I am going to build out a thought I had while reading William Tychonievich's latest post Feuilles-oh, sauvez la vie moi. I left a comment there, but will expand some of my thinking here and put out another guess as to how the story unfolds.
William has had quite a few syncs, thoughts, and posts related to "Leaves", with this latest post being another example. These leaves, whether explicitly gold or some other hue or material, are what things are written or recorded on. For example, in his translation of A Season in Hell, he captures it as:
Once I -- but only once -- was able
To make of life a living fable.
Heroic days of not-so-old!
A youth to write on leaves of gold!
Was none of it, then, mine to keep?
How did I fall? How fall asleep?
The fact that the title is A Season in Hell is interesting given that is likely our current condition.
He goes on to tie these leaves to the act of saving a lives, explicitly stated in the opening line of of Art Garfunkel's song (and the title of William's post): "Fueilles-oh, sauvez la vie moi" (Oh Leaves, save my life).
So, we have leaves of Gold, or some other metal that might appear to be like Gold, with writing on them that might be able to save lives.
This instantly brought to mind the Brass Plates, and a story of what Claire might be suggesting came to my mind (and, as always, I might be way off, but it is worth an educated guess).
The Brass Plates are likely the most underrated record mentioned in the Book of Mormon. Assumed to be no more than a glorified Old Testament, Mormons read of this record in the Book of Mormon and really don't give it much thought. And this is despite some fairly significant prophecies regarding its future fate. Here is what Lehi prophesied about the plates once they had been recovered by Laban-Dairon and he had a chance to look through them:
And now when my father saw all these things, he was filled with the Spirit, and began to prophesy concerning his seed—
That these plates of brass should go forth unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people who were of his seed.
Wherefore, he said that these plates of brass should never perish; neither should they be dimmed any more by time. And he prophesied many things concerning his seed.
So, the Brass Plates will never perish or be destroyed. The knowledge on them also seems to have magical qualities, as it is after reading through these Plates that Lehi and Nephi have their powerful visions, including the one centered on the White Tree. Later, an entire population of Lamanites are converted by knowledge that would have been found only on those Brass Plates. It would be the separation of the Lamanites from these Plates (or Leaves) that would keep them in ignorance and darkness. That separation happened when Nephi was forced to flee with all of those who followed him, leaving the followers of Laman and Lemuel without access to the Book or its knowledge.
Later, Alma would entrust the care of the Brass Plates and the Anor Stone (Liahona) to his son Helaman. In doing so, he would say this:
And it may suffice if I only say they [the Brass Plates] are preserved for a wise purpose, which purpose is known unto God; for he doth counsel in wisdom over all his works, and his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round.....
....And now remember, my son, that God has entrusted you with these things, which are sacred, which he has kept sacred, and also which he will keep and preserve for a wise purpose in him, that he may show forth his power unto future generations.
There is currently no room in Mormon theology for the Brass Plates, their restoration, why they have been preserved, what "power" they will show to future generations, or even how they will come back into the picture. Again, as most LDS commentary goes, in the Brass Plates you have the Old Testament, basically, and since we have that now, the Brass Plates are largely relegated to how they were used by the Book of Mormon people, with little to no thought about any broader story or implications, beyond maybe patching a few holes in the standard OT narrative.
Let me be clear in my own assumptions: The words of both Nephi and Alma, as two examples, are quite clear that it is the Plates themselves that will be preserved (no power in Earth or in Hell can destroy them), and thus the words that will come specifically from those Plates is of utmost importance. They are not the same thing as the Old Testament. On the contrary, it is because we have confounded records like the Old Testament, and that they are taken seriously, that we needed to have the Brass Plates preserved to come forth in their own 'undimmed' purity (clear, would we say?) and truth at a future day.
Some stories need to be restored and told, and the Brass Plates have many of them.
What does this have to do with William's thoughts on Leaves, though?
In her first dream conversation with William, Claire offers to give him the "True Song" of the Wandering Aengus. This is after asking him if he knew what a week was, to which he references both a Moon (alluding to phases, potentially) as well as the number 7. My guess now, after thinking over this for a bit, is this is a reference to Claire herself, some kind of play on a ritualistic introduction. Claire is associated with both the Moon as well as the number 7 (being one of the Daughters).
After William basically, in pseudo ritualistic-game form, refers to Claire or confirms he has the right key words, she offers to teach him the True Song of Wandering Aengus.
My current guess is that Wandering Aengus refers to Pharazon, and so it follows that the story Claire has that she wished to share involves that Being, but has a True Story to probably correct and replace the false account. In the story I am exploring here, my guess is that Pharazon is none other than Gim Githil, the High King of all of the Elves. Rather than, at his core, being an enemy to these Elves, he is actually their recognized King, a title he never relinquished, at least in being referred to in that way.
What a strange story, then, that has this King attacking his own people on the island-world of Eressea. And not only him, but basically all of the other Fathers of the Elves, represented by the number 96.
What happened, and why? Well, my belief is that Claire knows that story, and it isn't just her word that we can rely on, but that this story may in fact be found on Plates or Leaves, and that this record of Leaves might be the Brass Plates themselves.
Once revealed and understood, my guess is we will have a different view of that assault, and that Pharazon and the other Fathers will be forgiven, and not only that, but redeemed and even honored, in the sense that we will understand that story differently and view their actions as a necessary sacrifice, potentially for the very sake of their children whom they would end up attacking under the Shadow and evil influence of Sauron.
But why would the Brass Plates have this information, and why would Claire be involved?
For that, we turn to Words of Them that have Slumbered, Doug's second book in that series.
Following the Numenorean tragedy, Asenath is left alone on this world with Ki-Abroam (Tom Bombadil - Aule) and her son. Eressea is broken and gone. Valinor is hidden and unreachable. Numenor is now under the Wave. She lingers, and in this state of grief, she ends up dictating what will become this Bronze Book, with Ki-Abroam-Tom writing her words onto the plates.
In her dictation, she created 5 books (mirroring or alluding to the 5 books of Moses). Up to that point, she had already written many things when she lived on in her little house off of Eressea. This was her opportunity to take those writings and preserve them onto Plates before she herself would die. The writings covered a lot of ground, with a history of Creation going all the way back to before this world was even created, and stretching up to the Numenorean affair. In addition, she captured prophecies of Joseph of Egypt (her husband) as well as writings of a person named Rumil (who is likely the same Being as Isaiah).
My guess is that within that record are words and stories that will both give context to what happened to these Numenorean Fathers (to answer the question posed through William's post on just why the Numenoreans attacked Eressea) as well as exonerates them, thus creating a path to reconciliation and reunion between Fathers and Children.
My understanding is that attempts have been made even within Doug's SLC group to write some of this history and even dialogue between Fathers and Children. I wouldn't pay it any mind, though, but that is my own view. If it does not involve Plates in some fashion, including witnesses of the Plates and the events themselves, then I think you are dealing with something counterfeit and would be better served to drop it. Particularly with something as important and critical as getting the account of just what happened with Numenor, Eressea, and Valinor right.
Which brings me to my guess as to the location of the Brass Plates.
So, first, I will put a stake in the ground that the "Leaves" that so occupy William's mind right now, and are pretty infused in his writing, are a Record found on Plates of some kind, and my current guess is they are the Brass Plates. I know "Gold Plates" have come up specifically, though. Brass does appear to be of a gold-appearance (Nephi described the Anor Stone as having the appearance of 'fine brass' and I equate that with a Gold Key, for example), though if they are more Bronze, then I think that is a bit more or a red-ish hue. And, who knows, there are still also Gold Plates - apparently Gandalf-Moroni took them back, so maybe those are also involved, including that "Sealed" portion of those plates. I don't think we need to limit what records might be accessible, I just had the Brass Plates come to my mind first and more specifically.
The Plates I will place also in France, and at the same location where I place the Sawtooth Stone: Tom Bombadil's House. That is the safest place for them, and not only that, that is also where the Stones are, and where 'witnesses' can also make themselves known. Earlier, I've guesses that perhaps the Brass Plates are found later in Eressea after Pharazon sails across the sea. The Man among the Gentiles who sails, after all, has a book 'like unto the Plates of Brass', which implies they are not the same, whatever he has, with the specific mention that some things have been removed. I don't know how to reconcile that right now, but I am just stating that I think the Plates are at Tom's right now. We may need to tinker and/ or completely change some past story assumptions and guesses to make this come together.
Witnesses will be important, I think, and this might also explain the existence of the Stone Couriers who also might have been safe-keeping other records, including the Brass Plates. Thus, we might expect these Couriers to still be there or to reconvene there when necessary to be able to testify that these Plates are legitimate. Helaman, for example, was given a strict charge by his father Alma that the Plates needed to be preserved. That was his job, and we have record of it from Book of Mormon. He would later die and give the Plates to his brother, but perhaps his ultimate charge over the Plates extended beyond his death? If so, we might expect to find Helaman at Tom's when the time comes, and he may have been one of the Stone Couriers as well. Hard to know at this point. Helaman has factored into some of my thinking, and I am still looking for the answer as to why, and maybe this role, if he plays it, would be that answer. I have assumed that Beings named Gildor and Hodnil are these Couriers, so that would make him one of those individuals, I suppose, and where he would come into the story.
Tom would also be an important witness to the Brass Plates (if they are, in fact, the same thing as Asenath's Bronze Book). It was he that did the engraving, so all the more reason to have them at his house where he can verify that the Book Marks are his.
So, there are a few things I need to think on some more, but again, for right now, I am placing Plates (likely the Brass ones, but maybe also the Gold ones, as well) along with the Stones (Sawtooth and Anor) at Tom Bombadil's. We will throw in a Sword as well, for good measure. Likely some other things to go along with those. And to repeat, there will need to be witnesses to give an account of the chain of custody of these artifacts, and as well as their own account of events they were witness of.
OK, a couple other thoughts that indicate we may be on the right path in attaching the Brass Plates to Claire's mention of the True Song as well as William's thoughts regarding Leaves.
Claire, as mentioned, has obviously adopted a French persona. I don't think this is randomly done. My belief is that something happens in France. At first I have thought of only the Stones being located there (since those seem to occupy my mind the most), but now am also thinking of Leaves of Metal (since that seems to be occupying William's mind). I think the persona identified by Claire, and the ensuring Leafy thoughts on Williams' mind point to these Records and the True Story as being safely housed at Tom Bombadil's in France
Second, as part of the French persona, Joan of Arc has obviously been a big symbol. The Brass Plates themselves may be a reason for this, particularly noting the use of Arc.
William has noted many syncs or symbols involving the word "Arc", with many involving a Sword, and thus, to him, the imagery of Joan and her Sword. That may be, but we also compare the Word of God to a Sword, and that might be part of the imagery here. Word or stories symbolized by a Sword and found in conjunction with an "Arc".
You can also spell Arc as Ark (as another example of a homophone). The Ark of the Covenant. An Ark carrying the Covenant, or covenants/ promises, perhaps.
As Asenath is dying, having finished her Bronze Record, she and Ki-Abroam have an exchange in which both use words that refer to an Ark. Here is their dialogue below, and I will bold the Ark references:
... in whole, after months told be her aging daily, he [Ki-Abroam] hefted himself a Bronze Book, of his making;
- almost, she [Asenath] laughed, a coffin for all knowledge
- not so, but a barge, to sail it wheresoever the winds release, and take thy voice's words...
According to Etymonline, the foundational meaning of Ark is a "large box or chest". This is what Asenath calls her Book when she calls is a "Coffin", except this coffin doesn't contain dead bodies, but knowledge. The earliest uses of "Coffin" were, again based on Etymonline, as a box for storing valuables.
Ki-Abroam responds by calling it a barge. This is the other meaning of Ark - exactly even, with both Ark and Barge meaning or referring to a flat-bottomed cargo boat. Well, you don't get get any more flat bottomed than a Book consisting of flat leaves of some kind of metal. The link to sailing is also interesting given our story of people sailing across Many Waters with a Book in hand.
Lastly, Claire's own name that she has adopted right now might also clue us in on the Brass Plates. In discussing the Plates with Helaman, Alma says this:
Behold, it has been prophesied by our fathers, that they should be kept and handed down from one generation to another, and be kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord until they should go forth unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, that they shall know of the mysteries contained thereon.
And now behold, if they are kept they must retain their brightness; yea, and they will retain their brightness; yea, and also shall all the plates which do contain that which is holy writ.
"Brightness" is specifically mentioned as something that these Plates are, and which they must retain. As mentioned elsewhere, Claire's name translated as "Bright, light, or clear". Another potential wink that ties this together.
So, I think there is something there, and just as Stones have seemed to occupy much of my mind and writing, it just seems that Leaves of Gold or Brass are occupying William's. The Record on these Leaves may have something to do with our Numenorean story, among other things, and in fact save lives and redeem Good Beings. And it may be that both Stones and Leaves alike are found in the same place in France.
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