New Challenge: Crossroads of the Fallen King
Cross "The Silmarillion" with a second text or fandom in this month's crossover challenge.
SWG News
A Sense of History: Thálatta! Thálatta!
While he never climbs the stairs of this Elf-tower, in Lothlórien Frodo Baggins descends a flight of steps to look into Galadriel’s Mirror, wherein he first sees the sea. This post examines the view.
Choose a Name for Our New Column!
Our temporarily titled "location bio" will focus on the landscapes and locations of Middle-earth. We need your help naming it!
New Challenge: Tengwar
Each day for thirty-six days, we feature a randomly chosen letter from the Tengwar as a prompt.
New & Updated Fanworks
[Writing] Tengwar: To The Letter by cuarthol
For the Tengwar prompt challenge. To be updated as new prompts are completed.
Current up through '…
[Writing] A blip on the radar by daughterofshadows
Humanity took to the skies. Eärendil and Ilmarë adjust.
[Writing] History abandons us by AdmirableMonster
During his incarceration in Roderick Burgess' basement, Dream receives a strange, ancient visitor.
[Writing] Tengwar Acrostics by Himring
Responses to the Tengwar Challenge in which first letters spell out the name of a tengwa.
1) Early Encounter (Nerdanel, Indis)
2) Numenorean Lullaby (Almarian, Aldarion)
[Writing] Tengwar Drabbles by cílil
A collection of Silmarillion-centric drabbles written for the Tengwar Challenge. Short and sweet!
[Writing] If i get home before daylight by BloodwingBlackbird
a traveler meets a stranger at a crossroads.
Current Challenge
Crossroads of the Fallen King
Create a fanwork that crosses with a second text or fandom. Read more ...
Tengwar
A daily prompt of a Tengwar letter per day. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Experimental
Tolkien was an experimental writer, pushing the boundaries of literary and artistic convention. This month, we invite you to experiment with a new technique or approach to your fanworks. We’ve listed some prompts you can select from, but you’re also free to develop your own. Read more ...
New in References
Thálatta! Thálatta! by Simon J. Cook
[]While he never climbs the stairs of this Elf-tower, in Lothlórien Frodo Baggins descends a flight of steps to look into Galadriel’s Mirror, wherein he first sees the sea. This post examines the view.
[]
With Gildor Inglorion we finally climb the stairs of Elostirion and look on the view, and what we see appears to reveal a hidden thread in the story of Frodo Baggins. This post reads two annotated translations of two Elvish songs to step through a crossroads in the narrative to arrive at the tower on the margin of the story, wherein is a stone that is a window onto Valinor.
Grief, Grieving, and Permission to Mourn in the "Quenta Silmarillion" by Dawn Walls-Thumma
[]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.
Beyond the Silmarillion
[Writing] Waybread (The Waybredlik) by Himring
[]Lembas speaks out.
[Series] Apr 1st Stories by Uvatha the Horseman
[]Once a year on April 1st, a canon character from LOTR or the Silmarillion gets pranked.
[Writing] Crossing Forest River by Dawn Felagund
[]Bilbo recounts, in verse, the attempt of Gandalf, Beorn, and him to cross the Forest River after the Battle of Five Armies. Written for the Hungarian Tolkien Society's 2024 Mailing Competition.
Around the World and Web
Mythcon 53: Fantasies of the Middle Lands
Mythcon 53 will be held 2-5 August 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with the theme "Fantasies of the Middle Lands."
Teitho May/June Challenge: Joker
For the May/June Teitho challenge, you can pick ANY of our past challenges that stir your imagination and write a story or create art for it.
Monstrous May 2024
Monstrous May is a Tumblr event where, for each day of the month of May, there is a prompt involving and invoking the monstrous.
Fellowship of the Fics: Modern AU May
During May, Fellowship of the Fics offers modern AU prompt lists for setting, character occupation, and dialogue on Tumblr.
May challenge at tolkienshortfanworks
The May challenge has been posted to the tolkienshortfanworks community on Dreamwidth. Thematic challenge: name; formal challenge: acrostic. As usual, these can be filled independently and freely combined with other prompts such as the SWG challenges. New participants welcome!
Hier, mit dir im Dämmerlicht by daughterofshadows
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Hier, mit dir im Dämmerlicht
The door to the bridge hissed quietly when Túrin pushed it open.
Stars were twinkling beyond the window, but the room itself was dim. Lalaith had re-routed most of their emergency power to the medbay, where his mother and aunt were busy patching up all those who had been injured when the flare hit the ship and fried most of their electronics. Túrin had been there as well until Morwen had kicked him out.
“Go and get into someone else’s way for a while! Your crew will be fine”, she had said and, well, Túrin knew better then to disagree with her. So, he had left and gone to the bridge.
Sitting in the pilot’s chair, Beleg kept watch in the grey twilight of the single emergency light still flickering above them.
Túrin dropped into the chair next to him.
“Lalaith is confident she’ll have things up and running again in about half an hour. Apparently, we were lucky, because ‘This ship is so old, it short-circuited before being hit by a star flare’ so all the systems were already down anyway. Or at least that’s what Lalaith said.”
Beleg hummed and Túrin stared at the maps and charts spread out before him. Nienor’s workstation was as meticulous as always.
He tapped his finger on an empty point of space near Doriath. The planet, that was, not the space station.
“It reminds me of one of the first missions we’ve ever gone on together. Do you remember? We were stuck in our quarters for hours until they got the problem fixed and the doors opened again.”
This time, Beleg laughed.
“I remember. Captain Greymantle was furious. I was sure he’d tear Mablung’s head right off for it. Luckily, he didn’t. And it never happened again.”
An ominous ‘sssssssssss’ like the sound of falling sand was their first sign that something was wrong. Then the lights cut out, plunging the room into darkness.
Túrin jumped and tugged down his shirt with more force then necessary. “Is this a situation where we report to our emergency stations?” he asked, running a hand through his hair and beard to give them at least the pretence of complying to uniform standards of kempt-ness. If he started off his first proper assignment with an emergency, he should at least make an effort to avoid running into even more trouble. It would find him soon enough.
His bunk mate, a grim-faced Doriathrim native by the name of Beleg, whom he first had met planet-side a few years ago, nodded, but when he tried to open the door, it would not budge.
Even when the lights came back on and power returned to the ship, the doors remained locked.
Instead, the intercom came to life.
“Attention please, this is your Chief Engineer Mablung speaking. Someone” —Mablung’s tone of voice suggested he knew exactly who it was —“has fucked up the program dealing with all door locking mechanisms on this ship. We are working hard to get it repaired, but until then you will have to remain wherever you are. Please be patient and we’ll have you out of your rooms in no time.”
“I guess we won’t be reporting to emergency stations then”, Túrin commented and let himself fall back onto his bed.
Beleg shot him a dirty look. “It’s not funny.”
Túrin grinned. “Oh, but it kind of is. Nana will say my bad luck follows me even into space when she hears about this.”
He turned towards the other man. “And besides, Mablung is an excellent engineer. I’m sure we’ll be out of here in no time, just like he said.”
“I know, I know. It’s just… Argh. This entire week has been terrible. And it feels like this is the climax it’s all been building up to.” Beleg sat down with a sigh. Then he added, “Nellas is marrying her weirdo boyfriend.”
Túrin frowned. “I thought you liked Galdor?”
He had never met the diplomat that Nellas had fallen in love with after he stumbled into her garden on accident, but both Beleg and Mablung always spoke fondly of him.
“I do! That doesn’t mean he isn’t a weirdo and I wish she wouldn’t marry someone from Valinor of all places. Valinor!”
Túrin, who had never quite understood the intricacies of that particular rivalry, said nothing.
“Do you ever think about marriage? Getting married yourself, I mean.”
A moment of silence. Then:
“Nah. I like being on my own. That entire romance thing isn’t really my cup of tea, y’know?”
“Mine either.”
That day had been the start of one of the most important friendships in Túrin’s life. One that lasted far beyond his placement with the Marchwardens.
These days they hunted slavers together, looking for the one that had taken Túrin’s father above all.
They were both still unmarried and as happy about it as they were back then.
Life was good.
Chapter End Notes
Taking name suggestions for Túrin's ship, because it's making a return soon
