for Elven blood. What he had amassed now seemed like a small army, good enough to prevent any small Elven company from reaching the western gates of Mirkwood.
But Calaron still sat uneasy, knowing there were factors hindering him. He had chosen to waylay this particular group for 2 reasons, one to cripple his victim even further by the death of the brother Calion, and the other one to see what this high elf of Rivendell was planning. He guessed from the knowledge of the host-body that there was a secret mission behind it all, and was determined to find out its details. Unfortunately, this meant that the Noldo had to be taken alive if possible, which would prove difficult. Another factor was the rain. It kept on going and going, weakening his influence over the spiders, and more importantly, the Elf. To avoid this becoming a problem, he resolved to remain in the back and lead his troops from behind, fighting with the bow instead.
A host of spiders crowded the treeline and the sound of at least two dozen Orcs muttering rose up from further back. Silent ambushes were not their style, and they were unhappy, but loyal to the sorcerer, a feared lieutenant of the Northern forces. When all was ready and Calaron motioned to them a signal, they hushed and listened. A soft smile broke on the Elf's face as he hid in the tree. There was the sound of hooves on the path to the East.
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Calion:
As the path narrowed, Calion rode to the front of the party. The shadow was very strong here, and the sound of birds had vanished. It would have been unusually quiet, were it not for the sounds of chittering suddenly looming up from the northern bushes. He slowed down Quessëlómë and kept his eye on the treeline. A sudden rustle of the leaves put one word in his head. Immediately halting his horse, he drew a weapon and warned: "Ambush!" a moment before the arrow crossed the path 2 feet before the nose of the foremost horse, striking a tree on the other side and shaking for a fraction of a second. It was Elven. It was Calaron's.
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on Jan 24, 2010 19:06:11 GMT -5
Calion:
Seeing the third spider also fallen dead, Calion put the dagger back in his clothing. Now, he thought, it was time to move out again. After retrieving his first dagger from its position near the Orc corpse, he walked over to one of the spiders' corpses, supporting himself on the sword and limping slightly. Poison or no poison, the wound still hurt. With a tug he took back his second dagger from the spider, and proceeded to approach Meren in a similar manner.
"Lady Meren!" he said. "Would you by any chance have any herbs that can help with a spider-wound?" He pointed at his leg. He leaned on his horse to accomodate Meren, while letting the sword fall on the ground. "Frali, do you care for a trophy from the Orc you slew? It's all yours."
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on Jan 9, 2010 21:05:45 GMT -5
Calion:
Calion prepared to defend himself from the large spider approaching him, wielding a weapon he was not used to: A sword, and of Orcish make nonetheless. But two well-placed arrows solved the problem for him, and the spider writhed on the ground for a bit, just out of sword's reach, for the last few seconds of its life.
He slowly got to his feet, leaning with one hand on the hilt of the sword. Smiling at Fainan up in the tree, Calion expressed his gratitude with a nod. A quick glance at his leg-wound revealed no poison on the edges, and the wound did not burn as it would have, had poison been inside. He had been very lucky; either the dying spider had not had much poison left to push through, or at least not the strength to, or he had pulled his leg away fast enough. Probably a bit of both. Time, with the aid of some herbs if they were available, would soon heal him with no lasting effect besides perhaps a vague scar.
With his free hand Calion took another dagger hidden within his clothing. It would be the third in this particular fight, and he would have to remember to retrieve the others when it was over. Now he looked for the third spider, which, when he had last seen it, was holding on to the tree Fainan was in.
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on Jan 9, 2010 16:48:14 GMT -5
Calion:
Calion witnessed Estarion's rude awakening from a short distance, for he was still standing by the shore; ranged help would do more evil than good, and the others had the Avar under control before he could have reached as far. Some seconds later there came to his attention an ominous sound from behind. It was the sound of spiders chittering.
He turned around just in time to see the rope untie itself, swinging Fainan and several spiders to the western shore. Through some quick action by Fainan the rope, with spiders attached, became wholly unfixed and fell towards the ground, as Calion grabbed another dagger.
He jumped forward and plunged his blade directly into one of the spiders' stomachs before it had a chance to unfurl its legs and turn its belly to the ground. But even as it was dying it fought back, biting Calion in the leg and unsteadying him. His weapon was wrenched from his grasp as the spider struggled, and he found himself thrown back on the soil with his hands empty, while the second spider skittered towards him.
Quickly rolling back over the turf, Calion put his hand on the Orcish sword Meren had knocked away from Estarion. Grabbing it firmly he pointed his new, probably poisoned weapon at the incoming spider. It would not find its prey easy to conquer.
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on Dec 27, 2009 18:45:34 GMT -5
Calion:
Gathering himself from pulling the pole back to shore, Calion looked around him while putting his hand on a concealed dagger. The Yrch could not be far away now, and the commotion would not have gone unnoticed.
A sudden movement caught his eye and he noticed a shape flying through the air, after being discovered by one of the horses. What landed before the waking Frali, he recognized immediately as a small Orc scout.
Calion immediately threw the dagger at the Orc and started a short sprint to reach him, but was too late. The dagger hit the ground fruitlessly beside the top of the Orc's neck, for by Frali's quick reflexes, his head was already not where it used to be.
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on Nov 29, 2009 19:50:26 GMT -5
Calion:
He had been mostly silent for the ride, deep in thought about his brother and what they might yet face before leaving Mirkwood. But he kept alert and watchful in his position at the rear, easily overhearing the report Fainan made to Auros, and gathering up on his command.
Coming to the river he had but nodded at Fainan's plan, for it was sound, and had taken his position on the boat, poling for part of the first trip, and the returntrips, while there were no horses to comfort. The crossing went fine, or so it seemed at the moment, and when they reached the other side for the last time he stepped off the boat and walked to where the horses were standing. Upon doing so, and starting to mount for the next part of their journey, he heard a splash behind him.
Looking back he saw Frali and Estarion dropping into the water, Fainan bringing the boat back to the shore, and exchanging places with Auros. He shot a quick glance down-stream, and his fears were soon confirmed with Meren's cry. Their crossing, or the aftermath, had not gone unnoticed to the Yrch.
Calion immediately stopped what he was doing and darted to the shore. He assisted Fainan with the pole, and knew they had to pull in their comrades with great speed, while occasionally looking to his left, to see if there were yet shapes and shadows along the shore, coming to add a whole new problem to the situation. Staring back for a moment at the river and his half-sleeping companions, he noticed Estarion's hand slowly slipping from Frali's belt. Quickly he gave a cry to Auros and Fainan, if they had not yet noticed, and then continued to steadily drag in the pole.
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on Jul 5, 2009 17:21:59 GMT -5
Calion:
Stifling a yawn, Calion stepped forth into the stables. This was another day of early rise and long travel, and there would no doubt be many more of those ahead before he would be able to sleep in. But these were difficult days, and he anticipated harder days to come, so he might as well get used to the pattern.
He had not slept well and had ended up paying Elmirë a visit somewhere during the night. She was improving, and just needed a good rest now more than anything. He had considered palming the arrow's end for his journey to remember his brother and perhaps remove evidence that might give his family funny looks in the future, but decided against it. Whatever it meant, he was sure he would come home with an explanation before the end, and secrecy from King Thranduil or the other elves of Mirkwood was not his way.
Calion's faithful horse give him a short whinny to greet him, as he approached her and brushed her mane. Fitting her out with the equipment he did not keep on himself, he looked around. The rain was coming on steadily now, and he smiled, for if nothing else it would wake him up quite well once they started on their journey.
His other companions were already pouring into the stables, with or without escorting each other. It seemed they would all be on time, in fact from the looks of it, Estarion had already spent the night here! He probably did not wish to be left behind again this time, and like this he would have been the first one here. After all had arrived and the party was complete, Calion mounted up and rode into the rain with a glint in his eye, ready to start the journey and serve his king.
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on Jun 7, 2009 19:55:32 GMT -5
Calion:
Seeing Fainan and Meren walking towards him on their way out of the clearing, Calion strode forward, greeted them, and welcomed Meren to the party. "I hope Auros won't be too hard on you," he told her with a wink.
Reaching Auros he bowed before him. "Greetings, lord Auros! We have not always gotten along, but by the grace of the king I too will be part of this expedition to Angmar, and hope you will welcome my company for as long as you are in it, or at least tolerate it. If not, I will have to follow from a distance!"
Looking at Frali and Estarion, he added: "I see Estarion has decided to come along with us again. I hope you will keep up with us this time, because the region we will visit might prove more dangerous than what we have seen so far, and it would be best to stay together."
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on Jun 7, 2009 18:04:52 GMT -5
Calion:
Riding away from his old home, Calion considered recent events. The rest of his party had gone off into the woods, seeking peace each in their own way even for just a little while. This had given him the perfect opportunity to make the short trip.
There was no doubt that the arrow belonged to Calaron, and his parents had to be told. It had turned out they knew nothing of his situation after leaving for the western outpost, and news of the outpost had stopped coming after a lone messenger requesting reinforcements for an oncoming assault, on Calaron's horse. The reinforcements had been sent, but of course it was too soon to hear of their success or failure. There was no denying that the use of Calaron's arrows by an enemy so close to home was a bad sign, though, and Pharion and Arienel were saddened at the dark possibilities. But they had to know, and Calion was the best fitted to bring the news. So Calion had told his parents what he was allowed of the upcoming expedition, which, considering their status, meant only little would have to remain unspoken. And he promised them that he would do his best to find out what happened to his younger brother.
So now he rode back to the Halls, seeking to find his companions and to announce to Auros that he was coming with, for the Noldo had already left the meeting when Calion had asked permission to continue the escort. Upon arriving, he was told his companions were still away, but all last seen going toward the river. Stabling Quessëlómë he hurried towards where his friends were supposed to be, until a clearing ahead revealed their familiar voices. Smiling he crept to the edge of the clearing to witness what was nearly a ceremony between Auros and Meren, a scholar whom he had often seen at the Halls, and whose knowledge of ancient ruins could be useful for the upcoming trip, as he correctly guessed her involvement.
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on Jul 13, 2008 17:50:54 GMT -5
Calion:
He jumped up when the cries came. Several thoughts immediately raced through his head, and continued to do so as he joined the group going outside. What was his brother doing back here, wasn't he away to the west of Mirkwood? Was he in pain? And Elmirë? What had happened out there, was there an attack? He cleared his head and watched.
The girl was carried in past him, lying on cloth. There was an arrow in her shoulder, partially broken to make her easier to move. Specialists would look after her inside, and the wound did not seem terminal. This observation did nothing to stop the rage building inside him, though. So close to home! How had the enemy gotten past the patrols? And what had happened to his brother whom he was sure he'd recognized by voice? He clenched his fists and tried to calm himself. It would not do to give in to anger in this company. When Fainan whispered him "Isn't that your brother Calaron's sweetheart?" he could not do else but nod sadly.
'Sweetheart', Calion thought. It was nothing official, but even those Elves who had their home outwards and only came occasionally to the Halls could see it. The way they talked to each other, looked at each other, kind of dancing around each other in the social complexities of the world... but what had they been doing together now? Had he come to her aid, and if so, why was he the first to cry out? Was she part of the reason he had come back? And for the first time since the incident the thought entered his head: 'What does this have to do with my dream at Erebor? What happened to him out there?' Calion was sure he'd felt an evil presence...
Something clicked in his mind, and he took one last look at Elmirë. Or rather, what stuck in her shoulder. The shaft was clearly of Elvish craft. Had the Orcs raided an Elvish supply location? Or was there more going on here? Trusting his instinct, he walked to an Elf who had helped raise her on the cloth litter and had stayed behind. "What of the rest of the arrow you broke off?" he said rather softly. Do you still have the fletchings?" The Elf looked at him, and hesitated, fingering something in his hand. "Speak up if it concerns the safety of these Halls!" Slightly trembling, the Elf handed him the other end of the arrow. The fletchings bore the small mark of the house of Pharion. An added mark showed the strange truth: It had belonged to Calaron.
Thrusting the remains of the arrow back in the other Elf's hand, he stepped back into Thranduil's Hall, and listened to what was said. A humanoid figure, able to dodge the patrols, and using Calaron's arrows. It sounded strange to him. But Calion needed more proof before he could put his thoughts in line, for obviously a Mirkwood Elf would not kinslay? Perhaps he was defeated, and his arrows borne off? But why was his cry heard *here*?
But it would have to wait, and he knew that the matter was best left to the defenders and patrols. There was not much he could do in any case, even if they'd let him when his family was concerned, and his task still lay with defending Mirkwood and, for now, escorting Rivendell's messenger.
After hearing the report about Angmar and Auros' speech to the King, Calion stood up. He asked for permission to speak, excused himself to the court standing there, and said that he would, with the King's leave, still accompany Auros to the western edge of Mirkwood and perhaps beyond. "The forest seems to grow more dangerous with each passing day, and I would not abandon my task of guarding him through our territory in this hour. My connection with the creatures of the forest is well-known here, and you know that my part in the defense of Mirkwood is better out there than near the Halls." He added to himself in silence that if there were answers concerning his brother to the west, or even at Angmar, he would find them faster this way. And he swore to do so under his breath.
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on May 10, 2008 12:47:59 GMT -5
Correct! She was actually 3 years old (and it was spelled Lalaith and not Laliath ), but the next question's yours.
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on May 9, 2008 12:28:00 GMT -5
What was the nickname of Turin's oldest sister (her real name was not mentioned in the Silmarillion, so I shall not ask for it), what was the meaning of this (nick)name, and what was her fate?
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on May 5, 2008 9:04:14 GMT -5
Oromë would be my guess.
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on Dec 24, 2006 9:13:05 GMT -5
My good friend Finduilasse,
It was my pleasure. When I heard of your death and inability to resurrect, it was an easy choice to leave my current activities (which weren't very important anyway) and track you down. It is always great to travel with Valarguild-members, and if I am free to help, I would never abandon a friend to permanent death.
One word of advice, though: Don't go jumping off high cliffs again unless you know how to find your corpse! Gravity can be a nasty force of nature sometimes.
May Elune shine upon you and keep you safe from here on.
Master Sergeant Calaron Darkbloom
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ArPharazon
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King of the Land of the Star
Posts: 295
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Post by ArPharazon on Jul 28, 2007 9:05:23 GMT -5
I play both, though not really spontaneously since I finished the campaigns, so if you want to play it with me you'll have to contact me outside the game. I'm European, but don't mind playing after midnight in my timezone for a bit, so we might be able to work something out. When online, I'm always on AIM under Ar-Pharazon-V.
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