The Riddle-Game

[gradivus]

Sounds like Faramir.

[Womdon]

It is indeed Faramir, good job, Gradivus

[gradivus]

It is indeed Faramir, good job, Gradivus

Hey, cool. Here's why I thought it was Faramir; you can tell me how much of it I was correct about:

"The defenses of counterfeit avenger laid low" and "Wave breaker" I thought both had to do with battles against the forces of Mordor before the arrival of Aragorn.

Wide-eyed: Could see the truth of things more clearly than Boromir.

Young half-chosen: Younger heir after Boromir to the Stewardship of Gondor.

Throne forsaker: Relinquished any claim to the throne of Gondor in favor of Aragorn.

Sage: Learned, in contrast to his brother who was more warlike.

Prophet of assembled doom: Wasn't too optimistic about eventual military victory, was he?

Groom: Well, he had a horse, and did he tell Pippin he was also a groom in his youth? But I was more thinking he was Éowyn's groom, since I believe he married her.

[gradivus]

I'm not entirely sure of the rules here, but I'll venture a riddle. It should be fairly easy to figure out, I think. I apologize for making it sound a bit like a limerick, but then I'm new to this. Besides, I'm no poet, and I know it. (Hey, that rhymes!)

Lost huntress, her quarry forgotten,
Unclothed, by her quarry was taken.
When at last the worm turned,
No tomb had she earned, though
The master of doom tried to follow.

[lastalliance]

Nienor, Niniel

[Womdon]

Nice riddle, Gradivus. I agree with LA, sounds like Nienor.

As for the Faramir riddle, you broke it down pretty well, although the "defenses of the counterfeit avenger" actually referred to Eowyn's reluctance to his advances. The half-chosen prophet bit was about his clairvoyant dreams of the council in Rivendell that his father refused to send him to.

I can get away with calling Eowyn a counterfeit avenger since I'm not within sword's reach .

You know I always felt worse for Nienor than I did for Turin. They both had pretty messed up lives, but I thought that Turin had it coming, in a sense.

[gradivus]

Correct! Nienor Niniel.

I thought it would be easy for any serious Tolkien fan: the words lost, forgotten, unclothed, and (especially) worm were very strong hints, I thought.

Of course, you'd know immediately if you remember Turambar means master of doom, but I thought that might be a more obscure reference.

Then Glaurung died, and the veil of his malice was taken from her, and she remembered all the days of her life. Looking down upon Túrin she cried: "Farewell, O twice beloved! A Túrin Turambar turun ambartanen: master of doom by doom mastered! O happy to be dead!"
-- The Silmarillion - Of Túrin Turambar

[LOTRFan101]

You know I always felt worse for Nienor than I did for Turin. They both had pretty messed up lives, but I thought that Turin had it coming, in a sense.

You mean because he was sort of a jerk?

Seriously, that guy had the worst luck in the world. His story was kind of like Hamlet, you know, everyone dies in the end, whereas Beren and Luthien was more like Romeo & Juliet. I always hated Romeo & Juliet, which I guess explains why I like Turin's story much more.

[gradivus]

I always hated Romeo & Juliet, which I guess explains why I like Turin's story much more.

Tragedy is always more haunting a tale. My sympathy for Nienor was a bit tempered by the fact that she didn't stop to consider she would be killing her unborn child, who was even more blameless! So she was unknowingly bedded by her brother--big deal. Is that any reason for suicide, let alone taking your child with you?

[The Turin and Nienor] story was kind of like Hamlet, you know, everyone dies in the end, whereas Beren and Luthien was more like Romeo & Juliet.

Actually, considering how Nienor and Turin died, in the end it was almost exactly like Romeo & Juliet! (Nienor/Romeo finds Turin/Juliet apparently dead, so commits suicide. Then Turin/Juliet awakes, finds that Nienor/Romeo commited suicide, so does the same.

[hezrin]

Lol im gonna post one that ive been itching to post for a while. if im wrong in doing this pls tell me =)

Pulled from the earth, delved from the stone
Was to be fought for, tooth, nail, and bone
Was given away, without any cost
The theif didnt want any lives lost
Now this treasure, more beautiful than the rest,
is at peace, lying on the King's breast

May be too easy, but like i said ive been wanting to post it for a while, before Womdon stumps us with another of his.

[e_h_b]

The Arkenstone of Erebor.







e.h.b

[Ragnvald]

the Arkenstone.

[Womdon]

Lol im gonna post one that ive been itching to post for a while. if im wrong in doing this pls tell me =)

Pulled from the earth, delved from the stone
Was to be fought for, tooth, nail, and bone
Was given away, without any cost
The theif didnt want any lives lost
Now this treasure, more beautiful than the rest,
is at peace, lying on the King's breast

Nice riddle, hezrin! Don't worry about posting a riddle... if you've got one, share it with us

The original rules for the game were very specific about when you could post one and such, but that was quite some time ago. I think we're all a bit more casual about it now.

[LOTRFan101]

Actually, considering how Nienor and Turin died, in the end it was almost exactly like Romeo & Juliet! (Nienor/Romeo finds Turin/Juliet apparently dead, so commits suicide. Then Turin/Juliet awakes, finds that Nienor/Romeo commited suicide, so does the same.

Duly noted.... D'oh.

Oh, and I guess the Arkenstone!

[Womdon]

Good morning everybody, I'm pretty sure the arkenstone is the answer to hezrin's riddle (it certainly fits quite well) so I'll post up another:

Thrice uniting the world of elves and of men,
It harshly sealed the doom of Hurin's children,
Motive of ranger-heir to claim glory and renown,
The strength of the questor that cut from the crown,
Power that sent the willing songbird to death's door,
And the Quendi's guide to the shores of Valinor.

And now I get to go work on my quarterly reports. Yay.

[sloth72khs]

Good morning everybody, I'm pretty sure the arkenstone is the answer to hezrin's riddle (it certainly fits quite well) so I'll post up another:

Thrice uniting the world of elves and of men,
It harshly sealed the doom of Hurin's children,
Motive of ranger-heir to claim glory and renown,
The strength of the questor that cut from the crown,
Power that sent the willing songbird to death's door,
And the Quendi's guide to the shores of Valinor.

And now I get to go work on my quarterly reports. Yay.

Another good one Womdon, I'm going to guess the Silmarils, as far as I know it fits the lines, but I'm not too sure about the motive of the ranger-heir... anyways if I am right I nominate the next willing soul to make the next riddle (just not that good at rhyming )

[gradivus]

Don't know what the specific "thing" subject of the riddle is, though probably, as Sloth72 says, the Silmarils--or at least one of them. The riddle is clearly referring to the Silmaril cut from the crown of Melkor by Beren as Lúthien lulled him with her music. Later it was carried to Valinor by Tuor's son Eärendil (often referred to as the "greatest mariner" ever), who alone among Men was able to sail to the Blessed Lands. The Valar rewarded Eärendil by giving him immortality and allowing him to explore the heavens, where he has ever after sailed back and forth in the sky. The Silmaril he carried is affixed to his brow (or was it his ship's prow?) and we can see it to this day as it sails from morning sky to evening sky and back again (i.e., the planet Venus).

Eärendil was supposedly Elrond's father, and therefore Arwen's grandfather, which explains why she was also called Arwen Evenstar (evening star), the "Light of Eärendil."

[Womdon]

True, a Silmaril is referenced in the riddle, but it's not the answer to this one.

EDIT: You seem to have a pretty strong grasp of the lore, gradivus!

[gradivus]

Edit: Apparently I jumped the gun with this post, since the previous riddle has not been answered. Sorry 'bout that.
______________________________ ______

Since I think Sloth has handed his turn to me, try this one on for size. A little harder than my last one, methinks.

Murderer, savior, master, slave,
King of his realm, and a curséd knave.
Started a war by a careless slip,
And ended it too, on his final trip.

[gradivus]

True, a Silmaril is referenced in the riddle, but it's not the answer to this one.

Oromë guided the Quendi to Valinor, but you wouldn't call him "it" and you're apparently referring to something (a power, a motive) abstract.

Um... intermarriage? Or love. That's what drove Beren to get the Silmaril. It united elves and men, etc. Fits all the other lines, too. Yup -- Love, I suppose.

You seem to have a pretty strong grasp of the lore, gradivus!

Thanks. The Silmarillion is my favorite, and I reread it (and LOTR) every few years for the sheer joy of it. But of the lore discussed only in the works by Tolkien published postumously (Lost Tales, etc.) I know practically nothing.

[Womdon]

Yep, love is the answer. Good job, gradivus (I thought that one would be tough).

Now to ponder your riddle... hmmm... Not 100% confident, but is the answer Turin?

[gradivus]

Nope, not Turin. Nor is the answer hidden in some obscure portion of The Silmarillion.

By the way, that was a good riddle--despite the crime of trying to rhyme men with children.

[MissGrace]

Murderer, savior, master, slave,
King of his realm, and a curséd knave.
Started a war by a careless slip,
And ended it too, on his final trip.

Sounds like Gollum to me...

-SarahJo

[gradivus]

Very good, Sarah Jo! Smeagol/Gollum it is.

He murdered his friend Deagol, was for a time the master of the One Ring--as well as its slave (and in a sense he was slave at different times to both Sauron and Frodo). His realm was a cave, which he ruled alone, he was hated and cursed by many, and he was often sneaky, deceitful and false. His "careless slip" was accidentally dropping the Ring without realizing it, which initiated a sequence of events that started the War of the Ring, and his final "trip" by which he effectively ended that war and saved Middle Earth was tripping off a ledge into the fires of Mt. Doom, destroying the One Ring along with himself.

[MissGrace]

Heh, here's my attempt at a riddle:

A typical weapon, I am not,
Though I attempted to foil a plot.
Forgotten I am, when unneeded,
But friend I am called, when heeded.
In saving I fail, though boldly used,
But protection I am, when rightly used.