Founded in 2005, the Silmarillion Writers' Guild exists for discussions of and creative fanworks based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion and related texts. We are a positive-focused and open-minded space that welcomes fans from all over the world and with all levels of experience with Tolkien's works. Whether you are picking up Tolkien's books for the first time or have been a fan for decades, we welcome you to join us!
Erestor lay up against a tree, brown washed to black in the wet of the snow. The black disc of the new moon sailed across the dark sky. Erestor wished it were gone. He had no need to look into dark eyes any longer.
He was dying.
(AKA Erestor unwittingly travels back in time to the…
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…
This is my new poetical attempt to add my own interpretation to Tolkien's Cosmology as to Eru's Creation and the Valar's minds and behind-the-scene providence reasons and mechanisms.. I often review Eä as part of our own world, just in another dimension, this is why I have always seriously…
Concerned by his responses to the paraphernalia of healing, Fingon steals Maedhros from his room for an impromptu garden excursion. Maedhros battles with dark thoughts.
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…
On the night before the battle, Caranthir and his ally share thoughts about their peoples' traditions:
Burning bones ward off evil.
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Expanding on my 2018 article "Why People Don't Comment," comment data from the SWG underscores community as an essential component to a robust commenting culture.
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In a book as full of death as the Quenta Silmarillion, grief and mourning are surprisingly absent. The characters who receive grief and mourning—and those who don't—appear to do so due to narrative bias. Grief and mourning (or a lack of them) serve to draw attention toward and away from objectionable actions committed by characters.
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…
A Chieftain is dead. And whilst the events surrounding his death are unclear, a son tries to come to terms with his loss.
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The Silmarillion Writers' Guild is more than just an archive--we are a community! If you enjoy a fanwork or enjoy a creator's work, please consider letting them know in a comment.
Thank you very much for writing and sharing this! I think this is an interesting and moving part of Turin's story, too, and it is very good to see somebody give Sador Labadal a voice!
Oh thank you! I still have one or two more drabbles left! You are my very first SWG reviewer!
When I read the Silm, I didn't think much of Turin; he seemed like such a jerk. But then when I read UT and CoH, and saw what a sweet person he was as a child, it changed my whole way of looking at his tragedy-- that the truly sad part of the story wasn't all the death and destruction, but that he lost that generous innocence of his so very young!
And I was intrigued by Sador Labadal, who was so very good and kind to a young child, giving of his time and his wisdom.
In his piping voice I hear, not scorn, but admiration, and perhaps some pity for my pain.
Labadal is not so ill a name as some might think.
In an economy of carefully chosen words, you've given Sador his voice, and the above nicely addresses why he holds his nickname as compliment rather than scorn.
Oh thank you! Of course with drabbles an economy of words is essential. And I think he understands that this little child truly does love him, and so no offense can be taken.
His father's grief has turned to vengeance, his mother's has turned to ice. Why is it left to me, the lowliest person of the household to wipe his tears?
Excellent wordcraft here, Dreamflower. This conveys so much, explains so much.
Yes, we see in the young child so much love and kindness and generosity! We see a child with so much potential, and it seems that Labadal is the only one who seems to want to nurture that potential. And he is such a patient and loving man. He would have been a good father to children of his own.
his child's heart will break, and of the shards will grow a heart of stone and pride. He is his mother's son.
And thus you give the reader the foundation of what will become Túrin's great tragedy. His story is perhaps the bleakest in The Silmarillion, so this series of drabbles set the foundation for what is to come. Labadal's voice -- world-weary yet full of patience and affection -- is very effective. It's fascinating for this reader to see young Túrin in his days of childhood innocence through the old, loyal servant's eyes. You've given Labadal a nobility and fortitude I have long wanted to see, for surely, the old loyal servant possessed these traits.
This series is an excellent foray into the First Age, Dreamflower! Here's hoping you'll dip your toes into the waters again, perhaps by expanding on one or all of these gems.
When I read of Turin's story in the Silm, I didn't like him much. He seemed so full of hubris and lacking in sense. The tragedy of his story did not move me that much. But then in UT and in CoH, I read the accounts of his childhood and his relationship with Labadal, and that changed my whole view of him. It gave me a chance to realize that he'd had potential, that he had been a child with a lot of love to give, and that all of that had been just crushed out of him. It truly made me empathize with him more. He was an innocent child, with a generous heart, and then he became this bleak and bitter man.
And I was also very drawn to Labadal. As you said, a man of nobility and fortitude, and a wise one as well. I really appreciated the devotion he showed to this lonely grieving child.
I am glad you liked these. I do not know if I have any more First Age fic in me-- I am very devoted to hobbits. But I never thought I'd write this much, so who knows in the future.
Thank you so much for the lovely reviews. ((hugs))
Thank you! I've always been fascinated by that childhood realationship of Turin's ever since I read of it, and I always wondered why his parents did not seem ot care more about the child's feelings.
Comments on Labadal and Túrin
The Silmarillion Writers' Guild is more than just an archive--we are a community! If you enjoy a fanwork or enjoy a creator's work, please consider letting them know in a comment.