#i've grown very fond of aradeth i will not lie

[tanoraqui]

I’m gonna pretend someone asked me #3 of this ask meme for Celechwes, bc no one ever did but I still love the answer.

3. What was their most expensive purchase/where does their disposable income go? (Gets you thinking about socio-economic class, values, and how they spend their leisure time)

I am truly not sure that Celechwes understands money. Like, the basic concept of “we are pretending this shell/gem/fancy leaf has value for the sake of more convenient trade deals (rather than simple barter of objects”...sure. It’s not really her thing, but the Sindar did develop the concept of money at some point during the Years of the Trees. Mostly it’s only used for large trade deals, but Celechwes has ridden with enough long-range traders that she understands.

Use of money in Beleriand kicks into much higher gear when the Noldor arrive. Partly because they’re weirdos with an elaborate gem-based monetary system which they made up for fun in peacetime; partly because money becomes much more useful when people don’t trust each other enough to say, “no problem, you can just give me some fruit next year”; partly because of the Great Nargothrond-Thargelion Trade War. Celechwes starts making an effort to carry the equivalent of an emergency $20 in her pocket at all times, maybe in a couple different currencies (Noldorin gems, Falathrin shells, Sindarin leaves?). She uses it, like, 1 time, to buy a loaf of bread form a dwarf.

Economics are important to Noldorin politics, but they are just not Celechwes’s specialty. They’re so blatantly imaginary that even when she tries to understand, she can’t keep it in her head. She understands the significance of Caranthir paying half his taxes to Fingolfin and half to Maedhros, but I’m not sure she knows the difference between gross and net income. 

Celechwes has only ever paid taxes on the technicality that royal couriers get some sort of regular allowance, on top of free meals, board and relay horses at courier stations and some amount of regulation clothes, arms and armor; and you can choose to have the royal tithe automatically taken out of it. The rest of it, she officially has in some sort of bank in Barad Eithel, but she regularly forgets it exists because it’s just written down in a ledger. 

Other than free perks from her job, she forages, and trades foraged odds and ends for other odds and ends. When she’s visiting her mother, she inevitably gets roped into fishing, and trading the excess at the town market.

She considered buying her own, really nice, fast horse once, in like the late 100s? But Noldor tend toward gift-giving as a love language, so she mentioned it semi-idly and Fingon was immediately like, “I can give you a horse! Do you want a foal, a yearling or something older? This is a normal level of gift to give a friend, by the way. Do you want to go tot he stables right now?”

At some point in Aman, Celechwes pokes her head into Lalwen’s study and is like, “Hey, do I have money here, too? I know some people who want to build a bridge in the Ered Ely but they need a few more tourmalines worth of materials.”

“Sure,” says Lalwen, flipping idly through a magazine. “I don’t know about Nolo’s side, but I’d expect you have a legal right to anything in Formenos that Nerdanel doesn’t want. Ask Aradeth; I’m sure she can give you a valuation.”

Celechwes a couple days later, poking her head into the office of her sister-in-law Aradeth, now Professor of Mathematics at Tirion University, once Lady of Thargelion: “Hey, Lalwen said I should ask you how much the treasure left in Formenos is worth? I’m thinking about helping some people build a bridge - ”

Aradeth, slamming down the paper she was reading: “Don’t you dare.”

Celechwes: “What? Why not?”

Aradeth: “All the contents of fortress at Formenos have been tacitly un-acknowledged by all relevant and non-relevant parties since the departure of Fëanor and all his people. If you introduce any of it into public circulation, they will be able to tax all of it, and I will be eaten by orcs again before I let the House of Arafinwë take-”

Aradeth remembered the place and time, and said, “...any of it for a reasonable royal tithe for public works...”

Celechwes asked gently, “You alright, there?”

Aradeth dragged her hands slowly down her face, and rested her elbows on her desk.

“Yes. Just...please don’t. Not Formenos. It’s...”

“It’s the last place that was home,” said Celechwes - who had, after all, made a 400-year career of dissecting the foibles of the Noldor in general and the extended House of Finwë in particular, and who was still somewhat appallingly good at it.

Aradeth nodded gratefully.

“There are other assets lying around,” she said, collecting herself. “I compiled a list at some point - and you do know that you have a greater right to Fingon’s old junk than his parents do, if they never got rid of it? Honestly, you’d be doing him a favor if you sold some - he never met a gratuitously golden piece of jewelry which he didn’t love.”