OOC: Ruby City App
Jan. 7th, 2014 09:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bythewavesPLAYER
Name: bookworm/tea
Age: 34
Personal Journal:bookworm_faith
E-mail: Gmail: bookwormfaith
AIM/MSN/etc:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
bookwormfaith
CHARACTER
Name: Makalaure "Maglor" Canafinwe
Canon: Tolkien's Legendarium
Age: older than the moon and sun which makes it hard to guess age BUT As an estimate, he's roughly 3000 by the end of the Silmarillion (First Age). Second Age lasted 3441 years, Frodo sails 3012 of the Third Age. So... 9400+? But he looks to be in his late 20s/early 30s
Timeline: The end of the Lord of the Rings - he has just watched Elrond, Galadriel, Gandalf & Frodo Sail
If playing another character from the same canon, how will you deal with this?: n/a
Personality:
Hokay here we go. SO! It is difficult to do this without overlapping with history but I will try.
TO START WITH Maglor is the second son of Feanor, the greatest elven genius to ever live, who also happens to be responsible for 99% of what goes wrong in Middle-earth that can't be blamed on Dark Lords. Like the rest of his infamous family, Maglor is stubborn, proud, prone to holding grudges, prone to rash and terrible oaths, honourable enough to keep said terrible oath... and probably not entirely sane. Maglor specifically was said to have more of his gentler mother's personality, and is likely to have been the peacekeeper of his headstrong brothers. 'Makalaure' was his mother-name, and Tolkien indicates that mother-names often had special significance in regards to either the child's future or personality - Maglor's means 'gold-cleaver' or 'forging gold' (depending on how you translate it) and is said to be due to his voice and harp skill - he was said to be the best bard of the Noldor, and is counted second only to Daeron of Doriath. He wasn't as charismatic as his father, Maedhros or Curufin (all of whom were capable of causing civil unrest pretty much with just one speech), but he is extremely skilled with words. His most famous work is actually the 'basis' for a chunk of the Silmarillion - the Noldolante is the story of his family's fall, and Tolkien says that it was Maglor who wrote it - thus, despite him being one of the most despised First Age Elves, his song is the one that they still sing about those days.
Despite his gentler temperament, he was a strong and capable war-leader, holding Maglor's Gap, the weakest part of their defences, for 4.5 centuries against their world's equivalent of Satan. He was level-headed enough and commanded enough loyalty to refuse to go on a (suicidal) rescue of his older brother Maedhros and held that stance as the High King for the next ~15 (its hard to count when you have no sun) years until Fingon was crazy enough to stage a rescue. Maedhros, in gratitude, turned the high kingship over to Fingolfin's (Fingon's dad) house, which his brothers disagreed with - it is likely that Maglor was the only one to back him on that decision. He was also politically savvy enough to be one of only 2 of the brothers to stay on good terms with both Fingolfin & Finarfin's house (Maedhros, unsurprisingly, was the other). I suspect, based on how little we hear of his reign (NADA), that he was never comfortable in a leadership role, and really prefers to follow someone. He is loyal to a fault - Tolkien says that he kept the Oath more for love of his family than for any care for the Silmarils, and regretted his actions deeply by the end. He is especially close to Maedhros - they are rarely mentioned without each other - either because they are the two eldest, or the two sanest (probably some combination of the two - I headcannon in politics they played GoodCop/BadCop and then Maglor would get you in the back while you were gaping at Maedhros). He's the second eldest of seven, with umpteen younger cousins, and probably has big brother/protector drilled into his bones.
Other things we know - he's a killer, don't mistake that. He took his share of lives, and likely did not discriminate between soldier or innocent, male, female or child. Until Sirion. See, there were three occasions when the Feanorionnath attacked their fellow elves for the stupid shiny things called Silmarils - the third, and generally the one held to be the worst, was Sirion, where there were a bunch of survivors from various wars (and at least one kinslaying) trying to eke a living. Lots of stuff happened, but in the end, there were two young twin elflings left behind, while their mom jumped out a window to keep Maglor and Maedhros from getting one of said Silmarils. Normally, this would mean Elrond & Elros (because this was them) would shortly thereafter be dead. Somehow, this didn't happen. Instead, Maglor & Maedhros took them captive - canon never states why, but here's my theories. One, in Sirion they lost their last brother, who was, in fact, a twin. Second, in Doriath (the previous kinslaying), Maedhros had failed to prevent the death of the king's twin sons (see a pattern yet?). Three... well I suspect they wanted hostages in case the twin's parents somehow came back, also for protection against the rest of the Noldor. IN ANY CASE. Somehow, despite everything, canon tells us that "love grew between them, as little might be thought" and the next time you see the twins they're with the High King Gil-Galad SO - it turns out Maglor & probably Maedhros make good dads. Good enough, even, to let them go free in the end, and not bind them to their curse (because technically the curse might have applied if they'd stayed, as Elrond & Elros are RELATED to Maglor. Distantly, but there you go).
As he is right now, he's lived through (1) 3 kinslayings in which he was an active participant (2) the loss of his entire family in horribly tragic and partially self-induced circumstances (3) being unable to fulfil his oath as the Silmaril burnt his hand due to all the evil he had done (4) the loss of pretty much everything he's ever known with Beleriand being drowned at the end of the War of Wrath (5) his foster son Elros choosing humanity & dying (6) the kingdom his foster son founded going power hungry and being drowned (7) his OTHER foster son Elrond sailing West along with his last surviving family member (his cousin Galadriel) and (8) being an Exile who can never go home. He's had plenty of time to knock off many of his rough edges, and nowadays is just plain tired. Emo Elf is Emo, but seriously, he's very depressed. He's likely to be insomniac due to the horrible nightmares of his past, almost certainly suffers flashbacks, and has a huge guilt complex. Much of his drive these days is a wish to in some way make repatriation for his sins and assuage himself of the broken Oath (he has long given up being forgiven and returning home, but somewhere buried deep inside he still holds hope for some form of redemption). He's lonely as all get go, but canon says he "came never back amongst the elves" (largely, I suspect, because he does not dare bring his Curse - 'to evil end will all things turn' - into range of other people) but "wandered ever upon the shores, singing in pain and regret beside the waves". He also has lots of unresolved issues with his family, and the only thing he hates more than himself is Evil in any shape he finds it.
Background: Believe you me you do not want me to TLDR this bit have some links: Maglor specifically, Silmarillion generally, and also of importance that Damned Oath and if you really badly want my TLDR this was what I did for Eachdraidh although I take him from a fair bit after that whole schmozzle (mainly so that he's comparatively sane
Abilities:
ahahaha Tolkien Elves OKAY SO let's start with the easy ones: the racial abilities
(1) functionally immortal - they hit 100 (which for them looks like ~20s/30s) and stop aging. They can be killed (even by strange things such as grief - they call that Fading), but otherwise they don't die, and in canon if you kill them their souls go back to Valinor/Paradise to wait to be re-embodied, although (unless you're Glorfindel) you never come back to Middle Earth again
(2) Elves are faster, stronger and hardier than Men, and they heal faster too - this means that if you DON'T manage to kill an elf, he or she'll probably be ready to kill YOU the next day (depending on how badly you hurt them, of course - but really, if death doesn't come for them initially they are going to heal). Bear in mind that this is not 100% proof, as canon has at least one instance where a Man could bear armor that an Elf could not. Also this means they can survive on surprisingly little food & water for a surprisingly long time! (I think Maedhros survived ~15 years with essentially nothing? Admittedly he was a captive of the Big Bad at the time so I dunno if ~*magic*~ was involved there - but crossing the Grinding Ice there can't have been much food, and we are talking Antartic conditions for ~15 years without proper gear - AND MOST OF THEM STILL MADE IT, and in good enough condition to fight when they got to the other side)
(3) Elves have unusually good eyesight and hearing - this is likely pretty variable, but generally an Elf can see further & hear more than a typical human - they can also hear some odd things, which brings us to...
(4) Elves are tied strongly to the natural world, and so... yes, the rocks talk to them. Or they talk to rocks. And trees. And birds and animals (Elves like talking to things in general, really). And it is strongly implied that they get some sort of answer, although I imagine it isn't speech that they get in return but... impressions maybe. Again, who hears what will depend on the Elf in question - Noldor are craftsmen, artisans etc, so rocks are probably more their thing then trees, for example. Maglor, I suspect, hears the Sea loud and clear, and all Elves hear the stars.
(5) Elves glow. No really! This is especially true of those elves who lived in Valinor beneath the light of the Two Trees (...it's a long story) - it's very faint, but in dim light, you'd see the faintest of gleams, as if the moonlight was especially concentrated around them. Also their eyes are often said to be piercing and hard to meet - technically, this is their spirit/soul shining out of their eyes - essentially, Elves, especially those who have lived in Valinor, have... bright. souls. (I know this sounds dumb) and their bodies can't quite contain them. This does also mean, incidentally, that they can perceive things in the spiritual world clearer than most, being as how they're kinda half there already
(6) Elves are very light-footed - this does include the whole 'walk on snow' thing, but it also means that if an Elf doesn't want to be tracked, he or she won't be, unless it's by another elf - again I imagine some are better at this than others (Wood Elves like Legolas, for example, probably find Noldor like Maglor hilariously clumsy and easy to track). They are said in canon to be quieter than even the Hobbits when they walk.
(7) Elves can read minds. Tolkien called it 'sanwe-latya', and it's less telepathy and more... really really good perception of each other? Note that this is not limited to Elves, although they can certainly use it easier than Men. Essentially the principle is that if a mind wishes to perceive another mind, and the other mind is open to this (note OPEN, not necessarily WILLING), then they don't actually need to speak with words to communicate. ... It's complicated. Let's just say that some of them (like Galadriel) are a lot better at it than others.
(8) Elves don't need sleep. Ok this is not entirely accurate, because they DO, they just... don't quite do it like other races do. They apparently have the ability to essentially create a waking dream-like state where they can walk and probably talk (although I wouldn't get them to, say, sew or anything needing fine motor control) while meditating on ~*beautiful things*~ (I kid you not) and this is almost as good as sleep for them, allowing them to go days without actually needing shut-eye. Speaking of, they sleep with their eyes open. Yes. An elf sleeping with closed eyes is usually VERY BADLY HURT or faking it.
ODD THINGS MAGLOR SPECIFICALLY CAN PROBABLY DO:
(9) Tolkien's world was created by Song. Therefore, it follows that one may USE Song to affect the world - see: Finrod battling Sauron via EPIC SINGING (yes really). Maglor, as I have noted, is stated to be canonically the second best bard in existence. I suspect, that at the very LEAST he can influence emotion with his music, and at the extreme, do things that are ~*magic*~. Like... I dunno put people to sleep and fight epic rap battles with music. Generally, Elven music is described as drawing the images to mind and lingering there, even if you had no clue what the words meant - I actually think this is related to the mind reading bit, so you could probably block said images out, if you wanted. Also being a musical genius, despite that canon only talks about his harp, chances are, if you put any instrument in his hands he'd learn how to play it pretty quickly - although things closer to what he's familiar with would be easier (he'd look at a piano pretty blankly, for example, but a guitar or a violin would probably be easy to work out, a french horn would get poked at, but a flute would make sense etc.)
(10) Maglor's a bard, and his dad was a genius who invented their written alphabet - chances are, Maglor himself is horribly fond of languages and how they work, and how they influence story. I would put good money that he learns languages for fun (or did, before the whole Oath thing). He's also got a brilliant memory (he would have to to create and then tell his stories, but all elves are supposed to have something pretty close to perfect recall),although I suspect he's a tad absent minded, like most artists - chances are, he can recall EVERYTHING that happened to him if he really wants to
(11) Maglor's dad being Feanor, I'm pretty sure Maglor spent time in the forges - he'd probably be familiar with basic metallurgy and smithing, and with his personality he was probably fascinated by the finicky jewellery type work, although I have no doubt he got out as soon as Feanor let him
(12) Maglor is a very good fighter - he's survived several thousand years in a world where fighting is up close and personal and involves things like dragons, balrogs and trolls - and he's done so without loosing any limbs or getting obvious deforming scars. This implies that he is very very good (also probably quite lucky). One of the reasons he was able to hold Maglor's Gap for so long is because he led a calvary - one of the few known in early Middle Earth. At the least, he'd be an excellent swordsman and a very good horseman, and being a calvary officer, he probably also used a spear, and bow & arrows. I usually play him as using a longsword in one hand and a knife in the other (and as an active dual sword wielder before he burnt his hands), and something of a berserker - he doesn't like killing, but he's very good at it... and once he starts, he can forget how to stop. Also I wouldn't sneak up on him if I were you. These days he's left handed by training (the burns are worse on his right) but is actually ambidextrous and used to prefer his right.
(13) Being second of seven brothers + umpteen younger cousins + raising two elflings + surviving the First Age at all, Maglor's probably pretty good at basic first aid and management of battle wounds. He's not a healer, but he can keep you alive long enough to get you TO a healer.
First Person:
[ He stumbled off the train and stared at his surroundings in shock. He was... he was watching the last of his family Sail, was he not? And now he is here, wherever here is. Is his sin so great that he is not permitted to even walk the lands he has known? Flinching from the sound and smell of the train he fled, running until he found the sea, where he let the sound of the waves calm him and the commander rose up in him, assessing the situation. When he finds the watch he plays with it for a while before he turns it on - the face that greets the city is unlined and there is no frost in dark hair, but the grey eyes are very, very old, the voice tired and weary (and yet music seems to lie beneath every word) ]
Forgive me, but it seems that I have found myself somewhere unknown. If there is any out there who might be able to tell me where I... we are, I would be grateful. I am but a simple wanderer who flatters himself that he has wandered far, but this is no place I have seen. I have nothing of worth to offer in return, but once they thought of me a decent minstrel, and I am happy to ply my trade here.
[ quietly ]
I... if there are any of my kinsfolk here... forgive the intrusion. I will stay away, you need have no fear of that.
Third Person: test drive thread
Name: bookworm/tea
Age: 34
Personal Journal:
bookworm_faithE-mail: Gmail: bookwormfaith
AIM/MSN/etc:
CHARACTER
Name: Makalaure "Maglor" Canafinwe
Canon: Tolkien's Legendarium
Age: older than the moon and sun which makes it hard to guess age BUT As an estimate, he's roughly 3000 by the end of the Silmarillion (First Age). Second Age lasted 3441 years, Frodo sails 3012 of the Third Age. So... 9400+? But he looks to be in his late 20s/early 30s
Timeline: The end of the Lord of the Rings - he has just watched Elrond, Galadriel, Gandalf & Frodo Sail
If playing another character from the same canon, how will you deal with this?: n/a
Personality:
Hokay here we go. SO! It is difficult to do this without overlapping with history but I will try.
TO START WITH Maglor is the second son of Feanor, the greatest elven genius to ever live, who also happens to be responsible for 99% of what goes wrong in Middle-earth that can't be blamed on Dark Lords. Like the rest of his infamous family, Maglor is stubborn, proud, prone to holding grudges, prone to rash and terrible oaths, honourable enough to keep said terrible oath... and probably not entirely sane. Maglor specifically was said to have more of his gentler mother's personality, and is likely to have been the peacekeeper of his headstrong brothers. 'Makalaure' was his mother-name, and Tolkien indicates that mother-names often had special significance in regards to either the child's future or personality - Maglor's means 'gold-cleaver' or 'forging gold' (depending on how you translate it) and is said to be due to his voice and harp skill - he was said to be the best bard of the Noldor, and is counted second only to Daeron of Doriath. He wasn't as charismatic as his father, Maedhros or Curufin (all of whom were capable of causing civil unrest pretty much with just one speech), but he is extremely skilled with words. His most famous work is actually the 'basis' for a chunk of the Silmarillion - the Noldolante is the story of his family's fall, and Tolkien says that it was Maglor who wrote it - thus, despite him being one of the most despised First Age Elves, his song is the one that they still sing about those days.
Despite his gentler temperament, he was a strong and capable war-leader, holding Maglor's Gap, the weakest part of their defences, for 4.5 centuries against their world's equivalent of Satan. He was level-headed enough and commanded enough loyalty to refuse to go on a (suicidal) rescue of his older brother Maedhros and held that stance as the High King for the next ~15 (its hard to count when you have no sun) years until Fingon was crazy enough to stage a rescue. Maedhros, in gratitude, turned the high kingship over to Fingolfin's (Fingon's dad) house, which his brothers disagreed with - it is likely that Maglor was the only one to back him on that decision. He was also politically savvy enough to be one of only 2 of the brothers to stay on good terms with both Fingolfin & Finarfin's house (Maedhros, unsurprisingly, was the other). I suspect, based on how little we hear of his reign (NADA), that he was never comfortable in a leadership role, and really prefers to follow someone. He is loyal to a fault - Tolkien says that he kept the Oath more for love of his family than for any care for the Silmarils, and regretted his actions deeply by the end. He is especially close to Maedhros - they are rarely mentioned without each other - either because they are the two eldest, or the two sanest (probably some combination of the two - I headcannon in politics they played GoodCop/BadCop and then Maglor would get you in the back while you were gaping at Maedhros). He's the second eldest of seven, with umpteen younger cousins, and probably has big brother/protector drilled into his bones.
Other things we know - he's a killer, don't mistake that. He took his share of lives, and likely did not discriminate between soldier or innocent, male, female or child. Until Sirion. See, there were three occasions when the Feanorionnath attacked their fellow elves for the stupid shiny things called Silmarils - the third, and generally the one held to be the worst, was Sirion, where there were a bunch of survivors from various wars (and at least one kinslaying) trying to eke a living. Lots of stuff happened, but in the end, there were two young twin elflings left behind, while their mom jumped out a window to keep Maglor and Maedhros from getting one of said Silmarils. Normally, this would mean Elrond & Elros (because this was them) would shortly thereafter be dead. Somehow, this didn't happen. Instead, Maglor & Maedhros took them captive - canon never states why, but here's my theories. One, in Sirion they lost their last brother, who was, in fact, a twin. Second, in Doriath (the previous kinslaying), Maedhros had failed to prevent the death of the king's twin sons (see a pattern yet?). Three... well I suspect they wanted hostages in case the twin's parents somehow came back, also for protection against the rest of the Noldor. IN ANY CASE. Somehow, despite everything, canon tells us that "love grew between them, as little might be thought" and the next time you see the twins they're with the High King Gil-Galad SO - it turns out Maglor & probably Maedhros make good dads. Good enough, even, to let them go free in the end, and not bind them to their curse (because technically the curse might have applied if they'd stayed, as Elrond & Elros are RELATED to Maglor. Distantly, but there you go).
As he is right now, he's lived through (1) 3 kinslayings in which he was an active participant (2) the loss of his entire family in horribly tragic and partially self-induced circumstances (3) being unable to fulfil his oath as the Silmaril burnt his hand due to all the evil he had done (4) the loss of pretty much everything he's ever known with Beleriand being drowned at the end of the War of Wrath (5) his foster son Elros choosing humanity & dying (6) the kingdom his foster son founded going power hungry and being drowned (7) his OTHER foster son Elrond sailing West along with his last surviving family member (his cousin Galadriel) and (8) being an Exile who can never go home. He's had plenty of time to knock off many of his rough edges, and nowadays is just plain tired. Emo Elf is Emo, but seriously, he's very depressed. He's likely to be insomniac due to the horrible nightmares of his past, almost certainly suffers flashbacks, and has a huge guilt complex. Much of his drive these days is a wish to in some way make repatriation for his sins and assuage himself of the broken Oath (he has long given up being forgiven and returning home, but somewhere buried deep inside he still holds hope for some form of redemption). He's lonely as all get go, but canon says he "came never back amongst the elves" (largely, I suspect, because he does not dare bring his Curse - 'to evil end will all things turn' - into range of other people) but "wandered ever upon the shores, singing in pain and regret beside the waves". He also has lots of unresolved issues with his family, and the only thing he hates more than himself is Evil in any shape he finds it.
Background: Believe you me you do not want me to TLDR this bit have some links: Maglor specifically, Silmarillion generally, and also of importance that Damned Oath and if you really badly want my TLDR this was what I did for Eachdraidh although I take him from a fair bit after that whole schmozzle (mainly so that he's comparatively sane
Abilities:
ahahaha Tolkien Elves OKAY SO let's start with the easy ones: the racial abilities
(1) functionally immortal - they hit 100 (which for them looks like ~20s/30s) and stop aging. They can be killed (even by strange things such as grief - they call that Fading), but otherwise they don't die, and in canon if you kill them their souls go back to Valinor/Paradise to wait to be re-embodied, although (unless you're Glorfindel) you never come back to Middle Earth again
(2) Elves are faster, stronger and hardier than Men, and they heal faster too - this means that if you DON'T manage to kill an elf, he or she'll probably be ready to kill YOU the next day (depending on how badly you hurt them, of course - but really, if death doesn't come for them initially they are going to heal). Bear in mind that this is not 100% proof, as canon has at least one instance where a Man could bear armor that an Elf could not. Also this means they can survive on surprisingly little food & water for a surprisingly long time! (I think Maedhros survived ~15 years with essentially nothing? Admittedly he was a captive of the Big Bad at the time so I dunno if ~*magic*~ was involved there - but crossing the Grinding Ice there can't have been much food, and we are talking Antartic conditions for ~15 years without proper gear - AND MOST OF THEM STILL MADE IT, and in good enough condition to fight when they got to the other side)
(3) Elves have unusually good eyesight and hearing - this is likely pretty variable, but generally an Elf can see further & hear more than a typical human - they can also hear some odd things, which brings us to...
(4) Elves are tied strongly to the natural world, and so... yes, the rocks talk to them. Or they talk to rocks. And trees. And birds and animals (Elves like talking to things in general, really). And it is strongly implied that they get some sort of answer, although I imagine it isn't speech that they get in return but... impressions maybe. Again, who hears what will depend on the Elf in question - Noldor are craftsmen, artisans etc, so rocks are probably more their thing then trees, for example. Maglor, I suspect, hears the Sea loud and clear, and all Elves hear the stars.
(5) Elves glow. No really! This is especially true of those elves who lived in Valinor beneath the light of the Two Trees (...it's a long story) - it's very faint, but in dim light, you'd see the faintest of gleams, as if the moonlight was especially concentrated around them. Also their eyes are often said to be piercing and hard to meet - technically, this is their spirit/soul shining out of their eyes - essentially, Elves, especially those who have lived in Valinor, have... bright. souls. (I know this sounds dumb) and their bodies can't quite contain them. This does also mean, incidentally, that they can perceive things in the spiritual world clearer than most, being as how they're kinda half there already
(6) Elves are very light-footed - this does include the whole 'walk on snow' thing, but it also means that if an Elf doesn't want to be tracked, he or she won't be, unless it's by another elf - again I imagine some are better at this than others (Wood Elves like Legolas, for example, probably find Noldor like Maglor hilariously clumsy and easy to track). They are said in canon to be quieter than even the Hobbits when they walk.
(7) Elves can read minds. Tolkien called it 'sanwe-latya', and it's less telepathy and more... really really good perception of each other? Note that this is not limited to Elves, although they can certainly use it easier than Men. Essentially the principle is that if a mind wishes to perceive another mind, and the other mind is open to this (note OPEN, not necessarily WILLING), then they don't actually need to speak with words to communicate. ... It's complicated. Let's just say that some of them (like Galadriel) are a lot better at it than others.
(8) Elves don't need sleep. Ok this is not entirely accurate, because they DO, they just... don't quite do it like other races do. They apparently have the ability to essentially create a waking dream-like state where they can walk and probably talk (although I wouldn't get them to, say, sew or anything needing fine motor control) while meditating on ~*beautiful things*~ (I kid you not) and this is almost as good as sleep for them, allowing them to go days without actually needing shut-eye. Speaking of, they sleep with their eyes open. Yes. An elf sleeping with closed eyes is usually VERY BADLY HURT or faking it.
ODD THINGS MAGLOR SPECIFICALLY CAN PROBABLY DO:
(9) Tolkien's world was created by Song. Therefore, it follows that one may USE Song to affect the world - see: Finrod battling Sauron via EPIC SINGING (yes really). Maglor, as I have noted, is stated to be canonically the second best bard in existence. I suspect, that at the very LEAST he can influence emotion with his music, and at the extreme, do things that are ~*magic*~. Like... I dunno put people to sleep and fight epic rap battles with music. Generally, Elven music is described as drawing the images to mind and lingering there, even if you had no clue what the words meant - I actually think this is related to the mind reading bit, so you could probably block said images out, if you wanted. Also being a musical genius, despite that canon only talks about his harp, chances are, if you put any instrument in his hands he'd learn how to play it pretty quickly - although things closer to what he's familiar with would be easier (he'd look at a piano pretty blankly, for example, but a guitar or a violin would probably be easy to work out, a french horn would get poked at, but a flute would make sense etc.)
(10) Maglor's a bard, and his dad was a genius who invented their written alphabet - chances are, Maglor himself is horribly fond of languages and how they work, and how they influence story. I would put good money that he learns languages for fun (or did, before the whole Oath thing). He's also got a brilliant memory (he would have to to create and then tell his stories, but all elves are supposed to have something pretty close to perfect recall),although I suspect he's a tad absent minded, like most artists - chances are, he can recall EVERYTHING that happened to him if he really wants to
(11) Maglor's dad being Feanor, I'm pretty sure Maglor spent time in the forges - he'd probably be familiar with basic metallurgy and smithing, and with his personality he was probably fascinated by the finicky jewellery type work, although I have no doubt he got out as soon as Feanor let him
(12) Maglor is a very good fighter - he's survived several thousand years in a world where fighting is up close and personal and involves things like dragons, balrogs and trolls - and he's done so without loosing any limbs or getting obvious deforming scars. This implies that he is very very good (also probably quite lucky). One of the reasons he was able to hold Maglor's Gap for so long is because he led a calvary - one of the few known in early Middle Earth. At the least, he'd be an excellent swordsman and a very good horseman, and being a calvary officer, he probably also used a spear, and bow & arrows. I usually play him as using a longsword in one hand and a knife in the other (and as an active dual sword wielder before he burnt his hands), and something of a berserker - he doesn't like killing, but he's very good at it... and once he starts, he can forget how to stop. Also I wouldn't sneak up on him if I were you. These days he's left handed by training (the burns are worse on his right) but is actually ambidextrous and used to prefer his right.
(13) Being second of seven brothers + umpteen younger cousins + raising two elflings + surviving the First Age at all, Maglor's probably pretty good at basic first aid and management of battle wounds. He's not a healer, but he can keep you alive long enough to get you TO a healer.
First Person:
[ He stumbled off the train and stared at his surroundings in shock. He was... he was watching the last of his family Sail, was he not? And now he is here, wherever here is. Is his sin so great that he is not permitted to even walk the lands he has known? Flinching from the sound and smell of the train he fled, running until he found the sea, where he let the sound of the waves calm him and the commander rose up in him, assessing the situation. When he finds the watch he plays with it for a while before he turns it on - the face that greets the city is unlined and there is no frost in dark hair, but the grey eyes are very, very old, the voice tired and weary (and yet music seems to lie beneath every word) ]
Forgive me, but it seems that I have found myself somewhere unknown. If there is any out there who might be able to tell me where I... we are, I would be grateful. I am but a simple wanderer who flatters himself that he has wandered far, but this is no place I have seen. I have nothing of worth to offer in return, but once they thought of me a decent minstrel, and I am happy to ply my trade here.
[ quietly ]
I... if there are any of my kinsfolk here... forgive the intrusion. I will stay away, you need have no fear of that.
Third Person: test drive thread
