A Wizard for Himself – Part Two

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Hail and Well Met Friends!

This week we continue our series of the great White Wizard and one of the greatest Villains of Middle-earth.  Everyone enjoy…

Blue WizardsA Grey Arrival

The five wizards arrived at the Grey Havens around the year 1000. Only the keeper of the havens, Círdan the Shipwright, knew Saruman’s identity and origin. Saruman would later discover that Círdan had given Narya, the Red Ring, to Gandalf upon their first landing in Middle-earth. Even though Saruman was immediately considered the head of the order while Gandalf was not, Círdan had divined Gandalf as the wisest and greatest of the wizards. Saruman’s jealousy of Gandalf grew from these events, perhaps because he feared that he would eventually supplant him as chief of wizards.

Saruman and the two Blue Wizards went into the east of Middle-earth. After one and a half millennia, he returned to the west, just as Sauron’s power was growing again in Dol Guldur.

white-councilThe White Council

When the White Council was formed in the Third Age it was to counter Sauron and Saruman was appointed its leader, though Galadriel wanted Gandalf in this position. Saruman refused to step down due to his pride, while Gandalf had declined.  At this point Saruman had begun to sense the resurgence of Sauron and to envy and desire his power, and especially the One Ring. This was also the same year that the One Ring was taken by Smeagol who later became Gollum, and disappeared with the ring into the Misty Mountains for hundreds of years. It was during the meetings of the Council that Saruman first noted Gandalf’s interest in Hobbits and The Shire, and believing that all his deeds related to some as yet undisclosed plan of his for self-enhancement, Saruman himself began keeping a greater watch on Gandalf and sent spies to The Shire.  At first, he himself visited it secretly but stopped when he realized that its inhabitants had noticed him. Amongst the purposes of his visits was to procure some of the halflings’ Pipe-weed, since in secret imitation of Gandalf he had begun to smoke.

Z_orthanc_04The Isengard Keep

In the year 2759 of the Third Age, Saruman settled in Isengard with the permission of the Steward of Gondor, Beren, although he settled only as Warden of the Tower and representative of the Steward (the stronghold had by then been abandoned by Gondor). There he became important in the informal alliance defending the west of Middle-earth. In the tower of Isengard, Orthanc, he also found one of the remaining Palantiri.

By 2850, Gandalf had entered Dol Guldur and confirmed that the evil presence lurking was indeed Sauron.  By Saruman’s advice, the White Council decided against attacking Dol Guldur.  Gandalf would later remark that it was at this council meeting that he first began to suspect that Saruman desired to possess the One Ring.  Saruman’s real intention was to permit Sauron to build up his strength, so that the One Ring would reveal itself. He later found that Sauron had more knowledge of the possible location of the One Ring than he expected, and by 2941, he finally agreed to attack Dol Guldur.

Ten years after Sauron abandoned Dol Guldur he returned to Mordor and declared himself openly. He established contact with Saruman through the Palantir captured from Minas Ithil, which by this time was now known as Minas Morgul. In this year, Saruman also took Isengard for his own and began to fortify it.

When Gandalf presented Saruman with the discovery and the location of the One Ring, Saruman revealed his desire for it and his secret alliance with Sauron. He had also shed the title of Saruman the White, Saruman no longer had any loyalty to the White Council, or the Ring-bearer. He tried unsuccessfully to gain Gandalf’s allegiance.  When Gandalf refused to join with him, Saruman held him captive in Isengard but Gandalf later escaped with help from Gwaihir the Windlord, and made Saruman’s treachery known to the rest of the White Council.

Stay tuned for next weeks episode of our wizard lore.

Until next time, I’m your host Iogro Merrybelly and I bid you a fine farewell!

A Bards Delight Episode Two – I Hate Caves

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This week we continue in our “Lets Play” of the Minstrel Class in LOTRO.

Blogging with a Schedule

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Hey all you fellow bloggers and writers!  If you all are like me you have a crazy busy schedule and probably struggle finding time to post.  Though I’ve been blogging for six or so years now…time is the one thing I just can’t get more of.  It took me quite a long time to get a system down of when I wanted to post, what content I wanted to do, and that system isn’t perfect by any means but it sure does help.  I’m hoping my little system might help you as well.

It takes a lot of hard work to develop something creative that you love doing, even if it’s just a hobby, you wouldn’t be doing it if you didn’t love it…or I wouldn’t at least.  I have enjoyed writing since childhood and that same passion and love continues today.  Though i’m not a published author, that is a goal I’m currently working towards so for now bogging is a way for me to creatively express the crazy floating around in my head.  I don’t see that I would ever stop blogging as it’s just plain fun and a great challenge to come up with the next “Best Thing” that someone will find entertaining.

Hopefully this post will help you outline some ways to condense the long hard efforts you put into your blog and make them easier.

#1 What Content and How much.

First up is figuring out exactly how much content you want to produce in a specific amount of of time…if you have an idea of what that will be that is. Say you are a daily poster and you have multiple topics.  That is a lot of content to be creating…say the “Month” you are supposed to post.   Preset yourself a bit and plan out what you want the previous month so you give yourself a lead time to get that material together. This way you aren’t being overloaded and playing catch up everyday.  I’m a weekly poster just because that is all my schedule will allow right now, so plan accordingly for yourself and you will have a lot more fun doing this.

 

#2 Categories, Categories.

Now that you know how many posts you need to write, come up with some working categories so you have a good idea of what ideas you are going to be working with.  Pinpoint what you want to write about and keep those categories current so that multiple topics can be posted to one category.  If you only have a certain amount of posts you can publish in one month, you have to be selective with what you spend your time on. That means some ideas go to the chopping block or get put away for another time.

I try to keep a log of topics that I want to write about…which this helps me know how often I need to write and when I need to publish to meet that weekly timeline I’ve set for myself.

#3: Challenge The Organization Skills.

Now that you have your ideas formed and categories made, you may be wondering how on earth am I going to get all this organized and finished like I want.

Organization, Organization, Organization.

Instead of just handing out blog posts like they are candy, you might want to take inventory and see if you’ve got to much at one time for the timeline you can effectively meet.  Couple of things to think about when you take inventory is…

  • Research: How much time do I need for researching my topic of choice?  Will it take a considerable amount of time, or is this something I’ve already got jotted down on my paper and it’s prepped. This step can save you a ton of time and frustration if you will ask yourself.
  • Content and Format: Some posts are more difficult to write than others. This can be a huge frustration if not planned out well as you can spend hours getting things formatted, planned, and ready.  Check to see the order of topics you are writing about cause if you have some really heavy research articles all in a row, it can be challenging to meet that posting schedule.

 

#4 Don’t forget to Review and Schedule.

Once you’ve completed your day or days of writing, don’t forget to review them and schedule them out. It’s always nice to have things pre-planned and scheduled on your blog.  You put a lot of hard work into writing this content and now that your brain is taking a rest make sure the posts get a good scrubbing review, then get them scheduled for when you want, rinse, and then repeat all four steps for next time as well.

A Wizard For Himself

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Hail and Well Met Friends!

This week we continue in our series of the Villains of Middle-earth and take a look into the history of a great evil. Everyone enjoy…

f4d1c498e482e7af57cedf42515247e0The Great White Wizard

His name in Quenya was Curumo or as the Elves called him Curunir in the Sindarin language was an Istari, or wizard, who lived in Middle-earth during the Third Age. Saruman was the first of the five Wizards to arrive in Middle-earth. He was said to be the eldest of the order, and Gandalf acknowledged him as the chief of the Istari. Many feared the White Wizard; even Sauron himself.  Saurman made his dwelling in the great fortress of Orthanc in Isengard.

He passionately studied the arts of Sauron, but he soon became enamored of Sauron’s devices, especially the One Ring.  Saruman betrayed himself, and his mission, and sought the power of the Ring for himself. He initially advocated an alliance with Sauron, but he soon betrayed Sauron as well, as his ultimate goal was to defeat Sauron and rule Middle-earth for himself. But his plans came to an abrupt end, and his power was broken in the Battle of the Hornburg and of Isengard.

downloadChief of the Wizards

Saruman, before his fall, was the chief of both the wizards and of the White Council which opposed Sauron and his doings. Sarumans knowledge and skill, especially of Sauron’s devices, was said to be great (the name “Saruman” means “man of skill”). However, his deep study of the One Ring and Sauron’s other magic corrupted him, and his lust for power led to his downfall. He is one of the few characters in Middle-earth who is morally “grey” – serving neither good nor evil. He betrays both sides and ultimately works for his own ends.

Saruman was a Maia known as a servant of the powerful and high-ranked Vala Aule – just as Sauron had once been. In Valinor, the land of the Valar, a council was called by Manwe, leader of the Valar, shortly after Sauron’s defeat by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. Though Sauron was overthrown, it would later turn out that he had not been effectively vanquished and his shadow began to fall upon Middle-earth a second time. It was decided to send five emissaries to Middle-earth. These should be the mighty peers of Sauron, yet they were to forgo might, and clothe themselves in flesh, as they were intended to help Men and Elves unite against Sauron, but the wizards were forbidden from matching the Dark Lord in power and fear.

5-WizardsThe other four who were chosen were Aiwendil or best known as (Radagast), Alatar and Pallando (the Blue Wizards), and Olorin or as most fans know him as (Gandalf).  Curumo or (Saruman) was appointed overall leader of the group.

Though this week was a short story, keep on the watch as we will continue our look into the history of Saruman these next few weeks.

Until next time, I’m your host Iogro Merrybelly and I bid you a fine farewell!

 

 

Sauron’s Deadly Servant – Part Three

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Hail and well met everyone!

Last week we left off with the Nazgul fleeing to Mordor and Sauron preparing for his final battle against the Free Peoples of Middle Earth.

Gondor_Civil_War2The Siege at Gondor

The final Battle of Osgiliath came swiftly on 3019 in the Spring of the Third Age against Faramir and his rangers. Faramir’s forces could not hold the Orc hordes under the control of Gothmog. Faramir pulled his forces back to Minas Tirith with the Nazgul chasing them, they lost many of their forces in the retreat.  Faramir went out with his rangers for a second time, and from that assault only Faramir returned to Minas Tirith gravely wounded. With Gondor’s defeat at Osgiliath, nothing stood in the way of Sauron’s ambitions of destroying Minas Tirith and the Free People’s hopes.

inspiration-of-medieval-language-and-literature-good-vs-evil-in-tolkiens-rotk-22the-witch-king-of-angmar-minas-tirith22-john-howeJust two days later, Orcs, Haradrim, and Easterling forces numbering over 200,000 marched on the gates of Minas Tirith.  Sauron had now bestowed the Witch-king with new found strength, making his appearance on a black horse, and presence casting a shadow of utter fear upon anyone he met.  Speaking in some forgotten tongue, he enhances the power of Grond, and weakens the already damaged gate of Minas Tirith. The ram breaks open the gate, and the defenders inside flee from pure terror of his presence. However, his march is hindered by Gandalf, the only one able to withstand his power. There is a duel of words between them, and the Witch-king tilts his hood revealing a crown on empty air, mocking Gandalf and bidding him to die, the Witch-king draws his black blade but Gandalf holds firm, ready to do battle.  Before the two clash with one another, the horns of Rohan sound, signaling the arrival of aid. The Witch-king then withdraws to order the defence against this new threat.

EowynDeath of The Servant

The Witch-king mounted his Fell beast and rallied his troops against the furious charge of the Rohirrim. The army of Rohan slowed the initial charge blunted by their encounter with the Mumakil, allowing the hosts of Mordor to re-organize.  In that time, The Witch-king took this opportunity to strike down King Theoden while his troops were in confusion. Flying on the back of his fell beast, he advanced upon Theoden. The Rohirrim horses panicked as his beast attacked. Theoden’s horse, Snowmane, became frightened, was struck by a black dart and fell upon Theoden pinning him.

As the Witch-king hovered over Theoden, Eowyn and the hobbit Merry stood in his way ready to protect the king with all they had.

Eowyn demanded the foul creature be gone and to leave the dead in peace! The Witch-king spoke that no one comes between a Nazgul and his prey and that no living man may defeat me.  Eowyn said you do not look upon a man but upon a woman.  I am Eowyn the daughter of Eomund and in a single strike with her sword she severed the neck of the Fell Beast.  The Witch-king arose, and with a cry of hatred he shattered her shield and broke her left arm with his mace.  As he towered over her ready to delivery his death blow, Merry stabbed the Witch-king with his black blade.  While distracted, Eowyn drove her sword into the head of the wraith destroying him.

The prophesy of Glorfindel so many centuries before had come to pass. For not by the hand of man had he failed, but by those of a hobbit and a woman. Now, with his death, the tide of the battle had changed, and ultimately the outcome of the War. No more than ten days later, Sauron himself was finally defeated when the One Ring was cast back into the fires of Mount Doom and all his power unmade.

Though we are finished with the series on the Witch-king stay tuned as we continue our journey through the great villians of Middle Earth.

Until next time I’m your host Iogro Merrybelly and I bid you a fine farewell.

A Bards Delight – Episode One

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A journey through Middle Earth as a Minstrel can be quite an adventure.  This new video series will explore the many aspects of the mini class, as well as my kinship’s many Role Playing adventures we partake in.

Sauron’s Deadly Servant – Part Two

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Hail and well met friends!

Last week we left off with the short lived seat of power the Witchking had over over Fornost, and the attack from Earnur that left Angmar leaderless after the Witchking fled.

John_Howe_-_The_Dark_TowerThe Return to Mordor

Having ruined the Dunedain kingdoms in Eriador, the Witchking returned to Mordor. Although Sauron was still hiding in Dol Guldur, the other eight Nazgul rallied around the Witchking. Together, the nine of them rebuilt their master’s power in Mordor, gathering huge Orc hordes.  In the year 2000 they rose out of Mordor and began attacking Gondor, which was recovered from the Great Plague but devastated by the Wainriders.  Two years later they captured Minas Ithil, and took the place for their own. It became known as Minas Morgul and its citadel the Tower of Witchcraft and remained a place of great evil for centuries thereafter.

In the year 2043, King Earnil the II of Gondor passed away and his son Earnur, the Witchking’s old enemy, inherited the throne. Upon his coronation, the Witchking challenged him to combat, but Earnur refused. However, seven years later the Witchking challenged him again—and Earnur accepted. The Gondorian King rode out of Minas Tirith to fight the Witchking at Minas Morgul.  He entered the city’s gates and was never seen again, thus ending the reign of the Gondorian Kings and beginning the rule of the Stewards of Gondor. In the year 2063 the Watchful Peace began when Sauron fled Dol Guldur and hid in the East, and the Nazgul remained quiet in Minas Morgul.

Almost 400 years had passed when The Watchful Peace ended as Sauron returned to Dol Guldur and in 2475 the Witchking led hordes of Orcs and Haradrim against Osgiliath and seized its eastern half. The city was ruined, and the great stone bridge linking the east and west banks of the Anduin river was destroyed, dealing a devastating blow to the morale of Gondor.

The Necromancer was finally expelled from Dol Guldur when Gandalf confirmed that he truly was Sauron in disguise.  Sauron returned to Mordor and began preparations to find his One Ring.  He began the reconstruction of Barad-dur and sent three Ringwraiths to re-capture Dol Guldur.  In 3018, with the capture of Gollum, Sauron learned where the land of the Hobbits lay. Unfortunately, Gollum had lied, and the Ringwraiths went to Saruman, who refused to tell them the location of the land of the Halflings. The Witchking chanced upon Grima Wormtongue in Rohan, who, for fear of his life, told the Nazgul where the Shire was. Sauron opened the gates of Minas Morgul and sent forth the Witchking and the other Nazgul disguised as Black Riders to fetch the One Ring.

nazgul1 (1)The War of the Ring

The Witchking and the other eight Nazgl rode swiftly from Mordor to the lands of the Shire. They continued to search for “Baggins” until they tracked him to Buckland. The Nine Riders raided Buckland but could not find the Ring.

The Witchking led four of the Nazgl to Weathertop where they discovered Frodo, Aragorn, and the other hobbits. They attacked the party and the Witchking wounded Frodo with a Morgul blade. Though successfully driven off by Aragorn, Frodo’s wound threatened to turn him into a wraith like the Nazgul.  Elrond of Rivendell sent Glorfindel to guide Frodo to Rivendell where Elrond could heal his wound.  Glorfindel’s swift pace to Rivendell lured the Ringwraiths into the Bruinen.  Here, Elrond released a Great Flood, with Gandalf giving the waves of the torrent the form of horses. This flood destroyed the physical forms of the Ringwraiths, killed their horses, and sent the Wraiths back to Mordor.

With their return to Mordor, Sauron bestowed upon the Nazgul fell beasts as their new mounts. Sauron used the lesser eight Nazgul for his reconnaissance work and dirty deeds that needed power. The Witch-king, however, returned to Minas Morgul and resumed the role of commander of Sauron’s forces. He then began battles to capture Osgiliath, finally issuing the war command from Morgul with a great army. However, at the bridge over Morgulduin he paused, feeling the Ring nearby.

Stay tuned for next week’s series to find out what happens with the Witchkings command of war, and what happens with the Ring?

Until next time I’m your host Iogro Merrybelly

 

Writers Block!

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Today I’ve been free writing due to having so many ideas floating around in my head I wanted to write about.  Free writing is something I’ll mention a bit lower down in this post.  Today has been very creative and I’ve gotten a lot accomplished from a writers/bloggers point of view.  But in the same sense just last week I had a “bloggers block” like you wouldn’t believe.  Being creative and bringing new ideas to the table when a bloggers/writers block happens is like fishing for that prized deep see marlin in the local pond….you just aren’t going to catch what you want.  Below are just a few ways I like to get out of that writing funk and I hope they help you as well.

?????????????????????????????????Change your Environment

Step away from the computer is what I have to tell myself!

If I run out of ideas and inspiration which happens pretty frequently as my mind wonders so easy, I like to get out of the house for a bit.  I find that when my environment changes the ideas start spawning again.  Their is a wonderful Art Museum where I live called Crystal Bridges that my family and I love to visit which is one place I go for an environment change. It’s a great place to people watch, grab a coffee, or just go and walk around and honestly not really think about anything.  Low and behold when I do this, I usually get back on track for ideas on what I was writing or get new ideas for things in the future I want to write about.

Getting away from your computer and blog can definitely help but so can blogging from a different location.  About once a month I will write in a new location just to keep things different and not get stuck in a rut.

  • Coffee Shops  – I have multiple coffee shops in my area that I visit quite frequently.  Some have free WiFi, and some don’t.  I like going to both, but I choose to go to places that don’t have free WiFi for a reason.  It forces me to remember how to write with a pen and paper.  I try to always keep a journal and a pen handy just for this occasion.
  • Public Libraries – I went to our public library for a couple of weeks straight as it gave me a new perspective on writing.  So much information to read and it’s all at your fingertips to read.  Ideas came by the truck loads on what to write about.
  • Multiple locations in your house – I am not really a creature of habit, but a creature of randomness but my wife says I have writing habits while at the house.  If I am home and want to write I usually start in the kitchen with a cup of coffee and a laptop staring me in the face.  If nothing works there, it’s on to my office, then the living room couch, and last is usually the patio furniture.  This is a constant changing environment within a personal space….wireless is great isn’t it.

Change up your environment and see what wonders it does for the writing block and hopefully a new perspective it brings for your creative skills.

 

hard_black_collection_1Keep a Journal

I have little Moleskine notebooks laying around everywhere it seems filled with ideas.  I use it for those random thoughts that pop in that may one day turn into something I use for writing a piece on the blog.

Journals are great as they are great for popping those random things I think about all day long.  These become a creation of ‘to do’ lists for me…though some of my thoughts i’ve jotted down are just unused creative ideas that I never get around to doing anything with..

It’s often when reading through my journals that an idea hits me in the face. It’s usually days, weeks, even months after an idea is written down that it seems to come to life at times.  Perfect example is on a book i’m writing….I went back through an old idea log I was keeping on character creation and “BAM” why didn’t I see this before moment hit me!

 

 

right-brain-free-writeFree Writing

Remember in the top portion of this blog…I said I would talk about “Free Writing” which is what writers call – writing when the idea pops into your head.  This is the hardest style of writing for me as I have a hard time staying focused long enough to remember why I started writing.

I do this every once in a while just to see what pops out of my brain honestly, plus it really does help the creative come to life.  Forcing myself to write has been a great tool as it challenges my randomness and keeps my brain challenged to create a story.

It’s amazing to see what comes from this type of writing….there have been times I’ll start writing on a topic and it flows great, and others seem to go no where.  It’s a fun challenge to take and it truly will make you a better writer.

 

Destined for Destiny

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Destiny, Schmestiny…. what’s all this hype about anyways?

I was one of the lucky 4.8 million gamer’s that were able to play the Destiny beta. I felt special…as I don’t usually get to participate in beta testing cause I miss the mark.  Gamers alike though were able to wonder across Old Russia, tackled hoards of bad guys and even Devil Walkers, we fought other Guardians in the Crucible, and had a glimpse of weaponry and armor at the Tower. Still, there are some things that brought questions and uncertainty to my mind.  Exploration was buggy at times, their were enemies that just laughed at all the bullets I shot towards them; multiplayer pacing seemed a little of as well. This all stemmed the ultimate question……what will the full game actually be like?

Destiny-s-Enemies-Are-Way-More-Varied-Than-Halo-s-Covenant-2Level Balancing and Enemy OP’d?

One of the things I noticed while battling the higher level enemies is they took clip after clip to take down.  From what I played, the stronger the enemies get, the more ammo I needed to carry as they just soaked it up.  The best example of this that I experienced and I’m sure most everyone else as well, was the Devil’s Lair Strike Mission, which is recommended for Guardians level 6 or higher. You begin by fighting through rooms full of enemies, some of which have ranks well above the beta’s level 8 cap. You then come across a wide field with a Devil Walker spider tank in it.  The name should tell you just how hard it is to kill.  Of course, there are weaker enemies, but the tank is the main focus. It wields a rocket launcher and what appears to be a rail gun that will rock your face off.  Oh, and if that wasn’t enough it was armored like you wouldn’t believe.

Even when I was hitting its weak spot, the Devil Walker required hundreds of bullets, and that was with a teammate of mine hitting this thing as well.  So either it’s just crazy OP’d or we were just awful at the game.  I’m shooting for the overpowered statement.

Devil-WalkerThe Devil Walker barely moves. It slides a few feet side to side, but that’s it. For the most part, it sits in one place and shoots the Guardians that are attacking it. And it takes a very long time to make a dent in its armor.  Myself and a teammate unloaded on it with heavy weapons, special weapons, special abilities, and countless clips of regular ammo, and it still took about 10-15 minutes to kill. What I wonder, then, is if the full game will rely on simply increasing the health of enemies. Hopefully, as you increase in rank, there will be more and different creatures to fight, all with different fighting styles. In the beta, you can see some differences between the individualized, shoot-and-take-cover Fallen and the group-minded Hive who rush into battle. But the full game needs to show that increasing rank won’t just mean running across more bullet sponges, but rather that the creatures’ behavior will also evolve with the Guardian’s increasing strength.

500px-Destiny_Crucible_Trailer_-_Gamescom_2014The Crucible

Destiny looks like it’s heavily focused on cooperative modes. The majority of the game revolves around the story and strike missions, but there is still competitive multiplayer.  It’s a Bungie game ya’ll, it felt and played a lot like Halo, especially with the vehicles and map design.  Guardians don’t look like Spartans, nor do they play the same, they can’t sprint, but the Guardians have an impressive double and even triple jump that can be traited. Though the jumping is much less super human like and the movement is slower you come across enemies less frequently.  The pacing of the game felt off to me, as it seemed to take forever to get around the maps. I think with only having a 12 player cap on the matches it really felt off from other games.  Their were only a couple of maps that you could play as well, and the maps were quite large and seemed to have a lot of unused area.  I’m curious to see what the other maps will play like and see if you can achieve the pace expected from a shooter like this game.

Will Destiny be able to pull out an epic story line like Halo did? Destiny, is huge….Each world is open to exploration….There are story missions, explore missions, Strike missions, and the Crucible.  Will the story portion of this game feel disconnected?   So far, it seems like Bungie has the foundation to potentially pull this story off. The struggle between the Traveler and the Darkness, the rise of Guardians gifted with the Traveler’s powers, and the fight to protect Earth are all great points to a story that could be extremely epic…but will it flow well?

destinyguardiansMMO classes or not?

Well, Bungie did say that the Guardian classes aren’t related to the MMO genre classes one may be used to.  Their isn’t a healer class, or a tank class, but the Guardians are still meant to be specific and have differences between them.  The Titan class was a brute basically, he wields big armor and has some impressive special abilities that dealt big damage.  The Hunter specialized in stealth and accuracy with the sniper based weapons.  The Warlock was a mix as it dealt big damage, but it also had magic powers it wielded.  All the classes to me played very similar with minor differences, and the weapons and armor seem to be very close with some minor differences and cosmetic looks.   It looks like the classes only differ by stat advantages in certain areas so that begs the question….Will the actual release of the game show us these classes have meaningfully differences?

Sauron’s Deadly Servant – Part One

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Hail and Well Met Friends!

Earlier this month we did a poll for the website and asked you which topic of lore you wanted to hear about next.  Well, the results came in with the Witchking tying places for first and second, so a coin was flipped and guess who won?  So, for the next few weeks we will be taking a look into the history of the Witchking.

the_witch_king_by_moni158-d6dv6k1The first sighting of the Nazgul in Middle-Earth was reported in the second age around year 2251. For the next 1200 years, the Lord of the Nazgul would serve Sauron as his second in command. He fought in the war against the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. It was in the second age when Sauron was finally defeated and the nine Nazgul disappeared from Middle-Earth.

One thousand years into the Third Age, Sauron took a new form as the Necromancer, and founded the fortress of Dol Guldur in southern Mirkwood. This signaled the return of the Nine Nazgul to Middle-Earth.

minas_morgul_by_lucfonzy-d5g67f5The Lord of the Nazgul reappeared in the early part of the third age n the north near the lost realm of Arnor. There he founded the kingdom of Angmar. It was after the formation of Angmar and several conflicts with the Dunedain of the North that the Lord of the Nazgul received the title of Witch-king, Lord of Angmar.

He then began his open war campaign with the three divided kingdoms of Arnor (Arthedain, Rhudaur, and Cardolan). The Witch-king invaded the kingdom of Rhudaur and replaced the Dunedain king with a hill chief allied to Angmar.  King Argeleb of Arthedain was killed trying to defend Rhudaur against Angmar. In the year 1409 the troops of the Witch-King assaulted the fortress of Amon Sul and burned the tower, during which conflict king Arveleg of Arthedain was killed. The Witch-King then invaded and destroyed the kingdom of Cardolan. Then the Witch-King invaded Arthedain and came close to destroying it but King Araphor with the help of the elves of Lindon and Rivendell managed to defeat the invading forces.

Soon, the only resistance against the Witch-king’s forces was the western kingdom of Arthedain. The Witch-king continued his war for hundreds of years. In year 1636, the Witch-king sent wights to the Barrow-downs in Cardolan in order to prevent the rebirth of the kingdom. The Witch-king claimed ultimate victory in the north many years later, when his forces captured Fornost, the capital of Arthedain. With its capture, the final kingdom collapsed, and with it, the last remnants of the lost realm of Arnor were destroyed.

post-16935-1167230561The Witch-king gladly took his seat of power in the newly captured Fornost. But his glory did not last long, as general Earnur of Gondor landed at the harbours of the Grey Havens, leading an army of Gondor. His army was joined by the Elves of Lindon and the remnant of the northern Dunedain and marched on the Witch-king.

They did not meet the Witch-king at Fornost, but on the plains west of it toward Lake Evendim, home of the ancient kings of Arnor, Annuminas. The battle would forever be known as the Battle of Fornost. Earnur’s Dunedain army was later joined in the mists of battle by Glorfindel and his Elven army from Rivendell.

The Witch-king revealed himself and challenged Earnur. As Earnur attempted to attack, his horse was overwhelmed with fear of the Nazgul lord and bucked him off. The Witch-king, taunting Earnur, fled the battlefield. When Earnur attempted to follow, Glorfindel stopped him with a warning that would become prophetic in the future: “Do not pursue him! He will not return to these lands. Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man shall he fall.” The Witch-king, having destroyed the North-kingdom, fled the North. Angmar was left leaderless and soon collapsed.

Until next weeks series, I’m your host Iogro Merrybelly and I bid you a fine farewell!