#oc: menelasto andaraimë

[katarrinskey]

So I'm in the mood to talk about her so I'd thought I'll elaborate on naming mess

Menelasto is her father name and it means "sky dust". "Asto" is the root contained in all her sister's name too and probably comes from a paternal grandmother's (or great grandmother's) name. Therefore, siblings used to call her just Menel, while the full name was probably the one used in official documents of any kind. It also seems like it would be basically the same in Sindarin, which is why it was her preference in Beleriand - anything to fuck with Quenya ban (although I do think they were still using the language in day to day and just good luck banning a language from anywhere, but correspondence with your kingdom)

Maglor specifically called her Astë instead, which according to elfdict means "beside you" or some such (don't at me I do not actually know quenya i'm sorry haha)

Her amilessë is Andaraimë, and can be interpreted either as "long lace" or "network/net", which, make of it what you will, I suppose. She used this one among friends (say, her ladies-in-waiting called her "Lady Andaraimë" pretty much exclusively), shortening it to Raimë with particularly close ones.

Which is also how we get Raen. Full Sindaraised form would be Ananraen, but, as I said, she's paranoid and there is a second elf at the party whose motives or alignment she knows nothing of. Her new companion is yet to object to any of the visible sigils Raen is wearing, but who knows, really? And she especially doesn't need someone overhearing it in passing in some tavern, not when there is Lorien to the South and (especially) Mirkwood to the North-East. Neither ruler are going to be particularly thrilled to know of her being around and she really has been trying to keep low profile, you know?

Had a bit of time in-between exams so I did a full concept for my girl!

Been calling her Raen lately cause that's how she introduced herself to the party (it's a shortened form of her sidarized name, so isn't technically making it up, but she isn't giving them neither a full form in Sindarin nor, Eru forbid, anything in quenya. Girl might be a bit paranoid, even though it's really been far too long now for it to matter much)

Really love how this one turned out, with the movement and the clear silhouette and some more details. I always struggle to scramble enough brain power to do that, I feel like, but it is something I want to endeavour to do more

[katarrinskey]

Kanafinwë Makalaurë and Menelasto Andaraimë: Valinorian edition

[katarrinskey]

A friend is currently running a middle-earth inspired dnd module, which I am joining this Sunday.

So here is my noldo girl who basically avoided all the first age fighting by shape-shifting into a horse and booking it (she's a druid)

[katarrinskey]

Had a bit of time in-between exams so I did a full concept for my girl!

Been calling her Raen lately cause that's how she introduced herself to the party (it's a shortened form of her sidarized name, so isn't technically making it up, but she isn't giving them neither a full form in Sindarin nor, Eru forbid, anything in quenya. Girl might be a bit paranoid, even though it's really been far too long now for it to matter much)

Really love how this one turned out, with the movement and the clear silhouette and some more details. I always struggle to scramble enough brain power to do that, I feel like, but it is something I want to endeavour to do more

[katarrinskey]

Well, she is a character in an ongoing dnd campaign, first and foremost, so anything that happens during or after the war of the ring is a bit up in the air, you see. I keep expanding on her tragic backstory tho: there is a lot of things to consider for the first age, to the point where part of me is considering actually writing something for the first time in a decade, haha

I did made a refsheet where I plan on organizing her backstory properly for myself, my dm, and anyone interested in her. Eventually. It's mostly empty for now except for arts, both those I already posted and some that I haven't

I will say that she keeps starting stupid (mostly human) legends, myths and superstitions throughout the second age, without quite noticing that she's doing it. Some notable ones:

-almost got caught by some numenorean guys - lone horse of some ancient elven breed just roaming in the middle of nowhere? Seems someone suspicious. Either she is lost and could be returned to the owners for some reward, or just straight up sold. Is really not a fan of being treated that way, so she may or may not have drowned at least one of them in a river before escaping her captors. Those who survive the encounter name her an evil spirit and ward their folk of the lone horses

- she's been known to help travelers occasionally. Every now and then a lone ranger unable to escape a band of orcs on foot will be miraculously carried away by a horse until they are safe out of enemy's clutches. The help, however, oftentimes means that you will wake up alone and with some of your belongings missing. If so, that is a fair price for a life saved

- she gets bored and follows traveling caravans sometimes. Those tend to gossip among themselves, and she is not true isolationist at heart - any news of the world around is a welcome thing. Moreover, when the travellers are asleep, no one would stop her from borrowing their books. Those she returns, always. They do not give her much of what she's looking for (namely, any word of her family - she is largely unaware of anything that happened after she left them), cause she is unlikely to join if there are elven travelers in the midst, but it means she sometimes knows seemingly random things. She probably gets caught every now and then - girl does kinda glow in the dark - but startling her means she is turning back into a horse and running off immediately. There are some people that consider her a particularly shy spirit of knowledge

- early in the second age, there were rumors of a lady in a torn cloak, that would sell intricate jewelry for far less than its worth in remote human villages. She came just before dawn while it was still dark out, and her eyes shined with a strange light and she would sell golden beads and bracelets with intricate etchings and combs made of bone and many other small things for some silvers and simple things one is willing to spare, like apples or last summer's preserves. She would then disappear as suddenly as she would appear. It is not at all surprising that some villagers start believing her a benevolent ghost.

There are probably more of those, about mistreated children being protected by spirits of old and lost ones finding their way, about things stolen under strange circumstances and payment left in their stead, or else borrowed and later found. She doesn't pay them much mind herself, never connects them to her own exploits or sees the impact left by her actions. But someone else might. Someone listening for rumors of someone else entirely, yet always stumbling into these. Someone looking for a songbird but always finding a bloody horse instead

@bblues-ocs

Omg, hiiiiii

You are giving me an excuse to talk about my girl and that is very kind of you and you bet I will take it-

First of all, new art I've been meaning to post anyways

And the rest got pretty long, so I am putting it under the cut

So, the biggest thing about Menelastë Andaraimë is that she is, well, kind of a coward. But that doesn't really become relevant until a bit later

She was born into a family of pretty prominent feanorian supporters, but she was never really big on politics herself. What she was good at, is horses. Breeding them, taking care if them, riding, ofc. Which, not necessarily what one would consider glamorous enough for a kid with her background, but that's where her heart always laid, and for the whole "family legacy" schtick, she has two older (and two younger, if need be) siblings (I got thoughts on each of them, but if I am going there, this is gonna take a while, so here is just a lil bunch of lil sketches of them-)

(Which, honestly, kinda funny that she end's up as Noldor's most famous musician's wife somehow, truly, but that is also it's own story, I think)

So, she doesn't consider herself smart enough for politics, prefers her horses' company most days, and just kinda chills. And then the darkening happens. And well, nearly everyone she cares about is going and bet they gonna need someone who knows horses on the other shore and staying is about as scary as going anyways, now that they know that Valinor isn't completely safe, so she goes too.

And then the first kinslaying happens. And she had been teaching herself sword, they all were, but this is terrifying and she is not the type for heavy armor so she just. Finds an alley and prays to Varda no one finds her. And so they don't. Not until it's all over.

(Her older brother, Failareth, is the type for heavy armor. That's why he drown in the harbor when some poor Teler pushes him of the pierce)

Once they reach Beleriand, she does as she always did. When the ships burn, she makes sure none of the animals panic when they see fire. When they get into skirmishes, she tries to get out of the fray instead of charging ahead. When the major battle approaches, she hides away in the chaos if it, turning into a horse herself - trick she learned back in Valinor. It is way easier to stay alive when you are just a horse.

She stands by her husband, of course. She is the oldest woman of the First House if the Noldor now, so she does what is needed of her. For a while, in Mithrim, she is Queen, and she tries to be convincing and generous and cultivates the appropriate dignity. It's hard - she isn't charming by nature and she prefers the stables still, but she tries. In the end, she is much better at observing than she is at talking. She is much relieved when the scrutiny shifts away from her again.

She is happy in the marches, tho. Maglors gap is mostly held by cavalry, her contribution is important. She helps with things like supplies. She trains the horses. She scouts, occasionally, or delivers correspondence. She fits there, for a while.

She's still a coward. She gets used to small scale fights, finds rhythm in those, but never masters any sort of exceptional skill in it. It is not a bad thing, she thinks. Less blood on her hands makes her a better healer.

She leads the first wave of evacuations during Bragolath. That's the most useful thing she can do anyways.

In the eve of the fifth battle, she does little else, but hope and prays for bravery. She still flees first chance she gets.

She sheds tears for all they lost after - they all do. She births a child - a daughter - a few years later. To give herself a future to fight for, maybe. To keep her hope and her faith from burning out completely. Or, perhaps, just cause there is just no point in waiting for better times anymore.

(Daughter in question)

She trusts her husband and brothers-in-law when they claim the attack on Menegroth to be inevitable, even when she doesn't quite recognise them anymore, even when they start scaring her. Her older sister is full of righteous fury - Sindar never had the right to keep the stone anyways. Menelastë agrees - she knows her people's laws, she knows they tried negotiations first, she knows the Oath will leave them with no other choice.

Her daughter is still a child. She is one of maybe a dozen they still have around. There is no place for them in a fight such as this, and, chances are, once they take step on this road, there will be no place they would be able to evacuate those kids to. The darkness keeps spreading and she can't count on still having allies after they take up swords against the Sindar.

So, once the course is set, she steals the children, her own included. She takes them to Cirdan - they won't be the first Noldor kids left in his people's care. By then, the second kinslaying happens already and news spread. She herself doesn't enter the city.

She doesn't go back to her own people either. Not after going behind everyone's backs on this. Not after running away from the battle again, in a way that cannot be denied now. She is not ashamed of doing what she had to, but she can't fave the consequences of her cowardice.

She turns into a horse. Noone will recognise her this way.

And then she stays a horse for a long time. If she ever rejoins civilization in her true form, she sticks to places noone would know her face - Eru bless men for their short memories. She rarely stays for long anyways. If she needs supplies, she stumbles into traveler's paths as a horse, then takes what she needs while everyone sleeps. She gets her news by listening to their conversations. She sells her noldorin jewelry to dwarves and men. She puts in low value coins into people's bags sometimes. It's less when what she takes is worth, more often than not, but it's better than nothing and it makes her feel a little better about herself.

And that's how she lives for a very long time. Till, one day all the way in the Third Age she stumbles upon an adventuring party and things start to change their course...

[katarrinskey]

@bblues-ocs

Omg, hiiiiii

You are giving me an excuse to talk about my girl and that is very kind of you and you bet I will take it-

First of all, new art I've been meaning to post anyways

And the rest got pretty long, so I am putting it under the cut

So, the biggest thing about Menelastë Andaraimë is that she is, well, kind of a coward. But that doesn't really become relevant until a bit later

She was born into a family of pretty prominent feanorian supporters, but she was never really big on politics herself. What she was good at, is horses. Breeding them, taking care if them, riding, ofc. Which, not necessarily what one would consider glamorous enough for a kid with her background, but that's where her heart always laid, and for the whole "family legacy" schtick, she has two older (and two younger, if need be) siblings (I got thoughts on each of them, but if I am going there, this is gonna take a while, so here is just a lil bunch of lil sketches of them-)

(Which, honestly, kinda funny that she end's up as Noldor's most famous musician's wife somehow, truly, but that is also it's own story, I think)

So, she doesn't consider herself smart enough for politics, prefers her horses' company most days, and just kinda chills. And then the darkening happens. And well, nearly everyone she cares about is going and bet they gonna need someone who knows horses on the other shore and staying is about as scary as going anyways, now that they know that Valinor isn't completely safe, so she goes too.

And then the first kinslaying happens. And she had been teaching herself sword, they all were, but this is terrifying and she is not the type for heavy armor so she just. Finds an alley and prays to Varda no one finds her. And so they don't. Not until it's all over.

(Her older brother, Failareth, is the type for heavy armor. That's why he drown in the harbor when some poor Teler pushes him of the pierce)

Once they reach Beleriand, she does as she always did. When the ships burn, she makes sure none of the animals panic when they see fire. When they get into skirmishes, she tries to get out of the fray instead of charging ahead. When the major battle approaches, she hides away in the chaos if it, turning into a horse herself - trick she learned back in Valinor. It is way easier to stay alive when you are just a horse.

She stands by her husband, of course. She is the oldest woman of the First House if the Noldor now, so she does what is needed of her. For a while, in Mithrim, she is Queen, and she tries to be convincing and generous and cultivates the appropriate dignity. It's hard - she isn't charming by nature and she prefers the stables still, but she tries. In the end, she is much better at observing than she is at talking. She is much relieved when the scrutiny shifts away from her again.

She is happy in the marches, tho. Maglors gap is mostly held by cavalry, her contribution is important. She helps with things like supplies. She trains the horses. She scouts, occasionally, or delivers correspondence. She fits there, for a while.

She's still a coward. She gets used to small scale fights, finds rhythm in those, but never masters any sort of exceptional skill in it. It is not a bad thing, she thinks. Less blood on her hands makes her a better healer.

She leads the first wave of evacuations during Bragolath. That's the most useful thing she can do anyways.

In the eve of the fifth battle, she does little else, but hope and prays for bravery. She still flees first chance she gets.

She sheds tears for all they lost after - they all do. She births a child - a daughter - a few years later. To give herself a future to fight for, maybe. To keep her hope and her faith from burning out completely. Or, perhaps, just cause there is just no point in waiting for better times anymore.

(Daughter in question)

She trusts her husband and brothers-in-law when they claim the attack on Menegroth to be inevitable, even when she doesn't quite recognise them anymore, even when they start scaring her. Her older sister is full of righteous fury - Sindar never had the right to keep the stone anyways. Menelastë agrees - she knows her people's laws, she knows they tried negotiations first, she knows the Oath will leave them with no other choice.

Her daughter is still a child. She is one of maybe a dozen they still have around. There is no place for them in a fight such as this, and, chances are, once they take step on this road, there will be no place they would be able to evacuate those kids to. The darkness keeps spreading and she can't count on still having allies after they take up swords against the Sindar.

So, once the course is set, she steals the children, her own included. She takes them to Cirdan - they won't be the first Noldor kids left in his people's care. By then, the second kinslaying happens already and news spread. She herself doesn't enter the city.

She doesn't go back to her own people either. Not after going behind everyone's backs on this. Not after running away from the battle again, in a way that cannot be denied now. She is not ashamed of doing what she had to, but she can't fave the consequences of her cowardice.

She turns into a horse. Noone will recognise her this way.

And then she stays a horse for a long time. If she ever rejoins civilization in her true form, she sticks to places noone would know her face - Eru bless men for their short memories. She rarely stays for long anyways. If she needs supplies, she stumbles into traveler's paths as a horse, then takes what she needs while everyone sleeps. She gets her news by listening to their conversations. She sells her noldorin jewelry to dwarves and men. She puts in low value coins into people's bags sometimes. It's less when what she takes is worth, more often than not, but it's better than nothing and it makes her feel a little better about herself.

And that's how she lives for a very long time. Till, one day all the way in the Third Age she stumbles upon an adventuring party and things start to change their course...

[bblues-ocs]

SHFJSHFKSHDJSAAAHHH SHES SO COOL!! her and maglor sound so cute together ❤️ Since she spent so long as a horse, does she have any horse characteristics as an elf? does she sail? does she reunite with the elflings she saved, her daughter? ahhHHH honestly anything you tell me about her is enough

@bblues-ocs

Omg, hiiiiii

You are giving me an excuse to talk about my girl and that is very kind of you and you bet I will take it-

First of all, new art I've been meaning to post anyways

And the rest got pretty long, so I am putting it under the cut

So, the biggest thing about Menelastë Andaraimë is that she is, well, kind of a coward. But that doesn't really become relevant until a bit later

She was born into a family of pretty prominent feanorian supporters, but she was never really big on politics herself. What she was good at, is horses. Breeding them, taking care if them, riding, ofc. Which, not necessarily what one would consider glamorous enough for a kid with her background, but that's where her heart always laid, and for the whole "family legacy" schtick, she has two older (and two younger, if need be) siblings (I got thoughts on each of them, but if I am going there, this is gonna take a while, so here is just a lil bunch of lil sketches of them-)

(Which, honestly, kinda funny that she end's up as Noldor's most famous musician's wife somehow, truly, but that is also it's own story, I think)

So, she doesn't consider herself smart enough for politics, prefers her horses' company most days, and just kinda chills. And then the darkening happens. And well, nearly everyone she cares about is going and bet they gonna need someone who knows horses on the other shore and staying is about as scary as going anyways, now that they know that Valinor isn't completely safe, so she goes too.

And then the first kinslaying happens. And she had been teaching herself sword, they all were, but this is terrifying and she is not the type for heavy armor so she just. Finds an alley and prays to Varda no one finds her. And so they don't. Not until it's all over.

(Her older brother, Failareth, is the type for heavy armor. That's why he drown in the harbor when some poor Teler pushes him of the pierce)

Once they reach Beleriand, she does as she always did. When the ships burn, she makes sure none of the animals panic when they see fire. When they get into skirmishes, she tries to get out of the fray instead of charging ahead. When the major battle approaches, she hides away in the chaos if it, turning into a horse herself - trick she learned back in Valinor. It is way easier to stay alive when you are just a horse.

She stands by her husband, of course. She is the oldest woman of the First House if the Noldor now, so she does what is needed of her. For a while, in Mithrim, she is Queen, and she tries to be convincing and generous and cultivates the appropriate dignity. It's hard - she isn't charming by nature and she prefers the stables still, but she tries. In the end, she is much better at observing than she is at talking. She is much relieved when the scrutiny shifts away from her again.

She is happy in the marches, tho. Maglors gap is mostly held by cavalry, her contribution is important. She helps with things like supplies. She trains the horses. She scouts, occasionally, or delivers correspondence. She fits there, for a while.

She's still a coward. She gets used to small scale fights, finds rhythm in those, but never masters any sort of exceptional skill in it. It is not a bad thing, she thinks. Less blood on her hands makes her a better healer.

She leads the first wave of evacuations during Bragolath. That's the most useful thing she can do anyways.

In the eve of the fifth battle, she does little else, but hope and prays for bravery. She still flees first chance she gets.

She sheds tears for all they lost after - they all do. She births a child - a daughter - a few years later. To give herself a future to fight for, maybe. To keep her hope and her faith from burning out completely. Or, perhaps, just cause there is just no point in waiting for better times anymore.

(Daughter in question)

She trusts her husband and brothers-in-law when they claim the attack on Menegroth to be inevitable, even when she doesn't quite recognise them anymore, even when they start scaring her. Her older sister is full of righteous fury - Sindar never had the right to keep the stone anyways. Menelastë agrees - she knows her people's laws, she knows they tried negotiations first, she knows the Oath will leave them with no other choice.

Her daughter is still a child. She is one of maybe a dozen they still have around. There is no place for them in a fight such as this, and, chances are, once they take step on this road, there will be no place they would be able to evacuate those kids to. The darkness keeps spreading and she can't count on still having allies after they take up swords against the Sindar.

So, once the course is set, she steals the children, her own included. She takes them to Cirdan - they won't be the first Noldor kids left in his people's care. By then, the second kinslaying happens already and news spread. She herself doesn't enter the city.

She doesn't go back to her own people either. Not after going behind everyone's backs on this. Not after running away from the battle again, in a way that cannot be denied now. She is not ashamed of doing what she had to, but she can't fave the consequences of her cowardice.

She turns into a horse. Noone will recognise her this way.

And then she stays a horse for a long time. If she ever rejoins civilization in her true form, she sticks to places noone would know her face - Eru bless men for their short memories. She rarely stays for long anyways. If she needs supplies, she stumbles into traveler's paths as a horse, then takes what she needs while everyone sleeps. She gets her news by listening to their conversations. She sells her noldorin jewelry to dwarves and men. She puts in low value coins into people's bags sometimes. It's less when what she takes is worth, more often than not, but it's better than nothing and it makes her feel a little better about herself.

And that's how she lives for a very long time. Till, one day all the way in the Third Age she stumbles upon an adventuring party and things start to change their course...

[katarrinskey]

Thanks, I am really flattered!

She was mostly a horse for maybe longer than an age, yeah. That one started as a joke, tbh, but then I liked the idea so much now

I call her a coward for the simple reason that she herseld would call her that. Which, hard not to, surrounged by all those warlords and knights. She is comparing herself to her siblings, her brothers-in-law, her husband, and when she looks around at her family, her entire people, it can be hard not to feel lacking. But, yeah, that act might have been one of the few things she did that she is proud of

Now, about Maglor.

She was never part of Oromë's hunt, but she knew a decent amount of those, due to the horse breeding hobby. And I wouldn't say she was close with Celegorm, but friendly enough still - they did have things in common, in their live for the animals, if nothing else. Introducing her to Maglor wasn't a planned thing - the guy enjoys riding too, so why not let him mean someone who is an expert horse breeder? So, they start talking after that. And Menel has next to no interest in his music. And it's not that she doesn't enjoy music in general, she very much does, sings herself a bit, mostly in tune but without any exceptional skill. It's just that she doesn't quite understand why everyone is so obsessed with it - his act sounds overcomplicated and rather pretentious to Menel, who quite enjoys simpler things for the most part. So, when conversation turns to his work after long talks about things unrelated and Menel drops that hot take on him, he's admittedly wounded. "Which song of mine do you not like, then?" he asks, and instantly figures out, that she isn't much for big parties and even at mandatory events her family status requires her to attend, she usually doesn't stay long enough for proper entertainment to kick in. So she never heard any. And that, ofc, must be rectified immediately!

And then, much later, after disentangling himself from adoring fans he finds her in a remote corner to ask her what she thinks, she laughs and says that she was right indeed, he is pretentious and overcomplicated, but he makes it work somehow. "Having a face that pretty must help", she says, and instantly panicks after recognizing just what she just said. Still, after much embarrassment on her part and amusement on his, it does land her that first proper date, so she can't be that upset about being too bald, just that once.

And then they just work.

He makes her try new things and meet new people, and she enjoys herself, even if she complains a lot. She pokes fun at him "to keep him humble", even though she enjoys him being the pretty one in the relationship. They ride together often enough - a thing they share love for. They sing together, but never as a performance,but just for the sake of it. Those mandatory parties get more fun - she doesn't really have to talk anymore, if she doesn't want to, so the entire thing gets way less awkward. He is more than happy to fill the silence. Her occasional sharp comments are smart and/or wickedly funny - it is less scary to talk to strangers with someone like Maglor by her side. Still her shorter social battery is a rather good excuse to get away early, if it gets too much even for him.

And, ofc, their families are quite thrilled. Menel is, after all, a proper Noldorin girl from a proper Noldorin family with a proper pronunciation of certain syllables, which earns her Feanor's approval, and Menel's own dad is quite happy to have another reason to puff his chest up. Putting all their siblings in one room is as much if a chaos as everyone expected - they suffer through many embarrassing comments and Celegorm claiming all the credit for introducing them.

Getting married seems a fitting step, really, all things considered. It is, as royal weddings go, rather simple - with mostly just friends and family, under the stars and away from the blinding lights of the trees. Menel still feel out of sorts - she never wore anything this fancy in her life and she keeps getting startled by her many bracelets jingling and honestly,how do people wear earrings this big regularly, she'll never understand. The look on her husband's face is totally worth it tho.

There will still be a big celebration still, some time later. But Menel would not be willing to turn the wedding itself into an entertainment event, and so it isn't.

@bblues-ocs

Omg, hiiiiii

You are giving me an excuse to talk about my girl and that is very kind of you and you bet I will take it-

First of all, new art I've been meaning to post anyways

And the rest got pretty long, so I am putting it under the cut

So, the biggest thing about Menelastë Andaraimë is that she is, well, kind of a coward. But that doesn't really become relevant until a bit later

She was born into a family of pretty prominent feanorian supporters, but she was never really big on politics herself. What she was good at, is horses. Breeding them, taking care if them, riding, ofc. Which, not necessarily what one would consider glamorous enough for a kid with her background, but that's where her heart always laid, and for the whole "family legacy" schtick, she has two older (and two younger, if need be) siblings (I got thoughts on each of them, but if I am going there, this is gonna take a while, so here is just a lil bunch of lil sketches of them-)

(Which, honestly, kinda funny that she end's up as Noldor's most famous musician's wife somehow, truly, but that is also it's own story, I think)

So, she doesn't consider herself smart enough for politics, prefers her horses' company most days, and just kinda chills. And then the darkening happens. And well, nearly everyone she cares about is going and bet they gonna need someone who knows horses on the other shore and staying is about as scary as going anyways, now that they know that Valinor isn't completely safe, so she goes too.

And then the first kinslaying happens. And she had been teaching herself sword, they all were, but this is terrifying and she is not the type for heavy armor so she just. Finds an alley and prays to Varda no one finds her. And so they don't. Not until it's all over.

(Her older brother, Failareth, is the type for heavy armor. That's why he drown in the harbor when some poor Teler pushes him of the pierce)

Once they reach Beleriand, she does as she always did. When the ships burn, she makes sure none of the animals panic when they see fire. When they get into skirmishes, she tries to get out of the fray instead of charging ahead. When the major battle approaches, she hides away in the chaos if it, turning into a horse herself - trick she learned back in Valinor. It is way easier to stay alive when you are just a horse.

She stands by her husband, of course. She is the oldest woman of the First House if the Noldor now, so she does what is needed of her. For a while, in Mithrim, she is Queen, and she tries to be convincing and generous and cultivates the appropriate dignity. It's hard - she isn't charming by nature and she prefers the stables still, but she tries. In the end, she is much better at observing than she is at talking. She is much relieved when the scrutiny shifts away from her again.

She is happy in the marches, tho. Maglors gap is mostly held by cavalry, her contribution is important. She helps with things like supplies. She trains the horses. She scouts, occasionally, or delivers correspondence. She fits there, for a while.

She's still a coward. She gets used to small scale fights, finds rhythm in those, but never masters any sort of exceptional skill in it. It is not a bad thing, she thinks. Less blood on her hands makes her a better healer.

She leads the first wave of evacuations during Bragolath. That's the most useful thing she can do anyways.

In the eve of the fifth battle, she does little else, but hope and prays for bravery. She still flees first chance she gets.

She sheds tears for all they lost after - they all do. She births a child - a daughter - a few years later. To give herself a future to fight for, maybe. To keep her hope and her faith from burning out completely. Or, perhaps, just cause there is just no point in waiting for better times anymore.

(Daughter in question)

She trusts her husband and brothers-in-law when they claim the attack on Menegroth to be inevitable, even when she doesn't quite recognise them anymore, even when they start scaring her. Her older sister is full of righteous fury - Sindar never had the right to keep the stone anyways. Menelastë agrees - she knows her people's laws, she knows they tried negotiations first, she knows the Oath will leave them with no other choice.

Her daughter is still a child. She is one of maybe a dozen they still have around. There is no place for them in a fight such as this, and, chances are, once they take step on this road, there will be no place they would be able to evacuate those kids to. The darkness keeps spreading and she can't count on still having allies after they take up swords against the Sindar.

So, once the course is set, she steals the children, her own included. She takes them to Cirdan - they won't be the first Noldor kids left in his people's care. By then, the second kinslaying happens already and news spread. She herself doesn't enter the city.

She doesn't go back to her own people either. Not after going behind everyone's backs on this. Not after running away from the battle again, in a way that cannot be denied now. She is not ashamed of doing what she had to, but she can't fave the consequences of her cowardice.

She turns into a horse. Noone will recognise her this way.

And then she stays a horse for a long time. If she ever rejoins civilization in her true form, she sticks to places noone would know her face - Eru bless men for their short memories. She rarely stays for long anyways. If she needs supplies, she stumbles into traveler's paths as a horse, then takes what she needs while everyone sleeps. She gets her news by listening to their conversations. She sells her noldorin jewelry to dwarves and men. She puts in low value coins into people's bags sometimes. It's less when what she takes is worth, more often than not, but it's better than nothing and it makes her feel a little better about herself.

And that's how she lives for a very long time. Till, one day all the way in the Third Age she stumbles upon an adventuring party and things start to change their course...