A New Platform [Intro Post April!]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

Two days after they return from their mission they are awoken as usual "Good morning passengers, it is day sixteen of the month of Egret. The shop has been updated and points have been applied to passengers tickets."

Those that go to check the shop terminals will find they have indeed updated, with the option to buy larger items and also animals. The morning goes on until just after noon there is a second announcement.

"Shortly arriving into a designated void platform. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." A lurch and a jolt and they are soon surrounded by the fog that means they are at a platform. Though the fog is thick, thicker than usual perhaps, there are patches on sunlight shining through and it is pleasantly warm.

The doors open and the first few to disembark do so with rucksacks on, hoods pulled up, silent and almost blank faced. Cu Chulain, Dio Brando, Disreputable Dog, Heiji Hattori, Loki Maedhros, Maglor, Naruto, Thor, Tobias Fangor.

They walk to the barriers, show their tickets and disappear.

But on the platform itself there are once again new faces. All are stood, waiting for the train.

For New Passengers

At first all they can see is steam. Billowing around them as they come to their senses. They are standing, in clothes that are not their own, styles they might not even recognise. They are carrying a rucksack on their back. For a moment it seems to just be them, alone in the white haze but then as people begin to shift or call out it will become apparent they are not alone.

The platform is not large and it holds eighteen figures all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. It's warm but foggy making it hard to see much, but there are clearer patches bathed in sunlight found across the platform. Both left and right the tracks disappear into the mist. Then there is a roaring sound and out of the fog arrives a train. Jet black with gold writing on the side. The Voidtrecker Express. There is a hiss as the doors slide open and out into the cold step a selection of people. Some are human, some are less so. They are wearing the same hoodie in one of the four colours, red, orange, blue and purple.

The Train

The doors hiss open. Those from the train may encourage those on the platform to board. It’s not like there is anywhere else to go and even if there was, you feel a pull. A need to board, a feeling that staying on the platform would not be a good thing. If that is not enough, there are plenty of people on the platform now, to encourage them onto the train.

Each ICP shows the same message and next to the screens there are stacks of leaflets written by those on the train, with further information. The store rooms have been restocked with an abundance of onions, in case the passengers weren't bored of them yet.

Passengers who are not brand new will notice that the train has gotten yet longer again with a sixth sleeper cabin for new arrivals.

New passengers will find their tickets allow them into their cabins. They may need to negotiate for beds, especially if they want a top bunk!

Room is tight but there are storage cubbies at the head of each bed, beds fold up and the bottom bunks double as benches for the small table. There is storage under those benches and you will hopefully find a pillow for your bed if it has not been nabbed by a roommate, there are also spare blankets for if it gets cold.

Departure

A second horn sounds to encourage any stragglers and the doors slide shut. Veteran passengers know what will happen next, they may wish to brief their new companions.

The train sets off, the fog obscuring the view as it picks up speed.

"Welcome aboard, passengers of the Voidtrecker Express.” A female-coded artificial sounding voice echoes throughout the train. "Please take the time to read the passenger information displayed on the Information and Communication points and familiarise yourself with the layout and emergency exits."

The train begins to tilt, leaving the ground and rising up into the fog filled sky.

"Entrance into Voidspace imminent. New passengers are advised to remain seated. Entry into Voidspace in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

A shudder, a jolt, a lurch to the left. A flash of light, colourful and blinding. As quick as it happens it is done. The train seems to steady. The fog from the windows is gone now, replaced with a kaleidoscope of ever changing colours.

Welcome to the Void!

Comments

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin was trying to keep his history short, as this was supposed to be Glorfindel's introduction to the train. But since the two of them had shared an era in Arda, it seemed appropriate to say what he had been doing for those many decades after his death, while Glorfindel was in the Halls of Mandos. But Curufin had missed most of the Second Age and all of the Third Age, and so he only knew the major events of these times second-hand. "Someone did tell me the history of the Ages I missed. I met some of my relatives in both the worlds I lived in, after I was transported out of Arda and into the first of those worlds. Galadriel and Maglor and Celebrimbor educated me about the Second and Third Ages. That's where my learning comes from. Those three were good professors." He smiled, despite the pain of thinking of his son.

"And as for Gil-galad, you are right, we are indeed close kin. When I looked upon him, I could clearly see the kinship. . . and yes, I felt protective. He was young, bold, powerful, and honorable, but you and I know that's not always a guarantee of safety! And I wonder, if he never named names, maybe he still suspected it was me. He might have caught a glimpse of me, even though I was trying to stay hidden and not to project my own image into anybody's mind. If he did, I'm fairly easy to identify, since I look so much like my father. Besides, some of the refugees I escorted across the Blue Mountains actually guessed who I was, and they might have mentioned it to the Ossiriandic Elves, and the rumor might have spread. Perhaps that's why I'm now the most likely suspect? Or have you got another reason?"

"If the Valar knew of your part in the defense of Gondolin and the escape of the survivors, then it is well they recognized your valor and your virtue and took steps to make sure you returned to Middle-earth. But tell me, if you will, what did you do after you returned? I am eager to hear your tale! Did it have something to do with the Hobbits?"

He smiled. "Team Purple took on a very dangerous task in that last mission. And if it wasn't the equivalent of tackling a Balrog, then it was close enough! I wonder if the train entity is aware to some extent of our histories, and if it puts newcomers on the team it thinks will most benefit from our skills and experiences. If so, maybe that's why you're on Purple Team. As for Orange, in the last two missions, we've been given assignments that require technical skills. We spent a great deal of time repairing damaged devices upon which the inhabitants of the world we were sent to protect relied heavily. We fought, too, but the repairs were essential."

"I'm very pleased that you are here, and that you will see this experience as valuable. And, Glorfindel. . . I am grateful that you see me as a friend, and that you recognize that I am a different person than I was in the days of the Kinslayings." He grinned brightly and warmly. "And I'll do my best to spread the word: Glorfindel is here! We are all lucky to have you."

[laurefindil]

Glorfindel blinked at one of the names. "Galadriel? But, she hasn't died. She recently sailed with Elrond for Valinor, to reunite with her daughter, in fact." And to tell her that *her* daughter, Arwen, would never be joining them there.

He laughed at Curufin's earnest description of Gil-galad and his question. "I don't know of any other suspects, now that I know you were wandering about disembodied. And I am not at all surprised that some discovered your secret. You are quite memorable, most definitely. Perhaps he kept your identity a secret for his own reasons. We can ask him when we see him again."

"Yes, there were definitely hobbits involved. It was two small hobbits, travelling aloe and in secret that brought an end to Sauron, by destroying his Ring." It was Sauron that had caused the death of Curufin's son, so perhaps the other would find it fitting that Sauron had put so much of himself into his own Ring that its destruction meant the end of him.

"Technical expertise definitely sounds like your forte, for certain. I am sure Team Orange is glad to have you on their side," Glorfindel said. That he was being prized for his valour and Balrog-slaying background did not surprise him. Though he had many other skills, it seemed those were the ones most in demand, even in this strange place. "Everyone fights in their own way, be it with technical know-how or a blade, it doesn't diminish your part, right?"

He laughed again. "Last time I saw you...yes, I can see you are clearly a changed elf! You no longer have that Oath hanging over you, for one. Your eyes have lost most of that haunted look. It is a good change, and I am happy to once again call you friend." Glorfindel shook his head, "I'm sure no one here has ever heard of me, why would they be impressed? I cannot even do half the things you can do with your tools!"

[so_dark_a_road]

"People don't have to die to be snatched out of their own universes by any of those hungry worlds that are always casting about for recruits. Those worlds will take living, dying, or dead people. Apparently they have to ability to bring people back to life, at least within the hungry world's own boundaries. I think they may prefer living people, though. I most definitely interacted with Galadriel, in a world we called Arda Marred because it so resembled our Arda, but it was largely empty and greatly in need of repairs and renewal. Maglor is not dead either, and I've met him again more than once."

Curufin laughed too, when Glorfindel did. "That explains it, then. I'm the culprit. And I'd love to see Gil-galad again. Our generation produced so few Noldorin children, and he seems to have exceeded all of our ambitions to defeat the Darkness, though it wasn't a permanent defeat. Yes, I know about the Last Alliance. I was told about that, too."

Curufin simply nodded when Glorfindel described Sauron's end. He understood. "What an idiot Sauron turned out to be. Learned all that he could from my son about forging rings of power -- though he was pretending to be the teacher, I don't doubt. It is indeed fitting that the second Dark Lord was finally destroyed by his own choices. Those two hobbits threw his Ring into the crater of Mount Orodruin, where no doubt the Ring was forged. That is what I was told, anyway. Did you ever meet the hobbits yourself?"

He chuckled when the other praised him for his technical expertise. "It's true that it's my forté. But then, I'm a warrior as well, and I've fought in three of the train's missions. War was so much a part of my life for all those years in Beleriand that I don't feel right if there's a great battle and I'm not in it. In the last mission, Red Team called for assistance during their last battle, and I went with the few from Orange Team who responded. I was regretful to leave my own team, but they still had capable fighters and leaders to handle things there. And Red Team needed reinforcements to carry out the most important task of the entire mission. So, I can now say I fought with both technical know-how and a blade. That is, blade in one hand, blaster in the other." Grin.

"And you're right. I don't know if that damnable Oath would have followed me into my ghostly days or into other worlds, but I didn't give it a chance to do either. I forswore it a few hours before my death. Strangely enough, that worked." He was glad to hear that the haunted look in his eyes had diminished. It would never entirely be gone, but that was the price of experience. "I am happy to call you friend, too! And you're being modest, Glorfindel! Anybody who can kill a Balrog, even at the price of his own life, is an impressive fighter. Besides, I believe you have other abilities." Curufn believed this simply because his feeling about Glorfindel was that he had powers an ordinary Elf didn't have. There was an aura of light about him, possibly not visible to mortals but certainly detectible by means of Curufn's arcane senses.

[laurefindil]

"True enough," Glorfindel said. "I am here, after all, and I have been assured that I am not dead. And I am most grateful to see some familiar faces in this strange place, though I hear that Maglor has left again." It was a pity, the other was such a fine singer. But at least Curufin was here.

"I did. There were five in total that I met. Bilbo, the first to find the ring, hidden in the dark by Gollum, Frodo, his nephew who bore the ring to the Fires, Sam, his gardener, and his cousins Merry and Pippin. I had a small part to play in their journey, getting Frodo safely to Imladris. They are such...I would have to say almost innocent, in that their Shire is protected and warded from most of the evils of the world. But their hearts were mighty and none may doubt their valour or commitment."

"I am not surprised by this. You, and your brothers, were always willing to fight," Glorfindel said with a wink. From childhood tumbles to the wars that tried to tear his people apart, no one could ever call the sons of Feanor coward.

Glorfindel nodded. "Glad to hear it. The jewels are all but forgotten by the younger races, and that is perhaps for the best. Only one remains visible, carried through the sky at dusk and dawn." Glorfindel blushed ever so slightly. "Well, I am not alone, Echthelion and Mithrandir also managed to kill one, though they also died. Like me, however, Mithrandir returned. He was...less willing to hid his power when he did, as those were the end of days then. My own abilities I used to some effect over the millenia since my return, but mostly I led Imladris's forces, there at the end." [Because, you know, he's *modest*!]

[so_dark_a_road]

"That is fortunate, that you did not have to go through the gates of death once more in order to journey the multiverse," responded Curufin. "But Maglor is gone, alas! And so is Maedhros. I knew they were not doing very well in this place, but that doesn't always mean a person will leave. It took me by surprise." Curufin experienced a moment of downheartedness at this admission. But he was very good at lifting his own mood, and so he simply paused until his former cheerfulness returned.

"I like it that you actually met these hobbits. What was happening when you got them safely to Imladris? I understand that Eriador and the surrounding lands became less safe at the end of the Third Age, but I don't know all the history of that Age, nor do I know the War of the Ring stories in detail. What did you do, exactly, to get the hobbits to Rivendell? What was your part in that? I'm curious."

He grinned. "Me and my brothers, yes! -- we were always willing to fight. Something fiery in the blood, doubtless inherited from our father. I can never resist a battle." Those childhood tumbles were often with each other or with their cousins. It was surprising, when he thought about it, that the affection the brothers and their cousins and their friends bore towards each other was never dimmed by the scuffles. It wasn't until they grew up and fell under the dreadful influence of the Oath that things went south.

And in regards to the Silmarils: "I am heartily glad that the jewels are forgotten, at least by mortals. Yes, I know the story of the one remaining. Dior's daughter Elwing escaped from Doriath with the jewel and fled down the River Sirion to a refuge at the river's confluence with the Great Sea. When my surviving brothers finally attacked that community, she and her husband Eärendil escaped with the jewel again, and sailed to Valinor to ask the Valar for help in defeating Morgoth. I should be grateful to them, for our people could not have won that war alone." Of course, Curufin had learned that tale while wandering the lands as a disembodied spirit, eavesdropping on groups of Elvish travelers and warriors. He had witnessed enough of the War of Wrath to know that the Valar were there, along with the hosts of the Vanyar, the remaining Noldor, and the Teleri standing off to sea in the conveying ships.

He perked up when Glorfindel mentioned leading the troops of Imladris. "You did, did you? I might have expected that. You are valiant, as I have acknowledged. And you may not love war as I do, but I strongly suspect that you are as good at it as I am, or better." [ Not letting Glorfindel get away with being *modest*! ]

[laurefindil]

"Is there anything you would recommend to make my stay here easier on myself and those around me?" Glorfindel asked. If he was going to be here, best to do it right, after all.

"Ah, well, they were coming to Imladris in the company of Aragorn, but were being pursued by the Ringwraiths. One, Frodo, was injured by their fell blades, and needed care immediately, so I rode with him. Fortunately he was the one with the Ring, so the wraiths ignored the others and came after us. We crossed the river into Imladris, and the wraiths triggered the protective spells and were swept downriver." Frodo had been half out of it, shivering and haunted. He was glad they'd made it to Elrond in time to save him.

"Elwing and Earendil's voyage were after my death, so I do not know of that time personally either. Earendil is the grandson of Turgon, and one of those I saved by defeating the Balrog. Elrond told me a little about it, though. He comes from good stock, for certain, but has been through so much." Losing first his brother, and now his daughter to the mortals.

"I did." Glorfindel reluctantly continued, "I led the fight against the Witch-King. It was not a battle we could win, though, as his fate was not ours to settle then. But we destroyed his stronghold and caused him to flee, thereby weakening the Dark forces for some time." The Witch-King had found Glorfindel unbearable to be near, which Glorfindel had used to his advantage when setting up the wards around Imladris. "I have a certain level of skill, true. I have had almost five thousand years in this lifetime to practice, after all," he said with a grin and a wink.

[so_dark_a_road]

"I'd recommend that you make an effort to talk to as many people as you can. The more of us you know, the more likely that people will ask you for help in a dicey situation and the more likely it is that you'll get help if it's you who are in trouble. Get involved in your team's affairs. Post an intro on Voidtreckernet, so all the rest of the passengers can get to know you. Reply to other people's posts, and get involved in whatever projects might interest you. Best advice I can give."

He listened to the tale of Glorfindel's involvement in the arrival of the hobbits at the valley of Rivendell. "These Ringwraiths sound like evil spirits who were servants of Sauron, or slaves. I know little about them, but I honor you for jumping in to oppose them and protect Frodo and his friends. If the Ringwaiths were anything like Morgoth's servants, then it is well that you were there! The hobbits and this Aragorn were unlikely to have made it to safety without you."

And as for the end of the tale of the Silmarils: "Yes, Turgon's daughter Idril married a mortal, Tuor. Their son was Eärendil, and I can well believe you saved him and others from certain death during Morgoth's attack on Gondolin. Their children, Elrond and Elros. . . well, maybe that's a story for another time -- their connection with my brothers Maglor and Maedhros. When the time came for the half-Elven sons of Elwing and Eärendil to choose whether to be Elvish or mortal, I can imagine that Elrond experienced it as a great loss when his brother chose to throw in his lot with mortals and be one of them." And then, to lose his daughter as well?

"Good for you, Glorfindel! I believe this Witch-King could not have had worse luck than to be attacked by an Elvish army with you as their leader!" Curufin put his hands together and applauded. "True, though we are contemporaries, you were a living Elf for more years than I was. I can't claim to be older that 2805 years." And he grinned back at Glorfindel. "Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes."

[laurefindil]

"I understand my team is Purple, but what is 'Voidtrekernet'?" Glorfindel asked.

"They were the nine kings of Men who accepted Rings of Power from Sauron. At one time they were alive, but now...well, now they are no more, but they were definitely Sauron's puppets." He shook his head modestly. "Anyone could have done what I did. Arwen had her horse half saddled at the time I left, in fact."

"Elrond has had a lot loss in his life. I am very glad that he has reunited with his lady wife once again. Perhaps in Valinor he will find a way to heal himself as he has healed others over these many years."

Gorfindel laughed. "I don't count the years of my first life, or I'd be over 5000. Which there are those even older, such as Cirdan. but as I once heard a human bard say, 'it isn't the years, but the living that makes us old.'"

Aw, I like your chibi Glorfindel userpic!

[so_dark_a_road]

"Voidtreckernet is an internet, which doesn't make much sense in our world's terms. We didn't have any such thing. It's a communications system that is ultimately powered by electricity, the same force that drives a lightening bolt, though of course in much tinier quantities. When we board the train, you'll see a device called an ICP, which stands for Information and Communication Point. There is an ICP in every train coach and in every sleeper cabin. You can use it to send a message to the whole train, or to any coach or cabin, and you can use it to look at other people's messages or to reply to them. The train entity also uses it to post messages and information to the passengers." He shrugs, smiling a little. "We use this network a lot."

And on to the Wraiths. "I guess these nine kings had no experience with angelic spirits gone wrong. A Ring of Power must have sounded like a good deal to them. Surprise! They ended up slaves. But Glorfindel, I doubt that just anybody could have faced them and prevailed. Maybe Elrond's daughter could have; she's Galadriel's granddaughter, after all, and must have some of Elrond's powers as well."

"Strange to think of Elves leaving Middle-earth to return to Valinor. Maybe that's because most of our generation were so eager to leave, and I think of that as the norm. Aman is beautiful and full of the power of the Valar, and so maybe Elrond will indeed find healing there. I wish him well."

Curufin laughed along with Glorfindel. "Cirdan is as OLD AS GOD! I've heard mortals use that comparison, though of course they were only talking about their own kind. But it seems apt. He must be practically as old as the First Elves. Maybe your human bard was right, though. Living takes its toll, even on the Eldar."

Thank you!

[laurefindil]

"A remote device for communication. So a Palantir, then?" Glorfindel asked. He wasn't an expert on them, that was Curufin's father, but they sounded rather similar.

"Arwen chose another path, so no. And actually it was a human woman that killed the Witch-King, with the aid of a Hobbit."

"After six thousand years, and all the changes, plus the forgiveness of the Valar, most elves were tired of the blood and the fighting, and had lost someone dear to them. It starts to wear on some. Plus, then there was the longing when you see the Sea. Legolas has it, but intends to stay until Gimli is ready to sail."

Glorfindel blinked. "Cirdan IS one of the First Elves, Curufin. He woke at the side of the lake. But yes, it does take it's toll, causing some to fade."

[so_dark_a_road]

"A network and a palantir have similar functions, but they work on very different principles. We have some palantirs, by the way. My father made one and then I helped him make a few more. We had the chance to test them, and they work over quite amazing distances."

"I almost wish that Arwen had followed the path of an Elven warrior. There were so few women in our time who chose the warrior's path, either Elvish or mortal. There was Caranthir's friend Haleth, of course. And there were some Elven women in Himlad who fought alongside the men in the Fourth and Fifth Battles of Beleriand. Though I don't suppose Elrond would have wanted his daughter to risk it. nor would her mother, I'm sure."

"I guess I missed that part of our history, most of the events that followed the War of Wrath. I didn't see the ships set sail, nor did I hear any of the discussion that preceded their leaving. I was up in the mountains trying to figure out how to re-embody myself. I had been down to the ocean -- the new coastline, that is, the one that formed after the great deluge. I've always loved the sea, but I didn't long for it enough to want to cross it again. But I can't blame anybody who did. Legolas and Gimli were two of that company that set off to escort Frodo to Mt. Doom, I guess? I've heard a little of that story, as I said, but I don't know it in detail."

He smiled when Glorfindel blinked. "Cirdan is really that old??? I guess my joke wasn't a joke after all. No wonder he looked so luminescent. I met him once, though we didn't talk long. It's a good thing for our people that he stayed and built ships in case anybody wanted to leave. And didn't himself succumb to the temptation to depart, at least not for the longest time! I know about fading, of course, though I don't know anybody who did."

[laurefindil]

Glorfindel laughed. Of course they'd created new Palantirs. At least here there was no Sauron to corrupt them. "I am sure the people here count themselves fortunate you and your father are here."

"He would have preferred it over the path she did take," Glorfindel agreed quietly. "But it was not his call to make. Perhaps if she'd met him when he first came to Imladris, but she was visiting her grandmother and met him when he was mostly full grown and they were quite taken with one another, she and Aragorn."

"I would be happy to discuss it in some detail with you," Glorfindel offered. "As we are to be travelling together for the foreseeable future. But my wrist amulet is getting rather insistent."

"He really is. If you ever get a chance, ask him what it was like when he first Woke. But be prepared to cry. It is a beautiful story." Glorfindel sighed at the memory. "Is it any wonder that the Teleri built such wonderful boats? He was in the last official boat back to Valinor. Which as he was bearer of the Elven ring that Mithrandir ended up with, is only right." He nodded at the last, "Be glad. Your grandmother was the first to do so, and it still brings pain and chaos to a family, even now, but aside from putting them on a boat and sending them to Valinor, there was no cure, and left alone the elf ends up in the Halls."

Good place to end?

[so_dark_a_road]

Volcanic rocks had been available on one of the mission planets, and hence the chance to make Palantirs out of obsidian. And if there had been a Sauron here, Curufin would have pitched him off the train before he let him mess with the Palantirs. "It was a good thing we had those stones on the mission we just completed, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks so."

Curufin nodded. "Arwen is now lost to her father forever, and that loss was the more certain one. Any warrior might survive a war, but no one survives a mortal death."

He glanced down at his own wrist, where the SCA was flashing the train symbol. "Yes, we'd better climb aboard. The train wants to depart." Its doors were open and the foggy platform was fogging up even more. Curufin gestured in that direction and started to walk that way, trusting that Glorfindel would follow, of course.

He kept talking, though. "If I ever meet Cirdan again, I will certainly ask him. Cuiviénen, the lake of our origin. Lake of songs, lake of dreams. I would also love to pick his brains about ship-building. I can build a boat, but a craftsman of his experience must have secrets to pass on. Oh well, if he's back in Valinor, I'll never get the chance." He made a wry face. "I don't really think I'd be welcome there."

"Oh yes, the Three Elven Rings. My son made them, of course. They must all have gone back across the Great Sea with their bearers. And as for fading, yes, Grandmother Míriel must have been trying to fade, but then she departed from her body altogether. I found that a gruesome story, when I was a child. It gave me nightmares. But later, of course. . . I began to understand the oddness of the relationship we Elves have with our bodies. Of course, I didn't fade. But when I was ghosting around, I met a fair number of Elves who had ended up ghosts because they had faded. They were mostly of the Sindar or of the Dark Elf kind. They refused the summons of Mandos and stayed, just as I had."

On board the train, Curufin looked around. "I could show you the various coaches, and you can locate your own cabin. You cabin number should be printed on your ticket."

Awesome Place to End! Let's go play elsewhere!

[laurefindil]

"I'm sure you are busy, but I would appreciate a quick tour, thank you." Glorfindel followed him onto the train. He was very much looking forward to talking to Curufin again.

\o/

[so_dark_a_road]

"I'm not too busy to show you around!" says Curufin, and off they go.