Elemental by Ysilme

Fanwork Notes

Please heed the content info and the following notes; no further warnings are given for this story.

This is a photo story, so image-heavy. I down-sized the images for your convenience; clicking on them gives you the full view, which I recommend, as I think they work best in a large size. Also, both parts of the story have been split into short chapters to give the photos room to work.
The story can be read without the photos, too; I've tried to give a concise description in the alt-tags.

Content: Second Age, aftermath of the Oath of Fëanor, Aftermath of severe depression, dissociation and mental illness, learning to live again, hopeful ending

Disclaimer: This is a work of transformative fiction based on JRR Tolkien’s creation, done purely for enjoyment. No infringement is intended and no money is being made.
All images are mine.

Notes:
This is somewhat experimental in style, also in being a joint text/photo story. The first part, titled Water Music, was originally a vignette for a SWG challenge I did not complete. Following the inspiration of two B2MeM 2017 prompts as well as a visit to the Lofotes last summer, this part has now been rewritten and continued in the second part, both completed by photos I took on that journey.
The idea of Maglor coming out of whatever mental state he had been in after the events of the First Age and the Oath of Fëanor - the loss of his brothers, the deeds they have done under the oath and so on - has always intrigued me. I do not follow the fanon idea of Maglor being guilt-ridden and severely depressive for the rest of his life, or the largest part of it; but I do believe that there must have been a time when dealing with the immense loss he has suffered, and the likely immense guilt he carries, must have affected his mental state to a significant degree. Conveying this into tale is difficult, and I am trying here an approach that feels natural to me.
I’m trying to write this from the point of view of a person coming out of deep depression, and after having been lost in a deep mental turmoil. I’m not talking about some specific mental state or illness, but just wrote what felt natural to me for the character. I’m also basing this to a small degree on personal experience, as I suffered from a more or less severe depression for several years; and Maglor finding a way back into normal life on my own experience of doing the same. I have never been half as deep down as the Maglor in my story has been, though, or have been as badly affected as so many others living with depression.
These two vignettes only show Maglor’s first steps in that direction; two more parts already exist as drafts, but might not be finished for a while.

Many thanks to curiouswombat for beta reading and for generally being awesome!

Please click on the images for full view.

Fanwork Information

Summary: "Each morning, Maglor started off along the beach, following the ebb and flow of the waves. Every day he walked until he grew tired and needed a rest. Then he sat, watching the sea and the sky, and then he walked again." Major Characters: Maglor Major Relationships: Artwork Type: No artwork type listed Genre: General Challenges: B2MeM 2018 Rating: Teens Warnings: Creator Chooses Not to Warn This fanwork belongs to the series Elemental
Chapters: 6	Word Count: 2, 508
Posted on 12 September 2018	Updated on 12 September 2018
This fanwork is complete.