A living soul, absolved from pain by Himring  

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Fanwork Notes

It may not be possible to write a genuine fix-it for Hurin without going full AU, perhaps. But a prompt from an Insta-drabbling session on the SWG Discord made me want to try to make the ending of his story a little less bleak.

The prompt was: while the war drifts away, forgotten at last, from Siegfried Sassoon's poem Break of Day.

Warning that in the sources, this is a reported suicide, and even in this version, character death is implied.

Fanwork Information

Summary:

Hurin at the shore of the Western Sea.

Major Characters: Húrin, Hador

Major Relationships:

Genre: Fixed-Length Ficlet

Challenges:

Rating: Teens

Warnings: Check Notes for Warnings

This fanwork belongs to the series

Instadrabbling, 2019-2025
Chapters: 1 Word Count: 102
Posted on Updated on

This fanwork is complete.

A living soul, absolved from pain

Read A living soul, absolved from pain

Hurin stumbled out of the dunes onto the beach. He was unsure why he had come here. He had learned at some point, he thought, that the Falas had long fallen as well. Well, at least he would do no more damage here to anyone.
‘Well, Ulmo,’ he challenged the grey waves, ‘can you wash me clean of Morgoth’s curse?’
He expected no answer. It did not matter now.


When had he fallen asleep? He sat up and saw a boat approaching.
‘Grandfather? When did you learn to row?’
‘Get in, Hurin,’ said Hador, ‘I’ve come to take you home.’

Chapter End Notes

The title is another line from Sassoon's poem.

Possible content warning: the poem is about the horrors of World War I, which you may expect, but also the idyllic memories invoked include fox-hunting. (From my point of view, the poet is totally overlooking  somewhat of a  connection, there...)

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Poor Hurin--he's suffered so much pain! At least it's a kinder thought that he gets an older family member (so that he doesn't have to be the strong and brave one for once) to lead him through.