#the flight of noldor

[mirillel]

The Valar, approaching Fëanor: Fëanor give us the Silmarils to restore the light of the Trees

Fëanor, his Silmarils enormous: you STEAL from Fëanor? You seize his work like the public property? oh! oh! Rebellion against the Valar! Rebellion Against the Valar for One Thousand Years!!!

[silverutahraptor]

i’m going to say one thing and one thing only and that is that wearing a chainmail hood directly on your skin in freezing weather seems like an interesting choice for people who in theory spent decades crossing an even worse frozen wasteland

[inahandful-of-dust]

Events of the First Age shown in Rings of Power

From THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER (2022-)

1.01 | A Shadow of the Past

The DARKENING OF VALINOR was the destruction of the Two Trees of Valinor, Laurelin and Telperion, by Morgoth and Ungoliant.

The OATH OF FEANOR, sworn by Feanor and his seven sons after the theft of the Silmarils.

The FLIGHT OF THE NOLDOR from Valinor to Middle-Earth, led by Fingolfin across the Helcaraxë following the First Kinslaying at  Alqualondë.

The WARS OF BELERIAND, probably either the Dagor Bragollach (Battle of Sudden Flame) or the Nirnaeth Arnoediad (Battle of Unnumbered Tears).

The WAR OF WRATH, last of the Battles of Beleriand, and the subsequent SINKING OF BELERIAND

[sunincubeart]

I need more & MORE Feanor!!!

Epic feanor calls for flight of the noldor

[sesamenom]

the Feanorions (plus Fingon) during the Flight of the Noldor.

left to right: amrod, caranthir, amras, curufin (with celebrimbor), celegorm, maedhros, fingon, maglor's wife (with gil galad), maglor, feanor

[imakemywings]

I love the concept of Valinor as a paradise unrecognized as a paradise by the Elves who were born there.

Elves who never made the journey from Cuivienen don’t see Valinor as a paradise because they don’t know anything else. Sure they may hear stories from elders about how dangerous it was at Cuivienen (the Elves who disappeared in the dark never to return...) and how hazardous the journey to Aman was even with Orome guiding them, but I think for a lot of the younger Elves those stories remain incredibly abstract, as in the way some of your parents’ advice only makes sense once you’ve encountered the relevant situation and made the wrong choice. Once you experience the consequences, suddenly that old advice makes perfect sense--but it’s too late, at least for this time.

It’s only when they hit Middle-earth that they understand. Suddenly, they have to struggle to provide enough food or people will starve. Suddenly, the temperature gets low or high enough that too much exposure will kill a person. Suddenly, there are deadly plants that can make you sick or even kill you, and they have no way of knowing which ones those are without testing them or being told by Umanyar. Suddenly they have all these things to worry about that were never a concern before, and they only realize they were free from these worries once they aren’t anymore.

And it’s only then, with the comparison of what life is like outside of Aman, that they recognize what they had when they were there.

[softlysilverfountainsfall]

Why doesn't Orodreth turn back with Finarfin?

Just after the Oath of Feanor, "Fingolfin and Turgon his son therefore spoke against Feanor...once again wrath came near to the edge of swords. But Finarfin spoke softly, as was his wont, and sought to calm the Noldor, persuading them to pause and ponder ere deeds were done that could not be undone; and Orodreth, alone of his sons, spoke in like manner. (Of the Flight of the Noldor, The Silmarillion)

To summarize the next part, Finrod agreed with Turgon, and Galadriel and Fingon were spurred by Feanor's words and their own ambition, while Angrod and Aegnor stood with Fingon, though none spoke against their fathers.

"[After the Doom of the Noldor] Finarfin forsook the march, and turned back, being filled with grief, and with bitterness against the House of Feanor, because of his kinship with Olwe of Alqualonde; and many of his people went with him...But [Finarfin's] sons were not with him, for they would not forsake the sons of Fingolfin; and all Fingolfin's folk went forward still" (Of the Flight of the Noldor, The Silmarillion)

Fingolfin's and his children's and peoples' reasons are a whole other mess, but why doesn't Orodreth turn back? He is not singled out as being particularly close with any of Fingolfin's children (or Feanor's, for that matter) and he was against rash action in the first place. It also seems that Feanor's words did not inspire anything in him. So when his father and his people turn back, why doesn't Orodreth?

It is vanishingly unlikely that he has any Teleri blood on his hands, as in The Silmarillion only some of Fingolfin's host does and Finarfin's host was behind even them, so Orodreth has little to fear from returning to the Valar (the text does say that Finarfin and those who returned with him "received the pardon of the Valar" so if they needed a pardon, perhaps this was a concern?). Could it be shame that he went so far with the Kinslayers and he couldn't face turning back--and having to face his Teleri relatives? It could very well be that he didn't want to leave his siblings and/or cousins/other relatives or friends...but this seems a weaker reason to me since Orodreth is not mentioned as being close to or agreeing with any of his siblings/cousins, and Finarfin just left all his children.

I suppose the answer must be some combination of shame and wanting to stay with his siblings/cousins, but the divergence between Orodreth's and Finarfin's decisions is fascinating. Both had the same perspective going in, and both had the same reasons to continue or go back, and yet they chose differently.

[fluentisonus]

genuinely this is what reading the beginning of the silmarillion is like to me:

[thethirdtreeofvalinor]

But Feanor spoke then, and cried bitterly: ‘For the less even as for the greater there is some deed that he may accomplish but once only; and in that deed his heart shall rest. It may be that I can unlock my jewels, but never again shall I make their like; and if I must break them, I shall break my heart, and I shall be slain; first of all the Eldar in Aman.’

‘Not the first,’ said Mandos, but they did not understand his word; and again there was silence, while Feanor brooded in the dark.

[shinylitwick94]

The Rings of Power wishlist

I feel like I should get my thoughts on this out here before the marketing campagin really kicks up, so I can be proven wrong almost immediately.

This is just my list of moments and events from the First and Second Ages that I’d like to see in the Rings of Power show.

I’m assuming the FA stuff will be in flashback form and therefore quite limited.

First Age

1. The Darkening of Valinor

2. The Flight of the Noldor (Oath of Fëanor, Alqualondë, the Prophecy of the North)

3. Fingon rescuing Maedhros

4. Finrod meeting Men for the first time

6. Fingolfin vs Morgoth

6. Nirnaeth Arnoediad

7. Beren and Luthien (the meeting, the Finrod v Sauron rap battle, Lúthien’s songs before Morgoth and before Mandos, all of it really)

8. Túrin’s first meeting with Glaurung

9. The Sack of Doriath (both rounds)

10. The Fall of Gondolin (Tuor’s arrival, Glorfindel v Balrog, Idril’s escape, Turgon’s death!)

11. Ëarendil’s journey to Valinor

12. Snapshots of the War of Wrath (Ëarendil v Ancalagon, the arrival of the Host of Valinor, Morgoth getting chained, Sauron’s fake repentance)

Second Age

1. Elros Tar-Minyatur!

2. Annatar in Eregion and the forging of the rings

3. Aldarion and Erendis

4. The Fall of Eregion (Celebrimbanner, the fall of Khazad-dum)

5. Sauron’s surrender to Ar-Pharazon 

6. Sauron’s corruption of Númenor

7. The Numenorean armada setting sail towards Valinor

8. The Downfall of Númenor (again all of it, the clouds and thunder, Sauron on the pinnacle of the temple, Miriel desperately trying to climb up Meneltarma, etc)

9. Isildur stealing a sapling of the tree

10. Gil-Galad and Elendil v Sauron

11. Galadriel and Celeborn (whichever version, so long as we get one!)

[fuckingfinwions]

What do you think of High King Gil Galad (son of Fingon or not) taking Celebrimbor as a sex slave?

Oh I like this! There's so many times it would be interesting - in the late first age, in the centuries before Ost-in-Edhil was founded, anytime after it's revealed that Annatar is Sauron...

Let's go with the first age. In Nargothrond, Orodreth made it clear that his people were not to blame Celebrimbor for his uncle's actions in the city, which were, after all, mostly not criminal.

Celebrimbor manages to survive the fall of Nargothrond, and flee to Sirion. Crown Prince Gil-Galad has just come of age on Balar.

Then the survivors arrive from Doriath. Celebrimbor stops leaving his house at night.

The refugees from Gondolin arrive. Gil-Galad is crowned king. Celebrimbor attends the ceremony, as a sort of kinsman (between Maedhros's surrender of the crown and Celebrimbor's own disavowal he's unsure if he still counts), and just to get away from Sindar with a grudge.

The new king notices Celebrimbor in the crowd. His beauty, but also his nervousness. Celebrimbor never stand close enough for anyone to touch him, but always makes sure to be within eye sight of at least two people. He carries no sword (can you imagine the insult - a Feanorian with a sword after Doriath?), and wears no emblem, but still walks in the palace as if he belongs there.

Gil-Galad makes a suggestion. "Live with me and warm my bed. I'll let you warm the forges as well, and no one would dare harm you against my will."

Celebrimbor thinks on it. He assumes he'll be allowed to leave, if the king and he dislike each other with prolonged exposure They're not so close of kin for it to be forbidden. If he refuses and stays on Balar, Gil-Galad might see it as a taunt. If he refuses and returns to Sirion, he fears for his safety.

Celebrimbor knows that his family would hate him doing his. His grandfather and father in particular, would say he is of nobler birth than the supposed king; and with the light of the Trees in his eyes, he has seen farther than this child of the daylight. It's degrading and

But Celebrimbor is already going against his family. Playing mistress to a king barely out of his teens would not be Celebrimbor's first choice of life paths, but it beats dying.

The first few weeks or months, Gil-Galad is incredibly curious and rather insatiable. He never dated or "physically explored" with someone else - there aren't many other elves his age and the oncoming crown kept distant the few there were. Celebrimbor isn't married, but he's had a few lovers, and listened to his share of bawdy songs. He is good at several fun ways to have sex, and knows of a few more that just need some experimentation to put into practice.

Gil-Galad tries every one of them. He likes it best when Celebrimbor rides him, arms muscled from forge work holding Celebrimbor up, all that lovely strength on display and devoted to Gil-Galad alone. But he also enjoys Celebrimbor's hands working to the king's pleasure, or his mouth. Gil-Galad also enjoys touching Celebrimbor in return, learning all the ways to overwhelm a body with bliss.

Celebrimbor does get his forge time, too. Gil-Galad is king, and can't devote his entire day to fucking him, much to Gil-Galad's disappointment. The first time Gil-Galad ask Celebrimbor to make a necklace, he does so without a second thought. He likes making jewelry, and it's an honor for the king to wish to wear his work. Gil-Galad asks him to make more pieces, and to wear them, and still it's engaging work.

Gil-Galad's idea for a new piercing is surprising, but Celebrimbor is a Noldo through and through. His body exists purely to to serve and display his Craft. A jewel in the tip of his cock is just another way to do this. Celebrimbor tries a pearl at first, so it looks like he just came.

Then he gets elaborate. A spiral around the outside of his cock. A delicate golden net that shimmers across his whole body, kept from twisting by the piercings in his cock and nipples. A gleaming dragon across his taint, it's jaws stretched wide as it devours him from the tip halfway up his shaft; anchored at the piercing, and with a belt that looks like storm clouds, and with it's tail in his ass.

Gil-Galad is delighted by every new adornment Celebrimbor creates. Celebrimbor knows that it's not really about the beauty of his work so much as his body and the king's lust, but it will do. In Sirion, he had made bracelets only to hammer them flat before anyone could see, as all feared what Feanorian jewelry could cause.

It's over a decade before Celebrimbor tries to leave the palace, and is escorted back indoors by a guard.

There's really nothing Celebrimbor can do to stop the king, short of becoming a Kinslayer like the rest of his family.

At least, not for another decade, when Gil-Galad is suddenly called away to deal with his uncles' latest atrocity.

[izartn]

Reading about the similarities of the narratives of the conquest of America and the conquest of Andalusia/Al-Andalus in this paper:  Arabic Origins of the Foundational Myth of Western Identity: Between Histories of the Conquest of America and the Conquest of Andalusia by Mohamed Abdelrahman Hassan in JSTOR and:

It is clear that the incident of burning ships in the conquest of America is exactly the same as that in the conquest of Andalusia in every detail. In both stories, some soldiers rebel against the commander because he acted without the permission of the governor, his immediate superior; to settle the rebellion, the commander orders self-sabotage, destroying the campaign ships. Some historians of both say that he burned them and then addressed the rebels, claiming there is no way to survive without victory, before they came together and went off to conquer the kingdom.

Because it seems that both Cortés and Tariq once arriving to the new lands burned/destroyed the ships so the soldiers wouldn’t turn back to other authorities or simply leave before the enormity of the task (*warbloodtearsdeath*) before them. 

And it’s a sequence. Of the above it follows:

Although the story in the Spanish and Arabic texts perfectly correlates (rebellion, ship burning, a speech, and the soldiers uniting behind their commander), Western historians have instead searched for the historical source of the story of Cortés burning ships in Roman history.

And just wow. Besides this, the paper goes on being very illuminating in deconstructing the colonialist narrative; it goes about other elements like how othering the previous native (as in auctonous, no ethnicity related) population, how the story was constructed, etc. And how it relates to the work of andalusí historians. So anybody with an interest in the theme should read it.

But besides the academic wow, there’s also the fannish (frivolous, feel free to ignore) part of me who was. Ey. I’ve read someone burning ships and wanting to settle new lands, and refusing to turn back and being afraid of traitors... Ok yes, I was thinking of the Noldor and Tolkien, and Feanor burning ships. Although he does the burning bc afraid of the ones left behind being traitors; I suppose it was also lefting no option for his own people... 

Tolkien fandom, I’m curious. Someone knows of a more nordic-tolkienish inspiration for that episode of the Silmarillion? Because I doubt it was this one, for much it would be super interesting if so. 

[fantasychica37]

My management textbook gave a list of ways not to communicate with your staff, and between Melkor’s release and the Kinslaying (or just after the Trees were destroyed) the Valar hit every single one of them

o Pronouncements from on high

o Frequent dramatic changes in direction

o Reliance on formal communication

o Establishing new policies without explanations

o Technical and confusing official language

o Long periods without communicating to employees

(Yes I know the Elves aren’t the Valar’s “staff”, but the Valar imposed some degree of rule over the Elves in Valinor so I think it still counts)

[findrahil]

Prompt: 1. Its really not that complicated. Finrafin explaining something to Fingolfin.

thank you! this thing really fought me on being written (plus i don’t have a great grasp of fingolfin or finarfin’s characters), but once it got going, it REALLY went. like, it just got all the way away from me lmao. anyway, hope you like it!

1. "It's really not that complicated." Finarfin & Fingolfin.

How had it come to this? How had it come to choosing between family and family? How had it come to choosing between love and loyalty and loyalty and love? How had it come to choosing between abandoning someone and abandoning someone, and knowing that no matter what you choose, you will be condemning someone you love to pain?

Arafinwë thought this, and said something different. "It's really not that complicated."

Ñolofinwë crossed his arms. "Is it not? It is easy, then, for you to turn away from your kin, away from the fight against Morgoth, away from your children?"

It would be easier to bear the whistling of knife-sharp winds that cut clean through clothes and the ice that stretched on for miles and miles, blinding, deadly white, than this not-choice between betrayal and betrayal.

Arafinwë thought this, and said none of it. "I did not say it is easy, my brother," he said quietly. "Please."

Ñolofinwë narrowed his eyes, but his gaze softened a fraction of a degree.

"I do not mean to turn away from my kin, much less my children—" Findárato glanced at him sharply, then looked away as soon as their eyes met "—but there can be no good from this, Ñolofinwë. To evil end shall all things turn that they begin well; and by treason of kin unto kin, and the fear of treason, shall this come to pass," Arafinwë quoted from the Doom. "How can a war be waged against Morgoth if we are to have civil war among ourselves? Do you not see that already we have brought darkness on ourselves? We cannot stand divided by an oath and hope to win."

"If you would go for loyalty—"

But I cannot be loyal to you without betraying Eärwen or her people! Arafinwë wanted to cry, but instead he said, "Loyalty to whom? My people want to turn back. My wife's people were slaughtered on their own shores and docks for an Oath. Fëanor and his sons will be driven by that same Oath above all else." He knew not if the crystals falling through the air were ice or frozen tears. "You want me to come with you, but my heart tells me I must turn back. What would you have me do, my brother?"

Ñolofinwë closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, his gaze was heavy with resignation and a sad understanding. Then there was silence, only endless silence as expansive as the Helcaraxë, as deafening as the ice was blinding, as cutting as the wind's knives. Later, Arafinwë would come to recognize this as the miles and miles of distance stretching between us,  a chasm insurmountable.

Finally, Ñolofinwë made his answer, and the gap closed a little; not enough to be bridged, but enough to stem, for a moment, the bleeding of Arafinwë's heart. "Your people would follow you if you wished it," he said, surprisingly gentle. "They are loyal to you."

"But I cannot ask them to," was all Arafinwë could say, numbly. Other words—I cannot ask them to take part in this Doom they do not deserve, I cannot ask them to follow kinslayers, I cannot ask them to accept betrayal and shed tears unnumbered in my name, I cannot betray their loyalty like that—rested on the tip of his tongue, but he could not force them out.

Again, Ñolofinwë was surprisingly kind, and all Arafinwë could think was that this was what he was losing, this older brother-best friend-protector who had dealt with Fëanor so he would not have to, had caught him when he had fallen out of a tree, was now speaking so softly and gently when Arafinwë had done nothing to deserve it; and he saw sparkling, frozen crystals in midair once more.

"No," Ñolofinwë agreed softly, and took Arafinwë's hands in his own. "Nor can you abandon your wife and her people, whose customs and language you have adopted."

Arafinwë shook his head silently. He found himself encircled by a pair of familiar arms, the sound of a heartbeat he knew as well as his own in his ears. "Then go back," Ñolofinwë told him, his voice rough. "Go back and make amends, and be the leader your people need. Escape this Doom. Do what you must for your duty."

Arafinwë knew there was nothing else for him to do, but still he wished there was—anything, there was another way to part, there was a way to not part forever, but there was no other way because Arda was marred and Arda was cruel because of her marring. "Look after my children," he whispered with the urgency that every parent has when they know their child goes into danger and they cannot prevent it.. "Watch over them. Make sure Findárato does not trust too easily, and Angaráto does not let his temper get the better of him, and Aikanáro does not rush recklessly into battle, and Artanis does not let her pride stand in the way of reason. Keep them as safe as you can. Please."

Ñolofinwë held him tighter. "I will. I swear it to you, I will watch over them as my own."

So this was the final goodbye. This was the prelude to a lifetime apart, one on distant shores to meet terror and darkness and betrayal, and the other remaining on the light shores, ever untouched by war or grief—save the regret for abandoning kin for other kin, which would not dull with the Ages but remain as sharp as Araman's cold until a reunion that might never come. 

(Yet slain ye may be, and slain ye shall be: by weapon and by torment and by grief; and your houseless spirits shall come then to Mandos. There long shall ye abide, and find little pity though all whom ye have slain should entreat for you, Arafinwë remembered, and wept.)

It was a cruel twist of fate (he could almost hear Mandos' flinty laugh, but that must have been imagination alone) that their eternal parting was sealed by an embrace, and this betrayal-but-not sealed by love.

It is poetic, thought Arafinwë, then, It is agonizing. And then, Are they not the same?

And then Findárato (whom Eärwen had named Ingoldo, after him, and why she would do such a thing he could not imagine, especially not now, when he had not even the courage to go with his children or the strength to bring them back) was embracing him, then Angaráto, and Aikanáro, and Artanis last, and each time their separation was sealed with the same poetry that bled tears.

They stood so tall and bright, the light that later Elves who had never been to Valinor would call the light of the Trees in their eyes. They stood like heroes about to embark on a quest filled with great deeds, where the destination is not so nearly important as the journey, and where good always triumphs over evil. They stood, a glowing warmth against the cold, detached ice.

Valar, when had they grown up so quickly? (The Powers made no answer but the shrill whistle of the wind.)

Arafinwë knew Findárato might return with him if asked, even if the others would not, bound by their friendships among Ñolofinwë's sons and the restlessness of their hearts. It would be easy, and it would be one fewer child lost to darkness in Middle-Earth.

Again Arafinwë thought one thing, and said something else. "Watch over your siblings, my son," he said instead and gripped his son's hand tight, knowing that he had no right to ask Findárato to forsake them for him. "And may the stars shine on you in the night." And then, because he had to say something, he added, voice choked with tears that fell and froze, "Were I able to, I would have gone to the ends of Arda with you."

Findárato, brilliant Findárato who with his siblings had inherited the restlessness of his mother's people, was nodding and weeping too, and promising that he would keep them safe. He could not guarantee that, but Arafinwë let him do it anyway (a fool's move) and held him close one last, desperate time.

And as he began the long march back, Arafinwë risked one more look over his shoulder to his kin.

His last memory of them, which burned ever clear in his mind through the long Ages, was of Angaráto and Aikanáro in each other's arms, Findárato and Artanis watching him go (he saw them smile through the anguish in their eyes and raise their hands in farewell, and it wrenched his heart), and Ñolofinwë standing over them protectively, speaking words—no doubt soft, gentle, and comforting—that Arafinwë could not hear.

send me a prompt!

[sesamenom]

working on a huge illustration of the flight of the noldor. Funny how most prophecy gods deliver cryptic poems via oracles or ancient texts or whatever, and then there's Mandos standing on a hill screaming

"YET SLAIN YE MAY BE AND SLAIN YE SHALL BE" at Feanor.

[mothdalf]

Some different angles of my Classical Nerdanel pieces to show off the metalic paints a bit more.