#círdan knows the valar owe him

[icryyoumercy]

i feel like a lot of takes on criticising the valar's decisionmaking and their judgement of the elves are very... careful? elaborate? like slowly taking apart a complex bit of mechanics one screw at a time until the entire thing falls apart, and while i appreciate it, and it's neat to read, i feel like it's putting far more effort into it than any of it deserves

especially when we could just take up the metaphorical sledgehammer of their treatment of círdan

one of the very few people who has been unfailingly loyal, faithful, and obedient to the will of the valar, and their 'reward' for him is... leaving him stranded on a besieged shore for more than three ages of the world, and 'blessing' him with foresight about halfway through, and just generally expecting him to deal with the mess that was very much their own damn responsibility, and at absolutely no point offering him any sort of actual assistance or showing any sort of recognition for his work

hell, it would be fairly easy to argue that they knowingly and quite possibly deliberately tried to make his task harder if not downright impossible

like, it doesn't matter how irreplaceable círdan is, it doesn't matter just how badly it would have gone without him, it doesn't matter just how desperately needed he was. he had no hand in any of what happened. there was absolutely nothing whatsoever he could have done to avoid the disaster. it was not his duty to help fix it, and no one had any right whatsoever to order him to do so. and the fact that the valar nevertheless did order him, and then doubled down on that order while allowing literally everyone else to sail means their judgement isn't worth shit and they deserve absolutely zero authority over anyone or anything whatsoever

[sindaqueen]

Shortly after the arrival of the Doriath refugees, Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn arrived. We received them with great joy in the palace of the harbor, and my mother and I arranged rooms worthy for them to stay with us. I and my family owed a debt of gratitude to Lady Galadriel, for she had saved me in Doriath, but most of all I greatly enjoyed her company and my mother too. Even Lord Oropher, who always preferred a distant friendship with the couple, even invited them a few times to dinner. After all, he was a pure Sinda and she, Lady Aewen's aunt.

Lady Galadriel established a discreet friendship with Gil Galad. I was happy, she could be a good counselor and friend, and after all, they were Noldor. But when I mentioned it to my husband, he looked at me sideways, smiling,

- Yes she is. But I know my aunt. She knows that Gil Galad is important to the Noldor. Something she wants.

He was right, of course, and I only realized now, when the fall of Gondolin. The hidden city had fallen, and we received the news of the sad form of always: receiving the refugees in the city of the Ports of Sirion. To my astonishment as always, it was not news to my father, since Ulmo had warned King Turgon. It was a great relief to see my Aunt Eilianniel, her husband Aranwë, and my heroic cousin. the sailor Voronwë. My cousin had escorted and protected all the fugitives of the city.

He left in the Ports of Sirion his human friend Tuor, married to Princess Idril and their little boy, Eärendil, the most beautiful child I had ever seen. Blond like father, with incredibly bright eyes and charming smile, the little half-elf looked like the Valar offspring and I greeted his parents for him.

My uncles and Voronwë came to Balar, and they lived with us in the palace of the port, and being a very skilled and experienced sailor, he soon put himself in the service of my father.

That was when I heard of Lady Galadriel's claims. According to Thranduil, as soon as Turgon's corpse had cooled, she had already pressed my father to declare Gil Galad, the supreme king of the Noldor. Not that this should not be done, after all he was the natural heir, but my father, as the wisest counselor and elf of Middle-earth, would have preferred to consult the Noldor people about it, but Lady Galadriel, with that captivating smile, insisted :

- Noble Círdan, we are not Sindar. He is the blood heir, son of Fingon, and we respect that.

Thranduil told me that my father nodded slightly and gave his great-aunt his amused look:

- My Lady ... you are not even so Noldo, but I will accept your wise word on this subject. If he were Sinda, we would have much work convincing our immense people about his ability to be High King. We are not so easy to convince.We have the latest events as an example. I don't intend to be reckless again.

I knew what my husband was talking about and laughed. My father had pinned Lady Galadriel back with great skill. Not that he did not know that Gil Galad was now the Great King of the Noldor, after all he loved him as a son, since he had been entrusted to his care by his father long ago, but he, like all of us, was very proud the independence and courage of our people.

It was not difficult for us to imagine that Lady Galadriel had any personal interest in Gil Galad's ascent. She was a very old elf, born in Valinor, but she had quite a personal ambition.

Indeed, Ereinion was crowned High King of the Noldor in the city of the Ports of Sirion, with a great feast, which I had to refrain from preparing, lest I be ill with all my kinsmen. Except of course, my father, who has always been a universalist elf. It was up to my father and Lady Galadriel to crown the High King. She, the eldest elf, Vanyar who is a Noldor race, though their peoples even had separate kings. And my father, Sinda, but the eldest and wisest elf of Middle-earth, counselor of kings, both Noldor and Sindar.

The Sindar people had respect for Gil Galad, but the aristocracy kept a quiet distance. I have nothing against that young king, who had lived most of his life in my house, and knowing the feelings he has for me, only makes me feel sad and guilty in some way.

The Lords of Doriath did not attend, ominously ignoring the coronation, and my father-in-law made a point of offering them a lunch on the day, even with my father's mild protests. Although Gil Galad had not appeared at my wedding, creating a huge public embarrassment, my father insisted that I should go. I had to talk to him in particular:

- Adar, I can not go. Thranduil is going to be a beast if I go. He has already informed me that he is going to Lord Oropher's luncheon, and he apologized that he can not abandon the vigilance here in Balar ...