Sunday, November 24, 2024
5:00pm Eastern Time
Discord: Valar Guild/meeting_place
Attending: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Leod, Varda (presiding)
Pallando: side Discord message for the meeting.
Topic: The special nature of lembas, despite their seeming to be common in fan fiction and gaming.
[November 24, 2024
[3:59 PM]Varda: Aiya. One minute warning. : )
[4:00 PM]Léod: Aiya!
[4:01 PM]Varda: Aiya Leod!
[4:01 PM]Varda: @Bounder @Guild-friend Valar Guild meeting time! Come say hi.
[4:01 PM]Léod: : D
[4:03 PM]Varda: No sign of Eonwe, other than a bit on the Gaming News page.
[4:03 PM]Varda: So, here we go!
[4:03 PM]Varda: Membership:
[4:03 PM]Varda: Good to see you, Leod. : )
[4:03 PM]Léod: DankW
[4:03 PM]Léod: Danke! I mean.
[4:04 PM]Varda: Eowyn and Fangorn are gaming. Fangorn (and I) are in LotRO. (I'm badly neglecting the game right now, heh.)
[4:04 PM]Varda: Any membership news from your end of things? (Not gaming yet, and your email was received!)
[4:05 PM]Léod: Only what you already know. Though, I will say that the new info about the Moria mobs might change my mind!
[4:05 PM]Varda: We'll see how that goes.
[4:05 PM]Varda: Web:
[4:06 PM]Varda: Stuff is going on behind the scenes, but no nifty new content this past week.
[4:06 PM]Varda: Gaming:
[4:06 PM]Varda: From Eonwe:
[4:06 PM]Varda: World of Warcraft:
[4:06 PM]Varda: Pilgrim's Bounty begins today and runs through December 1st.
[4:06 PM]Varda: Lord of the Rings Online:
[4:07 PM]Varda: I have a batch but Leod, would you like to tell the LotRO news for this past week? : )
[4:07 PM]Léod: I don't know who was on what server, but news, I can do!
[4:08 PM]Léod: My favorite sale, mainly for wardrobe and shared storage!
[4:08 PM]Varda: I can do the people, no worries.
[4:08 PM]Léod: Store, Carry, and Share! Get 25% off:
[Select Vault Storage and Shared Storage
[Select Inventory Slots
[Now through November 28th!
[Weekly Coupon
[Free Tome of Defence (6 Hours)
[Coupon Code: THESTARSHONEOUT
[Now through November 28th!
[4:09 PM]Léod: Also, there is a 25 percent XP boost through the 24th!
[4:09 PM]Varda: (That's today! Bring in your little guys!)
[4:10 PM]Léod: In the Legendary Server news: Moria will be available on Dec. 4th!
[4:10 PM]Varda: At the same time, the character level cap will go up to 60.
[4:10 PM]Léod: This comes with a new level cap of 60, and my favorite news, No WRAITHS apparently.
[4:11 PM]Léod: These will be replaced by Assassin Orcs and Goblins!
[4:11 PM]Varda: That is Bullroarer news for Moria. Not sure about other areas. But we have hope!
[4:11 PM]Varda: "Thread for feedback on orc-assassins."
[4:12 PM]Léod: I'm sure it's for Moria only, but I only have a few more levels for my bunch to be able to go there, so I'm considering it.
[4:12 PM]Varda: Aye!
[4:12 PM]Léod: I continue to play on Landroval regularly.
[4:13 PM]Varda: Yay!
[4:13 PM]Varda: News from November 21: The Figments of Splendor npc Rowan is available until December 1 for players to pick existing rewards. She will change rewards in 2025.
Until Rowan's return Filbert Fig remains available.[4:14 PM]Varda: That was a lot of news! Thank you!
[4:14 PM]Léod: Thank you!
[4:14 PM]Varda: Valarites showing up in one of our kin branches this past week:
Landroval branch
Crickhollow branch:
Treebeard branch:
Angmar branch:
Mordor branch:
[4:15 PM]Varda: That shows that Landroval is the place to be, to find others. : )
[4:15 PM]Léod: Indeed, though I do have some gold for you on Angmar. I'd forgotten about it.
[4:15 PM]Léod: LOL!
[4:15 PM]Varda: Ohh, for the kin house?
[4:16 PM]Varda: We'll have to get together on that. : )
[4:16 PM]Léod: Yes, not enough, but it should help!
[4:16 PM]Varda: Excellent news! Nice that no one person is stuck with providing everything for the kin house, the way it is for the high level ones.
[4:16 PM]Varda: Makes it seem more like the group house. : )
[4:16 PM]Varda: In other news,
[4:16 PM]Varda: Eve Online:
[4:17 PM]Varda: Pallando says:
[4:15 PM]Debes: nothing to report right now patch tuesday and winter nexus in december, but more details for both are still to come
[4:17 PM]Varda: StarCraft 2: Eowyn, Fangorn, Varda, Floppa, and Faramir have played this past week. : )
[4:17 PM]Varda: Any other gaming news to pass along?
[4:18 PM]Arien Valar: Aiya
[4:18 PM]Varda: Aiya Sunshine!
[4:18 PM]Varda: Did you have any additional gaming news, Arien?
[4:19 PM]Léod: Aiya!
[4:19 PM]Arien Valar: started a new dwarf rogue for guild achievement in Cata classic and was working a bit on one of my smaller champions in lotro to get enlightened about that class quest
[4:20 PM]Varda: Nice
[4:20 PM]Arien Valar: thats it basically oh yeah had a retro in the old republic
[4:21 PM]Varda: We simply need to figure out the altar.
[4:21 PM]Arien Valar: but thats it
[4:21 PM]Varda: Thank you. : )
[4:21 PM]Léod: Retro?
[4:21 PM]Arien Valar: yes a short gaming spree for the sake of old memories
[4:21 PM]Léod: Gotcha! Thanks for explaining!
[4:22 PM]Arien Valar: like retroperspective or retrotravel
[4:22 PM]Léod: Those are new words for me too! Very cool!
[4:23 PM]Arien Valar: your gavel again Varda
[4:23 PM]Varda: Is that like going back in time in LotRO?
[4:23 PM]Varda: Thank you.
[4:24 PM]Arien Valar: sort of but it was in star wars the old republik
[4:24 PM]Arien Valar: republic
[4:24 PM]Varda: So you become another person and live his life for a short time?
[4:25 PM]Arien Valar: that happens always in gaming and role playing doesnt it
[4:25 PM]Varda: Could have been something like Classic WoW. So it's for a short time period inside the main game?
[4:26 PM]Arien Valar: well i just meant i was playing the old republic for two days after not having been on there for donkey times .. think a few months
[4:27 PM]Varda: Ahh, got it.
[4:27 PM]Arien Valar: for the sake of old times and memories .. nostalgia the better word
[4:27 PM]Varda: Then on to
[4:27 PM]Varda: Tolkien!
[4:27 PM]Varda: If any of you have a topic, go ahead and mention. If not, I have one for you.
[4:28 PM]Léod: I don't today.
[4:29 PM]Varda: Here you go, then: What is the special nature of lembas, despite their seeming to be common in fan fiction and gaming?
[4:29 PM]Varda: Maybe some discussion about them. Funny how they are treated like regular waybread in gaming and a lot of fanfic.
[4:30 PM]Varda: Here's a quote from the Silmarillion,
["Of Turin Turambar"
["Another gift shall I give to you, Cuthalion," said Melian, "that shall be your help in the wild, and the help also of those whom you choose."
[And she gave him store of lembas, the waybread of the Elves, wrapped in leaves of silver, and the threads that bound it were sealed at the knots with the seal of the Queen, a wafer of white wax shaped as a single flower of Telperion; for according to the customs of the Eldalie the keeping and giving of lembas belonged to the Queen alone.
[In nothing did Melian show greater favor to Turin than in this gift; for the Eldar had never before allowed Men to use this waybread, and seldom did so again."
[4:31 PM]Varda: End quote.
[4:31 PM]Léod: Everything touched by Melian seemed to have an enchanted nature.
[4:32 PM]Varda: Seems right in a full Maia. : )
[4:32 PM]Varda: The Istari and even Sauron were less than their normal selves, during the War of the Ring.
[4:33 PM]Léod: But regarding Lembas, The elves, esp the high elves seemed to have an essence that they could impart to things that they made. Elven swords, armor, rope, cloaks, and yes, food all seem to have some essence in them that ordinary men could not impart to the things that they made, however well.
[4:35 PM]Léod: Between having the recipe from a Maiar, and being able, as elvish bakers, to impart some of their own essence, that made lembas special, with the ability to sustain the partaker with strength for whatever journey they were on.
[4:39 PM]Varda: In the Fellowship, unnamed Elves gave gifts to the Company, including lembas.
[4:39 PM]Varda: This was in Lorien.
[4:39 PM]Varda: "very thin cakes, made of a meal that was baked a light brown on the outside, and inside was the color of cream."
[4:39 PM]Varda: Gimli ate a whole one, and they warned that he had eaten enough for a long day's march.
[4:39 PM]Léod: Great, now I'm hungry.
[4:39 PM]Varda: hehehehe
[4:40 PM]Varda: "...we call it lembas, or waybread, and it is more strengthening than any food made by Men, and it is more pleasant that cram by all accounts."
[4:40 PM]Varda: "...these things are given to serve when all else fails. The cakes will keep sweet for many many days, if they are unbroken and left in their leaf-wrappings, as we have brought them.
[4:40 PM]Varda: "One will keep a traveler on his feet for a day of long labour, even if he be one of the tall Men of Minas Tirith."
[4:41 PM]Varda: So Galadriel might claim she is the Lady rather than the Queen, but ah hah, lembas.
[4:42 PM]Léod: I don't think anyone was in doubt about who was in charge in Lothlorien.
[4:43 PM]Léod: She might not have CLAIMED to be queen, but I have no doubt that was how the elves there saw her.
[4:44 PM]Varda: Aye.
[4:44 PM]Varda: In The Two Towers, "The Riders of Rohan":
[4:44 PM]Varda: The three hunters had to eat on the run, literally.
[4:45 PM]Varda: "Often in their hearts they thanked the Lady of Lorien for the gift of lembas, for they could eat it and find new strength even as they ran."
[4:46 PM]Varda: There's more in TT, but I'm not digging it all out right now. : )
[4:47 PM]Léod:
[4:47 PM]Varda: On to Return of the King, "The Tower of Cirith Ungol"
[4:47 PM]Varda: Now that was a time like the Elves warned of, when all else fails.
[4:48 PM]Varda: Sam has found Frodo and is worried about food, not having enough for the rest of the trip.
[4:49 PM]Varda: Frodo still has a bit in his food-bag that was dropped by the orcs.
[4:49 PM]Varda: "They've rummaged it, of course.
[4:50 PM]Varda: "But I guess they disliked the very look and smell of the lembas, worse than Gollum did.
[4:50 PM]Varda: "It's scattered about and some of it is trampled and broken, but I've gathered it together.
[4:51 PM]Varda: Frodo calls it "elven-cake".
[4:51 PM]Léod: Lembas is Sindarin for "Waybread", from the older form lenn-mbass ("journey bread"). In Quenya, it is called Coimas ("life-bread")
[4:52 PM]Varda: Life-bread sounds like the best description. Thanks!
[4:52 PM]Léod: I loved that too!
[4:52 PM]Varda: That was all that I dug out of the books before (and during) the meeting. So far.
[4:53 PM]Varda: There's more, but that should be enough for an idea of how important it was.
[4:53 PM]Léod: I found some other info, but it is speculative.
[4:53 PM]Varda: Not just a hard biscuit snack
[4:53 PM]Varda: There's a lot in the books. Just have to dig for it.
[4:54 PM]Varda: At least the books are more like hard info. ; )
[4:54 PM]Léod: Definitely better than cram, which was no doubt based on what poor Tolkien had to eat on campaign in WWI.
[4:54 PM]Léod: Yep!
[4:54 PM]Varda: Aye! and aye. : )
[4:54 PM]Léod: What he would have given then for some lembas!
[4:56 PM]Varda: I could dig out a batch more, but not going to make y'all wait on that!
[4:56 PM]Varda: and we need to let the Sun set...
[4:56 PM]Varda: the gavel hauls a lembas crumb to the hammerpad
[4:56 PM]Varda: munch!
[4:56 PM]Varda: After-meeting:
[4:56 PM]Varda: Free chat!
[4:57 PM]Léod: HAHAHA!
[4:57 PM]Varda: :)
[4:57 PM]Léod: Loved it. munch!
[4:57 PM]Varda: Feel free to keep chatting on the subject, speculation or book info, or go find something to eat!
[4:57 PM]Varda: Can't have a hungry horselord!
[4:58 PM]Léod: I have a few minutes before I have to go. I still think though lembas sounds great for a trip, I'd rather go on a tasting tour in the Shire!
[4:59 PM]Arien Valar: similar in taste to the honeybread of the Beornings you think or different?
[4:59 PM]Varda: Sounds like a great vacation.
[4:59 PM]Léod: Ooooh! What a good question!
[4:59 PM]Varda: The sweet honey has a resemblance, but I think it is different.
[4:59 PM]Varda: That is a good question. Might have to go dig out more info, hah.
[5:00 PM]Léod: I would bet since that lembas is somewhat sweet, honey is a component. But the honey cakes sounded more filling to me, like it would fill the stomach, and be really sweet.
[5:01 PM]Arien Valar: I think there might be a difference as between normal Honey and Manuka honey if you ever tasted that
[5:01 PM]Léod: My alarm went off, so I have to go right now, and eat too! Bye!
[5:01 PM]Varda: Even normal honey tastes different according to the flower or other sweet source. Even different color.
[5:01 PM]Varda: Namarie!
[5:01 PM]Arien Valar: okay see you around Leod Namarie!
[5:01 PM]Léod: Sourwood honey is my favorite. Namarie!
[5:03 PM]Varda: Besides the spots I didn't get to in the LotR, I'm betting the Histories have some good stuff too.
[5:03 PM]Varda: And we will have to dig through the Hobbit and find more about the Beorning yumminess. : )
[5:04 PM]Varda: Also, this coming week is going to be very active for me and many others, as Thanksgiving is coming, along with guests all week and lots of holiday cooking. Then that Saturday, we will gather up and go to the 50th Anniversary of the Texas RenFaire.
[5:05 PM]Varda: Theme of Celtic Christmas.
[5:05 PM]Varda: I should be present for the Sunday meeting, however.
[5:06 PM]Arien Valar: oh very nice
[5:07 PM]Arien Valar: all Celtic stuff has always fascinated me for som reason
[5:07 PM]Arien Valar: show some pictures yes :D?
[5:08 PM]Arien Valar: anyway .. bed time .. 3 days of early have left their trace
[5:08 PM]Arien Valar: Namarie!
[5:13 PM]Varda: Rest well: )
[5:52 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya, sorry I missed it, rather ill this past week. I'll read up
[6:08 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And just so I can say I've contributed to the topic...
[6:08 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: YouTube - Lembas Bread
[6:32 PM]Varda: Thanks, Phar
[7:09 PM]Varda: +Cordovan posted that there are "external disruptions" to LotRO. People are having trouble getting in, and those inside (like me) are having odd bits of lag, like short freezing. Some (not me) rubberbanding.
[7:09 PM]Varda: But Fangorn just made it in. : )
[7:32 PM]Varda: Their isp server had problems for all the customers including SSG (LotRO), but it's up again.
[8:47 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Rumble observation... if you do a heroic sigil fight with a dual-family leader, it counts for both.
[10:50 PM]Varda: Reminder in LotRO: Alt F10 for personal light
[11:36 PM]Eönwë Valar: Heya. Sorry I didn't make it to the meeting. Internet issues prevented my attendance, as well as my ability to get the Gaming News up prior to it. The Gaming News is now updated.
[11:50 PM]Varda: Welcome back!
[11:53 PM]Eönwë Valar: Thanks.
[11:58 PM]Varda: And thank you for the updates.
[November 25, 2024
[12:02 AM]Eönwë Valar: Gaming Report for those interested in what I would've given at the meeting:
[12:03 AM]Eönwë Valar: World of Warcraft: Pilgrim's Bounty begins today and runs through December 1st.
[The servers are up for WoW Classic: 20th Anniversary Edition.
[Check out the WoW Weekly Wrap-Up.
[Check out this week's hotfixes.
[12:03 AM]Eönwë Valar: Hearthstone: Now live: Patch 31.0.3.
[See what changes are coming in Battlegrounds Season 9.
[12:04 AM]Eönwë Valar: Warcraft Rumble: Pilgrim's Bounty is going through December 3rd.
[12:04 AM]Eönwë Valar: Diablo 4: See what was discussed in the 2.1 PTR Campfire Chat.
[Also see what Blizzard says you need to know about it.
[12:04 AM]Eönwë Valar: Diablo 2:
[Ladder Season 8 started August 23.
[Ladder Season 9 starts December 6th.
[12:05 AM]Eönwë Valar: Overwatch 2:
[New blog: ICYMI - Exploring Hazard's Art, Backstory, And Gameplay.
[The Overwatch Champions Series will be back in 2025.
[12:05 AM]Eönwë Valar: And that's it.
[1:03 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Needed to get some sleep first, and it's nice to see that Eonwe got his report in since then, since it's now time for mine Indeed, I slept a lot more than usual this week, to the point that I've been slacking in several games, so my report might be a bit smaller this time around.
[1:03 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Still, here's my personal gaming report!
[1:04 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: For (non)flashgaming, it's been a while since I linked a Bontegames color game, and one came up this week!
[1:05 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: "Green" is a relaxing puzzle game where the point is to color the screen green in each level. Mechanics are different in each level, though some are more difficult variations of earlier ones Have fun!
[1:07 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Blizzard gaming:
[1:10 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hearthstone: Level 46 on the reward track now. Didn't manage to complete all the weekly quests, and it seems the ones in progress carry over. Should make this week easier at least.
[1:10 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Still on track for the quest event, at least, which should only take 3-4 days to finish now.
[1:12 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: One of my quests was to play starship pieces, of which I didn't have any since I hadn't opened packs for this expansion yet, so I opened some. Indeed I got a few, but also a legendary minion, Exarch Naielle.
[1:14 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Brawl is Storming Stormwind. A returning brawl where you attack the city itself, which starts at one health, then goes up as you hit it, and lets you see how far you can go up. I made a fire spell deck for direct damage to the city and minions, and while it probably wasn't the best at it, I did get a bit of damage in. But it's a brawl you can't actually lose, so that's fine
[1:16 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Warcraft Rumble: Within the new Pilgrim's Bounty event that's started, there's a couple of new minis to earn, which got my Collection level to 47!
[1:20 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I got all the unique rewards from the track for that one, including the 2 minis: Treant, a small minion that comes in larger numbers the more mana you save up for it, and the Eclipse spell, a small damage spell which rotates in form between lunar and solar. Also a portrait of G'oble, the powerful turkey boss that roams the battlefield in some quests with a powerful aura, and a beast-skin of the kobold miner, the Beastbold.
[1:21 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: But I'm still working on the challenges, which are mostly related to the G'oble Pilgrim's Bounty quests, and the new minis. There's some fun unique challenges to work on, and anything extra I can get on the reward track is a bonus
[1:23 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: In the dungeon, no luck with Drakkisath on level 22, but in the undead week I've gotten my second leader Thalnos through level 20. I'd have thought my silly Thalnos spell deck would run into trouble here, but it still seems to be working so far. 2 dungeon levels to go for him, let's see what happens!
[1:24 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: In the heroic sigil campaign, only got 3 fights done this week, defeating Herod with 3 more families, and getting up to 124 sigils.
[1:25 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: For quality upgrades, all I've managed is getting the new treant mini to uncommon, and no talent gotten for it yet. Still, every bit helps!
[1:25 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: WoW:
[1:26 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Raiding going well! We cleared the first 7 bossfights in one night this time around, and had a few attempts on Queen Ansurek as well. Definitely the most complex, though, as we struggle with phase 1 still.
[1:28 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I upgraded my gear to the point where I can no longer use Runed Harbinger Crests, which allowed me to unlock Gilded Harbinger Crests as a conversion. Slow going from here, as I'm at 619 ilevel, but it's a good place to be at
[1:29 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Weekly quests are more classic timewalking, as well as Battlegrounds: This is one of the rare weeks where the battlegrounds quest coincides with the Comp Stomp brawl, which meant an easy time completing the weekly!
[1:31 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Haven't done much with the Anniversary apart from the timewalking this week, so I'll have to catch up on some stuff on tuesday. But I should have plenty of the special currency already, so I'm not too upset if I don't get all the weekly sources this time around.
[1:33 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Went to the Trading Post to spend some tender for this month, and while no new pets were present, I did get some new appearances: The 4 faction crest cloaks came for free for completion of the trading post track, and I also bought the 3 pieces of the Guardian set, Standard, Feathered Cowl and Feathered Drape, as well as the Ancestral Stonehoof Totem for tauren characters. They seemed like pretty unique models.
[1:35 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Finally, Delves! Not as many as usual, but at least they're more relaxing now that I'm back to Tier 8s in catform, and don't have to watch out for stories I haven't done yet.
[1:36 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Got Brann to level 47, looted enough Undercoins to buy the 10000 coint pet Sir Shady Mrrgglton Junior, and looted the spider pet Bouncer from one of the treasure trunks inside.
[1:38 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Turns out there's actually more of those pets to be found, one from each Delve/creature type, so I've got a new goal for specific Delves again, as the pets for Kobold delves, Fungarian delves and Kobyss delves remain. The fact that I've not seen any of them before is slightly worrying when it comes to droprate, but I suspect they'll last beyond this season, because the Delves themselves will remain.
[1:40 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And that's my report for the week! Hopefully next week I'll feel better and do more
[1:40 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie!
[4:08 PM]Varda: Diablo II: Resurrected Ladder Season 9 Coming Soon
[5:11 PM]Eönwë Valar: Starcraft's patch finally came out: StarCraft II 5.0.14 Patch Notes
Thus ends this week's meeting. Come back and see us next week!