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.
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New Challenge: Tengwar
Each day for thirty-six days, we feature a randomly chosen letter from the Tengwar as a prompt.
A Sense of History: Crossroads
In the ongoing series on towers in Tolkien's work, a thread runs through "The Lord of the Rings," revealing the divine assistance of Varda in the travails of the Fellowship.
New & Updated Fanworks
[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: To The Letter by cuarthol
For the Tengwar prompt challenge. To be updated as new prompts are completed.
Current up through '…
[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.
[Writing] I Stood Aside by Flora-lass
Maedhros' horror at the burning of the ships. Inspired by a painting (see notes).
[Reference] 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.
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B2MeM 2009
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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.
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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.
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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!
May 2024 Calls for Papers
Conferences and publications that have open calls for papers in May 2024.
Awesome Ladies by daughterofshadows
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Nerdanel - the early days after the darkening of Valinor
Warnings for heavy angst.
Nerdanel's cycle picks up very soon after the loss of the trees, before the first kinslaying, covers her reaction to the first kinslaying and ends shortly after the ships have burned at Losgar (though that isn't explicitly mentioned.
Her sons disappear in a cloud of dust and darkness, leaving Mastomahtano behind as they have done countless times before. Never has their departure felt more final.
Her sister wraps a cloak around her shoulders, and Uruvanima grabs her hand. Nerdanel clings to it like a lifeline.
“Tell me I am not a fool for letting them leave,” she whispers.
Uruvanima squeezes her hand. “You couldn’t have trapped them anymore then father could have trapped you back when you went travelling. They have the best parts of both of you. They’ll be fine.”
For a moment, Nerdanel almost believes it.
A massacre. Her family has slaughtered hundreds in the name of revenge. Nerdanel’s fingers dig into the table, nails scraping against the wood.
“Have they lost their minds?”
Her family doesn’t answer. What is there to say?
Rage bubbles in her throat, fills the empty pit in her stomach. She cannot remember ever being so angry before.
It is only when her cousin gently pries her fingers off the table that she realises she has made herself bleed.
She stares at her hands, blind to the world as Rōka cleans her hands.
How much blood had been spilled in Alqualondë?
There are days Nerdanel is convinced she is going insane. It wouldn’t surprise her.
Fëanáro’s voice whisper in her ears, but his words contain only madness, not wisdom. She wonders what happened to the clever man she once loved.
Rōka left to check on his friends in Alqualondë. They haven’t heard from her cousin in days. She hopes at least he is alright.
Aulë requested her father’s help. Their people work tirelessly to return light to the world. Nerdanel does what she can to assist them, but her sculptures are of little use here.
Still, it is better than idleness.
Days blur together. Without light there is no telling of time passing.
Nerdanel’s dreams are filled with the memories of unseen horrors, and so she avoids sleep altogether until her sister drags her to bed. Then she weeps into Uruvanima’s shoulder until exhaustion overcomes her and she finally slips into Irmo’s realm.
Her sister holds her until she wakes again.
Anger follows.
It explodes over her workshop, and leaves only destruction in its wake.
And as she rebuilds her life from the rubble, Nerdanel swears her own oath.
Her life is hers to live. Fëanáro will rule it no longer.
Chapter End Notes
This was written during the Spies in the Shadows Drabble Duel for the Tolkien's Rockin' Ladies Bingo, and the prompts were the following:
Nerdanel +
1. I am not the fool
2. The children lost their minds
3. Devil on my Shoulders
4. You are not the king
This was originally four different drabbles, but I feel that it works just as nicely in one chapter.
