Character of the Month: Marach
There are few details in the texts about Marach, but he is noteworthy for his allegiances and his descendants, who would become pivotal to the history of Middle-earth and the eventual defeat of Morgoth and Sauron.
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Character of the Month: Marach
There are few details in the texts about Marach, but he is noteworthy for his allegiances and his descendants, who would become pivotal to the history of Middle-earth and the eventual defeat of Morgoth and Sauron.
New Challenge: Allusive
Literature and art constantly refer back to each other using allusions, and this month's prompts are inspired by allusions to literature, myth, art, and history.
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Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data for 2025 shows that "The Rings of Power" TV series has not had the same impact on the fandom as the film trilogies did ... so far.
New Challenge: Building Middle-earth
Let global architecture be your inspiration in this challenge, where you will work with a prompts that are architectural styles, locations in Arda, or both.
[Writing] An Alluring Offer by octopus_fool
Tata is offered a solution to a grave problem, at a very low price...
[Writing] The Mirror Crack'd by AdmirableMonster
Rescued from a brutal Angband hunt, an ex-thrall with a strange and powerful artifact embedded in his spine is brought to Himring, for it is one of the only places in Beleriand which welcomes such folk. Though he has no memories of his life before, Anniavas slowly becomes accustomed to his new…
[Writing] From That Rubble by StarSpray
Fëanor shrugged, studying the contents of his wine glass. “Something must be done about that house. It will fall down eventually.”
“It does not follow that it must be you that tears it down single-handedly. Are you sure you do not want help?”
“It’s not as though I…
[Writing] most days I don't recognize me by annarobots
Of course, she knew that in the Blessed Land, true harm was unlikely to come to him. The Valar watched over them all, and the lesser spirits were everywhere. It was a great hound of Oromë who had found him happily splashing in the creek, in fact. But anyone could drown in mere…
[Series] Eat, Pray, Love by AdmirableMonster
The Darkest Timeline AU for my Steampunk Númenor series.
In which the Mouth of Sauron is originally a Númenorean chemister rescued from Ar-Pharazôn's intimate attentions by Sauron himself.
[Writing] Rise from the Ashes by AdmirableMonster
In the wake of Sauron's death, his Mouth remembers Númenor.
[Reference] Speak Friend and Enter: Trends in Fandom Entry Year by Dawn Walls-Thumma
Across three surveys and ten years, the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey has document when authors began writing. These data reveal trends in how film promotions, the films themselves, the books, and other historical contexts have influenced not only who writes but how long they stay.
Allusive
Choose from our list of allusions to history, literature, mythology, and art to create a fanwork. Read more ...
B2MeM 2010
Back to Middle-earth Month 2010 was a collaborative game-style challenge where participants created fanworks in order to progress in their attempt to win the Last Battle. Read more ...
Speak Friend and Enter: Trends in Fandom Entry Year by Dawn Walls-Thumma
Across three surveys and ten years, the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey has document when authors began writing. These data reveal trends in how film promotions, the films themselves, the books, and other historical contexts have influenced not only who writes but how long they stay.
There are few details in the texts about Marach, but he is noteworthy for his allegiances and his descendants, who would become pivotal to the history of Middle-earth and the eventual defeat of Morgoth and Sauron.
[Artwork] A Memento of Faery by Grundy
TRSB26 art 144 - an artifact brought back from Faerie by a Starbearer.
[Writing] Down the Long Years by Isilme_among_the_stars
Bilbo, the strange old hobbit with the wandering feet, senses something special in young Frodo the first time he sees the lad; as they become close, they find in each other a cameraderie not well understood by other hobbits. Five poignant moments between Bilbo and Frodo Baggins over the course…
LotR Week 2026
A week-long event for The Lord of the Rings
Finwëan Ladies Week 2026
Finwëan Ladies Week will run from September 21-27, 2026!
Fingon x Finrod x Maedhros Day 2026
A day to celebrate the relationship of the three eldest princes.
Forgotten Ground Regained Features Tolkien-Inspired Alliterative Poetry
The quarterly journal "Forgotten Ground Regained" publishes alliterative poetry and, in Issue 11, turns to focus on poems written about Tolkien's world, including several pieces by SWG poets.
Sindar Week 2026
A Tolkien event week for the Sindar, the Grey-Elves, from the Years of the Trees to the Third Age.
I've never been too fond of horror but this story is really great! The image of the mouth full of eyes and the eyes full of mouths is truly terrifying. Looking forward to the next chapter.
Thanks. Likewise, I'm not a horror fan as such, but the ALEC challenge came up and something compelled me to write this story. And now I find that writing horror is much, much easier than writing love scenes. ;)
Extremely effective. The contrast to Luthien is very poignant - what makes her stronger than others, makes the protagonist more exposed, alone and vulnerable. Still, he seems to be discovering his own strength.
I must admit I had to Google Makar, since it was too long since I had read the Book of Lost Tales for me to remember that short passage about him and his sister.
Thank you. Yes, the narrator is discovering his own strength, and will slowly learn the extent of what he can do (and how he is like/unlike Lúthien). As for Makar, he's one of those strange, discarded characters that I try to include here and there just for the hell of it. I have a special fondness for abandoned canon.
It surprised me to see this listed as a horror story, but yes, I almost had to read through the fingers of my hand the scenes where the Red Maia shows the eyes in the mouths and viceversa, or when he tears his own fana apart - silly, I know.
I enjoyed the concept of a half-Maiarin Elf (or whatever term is used for him) exploring his abilities, finding his place in Aman and discovering the Maiar as they are amongst themselves. The part about Eonwe speaking the truth without regard for the consequences is perfect to show the chasm between the Ainur and the Elves. No empathy whatsoever, that's frightening. The relevation provoked a very believable and disturbing reaction which ended up shattering a family. On the other hand, there is humour to be found. The line about Luthien's hair made me laugh.
I am also fascinated by the inclusion of Makar and his sinister servant in the tale. I look forward to finding out where you take this very intriguing story.
Thanks, Russandol. As usually happens to me, this started out with the best of intentions to be a contained, one-chapter story. And then everything went pear-shaped and not only do I have to write another chapter, but the events and characters are spilling over into at least four other stories I'm writing. Son of a...
Until I started this, I'd never given much thought to Half-Maiarin Elves and exactly how they would 'work'. I had somewhat considered the differences between Maiar and Elves, but this gave me an excuse to explore things more thoroughly, so I'm glad to hear it made sense to you.
And Makar is one of those abandoned characters's that interested me for a very long time. I like mentioning him wherever possible, and maybe one of these days he'll have the chance to appear in person. A chaotic Vala offers so much potential.
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