#Second age

[thelien-art]

Annatar; Lord of Gifts

I tried a new design for him, but I think I like my other better but now I have tried this too for him :)

Actually this looks a lot more like my Numenor design for him, but with a Noldor second age clothing style instead

[mahtariel-of-himring]

Long ago, when Elros was still building his Kingdom, and Númenor was young, he had his twin brother officially crown him, as a symbol of their bond.

After the first King died his son reached out to his uncle, and asked him if he would crown him as well.

From there on a tradition was begun.

Every time a King died a letter was send to Elrond, and in addition an invitation to the coronation of the next ruler, and the question to be the one to crown them.

Over centuries every King and Queen of Númenor was crown by Tar-Miniatur‘s brother, as a symbol of the bond between them and their half elven kinsman, who loved and cared for them dearly.

But as the centuries passed something changed. When in S.A. 2029 Tar-Atanamir first spoke out against the Valar relations slowly began to tense, though there was no one who greatly worried back then, except for Elrond.

In S.A. 2737 Elrond began to fear for his brother‘s people, as he noticed more and more how they drifted from the old ways with the coronation of the 18th King of Númenor, Ar-Belzagar, and the change in name.

In the year of S.A. 2899 the 20th King of Númenor was crowned, and for the first time in all its history, no letter to Elrond was send, and Ar-Adûnakhôr was crowned by another.

With the reign of Tar-Palantir Elrond felt a flicker of hope for the first time in decades, but it was quickly overshadowed as he realized his brother’s folk had already gone too far.

After the fall of Númenor the surviving faithful came to Middle Earth, and there, Lord Elrond welcomed them with open arm‘s. Their leader, Elendil, happily welcomed their estranged kinsman and was more than relieved that he was still receiving to them. And as he was crowned in S.A. 3320 Elrond was once again the one to set the crown atop a Númenorian‘s head, and the tradition was reawakened and continued ever on.

[sakasakiii]

started off as me redrawing some of my initial mairon designs and ended up going on an rpg tangent 😭 i really wish i could have done the portraits in a pixel art style to better fit the aesthetic but my canvas wasnt the right size!!! i ended up changing annatar completely (im still contemplating how much i prefer this one compared to his old one however...!) and adjusting post-numenor sauron a bit when compared to their old 2022 sketches! im probably gonna do more redraws in the months to come cause of all the stuff i wanna change when i look back to some of my old designs haha 😳

bonus: void delusions (nebula background designed by Freepik)

i like to think each 'form' sauron takes eventually has different mannerisms and likes/dislikes the longer he stays in them without shapeshifting into something else, but one thing they all have in common is being predisposed to nagging melkor 😎

[atane-is-here]

@ainurweek day 1

Eonwe / Relations with men

Eonwe bows before Elros on the island of Numenor which has newly risen from the sea.

As the herald of Manwe he stayed with the Edain to help them establish their new realm close to Valinor. At the dawn of the second age a Maia of Manwe saw the rise of the line of Elros. And at its end Eonwe mourned the land and people brought to ruin by Sauron, who had escaped him during the war of wrath.

[inthehouseoffinwe]

Ok so I‘ve heard it’s mentioned that Tyelpë has dark hair but HEAR ME OUT-

Celebrimbor with silver hair from Miriel.

Gil Galad with silver hair from Eärwen.

Celebrian with silver hair from Celeborn.

Silver hair is seen as a rarity, so when the king and his cousins walk anywhere together, they make a *sight.*

But when he joins, it’s Elrond who turns the most heads, an unnatural beauty courtesy of his great grandmother (and the Finwëan genetics aren’t half bad either.) He’s somewhat of an introvert and Does Not Like This but Celebrian and co find it hilarious.

[ayaosguqin]

Wrapped in Fine silk and Jewels, Here is the Lord of Gifts himself!

“and they had at first much profit from his friendship.”

[meadowlarkx]

“...and its jewels and its webs and its things painted and carven…”

For @tolkienekphrasisweek day 1, Ceramics and Glasswork. I always love the thought of items washed up onshore in Middle-earth when Númenor sinks.

[helio-phobe]

Ominous leitmotif plays quietly in the background~

[queerofthedagger]

the sauron/silvergifting/second age tags are all entirely unusable if you don't want to be flooded with stuff from That Show and like, it is what it is and I don't want to yuck people's yums and all that, but i was thinking that maybe a community for second age content that's TROP free might be nice? like. would there be an interest? does one maybe even exist already??

(for context, a community basically means members can post and reblog content into it so you have a dashboard you can scroll with just that specific content. you can reblog from there into your main dash/queue again, so basically it works a bit like a tag, except that it's maintained by its members!)

[velvet4510]

Everyone please never forget that his Second Age defeat by itself is not the only reason why Sauron hated Isildur and his descendants including Aragorn - he hated them even more so because they were the descendants of Lúthien, the very first being in all of Arda to defeat him, which she did so completely that he literally hid away for the rest of the First Age. In the Palantír, Sauron looked into Aragorn’s face, and in him he didn’t just see the eyes of Isildur who defeated him so long ago. He saw even further back. He saw in Aragorn’s face the eyes of Lúthien. And he hated Aragorn for it because he was terrified. Though she had long passed beyond the circles of the world, through her descendants, Lúthien continued to come back to haunt him and destroy him.

If anyone ever dares to even consider the notion that Lúthien was somehow not a badass in each and every single possible capacity, make sure they remember this. Lúthien was such a badass in each and every single possible capacity that Sauron - the literal Lord of the Rings - never stopped being afraid of her, long after she was gone.

[starsofarda]

So... Gossip Elves yeah? @erendur @peasant-player thank you for giving me so much rope for my ficlets!

Lately I have been thinking a lot about Elrond and Celebrian, and how much awkwardness there must have been between them, Galadriel and Celeborn!

So. Let me offer this one. Also, all I have in mind is "Sk8er boy" by Avril Lavigne, sorry not sorry.

Sooner than Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel expected, Celebrian, beloved daughter, became of courting age. The two parents could not be more proud and yet worried.

Celebrian, her long silver hair and her uncomparable beauty second only to Galadriel's, was their pride and their joy and they were hoping that she would choose a proper suitor amongst the Elves inn the court at Caras Galathon.

Of course any parent would love for their child to find happiness, but perhaps what happened next was utterly unexpected.

At the court there was Elrond Peredhel, Herald of the High King Gil-Galad, on a diplomatic mission - a feral half-Elf who had quite the illustrious ancestry, but somehow he reminded the whole court, many of whom still remembered Doriath, of things that were now unspoken.

Maybe it was the way he carried himself, or the thick accent he was speaking Sindarin with,or something else that no one really could pinpoint for certain.

And the moment Celebrian, on a walk around the court with her attendants saw Elrond - the sunlight among the leaves reflecting on his face and the pitch dark hair and his smile - the moment she laid eyes on Elrond time seemed to stop for a moment.

And in that moment Elrond turned around and saw her, her silver hair, her beautiful figure standing still in the light shade, her rosy cheeks and eyes like stars stolen from the sky itself.

And his words failed and he could not speak, and time stopped as he forgot how to breathe and stumbled lightly.

Time started again as they both were pulled away in opposite directions, but they had met and there would be no force on the entire Arda able to keep them apart.

---

"And he said nothing?"

"Nothing, I swear! I was there with Lady Celebrian and they were both silent until both of them were suddenly called back to their duties!"

So the maidservants were talking to each other in hushed voices and quick gestures - a good gossip could never be denied, especially in a kingdom quite secluded from the ouside world.

"And whomst might you be speaking of, instead of attending to your duties?" A calm and yet authoritative voice came from behind. Lady Galadriel herself had slowly stepped in the small area where the housemaids were gathered.

"Please, forgive us, Lady Galadriel! We are going back!"

"Answer my question first."

"We... We were talking about the High King's herald! We are sorry!"

Galadriel sighed. She had not properly looked at the High King's herald, he had so far been one of the many faces crowding the halls in Caras Galathon.

Of course she knew that her daughter had fallen in love by then, of course she was hellbent on discovering the Elf she chose and she hoped that as herald of the High King this Elrond would be apt.

Oh, her famous last words.

On the next meeting Galadriel properly looked at him. And she nearly jumped out of her seat.

Was that a Noldorian battle braid that Elrond was sporting? She had seen that specific braid and that was Maedhros Feanorian's trademark braid.

Did she spot a Feanorian star on his clothes?

Oh no, oh no.

And he did speak Sindarin, but was that Quenya she was catching underneath it all?

She gave her husband Celeborn a weary look.

Not long after, she had gathered enough information, not because of any chronicle, but because the gossips ran deep and ran wild.

Gil-Galad's herald was Elrond Peredhel, son of Earendil and Elwing, descended from both Elu Thingol and Luthien and Figolfin.

And also somehow both kidnapped, adopted and raised by Maedhros and Maglor sons of Feanor.

That explained a lot of things.

Elrond represented every single nightmare that Galadriel and Celeborn had had. It had to be a hard no.

And yet.

And yet she was seeing how her daughter was so distraught and it brought back memories of her first encounter with Celeborn - she knew love.

And she was also seeing how Elrond was constantly keeping his distance, respectfully, as if he was scared of something.

That was painful to watch and even though Galadriel was tough, she was not cold-hearted. Maybe she could look past all that nightmarish stuff.

No, she wouldn't. She would sit down her daughter and have a talk. There were countless and better Elves for her daughter, for sure.

She would not allow her daughter to be anywhere close a Feanorian-adjacent Elf.

She was stopped mid-way by her husband Celeborn - bless his kind heart. "The boy can't help his heritage. He has not committed sins. Please, my beloved, do not pull a Thingol and Beren issue. You know how it ended."

"You may be right, my beloved husband. And yet I worry."

"Should there be a dire time, we will be there for our daughter."

She sat on a nearby bench, still frowning. "Bless your kind and forgiving heart. Fine. I will concede this."

---

It would only be way later, when Celebrian fell in the hands of the Orcs, that Galadriel fully accepted Elrond, the Elf willing to bring down an entire army to bring back the most precious of all things in Arda back to him and to her parents, strong enough to heal her, and strong enough to let her go when all else failed.

Then Galadriel knew that Celebrian had chosen the right one and all lingering animosity disappeared, leaving space for respect and friendliness.

[thelien-art]

Fëanáro, Nerdanel & Telperinquar

Latest portraits

Sons of Fëanáro - Children of Ñolofinwë - Ñolofinwë, Anairë & Grandchildren - Children of Arafinwë - Arafinwë, Eärwen, & Grandchildren

HC:

Feanor: Feanor dresses in pale colors like Miriel. I like to think Miriel dresses in light colors, not necessarily white. I don´t think he adorns himself with a lot of jewelry, just enough for him to be stylish, but not more, as he cares more about making things for those he cares for than himself, and if it is for himself, he would rather focus on something more practical, like lamps and machines.

Nerdanel: I have a surprising lot of thoughts about Nerdanel, one of them being that she´s a very loud Feanorian stan, although there´s a lot she thinks is plainly stupid she still supports her husband(ex??) and most of his ideals fierily. I think she dresses much more plainly than other Noldor, but will not necessarily turn down the option to adorn herself in jewelry. While I think she eagerly awaited her crowning, I don´t think it ever came, and she therefore never really had the possibility to wear a crown (not circlet she could still wear circles) as Finarfin was crowned when his brothers left. I don´t think that married in, in the Noldor royal house, could wear crowns before they themself was crowned kings/queen, even if it was just over a smaller piece of land. This left her to never wear a circlet as she was waiting to be crowned queen which never happened, meaning she never wore something on her head. She still wore royal braids and such, as that was accepted. All this leads her to be called Ríantaú by those who are against Feanor**. * She ends up going to Formenos and taking in all the Feanorian loyalties over the ages, becoming a queen at the end although never crowned, and known as a bitter woman because of her sons' departure.

Celebrimbor: I don´t read Celebrimbor as a naive person, rather I read him as someone who bears a lot of guilt, and in some cases let it control him, even if he was not the one at fault, this makes it easier for him to welcome everyone when the second age begins, after all evil was destroyed right? That was what the Valar said, and it does harm to everyone to throw someone out in the wilderness. I do believe he was aware that Annatar was a Maia of Morgoth, I also believe that while he didn´t think Annatar was all good, he believed in himself that he could make Annatar a better person. When Celebrimbor is reborn he ends up seeking out Nerdnal, who welcomes him in her city with open arms where he stays most of his time. On jewelry, I was helped by a lot of people (@lulukeskywalker pointed out that Eregion was named after the hollie trees it´s said to have) with the holly HC some might have heard about him, and it comes from that Eregion had a lot of hollie trees, which is a very sweet note professor, thank you for that, so I, of course, had to give him some holly themed jewelry. On a last note of jewelry, I tried to give him something between art nouveau and brutalism, to give him his own style. - note Celebrimbor follows second age fashion, therefor having his braids at the back instead of both at the front and back. - note Celebrimbor´s circlet is very intentionally inspired by Maglor´s.

Other HC:

I like to think that both Thingol and Finwe ruled their land as Empires, meaning that there were smaller kings and queens under their rule, while the rest, like Owlë and Ingwë ruled as only kings. I think it makes most sense with Thingol but I also like it with Finwe as his family was so big so it would make sense. - examples would be the roman empire and Scandinavia around year 0 to year 500 where the really where no kingdoms as we see them today but many small kings and later one king over the small kings. *

**Ríanta = To crown/Coronate: Quenya - Ú = Without/Destitute of: Quenya - Ríantaú = Without crown/Crownless: Quenya

Grey, mostly a pale grey close to white, is the mourning color for the Eldar´s as it´s associated with Nienna.

[annoyinglandmagazine]

Elrond: hand me the people opener.

Celeborn: ...

Erestor: pardon?

Celebrimbor, annoyed: the people opener! just hand it to him!

Glorfindel, stressed: WHAT THE FUCK IS A PEOPLE OPENER?

Elrond: how do you not know what a people opener is? it’s pointy- you know? with a handle?

Gil Galad: knife. it's called a knife.

[lena-point]

the stone doesn't even do anything...

[inthehouseoffinwe]

Recently found out the Palantíri were gifted to the Numenorians by the Eldar and it’s given me *ideas.* So the Palantir were made by Fëanor right. And it’s safe to assume they were kept by the Fëanorians, unless Maedhros decided to gift one to Fingoflin for communication, but I don’t think that would’ve gone over well for anyone.

So here’s my two theories:

1. Each son of Fëanor has a set of Palantír. I think it’s safe to assume there were more than seven made? I think it’s written that Elendil managed to ‘save’ seven of them, but don’t quote me on that. (It doesn’t really matter, this works either way. Also imagine little Tyelpë on his tip toes facetiming his uncles 🥲)

When their various fortresses fall, most of the Fëanorions manage to save at least one of their seeing stones. When Maedhros and Maglor end up in Amon Ereb alone, they have all their brothers’ Palantir but no use for them.

Enter Elrond and Elros. They come to love them, care for them. And vice versa. When they’re sent to Gil Galad, Mae and Mags send these pieces of their family with them. Maybe they can find some good use for them, a final legacy for Fëanor that doesn’t end in blood. Maybe it’ll keep them safe.

(I’ll go into detail of how they end up in Numenor below)

2. Celebrimbor ended up with Curufin’s Palantir in Nargothrond, and Mae and Mags sent the rest his way at some point before their final Silmaril run. They don’t have anything else, and their nephew deserves something made before madness consumed their family. Something made out of pure curiosity rather than pride that doesn’t have too many bad memories attached.

Celebrimbor appreciates the gesture but has no real use for them. He’s not particularly ambitious as a lord. Doesn’t have any need for immediate long distance communication, and in all honesty would likely be accused of spying if he did start using them (no matter if that isn’t how they work.)

Then he hears that Elros, who he’s gotten to know fairly well alongside Elrond over the years of the War of Wrath, is heading off to Numenor. He decides to give the new King something as a token of their friendship, and to keep in touch with his twin from a distance, the way the sons of Fëanor once did. And unlike many others, they won’t scorn his grandfather’s work.

Elros is managing a pretty large kingdom, so he takes the bulk of them. Elrond keeps one.

Later on, Elrond’s (not used since the death of Elros’ children) is lost in the fall of Eregion when he desperately tried to use it to find Celebrimbor. And of course Elendil manages to bring seven Palantir to Middle Earth when Numenor falls.