2008 News Archives

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March 30, 2008
    Tolkien Site / Stories:
       Never Cold in Your Shadow by Siobhan-(TV) and Cassia-(TV).
    Happy birthday, Gwaihir!
Sunday Meeting: 5pm ESDT. Today Europe also went on Daylight Savings Time.
    AIM room: Valar Guild Meetingplace
Meeting Transcript by Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Fladrif, Menelvagor, and Varda
Attending: (9)
    ArathornValar, AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Eonwe Valar (presiding), fladrifv, Glorfindel VG, GwaihirValar, Menelvagor Valar, VardaValar1
Tolkien Topic:
    Arien-(V)'s topic: What do we know about Helm Hammerhand and the place he left behind after his death?

March 29, 2008
   
Tolkien Site / Stories:
        Midnight Musings revision, by Elwing-(V)

March 25, 2008
    Our LotRO kinship branch of the Valar Guild is now listed on LotRO-Wiki.com. Thank you goes to Amroth-(V) for suggesting it.

March 24, 2008
     Welcome to the Valar Guild, Helm-(V)!
Helm joined us from WoW in Argent Dawn server, testing with Arien-(Valar). He is making a special AIM account for us although he has to work early on Monday mornings. When we know his new AIM name, we'll post it so that we can chat at times other than the regular meeting.

March 23, 2008
    Gaming / LotRO:
         Rift run
6pm ESDT with the Black Lions, led by Elliphaz. Killed Fruz, Zogtark with his Elder Drakes, and Narnulubat. We hit the end of our planned time and stopped. Valarites present today were Amroth, Ancalagon, Dis, Ulmo, and Varda.
    Happy birthday Morwe-(V)!
Sunday Meeting: 5pm ESDT
    AIM room: Valar Guild Meetingplace
    Varda will be presiding today, as Eonwe Valar will be out with his family during most or all of that time (mother's birthday). Send AIM messages to VardaValar1.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, and Varda (Previous meeting's link is now live.) 
Attending: (11)
    Aerandir-(V)/mordacil, ArathornValar, AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Eonwe Valar, fladrifv, Gelmir-(V)/Shaggyjoe, Glorfindel VG, Menelvagor Valar, Pallando Valar/OrodrethV, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Membership news:
    Fladrif-(V)'s business art site is online! Have a look!
Web:
    Tolkien Site: Stories from Branwyn-(TV) and Jay of Lasgalen.
Special News:
    Gary Gygax, one of the creators of D&D, passed away a couple of weeks ago. Blizzard decided to dedicate the 2.4 patch to him.
    Arthur C. Clarke, science fiction author, passed away.
Gaming:
    Official StarCraft 2 movie: 133 MB
    WoW
        Argent Dawn: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Menelvagor, Valandil. Aragorn's rl too busy right now. Galadriel has never been seen.
        Lothar: Eonwe, Bilbo and Sauron with two others slew a rare spawn dragon near Ogri'la. Also members have been getting flying mounts and epic flying mounts. Others who were on were Elwing, Eowyn, Fangorn, and Varda.
        Uldaman: Elwing, Varda, Theodwyn-V-ex.
    LotRO: most of us. Much questing and crafting, some horse-collecting, plus a two night Rift run by a few of the high levels. Rift is the highest raid in the game for loot, needing only 12 people so not as many as Helegrod.
Tolkien:
    Eonwe's topic: Characters who were unsure of themselves, but carried out what they knew to be right anyway.
 
March 22, 2008
     Gaming / LotRO:
       Rift run
9pm ESDT with the Black Lions, led by Elliphaz. Killed Barz and Zurm while learning the changes made during the Book 12 update.
    Happy birthday Menelvagor-(Valar)!

March 21, 2008
    Gaming / LotRO:
       Rift run 9pm ESDT with the Black Lions, led by Elliphaz. Didn't have enough people by one person.

    Tolkien Site / Stories:
        Greetings, Ori son of Gorin! by Jay of Lasgalen. Follows A Large, Bold Hand. Elrohir writes to Ori to wish him luck as he travels to Moria.
       A Time to Embrace by Jay of Lasgalen. Normal tough parenting decisions become exaggerated when one is a king dealing with his heir. Thranduil and Legolas.

March 20, 2008
    Tolkien Site / Stories:
      Friendship (mostly) stories by Branwyn-(TV), from her collection "A Handful of Valentines":
        Bedazzled - Aragorn, Finduilas. Also includes Ecthelion, Denethor.
        The Token of the Second Son - Young Boromir and Faramir. Also includes Denethor.
        Outlander - Eowyn, Boromir. Also includes Eomer.
        Horse Sense - Bill the Pony, Gimli. Also includes Boromir, Elrond, Legolas, the four hobbits and unmentioned Aragorn.
        Restoration - Aragorn, Faramir. Also includes Beregond.

March 16, 2008
Sunday Meeting: 5pm ESDT
    AIM room: Valar Guild Meetingplace
    Varda will be presiding today, as Eonwe Valar will be out with his family during most or all of that time (mother's birthday). Send AIM messages to VardaValar1.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (8)
    ArathornValar, AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Eonwe Valar, fladrifv, Gil-galad-(V)/Xseanzee disco, ThainPaladinTook, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Membership:
    New members this week:
       Daddy Twofoot-(V) joined from LotRO.
       Paladin Took-(V) rejoined from AIM during today's meeting.
Web:
    In AIM, we discovered that at least one and maybe more members with the new AIM cannot see the invitation from the old AIM. We don't know if the reverse is true, but suggest that we have two inviters, one with each version, for future meetings.
    Tolkien Site: New art this week:
        "Germanic Warrior" by DeepGroover-(TV)
    New Link:
        National Archives officer service record for JRRT. from Branwyn-(TV)
Gaming:
    Outpost 2, StarCraft original: Ar-Pharazon
    Half Life2 episode 2: Arathorn.
    Chess: Fladrif
    Eve Online: probably Pallando
    D&D Eberron tabletop: Gimli, Sauron, Varda
    WoW Argent Dawn: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Menelvagor
       Valar and cross-guilding with High Guard
    WoW Uldaman: Elwing, Varda.
        Valar only.
    WoW Lothar: Arwen, Bilbo, Elwing, Eonwe, Eowyn, Fangorn, Sauron, Varda
       Valar and cross-guilding with Cold Rage Knights for Bilbo and Sauron. Arwen is also cross-guilded as she has been for a long time, but cross-guilders also show up in Valar channel to chat and join together for questing as a "shadow guild". This is our term for a guild that crosses through other guilds but remains together.
        Much activity including elite flying mount, dailies, and all the usual fun. Some high level running with Cold Rage.
    LotrO: most of the guild is here. Much activity.
        Rift run planned this Friday 9pm, Saturday 9pm, and Sunday 6pm, all times ESDT. Joining up with Black Lions and Keepers of Ayrshire. Elliphaz running the raid proper whilst Genessa and I organize people. Please sign up on the Forum. It is possible that we may have to have more than one raid group. Cross-guilders, to aid communication please remember to type /joinchannel Valar
       First new area expansion coming up, has to be bought. It contains three zones: Eregion, Moria, and Lothlorien. Experience cap raises to 60. Two new classes. Fishing.
Tolkien:
    Were stones starting to come to a form of speaking life as the trees had, because of the elves?
    General concept of using and shaping versus harmony with, and examples.
    Teamwork that allows for individual brilliance. Examples.
    What JRRT said would have happened if Frodo had kept the Ring despite Gollum. (This has to do with teamwork preventing original brilliance from destroying itself.) Gollum saved Frodo, not the world.

March 16, 2008
    Welcome back to the Valar Guild, Paladin Took-(V)!
Paladin first joined us December 22, 2003, losing contact so that he was dropped for 2006. He rejoined testing with Varda on AIM as ThainPaladinTook with a perfect score, as one would hope from an old member. :)  Two full-time jobs and a child on the way prevents him from being active with us right now, but he hopes things will slow down in the future. His favorite character from LotR is Aragorn for overcoming everything and becoming king; he was a great leader while Gandalf was mainly an advisor.

March 15, 2008
    Tolkien Site / Links
       New section just on Tolkien.
          New link:
National Archives officer service record for JRRT. From the National Archives: UK government records and information management. Link suggested by Branwyn-(TV).

March 14, 2008
    Happy birthday Aule-(Valar)!

March 13, 2008
     Welcome to the Valar Guild, Daddy Twofoot-(V)!
Daddy joined us in LotRO as his previous kinship was on European time so that he was effectively alone. They parted amicably, understanding the problem. Daddy really is the father of a young son, is 36 years of age, and lives in Missouri, USA in the CST zone. He's read the H, LotR, and Sil. Daddy Twofoot tested with Varda and gained bragging rights with a perfect score of 5/5. He's quite fond of hobbits and has been using the name Haffle for years, including for AIM and for the hobbit he was playing when we met. His favorite LotR character is Samwise as the true hero of the book, noble, knew right from wrong, did his duty, and knew good food when he saw it.

March 12, 2008
    Tolkien Site / Art
       "Germanic Warrior"
. Model assembled and painted by DeepGroover-(TV).

March 9, 2008
Daylight Savings Time moves the meeting one hour earlier. Europe hasn't changed yet, so the meeting will be literally one hour earlier for them.
Sunday Meeting: 5pm ESDT
    AIM room: Valar Guild Meetingplace
    Eonwe Valar will be presiding today, as Varda will be out with her family during most or all of that time. Send AIM messages to Eonwe Valar.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, and Varda
Attending: (9)
    Ancalagon-(V)/Sarujil, ArPharazonV, arwenv1, Elwing V, Eonwe Valar, Fladrifv, Glorfindel VG, Farmer Maggot-(V)/thesirg3, VardaValar1 (presiding)
    Proposal to add Tengwar to Unicode.
Web:
    Proposal to add Tengwar to Unicode. (in Before-meeting)
    Stories
Gaming:
    Outpost 2, StarCraft, WoW, LotRO
Tolkien:
    How did Tolkien came to know horses so well, and how did it show in his writing?
    How a ring of air could raise the Bruinen River. Continued on to other rings of power both Greater and Lesser.
    Sauron's form.

March 10, 2008
    Happy birthday Arminas-(V)!

March 9, 2008
    Happy birthday Dwalin-(TV)!

March 8, 2008
     Happy birthday Beren-(Valar)!

March 6, 2008
    Tolkien Site / Stories:
      Drabble stories by Branwyn-(TV):
       The Sharpest Vinegar - Lobelia.
       A Near Thing - T.A. Feb. 25, 3019. A/U, written in memory of the anniversary of the First Battle of the Fords of Isen. Grimbold, Theodred.
       Swimming Lesson - Imrahil teaches young Boromir and Faramir swimming. Imrahil, Boromir, Faramir.
       Salt Caravan - A/U Boromir, if he had survived Amon Hen.
       Blackest Fate - Two prisoners from Rohan, on their way to the Nazgul.
       The Horses of Eorl - A/N: Credit goes to Annmarwalk for the idea of Radagast as horsey therapist. Radagast, Eomer.

March 4, 2008
    Happy birthday, Gimli-(V)!

March 2, 2008
Sunday Meeting: 5pm EST (GMT-5), GMT 22:00
    AIM room: Valar Guild Meetingplace
Eonwe Valar will be presiding today, as Varda will be out with her family during most or all of that time. Send AIM messages to Eonwe Valar.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, and Varda
Attending: (8)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Eonwe Valar (presiding), Fladrifv, Gelmir-(V)/Shaggyjoe, Gilraen-(V)/Star of Phaet, Olwe-(V)/FallenGlory, VardaValar1 (late).
Tolkien:
    Eonwe's topic: How loyal was Sauron to Morgoth?

March 1, 2008
    Gaming/LotRO:
       Carn Dum continued, 8pm EST
    Membership:
       Happy birthdays to Arathorn-(Valar) and Aragorn-(V)!
How is that for a coincidence? :)
       Finduilas-(V) and Borin-(V), husband and wife team, left the overall Valar Guild to devote their time to helping set up a new non-raiding LotRO kinship with a group of friends who have not read LotR and therefore can't join Valar.
Feb. 29, 2008
    Happy Leap Day!
    Gaming/LotRO:
       Ancalagon's Friday gaming kicks off today with a Carn Dum run at 8pm EST.
          Those on the run were: Amroth's Lhee loremaster (subbed in when one had to go), Ancalagon's Ancbeard guardian, Beleg's Belegwulf and Belleg, Morwe's Morwe hunter, Orome's Orom captain, Ulmo's Niequi minstrel, Varda's Fainan hunter.

Feb 24, 2008 
S
unday Meeting
: 5pm EST (GMT-5), GMT 22:00

    AIM room: Valar Guild Meetingplace
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (10)
    Ancalagon-(V)/ Sarujil, AriehnV, ArPharazonV, AuSteinM-(TV)/austeinM, Eonwe Valar, Fladrifv, Glorfindel VG, FarmerMaggot-(V)/ thesirg3, Meneldil-(V)/ JMVfromLV, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Tolkien:
    How do death and immortality play a part in Tolkien's world?
    Fastitocalon
    Goldberry's nature
    Dumping the Ring in the sea

Feb. 22, 2008
    Tolkien Site / Articles / Papers:
       Death in Tolkien's Legendarium by Amaranth-(V).

Feb. 21, 2008
    Tolkien Site / Art:
       Gift of the Evenstar: new artwork by Elwing-(V).
       Elwing's Cave's art now loads much faster as it now uses thumbnail pictures for all art offerings. Enjoy!

    Tolkien Site / Stories:
      Drabbles and short stories by Branwyn-(TV) with more to be uploaded later.
        The Lesson - Faramir's thinking during a battle. Drabble.
        An Unexpected Party - Thorin had other dwarven choices for the company. With abject apologies to Tolkien. Drabble.
        Stopping by Woods - Old Faramir out riding. Written as a companion piece to "The Road Not Taken"  Short story.
        Plain Delight - Sam and Rosie having a meal after the War of the Ring. Written for the “Plane” challenge at Tolkien_weekly. Drabble.
        Full Complement - Faramir sets out with what is left of the cavalry. Drabble.
        The Road Not Taken - Boromir on his way to Imladris, before the loss of his horse. Short story.
        Area of Study - Radagast knows something that Saruman doesn't. Drabble.

    Tolkien Site / Poetry:
       Burning Your Bridges - Faramir and Boromir leave Osgiliath. A 100 word drabble that crossed the line into poetry.

Feb. 20, 2008
    Tolkien Site / Stories:
      Drabbles by Branwyn-(TV) with more to be uploaded later. A drabble is a challenge form for a story that must be complete and exactly 100 words.
        Current - Aragorn at Rauros Falls.
        Ride Light - The Rohirrim heading for Mundberg.
        The Tide - Imrahil brings news to Denethor.
        The Beacon of Erelas - two Gondorian soldiers.
        Hearts Entwined - Treebeard presides over an Entish marriage.
        Lord of Gifts - Sauron speaks with a future wraith.
        "The Guest" and "The Gift" - An elf lady and two farmers.
       The Conjuror - Denethor and Gandalf discussing Sauron.
        Meddlesome - Servants talk about Denethor and the injured Faramir.
       Under the Linden - Faramir, foresight, and a linden tree.
       The Waves' Song - Arwen after Aragorn's death.
       Geometry - Faramir and Denethor after Boromir's death.
       Too Many Adverbs - Young Boromir with his writing tutor.
       Reading the Signs - Faramir reads signs in Denethor, after Boromir's death.
       Hook, Line, and Sinker - Deagol goes fishing.

Feb. 18, 2008
    Tolkien Site / Articles / Papers:
        Real and Imaginary History in Lord of the Rings by Franco Manni-(TV)
        Translation by Jimmy Bishop for Franco Manni.
        Received by email Feb. 17, 2008, written much earlier.


Feb. 17, 2008
Sunday Meeting: 5pm EST (GMT-5), GMT 22:00
    AIM room: Valar Guild Meetingplace
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Attending: (10)
    Members: ArPharazonV, arwenv1, Eonwe Valar, Fladrifv, Gilraen-(V)/Star of Phaet, Glorfindel VG, Farmer Maggot-(V)/thesirg3, Pallando Valar/OrodrethV/Oessala, VardaValar1 (presiding)
    Friend: Srekal86
Membership:
    New Full Member this week: Amroth-(V)
Tolkien topic:
    Some of the creatures in real life that we think of as not having speech do have speech in Tolkien's world. Can you name any?

Feb. 13, 2008 Wed.
    Gaming/LotRO:
       Book 12 update today!
Regular servers scheduled downtime to do it is 6am-noon EST. Roheryn test server should be up for the whole time, and we have a small branch there as well.

    Movies/Hobbit and "Prequel":
       More delays. The Tolkien Estate is suing New Line Cinema for not paying. The suit seems to be for quite a bit less than they are actually owed, but I wish New Line would pay what they contracted to pay to all these people.
        Here's a link to an article in Cinematic.

    Links:
       New links:
          Movies/Lord of the Rings:
             Journey of the Ring - a LotR fan film now online, benefitting their fire station. by Andrew Gnagy.
             Hobbit Central - fan site for the upcoming Hobbit movie. by Andrew Gnagy
          Movies/Movie and Book Merchandise, Collectibles:
            New Line Cinema's shop for all its movies, including a large Lord of the Rings section. The link was sent in by the shop's Senior Affiliate Manager, Gary Decker.

Feb. 12, 2008 Tues.
    Tolkien Site/Music:
      
New music: "Luthien's Spell" by Marc Fawcett aka Glorfindel-(V). This link plays directly on your browser's player or may be downloaded using "Save As" in the menu at the top of your browser. 7.2 MB.
    We are having a space problem and may need to use a different server (s) to host the music files. Links from these pages will be changed if we do, so you can still find the music.

    Gaming/LotRO:
       Carn Dum: 7pm EST.
A fellowship of Valar is planning to take down the two named Merrovals needed by several classes for their class quests.  Contact Niequi (Ulmo-Valar). Latest info is on the kinship message of the day. Already volunteering to go are Niequi, Fainan, and Ancbeard.
       Trophy hunts: After the update, we will be going on the special Trophy hunts for the kinhouse and personal houses. Contact Ancbeard (Ancalagon-V).

Feb. 11, 2008 Mon.
    Welcome to the Valar Guild, Amroth-(V)!
Amroth has run with us in LotRO in both Book questing and Rift raids, yet was still willing to join. He passed his test earlier but only today chose a name and became a Full Member. He has read H and LotR. His favorite LotR character is the Gandalf, because he is powerful. He considers AIM to be nearly a virus, so he uses MSN for his instant messenger.

Feb. 10, 2008
Sunday Meeting: 5pm EST (GMT-5), GMT 22:00
    AIM room: Valar Guild Meetingplace
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, and Varda
Attending: (7)
    Ancalagon-(V)/ Sarujil, AriehnV, ArPharazonV, arwenv1, Eonwe Valar (presided 2nd half), Fladrifv, VardaValar1 (presided 1st half).
Membership:
    Dirhavel's birthday was Feb. 5.
    Fladrif's birthday is May 10; the birthday on the Forum is for the previous Fladrif.
Web:
    New music by Glorfindel, including lyrics about Saruman aka Curunír, the Villain of the Wizard's Vale: Nan Curunir
    He also sent in the beautiful and spooky Luthien's Spell, but the webmaster is currently having difficulty with the upload.
Gaming:
    WoW: Quote of hope for us from the WoW US Forums, PTR=Public Test Realm.:
"With the 2.4.0 PTR, we will be allowing US, EU and Korean players to access all available PTR realms. Players will be able to choose which test realm they wish to play on without being restricted by region.
We currently plan to make all PTR realms available in this way for all future patches.
    LotRO: Book 12 update:
        Wednesday 6am - noon is the planned time that the regular gaming servers will be down for the update.
        Roheryn test server, where we also have a Valar Guild branch, should be up meanwhile.
        Rift raid with the Black Lions day 3 at 6pm EST. Passed fumaroles but were stopped on Thrang, only time for one run at him. Valarites were Ancbeard (Ancalagon), Fainan (Varda), Lilyblossom (Dis), Morwe (Morwe), and Niequi (Ulmo).
Tolkien:
    Eonwe's topic: What do we know of Hobbits' impact on Arnor?
    Lots of quotes from the books included.

Feb. 9, 2008 Sat.
    Gaming/LotRO:
        Rift raid with the Black Lions day 2 at 9pm EST.
        Report by Varda:
        We took down The two flying Elder Drakes and N---. Then we moved on and took out the fumaroles. Then we did a perfect run against Narnulabat and the seers and darklings. Then we had time for one run against Thrang, but were wiped after the 4 shamans came out. That was a lot of progress in only 3 hours.
        Valarites early and lucky enough to join the run were Ancbeard, Belegur, Freyah (Dis), Fainan, Morwe, and Niequi. Lhee (Amroth) and Aeronwy (Gorlim) almost made it, but were a tad too late. Dis's husband would have been willing to go as well, but we ran out of space.
        Kalimacoin (Meriadoc's Guardian) hit level 49 while we were in the rift, running with Borin and Finduilas.

Feb. 8, 2008 Fri.
    Gaming/LotRO:
        Rift raid with the Black Lions day 1 at 9pm EST.
        Report by Varda:
        We took down Barz, Zurm, and Fruz.
        Valarites present were Aeronwy (Gorlim), Ancalagon (Anbeard), Belegur (Melkor), Fainan (Varda), Morwe (Morwe), Niequi (Ulmo). Lhee was also with us; he formally joined the Valar Guild as Amroth-(V) on Feb. 11.

Feb. 7, 2008
    Tolkien Site:
new section for Music! Send in your original, Tolkien-related music to Varda to be included.
       Latest music: "Fall of Nargothrond" by Glorfindel-(V), instrumental mp3.

Feb. 6, 2008
    Links:
       New links under Movies: Hobbit and the "Prequel". Feel free to email more.

Feb. 5, 2008
Tuesday
    Happy birthday, Dirhavel-(V)!
    Gaming/LotRO:
       Next Rift run
will be with the Black Lions this weekend for 3 days, about 3 hours each run. Elliphaz is leading. Looting policy and Valar sign-up on our forum. Stand-bys are welcome to sign up.
        Schedule:
            Fri 2/8 9pm EST
            Sat 2/9 9pm EST
            Sun 2/10 6pm EST

Feb. 3, 2008
    Gaming/LotRO:
        Rift raid with Keepers of Ayrshire day 3 and last day:
             Killed Zurm. Valarites were Ancbeard, Belegur, Aeronwy (Gorlim), and Niequi. Dis was present on her Keepers character.
Sunday Meeting: 5pm EST (GMT-5), GMT 22:00
    AIM room: Valar Guild Meetingplace
Attending: (7)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, arwenv1, Eonwe Valar, Fladrifv, Glorfindel-(V)/VegetableMannn, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Tolkien:
    We all know the importance of music: creating Arda, song fights, and such fun. How was it used in the Lord of the Rings?

Feb. 2, 2008
    Gaming/LotRO:
        Rift raid with Keepers of Ayrshire day 2:
            Called off since we did not have a full group of 12.

Feb. 1, 2008

    Gaming/LotRO:
        Rift raid with Keepers of Ayrshire. Rift raiders in our mixed kinship groups meet at West Bree, just outside the gate. This is Boudica's first time to run a raid, so be supportive.
          Schedule:
            Feb 1, 2008 Fri: 7pm EST
            Feb 2 Sat: noon
            Feb 3 Sun: noon
        Feb. 1: Killed Barz and came up to Zurm. Valarites were Ancbeard (Ancalagon), Belegur (Melkor), Niequi (Ulmo), Fainan (Varda). Dis was also present on her Keepers character: Astarte.
Jan. 30, 2008
    Happy birthday, Arien-(Valar)!

Jan. 27, 2008
Sunday Meeting: 5pm EST (GMT-5), GMT 22:00
    AIM room: Valar Guild Meetingplace
Attending: (11)
    Members: Ancalagon-(V)/Sarujil, AriehnV, ArPharazonV, arwenv1, Eonwe Valar, Fladrifv, Gelmir-(V)/Shaggyjoe, Gilraen-(V)/Star of Phaet, Glorfindel-(V)/VegetableMannn, VardaValar1 (presiding)
    Friend: Srekal86
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Tolkien:
    Gregory Bassham says that after studying Tolkien, he found six important lessons to being happy.

Jan. 25, 2008
    Happy birthday, Beorn-(V)!

Jan. 23, 2008 Wednesday
    Happy birthday, Dis-(V)!

    Gaming/LotRO Raid: Rift of Nurz Ghashru
        9pm-12 EST
       We needed one more person to do the run, so rather than bring in a stranger or going in to make a huge repair bill, we did not start. We did wait a while to see if anyone would show up, perhaps confused by the time zone, but no one able to run showed. We plan to run again probably in two weeks.

Jan. 22, 2008 Tuesday
    Gaming/LotRO Raid: Rift of Nurz Ghashru
        9pm - 12 midnight EST.
       We came very close to killing Thrang and should be able to next run. Pulling the Summoners to opposite sides of the terrace where they came in at the door works well. We learned not to have the dedicated healer on the bottom floor with the tank on the Giant, but to heal from up high.

Jan. 21, 2008 Monday
    Gaming/LotRO Raid: Rift of Nurz Ghashru
       7-10pm EST.
        Please sign up on the forum. Even if you don't sign up, at least be present, preferably 15 minutes early. If Valarites are not available on time, we have many people from the other guilds on standby, but we'd rather have you.
        Fainan (Varda's hunter) can port you directly to the Rift camp, as can Melkor if he's on, as his hunter Belegur.
        Contacts/guild leaders on the Valar side are Fainan (Varda) and Niequi (Ulmo); on the Black Lions side are husband and wife team Elliphaz and Genessa/Emerelle; and on the Keepers of Ayrshire side are husband and wife team Boudica/Alrid and Lilyblossom (Dis-V).
       Report by Varda:
    We killed Stone-Eater and Bone-Biter and their minions, by keeping them well-separated. Ancbeard tanked Biter while we brought Eater down to almost dead as he had the most hit points. Then we tried to kill them at about the same time. Eater went down slightly ahead spawning Darklings which we killed. If they had made it to Biter, they would have become elites. This was our objective for the day.
    We went on to see about Thrang. Ancbeard tanked the giant with Niequi as his dedicated healer. The rest of the monsters came down the steps possibly from near the door we had come in. We took out everything until the two Summoners arrived. One died but the other did not go down so well. Fumaroles showed up on the ground floor to which we were supposed to kite Thrang. But since the second Summoner was not down yet, the kiting was tried too early by at least one member. We expect to do better after this scouting run.
    Valarites present were Ancalagon's Ancbeard, Dis's Lilyblossom, Ulmo's Niequi, and Varda's Fainan.

Jan. 20, 2008 Sunday
    Membership:
       Today is Gorlim-(V)'s birthday
. Have a happy one! (We took him with us for his first time LotRO raiding in the Rift of Narz Ghashru.)

     Tolkien Site/Stories:
        Lost and Found by Branwyn-(TV). Gandalf and young Faramir in the library of Minas Tirith.

    Gaming/LotRO Raid: Rift of Nurz Ghashru
          8-11pm: Next set of bosses, all new to us. We killed the fumaroles and their guards, then killed the Over-seer and his seers and his darklings, then made it to Stone-Eater and Stone-Biter, killing Stone-Eater, but he respawned and we had to stop for the night.
        Valarites present today were Lilyblossom (Dis), Fainan (Varda), Gorlim (Aeronwy), and Niequi (Ulmo).
Sunday Meeting: 5pm EST (GMT-5), GMT 22:00
    AIM room: Valar Guild Meetingplace
Attending: (7)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Arwen-(V)/windofhyperia, Fangluin-(V)/MelchiahAC, Gil-galad-(V)/Xseanzee disco, Glorfindel VG, VardaValar1 (presiding).
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Tolkien:
    How hobbits learned survival.

Jan. 19, 2008 Saturday
    Happy birthday, Dior-(V)!

     Tolkien Site/Stories:
        A Large, Bold Hand
by Jay of Lasgalen. Elrohir and Ori. Drabble.

    Gaming/LotRO Raid: Rift of Nurz Ghashru
          6pm-9pm, also 10pm - 1 if enough interest. Next two bosses planned.
          Report from Ulmo (Niequi):

Saturday raid one was canceled but the late one went off as scheduled. I was low roller and thus designated to wear the arrow as official raid scapegoat. The evening went so smoothly finding stuff to blame on me was difficult. Boss 3 is highly bugged, but we killed him on first try anyway. Boss 4 has flying dragons as minions, was a very cool fight script. It took 2 tries to kill him.

The schedule continues tonight as posted. First dibs on slots goes to those who have been coming already to this round, but there will likely be a slot or 2 open to newcomers. So far only Varda and I have been attending, I really hope more try to come. It is a lot of fun, and the graphics are amazing. Our raiding allies are some very courteous and fun people to play with. Come see flying dragons and much more! 

Jan. 18, 2008 Friday
    Gaming/LotRO Raid: Rift of Nurz Ghashru.
       9pm-12. First two bosses planned. Sign up on the Forum.
        Black Lion contacts: Genessa, Elliphaz.
        Valar contacts: Niequi, Fainan.
       We slaughtered Barz and Zurm in record time. From our guild were Niequi, Fainan, and Dis in her Lilyblossom persona from Keepers of Ayrshire.

Jan. 17, 2008
    Happy birthday, Indis-(TV)!

Jan. 13, 2008
    Letter from Pallando-(Valar):
I won't make it to the meeting, but would like to let you know (and
announce for me) that as of yesterday at 11am central I swore in as a
delayed enlistment recruit to the United States Marine Corps.
If all goes well, I ship on May 27th.
Sunday Meeting: 5pm EST (GMT-5), GMT 22:00
    AIM room: Valar Guild Meetingplace
Attending: (9)
    Ancalagon-(V)/Sarujil, AriehnV, ArPharazonV, arwenv1, Eonwe Valar, fladrifv, Gilraen-(V)/Star of Phaet, Glorfindel VG, VardaValar1 (presiding)
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda
Tolkien topics:
    1. Who is someone we normally hear very little about from Lord of the Rings?
    2. Neekerbreekers

Jan. 11, 2008
    Tolkien Site/Stories:
        "Letters from Elrohir" series by Jay of Lasgalen:
            "Letter to Elladan"
: the just-in-case letter of comfort to Elladan that Elrohir hopes his brother never reads.
            "Letter to Elladan; Lothlorien"
: Elrohir's impressions of Lothlorien. Elrohir and Elrond are in Lorien without Elladan.
       "Thoughts from Home" by Jay of Lasgalen. Sequel to "Far from Home".

Jan. 9, 2008
    Happy birthday Meriadoc and Maeglin!

Jan. 6, 2008
Sunday Meeting: 5pm EST (GMT-5), GMT 22:00
    AIM room: Valar Guild Meetingplace
Attending: (11):
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, arwenv1, Eonwe Valar (presiding), fladrifv, GilraenV, Glorfindel VG, GwaihirValar, Farmer Maggot-(V)/thesirg3, Menelvagor Vala, VardaValar1
    Ar-Pharazon is back from Belgium.
    Fladrif is back in Sweden and able to attend meetings again.
Meeting Transcript by Ar-Pharazon and Varda

Jan.
4, 2008
    Tolkien Site/Stories:
       "First-born" by Alasse Merenrel-(TV) who's on a roll. In Rivendell, Denethor's first-born son, Boromir, writes in his log concerning his first impressions of the elves he has met. Companion piece to "Second-born" in which Denethor's second-born son, Faramir, compares First-born elves and Second-born humans.

Jan. 3, 2008
    Happy Birthday JRR Tolkien, who still resides in our hearts!

    Tolkien Site/Stories:
        "Another Day" by Alasse Merenrel-(TV). Helm's Deep, from an orc's point of view. Movie-verse. Written for the 10th Anniversary of the Valar Guild.

January 1, 2008

    Happy New Year!



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