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!
Sign-Up to Hand Out Scavenger Hunt Prompts Our May challenge will be a Matryoshka built around a scavenger hunt. If you'd like to hand out prompts (and receive comments on your work for doing so!), you can sign up to do so.
New Challenge: Everyman Create a fanwork about an ordinary character in the legendarium using a quote about an unnamed character as inspiration.
Cultus Dispatches: Fanworks, AI, and Resistance by Dawn and Grundy The fan studies column Cultus Dispatches returns with a history of how Tolkien fanworks fandom has reacted and resisted generative AI by drawing strong boundaries in a way that is not typical for the fandom.
Inspired by collecting the prompts for the Everyman challenge, this essay considers how ordinary people are subsumed and silenced in The Silmarillion, which begins a three-book arc that ends with the rise of the humble and ordinary.
A Teleri fishing boat captain turns to farming on abandoned Noldor lands after her ship is stolen. A Noldor farmer returns with Finarfin to find that his land belongs to the Teleri now.
In his old age, Isildur's former esquire Ruinamacil, known to later histories only as Ohtar, writes his own account of his escape from the ambush at Gladden Fields and journey to Imladris, and the history of his friend whom Isildur ordered to flee with him.
These were simply flashes, a hint of a wider, greater world. A tantalizing glimpse of more, always at the edge of awareness, never within reach. Míriel would grasp it, if something as intangible as the concept of color could overflow in bounteous wonder over her hands.
By definition, fanworks fandom does not draw a lot of boundaries, but community archives and events have taken a strong stance against AI-generated fanworks due to ethical considerations and member input.
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.
This presentation for Mereth Aderthad 2025 discusses the parallels between the concept of abnegation in the scientific work surrounding the atomic bomb and in The Silmarillion. The relinquishment of self-interest in favor of the interests of others, abnegation was identified by Tolkien as a powerful act of spirit and reason. The legendarium has many examples of the complexities of abnegation, which parallel similar discussions held by physicists during and after World War II.
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…
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.
This was so beautiful but also so very sad - the reference to being cautious when dealing with the wounded and terrified! Oh if only Beled had seen that more clearly. Poor Gwindor. ((hugs both tight))
Thank you! I've thought so hard about this, and I can only think that Beleg's love for Túrin meant that he couldn't bear to see him in fetters, so he just rushed in to free him the moment he could, without any of the caution he'd have used with anyone else. :(
However...my ideas for Chapter 2 are evolving, and there may yet be hope, where there was none...
The dialogue in here sounds so true to Tolkien's characters. I like Beleg's moment of feeling conflicted over whether to stop and help. Of course his generous compassion wins out, but the hesitation is believable, and shows how badly he wants to find Turin. Beleg's use of song for comfort and healing is very Elvish. Poor Gwindor, escaping so much horror just to get a glimpse of everything else fate has in store for him. (UNLESS... he and Beleg manage to evade their respective dooms...) This is both sad and heart-warming, and very well written! I will keep an eye out for future chapters.
Thank you so much for this lovely, thoughtful comment - I really appreciate it. I've been moving house, or I'd have replied sooner! Chapter 2 is definitely happening; just very, very slowly...
I described this fic to a friend as 'two sad people being kind to each other'! I'm so glad you like it so far. :)
Doom averted! This is the hero moment that Gwindor deserves after all he's been through. I especially liked him saying, "For who am I to deny the bonds of love, or judge others for actions which seem rash?’" Too true. He definitely let love (or at least grief) overpower his wisdom. I think you do a good job representing Gwindor's initial arguments against the rescue too. "It is better for one of you to be free, believe me.’" -- oof, that line hits hard. Beleg proving himself with a kiss -- ah, that moment is so very sweet, and well deserved. Just the right balance of hurt and comfort in here. Thank you for sharing!
I really appreciate you reading and commenting, and I'm especially grateful for the mention of lines that you particularly liked (since I hadn't been terribly confident about them!) And I'm happy you liked the kiss - that was something new for me, and I'm so glad you think it worked. :)
I just love the way this flows, not letting on how it'll come together, especially Gwindor's prophetic dreams of doom (Ulmo still dabbling in oneirology, it seems) and his sense that he has a part to play and saves Turin from that doom. And the contrast between the gentle way Beleg sings to soothe Gwindor at first, and then in his eagerness and familiarity forgets to do the same with Turin, until he's reminded.
Turin is still mortal, so what Gwindor warned about will still come to pass, but at least they have more time, and a little more insight, and who knows, perhaps in this !verse they break Morgoth's curse on Húrin's family!
Thank you so much for this lovely comment! I think my main hopes, once Beleg survives, are that Gwindor and Finduilas can reunite undisturbed, and that Túrin will see his mother again, and meet his sister and know who she is. Morgoth's curse is only deflected, and I'm not sure what will happen at Nargothrond - but if Beleg and Túrin die fighting side by side at Doriath, that would be a far better, though still tragic, end for both of them, I think...
Your fix-it healed my soul 😌, to see Beleg being able to talk to Turin about what happened after his capture and process their grief together over the loss of their company! And Gwindor my baby! With Beleg’s support I hope his time back in Nargothrond will be less isolated.
I'm so happy this did you good! I find the manner of Beleg's death so hard to cope with, and I just wanted to give all these characters more time with their loved ones and at least some hope for the future. Thank you so much for reading and commenting. :)
Comments on Dream of the Black Sword
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.