#and elu and his descendants!

[silvantransthranduiltrash]

The real tragedy of the kinslayings is that it’s just so fucking stupid. It’s about 3 shiny jewels. And that criticism goes for both sides.

[chaos-of-the-abyss]

someone could write pages and pages and pages and pages on elu thingol's life. he could be the protagonist of like five book trilogies each with 600 words per book. he was born in cuivienen where the first non-divine life awakened; he lived through morgoth's earlier attempts to corrupt the elves and very likely lost people he cared about to them; he witnessed the war of the powers; he was among the first of his people to see valinor, having visited it under the invitation of the deities who helped originate the universe; he was the sole flesh-and-blood being in all!! of!!! history!!!! who met, fell in love with, and married a goddess that was there before creation even existed; he and said goddess were the progenitors of a unique bloodline that produced some of the legendarium's most famous figures; he separated from his brother for a very very long time; he was so loved by his people that they refused paradise if he wasn't there with them; he fought battles against morgoth's forces and saw loss as well as triumph during those battles; he was one of the oldest beings and longest-reigning kings in all of beleriand, not to mention he ruled its most ancient and most mystical, otherworldly kingdom; he was the father of two of the most famous heroes in-verse, whose deeds and stories continued to be told millennia after their deaths; he was again the first!! and!!! only!!!! elf-king in all of history to adopt a human as his own son. and throughout it all, he has a cohesive character arc. he grows to respect a people whom he once distrusted and looked down on; he comes to accept the choices of those he cares about even if he doesn't agree with said choices; he has to learn to let go of his loved ones no matter how much it grieves him. if those five trilogies existed i would be reading and rereading every single one obsessively

[afanofmanyhats]

One of my favorite things about Tolkien's writing is that he has a very specific, recurring trope. For lack of a better term, I'm dubbing this the Tolkien Wife-Guy.

This is mainly obvious in the Silmarillion, but Tolkien loves to write couples where the man is a notable individual- nobility, commits a great deed, or both- but the wife is at least equally notable, if not more beloved or powerful. Manwe is the king of the Valar and Eru's main representative in Arda? Everyone loves Varda more, and Melkor fears her more than his own brother. Elu Thingol is the king of the Silvan Elves? His wife is Melian, whose Girdle is the magic that keeps Morgoth's forces at bay. Beren is a chief among the Edain, who befriends animals and survives one of the most nightmarish places in Beleriand? His wife is Luthien.

Even in Lord of the Rings we see this occur, though the couples are on more even footing. Tom Bombadil is... Tom Bombadil, but Goldberry is the River-daughter, and Tom adores her above everything else, and the hobbits are completely taken in with her when she's their host. Similarly, while Celeborn is a mighty lord among Elves, Galadriel is one of the only Noldor in Middle-earth who saw the Two Trees, and her hair inspired Feanor to make the Silmarils, not to mention her own accomplishments in the war against Morgoth. Aragorn is the king of Gondor and Arnor, but Arwen is the Evenstar of the Elves, the descendant of three(?) different royal Elven lines. And Faramir becomes the Steward of Gondor and is one of the noblest men alive, but Eowyn killed the Witch-king, so you know. She got the grander moment for the saga.

But with (most) of these couples, we never get the impression that the man views his wife as Less-Than, or as a junior partner. Thingol is the main exception to this in how he dismisses Melian's counsel, and that's made out to be his foolishness within the text. Otherwise, Manwe treats Varda as his co-ruler, Beren never tries to downplay Luthien's achievements, and I'm pretty sure most of Tom Bombadil's dialogue is about how gorgeous Goldberry is. It's really sweet.

All of these examples really testify to how much Tolkien loved his wife. People rightly point to Beren and Luthien as the prime example of that, but I think you can find it in these other couples too. Even though Edith is mainly known to history as Mrs. Tolkien, it's evident to me that Jirt saw her as a whole person worthy of admiration outside of being his wife.

[that-angry-noldo]

When King Felagund arrives to Doriath, his face is grey with grief.

His figure is thin. Worn. Shuddered by occasional tremors, either from the wind and snow that do not cease, or from many scars his body wears. His rich, golden hair is now bland, thin, cut short and uneven; his face is tired and hollow as he steps, slowly, towards the enterance to the palace of Menegroth.

The guards dare not stop him. He spares them no glance.

Menegroth is quiet. Menegroth is a grave, with king Thingol sitting on his throne, hunched in grief, and queen Melian as cold as a marble statue. King Felagund does not stop once while making his way towards the hall where they grieve.

King Felagund has little sympathy for grieving people left. His own grief ate his heart out and settled in his gut. He makes his way to the throne room. His face gains purpose; he is a dead man dragging himself to his last mission.

There is a crowd behind him when he enters the cave. He stops before the throne. His chest rises and falls slowly, and his eyes burn with fell flame.

Thingol jerks, rises his head. His eyes focus on Felagund. He gasps.

"Finrod," he chokes, and almost rises from his throne.

Felagund does not move. His eyes are fixed on Thingol.

"Tell me, was it worth it?" he finally asks.

His voice is quiet. Dark. Menacing. Thingol wavers, his face changing into a fleeting confusion.

Felagund's hand is under his cloak. He takes it out.

Slowly.

It is clutched in a fist.

The crowd holds its breath. Felagund does not take his eyes off Thingol.

"Tell me," he repeats, louder, and his voice trembles. "Was it worth it?!"

His eyes are stained with tears. He trembles.

He cries.

"When I sent you my messages," he whispers, shaking, the sound echoing from the walls, "tell me: did you ever, in your stubborness, in your pride, in your selfishness - did you ever try to see the voice of reason within them? When you looked at your daughter, tell me: did you ever think of yourself, young and reckless, standing enchanted beneath the trees? When you looked at Beren, tell me: did you not see the hand that guarded you, a soul so worn and scarred and lonely?"

Thingol is shaking. Felagund lifts his head. His face is stained with tears. He rises his voice.

"Tell me!" his words echo from the walls, drum with grief, loss, power. "Tell me! When you named your price, have you ever - ever - regretted it? Have you ever wished to utter words of blessing instead, even if they were stained with sorrow? Have you ever," he screams in earnest now, and his hand trembles as he lifts it high, "looked back and thought the price was too high? Have you ever thought that you failed to pay it?"

Thingol sits pale. The halls shake with Felagund's cries.

"I had to watch them," he sobs, "I had to watch them die in darkness. I had to listen to my friend, the man I swore to protect, the last descendant of a man long gone - I had to listen as he was devoured, I had to trash and cry - and I did not even get a body!" he screams, tears springing from his eyes. "I had to look at your daughter, as she shook and wept, and I could not comfort her, because he was gone! Because he was gone, and she loved him, but he was gone! Tell me, when you dismissed my letters so angrily - tell me, have I not warned you against this exactly?! Your daughter, your Lúthien, your starlight - gone, gone as a withering ash under the touch of wind! In your desire to save her, have you ever thought you were signing her death sentence?! Tell me, Elu Thingol: was the price really worth it?!"

No, Thingol screams, no - but Felagund's hand is shaking, and the light coming from within it is all but blinding, and Finrod yells as he throws the Silmaril on the ground, and the walls shake with his grief.

"Here is thy prize, Elwë Singollo!" he screams, glowing and shaking and terrifying, speaking the tongue Elu long thought forgotten. "Here is thy prize, here is thy reward! Here is Tinúviel, weeping on her knees, for her lover is torn to shreds, his remains breathless in her hands! Here is Beren, young and weary, whose voice knew nothing but tenderness when he talked about his Nightingale! Here are my Faithful, dead for thy foolish whim, torn apart for the greed of a madman who thought himself a God! Here," he trembles, "am I, for I am dead, dead, dead, and dead I should have been, and dead will I become! Here is your prize, Elu Thingol! Die by it!"

And with those words, he flees, nothing but the light of now double-accursed stone remaining.

When someone picks it up and hands it to Thingol, the palace is pierced by a wail of horror and agony. The gem burns the Greycloak's hands.

[eri-pl]

AU where, instead of being a jerk for no reason, Celegorm does the more honorable trope of "I'll help you and then if you success I shall duel you for the Silmaril and kill you" and Beren is like "ok let's see what comes of it" and Curufin is like "that's stupid but on the other hand if it gets us the gem... Fine." And he makes Beren a Cool Sword but then nopes out of the adventure.

And Huan is like *follows both Luthien and Celegorm because they're allies now*

And Celegorm actually helps and does some cool stuff. Not as cool as Finrod... No wait. Let him do the kill-wolf-with-teeth, it fits him much more, and let Finrod survive. :) And with Finrod there, Celegorm might actually survive too.

And Beren gets the gem, gets his hand bitten off, tells Thingol his pun about the hand, marries Luthien. Oh, and Celegorm great healed from his wounds.

And Celegorm kills another wolf (without much damage, he shoots it) and gets the gem without having to kill Beren. And he is nice enough to conveniently forget that technically he should murder Beren anyway because the Oath, and Curufin... When Curufin reminds him, Celegorm says "we can split the work. I killed the wolf, you kill Beren" and Curufin doesn't talk about it again. (Because he fears Luthien. Sorry, I don't like Curufin too much) And anyway B&L are in Doriath, the girdle is on, and without a Silmaril to be stupid about, Elu Thingol won't die so soon.

So basically C&C get the gem, Finrod lives, Thingol lives, B&L live longer than otherwise, and other stuff is the same.

Well, ok, Earendil. We'll figure something out. I mean, it had to be a human-elf mix, right? Caranthir and Haleth instead of Tuor and Idril? Caranthir's descendent would be Feanor's kin, he could steal the thing from his uncle take the thing and sail with it and technically the sons of Feanor wouldn't have to kill him or even stop him.

Practically he would have a headstart and they aren't even good sailors. (We can keep Elwing as is, only without the kinslayings.)

(or, alternatively, just for the pure irony of it, hc Amarie out and have Finrod may a human woman. And look stupid. Finrod looking stupid but happy is great)

Probably some plot holes, it's just a quick thought late in the evening.

[serene-faerie]

Doriath Dashboard Simulator

🍃 leafyboi Follow

Oh to meet a Maia in Nan Elmoth and just get lost in her eyes for 200 years

#i want whatever thingol has with his wife

( 2,450 notes )

🌳 daily-doriath-pics Following

Neldoreth under the Stars

#doriath photos #sindar #neldoreth #beleriand #middle earth #my pics #night skies

( 600 notes )

🌺 queen-melyanna Follow

Baby girl is growing up quite well.

She's a very curious child, and she has a tendency to glow when she's playing with her toys.

I suppose having a child who is half-Elven and half-Maia can yield some interesting results.

#adventures in parenting

( 190 notes )

🌌 princess-tinuviel Following

Dark hair and rugged beards have got me acting rather.... unwise

#shut up tinuviel #do not rb

( 2 notes )

🌲 beech-girl Mutuals

ngl I did not have "Princess Lúthien falls in love with hairy mortal man in the forest" on my 465 bingo card lmao

#honestly??? good for her #go get that mortal dick!

( 1,569 notes )

🦌 king-elu Follow

Call-out for the Noldor

I cannot believe I am doing this. But it is my duty to inform the people of the deceivers we have been harboring in Doriath.

And yes, this is about Alqualondë and the kinslaying that has been wrought upon Olwë's people.

TW: Violence against Elves, kinslaying, theft and destruction of property, lying, deceit

Read More

#personal

( 350 notes )

🏹 strongestbow Following

Fellas is it gay to hold hands with your human best friend when hunting in the woods together???

( 2,600 notes )

🍁 maidenofneldoreth Mutuals

Just curious:

⭐️ feanors-second-wife Follow

Excuse me???? How are we "treacherous" when the Teleri literally wouldn't give us their ships when we asked???

If they didn't want to be slaughtered, they should've just given us their swanships when we told them to. Besides, the Teleri aren't even Thingol's people! And it's not like your king was there to watch us kill the Teleri! He was literally hiding behind his wife's skirt!

🦋 flutterby-of-nivrim Follow

Wow, what an entitled piece of work you are.

First of all, way to victim-blame the Teleri of Alqualondë. They had every right not to surrender their swanships to a bunch of entitled jerks like you. You guys just stormed their lands, slaughtered them for saying no, then took the ships anyways.

Second of all, I don't understand your logic. So because Thingol wasn't there to see the kinslaying, he shouldn't be angry about it??? Girl, we Sindar are literally descended from the Teleri! Some of us had relatives who were killed in Alqualondë! And King Olwë was Thingol's kinsman! Of course Thingol has every right to be upset about the kinslaying!

Thirdly, Thingol was not "hiding behind his wife's skirt". We were literally fighting Morgoth before you guys even left Aman. We're more familiar with the evils of Morgoth than you Noldorin Elves. The whole reason why the Girdle was put up was because we lost a good chunk of our army.

Lastly, why are you even on the Sindarin side of Tumblr? Shouldn't you be kissing up to the Fëanorian princes on your own blog???

🌼 bloomingblossoms Following

🦋 flutterby-of-nivrim Follow

Lmao they blocked me

Guess I scared 'em good

#typical noldor #they can dish it out but they can't take it #finrod doesn't count tho #he's a sweetie and we all love him

( 8,901 notes )

🕊️ dior-of-doriath Following

Reblog if you think the Fëanorians are gutless, craven cowards

🌿 lord-0roph3r Follow

Damn you just woke up and chose violence today huh?

🕊️ dior-of-doriath Following

Damn right I did

There's two more Silmarils in Morgoth's crown

They can go and steal those for all I care

#no way am i giving up the one that my parents risked their own lives to get #you want em so badly #go on and fight morgoth for the other two you cowards

( 750 notes )

🌸 flowermaidenofmenegroth Follow

Did anyone else have "Thingol gets killed by Dwarves" and "Melian's girdle fails" on their bingo card this year???

#got a bad feeling about doriath's future

( 1,500 notes )

🌱 thr4nduil-the-fair Mutuals

It's been a long journey, but at last, we made it to the Havens of Sirion.

Unfortunately, our king and queen fell in battle, and Menegroth is in ruins. Even worse, we couldn't find the twin boys in the forest. Though I pray that they are alive, deep down, I know that the worst has come to pass.

Luckily, we managed to escort Elwing to safety, but my heart aches for her. She's still so young, and in only one day, she's lost her parents and brothers.

But though her family is gone, I will do my best to help in raising her. I feel that she will grow into a strong young lady one day.

For now, it's time for us to rest. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers.

From tomorrow, we must start healing.

#personal #ruin of doriath

( 79 notes )

[cilil]

✧˖° Day 6: Melian & Dior | New Beginnings & Valinor ✧˖° Synopsis: As Melian mourns her daughter, she learns that not all of her descendants are gone. ✧˖° Warnings: References to loss of child ✧˖° Drabble

The loss of her daughter was like a wound marring her very spirit, a pain that would never fade. 

For years Melian had wandered the gardens of Lórien, lost like her beloved Elu had once been. 

"Grandmother?" 

The voice that awoke her from her trance was one she hadn't expected to hear within the circles of Arda again. Another loved one thought lost, now undeniably there. 

"Dior?" 

Melian turned. Indeed, it was her grandson reborn, looking as painfully similar to his mother as always. 

"I chose to remain." He smiled. 

With tears in her eyes, she rushed to embrace him. 

Yeah I like to hc that Dior received a choice as well and chose immortality :3 thanks for reading! ♡

taglist: @ainurweek @asianbutnotjapanese @elanna-elrondiel @eunoiaastralwings

@i-did-not-mean-to @just-little-human @urwendii @wandererindreams

[ardafanonarch]

Heirlooms of the Númenoreans: Aranrúth and Narsil

Swords of the First Age, Part 2 of 3

[This is a continuation of the response to this ask.]

Aranrúth

Meaning: King’s Ire. Sindarin.

Maker: Unknown. (See discussion.)

Owned/wielded by: Thingol, [Dior?], Elwing, Elros, the Kings of Númenor. (See discussion.)

Fate: Did not survive the downfall of Númenor (Unfinished Tales, ��A Description of Númenor’, note 2).

Aranrúth. ‘King’s Ire’, the name of Thingol’s sword. Aranrúth survived the ruin of Doriath and was possessed by the Kings of Númenor. Index of The Silmarillion

‘I ask then for a sword of worth,’ said Beleg; ‘for the Orcs come now too thick and close for a bow only, and such blade as I have is no match for their armour.’ ‘Choose from all that I have,’ said Thingol, ‘save only Aranrúth, my own.’ The Silmarillion, ‘Of Túrin Turambar’

Discussion

We do not know who made Aranrúth. We do, however, know that the Sindar’s first weapons were forged by the Dwarves:

Therefore Thingol took thought for arms, which before his people had not needed, and these at first the Naugrim smithied for him; for they were greatly skilled in such work, though none among them surpassed the craftsmen of Nogrod, of whom Telchar the smith was greatest in renown. The Silmarillion, ‘Of the Sindar’

So potentially Aranrúth was forged by Dwarves, perhaps even Telchar.

There is another curious passage about Thingol’s armouries in The Children of Húrin:

Now Thingol had in Menegroth deep armouries filled with great wealth of weapons: metal wrought like fishes' mail and shining like water in the moon; swords and axes, shields and helms, wrought by Telchar himself or by his master Gamil Zirak the old, or by elven-wrights more skilful still. For some things he had received in gift that came out of Valinor and were wrought by Fëanor in his mastery, than whom no craftsman was greater in all the days of the world. The Children of Húrin, ‘The Departure of Túrin’

Dwarven smiths, including Telchar and Gamil Zirak, are mentioned again; but according to this passage, at least, Thingol also possessed Noldorin weaponry, including objects wrought by Fëanor himself!

And, of course, we know Eöl, formerly Thingol’s subject, was a weaponsmith so it’s not like none of the Sindar possessed this skill. We also do not know when it was forged, save that Thingol definitely possessed it by the time Anglachel passed to Beleg. In sum, there are myriad possibilities for the maker of Aranrúth.

Was Aranrúth ever used in combat? Yes: While we do not see Thingol fight much in the Silmarillion, he was involved in combat in the First Battle (The Silmarillion, ‘Of the Sindar’). In an unwritten Canto of Lay of Leithian, Tolkien wrote the outline of a battle between Thingol’s army and Orcs who were searching for Lúthien on the borders of Doriath. It is said that “Thingol himself slays Boldog,” the Orc captain, in their victory (The Lays of Beleriand, The Lay of Leithian, ‘The Unwritten Cantos’ 12). So Thingol did engage in combat, and it’s reasonable to assume Aranrúth was his weapon in these battles.

Unfinished Tales (‘A Description of Númenor’, footnote 2) tells us:

The King’s sword was indeed Aranrúth, the sword of Elu Thingol of Doriath in Beleriand, that had descended to Elros from Elwing his mother.

This is one of those places with frustratingly, and tantalisingly, few details and gaps in the narrative. First of all, we do not know how Aranrúth passed from Thingol to Elwing (presumably via Dior, but not confirmed). Second, we don’t know how Aranrúth was saved from both the sack of Doriath and the sack of Sirion. This is complicated by the fact that Elwing was a child at the time of the former, and Elros her son was a child at the time of the latter. Surely an adult would have been involved in the transportation and transferral of this mighty weapon, but who? This is where you’ll find some interesting possibilities explored by fans: Was Oropher perhaps involved, the Iathren father of Thranduil never written into the Silmarillion? Or Galadriel, whose whereabouts at this time are inconclusive? Did Gil-galad find it in Sirion and pass it on to Elros later? Or did Maglor bring it with him out of Sirion and pass it on to his foster Elros? Up to you! Canon does not tell us.

Finally, all we know of Aranrúth’s fate is that it did not survive the Downfall. But if Ar-Pharazôn had it on him when he went ashore in Valinor, might it have been buried with him?

Narsil

Meaning: Red and White Flame (according to LotR index). Quenya.

Maker: Telchar

Owned/wielded by: Unknown; Elendil, who wielded it in the War of the Last Alliance; shards borne by Isildur, Valandil and his line; reforged as Andúril and wielded by Aragorn in the War of the Ring.

Notable for: cutting the Ring from Sauron’s hand.

Fate: broken in the War of the Last Alliance; shards borne by Elendil’s heirs through the Third Age and eventually reforged as Andúril.

But at the last the siege was so strait that Sauron himself came forth; and he wrestled with Gil-galad and Elendil, and they both were slain, and the sword of Elendil broke under him as he fell. But Sauron also was thrown down, and with the hilt-shard of Narsil Isildur cut the Ruling Ring from the hand of Sauron and took it for his own. The Silmarillion, ‘Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age' 'Here I set it,' he said, 'but I command you not to touch it, nor to permit any other to lay hand on it. In this elvish sheath dwells the Blade that was Broken and has been made again. Telchar first wrought it in the deeps of time. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, ‘Chapter 6: The King of the Golden Hall’

Discussion

Narsil is a fascinating sword of the “First Age” because the only reason we know it even existed that early is Aragorn’s one mention of Telchar in The Two Towers, quoted above. The problem is, Elendil is the first confirmed owner of Narsil — at the end of the Second Age! This leaves over three-and-a-half millennia of history unaccounted for. Nothing in canon tells us how Narsil got from the smithies of Nogrod to Elendil. (Until I did this research, even I was certain that Elros was confirmed to have owned Narsil; not so.)

This mention has led fans to do some imaginative mental gymnastics devising a history for the famous Blade that was Broken. One popular interpretation is that Elros received Narsil from Maedhros, and this is not without basis in canon. For one, we know that Elros was fostered by Maglor and presumably knew Maedhros also (in some versions, it is in fact Maedhros who fosters the half-elven twins). There is also a canonical link between Maedhros and Telchar, recounted in the Narn i hîn Húrin in Unfinished Tales (the story was not reproduced in the Children of Húrin): when Maedhros saves the life of Azaghâl lord of Belegost in an Orc raid on the Dwarf road, Azaghâl gives him the Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin — another work of Telchar — as guerdon. Could Azaghâl have given him Narsil at the same time? Of course, there are plenty of other ways Maedhros might have received Narsil besides, this is just one of the more direct links.

There are also countless other ways Narsil could have come to Elendil. Another equally plausible explanation would be that it was one of the weapons in Thingol’s armouries, saved, like Aranrúth, from the sack of Doriath. And we don’t even know that Narsil was ever in Númenor! Could it have been Elrond’s sword, that he gave to his cousin many-times-removed when he came to Middle-earth? There are many, many tantalising possibilities.

Part 1 | Part 3

[ethulliel]

please elaborate about the maedhros is silmarillion achilles thing i would love to know please

No, I cannot, because it only makes sense in my head. Hehe. But, hey, I still have some words to say!

When it comes to the Silmarillion, I allow myself to base the idea I have of some characters on other characters. Achilles is the chosen one for Maedhros. I'd love if someone with deeper knowledge of the Iliad corrected me, but the narrative doesn't need Achilles at all. It would end the same. Achilles isn't even the protagonist of this book; Hector is. Achilles' arc is about Hector. When Hector dies, Achilles ends as well. The book can only dispose him. Maedhros is very much the same. He's doomed by his oath, he tries to take control of his life, his own narrative, but he doesn't realise a bigger game is being played. I like to see Maedhros as someone who thinks himself to be the successor of his father when it comes to the oath. It's his job as the firstborn to fulfil it. Maedhros arc is him being proved again and again he isn't what he thought he was. Maedhros mocks Elu Thingol, saying a king is who can hold his lands; then he is caught by the enemy and tortured. After being rescued, the first thing he does is hand over his crown, his firstborn right. He doesn't even have control over his siblings and cannot save them. Actually, as proved when he is persuaded to attack Doriath (cowardly, mind you), his siblings are the one to talk him around most of the time. So who's actually Maedhros in this whole mess? Favourite son? No, that's apparently Curufin, loved by his father, and Ambarussa, loved by his mother. King? No. Hero? Of what? Fingon saved him from death, but could Maedhros repay? No. Protector of his siblings? He leads them to death. Oh, wait, there's the oath! No, the Silmaril burns his hand.

I'd like to see someone writing a fic where Maedhros descends to madness. Because he has this idea, this self-image, after all, he is Maitimo, he is tall, he is the son of Fëanor, heir of the Silmarils, but he loses everything he has. However, he clings to the oath. It's literally the only thing keeping him going in the narrative. He killed, he did all those things by means of the oath. But then the Silmaril rejects him. Maedhros holds the Silmaril. Achilles kills Hector. Goal fulfilled. But Achilles realises revenge doesn't quench his pain, nor brings the dead back. Maedhros realises that fulfilng the oath doesn't fix anything. Time to die, then.

I love this video essay on how to write madness in fiction because I believe it would suit Maedhros. But in the end he cannot accept reality, he cannot accept he became the very same evil a Silmaril burns, and just chooses death. Because, honestly, what's the difference between a group of orcs fighting and killing each other over something they want and the Fëanorian invading and slaughtering each other for your house's heirloom? People get so defensive when others point out their faves aren't sweethearts, but actually quite bad people and they were wrong, but I believe that's what's interesting about the Fëanorian.

[arofili]

dwarves of middle-earth △ firebeards and broadbeams △ headcanon disclaimer △ @khazadweek day one △ first age // family

          Azaghâl was the King of Belegost during much of the First Age of the Sun. He earned his use-name from his prowess in battle, and proudly wore it all his days, though his decision to take an outer name in Khuzdul was unorthodox. Yet so widely beloved was he by his people that few spoke against this choice, and the Firebeards of Gabilgathol defended him fiercely against the few Broadbeams of Tumunzahar who dared comment on Azaghâl’s name.           The spouse of Azaghâl was Thalor, a lesser prince of Nogrod who gained his name, and great wealth, in his travels in the eastern lands later known as Eriador. Thalor boasted even of having visited Khazad-dûm, though many doubted the truth of this tale in particular. Thalor’s dowry to Azaghâl upon their marriage was a grand helm crafted by none other than Telchar himself, greatest of Nogrod’s smiths, and a friend of his father. Upon this helm was a golden figure of the wyrm Glaurung, symbolizing Azaghâl’s power in combat. Thalor bore Azaghâl two sons, and the pair were deeply affectionate with one another.            Often Azaghâl and Thalor would travel together into Beleriand, trading with Caranthir the dark and Elu Thingol and later the Edain as well. On one such journey along the Dwarf-road Azaghâl’s grandfather had constructed along the River Ascar when their company was assaulted by a legion of orcs. Though Azaghâl and his folk put up a mighty battle, there were simply too many enemies for them to take down, and after a pitched battle through the night, more than half of the dwarves had been slaughtered.           They would all have perished had not Maedhros the tall, Lord of Himring and brother to Caranthir, come suddenly to their rescue. Maedhros’ mounted elves descended upon the orcs, slaying many and sending the rest scattering only to be chased down by the warriors of Himring. Maedhros himself saved Azaghâl’s life by taking a blow meant for the dwarven king, and in deepest gratitude Azaghâl gave to him the Dragon-helm and pledged a life-debt to him.           Thus began a lifelong friendship and alliance between elf and dwarf. Maedhros and his soldiers escorted Azaghâl, Thalor, and the surviving dwarves back to Belegost, and attended the solemn burials of those slain in battle. Afterward, Maedhros and Azaghâl spent many days in conversation, learning much of each others’ peoples and becoming fast friends. It was Maedhros who gave Azaghâl’s sons their use-names, Sacha and Fimli, though these pronunciations were likely an alteration of the original Sindarin words.            When the Sudden Flame descended upon the peoples of Beleriand, Azaghâl left Thalor to fortify Gabilgathol and himself set out into the elven lands seeking battle. His unexpected arrival to Caranthir’s settlement upon the shores of Lake Helevorn allowed the elves there to hold their siege for three more nights, ensuring many of their goods and people could escape southward to Amon Ereb. In the coming years, Azaghâl was one of the first lords and kings to enter into the Union of Maedhros, ever eager to wage war against the Enemy and further prove his skill in battle.            When the fateful Fifth Battle dawned, Azaghâl and his warriors marched with the eastern contingent. As the battle turned ill, he refused to flee, and his stout-hearted soldiers stood with him against the mighty wyrm Glaurung, whose likeness adorned the very helm Azaghâl once bore. As the elves fell back in retreat, the dwarves of Belegost hewed away at the dragon’s scales, for the make of their axes was so sharp and strong that nothing could withstand their blows.            Yet when Glaurung turned the force of his rage upon the dwarven king, Azaghâl was at last struck down and the dragon crawled over his body to defile it. This would turn to the wyrm’s undoing, for with his last breath, Azaghâl drove a knife into Glaurung’s belly and so wounded him that he fled the field with many of the dismayed beasts of Angband following. Thus died Azaghâl, King of Belegost, and his people raised up his body and bore him away with slow steps and dirge of deep voices. Such was the power of dwarven Song that even though they heeded not their foes, none dared attack them, and they did not halt until they returned to Gabilgathol to intern their king in his mountainside tomb.            Sacha, eldest of Azaghâl’s sons, was crowned King in the days following. Thalor his father retreated in grief and lived only a few years longer before he wasted away in sorrow. Blaming his fathers’ deaths on their friendship with the elves, Sacha turned Maedhros away from Belegost in his hour of need and closed the doors of Gabilgathol to any outsiders save their Broadbeam kin in Tumunzahar.            Now Sacha was handsome and lordly, with a beard of flame, and some whispered that he was Linnar come again, the first reincarnation of their Firebeard forefather. Fimli his brother was craft-wed, and happy to throw himself into the forges rather than rule, and so all of Gabilgathol looked to Sacha alone for guidance.            When Gabilgathol received word from Tumunzahar of the theft of the Nauglamír and the slaughter of those who worked upon it, Sacha was eager to answer the summons of his fellow king Naugladur to march to war against the Grey-elves. But Sacha’s rashness betrayed him, for the Firebeards were weary of war and had no quarrel of their own with Thingol’s kin, and the king’s council overruled him. Sacha was furious and swore to embark on this mission alone, if he must, and with three of his closest followers he departed to join Naugladur and the dwarves of Nogrod in their campaign.             With Thingol slain and his Maia queen departed, the dwarves faced no opposition as they stormed into Doriath. Only in Menegroth did they face resistance, and there a great battle was fought before the treasury. Though many dwarves were killed, including Sacha’s three companions, in the end Naugladur’s forces were victorious and claimed the Nauglamír for their own, along with many other treasures.             But the conflict was not yet over, for that very night Sacha was overcome with greed and jealousy, desiring the Nauglamír for himself. He crept to Naugladur’s side with the intent to steal the precious necklace, but even as he struck Naugladur awoke, for the King of Nogrod had feared such treachery and kept a dagger by his side as he slept. Thus was Sacha slain, though Naugladur kept his prize only until the morrow, when he and all his company were killed in battle with Beren Erchamion and his allies among the Green-elves and the Ents.           No dwarves survived that battle, but an advance party sent ahead to prepare for a feast upon the king’s return to Nogrod witnessed the utter destruction of their kindred, and brought word of the whole tale to both Broadbeams and Firebeards. The dwarves of Tumunzahar lived many generations in enmity toward their kin in Gabilgathol, cursing Sacha as a traitor and naming him Bodruith, the vengeful one, and hating those Firebeards who refused their aid as cowards.            But amid his sorrow for his brother’s death, Fimli, now King of Belegost, determined Sacha had lacked the wisdom to truly be a reincarnation of Linnar, and rising to the occasion of leadership he ruled Gabilgathol well for the rest of his days. Though he did not fight in the War of Wrath, he rekindled Azaghâl’s friendship with Maedhros the tall, fostering the peredhil Elrond and Elros for a time. When the Valar’s war against Morgoth drowned Beleriand below the waves, Fimli led his people to the eastern eaves of the Blue Mountains until the stormy seas calmed, whereupon in his old age he returned and began restoration of the great halls of Belegost.

[ladysternchen]

Putting all my head canons concerning the royal house of Doriath together here in one post so as not to flood @sindarweek with them xD (sorry about that. But they are my family within Arda and I do love them all very very very much and have just as much to say about them)

-My headcanon about Elmo's wife (whom I at last decided to name Thônwen)

-little fluffy Lúthien headcanon (I'm still going to write my full hc about her)- @lycheesodas brought that headcanon to life for me with her gorgeous art

-my headcanon on Sindarin burial rites -Elmo (my most beloved obscure character) -about Elwë and Elmo as brothers part one and part two and part three -on Galadhon and his family/descendants -and our beloved Queen, my female mc through almost all my works, the one part of my favourite characters... part one, part two, part three & part four -how I think the Girdle might have worked -and, with my 'headcanon-explained' yet unfinished, my <put in many words here>, Elu Thingol, part one, part two & part three (to be continued)

[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!

[chaos-of-the-abyss]

guys guys guysssssss how touched do we think thingol was when he learned that dior and nimloth named their sons after him.......

[wise-rainfalls]

Scattered thoughts on the interim and Last Version of the Fall of Gondolin

Interestingly enough, Ulmo's isolation among the Valar is made explicit here without its later reconciliation. The Valar also come off a lot worse in the sense of indolence and refusal to hear - though it is striking that the Eagles consistently aid Gondolin - not just in its fall but across its entire existence, guarding it from Morgoth's spies, in just about every version. The idea of Gondolin being guarded by Fingoldin's cairn, and not the other way around, is like a blunt knife edged in honey. The Eagles nest there! It's also a pretty consistent show of favour by Manwe to Fingolfin and his children - wow imagine if an Eagle descended from the sky and plucked Aredhel out of Nan Elmoth - ok that's probably stretching it, and Aredhel would probably have shot it.

The version of the Hiding of Valinor in the Book of Lost Tales appended here is really food for thought - it highlights something I'd somewhat forgotten about, which is the Telerin grievance and their likely opposition to pity shown to the Noldorin exiles. That's something explicitly brought up here, and honestly, it does make a lot of the Valar's actions make more sense than as a unitary decision made without consultation of any of the Elves. The Teleri were massacred, should they now be ignored?

Striking is the idea that Tuor's message isn't just EVACUATE but - you can still win if you gather together with men and the sons of Feanor! Like, that idea of Gondolin really being the last bastion of hope, which I feel like probably got abandoned later on (in the sense that the hope is able to be fulfilled, not just perceived as such, certainly even in the Last Version everyone is hoping for Turgon to make a comeback!), is so....I really want to read an AU of this - I feel like losing it!Turgon trying to convince has lost it!Maedhros of the like....possibility of victory he himself barely believes after the Nirnaeth and after Doriath (though timeline changes indicate that by the time Tuor got to Gondolin, Elu Thingol is likely still alive, so if they acted immediately it would have just been Nirnaeth to reckon with, where it's not so much blame than grief) would be...somewhere on the extremes of both comedy and tragedy. I really like the thought that hope exists still! And honestly if we're going by the first Tale's account of Gondolin's last stand, they killed 40+ Balrogs and a DRAGON like...maybe...they did have a chance idk...though where was all that Balrog-slaying when Fingon's banners were trampled into the mire of his blood...but I digress.

The Last Version is SO GOOD and WHY did Tolkien abandon it...like I am really empathising with Christopher Tolkien here, 'perhaps the most grievous of his many abandonments' indeed. Some scattered thoughts in no particular order under the cut:

Rian and Huor...the idea of women lying across mounds for the dead is repeated with Nienor, the cousin by Morwen that Rian never sees

This really alerted me to the fact that Tuor never knew his parents at all. I'm assuming he and Annael had conversations about them (especially Rian, since I doubt Annael knew Huor well), and I hope he and Turgon had some as well.

Annael, the only one to return from the Nirnaeth!! That speaks of some pretty heavy decimation, and means that that little contingent probably has very limited military and defensive capacity...and yet they had pity and took in Rian and then fostered her son...these little sparks of kindness

It's interesting that Annael knows of the Ammon-in-Gelydh, Gate of the Noldor 'in the days of Turgon', while when Tuor asks around later 'such few of the Elves as lingered in the mountains had not heard of it'. I wonder if he passed through Nevrast at times during the Long Peace before the founding of Gondolin?

Speaking of Turgon, 'At that name Tuor was stirred, though he knew not why' - leaving this here without comment.

Tuor being caught in thralldom...I wonder what happened to the other thralls with him when he escaped? And it's pretty sweet that the dogs they set on him basically just wag their tail and go back home.

I love that Annael and his people spoke of Tuor when they reached the Havens in the South. And Tuor says 'Annael my foster-father of the Grey-elves spoke of it to me.' In fact, that whole relationship moves me in a very understated way. I hope they managed to meet again the Havens of Sirion.

'Yet, though I know not why, ever his name stirs in my heart, and comes to my lips. And had I my will, I would go in search of him, rather than tread this dark way of dread.' Tuor about Turgon - again, leaving this here without comment.

I love how the echoing mountains of Lammoth go from a place where Morgoth's screams are echoes back at him to a place where Tuor's harp music 'went forth and rang in the night-clad hill, until all the empty land was filled with music beneath the stars.' And that sudden intrusion of a much older time: 'there once long ago Feanor had landed from the sea...ere the rising of the Moon.'

Speaking of, the Moon is only about 500 years old right now.

Sea-yearning is always....so good in Tolkien. I think it's also because I live in a coastal city, so when Tuor opens his arms...I feel it. Is there anything like looking at the sea.

'...the halls of Vinyamar, eldest of all the works of stone that the Noldor built in the lands of their exile.' - lots of things to unpack here! Turgon and Aredhel moved out REALLY early from Hithlum if Vinyamar went up before Barad Eithel. And Turgon probably took all the architecture nuts with him, himself, of course, being among them. I wonder why he worked so fast? And of course, it's by the sea.

'the proud people, deathless but doomed, from far beyond the Sea.' ah....

the single beam of the setting sun through the high window 'smote the wall before him', i really like that verb here, the specific image of light almost as a force, especially considering that it 'glittered as it were upon burnished metal'. The forge metaphor does wonders for this almost magical girl transformation sequence where Tuor dons the armour Turgon left behind, in a sense transforming his identity into something else.

Though I did start laughing when he stuck seven swan feathers into his helmet

Ulmo coming out of the sea is ...shivers

'that which thy heart hath ever sought,' answered Ulmo: 'to find Turgon, and look upon the hidden city.' - no comments. at all.

Ulmo literally says 'Hi! You're LATE.'

The portrayal of the Doom of Mandos as an active force here that the Noldor are equally trapped from one side as they are by Morgoth on the other side is, really something. It's a pretty clear indication that Mandos' doom isn't just a foretelling or prophecy of causation effects, but a force at work in the world. 'And now the Curse of Mandos hastens to its fulfillment,' etc. I also think that Ulmo's positioning of himself among the Valar is illuminating - he gainsays, but not in rebellion. The advocate as it were, the counterpart to Mandos - pity against consequence. Importantly, I think they're both necessary - consequence must exist, but there must be space made for mercy to breathe through. I don't envy Manwe having to balance between them AT ALL though.

Then there was a noise of thunder, and lightning flared over the sea; and Tuor beheld Ulmo standing among the waves as a tower of silver flickering with darting flames; and he cried against the wind: ‘I go, Lord! Yet now my heart yearneth rather to the Sea.’ And thereupon Ulmo lifted up a mighty horn, and blew upon it a single great note, to which the roaring of the storm was but a wind-flaw upon a lake. And as he heard that note, and was encompassed by it, and filled with it, it seemed to Tuor that the coasts of Middle-earth vanished, and he surveyed all the waters of the world in a great vision: from the veins of the lands to the mouths of the rivers, and from the strands and estuaries out into the deep. The Great Sea he saw through its unquiet regions teeming with strange forms, even to its lightless depths, in which amid the everlasting darkness there echoed voices terrible to mortal ears. Its measureless plains he surveyed with the swift sight of the Valar, lying windless under the eye of Anar, or glittering under the horned Moon, or lifted in hills of wrath that broke upon the Shadowy Isles, until remote upon the edge of sight, and beyond the count of leagues, he glimpsed a mountain, rising beyond his mind’s reach into a shining cloud, and at its feet a long surf glimmering. And even as he strained to hear the sound of those far waves, and to see clearer that distant light, the note ended, and he stood beneath the thunder of the storm, and lightning many-branched rent asunder the heavens above him. And Ulmo was gone, and the sea was in tumult, as the wild waves of Ossë rode against the walls of Nevrast.

Leaving this here as a passage that literally stopped my breath with beauty. Taniquetil as a glimpse of Paradise, the White Mountain, is just...

"Yet being weary he slept at times, and his sleep was troubled with many dreams, of which naught remained in waking memory save one: a vision of an isle, and in the midst of it was a steep mountain, and behind it the sun went down, and shadows sprang into the sky; but above it there shone a single dazzling star." :'(( Earendil!

It's interesting that Tuor knows from the 'piercing glance of his sea-grey eyes' that Voronwe is one of the Noldor. But it can't be the Tree-light, since Voronwe is born in Beleriand. I wonder if it was the colour of the 'piercingness' that did it?

It's incredible that Voronwe is like I never want to go back, and literally the first person we meet is his old buddy Elemmakil, I bet this guy is the ghost of ghosts. Message read 12th July 1995.

Textual mention of cold resistance among the elves who passed the Helcaraxe!

It's interesting that all these years later the Noldor still don't have the ability to make ships that can cross the sea to Valinor! Not in the sense that their ships can't make it because of external interventions (Osse) but literally the quality of the ships is not up to scratch. They need Cirdan's help - and this does make the Kinslaying at Alqualonde both more understandable and abhorrent. It must have a mighty work, and not just like, your everyday canoe. Nothing else would have served.

Textual Sindar and Noldor intermarriage!

'There Ulmo is but a servant of Yavanna' - this sentence after we've seen the majesty of Ulmo creates an image of such flourishing growth and beauty in Nan-tathrin. Here, Tuor's never seen it. It's an extra layer of irony that the first time he will will be when they arrive there after fleeing from the fall of Gondolin. It's also really cute that Voronwe is like I hear Valinor has even PRETTIER willow-meads! I want to see!!! I hope he gets to eventually visit those places.

'The Great Sea is terrible...it works the Doom of the Valar.' Again, the Doom as an active force! This probably lends more credence to the Oath as an active force as well.

'Lo! There is Taras, the land of my birth!' Ah...that's heartbreaking. It's an extra twist of the knife that they're shipwrecked literally in sight of land, after SEVEN YEARS at sea.

'But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world'.

That meeting with Turin...Nargothrond's already doomed huh. 'Ivrin, Faelivrin! Gwindow and Beleg!' Yeah...poor guy. And this is the only time they meet. GOD.

'Ill it is to be trapped between the Doom of the Valar and the Malice of the Enemy,' said Voronwe. - more biased, but again, textual evidence of either the doom of the Valar as an active force, or at least the belief of it as one. And widespread as well, if it's from the mouth of a Sindar-Noldor intermarriage child born in Beleriand!

'You must forgo the fire, or else forgo Turgon.' Voronwe to Tuor - PRESENTED WITHOUT COMMENT.

Rouse the Orcs, and I leave you. I really like this for some reason as like, a gesture as the seriousness of the leaguer, and also like, a stand of Voronwe's limits, I guess.

Tuor and Voronwe's journey remind me a lot of Sam and Frodo's. Especially where Tuor 'clasping Voronwe close he cast about them both the folds of the grey cloak of the Lord of Waters, and stepped forth.'

The Eagles! Again, long-term aid of Gondolin. I wondered in the Silmarillion where Turgon was getting his information from since he wasn't letting anyone out - I'm pretty sure it was the Eagles. Wow, I hope he and Manwe get to have a conversation after he's re-embodied.

'Yet it is the road to Turgon,' said Voronwe.

Not the road to Gondolin, the road to Turgon. WHAT HAS TUOR BEEN SAYING.

'And are there not the Eagles, as you have seen? They are the folk of Thorondor, who dwelt once even on Thangorodrim ere Morgoth grew so mighty, and dwell now in the Mountains of Turgon since the fall of Fingolfin. They alone save the Noldor know the Hidden Kingdom and guard the skies above it, though as yet no servant of the Enemy has dared to fly into the high airs; and they bring much news to the King of all that moves in the lands without.' - textual evidence for conjectures above.

Voronwe fearing 'some stroke in the dark' and saying 'if [that hope] fails more surely shall we die than by all the perils of wild and winter' makes it pretty clear that not only is the leaguer there it's also been enforced lethally aforetime.

'Suddenly an elven lantern was unhooded, and its bright ray was turned upon Voronwë before him, but nothing else could Tuor see save a dazzling star in the darkness; and he knew that while that beam was upon him he could not move, neither to flee nor to run forward.' - My mind jumps to Earendil and the Silmaril's light here, though I'm not too sure why. The cold, terrifying light....

'And Voronwë cast back his hood, and his face shone in the ray, hard and clear, as if graven in stone; and Tuor marvelled to see its beauty.' Presented with comment. The comment is: Tuor is bi.

"'This is strange in you, Voronwë,’ [Elemmakil] said. ‘We were long friends." Voronwe was about to ghost this guy forever.

How far that deep road ran Tuor could not guess, and as he stared onward a great weariness came upon him like a cloud. A chill wind hissed over the faces of the stones, and he drew his cloak about him. ‘Cold blows the wind from the Hidden Kingdom!’ he said.

‘Yea, indeed,’ said Voronwë; ‘to a stranger it might seem that pride has made the servants of Turgon pitiless. Long and hard seem the leagues of the Seven Gates to the hungry and wayworn.’

I love how Tuor makes an objective comment on the weather and Voronwe immediately turns it into a passive-agressive attack on Elemmakil's hospitality. This is an understated comedy. What is Tuor feeling, he speaks again later, he is so brave. I can see them throwing glares at each other over his head.

The Gate of Writhen Iron really struck me for the illusion of its light as being that of the Moon. I'm not sure, I think it's a device that's repeated a couple of times - it being daylight but the ravine so deep you can still see the stars, light on the snow coming as moonlight etc. I feel like it's hinting at something, the illusion...idk. It's hard to pin because it's not the usual 'something masquerading as the sun', it's the other way around where sunlight is filtering as something else, and the usual associations of sunlight as truth and revelation (in the sense of revealing) aren't quite matching up for me, though I do think there's something there...

'But Elemmakil went forward, and no gate opened to his touch; but he struck upon a bar, and the fence rang like a harp of many strings, giving forth clear notes in harmony that ran from tower to tower.' - about the Seventh Gate which Maeglin made - which, damn! he's GOOD. He made it into music!

'Then Tuor passed through, and coming to a high sward that looked out over the valley beyond, he beheld a vision of  Gondolin amid the white snow. And so entranced was he that for long he could look at nothing else; for he saw before him at last the vision of his desire out of dreams of longing.' This moment strikes at the heart. Especially when one thinks of Earendil, all those years later, walking through deserted Tirion with fear rising in his heart, worried that something's happened to it like in Gondolin...in a sense, Gondolin is Tuor's Valinor, except it doesn't last.

I would literally give an arm to see Turgon and Tuor meeting. WHY DID TOLKIEN ABANDON THIS. I am SO curious as to what that initial meeting of like Turgon, Idril and Maeglin meeting Tuor would be like...in my heart of hearts I'm both dreading and hoping that Tuor thinks something like 'But Tuor spoke not, for all his gaze was caught in Idril, called Celebrindal, whose head was crowned with gold. But her eyes were grey and piercing and bright as a fire, and marked her as one of the high folk of the Noldor, and Turgon's daughter.'

I've never been so invested in the relationship between Tuor and Turgon - WHAT IS GOING ON THERE

On a more serious note, I do think that it have been a very profound relationship, not fully friendship, not fully father-son, not romantic, but not completely platonic either - I think they must have loved each other for Turgon to first reject his message and second promote him into his counsels and favour, and for Tuor to be so torn when Turgon despairs.

And hearkening back to the Tuor of the first version of the Tale...wow uh I just had a really bad Arthur-Lancelot-Guinevere parallel come to me

The Prophecy of Amnon is incredibly interesting: 'The words of the Prophecy of Amnon, ‘Great is the fall of Gondolin’, uttered by Turgon in the midst of the battle for the city, are cited in two closely similar forms in isolated jottings under this title. Both begin with the words under the title ‘Great is the fall of Gondolin’, and then follow in the one case ‘Turgon shall not fade till the lily of the valley fadeth’ and in the other ‘When the lily of the valley withers then shall Turgon fade’.'

When the lily of the valley withers then shall Turgon fade is such a lovely sentence.

Though it would be really funny if Amnon is just...another name for Mandos. When he gave his Doom he was like P.S. [special doom for Huan], P.P.S [special doom for Turgon]. I wonder what Fingolfin thought.

I think it's also interesting to think that Turgon first named the city 'Ondolinde', and Gondolin was the eventual Sindarisation. I wonder if Turgon's heart sank when he first heard that?

[englishlotusflower]

Update with new generations:

Celebrimbor, funnily enough, looks more like his mum than his dad. He has her cool remove and a lot of her features (like a lot a lot of her features). However, he also has his grandfather's temper and colouring, and his father's mouth (which twists into sneers so easily even when he's trying not to), so the resemblance to the Curufinwë line kind of overpowers the rest. Like his father, whenever he's deep in Crafting Mode, he looks more like his mother than anyone else. 

Glorfindel has his father's bone structure and the Vanyarin hair from both his parents, but his eyes are Finwë's, and he has the drama to back it up. His mannerisms mostly come from his mum (Findis) and from Varda (who Findis has dedicated her service to), and the combination pisses Fëanor off even more than Findis did. He's kinder to Glorfindel about it though, because Fëanor is weak to children, especially children looking up at him with his father's eyes.

Gil-Galad is about a hair taller than his father (Fingon), and absolutely delights in it. He has his father's black hair and grey eyes, making him very much a Finwëan to look at. However, his bone structure and his build very much comes from his quick, brash Huntress mother. Thankfully, he inherited his grandfather's diplomatic nature rather than either of his parent's...lack of diplomacy. Oh, and he inherited his grandmother's icy temper.

Idril is 100% Vanyarin until you get her into a temper and then you notice her grey eyes and realise she's actually very much a Noldo. She has Finwë's hot temper by the way, not Turgon's.

Eärendil looks more like the House of Hador than any of the elven houses. He's got his mother's bearing though, and her temper and the Finwëan drama. His dad is disappointed he didn't get the deep, intense grey eyes, but his mum is very happy he got the bright, clear blue of Hador's descendants. 

Elros is like his dad if he had black hair and grey eyes. Oh, and even more drama and the Ainurin propensity to change a little bit according to his situation. It can get very weird if he's in the right mood.

Elrond is very, very, very tall. This is 100% a choice, but also 100% genetics seeing as the Finwëans and the Elwëans have a history of super tall kids (Elu, Turgon, Maedhros etc). He's more like Melian and Lúthien and Dior and Elwing than any of his Noldorin kin, but his manner is entirely Noldorin, as is his drama penchant. His share of the temper went entirely to Elros.

Elladan looks more like Turgon than like anyone else. He has Turgon's resting bitch face, icy temper, height, the list goes on. Weirdly enough, this means that he has the most resemblance to Indis out of Elrond's children. Which also means Elladan is the one who looks most like his mum. Genetics in this family are weird.

Elrohir is the one who looks most like Finwë out of his latest descendants. He is also the shortest of Elrond's children, by like two mm, which makes him very annoyed a lot of the time, and has the Vanyarin build (shorter and more slender than the Noldor or Sindar/Teleri). It comes out to looking weirdly like Fëanor (especially when he's in a temper) and everyone hates it. He thinks its hilarious.

Arwen is hailed as Lúthien reborn for her entire life, but really she looks like her dad. And by this I mean that she has all of the Nelyarin genes from both of her parents, except it comes with a dash of Finwëan drama and temper on top, so she's her dad but more dramatic. That kind of evens out to everyone thinking Lúthien but she would like them all to know that they are wrong and she is a mini-dad.  

Maeglin did not inherit his mother's height, which he doesn't mind because it means he can still tuck under her chin for hugs. He has his father's black eyes and sly mouth, but in everything else he's a mini-Aredhel. This is perfectly fine with him, because he adores his mother.

Finduilas did get the Finwëan drama gene, much to her father's despair. She has a very Sindarin/Telerin look to her thanks to her Sindarin mother, in her features and her build and almost everything else. However, she has the grey eyes and the fire of Finwë's house, also known as the drama gene.

Celebrían has the height from both of her parents, so she's guaranteed to be taller than almost anyone she meets. She is very happy with this. She has her father's colouring, but her mother's beauty and build, and her temper (unfortunately). From both of her parents, she has the competence of the Nelyarin royal house. Oh, and she has the pride from...well, all of her forebears. 

Inglor has his father's (Círdan) silver hair, and calm temperament and his sturdy (by elven standards) frame, though he is forever grateful that he did not inherit the beard. He got his mother's (Lalwen) charisma though, and her eyes and a lot of her bone structure. The drama mostly (mostly) passed him over.

Gildor gives thanks every day that he can pass for your average non-Finwëan elf. His colouring and build and mannerisms are all very much solid, sea-faring, respectable Falathrim. He's like a mini version of his grandfather. However, he did inherit the restlesness and a bit of the drama, and so he doesn't stay in the Havens much (to Círdan's dismay), but wanders all over Middle Earth, giving his poor grandfather a heart attack. So that probably makes him a stealth Noldo, but he's in denial because the Noldor are always waiting to put responsibility on the shoulders of poor, innocent elves who had no say in their ancestors. 

Who Looks Like Who(for Plot and also Angst purposes in some cases, but mostly based off vibes)

Fëanor has Míriel's expressions, her short slight frame, and her elegant nimble hands, but his colouring, his charisma, everything else comes from Finwë

Maedhros looks like Nerdanel, but with a bit of Finwë in him. You can tell from a glance that he's Nerdanel's son, equally so that he's Finwë's grandson. It's much hard to tell that he's Fëanor's son (unless he's in a temper). He has Nerdanel's level head and pragmatism combined with the Finwëan charisma, intensity and general OP-ness, all of which he inherited in spades. It's very dangerous - to others.

Maglor has Nerdanel's nose and eyes, and her vibes of quiet serenity until the breaking point and then quiet pointed fury, but also he looks like Fëanor otherwise. Especially wrt his charisma.

Celegorm looks like Míriel. He has Nerdanel's more solid frame, but otherwise could pass for Míriel's twin. Everyone who knew Míriel is always commenting on how he has her hair, her eyes, her rebelliousness, her restlesness, her temper etc. Part of the reason he spends so much time in the woods is because no one there compares him to a woman who died before he was born.

Caranthir looks like Nerdanel with dark hair, and he has her pragmatism. He does have his father's temper, but he also has A Lot of Indis' mannerisms that he has no idea where they came from Atar. (Indis is a genius with maths, economics, trade - Caranthir learnt everything from her. She isn't proud of much that anyone does in Beleriand, but she is very proud of Caranthir's trade empire.)

Curufin looks exactly like Fëanor, except when he's deep in Crafting Mode - then he looks weirdly like Nerdanel. He has Nerdanel's clear head and her insight, and Fëanor's short temper. He's cruel when he's angry, unlike his dad who rampages indiscriminately, but very much like his mum who always knows how to make it hurt.

Ambarussa are identical, with Nerdanel's colouring and frame, but Fëanor's face. Lightly toasted (or crispy or whatever) has more Fëanor vibes and raw has more Nerdanel vibes. Can't explain it, its just Like That. And also the vibes of Fëanor accidentally toasting the twin more like himself. Delicious

Findis has her mother's golden hair, her father's eyes, and an uncanny likeness to Míriel in her mannerisms that can only come from copying Fëanor. (Does this piss Fëanor off? Absolutely. Will she ever stop? Absolutely not.)

Fingolfin has his mother's eyes and her height, but just like Fëanor his colouring, his charisma, everything comes from Finwë.

Fingon did not inherit his father's height and he will never not be sore about it. He looks more like Anairë than anyone else, but his eyes are indubitably Fingolfin's. His habit of braiding ribbons in his hair comes from Findis - she tends to use bright colours but he prefers only gold.

Turgon DID inherit Fingolfin's height, and just like Fingolfin he will never let his elder brother forget it. HE looks a lot like Indis, if she had Noldorin colouring, and everyone says his more...settled temperament comes from her. It doesn't - Indis is calm and controlled, Turgon has his mother's resting bitch face and icy temper. Everyone just thinks he doesn't because his temper is quiet rather than explosive.

Aredhel also inherited Fingolfin's height. She looks like Anairë if Anairë had the Finwëan dramatic tendencies and charisma. Her idols are Cousin Celegorm and Aunt Lalwen (in that order) and it shows.

Argon is taller than Aredhel. By like...a hair. When he discovers that, it becomes his entire personality for a good week. He is the only one who looks mostly like Fingolfin, but he has Anairë's quiet, deadly iciness rather than the Finwëan over the topness.

Finarfin has his mother's colouring and her calm facade, but in all else he is Finwë writ blond. He also hides a temper under the calm facade, but because he controls it better everyone assumes his dad's temper passed him by.

Finrod has the Telerin chill/friendly factor mixed with the Noldorin dramatic intensity, which leaves him aggressively and pointedly friendly. He looks like his mum if Eärwen were blonde and constantly wore as much jewellery as Fëanor made in a particularly inspired month.

Orodreth got Indis' calm facade, and the Finwëan drama gene skipped him for which he is eternally thankful. He has Eärwen's colouring, and Finwë's bone structure, but everything is softer with Orodreth. He's just very shy and quiet and adorable.

Angrod looks very much like his dad, if his dad had blue eyes. He also got Indis' calm facade, but the difference between him and Orodreth is that for Angrod it is just a facade. He's got stubborness in spades from Finwë, and a backbone of mithril from his mum. She also gave him a healthy dose of common sense. Oh and he got a bunch of mannerisms off Findis that really annoy his uncle Fëanor.

Aegnor...well. People make jokes that he's Fëanor but blond. He's got the charisma, the intensity, the impulsiveness, the propensity for bad life choices, the list goes on. Thankfully, he also has Angrod to keep him from anything too awful.

Galadriel has Indis' height, her strength, her colouring and beauty, and a temper that wouldn't look out of place on Fëanor himself. She also has her mother's competency (which comes from the same place as Lúthien's ability to take down the two biggest bads without breaking a sweat). It's a rather dangerous combination.

Lalwen is...herself. She's got her mother's height, her father's charisma and his colouring, but mostly she's just Lalwen. Bold and laughing and utterly done with her family's drama.

[hardynwa]

Before They Begin Igbo Point-And-Kill In Lagos By Felix Oboagwina

April last year, I wrote an article, titled, “Didn’t Tinubu Just Goof On MC Oluomo?” The piece did a post-mortem on the crisis rocking the Lagos State chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW). Long story short, Musiliu Akinsanya, alias “MC Oluomo,” was issued a query by the union’s national leadership, he refused to answer it and he was handed a suspension. Out of the blue, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu declared NURTW banned. In its place, they created the Lagos Parks and Garages Management Committee and appointed MC Oluomo to head it as Chairman. Those who know, know that Sanwo-Olu merely served as the hand of Esau carrying out the dictates of the godfather puppeteer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. MC Oluomo is Tinubu’s strongman. Lately, MC Oluomo’s pre-Governorship-Election message to the Igbo stock in Lagos became a social media virus. In it, the Tinubu-assisted tough-guy warns all Iya Chukwudis (all Igbo), “Vote APC or stay at home!” Simply put, should the South-Easterners fail to support APC, these attack dogs want to scare Igbo with a promise of Rwandan-style point-and-kill. It is a desperate message from a desperado whose desperate paymasters have read the handwriting on the wall from February 25, where they fell from their Olympian heights and lost Lagos to Peter Obi’s Elu-Pee. However, people like me saw the February 25 fall coming long ago. In my April 2022 piece, I observed and warned: “As the Nigerian proverb says, ‘It is the foolish fly that gets buried with the corpse.’ Tinubu, in bailing out his embattled unionist godson may have succeeded in damaging his own ambition.” Could I have been more right? Anywhere in Nigeria, where commercial transportation takes place, NURTW “full ground berekete.” So does its parent body, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). These are nationwide networks. Injury to one of them means injury to all. NURTW and NLC could be making Tinubu pay for robbing them of Lagos. Apart from the MC Oluomo blunder, several others factors triggered the shock APC and Tinubu received in their traditional hold of Lagos and gave the lead instead to the Labour Party’s Peter Obi, on February 25. That February loss made them zero in on Obi’s Igbo kinsmen in Lagos. They think they have an Igbo problem they could solve through scare tactics. Perish the thought! It has nothing to do with Igbo people. LAGOS-BORN WANT LAGOS There is the “Omo Eko factor.” Aboriginal Lagosians from the Awori stock and the Saro Islanders, descendants of the freed slaves who returned to Lagos and Freetown in the dying days of the slave trade, these too want a shot at the throne too. Rallying around the likes of Chief Olabode George and General Tajudeen Olanrewaju, they have formed “Omo Eko Pataki,” dedicated to planting a trueborn, full-blooded Lagosian in Eko Roundhouse. The dream the aboriginal Lagosians and Island Lagosians dream about ruling Lagos should make sense. They point out that unlike the likes of Rauf Aregbesola (Osun State), who, after a spell of meritorious service in Lagos, still headed back home to vie for state governorship positions, indigenous Lagosians have nowhere to go. Only godfather Tinubu knows why he shunned their yearnings since 1999. He paid dearly for it on February 25. It has nothing to do with Igbo people. THE #EndSARS FACTOR The 2020 anti-SARS protests against police brutality threw up leaders like Aisha Yesufu at the national level. In Lagos, from its angry embers rose the likes of the comedian Mr. Macaroni, the musician Eedris Abdulkareem and FALZ, the “Bahd Guy” musician son of quintessential Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN. The #EndSARS protests eventually became a symbol of youth resistance to constituted authority. It is an understatement to say that Tinubu and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu soiled their hands in the ugly episode, which started out as a peaceful protest. The Lekki Tollgate has today become a symbol of that epic struggle, Nigeria’s own version of China’s Tiananmen Square, a place of sorrows, tears and blood. Lekki Tollgate, a private concern run by LCCI, has its ownership traced to Tinubu. His son Deji owns the advert firm that runs advertisements atop and around the structure. On the D-Day, three things happened at Lekki Tollgate. · CCTV cameras were removed. · Lights were switched off. · A killing squad of soldiers shot into the crowd of hyper-peaceful, flag-waving protestors. Blood flowed. Corpses of Nigerian youth piled up. The Army whisked away the slain, denying them the decency of a burial. Who sent in the marines? Sanwo-Olu denies but the military insists he did. Those youngsters have been waiting to get their pound of flesh. These 2023 elections provide that chance. They have waited for this moment since October 20, 2020. Fate only provided Peter Obi as the accidental rallying point. Is it by omission or design that Aisha Yesufu, a veritable symbol of the #EndSARS protests, is highly visible in the Obi’s LP campaigns? This is payback time. For that desecration of the flower of their youth at Lekki, Benin, Ogbomosho, young Nigerians want their pound of flesh. And they are determined, mobilised and organised enough to get it. It has nothing to do with the Igbo. ANTI-MEDIA POSTURING Apart from TVC and The Nation newspapers that he owns, which media can Tinubu identify as friends and allies today? The likes of Arise TV and AIT have gone overboard to denigrate him, after they wooed him without success. So does AIT. They spend generous airtime to mock and disparage Tinubu and his party. Little wonder. Before and since June 2022 that he won the APC ticket, Tinubu shunned the several debates they organised for presidential contestants. What cockiness! This anti-media posturing, unfortunately encouraged by his publicists, has proved a damager. Who remembers that pre-February 25 even Sanwo-Olu did not much campaigning in Lagos? Instead of running his own political business, he was minding Tinubu’s business –gallivanting all over Nigeria with his godfather. The electoral results of February has sent the poor guy running from mall to shops to churches to computer villages, doing photo ops like a jack-of-all-trades! It has little to do with the Igbo. MUSLIM-MUSLIM TICKET By the way, Sanwo-Olu blames their poor show on his godfather’s Muslim-Muslim ticket. And who says that formation would escape unscathed in a multi-religious country? Tinubu performed woefully in the Christian-dominated South-East, South-South, as it did in several Christian featuring states of the North? Ditto Lagos. It has nothing to do with the Igbo. GODFATHER’S LIMITED TENURE The governorship is a tenured office. You do your maximum term of eight years and quit the scene. Tinubu became Lagos Governor in 1999. He left office in 2007. Thereafter, he has remained the ultimate godfather of Lagos politics. From Babatunde Fashola, to Akinwunmi Ambode, to Babajide Sanwo-Olu, all Lagos governors have come under the control of this ultimate puppeteer. All local government and Legislature operatives are handpicked by him. The question is: Will Tinubu’s godfather tenure in Lagos last till death do them part? Or will die the natural death of Olusola Saraki in Kwara State, Orji Uzoh Kalu in Abia, Adams Oshiomhole of Edo, Jim Nwobodo in Enugu and James Ibori in Delta, all of whom have had their godfather influence extinguished? The law of diminishing return is a nature thing. It has nothing to do with the Igbo. THE LOSS OF AFENIFERE Egbe Afenifere singlehandedly made Tinubu in 1999. His romance with them has long lost its fire –forget the other day’s PR trip to Pa Reuben Fasoranti in Ondo. Today, that foremost Yoruba socio-political group backs Obi 100 percent. Without Afenifere’s pillar of support, it cannot be smooth sailing for the former Lagos Governor. OBI AND THE IBO FACTOR Yes, Peter Obi is a boy, an Igbo (or Ibo) boy. Therefore, the former Anambra State Governor will naturally command the support of his kith and kin. However, social media buffs have pointed out that if you drop Obi from LP and replace him with any other Igbo politician, like Orji Uzoh Kalu or Rochas Okorocha, they would abandon LP like hot potato. Obidents swing only in one direction, the Peter Obi direction. Why Obi? Obi packs qualities that those other politicians lack. Like them, he served in public office, but his integrity rings loudly and deafeningly. Here is a man who has refused to allocate to himself post-service pecks and pecuniary, where his mates corner lifelong cars, cash and castles from the state coffers! He exudes capacity, competence and character. Those qualities make sweet music in Nigerians’ ears. It has nothing to do with the Igbo people. Obi’s magic goes beyond Igbo backing. His votes in Lagos came majorly from non-Igbo voters. Go and verify. Agreed that the garrulousness, bragging and verbosity of a minuscule few of Igbo loudmouths would not help matters, but not all Igbo proclaim Lagos as a NO-MAN’S-LAND that they want to TAKE OVER. Yoruba “indigenes” will fight anyone proclaiming that assumption. However, one thing I know (since serving as Director twice in the Jimi Agbaje governorship campaigns of 2015 and 2019) is that the Tinubu political family dusts up this propaganda-blackmail every election cycle. Fela calls it “their regular trademark.” This Igbo-want-to-take-over-Lagos is a xenophobic slang they apply during every election. They spread the misinformation that the opposition wants to red-carpet and royalise the “Igbo strangers” in Lagos. They used it against Jimi Agbaje. They tried it with Jandor. Now they are bringing that piece of trash against Rhodes-Vivour, whose principal happens to be Igbo. They disguise the blackmail as a clarion call for Yoruba unity, irredentism and nationalism. By these satanic verses, they paint Tinubu’s clique as protectors of Yoruba interest and resisters of Igbo expansionism. Those who know Lagos politics know that the MC Oluomo-Tinubu group are lying. Unfortunately, however, the formula seems to work. Always. Read the full article