Im Nandor

 

Mae g'ovannen!

Im Nandor [We Nandor-elves] was founded by the Tawarwaith of Eryn Galen

“Though their magic was strong, even in those days they were wary. They differed from the High Elves of the West, and were more dangerous and less wise.”

Who We Are

The Tawarwaith are the indigenous folk of Eryn Galen, having called it home since the Great Journey of the Elves. But Sauron's activities in Dol Guldur, along with the intrusion of Sindar and Noldor Elves to "rule over" our peoples, has led to a diaspora as well, especially in Edhellond in Gondor. But some of us can be found even further afield, taking up arms against the fell forces that lurk beyond our borders in these dark times.

Im Nandor is a coalition of diasporic Tawarwaith (and the occasional ally), coming together in their shared struggles.

♦  ♦  ♦

We are Silvan Elves—
    •  Of all levels and play styles - completionists, power levellers, as well as casual players.
    •  We encourage all RP, but don't require everyone's participation.
    •  We do ask everyone to be in Silvan Elf character.
    •  You don't need to speak Elvish to participate in our kinship.

• We will also welcome our Beorning and Human neighbours, and the occasional Hobbit, as Elvellyn, or Elf-friends.
• Sorry, no Dwarves or High Elves due to their history of bringing troubles to the Silvan Elves.

Kinhouse

7 Fairwood Lane, Ael-e-Gilith, Falathlorn Homesteads.
We have all amenities: crafting facilities, crafting vendor, banker, training dummy, stable, etc.

Forums and Discord / voice chat

• We have kinship discussion forums, bulletin boards, etc. at our shivtr site.
• For those who would like to use it, we have a kinship Discord server. (See forums for details.)
• There is also a public Laurelin RP Discord server at https://discord.me/page/laurelinrp.

Recruits

We ask recruits to read this webpage, even if you have read everything Tolkien ever wrote, because the characters you might be familiar with, Thranduil, Legolas, and Celeborn, along with Oropher, Amdír, and Amroth are all Sindar Elves, and Galadriel is a Noldo High Elf - they are all recent arrivals to our lands. This kinship serves the indigenous Elves of Mirkwood and Lórien, the Nandor Tawarwaith.
Conversely, if you have not read everything by Tolkien, you will be on equal footing in our kinship.

The term 'Wood Elves' can refer to all Nandor Elves. The Nandor are then divided into the 'Green Elves' of Beleriand (the Laegrim), and the 'Silvan Elves' of Eryn Galen (the Tawarwaith).

Story of the Silvan Elves

The Quendi → The Eldar → The Teleri → The Nandor → The Tawarwaith

Years of the Trees
The Elves first awoke in Cuiviénen, far in the east, and migrated west to Eryn Galen, or Greenwood.
Some of the Elves - the Vanyar, Noldor, Falmari, and Sindar - continued westward over the Hithaeglir, or Misty Mountains, but we of the Nandor clan remained where the forests stood thick and green and good. The Vanyar, Noldor, and Falmari would come to be known as the Calaquendi, or High Elves.

First Age
Some of our Nandor kindred also later migrated west over the Hithaeglir, where they became known as the Laegrim or Green Elves. But the Ainu Morgoth descended on them in the west and killed many of them. From then on, the Laegrim moved back to the woods of Ossiriand and Arthórien in Beleriand (map) and lived reclusively, avoiding the affairs of others.
The Nandor who stayed in Eryn Galen are known as the Tawarwaith, or Silvan Elves.

Second Age
But wars rose again in the west, causing both dispersion and discontentment with High Elf kingship, and some of the Sindar, or Grey Elves, pursuing rustic fantasies, moved back east to our lands, only to set up their own kingships among us. The Sindar are a strange folk - the High Elves don't count them among their own, and they aren't of the Nandor either, but they were so numerous and so mobile, that their Sindarin speech became the common tongue among all Elves, and even among some Dwarves and Humans as well.
((OOC: Tolkien was an OxBridge don in imperial Britain, who clearly presumed the colonial trope of quaint native peoples "needing" and "welcoming" outsiders to rule over them.))
Oropher made a kingship in Amon Lanc in the east of Eryn Galen, and Amdír made a kingship in the west, to which he later invited Celeborn and Galadriel.
Oropher and Amdír brought the Tawarwaith into the War of the Last Alliance against the Maia Sauron, where half of those who went were simply slain in the Dead Marshes. In the end, the Dúnadan Isildur cut the One Ring off the hand of Sauron, who was thought to have perished as a result. But Isildur did not destroy the ring, and this allowed Sauron to survive and regain power.

Third Age
Oropher and Amdír died in the war, and their sons Thranduil and Amroth continued their kingships.
But fell creatures began to overrun Amon Lanc, so Thranduil moved his kingship to the north, where he dug tunnels and called them Elvenking's Halls, and he lived in his tunnels, like a Dwarf or a goblin. Then a Necromancer came and built a fortress on Amon Lanc, and we called it Dol Guldur, or Hill of Sorcery.
An Ithron, or Istar, who we know as Mithrandir and others call Gandalf, came to Eryn Galen in T.A. 2063, and again in T.A. 2850, to investigate the shadow at Dol Guldur, and he identified the Necromancer as Sauron himself.
              The Balrog
Dwarves had long lived in the tunnels of Moria, but the Tawarwaith had little to do with them, as they mined mithril for armour, and we don't wear such cumbersome things. But in T.A. 1980, the Dwarves dug too far and unearthed a Balrog of Morgoth, so they fled Moria, and then orcs and trolls began to fill it.
After this, some of the Tawarwaith wished to leave Eryn Galen for Edhellond, and then Amroth followed Nimrodel, and drowned in the Bay of Belfalas. Then Celeborn and Galadriel continued the kingship, built Caras Galadhon, planted a Mallorn monoculture about it, and called it Lothlórien.
             Our Kinship
((OOC: Elves of Mirkwood can't access Mirkwood until lvl 56+))
These kingships set up guards about our lands, ostensibly to fight the Shadow, but they are not as effective as we are, and always require our assistance. The real reason, of course, was to protect their interests, not our lands, and this includes keeping the Tawarwaith available for their needs. So now, when we venture beyond our lands, we need to gain the experiece and develop our skills to bluff our way back in, on our own terms, when we return.
Im Nandor was formed in these years, to help bring Silvan Elves together.
             The Battle of Five Armies
In T.A. 2941, a group of Dwarves came to Eryn Galen and blundered into Thranduil's kingship in the midst of the forest. When they refused to say why they were there, Thranduil locked them up in his tunnels. But the Dwarves had an unseen thief among them who helped them escape down the Forest River to Esgaroth.
These Dwarves turned out to be descendants of the Moria Dwarves, who fled to Erebor, or the Lonely Mountain, where their treasure attracted the Dragon Smaug. Smaug scattered the Dwarves, and drove the Men in neighbouring Dale to Long Lake, where they built Esgaroth, or Lake-town, and traded with us.
These Dwarves had come to retake Erebor from Smaug. The Lake-men thought they were far enough removed from Erebor to be safe, so they helped them. But when the Dwarves woke Smaug, he knew the Lake-men had helped them, and he flew to Esgaroth and attacked them. The Men killed Smaug, but their town was destroyed in the process. The Tawarwaith went to aid them, and the Lake-men wanted Smaug's treasure to rebuild their town, and Thranduil wanted treasure as well, so Elves and Men went to Erebor. But the Dwarves not only survived Smaug, but they refused to share the treasure, and barricaded themselves inside the mountain. So we prepared to attack them.
Then the Dwarves' thief revealed himself - he was a different little folk, a Hobbit. He had stolen the Dwarves' most prized treasure, the Arkenstone, in order to compel them to negotiate. The Dwarves then agreed to pay one-fourteenth of the treasure - the thief's portion - for the Arkenstone. But before the trade could be made, a full Dwarvish army arrived and began attacking our forces. At that moment an army of Orcs also showed up, looking to take advantage of the situation. Then Mithrandir arrived and brokered a truce between the Dwarves and our forces, and brought an army of Eagles to aid us. Thus we were able to defeat the Orcs, get treasure for Lake-town, and gems for the Elves.
Meanwhile, with Smaug dead, Mithrandir and the White Council were able to drive Sauron out of Dol Guldur. But ten years later three Ringwraiths (or 'Nazgûl' in their Black Speech) returned.
             Sauron's Wars and The Company of Nine
Then in the spring of T.A. 3017 the Dúnadan Aragorn brought a creature called Gollum to Thranduil to hold in his tunnels, and Mithrandir also came to interrogate him. The next summer, Thranduil's guards in his tunnels took Gollum out one day to climb a tree, but they waited on the ground, not climbing up to keep an eye on him, then Sauron's orcs attacked them, and they ran away. But instead of eating him, the orcs let Gollum escape. Thranduil then sent his son Legolas to Imladris to inform Aragorn and Mithrandir of this.
Amazingly, Legolas returned through Moria, in the company of Aragorn, another Man Boromir of Gondor, a Dwarf, and four more Hobbits, and with the news that the Balrog was dead, and that Mithrandir had perished in the fight.
This Company then continued down the Anduin, or Great River, to offer aid to Gondor, which Sauron was preparing to attack.
But then Mithrandir came back again, and came to Caras Galadhon on Gwaihir the Eagle, and then continued down the Anduin to rejoin the Company.

Relations with other Folk

The Tawarwaith delight in rare encounters with their Laegrim kindred from Beleriand. But neither Nandor clan takes kindly to other Elf clans interfering in their lands and their lives.
Elves generally look kindly on Humans, though Humans often fear Elves. Silvan Elves have good relations with their trading partners in the Dale-lands, with the Dúnedain who traverse their woods, and with the Gondorians who are aquainted with their diaspora. The Rohirrim however are fearful of Mirkwood and anything associated with it, including all Elves. They need to be reassured of their shared goals (Orthanc and Dol Guldur) and good intentions (such as purchasing good horses for traversing the wide expanses of Ennor). But like most Elves, they avoid brigands, and places that smack of corruption and lawlessness.
They look kindly on Beornings, who share their forests, though Beornings are wary of folk who hunt for food and leather. Nevertheless Elves know what they're hunting, and what belongs to the Beornings.
Their extremely rare contact with Hobbits has been curious and often awkward, but ultimately positive.
But Silvan Elves steer clear of Dwarves, believing them to be reckless and irresponsible.

Appearance

Tolkien's Elves

Tolkien reportedly based his Elves on the super-human Ljósálfar of Scandinavian mythology, rather than the fairies of Celtic lore. His Elves are taller and more agile than Humans, have keener senses, and can withstand greater environmental extremes. If they are stronger than Humans they don't display it. The pointiness of their ears could be ambiguous - Elves and Humans could be mistaken for each other. He sometimes mentioned the hair colour of individual High Elves, but this varied considerably - dark in one story, silver in another, blonde in yet another.
Tolkien didn't give a physical description of Wood Elves. Perhaps they are as varied as High Elves. They might keep their hair off their keen eyes and ears, to keep them out of danger in Mirkwood. A Wood Elf might also try to "pass" for a Sinda or High Elf, if circumstance called for it.
Accoutrements
Tolkien's Wood Elves wear leather armour, and have notably low physical protection; attempts to force them into military phalanxes cause very high casualties. (His other warriors wear chainmail, and no one wears the unrealistic plate metal.) They wear shoes instead of boots, even in deep snow.
His Wood Elves bear spears, bows, knives, and swords. He doesn't mention Elven shields at all, presumably because archers typically don't carry them.
We tend to think of Elves as using curved sword blades, like their nature-inspired decorations. Historically, however, curved blades were used in mounted combat, to slash the opponent while passing and not get your sword stuck. However in Tolkien's world, Free Peoples, including Elves, use straight blades, while curved blades characterise Goblins and Mordor Orcs, whether mounted or not. Nevertheless most elvish swords in LotRO are curved.
Mounts
Tolkien's Elves don't need any tack to ride mounts. They also don't ride elk, moose, rabbits, or any animal other than horses. Mounts are of little use in trees and thick forest, and Silvan Elves can get good horses from their Human neighbours when they need them. (They will of course still need goats to ride in Moria in LotRO.)
Hengstacer Farm steeds work for Elves, with the Men of Bree reputation mount Prized Liver Chestnut Steed being a sturdier, faster alternative.

Outfits

Im Nandor doesn't have a uniform per se, but we do want to foster a Silvan Elf 'look'.

•  Silvan outfits should be
        - made of cloth or leather, to move unobtrusively through the forest,
        - be in good Elven repair (no patches, etc.), and
        - be Silvan-coloured (see dyes below).
•  We don't object to LotRO cloth-wearers wearing medium/leather items cosmetically.
•  Beorning-style "armband outfits" can also work for Wood Elves. 
•  Some nice outfits are account-bound, but can be acquired at any level:
   - Ceremonial Leggings of the Quiet Step & Ceremonial Jacket of the Shield-wall (from Skirmish cosmetics vendors, under "Moria Cosmetic Clothing - Medium", for 203 Marks + 15 Medallions each)
   - Ceremonial Robe of the Seven Stars (from Skirmish cosmetics vendors, under "Annúminas Cosmetic Clothing - Light", for 162 Marks + 12 Medallions)
   - Lasgalen Spring Dress (from Spring Festival rewards vendors)
   - Lasgalen Spring Tunic and Trousers (from Spring Festival rewards vendors)
   - Armour of the Waking Wood (from Anniversary Celebration games-masters)
   - Courtly Lasgalen Tunic and Trousers (only available from the LotRO Store, at 295 LP)
•  Bear in mind that items from Elven vendors often appear more High-Elvish than Wood-Elvish, with swaths of un-Silvan colours that cannot be dyed over.
Accessories
•  Silvan Elves like to have their dexterous hands and sharp ears uncovered, if possible, but some prefer to conceal themselves from outsiders.
•  Elvellyn should follow their own racial preferences.
Back Items
•  Elves may wear cloaks, quivers, or no back item at all.
•  If a cloak is worn, it should offer camouflage in the natural world.
•  Elves are not tourists and don't wear grungy backpacks if they can help it.
Dyes
Silvan Elves prefer forest colours, as well as gold, silver, and white, which evoke the stars, admired by all Elves. The pallet should be greens-browns-yellows/oranges-white.
If your outfit does not provide camouflage in the forest, you should wear a suitably dyed cloak.
        Forest Colours (Greens, Browns, and Autumn colors)
                •  Dark Green
                •  Olive
                •  Gold
                •  Rust
                •  Sienna
                •  Umber
                •  Orange
                •  Yellow
                •  Forest Green
                •  Rivendell Green
                •  Ranger Green
                •  Walnut Brown
                •  Bullroarer's Green
                •  Rohan Green
                •  Dark Mossy Green
                •  Dark Clay
                •  Imladris Fallen Leaf
                •  Autumn Leaf
        Gold, Silver, White:
                •  White
                •  Shire Peach
                •  Moria Silver (only if it actually appears silver on the garment, and not grey)
                •  Lorien Gold
(Other colours: Teals, Blues, Purples, Pinks ~ High-Elvish)
(Other colours: Greys, Black, Red ~ Dark-Elvish, e.g. the Avari and some Sindar.
Silvan Elves are not averse to Dark Elves, but if they want a 'dark' look, they would use Walnut Brown instead of Black.)
(Q: Should we be wearing "grey cloaks"? A: No, that's a shifting camouflage colour, rather than an actual grey dye. And they're made by High Elf maidens, rather than Wood Elves, who wouldn't need them for camouflage in the first place.)

Weapons

One-handed : Silvan Elves wield spears if they can, plus daggers and swords, with Lore-masters using staves.
Two-handed : Strictly speaking, Elves wouldn't use 2H weapons, but in LotRO 2H swords are available, and staves for Lore-masters.
Ranged : Elves are ancient masters of the bow, even if Elf Wardens must use javelins.
Crossbows are for Dwarves who can't aim.
(Elvellyn carry their own race-appropriate weapons.)

Shields

•  The problem with shields is that they cannot be dyed, and there are few green shields in LotRO.
•  Most wooden shields are in un-Elven disrepair.
•  Because of the lack of suitable shields in LotRO, we don't object to members outfitting 'wrong-class' shields.
•  We can lend you suitable shields for your wardrobe.

Light Shields : include the Westfold Metalsmith-crafted Campaign Shield of the Rider and the drop item Chul-targed.
Heavy Shields : include the Westfold Metalsmith-crafted War Shield of the Rider.
Warden Shields : include the Artisan-crafted Balanced Dwarf-iron Warden's Shield and other shields that share its appearance, the Dunland rep item Skirmisher's Shield, the Westfold-crafted Warden's Combat Shield and Skirmish Shield of the Rider, and the Westemnet-crafted Westemnet Skirmish Shield.

Other Items

•  The Summerdays Fireworks Summer Festival quest reward can offer Silvan entertainment.
•  The Flower Petals reward from the Frostbluff theatre deed makes nice Elven confetti.
•  Even more Elven confetti is the AoE Sack of Petals from Spring Festival rewards vendors. A drawback is its 10 minute cooldown.

Role-playing a Silvan Elf

tl;dr RP in LotRO

1. Role-playing in LotRO is generally done in person and on location, using the "Say" chat channel to keep RP in the vicinity.
2. Begin your message with /e (for emote) if you want to perform an action instead of speaking.
3. Use common sense; stay in character; don't metagame; observe and learn from others.
4. The "Events" sidebar on the right side of this page lists upcoming RP events on the Laurelin server.

For a comprehensive guide to LotRO RP, see The Complete Guide to Role Play, Immersion, and the Lore.

Elven Life Cycle

Elves reach puberty at 50 years, come of age at 100, have children after that point, and they don't age or die of old age, but can still die in other ways.

Demeanour

Wood Elves are generous and communal by nature, but mistrustful of outsiders, who don't realise how numerous and diverse they are. The Tawarwaith, in addition, have the double-challenge of defending their land against the immediate threat of Dol Guldur, plus shaking off would-be Elven colonisers. They have subversive, irreverent, and mischievous streaks not often seen in other Elves.
Wood Elves revere their woodland home, and live in harmony and balance with the creatures in it. Like other Elves, they also revere the stars and the waters. But they have found their home in their forests, and have no interest in sailing off to Valinor. (Though they'd certainly encourage those cave-dwelling and Mallorn-monoculture "rulers" to do so.)
Examples of Tawarwaith in Tolkien's Works
The Tawarwaith generally appear only as background characters in Tolkien's works. They show up as armies of nameless soldiers, as the women-on-pedestals Nimrodel and Mithrellas in the Unfinished Tales, and arguably as some of the subordinates, such as Thranduil's staff, who take their jobs as seriously as you would expect of Nandor having to serve the Sindar.

Language

The Tawarwaith, and their Laegrim relatives, speak Nandorin, and most Tawarwaith also speak a Silvan dialect of Sindarin. Since Tolkien left little information on either language, it makes sense to stick with standard Sindarin for any Elvish we may wish to use. The Tawarwaith have never heard of academic High-Elvish Quenya.
((Our kinship communicates in English, as we really don't want to go down Elvish-linguistic rabbit holes.))

A few useful Sindarin phrases:
    Suil, Suilad - "greeting(s)" (written or spoken greeting)
    Mae g'ovannen - "well met", hello.  (Mae de ovannen is the formal version.)
    mellon - "friend"
    mellyn - "friends"
    Novaer - "be good", good-bye
    Meneg suilad - "thousand greetings" (written closing, formal greeting)

Kinship RP

Our kinship doesn't have a fixed story line or mandatory events, but our Silvan Elf history and identity can provide context for wide-ranging stories and RP.

Membership

To join Im Nandor, you must
♦ be an Elf* (or a Beorning, Man/Woman, or Hobbit elvellon),
♦ be wearing a Silvan-style outfit, and
♦ have a (short) backstory, either:
      -  by registering here on Laurelin Archives (will take a day or two to process),
      -  by registering on our shivtr page,
      -  on your in-game Biography, or
      -  through in-person RP.
Your story should fit in with the Nandor Tawarwaith, as opposed to the Sindar or other Elf clans. I.e. no "proud servant of Lord Thranduil" (Sinda), or "looking forward to Valinor" (Noldo), etc.
(* not including High Elves-- they were later additions to the game and must be purchased, so regular Elves often RP as High Elves for historical and cost reasons. But the reverse case cannot be made, and Wood Elves would not have the polish of High Elves.)

Please note that we are a small kinship, and have no plans to boost our numbers at the expense of our lore simply to have people online all the time. (There are many good, large social kinships on Laurelin if this is what you expect of a kinship.)
That said, we welcome and offer all the support we can muster for our fellow Wood Elves! And keep in mind that World Chat on Laurelin is usually very supportive if you have questions when other kinmates are offline, or tied up in battle with the Shadow.

For your own benefit, we recommend creating accounts
•  here on Laurelin Archives,
•  as well as on shivtr,
whether or not you include your backstory on these sites.

Character Name

Your name needs to be reasonably lore-friendly, though we don't expect you to have had a Silvan Elf kinship in mind back when you created you character.
•  Elves may add a sobriquet to their given name, but they do not have inherited family names.

If you are starting a new Silvan Elf character, this website can help with naming:
https://realelvish.net/names/sindarin/woodelf/people/
https://realelvish.net/naming/middleearthelves/

Resources

We strive to follow Tolkien's lore. Some helpful resources include:
•  The original books The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, of course, but not the movie innovations. The Silmarillion concerns High Elves and barely touches on Wood Elves. Some of the Unfinished Tales have Wood Elf characters.
•  http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Silvan_Elves
•  http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Silvan_Elves
•  https://realelvish.net/site-map/ has a wealth of information on Elvish languages.
•  https://www.elfdict.com is a useful Sindarin-English dictionary.