Riddles in the Downs

[Urwen]

Well, the first stanza is her speaking to Witch King, who mistook her for a man, which she is - as in, she is of the race of Men.

The second stanza could be her talking to Imrahil, who detected that she is alive when no one else could.

And the third stanza is her talking to Faramir.

[Huinesoron]

Originally Posted by Urwen

Well, the first stanza is her speaking to Witch King, who mistook her for a man, which she is - as in, she is of the race of Men.

The second stanza could be her talking to Imrahil, who detected that she is alive when no one else could.

And the third stanza is her talking to Faramir.

Spot on! Imrahil specifically checked she was alive by catching her breath on his vambrace, hence the 'silver' line.

Over to you.

hS

[Urwen]

I liked that one. Here is a semi-hard one from me.

You are of the second house
I am your ally and your friend
And even when I am away
By your side I still would stand

When the soldiers of evil come
And try to bring forth the flame
The gift I gave thee shall awaken
To beat them at their own game

But any power comes with a cost
And so it has happened this time
For even though no life was lost
The price paid hurts all the same.

(Fair warning, the speaker is a bit obscure ^_^)

[Huinesoron]

Okay, first thought is Beleg to Turin, but that's definitely wrong, because 'no life was lost'. With that out of the way...

'Second House' could mean several things:

-Second House of the Edain, ie the Haladin. That would probably put us in the Turin story.
-Second tribe of the Eldar, ie the Noldor. The speaker would probably be a Sinda.
-Secondborn, implying that the speaker is an Elf.

'The gift I gave thee' sounds like a weapon. The context suggests it involves fire; how many flaming swords are there? Mm... yeah, it's Anglachel and Anguirel, isn't it? But the only time either of them was given as a gift was by Thingol to Beleg, and Beleg isn't of the Second House of anything.

Life wasn't lost, but a price was paid - for the gift? For the power? For friendship? What could the price be?

Circling back to the first point - could we be in the Wanderings of Hurin? That certainly meets the 'obscure' standard... except it would be the recipient who was obscure. Hurin himself is anything but.

Hmm... jumping tracks completely, could this be Cirdan to Gandalf?

You are of the second house - Gandalf is of the Maiar, the lesser 'house' of the Ainur
I am your ally and your friend - Cirdan befriends Gandalf pretty much instantly.
And even when I am away
By your side I still would stand - See below.

When the soldiers of evil come
And try to bring forth the flame - 'A balrog! A balrog is come!'
The gift I gave thee shall awaken - Narya, the Ring of Fire, given by Cirdan to Gandalf.
To beat them at their own game - Gandalf makes excellent use of fire, potentially charged by his Ring.

But any power comes with a cost
And so it has happened this time
For even though no life was lost
The price paid hurts all the same. - 'I have written Gandalf is here in signs that all can read from Rivendell to the mouths of Anduin'. Gandalf's use of fire always ran the risk of identifying him. Moreover, his confrontation with the Balrog, while not losing his life, still took him from the Fellowship at a critical time.

hS

[Urwen]

Nope.

[Urwen]

Hint: the answer to this one is found within the book of incomplete stories, as written by Chris Tolkien.

[Huinesoron]

Unfinished Tales?

Wait - are we in Cirion and Eorl here? Gondor summoned the Rohirrim through a combination of the Red Arrow and the beacons, which were lit by fire, so that could explain the second stanza. And Gondor gave up a huge chunk of land to the Rohirrim, which could be the price of the third.

As for the 'Second House' business... it looks like Cirion is actually in the second line of the House of the Stewards: the ninth steward died without a son, so the stewardship passed to his sister's line.

So I'm thinking Eorl to Cirion, upon Halifirien.

hS