The Fellowship Of Laurelin

Elrond, Master of Rivendell was there, and many others seated in silence around a great oval table with a beautiful marble top on which a golden tree was inlay to represent Laurelin the Golden, the youngest of the Two Trees of Valinor. " My friends, distinguished guests, here we gather today to discuss the importance of recording our history, stories and people so that their names and adventures can live forever in the great Archives of Middle-earth. I am calling upon you, people of the land of Laurelin in this time of great peril to fulfil this most urgent errand "

Here Master Elrond paused for a few moments staring at his guests one by one, almost studying their hearts and minds to discover who was up for this great challenge that required courage, passion, dedication, skills, and most of all, selfness. " To the chosen ones I promise no riches or glory, but only hard work and, sometimes, great peril. Your true reward will be the gratitude of your people and the knowledge your work is for the good of all the people of the Land of Laurelin. In exchange for your labour I am expecting all of your people to help you in your endeavour by remembering always to follow the few rules I set up for our Libraries and Archives. This is my wish and my command!"

Silence fell again. The mid-morning bell rung across the Valley. Still no one spoke. Some of the hobbits began to fidget in their seats as their round bellies grumbled at the thought of Second Breakfast. " I will take upon myself to fulfill your wishes, Master Elrond " came a soft voice from the other side of the table. A tall elf with long dark hair, wearing simple and comfortable dark robes stood up. His face looked young and fresh like all the other elves, but his clear eyes had seen the passing of many centuries. Master Elrond looked at him and nodded. The elf was known in Rivendell for he and his folk of The Grey Repository had made it their duty to find and store old knowledge in their secluded sanctuary in Rivendell. " Lately, with the threat of the growing shadow in the East and the diminishing of the Elves into the West, my folk and I have decided to entrust the repository and Archives to the other races, opening our secret archives to the public" the elf said. 

" Then this task is appointed to you and your people, Menion Calenon " Elrond replied then he looked around the table again " And who of our distinguished guests would you want to assist you in your endeavour ? " Asked Elrond . Their attention focused once more on the others at the table. An other elf came forward , a simple man, and a small hobbit.

Elrond looked pleased and nodded again when he felt someone tugging one of his sleeves - with a small frown Master Elrond looked down to discover the hobbit standing there with a big smile  intent to get his attention " Hullo Hullo , remember me Lord Elrond ? " the hobbit said between smiles. Elrond looked amused and nodded at the halfling " Of course...how can I forget those delicious sausages you are always bringing with you " He said trying not to laugh - " I would like to help the kind Elves to look after the Archives and Library if I may, sire..I mean I love books and maps, and I really really like adventures you know..even if I am just a hobbit...I mean, size matter not...right ? " By now most of the guests were quietly laughing " Of course they do not, " 

And so this is the tale of how from the secret archives of The Grey Repository, The Fellowship of Laurelin was born - A fellowship that is not only formed by the people that look after The Laurelin Archives, but by all the people that live in the land of Laurelin in Middle-earth. The Archives is always open for anyone, day and night, each person responsible in maintaining their own books and documents and a small team of people maintaining security, cleaning dust and cobwebs, and looking after the main building. The few rules established by Master Elrond are very simple and few but important for all to follow for the good running of our beloved Archives. The Laurelin Archives belong to all the people of Laurelin, not to one or two, therefore it is important for all to respect others and be polite.

(( OOC : It is most unusual for us to use OOC in this section but we have decided it is important to remind what is The Laurelin Archives and why we are kindly asking you to keep your profiles and stories IC all the time. The purpose of The Laurelin Archives Webportal is to provide the community with a place where players can share their work (stories, screens, artwork, poems, and more ), plan events and present their characters and kinships.

One visit here should be enough to get a good idea of what's currently happening on the server. The Laurelin Archives website is in essence a database for players of The Lord of the Rings Online role-play server Laurelin , a place where you present your characters, kinships and other assorted work, as well as search for others' work. Laurelin is of course a Role Play server and the Laurelin Archives is a platform aimed at Role Players therefore it is important to remember that, for sake of immersion, the Archives are strictly an IC platform - OOC should only be used in OOC sections, with few exceptions such as kin profiles. It should always be kept minimal and in brackets, conveying the information it needs to and nothing else, like for example credits for artwork or music - OOC may be used in some of the section run by us, like our rules. We are kindly asking you to remember our IC policy when you use the site, after all Role Play becomes much more enjoyable if we all remember this simple rule. Thank You for your cooperation and support in running The Laurelin Archives.))

Introducing The Team :

Calenon - Chief Developer and Administrator - in charge of the technical running of The Laurelin Archives, Head of the Webteam, he is our Boss, the Leader of our Fellowship , what he says ...goes ! 

Kheith - Graphical Designer and Moderator - in charge of how The Laurelin Archives look, he loves to hide behind his paintbrushes and canvases 

Amorey- Head Moderator and Reporter - in charge of the day by day running of the site and moderation , she is the first port of call for all your questions and complains ..or if you need a muffin or two - she is also in charge of the news section on The Laurelin Archives

Khalis - Head Moderator - in charge of the day by day running of the site and moderation - any questions you have may be addressed to him, he will always be happy to help 

The Laurelin Archives Webteam