PARADISA LOST

[Galadriel (or Artanis, as she now thinks of herself) suddenly found herself in a room that was totally unfamiliar to her. What’s even stranger is that she had no memory of how she got there. She finds the journal fairly quickly and flips through it, but it does little to assuage her fears.

When she dictates, it’s not the calm, practiced dictation of Galadriel (although there are hints of it in there), but rather the voice of a frightened young girl, trying to sound far more intimidating than she is capable of being.]

I know not who brought me here, nor why, but know that my father and my brothers will not stand for this. I am Artanis, daughter of the High King Finarfin. If you release me immediately, they may be persuaded to show you mercy.

[With that she tucks the journal under her arm and sets out to explore, first the room she arrived in, and then the castle. Unlike on her initial exploration, however, her movements are slightly hesitant, timid, and more obviously marked by fear. ]

[ooc: She will be running into Rin in their shared room, I believe, but after that will be roaming the castle. Feel free to encounter the mini-elf or to answer her over the journal.]

[Since things have calmed down a bit, Galadriel has had a chance to think about things that have been in the back of her mind for quite some time. The text that appears on the page is an old fashioned script, elegant, crisp, and clean.]

Human: a bipedal primate mammal (Homo sapiens).

Vampire: the reanimated body of a dead person believed to come from the grave at night and suck the blood of persons asleep.

Dragon: a mythical animal usually represented as a monstrous winged and scaly serpent or saurian with a crested head and enormous claws.

[She laughs before writing one last definition.]

Elf: (1): a small often mischievous fairy.
       (2): a small lively creature; also : a usually lively mischievous or malicious person.

[And now she speaks]

These are definitions of a single world and from but one text. It is curious, is it not, how often we use these words without question? We have seen for ourselves how greatly the castle facilitates our speech, yet we do not know its reasoning, nor may we dispute its translations.

I have spoken with many elves here. While I do feel something of a kinship with them, I may also say that there is much that we do not share. Perhaps more than we do. What is it, then, that makes us all of Elvenkind? What binds us to those “fairies” of which I have written? Surely it is something more than pointed ears and a love for woods and starlight- something deeper and of greater importance.

My people place great value on language and the naming of things. It is not without reason that our ancient tongue is called Quenya, or “speech” and we Quendi, or “speakers.” Words have a power of their own. “Human,” “vampire,” “dragon,” “elf”- I find it difficult to believe these groupings are without significance. What I ask is this: what do we truly know of each other? Of our natures? And what have we assumed?

[For anyone who wants to see her in person, Galadriel is in the library, pushing aside the dictionary she had quoted from and idly thumbing through a book of mythology and folklore.]

[You know what’s not fun? Being the only person from a world which has languages that don’t seem to resemble any others. But Galadriel’s been surprised once today by Crowley, so she’s going to be thorough about this. Just in case she can find any conversation partners who aren't notorious trolls. What follows undoubtedly sounds like very pretty gibberish to most of the castle.]

[Sindarin] I know well this is like as not a futile effort, yet I am curious. It seems some languages are common to a number of worlds and I know of at least one blessed with an understanding of tongues beyond his own home. I should be most interested to learn of any others who can converse with me.

[This message is repeated in Quenya and Westron. Then, as an afterthought, she adds in Khuzdûl:]

Do you speak Khuzdûl?

[Of course, if anyone says yes to the last question, she’s going to have some difficulties. The Dwarves are secretive with their language; she never was able to convince them to teach her more than basic stock phrases. But she’s good at pronouncing it, at least.]


[You may be wondering what one does with one’s time when communication is so difficult. If you guessed “decide to embrace the strange circumstances and spend the evening in the lobby composing poetry in the dead language that happens to be your mother tongue,” you are quite right. She’s certainly not adverse to company, but attempting a conversation with her may require a bit of work.]

[ooc: Open as open can be. If nothing else, she'll be interested in hearing your strange languages.]

[Upon receiving Ashura’s invitation to a little wine tasting in the gardens, Galadriel had, of course, agreed. Like most elves, she is fond of wine and even more so of good company. Besides which, she could use a bit of a distraction; tensions being what they are at the moment, she’s been a little preoccupied. And having two allies leave in one month certainly didn’t help matters.

Not that any of that showed on her face. As she approaches the appointed spot, she looks serene as always, offering Ashura a warm smile and inclining her head in greeting.]

Ashura.