Recently I’m re-reading “The Silmarillion”, a new translated version that I’ve been hoping to read for years. The world-creating myth is so beautifully written, Tolkien my god🥲 It’s so vast and elegant, —the imagination of the god of words.
I read it in Chinese when I was in high school (the translation was terrible and I forgot at least half of the book). Plus, I was young and didn’t quite get into it (and there were too many names!) The current version I’m reading is reeaaally good—it’s smooth as silk, absolutely beautiful (and enjoyable) to read.
What I want to say is that…Tolkien did write many desolate places in Middle-earth. When the world was firstly created, there wasn’t even a sun—everything under starlight. By the Third Age (the era of “The Lord of the Rings”), the ancient kingdoms were already disappeared and became wilderness, tombs, ancient battlefields where even grass wouldn’t grow. In the movies there are also many rocks, cliffs, and vast grassland (the New Zealand scenery was just perfect 😂)…
Which reminds me in my RPGs, I even put a village that has everything in the very north of the continent…I guess it’s just…a person nowadays would expect (also you’ll have to let the players to get prepared for the final stage, but a village, well, maybe too cozy in an adventuer)
If the land is not that deserted, it means Mirabell’s country is quite well-governed: even remote mountainous areas (almost the world’s end) have normal roads. (Frodo and Bilbo didn’t walk on proper roads!) The villagers have business with the outside world, and the princess can just visit if she wants to.
So…although the north part of her kingdom is desolate, it has all the necessities: trade, transportation, and even education. They may not have lots of mines or farmlands, but the kingdom seems quite wealthy. (At first, I thought only the coastal cities were wealthy).
Does that mean the coastal cities make money, and the government use them to develop the remote mountain areas?🤔 Is the king really that wise (and capable of work)? Or maybe because of the former kings or the ministers are good?
Interesting. (Mirabel: Why do you sound so surprised!)
Therefore, I guess the fantasy world in the RPGs is surprisingly advanced. They are probably going to have electricity in a few years (or a few decades, idk), maybe just one step away from the Industrial Revolution. (I love Industrial Revolution and steampunk themes too, though Tolkien really disliked machinery and industry (the source of all ugliness and evil😂)
I actually quite like Saruman (as a villain lol). The industrial vibe of Isengard’s music is pretty cool.
I also finished reading “The Hobbit” yesterday. It was perfect for the Chinese New Year atmosphere (especially the year of dragon!) Now the dragon and the gold and the sound of “Wishing you wealth and prosperity” stuck in my head, leaving me unable to sleep 🤦
(I got up and watched the movie documentary and felt better (:з」∠).
That’s a lot of random talk!…Just wanted to comment on the wildness in Middle-earth and the Mounttop Village in Airi’s Adventure.
Happy new year and wishing you wealth and prosperity 😉
2024-02-10
在看《精灵宝钻》了，
创世神话写得太美了啊啊啊，托老我的神🥲
好辽阔空旷大气，古典优雅哀愁，神级的想象力
以前看的译林早期那版，翻译太糟了，加上年纪小不太吃这套（加上人名太多），就比较记得贝伦和露西恩w
现在看的是文景版，翻译好注释好，看起来丝般顺滑，纯净绝美享受，太喜欢了
想说的是托老写中土荒凉的地方真的很荒，开天辟地的时候连太阳都没有，世界笼罩在星光之下，大片大片未知的沉睡的土地。到第三纪元（魔戒时代）荒废的古代王国就真的没有人，荒原，古冢，寸草不生的古战场，各种悬崖峭壁，几乎垂直的岩石，骑着马还没膝的荒草等等（新西兰风景太合适了😂）……
我只想感慨一句，做RPG我在世界极北还放了一个啥都有的村子，真是太现代人的思维了（掩面
不够荒说明米拉贝尔的国家还治理得挺好的，世界尽头这种偏远山区也有正常通行的道路（弗罗多和比尔博走得真不是道hh），村民和外界有交流，公主说去也能去
所以整个大北方虽然荒凉，但该有的贸易啊交通啊甚至教育都有，米拉的北国虽然没矿没农田但也很富的样子……原先的感觉是只有海港城富，那岂不是海港城做生意给国库挣钱，国家还贴钱给边远山区搞基础建设吗🤔
治国这么有方的吗，原本认为是平庸的国王+笨蛋小公主，意外～是大臣比较强还是国家（自然资源少所以）危机感比较重还是前代国王的传统比较好呢，想想好像很有意思（米拉贝尔：为什么意外啦！
所以说RPG的世界也意外很发达，都快用上电了，再发展发展就该工业革命了（
虽然托老非常不待见现代化、工业和机械（简直认为那是一切丑恶和邪恶的源头😂），我在爱着中土的同时也很爱工业革命和机器……所以其实挺喜欢萨茹曼（当作反派喜欢w），艾森加德工业风BGM特别带感😂
另外昨天看完了《霍比特人》的小说，过年看实在是太应景了，结果满脑子都是“恭喜你发财，恭喜你精彩”～～久久挥之不去，甚至到了睡不着觉的程度🤦（爬起来看了会儿电影花絮，感觉精神稳定多了(:з」∠)
有的没的说了一堆（就是想感慨一下中土的荒地和RPG里的山顶村而已！），
大家新年快乐啦，恭喜发财～～
jing168886 2024-02-10
技术落后的时代有废土，现代化工业和机械兴盛了……也会出现废土，人为的。我始终相信这点。>>Rabbiton 2024-02-13
是这样的hhh 看看萨茹曼也能看出来😂（第三纪元之后就是人类的时代了，人类可争点气吧(:з」∠)
