Spanning thousands of years as it does, the legendarium contains characters whose deeds echo across the ages, and it contains characters who root a family tree that grows heroes like leaves. Marach is one such character. Mentioned just seven times in the published Silmarillion, Marach might be obscure but, without him, the legendarium would unfold much differently.

This month, for our Character of the Month columm, NelyafinweFeanorion details the life and times of Marach. While his deeds in the book are few, his notable scions are many. "These familial relationships," NelyafinweFeanorion writes, "tie Marach into the larger history of Men in the First Age," going on to list Marach's famed descendants. Furthermore, while we lack details about battle heroics from Marach, he forged critical alliances in the First Age.

Marach, then, is a character in the legendarium who works toward the defeat of Morgoth through subtle notes in the Music: a family line renowned for its honor and allegiances that held strong in the fight against Morgoth.

You can read NelyafinweFeanorion's biography of Marach here.

Remember too that we instadrabble today, Saturday, September 5, 2026 at 6PM/18:00 UTC (find this in my timezone)! You can learn more about instadrabbling here and join our Discord server to create and enjoy fanworks with your fellow SWG members!

SWG News

Character of the Month: Marach
There are few details in the texts about Marach, but he is noteworthy for his allegiances and his descendants, who would become pivotal to the history of Middle-earth and the eventual defeat of Morgoth and Sauron.

New Challenge: Allusive
Literature and art constantly refer back to each other using allusions, and this month's prompts are inspired by allusions to literature, myth, art, and history.

Cultus Dispatches: "The Rings of Power" Is a Ripple (So Far)
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data for 2025 shows that "The Rings of Power" TV series has not had the same impact on the fandom as the film trilogies did ... so far.

Instadrabbling Sessions for July, August, and September
Instadrabbling continues on the first Saturday of each month on our Discord server.

New Fanworks

An Alluring Offer by octopus_fool [Writing]

Tata is offered a solution to a grave problem, at a very low price...

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most days I don't recognize me by annarobots [Writing]

Of course, she knew that in the Blessed Land, true harm was unlikely to come to him. The Valar watched over them all, and the lesser spirits were everywhere. It was a great hound of Oromë who had found him happily splashing in the creek, in fact. But anyone could drown in mere moments, even in Valinor. Her heart needed a break.

A story about Nerdanel, the total self-obliteration of motherhood, and what comes after.

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Rise from the Ashes by AdmirableMonster [Writing]

In the wake of Sauron's death, his Mouth remembers Númenor.

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Crossing the Great Sea by elennalore [Writing]

He has perhaps made a great mistake, but it's too late now.

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The Die Is Cast by Fuin [Writing]

Thus, he lingers in this doomed city for yet another year—until he wakes to alarm bells ringing wildly and to the stench of smoke rising from the reeds.

Celebrimbor, at the Havens of Sirion.

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we twins of cursed fates by skywardstruck [Writing]

The Shadow was always meant to claim them both. Born the twin children of Celebrimbor and Sauron, Mirruin and Mírestel reflect on their doom before the end.

Written as a pair of sonnets in the Shakespearean style, and featuring artwork from 1rabong on Tumblr.

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Last Year's Bitter Loving by StarSpray [Writing]

Finarfin was always tired, but suddenly he was exhausted, just by this conversation. It would just go in circles if they let it, neither of them willing to concede to the other. He didn’t have the words for what he really wanted to say—and even if he did he wouldn’t say them. They would be a child’s words, just hurt that he had been left alone while his older brothers and sisters had gone off without him, taking everything with them that he had ever held dear. 

 

Family is complicated, and Finarfin is tired.

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Heavy is the Crown by Elrond's Library [Writing]

Finwë received his crown from Manwë Súlimo himself, so he knows what it is to be betrayed. 
Fëanor received his crown from Finwë, so he knows what it is to die. 
Maedhros received his crown from Fëanor, so he knows what it is to burn.
Fingolfin received his crown from Maedhros, so he knows what it is to be broken.
Fingon received his crown from Fingolfin, so he knows what it is to despair. 
Turgon received his crown from Fingon, so he knows what it is to stand firm. 
Gil-galad received his crown from them all, and it’s too soon to know what he’ll do.

Gil-galad, burdened with the memories of all his predecessors, does his best.

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Jade Eyes by Elrond's Library [Writing]

Nienor contemplates the ephemerality of green things.

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Found at Last by StarSpray [Writing]

Sudden laughter startled Maglor out of his reverie.

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Updated Fanworks

On Tides of Light by potorov [Writing]

On Tides of Light, Antariëarcalindalë, begins with Elwing's arrival upon the shores of Eldamar after her flight from the ruins of Sirion. After Eärendil goes alone into Valinor, Elwing is brought to Alqualondë. Rather than hurrying toward the celestial ascent of Vingilot, the core of the narrative is the salt-crusted halls of Alqualondë, where the Falmari must finally confront the devastating history of Beleriand's three kinslayings. 

Elwing must plead the Teleri to bear the Host of the West across the Sea. Despite a mother, survivor and also bearer of a Silmaril - the First Age converged on her: the weight of its sins, its accumulated grief, and the grace through which salvation may yet enter history.

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A Thousand Winds that Blow by StarSpray [Writing]

When uneasy dreams bring him back into Beleriand, Daeron finds a pair of twins who have lost their home, and an enemy who has lost himself. The Shadow's reach is growing ever longer, and if they are to survive, they must do it together.

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From That Rubble by StarSpray [Writing]

Fëanor shrugged, studying the contents of his wine glass. “Something must be done about that house. It will fall down eventually.”
“It does not follow that it must be you that tears it down single-handedly. Are you sure you do not want help?”
“It’s not as though I have much else to do. I need to build something new there,” he said after a few moments. “To do that, I must first clear away the old and broken things.”

Decades out of Mandos, too many things in Fëanor's life remain broken. He can't do anything except wait for his sons to come to him, but he can do something about the old and crumbling house where they once lived. 

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The Mirror Crack'd 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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Eat, Pray, Love by AdmirableMonster [Series]

The Darkest Timeline AU for my Steampunk Númenor series.

In which the Mouth of Sauron is originally a Númenorean chemister rescued from Ar-Pharazôn's intimate attentions by Sauron himself.

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Eä's Redemption by AaronAzrael [Writing]

This is my new poetical attempt to add my own interpretation to Tolkien's Cosmology as to Eru's Creation and the Valar's minds and behind-the-scene providence reasons and mechanisms.. I often review Eä as part of our own world, just in another dimension, this is why I have always seriously thought on the matter who the Ainur are, who Eru is, how he matches our own religious pantheon, and this has been conducted after serious research of many esoteric teachings of our own planet's heritage.

Read more ...

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