Great, Blair...feel free to post anything when you're ready.

I'm aware that this whole Tol Sirion thing is dragging on and expanding beyond anything I originally envisaged...but, Hey, this is a serialization, right, not a movie, so I guess it doesn't matter. I just didn't want all the back-history to swamp the Beren & Luthien main story too much. The way things stand at the moment we are at least 3/4 way through episode 2 already...I'm thinking that we should aim to finish the attack on Tol Sirion, lose Orodreth during Finrod's escape, and finish the episode with Finrod & co being ambushed in the Fens as a kind of mini-cliffhanger, opening Episode 3 with the rescue by Barahir. How does that grab everyone? The only thing is that it means Fingolfin's big fight with Morgoth will have to be shunted somewhere later on if we still want to feature it in live action.


I've gone down with a heavycold and am not fit for much at the moment. Hope I'm better by the end of the week when I go away for a few days.

Speaking of which, StW has jetted out of here for sunnier climes so it's going to be quiet here for the best part of a week unless you and Ethelwynn want to step up to the plate and offer your scenes - or throw something else out for discussion!

I quite like the latest scenes, I'll have to get to work on that scene, I've got a rough idea, but I've just got to add some finishing touches

I too would like to hear some reaction from everyone else before we go ahead and post more.

Glad to hear that, Blair... I'm here until the end of the week, then I have a few days away.

So, do you have any thoughts on your scenes to share with us?

I'm still here, not to worry

Thanks for the compliment, Ethelwynn...glad you're enjoying our offerings. Feel free to make suggestions for improvements and extra detail or dialogue where you see fit. I'm certain that the conversation between Orodreth and Finrod could have benefited from your hand in it, for example!

I hope Blair's still running with us...last we spoke he was going to think about the forthcoming scene where Orodreth gets separated from the group as they are escaping...

Oh well, if the price of getting that weird stuff off of here is me looking like an idiot I'll happily put it on my charge.

I'm loving the buildup to the assault, just for the record. Elanor and STW are a team that can't be beat. Then again, I'm the kind of person that wants a lot of build-up to a big show.

As for the Fen rescue, I've got a rough outline but I'm waiting to see where STW leaves things before I flesh it out too much.

It's a relief to see HobbitAdmin cleared up that spam quickly....but it's left Ethelwynn's post high and dry!!!! Makes it look like she didn't understand our previous efforts, StW!!

We will get onto the assault proper soon, I promise...Sauron just likes to tease everyone with a big build-up...


Glad to see you're still in the land of the living, Ethelwynn! How's your Fen rescue scene coming along? I've done the oath-swearing part, but will need to work any injury details into it from what you give me in your scene.

the rest of the previous scene
===================

the camera cuts back to the banks and we see many orcs and other creatures becoming increasingly agitated, waving their weapons menacingly at the fortress, shouting threats, some jumping up and down to keep warm, others pacing frantically .... but the Helcaraukar stand or sit motionless like icebergs.

[cut to inside the keep. Elven soldiers are scattered the length of the Hall, attempting to take their minds off the impending battle by tending their weapons, etc. Some grab a last cup of wine or hunk of bread. They look morose, worried and uncertain.]

Orodreth: [pacing restlessly, agitated] What are our chances, Uncle? The men are saying that we will not last the night against such foes…
Finrod: By my estimates, the enemy outnumbers us by 5-1…the odds are not good…

Orodreth: [frustrated] Then it is hopeless!!! We might as well flee back to Nargothrond and seek harbour there like the others of our kin who have been dispossessed and driven from their lands…[slams fist down on table, tearfully] Why do we not rally to cousin Maedhros at Himring! There I could at least avenge my father with honour, rather than die like rats, trapped in this bolt-hole!

Finrod: [quietly] Nephew… you have seen what happened to the reinforcements we sent to Maedhros 3 days ago…I do not believe any of us could get through there now.

Orodreth: [blanches and looks away, his shoulders shaking] All that is left, then, is despair and dishonour…

Finrod: [puts hand on Orodreth’s shoulder] Orodreth…there is no disgrace in our actions here…nor do we face death needlessly. This fortress and island are of strategic importance to the safety of our people. Should we fall to the Dark Lord’s forces, then he will hold the western pass into Beleriand. Nothing will be able to pass through the vale without his knowledge…It is vital that we defend here until there is no chance of victory…

Orodreth: [takes deep breath and nods curtly] Your men have trusted you thus far…I will do the same…I know you will not lead us astray

Finrod: Good lad! [Turns and stands on bench to address his men] Do not give into despair- that indeed is another trick of the enemy. You are the best hope I have. One cannot but wish we were greater in number, but even so, I would not lose so great an honour as to die in fellowship with you few, loyal friends. From this night to the ending of the world, we in it shall be remembered…for he to-day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother… and those that lie safe elsewhere shall curse themselves for not being here with us when we sing the tales of our valour in later days! [Finrod touches his right fist to his collarbone in the Elven manner of salute to his men. The soldiers return the gesture as one… Fade.]

this is our next scene -again, thanks to Elanor
========================
[fade back into a scene where the snow has stopped and we have an aerial shot of the entire place covered in thick ice and snow like some polar palace ...... opening shot shows the moon full low in the sky making everything sparkle and twinkle like gems have completely covered the landscape and everything in it. Then we see a large force assembled on the banks across the river.... some go as far as the frozen ice of the river and others go back into the tree line and rocks.....they stretch out to a distance longer than the fortress and it is hard to tell exactly how many are there because of the trees.
In the midst is Sauron standing tall and proud. He is cloaked in a heavy robe colored midnight blue. Around the edges of the wide belled sleeves and where the hem hits the snow and spreads out like a train, is a thick band of brocaded silver with many intricate designs resembling ancient runes. At least five hundred orcs are with him, possible many more stretching back into the forest. Around Sauron are pacing and nervous werewolves...... creatures a large as a modern tiger, appearing like wolves but with intelligence and purpose and far more malice and ferocity than any normal beast of nature. They mostly prowl on all fours but occasionally they stand up on their hind legs and beckon to the castle and issue menacing roars. More than once, they engage in pushing and snarling at their fellows until prodded and controlled by large orcs or silenced by a simple wave of the hand of Sauron in their direction.
And amongst the throng are what appear to be carved ice sculptures of ancient godlike beings. Creatures who blend into the ice and snow as if they were created by the storm itself. They are at least twice top three times as tall as any orc and even taller than Sauron himself. They have skin of a greyish ice blue that is almost transparent like the skin of a premature newborn baby. They wear no clothing of any kind. They are tall and lanky with long corded muscle and sinew that stretches across their frame like steel cable. They are not built like trolls but more like a tall modern basketball player. They have long grey and white hair stretching down to their mid back and beards like Old Testament prophets. They have heavy brows and deep set eyes that show no emotion or expression. Their hands and feet seem stretched and elongated making them some half again as long as they would normally be proportioned on a human.
The moonlight reflects off them like a mirror and they appear to be covered in patches of ice and snow themselves but show no sign of cold or discomfort. They are at home in this environment. They do not move, they do not pace, they do not show any sign of life. They simply stand there or sit hunched on their haunches and wait patiently. Every other creature, from the werewolves to the orcs to beasts which defy description gives them several feet of empty space to call their own. They are The Helcaraukar, the Creatures of the ice covered mountain tops where no others dare travel. ]
[The ice giants assemble at the base of the fortress as the Elves on the battlements look down. The soldiers are muttering and passing worried looks amongst themselves.]
Elf #1: what in the name of Eru are those outlandish, tall creatures?
Elf #2: they are strange to my eyes also. I have never seen anything like that.
Edrahil: I do not know, but they have werewolves with them, the evil spawn of Morgoth in Angband.
Finrod: [putting his hand to his chin and making a fist with the light of recognition and horror dawning on his face] When we crossed the Helcaraxë, many of our people were crushed by the ice and died from the bitter cold and elements. Others .....[his voice trails off].... others on the edges of our migration simply vanished with no cause. Some spoke of large creatures made of ice who picked off stragglers or children who became divided from the larger host. We tried to stop such talk but it was whispered nonetheless. [Orodreth appears, pushing through the ranks of elves along the battlements, straining to see what everyone is staring at...]
Elf #1: and are these the same creatures My Lord?
Finrod: [gravely] I do not know. But we had a name for those that we never saw and lived to talk about ..... we called them the Helcaraukar - the Ice Demons.
[camera focus on Orodreth's face as he stares, bewildered, at the strange host arrayed in front of the fortress]
Orodreth: Demons carved from ice? ...our fortress is thick in the stuff! That cannot be a coincidence...
Finrod: I fear we shall soon find out if the ice storm and the appearance of these creatures is mere coincidence or part of a larger scheme to rid the land of our kind. [turns and walks back into the keep, an agitated Orodreth trailing in his wake. Cut]
* * *

Someone want to explain for the technically illiterate?

While this scene was my idea and mostly my writing, Elanor's valued assistance and suggestions contributed greatly to the final result .

[scene opens with an aerial shot of a team of four Elves working to pick up the dead corpses on the side banks of Tol Sirion. They wrap each body in a heavy cloth and pick up severed pieces and wrap them individually. The last bit of the sun begins to dip behind the treeline.


change to ground level shot closer up]

Elf #1: [blows on hands and stamps his feet] It is colder out here than that night we spent in Araman..
Elf #2: the temperature is falling, and fast ... let us hurry and finish this up before the bodies freeze to the ground and we need tools to pry them up!
Elf #3: [lifting the last of an arm onto the cart] well, that is the end of it…let us be off now, and quick about it.


[as they begin to take their first steps to move off, they notice they are being watched by the same reptilian birds who were picking at the corpses. One of them utters a high pitched keening sound and the others join in producing an awful racket which has the effect of nails on a chalkboard.]


Elf #1: [picks up a stone and throws it at one] off with you now!


[The bird creature catches the stone it a talon. the Elves begin to get spooked and look to each other with looks of puzzlement upon their faces .... One of the birds takes a step towards the Elves and stops staring at them for few seconds.... suddenly, the bird cocks its head, as if listening to something inaudible to the elves…then as one the birds flap their large wings and take off across the frozen ice to the distant trees.]
Elf #3: those were no birds I have ever seen
Elf #4: I do not think they were birds at all - at least no bird of Manwë…
Elf # 2:night approaches fast, we must get back now.


[The camera pulls back as they make their way under the bridge and pans up to another group of Elves on the battlements who have been watching this. Lightning crashes in the sky and the heavens open up with a torrential downpour that quickly changes to sleet. The Elves on the battlements take refuge indoors leaving guards outside.
We dissolve from sleet to snow to blinding snow.... we see the guards on the battlements covered in ice and snow and the winds are beginning to rip tiles from the roofing and shutters off windows and openings.
One of the Elves on sentry duty collapses and the other picks him up and makes his way to shelter reporting to his superior]

Elf 1: [nods to his superior] It is no good…conditions have deteriorated beyond anything we have seen before….I fear we will lose more friends this night if we do not abandon the watch!
Elven officer: I pity even more those of our kin that suffered on the Helcaraxë if the tales are true that it were worse than this. You speak sense, Derufin...advise the night watch to abandon post. We must secure the fortress against the elements…and whatever unknown enemy that haunts us still.
Elf 1: …if any living creature could survive outside in such extreme conditions…[fade]

[fade back into a scene where the snow has stopped and we have an aerial shot of the entire place covered in thick ice and snow like some polar palace ......]

Exactly. The matter doesn't disappear...it just gets redistributed more evenly...

So, a nice little skin halter and skirt? Perhaps the skins of her victims? Gotta admit, it has a flavor to it . . .

As for the aerodynamics, I'd bet she keeps most of her size even in bat form. Otherwise we've got matter disappearing, and a lot of matter in this case. We want Fingon ready for a fight, not standing there gaping and going "What the ---"

Then again, Elf confusion . . . has possibilities . . .

....ah, but you forget, she only carries that ballast when she is not transformed...presumably she would be rather more aerodynamic when she is airborne in bat form

the animal skins sound very good..... although the original outfit did have its advantages and I certainly had no objections to it....I do hope the poor girl has heavy wings to counter balance that load she seems to be carrying up front .... seeing something like that bear down on you would certainly give one mixed messages .....

Can't wait...this is going to really be something!

What did you think of my Thuringwethil, Sauron? You're a guy with great sartorial taste...what do you think we should dress her in? I'm definitely now leaning more towards her having some sort of animal-skin tunic to spare her blushes...

Thanks to Elanor for putting up those ideas in our outline. We have made more progress and are now ready to actually write the thing which we hope to have soon.

Watch this space. Final version coming soon.