On Tides of Light by potorov  

Fanwork Notes

This tale is a work of canon-aware gap fiction grounded principally in the 1977 Silmarillion. Its published anchors include Elwing's coming to Aman and the Teleri's hearkening to her; Manwë's grant of choice to Eärendil, Elwing, and their sons; Elwing's choice of the Eldar and Eärendil's following her choice; the hallowing of Vingilot and the rising of the Star; the Telerin provision of ships and mariners for the Host of the West, their remaining aboard and not setting foot in the Hither Lands; Húrin's seventy cries before his capture; the defeat of Morgoth; and the drowning of Beleriand. Círdan's keeping of the last ship belongs to the broader published legendarium.

The seven-night testimony, the eight-movement observance, the named and nameless lamps, the original Falmari characters, the indi-vidual volunteering and particular conditions of the fleet, its rescue work, its return through Alqualondë, and the postwar encounters are authorial extrapolations. The Quenya headings and the original Falmari names are editorial constructions rather than a claim that Quenya was the native speech of the Falmari, and remain subject to specialist linguistic review.

Fanwork Information

Summary: On Tides of Light, or Aneärcaladalë, 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. She must ask them to bear the Host of the West across the Sea. She's a mother, survivor and also bearer of a Silmaril but saw the First Age converge on her: the weight of its sins, its accumulated grief, and the grace through which salvation may yet enter history. Author's Note: I’ve dealt with some loss recently, so I returned to Tolkien (as most do) to understand how the Legendarium navigated the amdir and estel in grief. I did find some answers but left mostly unsatisfied. One thing I did find was sometimes only narrative could convey the right critique on the legendarium & society's treatment of societal grief. Tolkien frequently argued that narrative and myth were valid vehicles for high-level spiritual and philosophical critique and I think this makes a case for that. I wrote On Tides of Light for emotional catharsis using Tolkien’s eucatastrophe closure, tracing the collapse of amdir (hope resting upon visible outcomes) into estel: faithful action without guarantee. This gap fiction tries to provide an spiritual closure to the First Age by validating the grief of an Age. Grief can never be undone; it can become witness, mercy and light enough for another hand to continue. Major Characters: Elwing Major Relationships: Elrond & Elros & Elwing Genre: Folktales/Myths/Legends Challenges: Rating: General Warnings: Creator Chooses Not to Warn
Chapters: 8	Word Count: 10, 822
Posted on 4 September 2026	Updated on 4 September 2026
This fanwork is complete.