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Special Features

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Contents:

The Meanings Behind the Names

Trailer for our next fic 'Darkest Night'

Utter Drivel

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The Meanings Behind the Names

Thorongil (eagle of the star) | We already mentioned the meaning of this one it the story, but we also wanted to make clear that this one was most definitely Tolkien's.

Kelegalen (swift green) | To paraphrase what we said at the end of our last fic: This is one where you can actually imagine a mother in Rohan naming her son that way. It may be a bit of a mouthful, but it's got their nationality written all over it.

Nethtalt (young insecure) | A good lesson to people who are giving their characters Sindarin names: NEVER use a super-specific meaning unless you're ABSOLUTELY SURE you won't be using the character a second time!!! While this name worked wonderfully for Death or Despair, it's outlived it's usefulness in this fic. Ironically, here's what we said about his name last time: "Let's just hope Nethtalt never grows up, or anything, cause if he does, he'll be in big trouble…" If only we had known... : P

Stavhold | One of the few exceptions in the whole 'the names have to *mean* something' rule when it came to our own original characters. When Siri suggested this one last time, it was just too good to leave out because of a technicality.

Duurben (somber man) | Well, he was. For the most part. ; )

Meldir (friend) | Well, he was! *sniff*

Findelglaur (golden hair) | This one took a while because we just couldn't seem to decide what sounded nice on her. After much talk, we concluded we liked Findel, but since it only meant 'hair', we ended up making it a nickname instead.

Thalion (dauntless man) | Well, he was.

Rokhiell (horse daughter) | It sounded like a nice Rohirrim name, and she was a nice Rohirrim lady.

Aldor | We don't know what Aldor means, but we were hunting in old lists of kings of Rohan, and felt it seemed logical for him to be named after one of them. It is an interesting fact that, the last attack on the Wold (by the Easterlings), before our story, had taken place during the rule of the historical Aldor's father, Brego. Meaning the original Aldor would have probably also been a boy the last time the Wold was invaded. Interesting, huh?

Harnwe (southern man) | Well, he was.

Mavranor (eager after land) | This would have worked equally well for her husband, but

it sounded too feminine.

Brerg (fierce) | Well, he was. (these cropped up a lot in this fic, didn't they?) We actually considered this one for Harnwe, but thought it sounded too thick.

Muindor (brother) | It was pretty much the only reason he was in the story originally: to be Harnwe's brother. What a boring life. ;P

Gwanur (brother) | Yeah, um, see above.

Koth (enemy) | Sometimes our brilliance almost frightens us... :P

Penna (slants downward) | If you've forgotten him, he was Muindor's second-in-command way at the beginning.

Taetho (tied) | Named for her favorite hobby: sewing! Note: though Tolkien mentions that Thengel had other daughters, Taetho is a character of our own invention.

Theodwyn | This one isn't ours, and we don't know what it means, but we listed it here just so we could mention (for those of you who might not know) that Theodwyn is the sister Theoden meant when he was constantly calling his nephew and niece 'sister-son' and 'sister-daughter'. She's Eowyn and Eomer's mother.

Gálmod | We don't know what this means either, but probably something like Toadbrain, or Newt-eye, or something nasty like that, since, after all, (drum roll please) his son's name will be *Wormtongue*! We're not kidding here. Aragorn just bumped into the dad of dear old Grima the Lying Wart and he will never know it! *giggles* Though maybe it's just as well he doesn't. EDIT: this just in: his name means 'sour tempered' according to the Tolkien Companion. AND FOR ALL OF YOU WHO ASKED: That's why we couldn't kill him in the end. :P

Baranor | In case you've forgotten him: he was the captain who was waiting to replace Thorongil on guard duty at the very beginning of this fic. It also happens that he is the father of Beregond, and the grandfather of Bergil, both of whom Pippin met in The Return of the King. And if you hadn't noticed, we had a lot of fun adding actual people (like: 'according to Tolkien' people) into this fic... It makes our story seem to *fit* somehow. ; )

Maen (skilled) | Meldir's father.

Magor (swordsman): He was one of the Gondorian captains under Denethor, and, well, a good swordsman.

Beren (trusty man) | Um, a little more irony there: Beren was the guy in Thorongil's company that fell asleep on watch at the beginning. Hey, he reformed!

Erfiren (only human) | The messenger who lost the message to Thengel near the beginning of the fic: can you think of a better name? Thanks Chloe for your help on that one! :D

Nannva (of grassland) | Appropriate, we felt, for a village surrounded by, uh, grassland. (is anyone else noticing the singular lack of originality on some of these??)

Medui (last) | Originally Medui was supposed to be farther to the rear of the other two forts, and therefore the last fort protecting the Wold, but tactically the placement was ridiculous, so we moved it. We just didn't change the name.

Ladin (level) | This has nothing to do with terrorism, it just sounded appropriate for a fort on the plains.

Tulganif (steady front) | Wishful thinking on the part of the Rohirrim, and irony on the part of the authors.

Maerhiin (good heart), Bregol (sudden, fierce), Kollnaur (red fire), Gailloth (star flower), Silgoll (moon wise), Throssteil (whisper foot), Norleg (keen eyesight), Espalass (foaming) | Just when our brains held the closest resemblance to oatmeal, and we were thinking 'I hope I never have to name another character/place for the rest of my life', Sarah suddenly turned to Hannah and said, "Oh no, we still have to name everyone's horses!" To which announcement she fainted dead away. Well, almost... Anyway, we tried to follow the method of other horse names from the books (Lightfoot, Snowmane, Shadowfax, etc.). It's amazing how many were already used!

Breon (swift stone) | Every time we name people (or horses!), we have to have at least a couple names be jokes, and contradictions are the most fun. Yes, we're most definitely strange and proud of it! ;)

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Trailer for 'Darkest Night'

( VO = 'voice over', [sounds are bracketed])

black [silence]

a flash of lightening [thunder crack]

a second flash, and a third

scene goes back again [eerie flute playing softly]

[male elf VO] Several thousand years ago, your ancestors turned to fight amongst themselves.

fade up of Rivendell; an elf, Glorfindel, is speaking to someone across a small table from him

[Glorfindel] In their moment of weakness, the Witch King struck...

flashes of old battle scenes between ranks of dark haired men, clad as Dunedain, fighting against seemingly endless ranks of men and orcs [men and orcs screaming]

[Glorfindel] ... he nearly carried all before him. At the last he was turned back...

the Witch King — not yet wraith, but man — looks down at his clenched hand: a dark ring is on his finger

[Glorfindel] ...he would have returned to his tower, but his men were decimated... instead he disappeared.

back to Rivendell; the camera pans to show the man Glorfindel is speaking to: it is Aragorn with Legolas standing over his shoulder.

[Aragorn] And what kept he in that tower?

[Glorfindel] (shaking his head) Perhaps only more orcs.

[Legolas] Perhaps?

black [flute music ends abruptly]

[sound of someone in the dark, gasping for breath, feet shifting in leaves]

the camera rushes in on Aragorn who whirls around to face it; his eyes go wide

[music crashes in]

Elladan and Elrohir standing back to back, a faint glow shimmering about them in the dark

flash to Legolas catching a hold of a tree branch, swinging himself up as something rushes below him

flash to Aragorn drawing his sward hurriedly

[male human VO] (frightened) How can we slay what is not flesh?

flash to orcs running through the woods shrieking battle yells

flash to close up on the last orc's hideous feet; something dark follows after it. there is a glint of claws or teeth.

flash to shot of Elrond from behind, striding out onto a balcony: his hands clench the railing

flash to a pair of hands holding an ancient black book, its cover is cracked

[Aragorn VO] This is our task!

flash to a small group of Dunedain rushing through the woods; something rushes in on them

flash to Dunedain scattering, turning about to fight, then running on

[Elrohir] We all stand together, Estel.

black

[lull in music]

[Aragorn VO] Why must it always be my relatives that cause so much trouble?

fade up of Legolas, shaking his head

[Legolas] It is not your fault that your ancestors quarreled.

[Aragorn] (grimacing) I was speaking of my brothers.

[music goes into one final crescendo]

flash to Legolas whirling about, his hair white against the dark trees

flash to Elladan pulling an arrow from his quiver and putting it to his bow

flash to Aragorn dropping into a crouch

flash to Elladan aiming the arrow towards the screen

flash to Elrohir leaping over a fallen log in one jump

Elladan fires the arrow and the screen sparks with lightening

[music quiets down]

Legolas, his hood drawn, is sitting at a table with his head down

A hobbit sits down next to him and leans forward confidentially, his round face frowning

[hobbit] You ought to be careful, sir: takin' up with them rangers. Dangerous folk.

[Legolas] (face unreadable) Thank you. I shall keep that in mind.

[eerie flute music picks up again]

Legolas and Aragorn standing on a hill, dense fog clouding about them until they can no longer be seen

writing appears across fog in thin, curving script: Darkest Night

writing is swallowed up in fog

screen fades to black with gray text: Coming to FanFiction.net summer or fall or maybe winter 2003

[flute music trails off into silence]

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Utter Drivel

Beware!! Hannah (Siri) was going to be gone the next day, and this is something Sarah left on her laptop late the evening before for her poor sister to find. If you know anything about the sort of nonsense the Write Sisters are famous for spouting, you will either run for your lives, or you will have gotten used to it and you will read on…

Hannah: just in case the creative juices refuse to flow on this next part, here is a bit of a starter for ya! :D …

Thengel looked down at the message from the Southrons. "Oh MAN!" he scowled, chucking the paper to Bronweg.

"What is it, sir?" Bronweg scanned the message. "Good heavens, they've taken all the helpless wittle Women and Children and Miscellaneous Badly Injured Men, not to mention our only Cute Person!"

"No," Thengel scowled, "they took my baseball glove. Shoulda known better than to trust it to Kelegalen to keep safe."

"So what should we do about it, sir?"

"Ah, I dunno. Go to Furry Feet Sports Center and get a new one, I suppose."

"No, I meant about all those people!"

"Huh?"

??????????

Kelegalen looked at the message in disbelief, "He says, 'Don't bother; it's not worth the aspirin.'"

"No!" exclaimed Thorongil and Nethtalt together — Nethtalt with a bit more of the lover-like agony than Thorongil. Duurben stood to the side, looking boring.

"Well forget that! I'm going anyway." Nethtalt grabbed up his sword and stuck his helmet on backwards in his passion.

"And I will join him!" Thorongil agreed, sheathing his dagger.

"Why?"

"Why did I sheath my dagger?"

"Well that too, but why are you going along when it's not your fight?"

"Because I always sheath my dagger when I Go To War, and because I am one of the Heroes. It's in the contract that I must get involved in all horrible messes/battles/etc. (no matter what), must fight like a combination of Jackie Chan and Robin Hood, and must not only endure torture with great show of character and without giving away anything that should be kept secret, but also survive to do it all again. As far as that goes, the 'getting involved in all messes' part is pretty easy."

There is a nonplussed silence as Duurben busily files away this newest tidbit about his captain, //But who is Jackie Chan??//

"Besides, this is just the sort of spot for something Coincidental to happen. Did you know I had the strangest dream about my best friend Unnamed-for-the-sake-of-suspense last night?"

"What was he doing?" Asked Kelegalen as the four Main Characters (meaning Nethtalt, Kelegalen, Thorongil, and Gálmod; Duurben doesn't count) set out.

"Being beat up indirectly by a bunch of female authors; same as usual."

The four men (and Duurben) took the prisoners to exchange, Gwanur the Stupid sparked a tussle, and they were forced to race in and Gallantly Rescue Everybody. They reached the camp and charged, fighting in the midst of overwhelming odds and screaming children. Nethtalt rode through the fray to Findel, who held up her arms to him. He reached back, his eyes full of relief — a relief that quickly changed to shock as he was shot in the shoulder.

"Ouch," said Thorongil sympathetically.

"Oops," said Gálmod innocently.

Gwanur the Stupid grabbed Findel and started to haul her off while she screamed, pulled hair, bit him on the ear, and called his mother a Morgul Tick. Thorongil raced after them and he and Gwanur the Stupid fought. Mavranor, waltzing onto the battle field in (of all things) a red dress, waved cheerily at her brother.

"Yoohoo!"

Gwanur the Stupid waved back. And Thorongil stabbed him. And Mavranor screamed.

"Oh, shut up," Thorongil growled as he handed the only Cute Person back to the Over-Anxious Lover.

In the background, Mavranor headed back to her tent, sulked a bit, and then made a little doll with dark hair and a sheathed dagger, doused it in a jar of sauerkraut, thwacked it with her loofa sponge, and then morbidly stabbed it a few times with the knife that had killed her brother. Cackling maniacally, of course.

Meanwhile, Findel is being dragged away, but manages to gasp out something about a tent and that Thorongil really must save what's in it. Puzzled, but knowing he's required to get involved in messes, the Hero heads over to the tent and pops in.

"Strider?" a solitary and Coincidentally Familiar Elf chokes out, his breath raspy having been pulling double-duty without water under his own Hero contract.

Thorongil's eyes widened in shock. How could this be? Here, of all places??

"THENGEL'S BASEBALL GLOVE!!"

********************************************************************************

I know, I know, you wanted to write that scene, but I was poring over our fic, as it stands so far, and I don't think we have enough HUMOR in it!!

You're still reading. Obviously, you don't believe what I just said. Okay, I'm kidding. The whole thing up there? It was a very long joke. And it's not my fault that I wrote it! It's Chloe's fault. Oh yeah, and it's 10:30 at night. That's the only reason. Got that? THE ONLY REASON!

Stay out of trouble. If that is possible. And have fun. I know I needn't say 'do a good job on your writing' because you do so automatically. Just PLEASE, whatever you do, don't mention Morgul Ticks anywhere in your chapter!! Thank you. It's now 10:35. Must go to bed.... I'm... nodding... oooofff.... Uuyjh7huyr oddzdvvd d fdfngdrue wgsdfbfh hnjypg;nj //ltrm... WHOA, not on the keyboard! Ugh. I just escaped waking up with little squares imprinted on my forehead! GOOD NIGHT!

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And that is all! The very last bit. ;D

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Thank you all SO much for reading and responding to this little (ha ha) fic of ours!!! Your enjoyment has been equally experienced by us, and your praise has been one of the greatest motivators for us to write more! We hope to see some of you on our next thread when it begins (whenever that may be… you know us! :P), and until then we bid you a very fond farewell. :)

Namárië, mellyn nin!

— Sarah and Hannah(Siri)