This weekend in the Hall of Fire, we will be discussing one of the great (and tragic) stories of Tolkien’s Legendarium, Akallabêth: The Downfall of Numenor.
A land was made for the Edain to dwell in, neither part of Middle-earth nor of Valinor, for it was sundered from either by a wide sea; yet it was nearer to Valinor. It was raised by Ossë out of the depths of the Great Water, and it was established by Aulë and enriched by Yavanna; and the Eldar brought thither flowers and fountains out of Tol Eressëa. Akallbeth, The Silmarillion.
Akallabêth: The Downfall of Númenor
Documented in The Silmarillion, Akallabêth charts the rise and fall of the Dúnedain of Numenor. Rewarded with a bounteous land for their forefathers’ sacrifices in the dreadful wars against Morgoth, the Númenoreans proceed to throw it all away in a fit of hubris and misplaced envy of the immortality of the elves of Valinor and of the Valar themselves.
Not even the most earnest entreaties of elven emissaries sent by Manwë himself seems able to dissuade the Númenoreans that Valinor itself is the source immortality.
And when the last and mightiest Númenorean king Ar-Pharazôn brings Sauron to the island as his prisoner and hostage, it’s not long before the Dark Lord seduces the majority of the populace to the open worship of Morgoth and has the king plotting war upon the Undying Lands.
Join us from 6pm EDT (New York time) this Saturday for what is sure to be another lively Hall of Fire discussion.
Some suggested reading:
The Silmarillion: Akallabêth
Unfinished Tales: The Druedain
Time zone conversions
Not sure what time the chat will be where you are? Check this little conversion table out for some help. Alternatively, check our handy Event Announcer over on Time and Date for the correct time in your area.
America:
6.00pm EDT (New York)
5.00pm CDT (Chicago)
4.00pm MDT (Denver)
3.00pm PDT (Los Angeles)
Europe:
11.00pm BST (London)
11.00pm CST (Paris)
1.00am EEST (Helsinki)
Asia-Pacific
8.00am AEST (Sunday) Brisbane
8.00am AEST (Sunday) Sydney, Melbourne
10.00am NZST (Sunday) Wellington
How long do your topic chats go for?
Our chats usually last from an hour, and are very newbie friendly. Simply drop in and join the conversation! However, our main room, #theonering.net is open 24 hours a day. We don’t always talk Tolkien there, but if you have a burning question, you’ll usually find one or two of “the regulars” up for a chat!
Where — connection details
Chat happens on #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net — the TORn IRC server. You can connect instantly via our embedded Mibbit client that works inside your web browser.
Alternatively, you can install a dedicated chat program such as mIRC on your computer and just plug in the following connection details.
Server: irc.theonering.net
Port: 6667
Channel: #thehalloffire
