Many of us have favorite characters from Tolkien who really stretch the term "minor character" to its extreme. These people of the footnotes and fragments are often little more than a name, but with a fully realized history behind (and sometimes in front) of them, it is possible to turn a few actions into a fully fledged character. (We also cannot neglect that this is Tolkien: names are rarely "little more," and the name itself is likely full of meaning!)

This month, we are excited to see a return of our occasional column Character of the Month with a new biography by Secondborn about Marhwini. Marhwini is a hallmark "minor character" for Tolkien: He doesn't appear in any of the major books, we know little about him—and yet he matters, both in terms of the story and its theme. Representing a proto-Rohirric alliance with Gondor, he is important to the histories of both peoples and helps establish the relationship between Gondor and Rohan that will feature so prominently in The Lord of the Rings. Secondborn encourages us to think of Marhwini's actions, though not successful militarily, not as a failure but in terms of what they tell us about the value of relations between peoples in the legendarium.

You can read Secondborn's biography of Marhwini here.

With Mereth Aderthad 2025 only two weeks away, we also have two interviews with fanworks creators to share. Idrils Scribe and Flora-lass are, respectively, the featured author and poet for the presentation "Cherished antagonist, despised protagonist - a defence of Elu Thingol" by Stella Getreuer-Kostrouch. Relatively new to fandom, Flora-lass was compelled by the legendarium that is "so real it hurts" to begin composing poetry about it, and her lyrical poems capture the musicality of Middle-earth. Her sonnet for Mereth Aderthad concerns Thingol and the Silmaril.

Idrils Scribe is the featured author for the same presentation, having written a story that centers on the Quenya ban. Idrils Scribes' stories tend to focus on characters, like the Doriathrim, who don't receive the same attention from fanworks creators as the Elves of Valinor do. Building on Stella's observations of the fandom's tendency to pigeonhole Thingol as a convenient villain, Idrils Scribe describes her motive in writing her story as, "I’m trying to peek inside his head, speculate what his intentions were, and hopefully provide an interesting perspective on one of the more controversial episodes."

You can read and listen to Anérea's interview with Flora-lass here, and you can read Shadow's interview with Idrils Scribe here.

And! In case you missed it, Mereth Aderthad is only two weeks away! We welcome registrations right through the day of the event, and even if you can only attend part of it, we'd love for you to join us if you can. You can register here, if you have not already!

SWG News

New Challenge: Title Track
Tolkien's titles range from epic to lyrical to metaphorical. This month's challenge selected 125 of them as prompts for fanworks.

Instadrabbling Sessions for January, February, and March
Instadrabbling continues on the first Saturday of each month on our Discord server.

Character of the Month: Marhwini
A minor character who doesn't appear in any of Tolkien's major works, Marhwini nonetheless plays a key role in the histories of Rohan and Gondor, and his character exemplifies the essential theme of the importance of acting in service of an alliance.

The Silmarillion Writers' Guild Presents Mereth Aderthad 2025 - July 19, 2025, Burlington, VT and online - A celebration of creativity and scholarship inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Registration is open!

New Fanworks

Umnenyalië by by Serinquanion [Writing]

He was going to die. The molten rocks would burn him just like the cursed gem in his palm did. Maybe less painfully but still being burnt hurt and Maedhros knew it. He intimately knew it from his time in Angband where Þauron burnt him often in frustration and to toy with him and his master burnt his skin even more often just to mock his ancestry. At least here he would pass on to Mandos and not linger in pain only to be sewed back together to be tortured again and again.

But it wasn't true for his next clear memory was of the same pain from which he escaped soon and half-mad entered the Girdle to never never leave till now.

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Winter Warmth by by Serinquanion [Writing]

A winter night in Himring. But inside the quarters where fire blazed in hearth was warmer, and not only from the fire or quilt.

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In Early Spring by by Serinquanion [Writing]

In what Maedhros was re-embodied early and was sent back to Middle Earth on his volition with Glorfindel.

This isn't about what happened right then but years after Fall of Sauron when he still refused to return to Valinor.

He found a strange sapling at the shore of what remains of Cuiviénen.

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Who Will Hear Me? by by XirinOfArvada [Writing]

A lonely elf finds a flute half buried beneath the sand and wonders if its owner will hear him when he calls.

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Loyal, Faithful by by Himring [Writing]

Late in the Second Age, one of the Faithful reflects critically on past developments. (Free verse.)

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East Away! by by Flora-lass [Writing]

Aldarion storms off towards Middle-earth. For the Title Track challenge.

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Don't You Ever Look Away by by Elrond's Library [Writing]

“They can’t just assume we’ll let them leave us behind.”
“But they are, and they will. Our fathers are the Heads of their Houses. Fëanáro is king. Defiance would be treason, beloved.”
“I am his firstborn.”
“You are his only daughter.”
“I have done everything to be the son he wished me to be.”
“And yet, you are not.”

Findekánë and Maitindë do not go to Beleriand with their fathers. This changes very little, and yet so much.
For Scribbles and Drabbles 2025 SFW Slide 213 Two Queens

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Break Me by by Elrond's Library [Writing]

“You’re not going to break me,” Russo huffed, finally cracking open his eyes, which were bright with amusement. “They could not, what makes you think you could?”

For Scribbles and Drabbles 2025 SFW Slide 33
 

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Three Black Islands by by Idrils Scribe [Writing]

When Celebrimbor's attempts at forging the Rings of Power fail yet again, Annatar knows where to find the missing know-how.
For all the wrong reasons, Celebrimbor agrees to an expedition to the ruins of Angband to search Morgoth's own laboratory, deep in the icy Northern Wastes.
What awaits those two in the Hells of Iron?
A spooky season special, inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's 'At the Mountains of Madness'.

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The Fall by by Elrond's Library [Writing]

Ossë raged.

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The Mirror Crack'd by by AdmirableMonster [Writing]

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 life and finds he has a queer connection with Maedhros, Himring's lord. As their intimacy grows, however, so do the dangers surrounding them, both without and within. What secrets are hidden inside the depths of Anniavas's lost memories--and how will those with whom he is forging and deepening bonds react, when those secrets are at last revealed?

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Beating Fate by by Paul Williams [Writing]

Lúthien, a woman who has spent her entire existence being acted upon — desired, directed, possessed, mourned, celebrated, but never truly seen — reaches the end of her borrowed life and discovers that death is not an ending but the first free choice she has ever been permitted to make.
 

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Updated Fanworks

One Flesh, One Soul. Part I by by FellFireFan [Writing]

As beautiful as he is dangerous, Aegnor, an elven prince, stands against the looming shadows of Angband. Brother to Galadriel, he commands the siege with a fierce intensity, a duty that exacts a heavy toll on him. Beneath the iron walls he has built lies a broken soul, haunted by a devastating trauma and a well of deeply guarded secrets. His demons, kept at bay by his unyielding intensity that is both his greatest gift and his biggest curse. 

Little does our Noldorin prince know that a chance encounter with a terrified young girl of men will set him on a collision course, igniting an extraordinary bond wrought with challenges, sacrifices, and intense love that threatens to unravel his guarded heart, and all he keeps within it.

Brace yourself for Part I of this captivating tale, where the primal power of love and devestating loss will tear lives apart forever.

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A Hundred Miles Through the Desert by by StarSpray [Writing]

“Come on.” Maedhros grabbed his hand and pulled him along down the path, both of them quickening their pace now, until the trees opened up into a wide meadow filled with flowers, bright yellow celandine and dandelions and sweet-scented pale chamomile mingling with cornflowers and irises. On the other side of it was a larger party than Maglor had ever seen in Lórien—five figures sitting in the grass. Huan barked again, and they all looked up. “It seems everyone has come to fetch us home,” Maedhros said, laughing, as all their brothers scrambled to their feet.

After years in Lórien, Maglor and Maedhros are ready to return to their family and to make something new with their lives--but to move forward, all of Fëanor's sons must decide how, or if, they can ever reconcile with their father.

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Beyond the Silmarillion Fanworks

here you will dwell, bound to your grief by by Elrond's Library [Writing]

Arwen grieves, and loves.

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