#as she was despite everything that the sons of feanor put her through. she's remembered as a hero and they're remembered as

[chaos-of-the-abyss]

and here i was thinking you were kidding and being dramatic because i thought we were already way past the 'blaming elwing with the kinslaying and destruction of sirion' (its 2024 already) because i did not just see posts saying that elwing is no better than literal murderers that destroyed her home twice because she *squints* didn't give the jewel and didn't submit to the demands of the dude that orchestrated the destruction of her home so she is to blame for the destruction 😭

anon, i wish i was being dramatic and that the silm fandom has evolved past its moronic victim-blaming, but alas you're giving some people's reading comprehension too much credit. it truly is mind-boggling because it could not be clearer in the silm that elwing is a victim of the sons of feanor who did her very best in the terrible circumstances that they put her in, and that she is in no way at fault for their decision to attack a refugee camp. i wish that type of feanorian "fan" (i'm always going to put fan in quotes because they don't love the feanorians, they love their ocs with the feanorians' names who are poor uwu babies that were unfairly oppressed and bullied by their victims and the families of their victims) would stick to their wattpad fanfics and ya novels about problematique violent spicy men who are really just tortured and misunderstood and sad and sexy, and leave the actual canon silm in peace. what they think they're gaining from claiming to be fans of a story wherein their fanon account of its events blatantly contradicts canon presentation is beyond me

[rivalsforlife]

TWO TREES OF VALINOR. these are gorgeous. I gasped even though I knew it was coming. I remember losing my mind at that first teaser picture that showed them and seeing it up close is beautiful. pretty much just how I envisioned. I like how telperion is a little gentler/dimmer comparatively I cannot remember if it was confirmed that they brighten/dim according to what time of "day" it is or if I just made it up but either way that's great. gorgeous.

ok this. ok this. I saw the leaked teaser a while ago so this has been on my mind. they're falling through some sort of suspension it looks like, which could be some terrible trauma-induced vision or it could be water.

The three possibilities I have for this scene are War of Wrath, Dagor Bragollach (aka Battle of Sudden Flame), OR, most interesting to me, the First Kinslaying.

If it is water it kind of rules out sudden flame since that wasn't really. water-based. like it could be in a lake or something but that doesn't make sense. I was leaning more towards war of wrath because of how it would make most sense where they are in the timeline (continent sinking is on everyone's minds.)

This image of Galadriel is interesting to me too. She looks very rough here. Everything is red even in the air. That atmosphere also kind of implies bragollach to me with all the fire and smoke, and it is also where she lost two of her brothers, so it would absolutely make sense that she's got trauma from that, buuuut it doesn't explain the water.

War of Wrath would have a lot of fire and smoke and devastation, but considering this comes at the part where Galadriel is telling Elrond "You haven't seen what I've seen" in the trailer, Elrond probably wasn't here for these scenes. He was alive during War of Wrath though you could argue he probably wasn't caught up in the middle of it. But if we rule out "things Elrond may have seen" that narrows it down to Bragollach and the Kinslaying.

This being the Kinslaying, though, would be super interesting to put into larger context the downfall of the Noldor which would be on everyone's minds around the second age particularly with Galadriel refusing the pardon of the Noldor given that she was exiled despite fighting against Feanor and co in the kinslaying at alqualonde. This would also be a very devastating moment for Galadriel. All the smoke is a little bit out of place here admittedly, but the weird red lighting could be the combination of fire and a lack of light, and it would definitely explain the water.

And I don't think the Kinslaying is at all unreasonable, despite it not being in the appendices, considering we're seeing this.

THIS HAS TO BE THE OATH OF FEANOR I REFUSE TO ACCEPT EVERYTHING ELSE. It shows us like four elves standing in half a circle and I think it's reasonable for there to be like seven/eight depending where the man himself is standing. They're raising their swords in the air. and they sure as hell LOOK like noldor. I'm just imagining all the redheads are on the other side though. I wish I had a better image of this so I could tell if they have the star of feanor on their armor because that would be confirmation but literally what else could it be.

I can't even remember how I reacted to this I think all the neurons in my brain started firing at once and I reached a new mental state for a moment. I did not expect to see more than like a passing mention of feanor nevermind THE OATH ITSELF. This has incredible implications both for noldor lore and also celebrimbor backstory going so much more into like the feanorian drama which is all I am here for it was absolutely my favorite part of the silmarillion. the feanorians are my favorite part of the entire tolkien legendarium.

I'm not expecting them to go into much more detail than this on the individual sons of feanor so maybe none of my favorite guy maedhros :( but I do believe he's standing right behind the camera and has red hair.

love the juxtaposition of "this could be the beginning of a new era" re: second age with the rebellion of the noldor that sure was an era.

anyways I've heard the first season is going to be mostly setup and I was like "what are they setting up" but if it's a first age history lesson I am sold. I am more than sold. I am currently trying to find a way to psychically project my consciousness into september so I can see this full oath scene, the whole 2 seconds it might get.

and nothing else in this trailer matters to me honestly I forgot it already I literally care about nothing other than feanorians. (and galadriel she gets a pass. and fingon but there's no way he's here. and I'll stop while I'm ahead.) I didn't think they would give it to me, but they have. never thought I'd say it but thanks amazon

[sweetteaanddragons]

The Warrior Heir

When writing a crossover with another fandom, it is generally a good idea to pick a fandom that people are reasonably familiar with.

I decided to throw that right out the window because I really wanted to write this, and when it comes to fan fiction, that’s reason enough, even if this turns out to be of interest solely to myself.

So! This is a crossover that puts the characters of The Silmarillion in the world of The Wizard Heir by Cinda Williams Chima. If you haven’t read that, and still want to read this, here’s what you need to know:

There are two kinds of people: The Weir, who have magic, and the Anaweir, who don’t, and who generally have no idea that the Weir exist.

The Weir can be divided into five categories:

Wizards, who are far more powerful than all the rest of the Weir, and who thus, in the true spirit of the more cynical side of human history, seized control and immediately began using the other Weir as slaves. They are divided into two political factions - The Red Rose and the White Rose.

Sorcerers, who create powerful magic artifacts.

Seers, who can see the future, which is theoretically great, except they’re almost always really bad at it.

Enchanters! Who are unnaturally beautiful, unnaturally appealing, and unnaturally persuasive.

And warriors, who arguably get the worst end of the lot, because they can do cool stuff like fight inhumanly well and throw around fireballs and gusts of wind, but they ALSO get thrown into huge gladiator battles to the death until this whole subset of Weir is almost extinct because wizards decided proxy fights were a better way to handle things than huge wars that threatened to destroy the continent. 

If both your parents are a wizard, and all their parents were wizards as far back as anyone can remember, you will certainly be a wizard. If your dad’s a wizard, and your mom’s an enchanter, it’s a coin flip what you’ll turn out to be, and so on.

Now, for anyone who hasn’t stopped reading yet: On to the actual story!

Finwe is a wizard from a long line of wizards. He’s highly positioned among the White Rose party and widely feared for his power. Miriel is - not. 

To be specific, Miriel is a sorcerer. A sorcerer of remarkable power, certainly, but a sorcerer nonetheless. 

That Finwe would dally with her is nothing exceptional; that he married her is scandalous. 

Officially, she dies in childbirth. Unofficially, most people are certain that someone in Finwe’s own party poisoned her just to end the embarrassment. 

If the child had been a wizard, that would have mostly been the end of it, save of course for the gossip. A tidbit this juicy wouldn’t be forgotten for centuries. 

Feanor is not a wizard. He is a sorcerer like his mother, and Finwe still stubbornly refuses to do the sensible thing and get rid of him, either through the Trade or through . . . quieter means. 

Instead, he keeps the child and protects him as vigilantly as a dragon guarding his last remaining treasure. Attempts to convince him otherwise slowly taper off for two reasons: 

One, Finwe remains a wizard of remarkable power, and while his temper is slower than many wizards, once it is roused, he makes a terrifying enemy. 

And two, because keeping Feanor turns out not to be such a terrible investment after all. Feanor is a prodigy. 

Once, a long time ago, all sorcerers had possessed remarkable talent. These days, most are reduced to creating cheap trinkets. 

 Feanor creates items that seem more befitting a legend, and he doesn’t stop doing it. The Silmarils may gain the most fame, but nothing he makes can be dismissed. 

All of these, of course, are given directly to his father, whose armory is starting to look almost as impressive as his native power. 

People stop wondering what Finwe was thinking and start wondering how he knew this was going to happen. 

(Finwe didn’t know. Finwe doesn’t particularly care, except for the fact that people have stopped trying to kill his son. Now they keep trying to kidnap him which is not exactly good, but it’s at least marginally better.) 

Feanor knows exactly how much scorn his father endured for his sake, and he is fiercely, entirely devoted to him. He can’t imagine anything his father could do that he wouldn’t support with all of his being. 

He thinks this right up until his father decides to remarry. 

Indis is beautiful, gracious, and charming. 

She is also a wizard from a lineage even more impeccable than his father’s. 

Feanor hates her with every ounce of his being. 

She’s always very kind to him, but Feanor knows better than to trust that. Lots of people are kind to him. Almost all of them want something from his father, and Indis wants the biggest prize of all. 

But his father marries her despite his protests, and Feanor is careful to walk warily around her after that. 

(He will not eat if Indis gets to the table first. He does not trust food that has been left under her hands unguarded.)

 In a last ditch effort to stop the wedding, he’d gone to consult the best Seer he could find. If she could see something terrible - if she could convince his father - 

Nerdanel can see nothing but vague trouble, and there is always trouble. That will not be enough to convince his father. But he is fascinated by the stones she casts. They are intricately carved, and she confesses that she made them herself. Feanor works more with metal than stone, but he is questioning that decision now, and he returns to her again and again. 

Admittedly, it is not due entirely to his interest in her stonework. 

Nerdanel is hesitant to marry him. She does not want to come more to the attention of the wizards than she already is, but Feanor convinces her that his father can protect her. 

They discover Nerdanel is with child shortly before Indis announces she is also.

Feanor is ecstatic that he has a child on the way. He is also terrified. 

What if his father loves him less now that he has a proper, wizarding child on the way? What if his father cannot protect his child?

 What will his child be?

 Maitimo, it turns out, is a wizard. 

Feanor doesn’t know whether to cheer or scream. Finwe is delighted, and his delight is both welcome and painful. Indis’s congratulations are both entirely sincere and rather insulting. Nolofinwe, of course, is also a wizard, but there was never any doubt about that. 

His son is going to outlive him. His son is going to join the caste of the most vicious, backstabbing, brutal people he knows, excepting, of course, his father. 

His son is going to be safe. 

When Nerdanel gets pregnant again, he doesn’t know what to hope for. Another wizard, forever safe from being sold into torment? A sorcerer he can teach everything to? A seer that, so long as he is not too powerful, might be safely ignored? 

Makalaure, it turns out, is an enchanter. 

Feanor hadn’t even known that was on the table. Nerdanel seems bewildered by his confusion. 

“It’s not like my people were all seers,” she says. “My mother always told me that my father was a sorcerer. I suppose one of his parents might have been an enchanter.” 

She does not speak of what happened to her father. Feanor knows better than to press. 

An enchanter is - Well, an enchanter is the opposite of safe. They are the second most sought after prey for the trade, and what they are used for when they are caught does not bear imagining. 

“You will have to protect your brother,” he tells Maitimo every night, even though his eldest is still too young to properly understand. “You have to.”

Maitimo always nods with solemnity beyond his years, and Feanor can only pray he remembers this. 

He isn’t sure if he’s just imagining the speculative look in Indis’s eyes when she looks at the baby. 

The third time Nerdanel gets pregnant he hopes desperately it is not another enchanter. He loves Makalaure - loves him desperately, and he wouldn’t change him for the world, but he wishes desperately he could change the world for Makalaure. If he has to feel this way on behalf of two children, he thinks he will explode. 

Their third son is not an enchanter. 

He’s a warrior. 

The second Feanor knows, bone deep horror sinks into him. Nerdanel is clutching the baby like someone is already trying to rip him out of her hands to dump him onto the killing fields. 

For a desperate, mindless, moment, Feanor sincerely considers killing the midwife. She is the only one who knows. If they can hide this - 

But there is no hiding this. Not for long. 

Feanor does not kill the midwife. Instead, he pours gold into her hands and begs her to keep it quiet, just for the night. 

It will hold her for now. It will not hold her long. 

He trusts his father. He does. 

He does not trust that his father will be able to hold back the entirety of the White Rose, which has grown increasingly more desperate for warriors. 

By morning, he suspects the midwife will have broken her promise. 

By morning, Feanor and all his family are long gone.