A Dream of Ingolemo & Weatherstock Forever

As I meditate atop the statue at High King’s Crossing in Evendim, I reminisce about my dreamscape of Weatherstock (dream-of-weatherstock).

From the lotro forum, I found a great read by redpoisonapple @ Countdown-to-Weatherstock-A-Closer-Look-at-the-Bands.

Harperella: I wanted to give a quick shoutout to Harperella of http://lonelymountainband.guildlaunch.com/. I previously thanked her for her role as emcee and of course I directed her toward her picture on danania.net. … and she said she had already seen it before I sent the message. Flattery will get you almost anywhere Harperella. /bow  J

RKO: From Khalawyn (aka Khaladreth, Ambrywen), RKO hails from the world of Brandywine, where they are known as Runic Knights. Their song selection was all instrumental. To learn more about Runic Knights, visit www.rklotro.com!

Andúnië: From Phedeline, turns out, I got the name of their group wrong; it is actually Andúnië. My apologies. (I totally copy/pasted the name here as umlauts and accents aren’t readily on my tongue.) You can find more about them @ http://s13.zetaboards.com/Andunie/index/. Andúnië has ties to both Laurelin and Landroval. The group leader is Makalaure, and some of the members you might have seen in dream were

Fionnuala (LAN)/ Fionulea (LAU),

Kalluin (LAN)/ Miste (LAU),

Tameren (LAN)/ Tamaren (LAU),

Manadhlaer (LAN/LAU),

Aururion (LAN/LAU),

Celessa (LAN)/ Fernith (LAU),

Phedelene (LAU/LAN).

Their current selection of pieces has lots of fun names like

“Music from the ballet "Troll Wedding"” (juxtaposing trollish and folksy themes)

“Witches' Dance” (music for dancing naked around bonfires at midsummer!)

“Riding with the Rohirrim” (allegro, gallop-y)

“Frogmorton Stomp” (hobbity jig)

…and many more.

Ingolemo: Brace yourselves ladies; Ingolemo has come to danania.net. I’ve been told his “sensual, smoldering glance is known to unleash a passionate fury” (source cited: Ingolemo). I added a few pictures as interlude, while Ingolemo’s words canvass danania.net in his signature purple. The songs below are the Weatherstock song set from Mar Vanwa Tylalieva (The Travelling Ingolemos).

“Stridin' Man”,

First, Stridin' Man, based on the Allman Brother's "Ramblin' Man", and sung from the perspective and history of Aragorn:

Lord, I was born a Stridin' man
Tryin' to help a hobbit and doin' the best I can
By life or death I'll save you,
By any means I can.
For I was born a Stridin' man

My father was a Chieftain of the Rangers.
He wound up on the wrong end of a bow
I was raised in the safety of the Homely House
Though now it's far afield I go.

Lord, I was born a Stridin' man
Tryin' to save a kingdom and doin' the best I can
The last heir of Isildur,
Nine Walkers in my band.
See, I was born a Stridin' man.

I'm on my way to Morannon this mornin'
I'm leavin' out of fair Minas Tirith.
There once again I will let burn the Flame of the West.
Reforged anew by craft of elven-smith.

Lord, I was born a Stridin' man
Fighting 'gainst the Shadow and doin' the best I can
And when the Ships are leavin'
When on far shores you stand...
But I was born a Stridin' man

Lord, I was born a Stridin' man,

Lord, I was born a Stridin' man,

Lord, I was born a Stridin' man.

(Dananote: Ok, so I cheated with the picture... I haven't met Earendil, I know of him only from legend. However, I do know one of his sons, Elrond... he doesn't look a day over 5000 years old.)

"Tales of Brave Eärendil",

Next came "Tales of Brave Eärendil" based off Cream's "Tales of Brave Ulysses", and recounting the voyage of Eärendil the Mariner:

You thought the wicked Melkor

would bring naught but death and war,
So you rode upon Foam-flower

to the land where rests the sun.
And the Shadows of the sea

bind your eyes with deep enchantments,
And you touch the diamond beaches

with tales of the Two Kindreds,
How their bravery was thwarted

by the malice of the Bauglir
For the roaring waves are calling you to sail to meet your Doom.

And you see a bird's white body

falling in a pale flame
And you clasp her close unto you

as she swoons in urgency.
And when you wake you find her,

her hair cascades around you,
Your wife who flew to find you,

bearing a Silmaril.

The mighty flaming dragons

fly screaming through the heavens,
And you cannot take her with you

where the cold is endless winter.

His name is Ancalagon

and his scales are black as sin,
But you hurl him to the towers,

and they sing on diamond sands
With tales of brave Eärendil,

how his kin were slain and tortured
For the keeping of the cursed Oath.

The flocking, wheeling seabirds

fly singing to her tower,
And, rose tinged, she flies to meet you

at the verge of endless winter.

(How about a lil kiss for the Scourge of the North!)

“Ramble On”,

Our triumphant conclusion, "Ramble On", based on, well, Ramble On by Led Zeppelin, and summarizing the plot of the Volume I epic quests, very quickly, in song.

Flames are falling all around,

Archet, I am on my way.
To Bombadil, I'm much obliged

for such a pleasant stay. 

But now it's time for Radagast.

The Red Maid's gone astray.
But now I smell the smoke,

I helped three Folk,

and chased a Wraith away.

When I'm Greatly Inspired,

I've got to beat Skorgrim and a zombie drake...

Ramble On,

And now's the time, for a stone heart,

I sing my song. 

I'm goin' 'round the world, I got to help that girl,

We strike Carn Dum.
A light in the gloom, but it becomes her tomb,

Ramble On,
Reforged the sword, the palantir ignored.

Got no time to for Gúlaran,

The knights are now dead and gone.
And now the Rangers helped kill Morguldur,

it's time to Ramble On.

Ramble On,

Annuminas, the King's City,

the fight is long.
We capture Mordrambor, the danger we ignore,

Oh, Laerdan!
Didn't heed the plan,he couldn't wait a span,

Ramble On,
Goin' to Trollshaws, cause that is what she saw.

Mine's the task to find Laerdan,

his freedom I hold dear.
I get the ring,

from some dead king,

when ice was in the air.
T'was in the forges of Eregion

I met a girl so foul.
But Laerdan,

and Mordirith

they fought and wiped away her scowl,

scowl, scowl....yeah.

Ain't nothing I can do but

I guess I'll keep on

GETTING THINGS!

I'm gonna

Kill the False King!

Gotta find my horsie

Gonna Ramble On, gonna sing my song
Gonna ride my way, round the world.

Ramble On.

(Dana-horse gives a good horse laugh at the next song while munching on a pile of Blueberries.)

"Swift Horse-Steed",

Our Encore Song, "Swift Horse-Steed", based on Queen's "Bicycle Race", and poking a little light-hearted fun at coming mounted combat.

Swift War-steed! Swift War-steed! Swift War-steed!
I want to ride my

Swift War-steed! Swift War-steed! Swift War-steed!
I want to ride my Swift War-steed!
I want to ride my mount!
I want to ride my Swift War-steed!
I want to rack up a head count!

You say black, I say white!
You say neigh, I say flight!
You say walk, I say hey man
Shoes were never my thing
And I don't like Insert! 

I mount up, I rejoice
You say please, give me a choice.
You ask why? I say boy,
see, mounted combat is the thing
They asked, so big bucks it'll bring!

All I wanna do is
Swift War-steed! Swift War-steed! Swift War-steed!
I want to ride my

Swift War-steed! Swift War-steed! Swift War-steed!
I want to ride my Swift War-steed!
I want to ride my mount
I want to ride my Swift War-steed!
I want to ride my

Forced mounted combat is coming your way
So forget all your class skills, oh yeah!
Hobbits on ponies are riding today
So look out for Underhills, oh yeah!

On your marks,

get set,

GO!

Swift War-steed, yay! Swift War-steed, yay! Swift War-steed, yay!
Swift War-steed! Swift War-steed! Swift War-steed!

I want to ride my

Swift War-steed!
Swift War-steed! Swift War-steed! Swift War-steed!
War-steed, AWAY! 

(Makes clip-clop noises with a hollow coconut shell.)

You say hills I say plains!
You say tails, I say manes!
Scepter? I say cool it man
I don't wanna be the king of the lost realm of Arnor!
You say legs, I say knees.

Wanna raid? I say please
Half-elven? I say Manwe!
I don't wanna be a candidate
For interspecies lore-break mate!

Cos all I want to do is

Swift War-steed! Swift War-steed! Swift War-steed!
I want to ride my Swift War-steed! Swift War-steed! Swift War-steed!
I want to ride my Swift War-steed!
I want to ride my horse!
I want to ride my Swift War-steed!
I want to ride it in great force!

(Ah, do it your way! Riding along, wind in my face, rainbow at my back, enjoying festival with good friends. Good times.)

"End of the Line",
And, not that it was particularly interesting for parodic purposes, as I didn't change much, but here was our Battle of the Bands lyrics, "End of the Line" by the Traveling Ingo...er...the Traveling Wilburys:

Well it's all right, riding around in the breeze
Well it's all right, if you play the game you please
Well it's all right, doing the best you can
Well it's all right, as long as you lend a hand
You can sit around and wait for XP to ding.

At the end of the line
Waiting for someone to help you clear the thing,

At the end of the line
Sit around and wonder what the chest will bring,

At the end of the line
Maybe a magic ring.

Well it's all right, even if they say you're wrong
Well it's all right, sometimes you gotta be strong
Well it's all right, as long as you got somewhere to lay
Well it's all right, everyday is update day.

Maybe somewhere down the road aways

At the end of the line
You'll think of me, and wonder where I am these days

At the end of the line
Maybe somewhere down the road when somebody plays

At the end of the line
Purple Haze.

Well it's all right, even when push comes to shove
Well it's all right, if you got someone to love
Well it's all right, everything'll work out fine
Well it's all right, were going to the end of the line.

Don't have to be ashamed of the horse I ride

At the end of the line
I'm just glad to be here, happy my robe is dyed

At the end of the line
It don't matter if you're by my side

At the end of the line
I'm satisfied.

Well it's all right, even if you're old and grey
Well it's all right, you still got something to say
Well it's all right, remember to live and let live
Well it's all right, the best you can do is forgive.

Well it's all right, riding around in the breeze
Well it's all right, if you live the life you please
Well it's all right, even if the sun don't shine
Well it's all right, we're going to the end of the line.

Weatherstock is a beacon of hope; may it be cherished in future years.

Weatherstock Forever:

I know you can’t get enough; but I want to leave you with the lyrics to “Weatherstock Forever” from the Lonely Mountain Band (http://lonelymountainband.guildlaunch.com/).

It is again that time

Come together

At Weathertop

This is the place to be

It's Weatherstock forever

Hear people singing in rhyme

The beautiful music

Will never stop

Here you can feel free

Here at Weatherstock forever

Come along and you will see

Come and sing so merrily

Come along and dance with me

At Weatherstock, forever

Come along, my lady fair

Come with ribbons in your hair

Come, for I'll be waiting there

At Weatherstock, forever

Free people of Middle-Earth

You are invited

Come everyone

Bring along all your friends

To Weatherstock forever

All efforts it will be worth

You'll be delighted

It's such a great fun

You'll hope it never ends

That's Weatherstock forever

Come along and you will see

Come and sing so merrily

Come along and dance with me

At Weatherstock, forever

Come along, my lady fair

Come with ribbons in your hair

Come, for I'll be waiting there

At Weatherstock, forever

We'll having band after band

Many songs playing

You'll never forget

This is the big event

It's Weatherstock forever

Notes fly all over the land

To the sound swaying

'till the sunset

It is a time well spent

At Weatherstock forever

Come along and you will see

Come and sing so merrily

Come along and dance with me

At Weatherstock, forever

Come along, my lady fair

Come with ribbons in your hair

Come, for I'll be waiting there

At Weatherstock, forever.

A Dream of Weatherstock

Last Friday night, after an enjoyable time pounding the horde of creeps into submission (or was I the one getting pounded?), I went to sleep in Arkenstone.

Through my mind’s eyes, I saw myself flying across the vastness of the abyss. Unlike other visions where I have become a chicken, a horse, or a ranger, where I still exist in the world but interact differently, this time it was different. I awoke in a world called Landroval, in a time called Weatherstock.

Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Arkenstone anymore. .... We must be over the rainbow!

I had been summoned by friends I hadn’t seen since a previous age (beginning). Szarmaleth and Jairandir were there to meet me. We were soon joined by another old friend, Droggyr.

Szar: Are you a good witch or a bad witch?

Dana: I'm not a witch at all. I'm Danania, Supergirl of Lorien, from Arkenstone. I came to see the Weatherstock.

Jaidan: She wears the ruby boots.

Szar: Oh, so she does! Well bust my buttons. Why didn't you say so in the first place. That's a horse of another color, Come on in!

It’s time to see what drew me across the impassable divide.

In the Lone lands, as we walked up the path toward Weathertop, the excitement builds, the bustle and intensity of hundreds rolls like an ocean wave. The crowd is thicker than I have ever seen. As the information rolls in, I see nametags on all these strangers… so very many that I “/n” to focus on their faces.

(side note from the conscious self… Szar warns me to switch out of Ultra High view to Medium to reduce lag, but she was the one who designed this system and it has never been properly put through the paces. It handled the view just fine. J …but if you are ever in a too-much-information area and unsure of your system, follow her suggestion and scale back.)

Through the crowd, I found my friend Goldenstar and gave a /hug and a quick hello, as all watched the revelry on center stage.

It looks like I have arrived mid-festival as one band leaves the stage and the Emcee Harperella announced the next group of performers.

"...This is positively the finest exhibition ever to be shown... well, be that as it may, I your wizard emcee, par adua outer, am about to bring to the stage the next group that will send your mind racing on an unexplainable journey..."

A group lead by lead singer Ingolemo took the stage.

I followed along as the captions imprinted on my mind. His words strung together, I read his lips sing a ballad, called Stridin’ Man.

It is my dream, and of course, in my dreams, I fantasize that people actually show up to read my blog. So, naturally, I had the extreme pleasure of meeting a hobbit named Apis, who recognized me and said she was a fan of the blog! Wow, what a nice thing to say in a dream!

/bow to Apis

I watched a few more bands perform as I could feel my time slipping on reality.

Here are six more.

Phedelene of Leaves of Laurelin.

Larkfeather of Breakfast Club.

Rohaena of The Songburrow Strollers.

Khalawyn of RKO.

Arelias of Mornie Alantie.

Emyli of Symphonia et Gloria

When I awoke, I was back in my bed in Arkenstone, bewildered, amazed by the amount of planning to pull off such an elaborate dream, and glad it was mine to share. 

No, but it wasn't a dream. It was a place. And you - and you - and you - and you were there... But you couldn't have been, could you? Bird, you should have seen it... This was a real, truly live place.

If you have had a similar dream and recognize any of these performers, feel free to let me know who they are so I can include them with the pictures!

Update 07/03/12: followup to Weatherstock at dream-of-ingolemo-weatherstock-forever.