Wrong track~

New page repost:

1: VALACIRCA
2: ILLUIN
3: REMMIRATH
4: ???A??? The cause of the insanity- it sounded like an Eastern leer, eh?
5: ???G??? You'll find Sol in the endless golf cave river.
6: EARENDIL
7: SORONUME
8: TELEMEHTAR

I don't think we're going to get this without a hint. Nor the Rana clue.

Please? ;)

Okay- what sounds like "leer"?

For the other one, "endless golf" does indeed mean GOL. Just keep going. It's a straightforward GOL + {synonym} + {synonym}

I'm thinking the 'eh' is read as 'A', which makes 'Eastern leer' RAN. After that... dunno.

I think cave is DEN, meaning the answer starts with GOLDEN. The clue suggests it to be a name for the Sun, so we need a second word which is a synonym for river.

Oh! Is it GOLDEN FLOWER (of Laurelin)? But I thought Anar was formed from a fruit...

hS

Actually, according to Sil, it was formed from flower.

The Moon was the fruit- and I think RÁNA- (Eastern Lear + A), and well-known to promote lunacy- is the final answer.

And there we have it!

1: VALACIRCA
2: ILLUIN
3: REMMIRATH
4: RANA
5: GOLDEN FLOWER
6: EARENDIL
7: SORONUME
8: TELEMEHTAR

(Note on #5: The "Golden Flower" of Glorfindel's House was the Sun, poetically expressed. River = FLOW-ER)


Over to Urwen....

Ea! Let it be!
 

This one is.....well, you'll see....

1. A puzzle gains direction for him
2. A state abbreviation inside of a long period of time, for her
3. Muddled distant reverse edge for him.
4. Follow through, with a direction? She will not do this.
5. A vehicle, noted. She appears
6. Muddle up his task to get his name.
7. Note Maltese money, returned. For her
8. Mix this compound for him
9. Greet the key for her
10. Rearrange a rodent containing lime for her
11. Mixed complex plant tissue, for him

Too much of a headache to focus on the new riddle now, but I have to quote:

(The Glorfindel ref makes sense.)

And I have to ask: how is 'ran' synonymous with 'Eastern Lear'? Are we on King Lear, or something else?

hS

Golden Flower is really clever!

Or ... well ... Silver Flower would have been. :D

Did we ever find out what the leer was?

6. Vana? (van + a).

1. A puzzle gains direction for him
2. A state abbreviation inside of a long period of time, for her
3. Muddled distant reverse edge for him.
4. Follow through, with a direction? She will not do this.
VANA: A vehicle, noted. She appears
6. Muddle up his task to get his name.
7. Note Maltese money, returned. For her
8. Mix this compound for him
9. Greet the key for her
10. Rearrange a rodent containing lime for her
11. Mixed complex plant tissue, for him

3. FARAMIR? (Afar + rim).

1. A puzzle gains direction for him
2. A state abbreviation inside of a long period of time, for her
FARAMIR: Muddled distant reverse edge for him.
4. Follow through, with a direction? She will not do this.
VANA: A vehicle, noted. She appears
6. Muddle up his task to get his name.
7. Note Maltese money, returned. For her
8. Mix this compound for him
9. Greet the key for her
10. Rearrange a rodent containing lime for her
11. Mixed complex plant tissue, for him

The password and the theme are the same, by the way. :D

No favourite?

(Faramir wasn't the favourite son).

"Eastern leer"- Kurosawa's last great samurai epic was Ran, a reimagining of King Lear in feudal Japan.

No. The opposite, in fact.

My favourite?

7: Tar-Miriel? (LIRA + REMIT)

M: A puzzle gains direction for him
EOWYN: A state abbreviation inside of a long period of time, for her
FARAMIR: Muddled distant reverse edge for him.
A: Follow through, with a direction? She will not do this.
VANA: A vehicle, noted. She appears
O: Muddle up his task to get his name.
R: Note Maltese money, returned. For her
I: Mix this compound for him
T: Greet the key for her
E: Rearrange a rodent containing lime for her
S: Mixed complex plant tissue, for him


(And yes, Vana is among them. Not on the same scale as the others, but she's among them nonetheless)

Ah - North American spelling! That's why I was one letter over and put the singular.

Is WY Wyoming?

If so, EOWYN (EON + WY) for the Y clue, with Y not the first letter.

Choosing this theme might have been a mistake.

All right, got it LIRA + TI backwards = ITARIL (Quenya for Sind. Idril)

Enigma + L = Maeglin

MAEGLIN: A puzzle gains direction for him
EOWYN: A state abbreviation inside of a long period of time, for her
FARAMIR: Muddled distant reverse edge for him.
A: Follow through, with a direction? She will not do this.
VANA: A vehicle, noted. She appears
O: Muddle up his task to get his name.
IDRIL: Note Maltese money, returned. For her
I: Mix this compound for him
T: Greet the key for her
TAR MIRIEL: Rearrange a rodent containing lime for her
S: Mixed complex plant tissue, for him

For the A, FINI+S = ISFIN = AREDHEL?

Actually, it was ADHERE + L


MAEGLIN: A puzzle gains direction for him
EOWYN: A state abbreviation inside of a long period of time, for her
FARAMIR: Muddled distant reverse edge for him.
AREDHEL: Follow through, with a direction? She will not do this.
VANA: A vehicle, noted. She appears
O: Muddle up his task to get his name.
IDRIL: Note Maltese money, returned. For her
I: Mix this compound for him
T: Greet the key for her
TAR MIRIEL: Rearrange a rodent containing lime for her
S: Mixed complex plant tissue, for him

And still none of Hurin's offspring, nor any hint of them!

Now who said there is not? :D

Look more carefully....

The only thing even near a task/character anagram I can think of is Tuor/tour, but I think you said somewhere that you don't like him.

Unless Fingolfin was tasked with going golfing with Finns (or fins!)

Nope.

Ah ... might LALAITH be HAIL + ALT?

(I had considered just about every kind of key *except* the ones on a computer keyboard).

Spot on
 

MAEGLIN: A puzzle gains direction for him
EOWYN: A state abbreviation inside of a long period of time, for her
FARAMIR: Muddled distant reverse edge for him.
AREDHEL: Follow through, with a direction? She will not do this.
VANA: A vehicle, noted. She appears
O: Muddle up his task to get his name.
IDRIL: Note Maltese money, returned. For her
I: Mix this compound for him
LALAITH: Greet the key for her
TAR MIRIEL: Rearrange a rodent containing lime for her
S: Mixed complex plant tissue, for him

It's a stretch, but could the O be WON OVER = VORONWE? (part of V's task was to "win over" Gondolin's guards and get Tuor in)

No...

Was ELMO a spy? (Mole).

Did NORI do the IRONing?

None of those.

(If there is a mole among these, it would be Lomion, who is already used)