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Saturday, 16 January 2077
Saturday, 19 August 2017
I have a GAME OF THRONES article up at Variety
Variety, the US entertainment magazine and website, recently asked me to contribute an article on how the appeal of Game of Thrones has grown since 2009, when I met up with fans, cast and crew at an event in Belfast during the filming of the never-screened pilot episode. I was happy to oblige.
You can find the article in full here. You can also find my original reports of the event in Belfast from way back in 2009, here, here and here.
You can find the article in full here. You can also find my original reports of the event in Belfast from way back in 2009, here, here and here.
A History of Middle-earth Part 6: The Downfall of Númenor
Part 1 can be found here.
In the Second Age of Middle-earth, Sauron, lieutenant of the exiled Morgoth, tricked the Noldor smiths of Eregion into forging the Rings of Power. In secret, he crafted the One Ruling Ring, the means by which he intended to conquer the world. But his student, Celebrimbor, had also crafted three rings for the elven kings under the sky, which could thwart Sauron's ambitions. The stage was set for the greatest conflict since the War of Wrath.
The War of Sauron and the Elves
With Sauron’s plan revealed, he now moved quickly and begun breeding a vast army of Orcs to take the offensive. Mount Doom burst into flame, covering the lands of Mordor with smoke and ash, hindering any enemy who might try to strike him there, and Easterling allies were summoned to prepare for war.
In Eregion Celebrimbor realised his folly and made his own preparations. He sent word to Gil-galad, who in turn despatched a message to Númenor. Tar-Telperien did not heed the call to arms, but her nephew Minastir did and began assembling both a great army and navy to battle Sauron’s forces. This took time, but Sauron himself had been taken unawares by how quickly he had exposed his plans, and needed time of his own to prepare.
Soon enough Sauron launched his assault. In 1695 SA Sauron’s armies marched through the Gap of Calenardhon between the Misty Mountains and the White Mountains and turned north, laying siege to Ost-in-Edhil. Gil-galad sent Elrond with a great host to the relief of the city, but after two years Sauron’s forces gained the city and put it to the torch. Celebrimbor was slain, but the greater part of the civilian populace managed to escape under Elrond’s protection. Celeborn retreated northwards with Elrond to the hidden valley of Imladris and there they made a stand, but Sauron chose not to pursue, instead directing his forces westwards against Lindon itself.
Now the war entered its bloodiest phase. Free men who inhabited the wide lands of Eriador either allied with Sauron or took up arms against him. Gil-galad fortified the havens and sent as many troops as possible east against this threat, whilst Elrond and Celeborn attacked Sauron’s flanks as often as they could.
But all seemed in vain. In the 1,700th year of the Second Age Sauron’s armies crossed the open, verdant countryside east of the White Towers and drew nigh to Mithlond. But, as all hope seemed to fade, a great fleet sailed out of the west and landed at the Grey Havens. The army of Númenor marched forth, and so many were their soldiers that the earth rumbled, and even Gil-galad was amazed. Then it became clear that this was but part of Númenor’s strength, for another host had landed at ruined Lond Daer and further north at Tharbad, thus bringing Sauron’s host under attack from two directions. Even bolstered by the power of the One Ring, Sauron could not resist such a strength of arms as that which was now arrayed against him. His army was destroyed and he fled from Eriador with but a token of his forces intact.
Now Gil-galad, Círdan, Celeborn, Elrond and Ciryatur, commander of the fleet sent from Númenor, took counsel. Ciryatur could not maintain his army in Middle-earth and had to return it to Númenor, but certainly now the rulers of Westernesse would maintain permanent fortresses and settlements in Middle-earth lest the Shadow come forth again unchallenged. Elrond was commanded to permanently settle in Imladris and he began the construction of Rivendell, which in those days was heavily fortified, but after the Last Alliance was made more beautiful, more of a home than a fortress. At this time Gil-galad surrendered the Ring of Vilya to Elrond, but kept the other ring for himself.
At length Galadriel came over the Misty Mountains from Lórinand and debated with Celeborn about their own future, where they were to dwell. And for many long years afterwards they were wanderers, living sometimes in Imladris, sometimes in Lórinand, but they also desired the Sea and journeying far to the south came to the lands below the White Mountains. There at the mouth of the River Morthond they founded a new haven, Edhellond, and many elves dwelt there as they prepared to take ship for Valinor. But for Galadriel that path was not open until Sauron was defeated, and she and Celeborn built a tower where Dol Amroth in Gondor later stood, and for many years stayed there. But at other times they would depart for Lórinand, or for Imladris or for other lands unknown, and thus passed the Second Age.
With Sauron’s plan revealed, he now moved quickly and begun breeding a vast army of Orcs to take the offensive. Mount Doom burst into flame, covering the lands of Mordor with smoke and ash, hindering any enemy who might try to strike him there, and Easterling allies were summoned to prepare for war.
In Eregion Celebrimbor realised his folly and made his own preparations. He sent word to Gil-galad, who in turn despatched a message to Númenor. Tar-Telperien did not heed the call to arms, but her nephew Minastir did and began assembling both a great army and navy to battle Sauron’s forces. This took time, but Sauron himself had been taken unawares by how quickly he had exposed his plans, and needed time of his own to prepare.
Soon enough Sauron launched his assault. In 1695 SA Sauron’s armies marched through the Gap of Calenardhon between the Misty Mountains and the White Mountains and turned north, laying siege to Ost-in-Edhil. Gil-galad sent Elrond with a great host to the relief of the city, but after two years Sauron’s forces gained the city and put it to the torch. Celebrimbor was slain, but the greater part of the civilian populace managed to escape under Elrond’s protection. Celeborn retreated northwards with Elrond to the hidden valley of Imladris and there they made a stand, but Sauron chose not to pursue, instead directing his forces westwards against Lindon itself.
Now the war entered its bloodiest phase. Free men who inhabited the wide lands of Eriador either allied with Sauron or took up arms against him. Gil-galad fortified the havens and sent as many troops as possible east against this threat, whilst Elrond and Celeborn attacked Sauron’s flanks as often as they could.
But all seemed in vain. In the 1,700th year of the Second Age Sauron’s armies crossed the open, verdant countryside east of the White Towers and drew nigh to Mithlond. But, as all hope seemed to fade, a great fleet sailed out of the west and landed at the Grey Havens. The army of Númenor marched forth, and so many were their soldiers that the earth rumbled, and even Gil-galad was amazed. Then it became clear that this was but part of Númenor’s strength, for another host had landed at ruined Lond Daer and further north at Tharbad, thus bringing Sauron’s host under attack from two directions. Even bolstered by the power of the One Ring, Sauron could not resist such a strength of arms as that which was now arrayed against him. His army was destroyed and he fled from Eriador with but a token of his forces intact.
Now Gil-galad, Círdan, Celeborn, Elrond and Ciryatur, commander of the fleet sent from Númenor, took counsel. Ciryatur could not maintain his army in Middle-earth and had to return it to Númenor, but certainly now the rulers of Westernesse would maintain permanent fortresses and settlements in Middle-earth lest the Shadow come forth again unchallenged. Elrond was commanded to permanently settle in Imladris and he began the construction of Rivendell, which in those days was heavily fortified, but after the Last Alliance was made more beautiful, more of a home than a fortress. At this time Gil-galad surrendered the Ring of Vilya to Elrond, but kept the other ring for himself.
At length Galadriel came over the Misty Mountains from Lórinand and debated with Celeborn about their own future, where they were to dwell. And for many long years afterwards they were wanderers, living sometimes in Imladris, sometimes in Lórinand, but they also desired the Sea and journeying far to the south came to the lands below the White Mountains. There at the mouth of the River Morthond they founded a new haven, Edhellond, and many elves dwelt there as they prepared to take ship for Valinor. But for Galadriel that path was not open until Sauron was defeated, and she and Celeborn built a tower where Dol Amroth in Gondor later stood, and for many years stayed there. But at other times they would depart for Lórinand, or for Imladris or for other lands unknown, and thus passed the Second Age.
The Downfall of the Dúnedain
Now, after the War of Sauron and the Elves the rulers of Númenor resolved to keep a closer watch on the affairs of the mainland, lest Sauron strike again before they could send aid to halt him. Fortresses and citadels they established all along the coasts of Middle-earth. They rebuilt Tharbad and Lond Daer even stronger than before and established a new fortress, Angrenost (Iron Fortress), in the Gap of Calenardhon. In 2280 SA the Númenórean fleet destroyed the navy of a kingdom of southern Middle-earth that was challenging their greatness and captured the capital of their realm, Umbar. By this time the Númenóreans were becoming empire-builders, stripping distant mines bare for their own enrichment and colonising parts of Middle-earth for their own protection, rather than that of their elven allies. Indeed, after a time the Númenóreans ceased to be concerned with the affairs of the elves, save only the Lords of Andúnië, who now called themselves the “Faithful”, and kept open the lines of contact with Lindon. In 2350 SA the Faithful volunteered their ships to colonise the mouth of the River Anduin, the Great River of north-western Middle-earth, and in this year established the fortress and city of Pelargir, which was kept forevermore as a bastion of the Faithful.
Now the Kings of Númenor grew proud indeed. During the reign of Tar-Atanamir (2029-2221 SA) they began to speak openly against the ban against travelling west to Valinor, but they did not dare too much, for they still feared the Valar. But the later Kings dared much more. Tar-Calmacil become King of Númenor in 2737 SA after winning great lands along the coast of the Harad and sending troops exploring up to the very borders of Mordor, encouraging Sauron to seek new conquests in the East. Tar-Calmacil became the first of the Kings to have his name inscribed in the tongue of Númenor, Adûnaic, rather than Quenya, although his Quenya name was still inscribed in the Roll of Kings out of tradition. In Adûnaic his name was Ar-Belzagar, and upon hearing this the Faithful were filled with despair, for in this mode the title of King of Númenor was changed to Lord of the West, but in the minds of the Faithful there was only one Lord of the West and his name was Manwë. Any other claiming that title was foolhardy indeed.
Then in 2899 SA the new King of Númenor, Tar-Herunúmen, openly ruled under the name Ar-Adûnakhôr, and those kings who followed him also proclaimed their names in Adûnaic, save only Tar-Palantir, who repented the ways of his insolent forebears. But Tar-Palantir had no sons, only a daughter, Míriel, and when he died in 3255 SA she was taken forcibly to wife by Tar-Palantir’s cousin Pharazôn, who claimed the title of King of Númenor and Lord of the West.
Now, after the War of Sauron and the Elves the rulers of Númenor resolved to keep a closer watch on the affairs of the mainland, lest Sauron strike again before they could send aid to halt him. Fortresses and citadels they established all along the coasts of Middle-earth. They rebuilt Tharbad and Lond Daer even stronger than before and established a new fortress, Angrenost (Iron Fortress), in the Gap of Calenardhon. In 2280 SA the Númenórean fleet destroyed the navy of a kingdom of southern Middle-earth that was challenging their greatness and captured the capital of their realm, Umbar. By this time the Númenóreans were becoming empire-builders, stripping distant mines bare for their own enrichment and colonising parts of Middle-earth for their own protection, rather than that of their elven allies. Indeed, after a time the Númenóreans ceased to be concerned with the affairs of the elves, save only the Lords of Andúnië, who now called themselves the “Faithful”, and kept open the lines of contact with Lindon. In 2350 SA the Faithful volunteered their ships to colonise the mouth of the River Anduin, the Great River of north-western Middle-earth, and in this year established the fortress and city of Pelargir, which was kept forevermore as a bastion of the Faithful.
Now the Kings of Númenor grew proud indeed. During the reign of Tar-Atanamir (2029-2221 SA) they began to speak openly against the ban against travelling west to Valinor, but they did not dare too much, for they still feared the Valar. But the later Kings dared much more. Tar-Calmacil become King of Númenor in 2737 SA after winning great lands along the coast of the Harad and sending troops exploring up to the very borders of Mordor, encouraging Sauron to seek new conquests in the East. Tar-Calmacil became the first of the Kings to have his name inscribed in the tongue of Númenor, Adûnaic, rather than Quenya, although his Quenya name was still inscribed in the Roll of Kings out of tradition. In Adûnaic his name was Ar-Belzagar, and upon hearing this the Faithful were filled with despair, for in this mode the title of King of Númenor was changed to Lord of the West, but in the minds of the Faithful there was only one Lord of the West and his name was Manwë. Any other claiming that title was foolhardy indeed.
Then in 2899 SA the new King of Númenor, Tar-Herunúmen, openly ruled under the name Ar-Adûnakhôr, and those kings who followed him also proclaimed their names in Adûnaic, save only Tar-Palantir, who repented the ways of his insolent forebears. But Tar-Palantir had no sons, only a daughter, Míriel, and when he died in 3255 SA she was taken forcibly to wife by Tar-Palantir’s cousin Pharazôn, who claimed the title of King of Númenor and Lord of the West.
The Downfall of Numenor, by Ted Nasmith.
The Fall of Númenor and the Flight of the Faithful
After usurping the throne of Númenor, Ar-Pharazôn decreed that the time had come to put an end to the threat of the Dark Lord against the land of Westernesse and assembled a great army. This he put ashore at Umbar late in the year 3261 SA. Early in 3262 SA this army passed nigh to the pass leading from the verdant land of Ithilien into Mordor and prepared for battle, but in startlement the Númenóreans beheld a single figure alone coming forth. This was indeed Sauron, who surrendered himself to the custody of Ar-Pharazôn, claiming to have been overawed by the might of Númenor and to have seen the wisdom in serving the Lords of the West. Ar-Pharazôn was easily convinced this was so and he took Sauron in chains back to Númenor.
But once in Númenor Sauron did not long stay in chains, but whispered golden words in Ar-Pharazôn’s ear. And soon on the summit of Meneltarma, the great mountain of Númenor, Ar-Pharazôn had raised a great temple dedicated to the worship of Morgoth Lord of the Dark, and Ar-Pharazôn spoke openly of his rage against the Valar for banning the westwards passage to Valinor. At this the Faithful quailed in fear, not knowing what the King would do in his madness. But Sauron spread more poison in the ear of Ar-Pharazôn, telling him of the way through the Shadowy Seas to the mouth of the Calacirya, and of how Valinor was not able to withstand attack. And Ar-Pharazôn heeded those words and built a colossal fleet he named the Great Armament.
When this began, the Faithful knew the end of Númenor had come. In many ships they fled for Pelargir, which they made into their fastness, but Amandil, Lord of Rómenna and Chief of the Faithful, refused to leave whilst Númenor still survived, and he tried in vain to counsel words of wisdom to the mighty of Númenor, but they did not heed him, and indeed some reported him as traitor and craven to the King. Amandil then fled from Númenor to seek the western way to Valinor, so he might seek the pardon of the Valar for the sins of Ar-Pharazôn, and limit their vengeance to the King alone, and he bade his son Elendil take the Faithful to Middle-earth. Elendil agreed, but tarried off the coast for a long time, waiting for a sign from the Valar that Amandil had succeeded in his mission.
But the only signs that came were ominous, for many great Eagles filled the skies over Númenor and the great temple of Morgoth was destroyed by lightning. Enraged, Ar-Pharazôn borded his flagship and led the Great Armament westwards, and at this Elendil turned to the east and fled for Middle-earth as fast as his ships could go.
Ar-Pharazôn passed through the protective enchantments of Valinor thanks to the will of Sauron and landed his army at the mouth of the Calacirya. But, as they made to invade Valinor itself, Manwë pronounced the Doom of the Númenóreans upon them. Of what happened to Ar-Pharazôn’s army, only the Valar know, save that none of them ever came back out of the west.
The Valar opened a great chasm in the seas around Númenor, and a colossal earthquake shattered the island, destroying all the cities of the Dúnedain in a matter of hours. Hundreds of thousands died, Armenelos was destroyed and even Sauron the Deceiver was slain, but in his evil cunning Sauron had left the One Ring behind in Barad-dûr, and as long as it endured so did he. His spirit fled the Downfall of Númenor and took form again in the Barad-dûr, assuming the shape of a powerful warrior clad in steel. And his servants had not been idle, for the Nine Rings had corrupted the great Kings of the East into evil, ghostly figures known as the Nazgûl, or Ringwraiths. The Nazgûl had raised a great strength of arms and Sauron now planned his stroke against his remaining foes, the elves of the north-west, and this time there would be no Númenórean intervention to save them.
The Realms in Exile
Yet Sauron miscalculated, for out of the west, barely outrunning the great tidal wave generated by the Downfall of Númenor, a number of ships bore Elendil the Tall to the shores of Middle-earth. He and his kin landed at Pelargir, bastion of the Faithful, where there had gathered many of the valiant men of Middle-earth opposed to Sauron, and with the arrival of the Númenórean survivors they were numerous indeed. This was in the 3,319th year of the Second Age. Elendil marched with his sons to that point where the White Mountains drew closest to the Mountains of Shadow on Mordor’s borders and there founded two great citadels. Minas Anor, the Tower of the Sun, was built on the eastern face of Mount Mindolluin and was encircled by tall and powerful walls seven times to make it impregnable to attack. Minas Anor Elendil entrusted to the care of his younger son, Anárion. Fifty miles away, opposite Minas Anor in the shadowed western pass of Mordor, Elendil built the Tower of the Moon, Minas Ithil, which he gave into the care of his eldest son and heir, Isildur. Between the two fortresses he built the great city of Osgiliath, City of the Stars, and announced the founding of the Land of Stone, Gondor, the South-kingdom of the Númenórean Realms in Exile. He then entrusted the rule of Gondor to his sons, and took ship for Lindon with another remnant of his people.
From Mithlond Elendil marched east, over the Hills of Evendim to the shores of Lake Nenuial. There, on the south-eastern shore of the lake, he founded the city of Annúminas and committed it as the capital of the Land of the King, Arnor. Further east, at the feet of the North Downs, he founded a smaller city and fortress, Fornost, and took counsel with Gil-galad and Elrond on the threat posed by Sauron.
For a century the Númenórean refugees had peace, enough time to complete the building of fortresses and raise great armies, for all knew that Sauron would now attempt to complete the destruction of his enemies.
After usurping the throne of Númenor, Ar-Pharazôn decreed that the time had come to put an end to the threat of the Dark Lord against the land of Westernesse and assembled a great army. This he put ashore at Umbar late in the year 3261 SA. Early in 3262 SA this army passed nigh to the pass leading from the verdant land of Ithilien into Mordor and prepared for battle, but in startlement the Númenóreans beheld a single figure alone coming forth. This was indeed Sauron, who surrendered himself to the custody of Ar-Pharazôn, claiming to have been overawed by the might of Númenor and to have seen the wisdom in serving the Lords of the West. Ar-Pharazôn was easily convinced this was so and he took Sauron in chains back to Númenor.
But once in Númenor Sauron did not long stay in chains, but whispered golden words in Ar-Pharazôn’s ear. And soon on the summit of Meneltarma, the great mountain of Númenor, Ar-Pharazôn had raised a great temple dedicated to the worship of Morgoth Lord of the Dark, and Ar-Pharazôn spoke openly of his rage against the Valar for banning the westwards passage to Valinor. At this the Faithful quailed in fear, not knowing what the King would do in his madness. But Sauron spread more poison in the ear of Ar-Pharazôn, telling him of the way through the Shadowy Seas to the mouth of the Calacirya, and of how Valinor was not able to withstand attack. And Ar-Pharazôn heeded those words and built a colossal fleet he named the Great Armament.
When this began, the Faithful knew the end of Númenor had come. In many ships they fled for Pelargir, which they made into their fastness, but Amandil, Lord of Rómenna and Chief of the Faithful, refused to leave whilst Númenor still survived, and he tried in vain to counsel words of wisdom to the mighty of Númenor, but they did not heed him, and indeed some reported him as traitor and craven to the King. Amandil then fled from Númenor to seek the western way to Valinor, so he might seek the pardon of the Valar for the sins of Ar-Pharazôn, and limit their vengeance to the King alone, and he bade his son Elendil take the Faithful to Middle-earth. Elendil agreed, but tarried off the coast for a long time, waiting for a sign from the Valar that Amandil had succeeded in his mission.
But the only signs that came were ominous, for many great Eagles filled the skies over Númenor and the great temple of Morgoth was destroyed by lightning. Enraged, Ar-Pharazôn borded his flagship and led the Great Armament westwards, and at this Elendil turned to the east and fled for Middle-earth as fast as his ships could go.
Ar-Pharazôn passed through the protective enchantments of Valinor thanks to the will of Sauron and landed his army at the mouth of the Calacirya. But, as they made to invade Valinor itself, Manwë pronounced the Doom of the Númenóreans upon them. Of what happened to Ar-Pharazôn’s army, only the Valar know, save that none of them ever came back out of the west.
The Valar opened a great chasm in the seas around Númenor, and a colossal earthquake shattered the island, destroying all the cities of the Dúnedain in a matter of hours. Hundreds of thousands died, Armenelos was destroyed and even Sauron the Deceiver was slain, but in his evil cunning Sauron had left the One Ring behind in Barad-dûr, and as long as it endured so did he. His spirit fled the Downfall of Númenor and took form again in the Barad-dûr, assuming the shape of a powerful warrior clad in steel. And his servants had not been idle, for the Nine Rings had corrupted the great Kings of the East into evil, ghostly figures known as the Nazgûl, or Ringwraiths. The Nazgûl had raised a great strength of arms and Sauron now planned his stroke against his remaining foes, the elves of the north-west, and this time there would be no Númenórean intervention to save them.
The Realms in Exile
Yet Sauron miscalculated, for out of the west, barely outrunning the great tidal wave generated by the Downfall of Númenor, a number of ships bore Elendil the Tall to the shores of Middle-earth. He and his kin landed at Pelargir, bastion of the Faithful, where there had gathered many of the valiant men of Middle-earth opposed to Sauron, and with the arrival of the Númenórean survivors they were numerous indeed. This was in the 3,319th year of the Second Age. Elendil marched with his sons to that point where the White Mountains drew closest to the Mountains of Shadow on Mordor’s borders and there founded two great citadels. Minas Anor, the Tower of the Sun, was built on the eastern face of Mount Mindolluin and was encircled by tall and powerful walls seven times to make it impregnable to attack. Minas Anor Elendil entrusted to the care of his younger son, Anárion. Fifty miles away, opposite Minas Anor in the shadowed western pass of Mordor, Elendil built the Tower of the Moon, Minas Ithil, which he gave into the care of his eldest son and heir, Isildur. Between the two fortresses he built the great city of Osgiliath, City of the Stars, and announced the founding of the Land of Stone, Gondor, the South-kingdom of the Númenórean Realms in Exile. He then entrusted the rule of Gondor to his sons, and took ship for Lindon with another remnant of his people.
From Mithlond Elendil marched east, over the Hills of Evendim to the shores of Lake Nenuial. There, on the south-eastern shore of the lake, he founded the city of Annúminas and committed it as the capital of the Land of the King, Arnor. Further east, at the feet of the North Downs, he founded a smaller city and fortress, Fornost, and took counsel with Gil-galad and Elrond on the threat posed by Sauron.
For a century the Númenórean refugees had peace, enough time to complete the building of fortresses and raise great armies, for all knew that Sauron would now attempt to complete the destruction of his enemies.
The Last Battle of the Last Alliance, by Entar0178.
Late in the year 3429 SA Sauron launched his renewed attack upon the free peoples of Middle-earth. His armies marched forth, led by the Nazgûl, and seized Minas Ithil by force of arms. Isildur escaped the fortress with most of his troops and led a fighting retreat to Osgiliath. His brother Anárion came forth from Minas Anor with great strength and there at Osgiliath a mighty battle was fought. Sauron’s armies were halted, though not destroyed, and Isildur resolved to go north and alert his father and the elves to the new threat posed by Sauron. Comitting the South-kingdom to Anárion, Isildur rode to Annúminas with great haste.
Elendil and Gil-galad now formed the Last Alliance of Men and Elves and raised their armies to march to the relief of Gondor, although this was a long task taking over a year. Many elves of Lindon joined Elendil’s host, and Gil-galad came personally to lead them. Elrond led a large force from Imladris, and many elves came over the moutains from Lórinand and North Greenwood as well. Elendil raised the hosts of Arnor and with great strength the Last Alliance set forth, but was much delayed in the passage of the High Passes, for savage men allied to Sauron assaulted them out of the land known as Dunland (by way of the Redhorn Pass and the Gap of Calendardhon), and many fell Orcs came forth from the Misty Mountains.
After the lengthy delay the host of the Alliance came down the east bank of Anduin, and skirting the Emyn Muil (Drear Hills) they came to the Dagorlad, which was after called the Battle-plain, and before the Black Gate of Mordor launched their assault on Sauron’s army in 3434 SA, for Sauron had comitted his greatest forces against Osgiliath and was late in sending his army north to meet this greater threat. Sauron miscalculated and his army was destroyed piecemeal by the Alliance, who forced the Morannon and the Isenmouthe and came down onto the Plateau of Gorgoroth. Then their armies surrounded Barad-dûr itself, allowing no entry or exit, but the fortress could not be stormed for it lay amidst a moat of lava, and its fortifications were strong. Anárion led the army of Gondor forwards and retook Minas Ithil and joined the Siege, and Sauron’s prospects now looked bleak indeed.
But Sauron held out for seven years. In the sixth year of the siege a missile was fired from the Dark Tower which felled Anárion, leaving Isildur as Elendil’s only heir. But then Sauron resolved to break the enemy, and comitted all his troops to forcing a way out of the tower. Sauron and his troops punched through the enemy lines and escaped south to Mount Doom, where they turned and stood, and thus begun the Last Battle of the Last Alliance.
In that battle the Alliance had the victory, for once the free peoples enjoyed the superiority of numbers, but Sauron himself came forth wielding the power of the Ring, and in that last battle Gil-galad was killed, and Elendil felled, and Isildur overcome. But ere Sauron could slay him, Isildur took up his father’s shattered sword, Narsil, and sliced the Ring from Sauron’s finger. And in that moment Sauron was vanquished, and the Nazgûl scattered to the shadows, and all Sauron’s armies filled with disquiet, and fled or were slain.
So ended the Second Age. The Númenóreans had their revenge upon Sauron, who they now considered dead entirely, and Isildur took the Ring for himself. But Elrond and Círdan were filled with disquiet, and bade Isildur take the Ring into Mount Doom and cast it into the flames, but Isildur refused, keeping the Ring in honour of his fallen kingdom and his slain brother and father. So, evil was allowed to endure.
Parts 7-10 of the History of Middle-earth Series are available to read now on my Patreon feed as follows:
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Thursday, 17 August 2017
Season 2 of THE EXPANSE hits Netflix UK on 8 September
Apparently, Season 2 of The Expanse will land on Netflix UK on Friday, 8 September.
The second season of the show, which airs on SyFy in the US, originally aired from February to May this year, and was anticipated on Netflix in June. Bizarrely, the streaming service has held off on broadcasting the show, resulting in both significant levels of piracy and also people perfectly legally buying the already-released DVD and Blu-Ray box sets. The reason for the delay is unknown.
It's also unclear if the entire season is landing in one go (which you'd assume would be the case) or will be stripped over thirteen weeks like in the olden days.
Fortunately, Netflix's laxity has not damaged the success of the series: production of Season 3 began a few weeks ago and is now well underway, for broadcast in 2018. The Season 1 finale also picked up Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) at the recent Hugo Awards in Helsinki.
The second season of the show, which airs on SyFy in the US, originally aired from February to May this year, and was anticipated on Netflix in June. Bizarrely, the streaming service has held off on broadcasting the show, resulting in both significant levels of piracy and also people perfectly legally buying the already-released DVD and Blu-Ray box sets. The reason for the delay is unknown.
It's also unclear if the entire season is landing in one go (which you'd assume would be the case) or will be stripped over thirteen weeks like in the olden days.
Fortunately, Netflix's laxity has not damaged the success of the series: production of Season 3 began a few weeks ago and is now well underway, for broadcast in 2018. The Season 1 finale also picked up Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) at the recent Hugo Awards in Helsinki.
Next STAR WARS standalone movie will (probably) be about Obi-Wan Kenobi
Disney and Lucasfilm have quasi-confirmed that the 2020 Star Wars movie will be a stand-alone prequel focusing on Obi-Wan Kenobi, surprising exactly no-one but still pleasing a lot of people anyway.
The next Star Wars movie will be Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, directed by Rian Johnson and due out in December. This will be followed by a Han Solo-focused prequel move in 2018, currently still scheduled for May 2018 but after a chaotic shoot and the firing of the directors (and their replacement with Ron Howard), this may change. Episode IX is then scheduled to follow in 2019, directed by Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow. Disney had pencilled in a third stand-alone movie for 2020 but had not confirmed the premise, apparently considering competing ideas focusing on Obi-Wan, Boba Fett or Yoda.
The Obi-Wan movie originally sounded like the least likely of the three ideas, but Ewan Mcgregor enthusiastically endorsed the idea, pointing out that he's now the right age to play Obi-Wan mid-way between his exile to Tatooine in Revenge of the Sith and his return as an old man in A New Hope. The animated series Star Wars: Rebels, which also teased some ideas for Rogue One in its second season, seemed to back this up with a storyline featuring Obi-Wan on Tatooine, looking over Luke from afar and battling a resurrected Darth Maul thirsting for revenge (it's better than it sounds).
Lucasfilm are apparently in discussions with Stephen Daldry, the director of Billy Elliott and The Hours, to helm the film, suggesting they may be open to considering a more character-focused movie. Mcgregor is not yet officially attached, but I have a hard time believing that Disney wouldn't tap him for the project.
As for story ideas, whilst it's generally assumed that Obi-Wan spent nineteen years just hanging out on Tatooine, it is perfectly possible that he did take off for some solo adventures in that time, maybe keeping tabs on Luke through the Force or something. Basically, I don't care and just want to see Ewan Mcgregor playing Obi-Wan in a movie that isn't awful.
More news as we get it.
The next Star Wars movie will be Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, directed by Rian Johnson and due out in December. This will be followed by a Han Solo-focused prequel move in 2018, currently still scheduled for May 2018 but after a chaotic shoot and the firing of the directors (and their replacement with Ron Howard), this may change. Episode IX is then scheduled to follow in 2019, directed by Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow. Disney had pencilled in a third stand-alone movie for 2020 but had not confirmed the premise, apparently considering competing ideas focusing on Obi-Wan, Boba Fett or Yoda.
The Obi-Wan movie originally sounded like the least likely of the three ideas, but Ewan Mcgregor enthusiastically endorsed the idea, pointing out that he's now the right age to play Obi-Wan mid-way between his exile to Tatooine in Revenge of the Sith and his return as an old man in A New Hope. The animated series Star Wars: Rebels, which also teased some ideas for Rogue One in its second season, seemed to back this up with a storyline featuring Obi-Wan on Tatooine, looking over Luke from afar and battling a resurrected Darth Maul thirsting for revenge (it's better than it sounds).
Lucasfilm are apparently in discussions with Stephen Daldry, the director of Billy Elliott and The Hours, to helm the film, suggesting they may be open to considering a more character-focused movie. Mcgregor is not yet officially attached, but I have a hard time believing that Disney wouldn't tap him for the project.
As for story ideas, whilst it's generally assumed that Obi-Wan spent nineteen years just hanging out on Tatooine, it is perfectly possible that he did take off for some solo adventures in that time, maybe keeping tabs on Luke through the Force or something. Basically, I don't care and just want to see Ewan Mcgregor playing Obi-Wan in a movie that isn't awful.
More news as we get it.
Pornographic website offers to fund future seasons of SENSE8
Adult entertainment website XHamster has offered to pick up Netflix's recently-cancelled TV series Sense8, in an apparently serious proposal to series showrunner Lana Wachowski.
Sense8's second season aired earlier this year to apparently disappointing viewing figures, especially compared to the show's lavish $9 million-an-episode budget (the second-highest on American television, behind only Game of Thrones). Netflix regretfully pulled the plug, but after an intense fan campaign, agreed to produce a two-hour finale movie so Lana Wachowski and co-writer J. Michael Straczynski could wrap up the cliffhanger ending the show was left on.
Now XHamster has stepped in, posting an open letter to the Wachowski sisters (Lilly Wachowski stepped back from Season 2 of Sense8 after co-producing the first season, but may return for the finale) in which they make a serious offer to pick up the series properly, presumably meaning they would fund the remaining three years of the planned five-season run. Obviously this would require Netflix licensing the property to an adult website, but given Netflix's own history of giving a new home to previously-cancelled series (like Gilmore Girls and Arrested Development), they may be open to the notion.
Certainly XHamster has the financial firepower to make it happen. The website is one of the biggest and most heavily-trafficked on the entire Internet, dwarfing almost every single news outlet and bringing in colossal revenues from advertising. XHamster doesn't have much of an outlay cost, since most of their own content comes from other companies or is, er, crowd-sourced, so they end up making stupendous amounts of money and not doing very much with it. As the XHamster statement says, they can easily afford to produce Sense8 at the same level as Netflix was able to, which is mind-boggling.
Whether this idea goes anywhere remains to be seen, but I'm pretty sure that fans of the show would be happy to see the full five-year story concluded according to the Wachowskis and Straczynski's vision. We await their official response - and Netflix's - with interest.
Sense8's second season aired earlier this year to apparently disappointing viewing figures, especially compared to the show's lavish $9 million-an-episode budget (the second-highest on American television, behind only Game of Thrones). Netflix regretfully pulled the plug, but after an intense fan campaign, agreed to produce a two-hour finale movie so Lana Wachowski and co-writer J. Michael Straczynski could wrap up the cliffhanger ending the show was left on.
Now XHamster has stepped in, posting an open letter to the Wachowski sisters (Lilly Wachowski stepped back from Season 2 of Sense8 after co-producing the first season, but may return for the finale) in which they make a serious offer to pick up the series properly, presumably meaning they would fund the remaining three years of the planned five-season run. Obviously this would require Netflix licensing the property to an adult website, but given Netflix's own history of giving a new home to previously-cancelled series (like Gilmore Girls and Arrested Development), they may be open to the notion.
Certainly XHamster has the financial firepower to make it happen. The website is one of the biggest and most heavily-trafficked on the entire Internet, dwarfing almost every single news outlet and bringing in colossal revenues from advertising. XHamster doesn't have much of an outlay cost, since most of their own content comes from other companies or is, er, crowd-sourced, so they end up making stupendous amounts of money and not doing very much with it. As the XHamster statement says, they can easily afford to produce Sense8 at the same level as Netflix was able to, which is mind-boggling.
Whether this idea goes anywhere remains to be seen, but I'm pretty sure that fans of the show would be happy to see the full five-year story concluded according to the Wachowskis and Straczynski's vision. We await their official response - and Netflix's - with interest.
Wednesday, 16 August 2017
BABYLON 5 Rewatch: Season 2, Episodes 1-2
Season 2: The
Coming of Shadows
“The Babylon
Project was our last, best hope for peace. A self-contained world five miles
long, located in neutral territory. A place of commerce and diplomacy for a
quarter of a million humans and aliens. A shining beacon in space, all alone in
night.
“It was the dawn
of the Third Age of Mankind, the year the Great War came upon us all.
“This is the story
of the last of the Babylon stations. The year is 2259. The name of the place is
Babylon 5.”
- Earthforce
Captain John Sheridan
Regular Cast
Captain John Sheridan Bruce
Boxleitner
Commander Susan Ivanova Claudia
Christian
Security Chief Michael Garibaldi Jerry Doyle
Ambassador Delenn Mira
Furlan
Dr. Stephen Franklin Richard
Biggs
Lt. Warren Keffer Robert
Rusler
Talia Winters Andrea
Thompson
Vir Cotto Stephen
Furst
Lennier Bill
Mumy
Na’Toth Mary
Kay Adams
Ambassador G’Kar Andreas
Katsulas
Ambassador Londo Mollari Peter
Jurasik
Credits
Creator J.
Michael Straczynski
Producer John
Copeland
Executive Producers J.
Michael Straczynski & Douglas Netter
Script Editor Lawrence
G. DiTillio
Conceptual Consultant Harlan
Ellison
Production Designer John
Iacovelli
Constume Designer Anne
Bruice-Aling
Visual Effects Designer Ron
Thornton
Visual Effects Producers Foundation
Imaging
Makeup Supervisor John
Vulich
Makeup Producers Optic
Nerve Studios
Music Composer Christopher
Franke
Music Performers Christopher Franke & the Berlin
Symphonic Film Orchestra
Between-Season Changes
A number of significant changes took place on Babylon 5 between the production of
Season 1 and Season 2. The most notable was the change in lead actor: Michael
O’Hare departed the show and was replaced by Bruce Boxleitner playing new
character Captain John Sheridan. The change happened in such a way that O’Hare
was unable to film a farewell scene, and J. Michael Straczynski had to explain
the departure in the first issue of the Babylon
5 comic book instead
At the time, Straczynski said that Sinclair’s departure was
a creative choice: with the mystery of the Battle of the Line to be resolved
early in Season 2, Sinclair suddenly became a character to bounce exposition
off and he had no actual stake in the new storylines that were becoming more
important. Straczynski also indicated that O’Hare had the option to return to
acting on stage in New York, which he missed. Straczynski claimed that he and
O’Hare discussed the situation and, using a Lord
of the Rings analogy, decided that Sinclair would leave the show like the
Fellowship of the Ring splitting and then return later on to round off his
storyline.
Some fans were sceptical of this choice, some believing that
Warner Brothers wanted a better-known actor in the lead role and others
claiming that the studio wanted O’Hare gone as they were unhappy with his performance.
However, given that the first season had been a moderate success with O’Hare in
the role, this seemed unlikely.
Many years later, after Michael O’Hare’s premature death
from a heart attack in 2012, Straczynski agreed to reveal the truth. O’Hare had
been suffering from mental health issues which gradually worsened over the
course of the gruelling filming schedule for the first season. This manifested
as paranoid delusions, with O’Hare convinced that people were out to get him or
control him. Jerry Doyle, who played Garibaldi, confirmed this on his radio
talk show and by the end of the season had effectively decided he couldn’t work
with him anymore. Before that point, O’Hare confessed the severity of his
condition to Straczynski and they agreed that O’Hare should leave the show for
his own good. Straczynski did offer to delay production by a few months so
O’Hare could seek treatment, but O’Hare did not want to endanger production or
other people’s jobs. After leaving the show, O’Hare did manage to get the worst
excesses of his condition under control and he returned for episodes B9 and C16-C17. Straczynski offered to keep the secret until his death but
O’Hare suggested he keep it only until his
death, as he felt that fans deserved to (eventually) know the truth and it
might help people facing the same problem. Straczynski eventually revealed the
truth at the Phoenix Comic-Con in 2013.
The change in actor resulted in some shuffling of the
planned storylines for the opening episodes. Straczynski worked on creating a
new lead character, someone who could have a direct tie to the unfolding
storyline. This also involved shuffling events around in the opening few
episodes. The planned opener, Chrysalis, Part 2 (although this was only ever a working title), was dropped back
to second place and a new introductory episode was penned for the new
character. This also allowed JMS to have a pause between two very intense,
complex episodes (A22 and B2) to allow the viewers to catch their
breath (especially since in the US the show moved straight into Season 2 after Chrysalis was aired for the first time).
A number of actors were considered for the role of Captain John Sheridan,
including relatively big names like James Earl Jones (the voice of Darth Vader
in Star Wars, a bomber crewman in Dr.
Strangelove and Jack Ryan’s boss in Clear and Present Danger and Patriot
Games) and John Rhys-Davies (Professor Arturo in Sliders, Salla in the first three Indiana Jones films and Gimli in the Lord
of the Rings films), but it ultimately went to Bruce Boxleitner,
best known for his leading role in Scarecrow
& Mrs. King and the title role in the film Tron.
The other major cast change was that, between seasons, Julie
Caitlin Brown (who played Na’Toth) decided to leave to pursue the chance to
appear in films and also because she was developing severe allergies to the
make-up used. Straczynski elected to recast Na’Toth and Mary Kay Adams (best
known for playing the Klingon Grilka in two episodes of Deep Space Nine) was introduced to take over the role. Adams and Straczynski
clashed over her “soft” interpretation of Na’Toth and she left the series after
just two episodes. Straczynski later managed to convince Julie Catilin Brown to
reprise the role for a single episode in Season 5.
A new regular cast member was also introduced, Robert Rusler
as Lt. Warren Keffer. JMS needed someone to tie into the ongoing storyline in
Season 2 as well as satisfy Warner Brothers’ complaints about the station
commander always leading fighter missions in Season 1 when that just wouldn’t
happen in real life. Straczynski resented this note and always planned to kill
Keffer off as soon as possible.
Ex-Taxi and Grease star Jeff Conaway (Kenickie!) had
become a major fan of the series during Season 1 and instructed his agent to
get him onto the show by any means necessary. He landed the role of recurring
security officer Zack Allan in episode B6
and remained with the series until the end.
JMS originally planned to have Ivanova narrate the Season 2
opening titles. The change in lead actor necessitated having Sheridan do it
instead. Bruce Boxleitner re-recorded the narration from episode B4 onwards
to make it stronger (and also because the title sequence was complete by that
point, making the synchronisation of narration and visuals easier). A new
version of the theme tune was also arranged by Christopher Franke. He ‘tweaked’
the music slightly from episode B4 onwards. The Season 2 opening credits
were also altered from episode B3 onwards to show the new-look Delenn.
The Season 2 title sequence features a “5” logo appearing
behind each character before warping the next character over the top. This was
a very complicated effect to pull off in 1994 and was extremely time-consuming
for the editors and the effects team, so Seasons 3-5 feature somewhat more
straightforward title cards.
Episodes planned but not made for this season included The Customer is Always Right and Unnatural Selection (aka All Our Songs Forgotten) by D.C.
Fontana, Expectations by David
Gerrold and The Very Long Night of Susan
Ivanova by Straczynski (he later repurposed the plot – but not the
storyline – for Londo in Season 5). Additional attempts to bring Harlan
Ellison’s Demon on the Run to the
screen also failed.
Between seasons Foundation Imaging upgraded their computers
again, resulting in more and more ambitious CGI. During Season 1 they were
using a mixture of Commodore Amigas equipped with Video Toaster cards and PCs,
but during Season 2 switched over to high-end PCs running early-generation
graphic cards. This resulted in improved visual quality and somewhat faster
turn-around times for shots.
MORE AFTER THE JUMP
Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie
Breq, the former starship AI-turned-military-officer, has secured the Atheok system and plans to wait out the civil war raging between the fragmented selves of Anaander Mianaai whilst investigating the ongoing mysterious events in the neighbouring Ghost system. But events will not wait for Breq and she soon discovers that the fates of everyone in the Atheok system may depend on what she does next.
Ancillary Justice was a refreshing, smart and interesting science fiction novel. Its sequel, Ancillary Sword, was a major letdown, a work that sprawled and felt at times that the author wasn't sure what direction to take the story. Ancillary Mercy, which concludes the trilogy, ranks somewhere inbetween. This is definitely a more directed, more focused work that rounds off the thematic elements of the trilogy more or less satisfyingly, but on a more prosaic plot level is less impressive.
On the character side of things, Mercy crystallises when Justice did so well and Sword occasionally struggled with: the interrogation of self, identity and self-realisation. Breq is a creation of the Imperial Radch, but she is not Radchaii and can view their culture from both outside and the perspective of one of its servants. The Radchaii believe they are civilised, but they are also intolerant and imperialistic, stamping their identity on the civilisations they encounter. They are baffled by the idea of ethnic and religious differences amongst their more newly-conquered subjects and resort to violence a little too readily. Breq - ironically - is a humanist who abhors violence when it can be avoided and seeks understanding and diplomatic resolutions to crises, which confuses a lot of her supposed "fellow" Radchaii.
This internal cultural examination is successful, but ultimately doesn't expand much beyond what we learned back in the first novel: the Radchaii should chill out and stop killing people, basically. Much more interesting is the examination of the nature of identity and the interrogation of the nature of both Breq and the other AIs. This leads to a bit of an unexpected plot twist that satisfyingly helps tie up the story at the end of the book.
That story, however, is not the story that many readers thought they were reading about: the war between the Anaander Mianaai clones. This doesn't really end or peak in the book, and carries on after the novel ends. On a thematic level this is quite understandable: the war has been going on clandestinely for a thousand years, so it being wrapped up neatly in three books covering a couple of years is unlikely. On a plot level, however, it can't help but feel that Leckie has left plot hooks dangling for future books (and more novels in the Radch setting are forthcoming), which is fine but feels perhaps a little disingenuous for a series marketed firmly as a trilogy.
At the end of the book there's a big climax and a smart and clever ending which makes the trilogy certainly feel worthwhile. It's an interesting, thought-provoking series. But it's also one that feels passive and inert for a lot of its time, with a huge amount of important stuff going on behind the scenes or resolutely off-page. It can make for a series that's hard to love but easier to admire and respect: Leckie is dealing with a lot of ideas here and doing so in a manner that's often quite subtle.
Ancillary Mercy (***½) is a worthwhile, humanist finale to the Imperial Radch trilogy, but it isn't the grand, epic and stirring ending that I think some people were expecting. It is available now in the UK and USA.
Provenance, the next novel in the Imperial Radch setting (but not a direct sequel to this trilogy), will be published on 26 September 2017.
Ancillary Justice was a refreshing, smart and interesting science fiction novel. Its sequel, Ancillary Sword, was a major letdown, a work that sprawled and felt at times that the author wasn't sure what direction to take the story. Ancillary Mercy, which concludes the trilogy, ranks somewhere inbetween. This is definitely a more directed, more focused work that rounds off the thematic elements of the trilogy more or less satisfyingly, but on a more prosaic plot level is less impressive.
On the character side of things, Mercy crystallises when Justice did so well and Sword occasionally struggled with: the interrogation of self, identity and self-realisation. Breq is a creation of the Imperial Radch, but she is not Radchaii and can view their culture from both outside and the perspective of one of its servants. The Radchaii believe they are civilised, but they are also intolerant and imperialistic, stamping their identity on the civilisations they encounter. They are baffled by the idea of ethnic and religious differences amongst their more newly-conquered subjects and resort to violence a little too readily. Breq - ironically - is a humanist who abhors violence when it can be avoided and seeks understanding and diplomatic resolutions to crises, which confuses a lot of her supposed "fellow" Radchaii.
This internal cultural examination is successful, but ultimately doesn't expand much beyond what we learned back in the first novel: the Radchaii should chill out and stop killing people, basically. Much more interesting is the examination of the nature of identity and the interrogation of the nature of both Breq and the other AIs. This leads to a bit of an unexpected plot twist that satisfyingly helps tie up the story at the end of the book.
That story, however, is not the story that many readers thought they were reading about: the war between the Anaander Mianaai clones. This doesn't really end or peak in the book, and carries on after the novel ends. On a thematic level this is quite understandable: the war has been going on clandestinely for a thousand years, so it being wrapped up neatly in three books covering a couple of years is unlikely. On a plot level, however, it can't help but feel that Leckie has left plot hooks dangling for future books (and more novels in the Radch setting are forthcoming), which is fine but feels perhaps a little disingenuous for a series marketed firmly as a trilogy.
At the end of the book there's a big climax and a smart and clever ending which makes the trilogy certainly feel worthwhile. It's an interesting, thought-provoking series. But it's also one that feels passive and inert for a lot of its time, with a huge amount of important stuff going on behind the scenes or resolutely off-page. It can make for a series that's hard to love but easier to admire and respect: Leckie is dealing with a lot of ideas here and doing so in a manner that's often quite subtle.
Ancillary Mercy (***½) is a worthwhile, humanist finale to the Imperial Radch trilogy, but it isn't the grand, epic and stirring ending that I think some people were expecting. It is available now in the UK and USA.
Provenance, the next novel in the Imperial Radch setting (but not a direct sequel to this trilogy), will be published on 26 September 2017.
Cities of Fantasy: Golgotterath
Many of the cities of fantasy are places which are, at
worst, dystopias: places which might not be great places to live but at least
people can survive there on a day-to-day level. The bastions of true evil – the
Barad-dûrs and Skull Kingdoms and Shayol Ghuls – generally go unexplored in
fantasy, being relegated to vague descriptions of off-screen badness.
In Canadian fantasy author R. Scott Bakker’s Second Apocalypse series, comprising
the Prince of Nothing, Aspect-Emperor and No-God sub-series, the primary
bastion of evil goes by many names – Incû-Holoinas, Min-Uroikas, the Pit – but
one stands out more than any other: Golgotterath, stronghold of the Unholy
Consult.
A map of Golgotterath's exterior, by R. Scott Bakker.
Location
Golgotterath is located in the far north-west of the
continent of Eärwa. It is located in the midst of an arid landscape known as
the Black Furnace Plain, contained with a vast impact crater known as the
Occlusion, surrounded by the Ring Mountains. These are not true mountains, but
massive heaps of rock and dirt thrown into the sky and then down again by the
cataclysmic event known as Arkfall, the crash-landing of a multi-million-ton
vessel which took place many thousands of years ago. To the north and west lies
the colossal Yimaleti Mountains, whilst the south lies the Neleöst, the Misty
Sea. Extending east from the Ring Mountains for several hundred miles to the
River Sursa is a massive area of wasteland known as the Field Appalling,
Agongorea. This land is desolate, with nothing growing at all. The ground won’t
even accept footprints.
In ancient times the region was bordered by Cûnuroi (whom
humans call Nonmen) Mansions, with Viri lying to the east and Ishoriöl to the
south, beyond the sea. After the arrival of the Four Tribes of Men in Eärwa, human
nations arose to the south (Kûniüri) and east (Aörsi). These nations were
destroyed two thousand years ago in the savage war known as the Apocalypse.
Since this time Golgotterath has stood alone, the nearest settlements being
Ishterebinth (the modern name for the much-reduced Mansion of Ishoriöl), the
secret Dûnyain redoubt of Ishuäl, and the human cities of Atrithau and
Sakarpus, both more than a thousand miles distant. The densely-populated
kingdoms of the Three Seas lie almost two thousand miles away to the south. The
lands between, including the vast Istyuli Plains, are crawling with millions of
Sranc, the foul and abominable servants of Golgotterath. Anasûrimbor Kellhus,
the Aspect-Emperor of the Three Seas, has led the 300,000-strong army known as
the Great Ordeal onto the plains with the goal of destroying Golgotterath, but
the outcome of this expedition remains in question.
The Golden Horns of Golgotterath. Artwork by Jason Deem.
Physical Description
Golgotterath defies easy exposition. The area consists of a
series of fortresses, a city (of sorts) extending above and below ground, and
the most titanic walls ever built, extending for dozens of miles. But these
complexes, which outshine anything in the Three Seas, are utterly dwarfed into
insignificance by the Golden Horns of the Incû-Holoinas.
The Incû-Holoinas is a space-faring vessel. At some point in
the past – claimed by some Nonmen to be eight thousand years ago, others maybe
six thousand – the vessel crashed into Eärwa in a titanic roar which was heard
as far away as the shores of the Three Seas. Defying rationality, the vessel
was not destroyed but instead survived mostly intact, with more than two-thirds
of its length buried underground. Only the rear-most projections of the vessel
– the Horns themselves – extend above ground.
The two horns are gold in colour and covered in what appears
to be a script written in the Cincûlic language, the ancient and indecipherable
language of the Inchoroi species. One of the Horns was damaged in the crash and
lists slightly to one side, thus their frequent depiction as the “Canted Horn”
(the western-most of the two) and the “Upright Horn”. The Horns are titanic:
during the Great Investiture, the siege by the combined armies of Kûniüri,
Aörsi and Ishterebinth during the First Apocalypse, the mages of the Sohonc School
spent years conducting exacting measurements of Horns by measuring their
shadows and the occlusion of the Sun. They concluded that the Upright Horn measures
over 13,000 feet – or over two-and-a-half miles – in height from its base to
its tip. Nonmen records, curiously, suggest a height of almost twice this
amount, suggesting either that the Ark is slowly sinking over the passage of
time or that one or both of the two counts are highly erroneous. The function
of the Horns is unclear, but the Inchoroi used to refer to them as the “Oars of
the Ark”, suggesting they were involved in its propulsion through the void.
The two Horns meet the ground in a massive mound of stone
and slag, known as the Scab. When the Golden Ark slowed to a stop, the heat of
its arrival melted the surrounding rock down to lava. This came rushing in
above the vessel and then slowly cooled and hardened. The Scab prevents access
from the surface directly to the hull of the Incû-Holoinas; the vessel is only
accessible via the Horns themselves. The Scab is rocky, hard to cross and drops
away to the surrounding plain via a massive escarpment on all sides bar the
south-western. Although the escarpment is effectively unclimbable, the Consult
have raised tall walls (some rearing 90 feet above even the escarpment edge)
above it, punctuated by watch-towers. On the south-western side, the toil of
Inchoroi, Nonmen and men over millennia has cleared a path from the base of the
Upright Horn, where the only accessible portal to the vessel is located, down
to the plain. This stretch of land, modest in overall size, has seen more blood
spilled than anywhere else in the history of the World. It is the grave of
heroes.
This stretch of land begins outside the walls of
Golgotterath, on the plain-within-a-plain known as Ûgorrior. This is the dead
field that lies immediately before the gates of the fortress and is a kill-zone
within easy missile range of the walls and fortresses. Titanic walls, taller
than the walls of great cities like Momemn, Carythusal or Domyot, rise from the
floor to seal the gap in the escarpment. These walls are hinged on the twin
fortresses of Domathuz (in the south) and Corrunc (in the north). In the middle
of the two is Gwergiruh, a pentagon-shaped gatehouse of huge size. Between the
arms of the fortress lies the Ûbil Maw, the Extrinsic Gate of
Golgotterath itself.
Beyond, the escarpment has been smoothed down into a series
of tiered terraces, known as the Oblitus. Nine large terraces rise from ground
level. The ninth and tallest terrace lies before another fortress, the High
Cwol, which stares down at the plain below. Within the High Cwol is a bridge
leading over an abyss at the base of the Upright Horn. The final portal into
the Golden Horn, and into the Incû-Holoinas itself, lies at the far end of the
bridge, the famed Intrinsic Gate of myth.
Golgotterath is a city as well as a fortress, with heaps of
buildings, shacks and structures located on the terraces. Most of these lie in
the so-called Canal, the ground level inside the walls beneath the First
Terrace. Sranc, Nonmen and men in the service of the Consult dwell in these
rude dwellings.
The Incû-Holoinas itself is allegedly inhabited. During the
First Apocalypse, Anasûrimbor Nau-Cayûti and Seswatha, founder of the Mandate,
stole into the Ark to rescue Nau-Cayûti’s concubine and retrieve the fabled
Heron Spear. During their descent into the bowels of the vessel, they reported
finding a cavernous hold (one of many, if Nonmen records are to be believed) in
which a miserable and decrepit city of Sranc, Bashrags, men and other piteous
servants of the Consult could be found.
The environs around Golgotterath, cartography by Jason Deem.
Population
The population of Golgotterath is unknown.
It is known that only two Inchoroi have survived the passage
of ages since Arkfall: Aurang, the Warlord, and his brother Aurax, master of
the Tekne. Cet’ingira, the Man-Traitor, has brought many Nonmen into the fold,
mostly Erratics driven insane by the passage of ages, but many of them were
lost in the Apocalypse and, much more recently, the four-year assault on
Ishuäl. Men, followers of Shaeönanra, the ancient Grandvizier of the Mangaecca
who went over to the foe three thousand years ago, also serve the Consult, but
in numbers unknown.
The foul creations of the Inchoroi are far more numerous.
Largest of all is the population of Sranc, ancient and foul perversions of the
Nonmen into ravenous and lustful savages. A tall, powerful breed known as the
Ursranc are found within the walls of Golgotterath, whilst many thousands more
can be found breeding in the Yimaleti Mountains. Far more still can be found to
the west, on the Istyuli Plains, in hordes hundreds of thousands strong. Rarer
and more formidable are the Bashrags, tall and broad doubled-headed monsters.
Rarest of all are the Wracu, called dragons by men, sorcerous creatures of
formidable power. Most of the Wracu were annihilated during the ancient
Cûno-Inchoroi Wars, and several of the survivors were slain in the Apocalypse
thousands of years later. It is unknown how many Wracu survive.
Arkfall, by Jason Deem.
History
Over six thousand years ago (and maybe closer to eight), the
Incû-Holoinas came to the World. Within, it carried the Inchoroi, an ancient,
foul and obscene race. The Inchoroi believed that they were damned, that upon
death they would roil and burn for eternity in flames. They could only avoid
this fate by reducing the population of their homeworld to 144,000. But, this
achieved, they found they were still damned. Using their vast vessel, they
travelled from world to world, raining death down on each on, reducing the
populations to the same level. But still they found themselves condemned to the
hells.
Finally, they stumbled across the Chosen World, the world on
which the continent of Eärwa rests. Why this world was different is unknown.
They prepared to cleanse it, but an accident took place (the details of which
remain unclear). The Ark of the Heavens instead fell to the ground. The
Inchoroi triggered the Inertial Inversion Field, a blast of energy which
created a landing field for the Ark as well as dramatically slowing its descent.
But this force was not as effective as it should have been. The Ark’s impact
blasted millions of tons of rock, earth and rubble into the skies, sending a
reverberating crack around the world. A firestorm scoured the land in all directions
for hundreds of miles. The storm lashed even the walls of Viri, the nearest
Nonman Mansion, killing thousands whilst earthquakes killed tens of thousands
more in the deeps.
Inside the Ark, the impact was calamitous. The vessel
survived, but many inside were killed instantly, more still being heavily
injured. One of the two Horns, the great Oars of the Ark, became unhinged and
canted, robbing the vessel of the motive power to take off again. Most of the
Arsenal, the dread cache of weapons which had near-extinguished life on dozens
or hundreds of worlds, was destroyed or rendered inoperable. It is unknown how
many died inside the Ark, save that the Inchoroi put the combined death-toll of
Arkfall (inside and outside the vessel) at over ten million. Eventually, it fell
to one of the Inchoroi, Sil, to rouse his battered fellows. He loosed Wutteät,
the Father-of-Dragons, the Wracu template and his greatest weapon, and flew
from a portal high on the Upright Horn to observe the World. Inchoroi scouts
left the vessel (borne from the high portal to the ground by Wracu, as the
boiling cauldron of what was to become the Scab was fatal to even approach) and
in time two of these were captured by the Cûnuroi scout and fabled warrior
Ingalira. Unable to approach the vessel, Ingalira took the creatures back to
Viri, now a conquest of the bold High King Cû’jara Cinmoi of Siöl. Cû’jara
Cinmoi bid the creatures explain themselves, but the noises they made were
without meaning. Dubbing the creatures Inchoroi,
or “People of Emptiness”, Cû’jara Cinmoi put them to death (their ugly
appearance offended him) and set a Watch on the Fallen Ark whilst he made war
on the other Mansions.
The Inchoroi were masters of the Tekne, the art of machines
and science. Discovering their lacked the biological ability to communicate
with the Nonmen, they grafted Nonmen-like faces onto their own bodies and
learned the Nonman language. A delegation of Inchoroi then slipped past the
watchers and infiltrated Viri. There they contacted Nin’janjin, the former King
of Viri, and offered him a deal: they would offer military support to him in
ejecting the Siölan invaders in return for his help in achieving their goals.
Nin’janjin agreed. Viri rebelled and a great host of Inchoroi and Viri troops
gathered on the field of Pir Pahal, beyond the Neleost, to confront the armies
of Cû’jara Cinmoi. However, many of the Viri objected to the Inchoroi’s obscene
appearance and their practice of wearing festering bodies as garments of war.
They rejected Nin’janjin’s command and declared common cause with Cû’jara
Cinmoi against the creatures.
The Inchoroi took the Nonmen too lightly, trusting in their
weapons – particularly their spears of light which could inflict horrific
damage from heat over vast distances – too much. They had no knowledge of
sorcery and were unprepared for the power of the Gnosis. Although they
inflicted hideous casualties on the Nonmen, they were swept from the field and
Sil, High King of the Inchoroi, was slain, his Heron Spear taken up by Cû’jara
Cinmoi. Cinmoi was unable to complete his victory, instead having to confront
rebellions in distant corners of his empire. A renewed Watch was placed on the
Ark.
A century or more later, the Inchoroi sued for peace through
their representative, the Traitor-King Nin’janjin. Cû’jara Cinmoi, by now aged
and approached death, was amazed to see his once-vassal was untouched by the
passage of time. Nin’janjin begged for peace and asked what boon the Inchoroi
could provide to win their freedom. Cinmoi replied that he wanted the same gift
that Nin’janjin had received, to be able to live forever and have the threat of
death removed. The Inchoroi agreed, and administered the Inoculation, the
treatment that rendered the Nonmen immortal.
Over one hundred years later, the depth of the Inchoroi plan
was revealed. The Nonmen were immortal, but then the entire female half of
their species fell ill, sickened and died. The Womb Plague killed over half of
the entire Nonman species, millions upon millions of them. In utter fury,
Cû’jara Cinmoi raised the forces of all nine High Mansions against the Inchoroi
and fought them on the Black Furnace Plain before the Ark, which was now called
Min-Uroikas, the Pit of Obscenities. The Battle of Pir Minginnial was long,
hard-fought and filled with victories for both sides. But ultimately the battle
was won by the Inchoroi, the Traitor-King Nin’janjin striking down and
beheading Cû’jara Cinmoi himself. The Nonmen fled and for five centuries
suffered setbacks and defeats. Great Scaldings blasted the walls of Mansions
large and small, Wracu and newly-forged Sranc and Bashrags unleashed in their
thousands and Tekne trinkets known as Chorae defying the Gnosis itself.
The Cûno-Inchoroi Wars ended, however, in defeat for the
Inchoroi. Nil’giccas, High King of Nihrimsûl and Ishoriöl, raised a great host
and defeated the Inchoroi at the Battle of Isal’imial, throwing down the gates
of Min-Uroikas and finally storming the Golden Ark itself. The Inchoroi were
massacred, the Sranc destroyed in such numbers that for centuries they were
reduced to mere inconveniences scrabbling at the margins of Eärwa, and
apparently the endless war was won. Though it took twenty years, the Ark was cleansed, passage-by-passage,
room-by-room and chamber-by-chamber. All aside one.
Deep in the Ark lay the Golden Court of Sil, the throne-room
of the Inchoroi King. In this chamber, there was also an artifact of unknown capability and origin: the Inverse Fire. Every
Nonman who beheld this object went insane on the instant, declaring that the
Inchoroi were right and that the Nonmen were damned to an eternity of fire and
hell as well. This was the room which had turned Nin’janjin and countless
Nonmen Qûya mages to the foe, convincing them to create the Chorae and betray
their people. Nil’giccas sent his three greatest heroes, the warriors
Misariccas and Rûnidil and the mage Cet’ingira, to investigate further. Misariccas
and Rûnidil
returned gibbering and raving, but Cet’ingira was silent. Nil’giccas demanded
his report and Cet’ingira replied that his comrades had gone over to the foe
and needed to be put to death, immediately. Nil’giccas complied. He then
ordered that the Ark be evacuated and a sorcerous barrier, the Barricades, be
placed over the remaining portal to prevent entry. The Ark could not be
destroyed, so instead it was abandoned, sealed off and forgotten.
Thousands of years passed. The Four Tribes of Men invaded
Eärwa through the Great Kayarsus Mountains, throwing down Siöl itself in the Breaking
of the Gates. The Nonman Mansions fell, only Ishoriöl and Cil-Aujas surviving.
The Norsirai, proudest of the Tribes, settled the North, raising towns and then
cities along the Aumris River Valley and later the first kingdoms and empires.
Peace was forged between Man and Nonman, Nil’giccas sending his greatest Qûya
and warriors among the humans to teach them the ways of the Gnosis and bind
them as allies. So began the Nonman Tutelage, and for the first time the words Incû-Holoinas and Min-Uroikas became known to men, albeit at first as legends and
myths.
Cet’ingira was one of these teachers, a Siqû, and he found
himself willing students and allies among the Mangaecca, a newly-founded
Gnostic school of sorcery. He had lied when he had said he had resisted the
Fire. Instead, he had been struck by its power but also retained his instinct
for self-preservation. Now he told the Mangaecca of the location of the Golden
Horns and soon they had located it. Basing themselves in the ruins of Viri and
pretending to scour its depths for secrets, instead they put themselves to work
on the Golden Ark. They raised the walls around the fallen vessel and rebuilt
the fallen Extrinsic Gate. They then put themselves to the task of removing the
Barricades, the construction of the fabled Artisan Emilidis, but could not
succeed. The Barricades defied every attempt to remove them for almost four
hundred years.
Then Shaeönanra, Grandvizier of the Mangaecca, and
Cet’ingira combined their powers. They found a weakness and unravelled it. In
the Year-of-the-Tusk 1111 the Barricades fell and they entered the Golden Ark.
They found the last two surviving Inchoroi, Aurax and Aurang, and thus the
Unholy Consult, the pact of damnation which would echo through eternity, was
forged. Barely eight years later the Consult claimed their first victim.
Shaeönanra and Aurang slew Titirga, Grandmaster of the Sohonc and the greatest
sorcerer in history, and the greatest threat to their plans. A few years later
Shaeönanra declared the Mangaecca’s discovering, claiming that within the Ark
he had found a way of negating the threat of damnation that was the lot of
every sorcerer. He was reviled and his school outlawed, its few remaining practitioners
fleeing to the Incû-Holoinas, or as the entire complex was now known,
Golgotterath. Shaeönanra survived, kept alive by a fusion of the Tekne and the
Gnosis.
One thousand years later, the Unholy Consult finally
achieved their goal. The Nonmen had an inkling of what was happening – an
Apocalypse in the waiting – and warned their greatest ally, Seswatha of the
Sohonc. Seswatha in turn raised the alarm to his friend Anasûrimbor Celmomas
II, High King of Kûniüri. Celmomas assembled the greatest army in history, the
First Ordeal, backed by the power of Aörsi and Ishterebinth, and marched on the
Golden Ark. Two sieges of the vessel proved ineffectual. At one stage Seswatha
and Celmomas’s son Nau-Cayûti stole inside the Ark to recover the Heron Spear,
but the Consult allegedly slew Nau-Cayûti in response, defiling his grave
afterwards. Furious, the armies of Kûniüri re-invested the Ark but just a few
months later suffered the event known as Initiation: the birth of the No-God.
The ferocious Whirlwind of the No-God, directing a horde of Sranc numbering in
the hundreds of thousands, destroyed armies of Kûniüri on the Black Furnace
Plain and then obliterated what was left on the Fields of Eleneöt. The Horde of
the No-God ravaged Earwa, destroying the Meörn Empire, Akksersia, the Shiradi
Empire and even fabled Kyraneas, the jewel of the Three Seas.
It fell to the remnants of shattered Kyraneas to engage the
Horde of the No-God at the Battle of Mengedda. As the Whirlwind raged above,
King Anaxophus V raised the Heron Spear he had salvaged from the Eleneöt Field
and cast a beam of light into its heart. The No-God was killed, its horde
scattered to the winds and the Consult forced to withdraw to Golgotterath.
For two thousand years since, the Ancient North has been
covered in Sranc, preventing any expedition from striking out for Golgotterath
and finally destroying it. The kingdoms of the Three Seas soon feel to internal
bickering, religious strife and political chaos. It was only during the Holy
War, the attempt by the Men of the Tusk to reclaim the Holy City of Shimeh from
the heathen Fanim, that the Consult’s existence again made itself known,
through the revelation of skin-spies and the arrival of Anasûrimbor Kellhus,
first the Prince of Nothing, then the Warrior-Prophet and then the
Aspect-Emperor of the Three Seas. Kellhus subdued the Three Seas and ordered
the assembly of the greatest army in history. Their goal would be to cross the
Istyuli Plains, circle the Misty Sea, cross the River Sursa and finally cast
down the Horns of Golgotterath in ruin.
Thus began the Great Ordeal.
Origins and Influences
R. Scott Bakker conceived of The Second Apocalypse series whilst running Dungeons and Dragons campaigns for his brother and his friends in
the mid-1980s. Initially he conceived the series as a trilogy, ending on a bold
(but likely controversial) ending. This is the story that was eventually to
make up the first seven books of the series, culminating in the
soon-to-be-released Unholy Consult
(July 2017). Later he decided this ending might not be entirely satisfactory,
so expanded the series to include a revised ending and conceptualised the whole
thing as a trilogy.
He developed the
world and the story over a period of about fifteen years before he started
writing The Darkness That Came Before,
which was published in 2003. It was followed by The Warrior-Prophet (2004) and The
Thousandfold Thought (2005), the three books collectively known as The Prince of Nothing. Bakker had
conceived the entire story as a trilogy, but the three books only covered the
first third of the story. His original “middle volume” of the series became its
own series, The Aspect-Emperor,
expanding (after several unforeseen delays) to four volumes: The Judging Eye (2009), The White-Luck Warrior (2011), The Great Ordeal (2016) and The Unholy Consult (2017). A further
series, The No-God, currently planned to be a duology, will conclude the entire saga.
The Second Apocalypse
fuses real-life history, particularly that of the Crusades and Alexander the
Great, to religious imagery and mythology, as well as drawing in a strong
science fiction focus, with side-stories exploring everything from quantum
physics to genetic engineering to Biblical numerology. But Bakker was also
inspired by more obvious sources: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Frank Herbert’s Dune and (much later in the developmental process), George R.R. Martin’s
A Game of Thrones. In particular,
Tolkien resonated strongly with Bakker, whose own creation myths, immortal
Nonmen and horrible monsters echo many elements found in the earlier work.
Bakker was also impressed by the idea in Dune of a messiah (Paul Atreides)
arising and it initially appearing that he was the good guy, but later on it
being revealed that he had inadvertently killed billions of people. Anasûrimbor
Kellhus, the protagonist of the series, can be seen as a mixture of Paul
Atreides, Jesus and the Mentats of Dune,
human computers capable of computing the outcome of almost any circumstance.
However, Bakker felt that Herbert had later sold out on the thematic ideas of the
series as he added numerous and unnecessary sequels, and was determined not to
do the same thing.
For the bad guys of the series, he settled on the Inchoroi:
space aliens who didn’t just kill people, but used technology and pheromones to
make them love them first, a horrible
perversion of human emotion and spirit. And every race of Dark Lords needs it
Dark Tower. The Inchoroi do things on a stupendous scale, so their base of
operations similarly became huge and towering in scope: a crashed biotech spacecraft
called the Ark of the Skies and the dark city that grew up around it,
Golgotterath. For six novels our hero, the wizard Achamian, has dreamed of the
Ark and its towering Golden Horns, using his sorcery-imbued visions of the
First Apocalypse to explore it. But in The
Unholy Consult, Achamian and the Great Ordeal will finally reach
Golgotterath and discover the revelations that wait within.
Websites of interest: Golgotterath at Prince of Nothing Wiki.
Thank you for reading The Wertzone. To help me provide better content, please consider contributing to my Patreon page and other funding methods, which will also get you exclusive content weeks before it goes live on my blogs. The Cities of Fantasy series is debuting on my Patreon feed and you can read it there one month before being published on the Wertzone.
Tuesday, 15 August 2017
David Tennant and Michael Sheen to star in GOOD OMENS
In possibly the best and most appropriate casting news ever, British actors Michael Sheen (Masters of Sex, Frost/Nixon, Twilight) and David Tennant (Doctor Who, Jessica Jones) have been tapped to play the leading roles in the Amazon/BBC adaptation of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's 1990 novel Good Omens.
Sheen will play the angel Aziraphale and Tennant will play his redoubtable friend, the demon Crowley. The story revolves around the end of the world and the emergence of the Antichrist, but as the forces of good and evil ready themselves for battle, Aziraphale and Crowley realise that actually the world is kind of fine as it is and join forces to stop the end of everything.
Pratchett's own Narrativia Productions, now run by his daughter Rihanna, will co-produce the series alongside Amazon and the BBC. It will be a six-episode mini-series.
Sheen will play the angel Aziraphale and Tennant will play his redoubtable friend, the demon Crowley. The story revolves around the end of the world and the emergence of the Antichrist, but as the forces of good and evil ready themselves for battle, Aziraphale and Crowley realise that actually the world is kind of fine as it is and join forces to stop the end of everything.
Pratchett's own Narrativia Productions, now run by his daughter Rihanna, will co-produce the series alongside Amazon and the BBC. It will be a six-episode mini-series.
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