This is a very intriguing look at Eol's character, Araloth! :) I particularly liked how you showed his awkwardness with people compared to metal and his craft. I can really see this as a reason for why he behaved as he did without condemning him, unequivocally, as an evil character. This creates a lot of sympathy for him, at least to me (I suspect that more than a few of us can probably related to, at times, being more comfortable with the inanimate than with people! :), and makes me want to know more about his character.

Interesting too is Eol's perception that Aredhel is returning to her cage. But what he fails to realize is that he, too, kept her in a cage. I think you show this well in this story; the line about how Maeglin's silence was not caused by introspection but by sorrow particularly caught my eye. Throughout the Silm, the notion of "caging" people out of love for them--and the destruction that it inevitably causes--is an important theme that Aredhel and Maeglin really embody, and you've brought that out here. Now you've got plotrabbits nibbling my ankles and begging me to write an essay on that theme! ;)

Thank you for the thought-provoking story!

Wow, I never thought I'd feel sympathy for Eol, but you've made me feel a bit sorry for the guy! And of course Maeglin as well. I really enjoyed your take on all of the characters, and the depth you brought to Aredhel's returning to Gondolin and the subsequent events.