[Nogrod]

How the situation has changed and when will be a big decision, and one we need to make together.

Lmp may correct me, but I think the two lords / eorls were very different as personalities and there probably was not anything you'd call love and affection between them. But they didn't hate or despise each other either: they respected each other as senior commanders and capable leaders, and realised well enough that they needed to co-operate for the good of the Mead Hall which clearly was the top priority for both of them. It was more that their disciples and those close to them were hot-headed, easily insulted or over-proud as to try and fight things out...

So the first question is, did they finally reach a peace among the soldiers and other folk belonging to both "households" or has lord Athanar been removed because there was no solution to the tensions? The decision would affect the situation of former Athanar's men / household members quite remarkedly if our writers decided to leave them in the Mead Hall (like Legate's Hilderinc, or Athanar's sons if myself & Lommy decide to leave them).

Another question sure is the one posed by Legate: whether the changes have taken place already some time ago (and things have kind of settled) or do we start writing just when the change happens (Athanar & co. leaves) and see how it goes from there?


I might actually suggest we'd start from a somewhat settled situation to help the new writers blend in - if there are too strong tensions that are based on the previous storyline for the older writers to deal (and have fun) with, it might be harder for the new people to fit in without quite a deep understanding of the previous events.

For the same reason I might propose a somewhat peaceful or honoured exit for Athanar as we probably would do well not leaving too strong tensions there. On top of the above-stated reason of it being possibly frustrating for the new writers if the old ones only dwell in plotlines that stem from the earlier phases of the Mead Hall (which easily happens if we leave some open wounds there), there is also the very real possibility those rifts overtake the writing once again.

I mean one of the problems with the previous "installment" of the Mead Hall was that we seemed to be unable to cut the rivalries down to concentrate on other possible plots.

That doesn't mean there wouldn't, shouldn't or couldn't be any old tensions coming forwards in the new Mead Hall. On the contrary! But I do think we should not make them the main driver of the new storyline - and that would regard us playing them down some considerable amount from where we left the story.


~*~

A few suggestions to ponder then for everyone from where the story stopped...

Lord Eodwine became a father and was happy to father his child while lord Athanar ran the Mead Hall. Or well, maybe Saeryn was actually appointed in some official role as the lady of the Hall (running the everyday life of the Mead Hall with the aid of Eodwine still basically on a "sick leave" recovering to his full strength) while Athanar was the eorl responsible for the official running of the Mead Hall (as the king's court) and commanding the men at arms?

That way we could get things going for a couple of years and see the enmities toning down - maybe lord Athanar was even named the Godfather of the child (alongside Thornden?) as a kind of nice ploy arrived to by Eodwine and Athanar to help ease the tensions between the two groups of people?

One idea could be that there might have been fex. a really hard winter, let's say the second after where we left the story, and some characters, also dear ones, might have even died that winter? I mean what would bring people together better than a common tragedy and common fight for survival?

In general that kind of disaster could serve as a general way of getting rid of characters no one is going to write any more.

Then, when things would look pretty good and peaceful - and lord Eodwine would be back to his full strength after the illness etc. (he could have been suffering with the bad winter also as he wasn't exactly on his prime yet as it befell on them - and that could postpone his full recovery with a year or two?) - king Eomer would have a need for a capable leader somewhere else and calls Athanar to take that position offering the eorlship of Mid Emnet back to Eodwine.

With a disasterous winter behind them it would also be logical for Athanar to be told to leave some of his men to serve under Eodwine... So fex. Hilderinc (and possible others like him) would not be there exactly on his/their own willing but the relations between him (them) and Eodwine's men would be pretty good?

Let's then add a year or two for things to settle down... and we have a five to six year jump in our hands - and new adventures to meet.


What say you?