#I SWEAR TO ILUVATAR I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS SHIP

[baddybaddyadardaddy]

Why is Sam Hazeldine the biggest Adar x Galadriel shipper of all of us

[tinnictheguardian]

Maedhros & Fingon vs Maedhros's Brothers?

As mentioned in my last post, I do think it was possible for Maedhros and Fingon to escape their dooms through acts of humility. Acts neither would be willing to perform as they would have to let go of their prides as Princes of the Noldo. But let's assume for a moment they do let to of their pride and try to make amends.

At the point when Fingon rescue's Maedhros and Maedhros gives over the kingship of the Noldo to Fingolfin, Maedhros and Fingon are: 1) Slayers of the Teleri of Aman, and 2) Maedhros also had the oath of Feanor.

Nothing much can be done about the Oath of Feanor except for Maedhros to declare that he's abandoning the oath and accepts the void as his punishment if Elu Iluvatar wills it. Now there is an argument you can make that the oath was always null and void because the oath was essentially a sin and you cannot swear to commit a sin. I.e. the only reason the oath had any power because the Sons of Feanor gave it power/it was an excuse for them to do what they wanted. But not that it was a mind control spell that made them do terrible things.

Even if you assume that oath is like a magic spell that controls the Sons of Feanor like the one ring, Maedhros declaring he accepts his fate as an oathbreaker, I think, still gets him "free" from the oath and it becomes a thing he has to deal with after he dies.

However, both Fingon and Maedhros are under the Doom of the Noldo which was specifically laid on them because they killed the Teleri and only because they killed the Teleri and stole their swan ships.

IF they had all crossed the Helkaraxe together, an act that might have been done a bit safer if Feanor was with them and using his intellect to create better equipment to survive the ice better. There would be no Doom of the Noldo.

More importantly, once they got to Middle-Earth, they tried to hide what they had done and made no attempts to make reparations. Something they could potentially do to Elu Thingol because technically, Elu Thingol was the High King of all Teleri. I.e. King Olwe would be subordinate to Elu Thingol if/once the former arrives in Aman.

So Fingon and Maedhros could have gone to Elu Thingol and confessed everything before, as in canon, rumours started by Morgoth forced the children of Finarfin to reveal the truth. But confession alone doesn't do anything and if Fingon and Maedhros wants to start making reparations, they would have to offer their services to Elu Thingol.

Now it would not be a pleasant placement for them because Elu Thingol is many things but he's not endlessly kind. Also, the rank and file of the Sindar are unlikely to be too kind to two princes who potentially killed their kin. Kin who they thought were safe because they were across the sea.

However, committing to the act of humility of serving Elu Thingol as penance would, I think, get Fingon and Maedhros as out of the Doom of the Noldo as it is possible while still living in Middle-Earth.

Of course, this raises the question, what happens after? So Maedhros and Fingon commit to serving Elu Thingol as penance. How long do they do that? Even Melkor couldn't be held in bondage forever. Tolkien makes it clear in his letters that Manwe couldn't keep Melkor imprisoned forever without becoming corrupt himself. Thingol would fall earlier if he tried to keep Maedhros and Fingon in servitude indefinitely.

So is it that he takes a 100 years from them and send them back? Or does he let Maedhros and Fingon go back from the start and do what they did in canon but only after getting them to swear fealty to him and NOT Fingolfin? Certainly I think Thingol would get Fingon to renounce the crown in favour of descendants of Finwe who didn't kill their kin. Making Turgon the second in-line after Fingolfin.

So there is a lot of things that would be different if Maedhros and Fingon had made the decision to try and make reparations and take accountability for their actions during the 1st Kinslaying. But what interests me the most is, would Maedhros turn on his brothers if events still end with a Silmaril in Doriath and the Girdle of Melian falls due to the death of Thingol?

I would argue that the part of the tragedy of the Feanor and his Sons is that they were all loyal to each other. The tragedy being that they shouldn't have been. They were wrong to keep following the oath and doing horrible things. Celebrimbor should not have been the only member of House Feanor to break with House Feanor.

Also, I don't know how to point this out without it coming across as if I think Noldo lives are worth more then Teleri lives. So let me start by saying, all elves matter. However, the 1st and the 2nd kinslaying was Noldo vs Teleri. But by the time of the 3rd kinslaying, the sons of Feanor were killing survivors of Gondolin. Turgon's people. It was Noldo vs Noldo, making it extra close kinslaying.

However, if Maedhros is committed to make amends. It may well lead to a situation where it's him vs his brothers with Teleri at his back. I.e. him defending Teleri from his brothers.

Certainly, if I ever write a fic about "Maedhros the repentant", it would end with Maedhros being killed by Curufin while Curufin rages about how HE should have been born Nelyfinwe. But Maedhros actually dies happy because he bought enough time for Fingon to lead the Teleri to safety, and he's ready to embrace the void. But Elu Illuvatar isn't that cruel. So <insert sort of happy ending>

Anyway, I just wanted to muse a bit more on the whole concept of Maedhros (and Fingon) repenting. I have been thinking about how I often see Feanor's sins and the intention of the valar being misunderstood by fanfiction writers. But it was only when I started writing my last post that I thought of the question: what if Maedhros and Fingon could swallow their pride enough to try and repent for their sins and I just wanted to post about it a bit more!