Caunedhiel's Favorites

A lost young woman comes to Alqualondë with tales of pity and wonder, bringing hope, heartbreak, and most unexpectedly, the beginnings of healing.

Amlach seems to be the only one of the early Edain who is explicitly said to have entered the service of Maedhros, so he may have been the first of Men to do so and he may have gone to Himring alone. This story imagines the feelings of an Adan who originally opposed the Eldar and now finds himself spending his life among them, all on his own.

It also tries to answer the question why he picked Maedhros specifically as his prospective leader and whether Maedhros fulfilled his expectations.

I decided it might just about fit the Follow the Leader challenge.

What happened to the spirit of Maedhros when he died?

A young child of Men befriends Sámaril, the troubled master smith of Imladris. The Noldorin craftsman experiences the joy and pain born of friendships between the Eldar and mortal Men and comes to question his people’s values as his life becomes entwined with Isildur’s youngest son and two powerful women of the Dúnedain. A sequel to The Apprentice.

Chapter 38 - The Crow's Nest:  While Elerina establishes her informal seat of power in Gaillond, thus revealing to Sámaril her former role as Isildur's queen,  the elven-smith quickly becomes bored with trade negotiations and resolution of disputes among the local nobility.  The reminders of Isildur continue to exert a negative effect on Sámaril, causing frustration between the couple.  But Sámaril also begins to dream of the Sea, which sparks a desire to take ship out on to the open waters, ostensibly to learn more about the working men of the Númenórean exiles.   He finds the ship on which he wishes to sail and meets its captain.  

A prisoner in the Halls of Mandos, although grateful to be alive, nonetheless finds his days to be monotonous, that is, until a most unusual person, and one whose life was affected greatly by the prisoner's masterwork, accepts an offer to begin a correspondence.