#gil-galad's mother

[grey-gazania-fic]

The Flight of Birds

Elrond and Elros have recently arrived on Balar, and Elrond is not happy to be back among his mother's people. But with some help from his brother, he begins to see Elwing in a different light. Rated G.

“I did not expect you to be so busy here,” Elrond said as he carefully ground some willow bark. He and Elros had been on Balar for nearly a month now, and last week he’d finally worked up the courage to ask about helping in the Houses of Healing. Halwen, Balar’s chief healer, had placed Elrond under the command of Lady Ianneth to help prepare medicines, for Ianneth was well-versed in herb-lore.

She was also King Gil-galad’s mother. That had worried Elrond at first, for he’d found thus far that he didn’t like Gil-galad very much -- or Círdan, or, for that matter, most of the population of Balar. But Ianneth was tolerable. She was a practical woman, and she didn’t seem to pity him, or worse, try to mother him, as though Elwing’s abandonment had left him without anyone to fill the role of parent.

Maglor and Maedhros had been more than enough. His foster-fathers had given him and Elros everything they’d needed, despite what these people seemed to think.

“There’s always something that needs doing,” Ianneth said, looking up from the comfrey liniment she was preparing. “But bruises and coughs and headaches -- those are just the day-to-day woes. The real work comes when the people who’ve escaped from the mainland make their way here. They’re half-starved more often than not, and wounded, and the Men are sometimes ill. The ones who come from Hithlum are always in especially dire straits. The Easterlings are brutal to them.”

She had the matter-of-fact tone of someone who was accustomed to seeing people suffer, but wasn’t callous towards their pain. Elrond wondered at that, for she was from Hithlum herself and likely knew many who had been killed or enslaved. Growing up, he’d heard rumors about the cruelties of the East-Men, and he couldn’t imagine being so unshaken if he learned that Maedhros, Maglor, or any of their people were being held captive and mistreated.

“How many people are left in Hithlum?” he asked. ‘Besides the East-Men, I mean.”

“We don’t know.” Ianneth stirred the liniment one final time and then carried the jar over to the counter where it would rest until it set. Then she plucked a bundle of herbs from the rafters above them and laid it down on the table. “What is this, and what is it used for?”

“Chickweed,” Elrond said automatically. He’d already grown used to Ianneth’s sudden tests, and he was pleased to say that he’d passed most of them, thanks in no small part to Maedhros’ botany lessons. “It’s used to treat blisters and rashes. But what do you mean, you don’t know?”

“I mean we don’t know,” Ianneth said, though she gave his answer an approving nod. “Everyone who escapes has a different estimate.”

“But then how do you know how much medicine you’ll need?”

Ianneth smiled at him, but the expression was tinged with sadness. “We don’t,” she said. “We just prepare as much as possible and pray for the best. That’s what healing is, at least during war -- preparation, prayer, and hard work.”

Elrond didn’t have an answer to that, so he simply returned to the willow bark with a noncommittal hum. Melloth, the woman who’d taught him the basics of healing, never prayed. None of Fëanor’s remaining people did, though Maglor had taken pains to speak as respectfully as he could when he taught Elrond and Elros about the Valar.

Ianneth returned the chickweed to its place and then peered into Elrond’s bowl. “It needs to be a little finer,” she said.

He nodded and began to push harder with the pestle. Ianneth left him to his work, busying herself with putting more water on to boil over the small fire. Silence reigned, broken only by the occasional rustle of cloth and the sound of stone grinding against stone. But a question was nagging at Elrond, and after a few minutes he gave in and spoke.

“How do you know the people from the mainland aren’t in league with Morgoth?” he asked. “How do you know they aren’t thralls?”

Ianneth gave him a crooked half smile. “We don’t,” she said again.

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Yes,” Ianneth said. “A man who came from Hithlum tried to murder Lord Círdan just last year. But we’ve decided that it’s better to risk harboring a thrall or two than to turn away people who are actually in need. There are far more of the latter than the former.”

Elrond couldn’t contain a snort of derision. “That seems foolish,” he said. Maedhros and Maglor had been ever-vigilant about the possibility that Morgoth might send spies in the guise of Elves or Men, and so they had rarely trusted strangers. After all, Maedhros had been intimately acquainted with Morgoth’s methods in a way Círdan or Gil-galad would never be.

The look Ianneth gave him was heavy with disappointment. “If kindness is foolish, than I will gladly be a fool,” she said. Then she slapped another bunch of herbs onto the table -- thin green stems with unfamiliar mauve flowers. “This is earth smoke,” she said. “It’s used to treat redness and itching in the eyes. When you’re done grinding the bark, shred the blooms, cover them with boiling water, and leave them to soak.”

Elrond gritted his teeth and complied. But he exchanged no more words with Ianneth until it came time to bid her a good evening and take his leave.

continue reading on AO3

[sugurugetos]

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: Rings of Power — 2.01 / Elven Kings Under the Sky (2024) For Ulmo bore up Elwing out of the Waves — Jenny Dolfen (2018) / @jennydolfen

Elros and Elrond were taken captive, but Elwing with the Silmaril upon her breast had cast herself into the sea. Thus Maedhros and Maglor gained not the jewel; but it was not lost. For Ulmo bore up Elwing out of the waves, and he gave her the likeness of a great white bird, and upon her breast there shone as a star the Silmaril, as she flew over the water to seek Eärendil her beloved.

[an-eldritch-peredhel]

The thing that draws me most to this fandom, and the things that makes it unique, is that by the mere nature of the works we love, everyone's Arda is different. And not just in the usual headcanon-y ways that are typical of every story, but even down to important plot and characterization points.

Who is Gil-Galad? What is the Oath and what does it have power to do? What really is the Dagor Dagorath? How do the Laws Of The Universe work?

And beyond that- what parts of HoME do you pick and choose? LaCE? Does anyone try and work with Tolkien's horrendous math? Have you taken parts of your Arda from older or other worlds, with the Cottage of Lost Play and the exile of the Gnomes?

Have you given names to the wives and daughters? What do they mean- who are they? Mother-names or father-names for those who only had one?

I just really love how even when two interpretations of the same world seem utterly incompatible, they aren't. I'd love to see other additions/headcanons!

[sandwichmustbetasty]

i love that they made elrond pull an elwing

that was a beautiful jump

and some beautiful expressions from gil galad (my boy is holding to the last strands of his sanity in this episode)

[edennill]

Just how willing members of the House of Finwë are to 1v1 Dark Lords (or 2v1 - 5v1? - but then Gil-Galad achieved his purpose so I'll cut him some slack here) would make me concerned about their general sanity if I wasn't already aware the collective amount is only not at zero because Finarfin is an outlier adn should not have been counted

[eri-pl]

Current mood: Gil-Galad son of Maglor and some poor Silvan woman who had no idea that this handsome guy with a beautiful voice was a kinslaying prince, and when she learned about that (by pure chance) she showed him the door, but she was already married and pregnant.

[hollowwhisperings]

Justice For Celebrian!

Celebrian is a Character of Absence in Tolkien's Legendarium: we never truly meet her and yet her absence lingers throughout the text, affecting most every major actor of the Third Age (the eldar most of all).

How-so it this? Through this: the devastating grief, unspoken yet doubtless, of those who knew & loved her.

For Celebrian was this: to Celeborn & Galadriel, their daughter and only child; to Elrond, the Great Love of his life; to Elladan & Elrohir, a mother whom they failed to quickly rescue; to Arwen Undomiel, the mother whom she was never to meet again for choosing the Path of Man.

Celebrian was the Lady of Imladris, the princess in all but name to Lothlorien. She was kin to two Ringbearers and yet neither Ring could save her. We know only that she was gentle and beloved, by some of the most crucial players in the events of the Second & Third Ages of Middle-Earth.

Why Celebrian is Absent

Celebrian's status as one "beloved" by the eldar creates a formidable motive in their hatred of The Shadow. For the means by which Celebrian was "absented" from Middle-Earth was entirely of Its Reckoning: in the 2509th Year of the Third Age, Celebrian was "waylaid by orcs". She was "captured and tormented" until she was, at last, found and rescued by her twin sons.

This Fate is one of Horrific Implication, one that Tolkien's Appendix B avoids elaborating upon (beyond her "receiving a poisoned wound").

Fans have Imagination Enough to consider what Hurts could be beyond even Lord Elrond's means to Heal, beyond any of Galadriel's many powers, beyond the careful comforts found in Imladris & Lothlorien. Whatever befell Celebrian by the creations of Sauron, it left her so wounded that Sailing West (& thus Away from most everyone she had ever known) was her only Hope for recovery.

"Justice" within the Legendarium

The Fate of Celebrian was yet one blow more in a long list of Personal Grievances borne by her Kin against Sauron. The vigilance and ample assistance of Celebrian's Kin during the War of The Ring was undoubtedly inspired, in no small part by her Fate & subsequent Departure.

While Elrond & Galadriel would doubtlessly have aided The Fellowship without this most recent grievance to drive them, the otherwise reclusive eldar of Imladris & Lothlorien would certainly have found Celebrian's Fate "inspiring" enough to take arms once more, "postponing" (or hastening) their Leave of Middle-Earth to seek Justice for their Lost Lady.

"Injustices" in Adapted Works

The Injustices that adapted Tolkien works have done unto Celebrian are many: they have erased her very existence (TROP); they have denied her her Epic & Untold Love Story with her Husband (TROP, again); they have Lessened the person she chose to love by making him a Minor Antagonist (both of PJ's film trilogies); they have stolen the kinship between other characters that they share for her existence (PJ's trilogies imply her existence but fail to utilize its possibilities, many of them comical: Elrond is Galadriel's Son-in-Law; Gimli's Championship of "Grandma Galadriel"; Arwen's Looks being inherited not from Celebrian but from Elrond; etc).

The effects the Live-Action Adaptions have had on the Modern Tolkien Fandom are also Significant: Hugo Weaving's portrayal of Elrond is the most commonly known, despite its OOC-ness; the relationships between Celebrian's Family are unrealised or dismissed; the "Last Homely House", a title probably earned by Elrond & Celebrian both, is considered falsely named; the Many Incentives for Galadriel to Hate Sauron & to have ALWAYS Hated Sauron are... forgotten to enable a "will-they won't-they" romance(???).

To erase Celebrian is to remove from the Second Age one of its silliest love stories: she & Elrond were silently pining for each other for almost 2000 years! This surely amused her mother, who had become afflicted with Sea-Longing some few years prior, & caused Conflict at the Court of King Gil-Galad (for, by wedding Celebrian, Elrond's Claims for High Kingship of the Eldar would become even stronger). The politics are, perhaps, the primary purpose of the would-be couple's long silence: audiences do not know as the potential of their love story has had little attention dedicated to it.

Injustice to Celebrian exists also in the mischaracterization of Elrond: what impression must an audience have, afterall, of the one to love & be beloved by someone so antagonistic to those most in need of "The Last Homely House"? The hostility, the begrudging "hospitality" exhibited by the Elrond of PJ's film trilogies tarnishes not only Elrond but the Legacy of Celebrian as that House's Lost Lady.

(It also creates some varyingly minor/major Plot Holes, such as Elrond's ability to host a Council of the "Free Peoples" in the first place. If his hospitality is so poorly to non-elves, why on Arda would he so frequently be sought for counsel? Furthermore, the Elrond of the Third Age has made himself a Healer: how many elves of this Age would ever need his skill?)

More, varyingly serious charges of "injustice" to Celebrian are sure to follow: my discontent began in the rendering of her husband into a petty antagonist; it has been reignited upon my learning of Amazon's choices in its adapting of the Second Age. Mostly, however, my rallying cry is made in jest: "failures" of adaptions to make Elrond sufficiently pretty for his wife; the lack of "Celebrian/Elrond" content in tumblr feeds; melodrama over how many elven names start with "Celeb".

[theworldisquietheretooquiet]

For the five lines ask, 'Finduilas' mother had been the one to teach her how to wield the spear', please?

Finduilas' mother had been the one to teach her how to wield the spear.

Finduilas had learnt with her old weapon, from when she had been a march-warden of Doriath – “Though I got little use out of it, in the close forests; hopefully you will find better pursuits for it, my dear.”

And she had, even when everything changed, her home, her people, the ground beneath her feet, her very name; the spear and her skill with it had remained the same.

Some well-intentioned weapon smiths from Eregion had tried to replace it once, early Second Age, when Elven-kind had had nothing better to do and clear enough memories still, that they spent their days creating beautiful arms.

“It is a fine piece of craft, for the Sindar, my king, but I believe it has no historical significance; the name carved into it is someone I have never heard of.”

Finduilas had traced the cirth of her mother’s name, and had looked up at the smith and said, “I will keep this spear, it is older than the Sun, and it belonged to someone I loved.”

[aotearoa20]

Elrond and his Surprisingly Large Collection of Parents

[irisseireth]

I'm probably super late to the party, but Florence + The Machine's King as a Fin-Galad song... I'm cry

[celevrian]

@scion-of-kings redirected from here

Autumnal afternoons bled golden into the evening quite swiftly these days, and the winds at the high towers heralded a winter that was still weeks away. With the change in seasons came the change in customs, and instead of strolling down the gardens and sitting outside, with their songs and tales, the elves had taken to the halls. Newly arrived, Gil-galad's first mission was finding Celebrían in one of those before he was swept in the chaos that were official visits. No matter the hour, something was always urgent the moment someone saw him, and so the High King left his personal guard behind and kept to the shadows of the corridors. It proved to be to no avail when lips graced his cheek and he found himself smiling at the gesture. “Hide me away?” he said, hugging Celebrían to his side for a moment. “At least until we have caught up?”

Perhaps it was an odd thing for an elf, but Celebrian was of the belief that Autumn was one of the most beautiful times of the year. Though Lindon always had golden leaves no matter what the season, there was something in the air which she simply enjoyed immensely. With the coming winter, their little family's journeys came to a pause as they would stop until spring in one of the elven realms, and Celebrian was overjoyed at the prospect of staying still for six whole months. Lindon especially was her favourite, from the sea to the trees to the towers, she enjoyed every bit of the city.

But the jewel of the city, in her opinion, was her Gil-Galad and given his rather distinct build it was rather easy to pick him out as he darted through a corridor. Her parents already steeped deep in discussion with one of the elder elves, she slipped away and followed him, until at last he stopped and when he did she greeted him with an excited kiss.

"Hello to you too, you silly elf." She laughed softly and tapped his nose in greeting. "Not even giving me a chance to properly greet you. But of course, come on. There's a place in the Hall of Lore that is rather secluded up in one of the towers." Putting her hand in his she pulled him away and toward the doors. "One would think you would be more familiar than I at hiding places here. You live here I don't."

[floatyflowers]

Can you please write a yandere Sauron x Galadriel's daughter.

You went astray from your mother, Galadriel during an attack, in which you get kidnapped but manage to escape, while your father, Celeborn, has gone to war and you know nothing about what happened to your sister, Celebrían.

Trying to search for your mother, you decided to head to Celebrimor who was more than happy to see you well.

Also you met Annatar aka Sauron.

He decided to get closer to you after feeling a certain obsessive attraction towards you.

"Would you be interested in helping us create rings for the dwarves and men?"

Hearing about the rings and how it helped the elves, especially your mother and the high king Gil-Galad, you wanted to help.

Celebrimor also talked about you returning back to Galadriel.

But Annatar didn't want you to leave.

"Your mother never spoke about you, she didn't even mention that she had daughters, especially a beautiful daughter like yourself."

Sauron could see how saddened you were by his lies.

Of course, Galadriel spoke about how she missed you.

He used your vulnerability to try and make you his.

But it backfired.

As you only thought of him as ...

"Thank you, Annatar, you remind me greatly of my father, you are as kind as him."

Sauron already planned on kidnapping you as soon as he finished the rings.

However, Galadriel came in the end to stop his plans.

Did I mention how platonically possessive your mother is of you?

Indeed, Sauron never stood a chance against a mother's wrath.

[theivorybilledwoodpecker]

My headcanon is that Elrond's kindness started as a defense mechanism.

He spent most of his childhood and early adulthood as a captive. I know some fans make a lot of that line about how Maglor cherished them, but it's wrong to think that just because someone loves another means they won't hurt them. Many abusive parents truly believe that there's nothing wrong with what they are doing; in their minds, it's how they were raised, so it's not abuse. And Maglor was not Elrond's parent. He played a key role in murdering Elrond's grandparents and uncles. He slaughtered people Elrond probably knew since he was born. He chased Elrond's mother to the edge of a cliff until she felt her only choice was to throw herself into the sea. Whatever kindness he showed Elrond and Elros after that couldn't erase their memories of what he did.

With Elrond, he realized early on that if he spoke back or had an outburst of anger, he'd get a cuff on the head or a whipping. But if he was gentle and did whatever Maglor said, he was treated more kindly.

Even when he leaves for Lindon that behavior is ingrained in him, so he's more likely to respond kindly to people being rude or even cruel to him. But the longer he is free, the more Elrond begins to feel able to stand up for himself, even if his default is kindness.

So when Gil-galad hears that Elrond punched someone, he generally assumes the person deserved it.

[valacirya]

In all the long years of his life, Elrond had never once resented his mother. He had grieved for her. He had raged at everyone who took her away from him. But he had never resented her. How could he, when his first memory was of her, illuminated by moonlight, singing an ancient Doriathrin lullaby? When his last memory of her was of her tearful but fierce eyes, looking at him like he was the hope of the world. Even in his darkest moments, Elrond never doubted his mother’s love for him.

Earendil was a different story. Earendil had left. To save the world, yes, but that hadn’t mattered to a six year old boy who had just wanted his father. Elrond could never truly forget the despair of those days. It had been simpler when Earendil was the Star of High Hope. Easier to name his daughter and foster son after him, to wear his sigil with pride.

Now though, in a house on the shores of Tol Eressea, Earendil isn't a legend. He’s just a man, with Elros's eyes and Elros's hands and Elros's smile. A man who left his sons… to save the world for them. "I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: someone has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them."

The sun is setting below the glistening sea. Celebrian and his mother are engaged in a game of chess. Gil-galad and the twins are plotting some new mischief. There is a letter from Maglor on the table, waiting to be read.

Earendil is watching him with so much love and pride that he feels his heart break a little more. Enough is enough, he thinks. It is time to heal.

Elrond goes to him and says, “Teach me how to sail.”

The smile his father gives in return is brighter than the stars.

[thesummerestsolstice]

Hair Headcanons for the rest of the Finweans:

Celebrimbor: Dark, raven-wing colored iridescent hair. Exactly like Feanor. Just like the rest of Celebrimbor. I'm sure he doesn't have any feelings about that.

Idril: Blonde hair with darker streaks near the roots. 10/10 for shimmer, looks like actual gold. Even Glorfindel is vaguely jealous. She particularly enjoys how sapphires look in it and often wears it in locs, like her father.

Maeglin: Dark hair, like Aredhel's; often seems to have streaks of a dark purple color. He usually wears his hair loose, which would be a safety hazard in the forge if not for the Finwean Hair Magic™️. He does very little in the way of hair care, but his hair still always looks perfect because of course it does.

Earendil: Originally had blonde hair similar to Idril's, but that's changed since he became a living star. Now, his hair looks almost like golden fire, flickering strangely even without wind, tapering off to white near the end, though his glowing hair has nothing on the radiance in his eyes, which is said to burn the unworthy– just like the Silmaril he wears as a crown.

Celebrian: Her hair is actually very similar to her mother's– the "silver" in her name refers to how it looks under the moon, but under the sun, it has a distinctly more golden hue. Is often seen with fireflies floating around her hair like a crown. (This may or may not be Elrond's doing)

Gil-Galad: No one can agree on what Gil's hair looks like. Some say it's as silver as mithril, flowing long and straight down his back. Others insist his hair was just like Fingon's– though maybe a bit darker. Other say he had Finrod's golden curls, or even Maedhros's red tresses. What they can all agree on is that Gil clearly had Finwean Hair Magic™️, and was therefore clearly a Finwean... even if they weren't sure exactly where he came from.

Elrond: Exists at the fascinating intersection of Finwean Hair Magic™️ and Melian's Maiarin magic. Normally, his hair actually looks a lot like Finwe's; dark with many colors of sparkly iridescence. But sometimes, on nights when the moon is full, or when thunder rumbles in the valley, it seems to have a mind of its own; more living shadow than hair. Many people have asked about this. Elrond has not provided anything resembling a proper explanation.