The Prancing Pony Podcast

Episode 399: Under Pressure
Release Date: February 8, 2026
Hosts: Alan Sisto & James Tauber
Special Guest: Chris Peet (Wizard Way)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into Tolkien’s legendarium with the smart, lively, and digressive style the Prancing Pony Podcast fans know and love. The first and main segment spotlights Chris Peet’s Imladris (Elvish) calendar project—a 14-month, Sindarin-language wall calendar meticulously synced to the Elvish reckoning described in Tolkien’s Appendix D. After a deeply nerdy exploration of Tolkienian timekeeping and elvish linguistics, the hosts resume their close reading of "Tal Elmar" from The Peoples of Middle-Earth, focusing on intrigue, power plays, character motivations, and the geographical mysteries of Middle-earth’s Second Age.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Imladris Calendar – Chris Peet’s Deep Tolkien Project

[04:29–25:57]

Chris Peet's Tolkien Journey

• Chris’s Tolkien story began with the Peter Jackson films, getting "dragged" to see Fellowship of the Ring and becoming instantly fascinated by elves:
  "I saw the elves and my entire brain stopped, rebooted, and I have been absolutely hyper-focused on them ever since" (Chris, 04:44).
• Later took Elvish lessons online, met the woman who taught her as her life partner—a true Tolkien love story.

Why the Imladris Calendar?

• Unlike the Shire or King’s Reckoning, Imladris (Rivendell)’s calendar is “deeply tied to nature” and divides the year by six seasons, not arbitrary months.
  "The elves are very focused on interacting with and melding with the environments ... the calendar of Imladris is very centered around the passing of the seasons." (Chris, 06:20)
• Months are replaced by 6-day weeks and 6 seasons: spring, summer, harvest, fading (leaf fall), winter, and stirring.

From High School Lockers to Launch

• Created a meme-filled calendar “with Elrond and a Matrix background” in high school using MS Paint (08:02), but longed for an official, artistically-realized version.
• Inspired by Don Marshall’s This Day in Middle-earth calendar, Chris resolved to finally make her Imladris calendar.
• Took three years to develop, especially to commission and fairly pay Tolkien community artists (including commercial rights).

Timing and New Year

• Elvish new year falls late March (approximately March 23–27), not January, so the “2026–2027 calendar” starts March 23, 2026 and ends March 22, 2027 (11:18).
• Chris synchronized the Imladris calendar with our proleptic Gregorian year "1 AD," which aligns well for 2026 (12:05).

Addressing "Nerd Problems"

• Gregorian and Elvish weeks don't line up (ours: 7 days, theirs: 6); the calendar visualizes the offset with diagonal shading for weekends (13:13).
• James: "I love the way that you've conveyed the weekend through the color and stuff like that." (12:56)
• Each cell has the full Gregorian date alongside Elvish reckoning so it's “usable as a calendar” with a “little mental switch” (14:08).

Deep Dive: Elvish & Sindarin Days of the Week

• All days start with "Or-" (day):
  • Orgelion: Star Day
  • Oranor: Sun Day
  • Orithil: Moon Day
  • Orgalavar: Trees Day (for the Two Trees)
  • Ormenel: Heaven’s Day
  • Orbelein: Valar Day (in Sindarin, not Quenya, "because you have to pick a dialect" for the elves of Middle-earth) (15:19–19:09).
• Chris’s calendar is entirely Sindarin; a Quenya edition might follow with enough interest.
• Uses custom iconography for each day to avoid alphabet clutter.

Duodecimal Elven Math

• Elvish number system is base-12; calendar shows both Arabic numbers and the duodecimal-elvish for each day (21:30).
• They may have counted on their "knuckle bones" (23:30)—a genuine anthropological method!

How to Order

• Calendar (with sample pages and art previews) is at elfboy.com (“don’t forget the hyphen: elfboy.com”) (24:31).
• Art by Ander Poziniuk and Rami Van Voorg, with instructions: "80% nature, 20% elves. Go." (25:06)

2. Deep Dive: "Tal Elmar" Read-Along and Analysis

Context & Power Dynamics in Agar

[26:03–44:05]

• Recap: Tense scene between Tal Elmar, mogul/villain Mogru (Master of the town), and his father Hazad. Alan and James highlight Tolkien’s characterization through physical description (Mogru's "lizard eye," Tal Elmar’s "flint flash") and animal metaphor (dog, lizard).
• The arrival of mysterious ships (Numenorean or otherwise) prompts political machinations: Mogru sends Tal Elmar on a dangerous mission, using his authority under “a time of peril” (similar to declaring martial law).
• Alan and James emphasize Tolkien’s subtle use of legal and social structures, and the tension between civic duty, personal malice, and broader fate.

Urban Legends, Motifs, and Mythmaking

• Discussion: The community’s terror of the “Gohileg” (Numenoreans) is based as much on rumor as reality. Dark tales and legends can be uncertain, maybe even urban legend—"It reminds me of the stories that emerged around Gollum ... ghosts breaking into houses and stealing babies. Doesn't that sort of feel like this?" (James, 45:55).
• The line between social myth and personal experience blurs, reflecting Tolkien’s interest in how communities construct memory and fear.
• The podcast notes how authoritative power is wielded and rationalized: "He had made his own trap, and Mogu had used it. He declared a time of peril to the town, and he had the right to command any service." (audio paraphrase, ~52:43)

Scene Breakdown: Tal Elmar’s Assignment

[54:42–72:11]

• Tal Elmar is sent as messenger and scout, with the master’s staff as a sign of authority to the townsmen.
• The hosts dig into his internal struggle—a mix of "righteous anger" and pride, especially regarding his protective feelings for his father. Analogy to "Liam Neeson moment" (65:15).
• Notable quote:
  Tal Elmar to Mogru:
  "Maybe I shall return against thy hopes. My father I leave in thy care ... I will wring thy fat neck with my bare hands if needs be. Or I will hunt thee through the wilds to the black pools." (Alan reading, 65:01)
• Chris’s footnote: Even Christopher Tolkien leaves textual oddities, like mismatched subject-verb, as is, with notes (67:36).

Mistrust, Status, and Social Hierarchy

• The host highlight the community's prejudice—how Tal Elmar and Hazad are considered "slaves, bastards"—and Tal Elmar’s awareness of this:
  "We know what you call us ... you think you've kept that a secret, but we know." (James, 66:51)

Journey to the Shore & Fear of the Uncanny

[72:17–93:48]

• Tal Elmar heads toward the shore, passing through sinister woods filled with snakes and dark spirits:
  "It was swift for the eye to travel to the shore, but slow for feet, and the distance was greater than it seemed. The wood was dark and unwholesome ..." (reading, 82:24).
• Discussion about the use of "unwholesome" and Tolkien’s recurring motifs of oppressive or "bewildering" forests.
• Tal Elmar musters courage, rationalizes his mission, and internally wonders if these strangers (the Gohileg) are truly “worse” than the people of his own town.

Visual Recon and First Contact

[93:51–108:15]

• Tal Elmar finally spies the Numenorean ships:
  "Out in the midst of the stream, beyond the shoals, three great ships, though Tal Elmar had no such word in his language to name them with, were lying motionless ..." (reading, 99:39)
• Discussion of language barriers: the townsfolk have no word for "ship" or "sail," reinforcing their cultural distance from the "tall strangers."
• Analysis of the implications: Is Tal Elmar’s alienation within his own people a reflection of Tolkien’s larger themes about the "other"?
• Geographical speculation: Dissect whether the setting could be mouth of the Isen or Morthond River, based on topography, references to "shawls," "downs," and river estuaries (81:55, 101:31).
• Alan notes: "Because coasts can curve, there's nothing that tells us for sure which one this is." (101:44)

3. Memorable Quotes & Moments

On Fandom Deep Dives:

• Alan: "If you think we nerded out [on calendars] by spending two hours talking about the Shire Reckoning... You've not met our guest today." (03:56)

On Elvish Days:

• Chris: "All of the Elvish days of the week start with the same letter... Or-gelion, Or-anor, Or-ithil, Or-galavar, Or-menel, Or-belein." (15:19)

On Synching Calendars:

• Chris: "The way that I decided to do it is I aligned the calendar with one AD... and then once we get to 2026, it happens to be shifted in a way that the first day of the Elvish year is the 23rd [of March]." (12:05)

On Power and Manipulation:

• "He had made his own trap, and Mogru had used it. He declared a time of peril to the town, and he had the right to command any service. It was death to disobey him." (~52:43)

On Inherited Myths:

• James: "It reminds me of the stories that emerged around Gollum ... ghosts breaking into houses and stealing babies. Doesn't that sort of feel like this?" (45:55)

On Prejudice:

• Tal Elmar: "What heed will they pay if the slaves, bastards as thou namest us, when I am not by, comes crying the summons...?" (Chris, 66:44)

On Facing the Unknown:

• Narration: "It needed short thought to come to the conclusion that all three were less peril than to return with lying excuse, or with none..." (James reading, 93:39)

4. Timestamps for Key Segments

• [04:29–25:57]: Imladris Calendar project deep-dive with Chris Peet
• [26:03–54:05]: "Tal Elmar" plot recap, character analysis, law, and lore
• [54:42–72:11]: Tal Elmar’s mission, threat against Mogru, social commentary
• [72:17–93:48]: Tal Elmar’s forest journey, fears, wider mythmaking
• [93:51–108:15]: Arrival at the shore, first contact, language and identity
• [108:15–111:59]: Listener mailbag: Tolkien releases in 2026, boxed sets, collecting
• [112:05–end]: Show credits, puns, community notes, and sign-off banter

Tone and Atmosphere

• Down-to-earth, pub-style conversation full of warmth, groaner puns, and pop culture side trails (“Why did it have to be snakes?”, Princess Bride, Spinal Tap).
• Scholarly, but self-effacing—proud to be “nerds” for calendars, linguistics, and textual minutiae.
• Relishes Tolkien’s ambiguity: reveling in “unsolvable” geographical puzzles and textual oddities.
• Deep respect for primary sources and Tolkien’s linguistic craft.

Notable Community Notes

• Alan and James invite further speculation and feedback from listeners, highlighting the PPP’s active social presence and Patreon Discord.
• Chris Peet’s calendar represents the thriving subcreativity of the Tolkien fan community—support her project at elfboy.com.
• Next week’s episode will cover what happens when Tal Elmar is mistaken for an elf, promising both hilarity and further insight into Tolkien’s late Second Age writings.

Conclusion

Episode 399 is essential listening for anyone passionate about the intersection of Tolkienian worldbuilding, linguistics, and fandom creativity. Even the most minute calendar debates or textual discrepancies are approached with both scholastic rigor and an inviting, humorous touch—the PPP’s signature style.

Memorable sign-off:
“May you rekindle hearts in a world that grows chill.”