Thanks to the Encyclopedia of Arda, I'm finally beginning to understand the intricacies of the line of succession in Arnor and Gondor, and thereby Aragorn's claim to the throne of Gondor as the South Kingdom that used to be part of the rule of the High King in the Second Age. As much as it pains me to admit it, if you follow the bloodline down from Elendil, Aragorn is indeed the rightful heir to the High King's throne, and as such to both Gondor and the remnants of the lost North Kingdom.

Which brings me to the reason for my new/old fascination with MiddleEarth: a Boromir-centric gen story by plasticChevy at ff.net, called "The Captain and the King" and its sequel, "The Steward's Tale", which is still a work-in-progress. Wonderful style, a grasp of Tolkien's world to match, and an oh-so true portrayal of the characters. And, of course, Boromir does not die at the shores of the Anduin, above the Falls of Rauros, but survives and suffers through much hardship to become Aragorn's Steward. Denial!fic is just lovely when it's written like this. I'm addicted, again.

Furthermore, I learned that, according to the Encyclopedia of Arda, "Boromir" means almost certainly 'faithful jewel'. Awwww. And he was 41 years old when he died (2978 - 26.02.3019), which means he must have had quite a bit of the old Númenórean blood in his veins to be a warrior at the top of his strength when already in his forties.

Too bad my next gaming group does not use MERS as a system, but rather AD&D 2^nd edition. Apart from that, I've been invited to spend a long weekend in January in H., and we will most certainly dig out or old MERS characters and revisit MiddleEarth in the Second Age. Arthedain, Rhudaur, Cardolan, here I come! I'll have to ask when exactly we do play (game-time-wise), and who currently holds the rule in Gondor.