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A

Record

of

House Ciryaturs

and

the rise of the

Faithwrights of Numenor

as compiled and illuminated by

Handuli of the House of Ciryaturs, S.A. 1812

Loximir Thursby, T.A. 3002

Tinifalas Thursby, F.A. 18

Preface to the Third Revised Edition of the Faithwrights of Numenor.

The Faithwrights of Numenor (FoN) is compiled from the fragments and precious few complete scrolls and tales from the Eldar Days of the First Age and Second Age of this Middle-earth. My predecessors in their fashion have done yeoman's work building the foundations on which I have continued the efforts. It has been only with the insights of the Fare Folk, long friends to the Thursby Kinship much has been preserved of our history and for this I mark here our gratitude.

- Tinifalas Thursby, Minas Tirith, Fourth Age 18.

Preface to the Second Revised Edition of the Faithwrights of Numenor.

Here is set the known words attesting to the history of the Thursby Family in the bygone ages of Middle-earth. The luminary historian Handuli of the House of Ciryaturs laid down the first collection of stories from which I have added the accumulated knowledge gained since in this edition. Lore Masters of our Age would be aghast at the lack of original sources, however it is widely understood such is due to the oral traditions giving way to properly scribed records.
-Loximir Thursby, Third Age, 3002

Preface to the First Edition of the Faithwrights of Numenor.

The House of Ciryaturs set to put to record the tales passed down from its founding fathers. Owing to the nature of these earliest years, no proper record was kept until the House had come into being for some many years. Nevertheless it is my hope this scribe's efforts will not be in vain and give knowledge to those yet to come of our earliest struggles and for what we stood for.
- Handuli of the House of Ciryaturs.

"Souls weary rise anew from the promise of new life on unknown shores amidst a vast sea." ~Nathamir of the House of Ciryaturs. 28 S.A.

Wars of The First Age and the Coming to Elenna-nore.

In the years of the First Age people of original Edain blood settled near the shores of the Bay of Balar in the town of Arvernien. Theirs was a life of peace, attuned to the rhythms of the sea and its life. Soon these men came into friendship with the Eldar who made hearth and home in the Havens of Sirion. For the greater portion of the Age man and Elf enjoyed fellowship with one another.

Drawn by the lustrous blue of the sea of Belegaer and learning at the knee of their ageless friends, the men of Arvernien came to achieve skill as shipwrights that rivaled any in Beleriand. In this age it was not the custom of the race of men to take a sires name, the kindred took to title themselves as being of the House of Ciryaturs, or Ship Masters in the tongue of Quenya.

The rise of shadows and the convulsions of the land and sea heralded the great War of Wrath in the halls of the House of Creatures. Patriarch of Falathrim who dwelled in Havens of Sirion, 'Tsubchi, rallied the spirits of the Edain through the tales of their Teleri kin and so marshalled the men to war for the first time under the banner of their chief, Nathamir.

The war concluded the stern Edain returned to their homes overlooking the Bay of Balar. They were quick in action and sacrifice yet reticent to claim glory. By deed they earned immense yet silently given esteem. It was only with much urgent counsel that Nathamir heeded the call by Elros, son of Earendil, to take-up the gift of rest the Valar bestowed to the race of Men. Thus the shipwrights of House Ciryaturs saw the Age end as they crafted many white vessels in their traditional fashion. In turn these ships carried many of the race of men to their reward far to the west during the coming two score and ten years.

The isle settled and the realm of Numenor declared in 32 S.A., Nathamir settled the kin of his house in the city of Andunie on the shores of the bay taking its name from it. Ensconced in a great fjord on the north western spur of the isle of Numenor, it afforded a secure, sheltered harbor and was nearest to the forbidden Valinor. This was much desired as they had fought closely alongside the Elves in the concluding war of the first age and his house was named Elendili, "Elf-Friends" by the First Born.

These Elendili were predecessors in their devotion to the Valar as the Faithful later in the age. Those of the kin quickly and long kept ties and trade with the Faire Folk of the Undying Lands and those Edain whom kept their homes on Middle-earth. Likewise, they became fast friends to the men of Hyarrostar and skilled in the husbandry of trees there which were the root of their earliest and best known trade, the building of fine ships. In service to their early trade, kin also settled in Romenna in eastern Numenor, who's bay hosted the graving docks for their ships.

Those of House Ciryaturs were well skilled as mariners, a trait not uncommon naturally as it was said to be imbued in the blood of the men of Numenor. However it was such that their house became among the earliest and most stout supporters of the Uinendili, the "Guild of Venturers" whose guildhall, often kept aboard a ship, was hosted in their home of Andunie in SA 750.

Shadows rose again and the men of Westernesse rose again to meet them. Tar-Minastir dispatched a great fleeting to aid Gil-galad in the War of the Elves and Sauron in year 1700 of the S.A. It's commander was the Numenorean admiral Ciryatur. His own mother was from the House of Ciryaturs. Ciryatur crossed the sea of Arda aboard a flagship crafted by the House Ciryaturs and many from it took arms and sailed with the kindred admiral.

They sailed to aid the high Elven king whose Elves had been driven back to the River Lhûn by Sauron. The high King was near defeat when the great fleet from Númenor arrived and Sauron was repelled with great loss. The Ciryatur was able to effect landings on inhospitable shores thanks to the ships and skills of the House of Ciryaturs. In so doing the Admiral was able to effect a secret envelopment of Souron's forces, appearing in force at his rear as he fled the onslaught at the Lhun. Then fully routed at the Battle of the Gwathló, Sauron escaped and fled to Mordor following utter defeat at Calenardhon.

"The doom of men ought to keep us from dwelling too much on the ephemeral and seek the greater truth beyond. Too many fail to seek and only escape the doom." - Ocala of Romenna

Fall of the Kings and the Plight of the Faithful.

After the War of Wraith and the breaking of Beleriand, House Ciryaturs returned to their havens on Numenor and resumed their work. The House Ciryaturs had much involvement with the building of the harbors at Umbar, Pelargir and Belfalas. Dry goods and stores from Middle-earth became an expanded source of wealth for the house. Trade and other commerce ensured that news also flowed into the halls of Andunie continuously.

All the while the shadows of the Enemy never fully lifted from Middle-earth and even cast darkness over Numenor. Edain from far away lands held dominion over isolated lands on Middle-earth and became sundered from men of High Blood. Thus the Middle-men came to be. Resentment and presumption drove Kings to assert tyranny over the lands beyond the island, exacerbating the change of esteem the blood of Numenor was held in.

Among the men of High Blood, across Numenor a rift developed between those who honored the Valar and precips of Eru and those aligned with the Kings. The Kings grew in resentment of the Eldar and the seeming inquiry of lifespans. The Kings came to pursue corporeal power and to halt the slow decline in longevity which seemed to beset some blood lines more as the age progressed.

The chiefs of the House came into close council with the Lords of Andunie even as ties to the Kings of Numenor frayed. Relations with the Elves of Valinor and the havens on Middle-earth remained warm. Which only gave root to suspicion of the House among the Kings as they lost faith in the patronage of the Valar.

"The Doom of Men meant words of lore faded even with the long lived blood of Numenor. It was with hope of aiding in the passage of wisdom and awareness of darkness that the Falathrim gave their Elf Friends the most revered relics of their House." - Tinfalas Thursby, The Book of Thursby, Volume One.

"Seminal Icons of the House of Ciryaturs."

The great Seeing Stones and legendary weapons of the age were coveted for their imbued qualities. They were the highest examples of their kind and we're never replicated as the skill in craft which produced them diminished.

It would be wrong to describe the seminal Icons of the House Ciryaturs as lesser examples of their craft however. Rather they were with specific and narrow purposes. These icons were gifts given by Falathrim, who had divided their dwellings between the havens at Edholland and the Undying lands. They were to provide warning and guidance.

The first of these icons was the Dagger of Warding. This dagger was presented to the chief of the House of Ciryaturs and passed to its successor for ages to come. It possessed a blade of traditional Elven design with a curved blade and grip. It's pummel featured a crystal which with a twist of it's true silver mount could be concealed. The makers imbued the crystal with qualities that gave the blades keeper warning in times of approaching danger. The crystal would demonstrate a hue when the daggers carrier had need to be weary or mindful. The hue had no specific threat tied to it. Rather, like the second icon, its meaning was left to the mind of its keeper.

The second icon gifted to the House of Ciryaturs was named the Beacon of Andunie. The beacon was a palm sized crystal whose hue was fluid. When spurred to life the beacon was ever changing from transparent to opaque and luminous to dark. The quality the Elves imbued the Beacon with was to forewarn of interesting times. The Beacons keepers may devine images and notions from laying of hands over it or gazing into its depths. However over the ages the Beacon was said to provide guidance best through inspiring dreams which its keeper was left to determine the meanings of.

These gifts were kept secret and safe from the knowledge of the King of Numenor. They would prompt their keepers to view their times with clear minds and if not to give foresight, pause at least to consider and prepare for the possible.

"The dead return to the ground but sometimes the soul rots before the body has fallen." - Tondera of Andunie. "Of the Fall."

"The Fall of Shadow, Rise of Fear and the Flight from Numenor."

Nothing living with any modicum of comfort lacks a fear of it's own demise. Therefore it is no surprise that the short lives of the race of men by the reckoning of the other races of Middle-earth, created a unique mix of fear and resentment. Concordantly it was among those with the greatest wealth and power the greatest depth of these sentiments were harbored. None were more fearful than the nobles and Kings of Numenor. None were more driven to tap powers and walk paths to abate the inevitable doom all shared than the Kings of Numenor.

Those men of lesser means and bloodlines rallied to the King, forsaking ancient faith in the purpose of the Doom of Men. They sought to abate fear by subordinating their wisdom as Kingsmen and the fellowship of others like them.

Those who sought only to remain faithful to the teaching of the Valar and Eldar became an intolerable reminder of the fear the Kingsmen held in their hearts.

The Eldar, their presence, craft, spoken and written words were bitter reminders of what the Kingsmen coveted. Soon the use of the ancient Elven tongue was forbidden. Title and lore became rooted in more common tongues. The House of Ciryaturs was compelled to move from it's ancestral home in Andunie to Romenna and even forsake their house name. It took in place of the house name the secret identity of the Faithwrights of Numenor.

It was in the reign of the last King of Numenor that the disciple of the first Dark Lord feigned supplication before a host of Numenorean might before his gates. A ruse which earned the title Deciever among those of the Faithwrights. To the dismay of the Faithwrights, blinded by pride and fear the King took the Deciever to the very shores of Numenor. There the King harkened to black council which gave root to the eventual doom of Numenor.

In these years the Beacon of Andunie shimmered vigorously in the quarters of the matron of the Faithwrights, Tondera of Andunie. From dreams filling her sleep Tondera resolved she needed to prepare against a calamity yet unknown. She took counsel with the Elven friends of the Faithwrights at sea and in the new settlements of Belfalas. She took heed of the guidance of Cirdan and Elrond in the years that followed. As ever more terrible acts were visited upon the Faithful she prepared her House for the future.

So it was the Faithwrights redoubled building ashore in Middle-earth and began to craft new and spacious white ships. These Tondera had kept unfinished but whose parts could be drawn together in great haste. The Dagger of Warding remained at her side waking and at rest. Her eyes frequently consulting the pummels crystal.

So it was that the Deceiver at last put the King's mind to the unthinkable and the greatest host of Numenors history sailed in anger to the shores of the Undying lands. So awakened by the bright and urgent sheen from the Dagger of Warding that Tondera gave the orders and the White Ships of Numenor were assembled and took those of the Faithful to sea as the island was sundered and consumed.

"Foresight prepared them, destiny rewarded them." - Benjimir Thursby, "The Analects."

"The Turn of the Age and the Rise of the House of Thursby."

The Fall of Numenor realized the Deciever's desire to heap vengeance on Numenor. It did not however purge it's pride and wisdom from Middle-earth. Arnor and Gondor and their fortress cities had long been founded. Havens and bastions of the Faithful were well established when Westernesse fell. Aboard ships of the Faithwrights Elendil and his sons were conveyed to new shores with the icons of Numenor and a resolve to preserve it's memory.

The Faithwrights took to their own haven in Belfalas and tended their work and business throughout Middle-earth. Content to take their reward from lives of peace along the shores of the Bay of Belfalas, the Faithwrights sought no title or fiefdom from the named King. As they had since the First Age they took to service as trusted counselors to the King and the Prince, given lordship over Belfalas.

Tondera gave command to raise a hall on the greater island in the Bay of Belfalas. It was also at this time she took as her husband the chief of a stalwart clan of Middle-men. The clan had over the Age founded settlements and merchantiles in the Faithwrights stead. As a token of solidarity with and to seal their bond the Faithwrights took as their own the sire name of the clan. Thus was founded the House of Thursby.

The Faithful were not alone in escaping Numenor's doom. Kingsmen had long held sway in the haven of Umbar. Their blood would run thin and diminish with speed after Westernesse fell. Yet the hate of the Valar, Faithful and the engrained resentment that infected the Kingsmen remained. From the haven the Corsairs of Umbar gave body and name to the shadow of the Kingsmen. Soon they grappled with the Navy of Gondor and thus with the ships and men of the House of Thursby throughout the coming Age.

Even as this bitter rivalry took root House Thursby was called upon by the King as he marshalled the might of the race of men to the Last Alliance. Once more ships and men under the House banner conveyed might to war. The Deciever fell and the long Second Age came to an end.

Yet the Last Alliance's victory was incomplete and the Third Age of Middle-earth began under shadow. It was long after the Deciever fell before the Dagger of Warding and the Beacon of Andunie fell dark. A great ring of power was lost. Fell folk remained throughout many a mountain range. Corsairs challenged for supremacy at sea. New and hateful foes plagued the Kingdoms from the east. Most disconcertingly, the bloodlines of Numenor scattered, sundered and diminished. Strife, pride and petty wants buckled the bonds among men of High Blood. Middle-men carried on and looked with weary eyes on the Lords who presumed Dominion over them yet provided little wisdom or prosperity.

The House of Thursby settled into the long watchful peace and laid foundations to guard against the shadows seen in dreams of the future. The House sent it's sons and daughters to learn and serve in the halls of man, King and Elf alike. They kept watch over Middle-earth with the pride of true sons of Westernesse and the absolute resolve that against the Shadows, Numenor would prevail.