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.
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Our Annual Amnesty Challenge: New Year's Resolution
Start 2026 off with creativity! If you missed a challenge or didn't get to finish or post a challenge fanwork, complete any 2025 challenge before 15 February to receive the stamp.
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Call for Artists for the 2026 Challenge Stamps
We are soliciting help from artists who want to help create the stamps we award to challenge participants.
New & Updated Fanworks
[Writing] In Early Spring by Serinquanion
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…
[Writing] Umnenyalië by Serinquanion
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…
[Writing] Winter Warmth by Serinquanion
A winter night in Himring. But inside the quarters where fire blazed in hearth was warmer, and not only from the fire or quilt.
[Writing] A Hundred Miles Through the Desert by StarSpray
“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…
[Writing] Who Will Hear Me? by XirinOfArvada
A lonely elf finds a flute half buried beneath the sand and wonders if its owner will hear him when he calls.
[Writing] Loyal, Faithful by Himring
Late in the Second Age, one of the Faithful reflects critically on past developments. (Free verse.)
[Writing] East Away! by Flora-lass
Aldarion storms off towards Middle-earth. For the Title Track challenge.
Current Challenge
Title Track
Create a fanwork using our collection of 125 titles from Tolkien's books, chapters, essays, poems, and fragments as inspiration. Read more ...
Random Challenge
New in References
Tolkien, Lunatic Physicists, and Abnegation by Cynthia (Cindy) Gates
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.
Twilight, Child Of: Comparisons Between Tinúviel, Lómion, and Undómiel by JazTheBard
This presentation for Mereth Aderthad 2025 discusses the many similarities between Tolkien's three "twilight children," Tinúviel, Lómion, and Undómiel (Luthien, Maeglin, and Arwen) in terms of appearance, plot, and cultural background. Yet these three characters play very different roles in the text.
The Aromantic in Tolkien by daughterofshadows
Presented at Mereth Aderthad 2025, this paper makes the case thata, although the term "aromantic" had not yet been coined in Tolkien's day, many of his characters can be read as aromantic. The paper takes a closer look at Aredhel, Bilbo, and Boromir as three examples of characters who can be read as aromantic.
Featured Themed Collection
Beyond the Silmarillion
[Writing] here you will dwell, bound to your grief by Elrond's Library
Arwen grieves, and loves.
[Writing] Faramir's Verse by losselen
“Come, Faramir. Let us not stand in ceremony. I think words are due between you and I, and not only those between a King and his Steward.”
Faramir has speech with Gandalf and his King.
[Writing] In a Hole in the Ground... by StarSpray
“There’s a goblin hiding in the taters, Dad!” Pippin hefted the pan, which was much too big for him to carry, let alone wield.
Around the World and Web
March Challenge - Tolkien Short Fanworks
Tolkien Short Fanworks is running a challenge for the month of March to create a Back to Middle-earth Month themed challenge.
Tolkien Fashion Week 2026
This two-week-long Tumblr event is dedicated to honoring the world of fashion and textiles Tolkien wrote about in his books.
Celegorm and Curufin Week 2026
Celegorm and Curufin Week is a Tumblr week celebrating the relationship between Celegorm and Curufin Feanorion
Back to Middle-earth Month 2026
Back to Middle-earth Month is returning for it's 20th year with many prompts and archival efforts.
“Collected Materials Regarding the Sons of Elwing and the House of Fëanor.” by halethleia
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“Collected Materials Regarding the Sons of Elwing and the House of Fëanor.”
INTRODUCTION
Araniel did not mind the cold of the archives.
The heat of the mid-summer sun beating against the white walls of Minas Tirith could not penetrate the thick walls that lay deep in the heart of the city. In these deep quiet chambers there were only a few windows, thin slits near the ceiling that let in just enough light to see the dust dancing high above her head. Torchlight flickered against decorative panels carved in ages long past. The air was dry, thick with the scent of ink and parchment. Dust gathered in the corners of every shelf in defiance of the archivists’ best efforts. Even the mice were quiet, as if daunted by the weight of history breathed into every creaking drawer and scroll-case.
Her fingers were smudged black with ink, and she had long ago given up on trying to scrub it out. Today’s task was the slow but simple matter of searching through the records. Dull to some, perhaps, but Araniel had always found something quietly thrilling in it—the way a worn letter or a broken button could bring a moment centuries past feel near. Perhaps it was the weight of her own years that made her so patient. Her hair, streaked now with silver, caught the lamplight as she leaned closer to the desk to carefully inscribe notes onto her paper.
Today, she had been searching for documents during a known but under-documented period: the late King Elessar’s early years in the House of Elrond. It was a well-told story, a tale of myth even in her own lifetime--the realities of a generation becoming legend right before their eyes. She had read the tales, heard her father’s recollections of his childhood. But tales were not records.
Rivendell had long ago sent the contents of its archives to Gondor—carried in bits and pieces across the long miles before the last ships departed. There were books and birth notices, letters, tapestries, formal invitations to festivals long since faded from memory. There were many documents in Elrond’s own hand, and a few signed with the childish scrawl of her father, years before he would become king.
She was looking for something minor—records of her father’s education. A curriculum, perhaps. A quiet sort of work, the kind she preferred—no one arguing over dates, no council waiting on her recommendations. Just a few spare hours alone with the past. But her quest had sent her down a long neglected portion of the archives. These boxes and scrolls here were unorganized—some labeled according to the Elven calandar, others with the King's Reckoning, others with no reasoning at all she could discern. The result of war and travel and several generations of Gondor’s earnest but inconsistent record-keepers.
She reached back into a narrow shelf crammed with loose books and papers and tugged free a bundle of parchment.
It landed on the desk with a soft thud, sending dust swirling upward in a brief, golden haze.
There was no name on the outside, no royal seal. A faded archivist’s note in the corner read: “Unsorted Correspondence: Possibly Second Age? Elven Artifacts: Miscellaneous. Section VII.”
She hesitated, then carefully opened it.
The letter was written in Quenya. The handwriting was fine and slanted, the letters sharp-edged and musical even in stillness. A practiced, formal style—but not one she recognized from Elrond, or any member of her own lineage. A centered line at the top read:
‘To the sons of Elwing.’
She read in silence, the torchlight flickering over the page.
When she finally reached the end, she laid the parchment down with a thoughtful stillness.
Maglor.
She had known the name, of course. One of the sons of Fëanor. A kinslayer, an exile. And yet that line from the histories: “For Maglor took pity upon Elros and Elrond, and he cherished them, and love grew after between them, as little might be thought.”
A brief footnote in the history of their kings, but it had always struck her as a strange tale. She had wondered, now and then, but never with much urgency. It was an old story, half-lost to time.
But perhaps not as lost as previously thought.
Several more hours in the depths of the archives turned up other material--not hidden, simply forgotten. Left to rest on the back of shelves or sit unread in fading envelopes.
An early draft of a speech, marked on the back with a sketch of an unidentified figure. Fragments of a letter from Cirdan to King Ereinion, an essay by a Lindon scholar in the Third Age, an old map. A transcription of an excerpt from a musician’s songbook.
This was not what she had set out to find, yet the story emerging from these fragments sent that old, familiar thrill of discovery stirring once more.
Araniel reached for her notes and crossed out her previous working title at the top of the page: “The Early Years of King Aragorn Elessar: A Chronological Study.”
Below it, she wrote something new.
“Collected Materials Regarding the Sons of Elwing and the House of Fëanor.”
She placed the materials carefully on the desk, already mentally drafting a new study proposal for the council. After a moment’s hesitation, she wrapped the first letter back in cloth, and tucked it into her satchel.
Outside, the bells marked the hour. She rose with a stretch, knees stiff, fingers ink-stained.
The halls of the archive were quiet when she left, her footsteps soft against the stone. Above her, the last of the evening light slanted through the high windows. And somewhere, far beyond the archive walls, waves crashed against the shore.
“COLLECTED MATERIALS REGARDING THE SONS OF ELWING AND THE HOUSE OF FËANOR.”
EXCERPTS AND RECORDS
ITEM:
EARLY DRAFT OF A SPEECH, MARKED ON THE BACK WITH A SKETCH OF AN UNIDENTIFIED FIGURE
DESCRIPTION:
Undated manuscript in Sindarin, likely from the early Second Age. Believed to be an early version of a formal address, possibly intended for a commemorative ceremony or seasonal court gathering. Notably, the reverse side contains a small, hastily rendered sketch in charcoal of an unidentified figure, notably missing a hand.
ARCHIVIST NOTES:
Authorship unknown. The iconography has led to speculation about its symbolic relevance, possibly referencing specific historical figures. The juxtaposition of formal rhetoric with informal visual notation has been the subject of minor academic debate, particularly in studies focused on the intersection of public speech and private record. The speech itself lacks final emendations and may never have been delivered.
ITEM:
FRAGMENTS OF A LETTER FROM CÍRDAN TO KING EREINION
DESCRIPTION:
Recovered portions of correspondence between the Lord of the Havens and Ereinion Gil-galad. The surviving sections address logistical matters, along with cryptic references to "young charges" placed under watch in the North.
ARCHIVIST NOTES:
Much of the letter has been lost to water damage. Cited in several Fourth Age studies on Elven diplomacy and post-conflict governance. Housed in the White Tower Collection, Elvish Correspondence Wing, Shelf A-10.
ITEM: SECOND AGE ERA PAINTING TITLED: “LIGHT AGAINST THE DARK”
Medium: Oil on wood panel
DESCRIPTION:
Painted during the early Second Age, this work presents a stylized interpretation of a youthful figure framed in light, contrasted against two looming, distorted adversaries rendered with exaggerated and monstrous features.
ARCHIVIST NOTES
Notable for its visual use of scale, contrast, and abstract distortion, the composition was widely interpreted as a critical commentary on the events following the Third Kinslaying. The panel was exhibited briefly in Mithlond before its removal amid political sensitivities.
Referenced in: “Heir Divided: The Absence of Elros in Elvish Artistic Memory”, a critical Numenorian study exploring the imbalance in depictions of the children of Elwing in Elvish visual and literary works.
STATUS:
Currently held in private collection.
ITEM:
PRIVATE LETTER, UNDATED
DESCRIPTION:
A casual personal letter reflecting on Second Age politics, with a notable aside on the controversial legacy of the House of Fëanor. Of interest for its controversial sympathetic tone toward their acts. Written in Quenya.
“…Say what one will of their past, but given the circumstances, they did well by the boys. And truthfully.....well. I feel as though it may have been the better arrangement. There are certain people better suited for guardianship than others. I do not think the boys suffered for it—if anything, the opposite.”
ARCHIVIST NOTE:
Believed to date from Second Age. Correspondents are unknown; signatures partially erased, begins "M." and ends "—dir". In fragile condition: maintain care.
ITEM: SCHOLARLY MANUSCRIPT: “SONGS AS SOURCES: ANALYZING THE ELVEN MYTHS IN BARDIC TRADITION”
Description:
A structured comparative study attempting to extract historical detail from a selection of minstrel ballads, tavern songs, and traveling verse believed to originate in the coastal regions. The manuscript focuses on recurring motifs across a large expanse of various countries and cultures and how these elements may reflect the interaction of fragmentary Elven history with generations of Men’s retelling.
ITEM:
EXCERPT FROM A FEANORIAN DISPATCH, LIKELY FIRST AGE (TRANSLATED FROM QUENYA)
DESCRIPTION:
A brief note written in hurried script. The surviving line reads-
“The children are accounted for.”
ARCHIVIST NOTES:
Analysis and historical context of the message suggest it was sent in the aftermath of a military engagement or raid.Recovered from a collection of battlefield records preserved in the western archives of Lindon. The children referenced are widely assumed to be the sons of Elwing, though the document itself contains no names.
ITEM:
ESSAY BY A LINDON SCHOLAR IN THE SECOND AGE: ON THE ETHICS OF CUSTODIAL BONDS IN TIMES OF WAR
DESCRIPTION:
Authored by a minor court scholar active during the early Second Age. The essay provides a philosophical treatment of the duties owed to the young and innocent in the wake of war, with allusions to historical examples drawn from the Elder Days.
ARCHIVIST NOTES:
Once dismissed as a minor moral tract, the essay has gained renewed interest among scholars studying Elven legal traditions and intergenerational trauma. Frequently anthologized in university readings. Original has been lost, but copies are preserved in the School of Law at the University of Minas Tirith.
ITEM:
ACADEMIC PUBLISHING FROM UNIVERSITY OF GONDOR TITLED: "ELROS TAR-MINYATUR AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF NÚMENÓREAN SOVEREIGNTY: A STUDY IN CROSS-CULTURAL KINGSHIP AND DYNASTIC LEGITIMACY"
DESCRIPTION:
This scholarly treatise presents a detailed examination of the early reign of Elros Tar-Minyatur, with emphasis on the formative impact of his early years. The author explores Elros's unique education—possibly under the influence of the Fëanorian Maglor and others—shaped the constitutional and dynastic practices of the early Númenórean monarchy. The text draws upon Second Age chronicles (some now lost), early Númenórean genealogical tables, and speculative linguistic parallels between early royal edicts and preserved Elvish legal structures.
Contains direct quotation from fragmentary Sirion records (See Appendix A).
ARCHIVIST NOTES:
Reception among Fourth Age historians is mixed. Some regard the treatise as an early attempt at myth-making by the Faithful faction, intended to align the Númenórean monarchy more closely with Elven traditions.
ITEM:
TRANSCRIPTION OF AN EXCERPT FROM A MUSICIAN’S SONGBOOK
DESCRIPTION:
Surviving lyrics describe a "child of twilight" raised in halls of silence and fire. The song appears to blend mythic tropes with personal narrative, and scholars debate whether the subject is metaphorical or rooted in a specific historical figure. The accompanying musical notation is fragmentary but includes modes consistent with mourning laments.
ARCHIVIST NOTES:
Surviving folio held in the Archives of Music and Memory.
ITEM:
FOOTNOTE IN AN ANNOTATED LINEAGE CHART OF THE HOUSE OF ELROS
“Fostering by Feanorian royal figures is attested but inconsistently detailed. The association with Maedhros and Maglor appears in later texts and details cannot be confirmed without caveats. Source reliability varies.”
— from “Appendices to the Kings of Númenor, Vol. I”
ITEM: SCHOLORLY TREATISE TITLED: “HEIRS DIVIDED: THE ABSENCE OF ELROS IN ELVISH ARTISTIC MEMORY”
DESCRIPTION:
Bound manuscript with Númenórean script annotations. A critical scholarly treatise produced in the Royal Scriptorium of Andúnië, this work investigates the disproportionate representation of Elrond and the relative absence of Elros in surviving Elvish artistic and literary traditions. Drawing on comparative analysis of iconography, bardic verse, and court records, the author posits a cultural and historiographic bias among Elven chroniclers and artists.
ARCHIVIST NOTES
Copies survived the destruction of Númenór and were acquired by the Royal Archives. Referenced frequently in post-Downfall historiography and comparative studies of Elvish-Númenórean relations.
ITEM:
BRIEF ENTRY IN THE COUNCIL RECORDS OF LINDON (LATE FIRST AGE)
DESCRIPTION:
A ruling signed by Gil-galad regarding the status of the Peredhil.
ARCHIVIST NOTE:
Sealed under royal authority.
ITEM:
SECOND AGE TEMPLE MURAL IN NÚMENOR (DESTROYED DURING THE DOWNFALL, REPLICA FROM A SKETCH)
DESCRIPTION:
Central figure resembles Elros, crowned as king of Numenor. Two shadowed figures stand behind him, unnamed. One bears a harp; the other, a sword.
ARCHIVIST NOTE:
Scholars disagree on interpretations of these figures.
ITEM:
PRIVATE LETTER, UNDATED
DESCRIPTION:
Believed to date from the early Second Age. Neither author nor recipient has been identified. Letter was discovered folded among unrelated correspondence. Written in Sindarin.
Surviving excerpt reads:
“I cannot speak of it without anger. Two orphaned children, taken into the very hands that made them so. I do not care what affection grew in time. They had no right.”
