#my maeglin wip

[cosmic-walkers]

more of maeglin wips.

[whovianofmidgard]

Six Sentences

Thank you @thescrapwitch for tagging me! I'm currently on vacation this week, and the wifi is a bit spotty here, but I'm doing my best to sneak in some writing when I can, primarily finishing up Light Touched and working on some Silm Smut week prompts. Here's a bit of Celebrimbor/Maeglin playing with hair and some flower language:

So much of himself was conveyed with simpy just his hair. It was overwhelming, the power Celebrimbor had over him, to be able to spill his secrets for everyone to see with a few twists of his tresses and a well placed trinket here and there.

"And the hair clips," Maeglin asked, now holding that warm, clever hand in his own, a cheek pressed against calloused fingers. "What kind of flower are they?"

"Ithilloth," Celebrimbor answered. "They're night blooming flowers, and for that they are seen as mysterious. Yet, they are also a reminder that there can still be beauty found even in the darkest of times. Quite a romantic flower, if you ask me."

no pressure tags: @meadowlarkx @thecoolblackwaves @dreamingthroughthenoise @deadqueernoldor @chthonion @jouissants

[yuzukimist]

WIP TAG GAME

RULES: Post the last sentence you wrote (fanfic / original / anything) and tag as many people as there are words in the sentence.

Thank you @ruiniel for tagging me! 😄

Because it's you asking, I have selected a sentence from the fic I just started to celebrate Back to Middle-Earth Month (b2mem) a.k.a. a sequel fic to the Maeglin/Glorfindel urban fantasy-esque story I wrote for S&D that was inspired by your absolutely gorgeous art. Enjoy! 💕

Vacations in general are the sort of thing that have always been little more than a vague concept for Maeglin, both in his first life and in this one.

No pressure tags for: @ladykf-writes @wandererriha @phantomchick @allieyy @i-did-not-mean-to @gingersnapwolves @jellybug37 @darknightfrombeyond @blackkatmagic @yumearashi @welcomingdisaster @starjunco @maglor-my-beloved and whoever else wants to do it 😉

[wayfaringminstrel]

Have this horrible habit of starting multiple projects and just instantly dropping them all. Then out of nowhere I'll pick something back up again until the interest either fades or I'm taken by another concept.

[fistfuloflightning]

“Why did you seek me out? When you knew who I was?”

"Because I did not want you to suffer the way I did. I thought I could help you… I thought wrong."

[superloves4]

I detested every minute of drawing that horse, I will do it again!

Anyway, I hoped I would get this out before the end of the year, alas it became the first artwork of the year instead. It's the comic I mentioned in my wips notes, and yeah, I know it doesn't make much sense for Fëanor to not recognize Miriel but I needed it for the plot, okay 😭​

Plot explanation + Nerdanel bonus under the cut:

Very well, I had this idea stuck in my head for a while due to my dissatisfaction with many post reembodiment fëanorian fic (don't get me wrong, I enjoy the heck out of those fics, they just happen to not fully scratch the itch) and how it's either the fëanorian basically throwing themselves to the ground to apologize to those they hurt, something I don't really see happening, apologizing requires a lot of vulnerability, it's something very raw that I just can't see the fëanorians being able to do right off the halls (and I'm not giving the Valar any credit *harunf*) or, it goes the opposite direction, and none of the fëanorians apologize at all and it's just accepted with at most some control from the Valar, I just can't accept this while also assume they just went back to their regular places in Tirion no problem besides some people being mildly mad at them.

So this was my concoction, the first two stories wouldn't be about Fëanor at all actually, it would be an Aretyel and a Curufinrod stories running concurrently:

The first one is about Aredhel not initially wanting to ever see Celegorm after he used her as a motivation to hurt Luthien, but after Maeglin reembodiement she thinks that if she can take her son back maybe she should give her former friend a chance.

The second is initially basically Curufinrod through the ages as Finrod decides to talk to Curufin despite his better reason saying otherwise, Curufin is at first very scathing and refuses any talk at all but after a difficult conversation with Ëarwen (which is mostly her calling him a bitch) Curufin decides to reevaluate his past with Finrod, eventually reaching Celebrimbor (who is a curufinrodion in this) and their complicated relationship

And then finally, the Fëanor one, it begins some time after the others already began but runs with them as well, the beginning is basically this comic, Fëanor arrives and finds no one besides the woman he doesn't know is Miriel and accepts staying with her rather than trying to talk with his brothers, the truth is that Vairë sent the wrong hour to Arafinwë so that Miriel would get time with her son (Miriel doesn't know this, she also thinks they just left Fëanor alone) (Vairë also thought that at most she would mildly inconvenience a perfectly well paid envoy that at most would get a disappointed look from the king, never imagining that Nerdanel would show up as well)

(Considering having shorted parts for Maglor, who already had his therapy sessions in Rivendell, meeting Maedhros and Elwing again, and another for Caranthir finding out that he and Haleth had a child, Erestor, and not knowing how to go about it)

Bonus:

[thelordofgifs]

Tidbit Tuesday

tagged by @searchingforserendipity25 and @welcomingdisaster to share a WIP snippet! At the moment my main project is Highly Secret and Confidential, but last week I got struck by insane tfs brainworms for a single day and started work on part 34, so here’s a bit of Fingon and Maglor being Sad.

Fingon shrugs. “You were High King of the Noldor for longer than he.”

Maglor does not like to be reminded of that. He does not like to think of the person he was in Mithrim before the Sun rose, however often his thoughts turn now to that time.

“Go on, then,” Fingon says. “Tell me your misgivings about Maeglin, since it is plain to see you have them. Something more substantial than He reminds me of Curufin, ideally.”

“There is nothing substantial,” Maglor says, “and I am only paranoid, most likely. But what does he want, coming here? Why did he not return to Gondolin with your brother?”

“That is hardly a great mystery,” Fingon argues; “Gondolin is a fair city, by all accounts, but not a very large one. His mother never much liked a cage, either.” His eyes are bleak.

“And do you trust him so,” Maglor presses, “because you truly think he deserves it – or because there is nobody else now who is on your side?”

That was harsh, perhaps.

Fingon looks at him very sadly. “You and I, Makalaurë,” he says, his voice low, “will have to learn – re-learn, I suppose – who we are without him.”

“But I am not anything without him, Finno,” Maglor says, before he can stop himself.

Tagging @swanmaids @melestasflight @thescrapwitch @leucisticpuffin and anyone else who’d like to share a snippet!

[gwaedhannen]

End of Year Fic Recs

Recommend up to 5 series or multi-chapter fics from 2023 that everyone should read (multi-year WIPs count, if the last update was in 2023).

Recommend up to 5 single chapter fics/one-shots (long or short) from 2023 that everyone should read.

Recommend up to 5 fics NOT from 2023 that everyone should read (oldies but goodies).

Recommend up to 5 of your own fics (completed or WIP) from 2023 that everyone should read.

Open tag courtesy of @grey-gazania. No-pressure tagging everyone here and anyone else who wants to participate.

All Tolkien stuff. Mind the tags on AO3. Nothing Explicit but some Mature.

5 series/multichapter fics:

1. sir, take it easy by @exercise-of-trust (Maglor, Finrod, Celegorm, Maglor/Maglor's Wife)

“I thought you were adamant that no music was bad. And what would do you suggest, that we go back to Ráincë’s parallels in fifth, or Ambalincë’s discant exercises in fourth? Those were old before either of us were born, and you know it.” “I am not saying it is bad. I am saying that to me it sounds like all the fiends of Morgoth, but worse, because the fiends of Morgoth were not taking a clausula I wrote for my parents’ anniversary and mangling it. However, as its inclusion in this anthology shows, there are other people who like it, and while I do not understand it, I am not about to give up my Neldor or my Palecéva because the wind of scholarly opinion has blown against them from time to time.”

2. Spun by Grace by SpaceWall (Galadriel, Lúthien, Maeglin)

“Did you see them? The kinslayers who took your Nana? Who tried to take you?” “Ada says I did, but I don’t remember them. I don’t remember anything, except Nana screaming.” “Did your Ada say anything after? Aside from telling you to hide and stay safe.” The child nodded, bravely, and said in as clear a voice as he could manage. “He said they took Nana because she was bad. He said she was a kinslayer like them, and I had kinslayer blood in me, and they’d take me too if I wasn’t good.”

3. An Oral History of Dying in the Dagor Bragollach by Beleriand Death Trip (too many characters to list)

Please note that all participants were recently rehoused, but not extremely recently (this is regarded as unethical in our field). They have all had the opportunity to reflect on historical events after their death, both during their stay in the Halls and after being rehoused. We do not regard this as “contamination” of their recollection for our purposes, but rather as part of the normal process of narrative formation.

4. Foresight by @aotearoa20 (Fëanor and sons)

“He’s so small,” he said, not softly, “Such a beautiful baby.” “I know. He’s mine.” Fëanáro glared, he dared not do anything else. “You should appreciate it while it lasts,” when he smiled and the scar on his lip twisted strangely, “He’ll not be either for long.”

5. The Hazards of Love by @aipilosse (Finrod/Amarië, Anairë, Findis, Elwing)

Excerpt from The Empty House by Vatharwë Lelyindë held herself straight and tall, undaunted by Helluinon’s greater height. “You, my Lord, are free to live as you would, but others bear chains you cannot see. You speak of oaths and bonds, and yet you must see that when an oath comes in conflict, it is yours that is always the greater, and the other party must always acquiesce. So it is with me, so was it with your mother, your younger brother, and even your dearest friend!

5 single-chapter fics/one-shots:

Raised by Wolves by @warrioreowynofrohan (Elrond, Elros, Gil-Galad, Maglor, Maedhros)

“I hate him, and I do not hate him. Or, I do not hate him for cruelties. I hate him for kindnesses.”

2. The Hope of Love: Eärendil and Elwing as Symbols of Romance in Popular Culture by @imakemywings (Elwing/Eärendil)

Capping off these mesmerizing performances is Elwing’s final speech to the Teleri of Aman, a moment so fascinating that it has become the basis of many other dramatic confrontations throughout popular media. Almost anyone will recognize the line “I plead my hope,” or even its more extended version “Oh ye of foreign shores, I plead my hope. Let my home not be crushed ‘neath the boot of Bauglir,” even with no familiarity with the film. The passion of Torthoriel’s performance here has brought many a moviegoer to tears and captures a moment few had before bothered with—Elwing’s part in gaining the aid of Aman.

3. the bones of small contention by @quixoticanarchy (Celegorm, Oromë)

“You see, evil haunts a hungry man. If he eats his fill, he is called immoral; if he refuses, he will starve honorably. But free is the man who realizes that there is no satiety to be had, and equally there is no reward waiting in starvation. If my end shall be evil regardless, then my deeds matter not. I may eat as I please, and in that transgression, I find some shadow of liberation. A kind of laughter, almost - a light and wild feeling, like the moment after releasing an arrow, or the moment after the plunge off a cliff. You would not understand.”

4. all the daughters of my father's house (and all the brothers too) by Chestnut_pod (Fin-Galad)

These are the things ladies are, in the songs that are told of Finduilas and Niënor, her mirror: Love. Beauty. Laughter. Inconstance. Haunting. Sorrow. Screaming. Silence. In fact, the tales are not told of them. They are merely there. Many songs are written of Gil-Galad. Centuries after his death, Hobbit-children learn to sing of him.

5. Fire From The Ashes by @herenortherenearnorfar (Nienna, a Balrog)

“There is a terrible pain to conciousness,” Nienna acknowledges. She has not yet let go. “I just want to be an instrument.” Coals glow bright for a moment in the wind and then fade. “I was made to remake worlds, not feel this guilt.”

5 oldies but goodies (fair warning these are all liable to make you cry):

1. The legacy of a failure by from_the_wood (Frodo, Merry's Granddaughter, Merry, Pippin, Sam)

That's the thing with despair: it wants to erase everything, all of you, all that had been, or could have been - kind word, memory, hope for the future - but it cannot do so. It cannot. It should not.

2. An Oral History of the End of Innocence by @ceescedasticity (House of Olwë, Galadriel)

I think Hawser Road probably had the highest proportion of… Noldor swung their swords at a moving group and hit Noldor. Lindar shot arrows into crowds and hit Lindar. Noldor tried to ride down Lindar and also rode down Noldor. Lindar trying to get away trampled Lindar. Torches everywhere — I have never been so grateful the city is mostly stone, but wagons set on fire, sheds and stalls and barrels set on fire, there were some wooden additions… Panicked horses. Panicked cows, of all things, who brings cows when you're fleeing the gods to fight another god. There was so much screaming.

3. The One With All The Birds by @clothonono (Elwing/Eärendil, Elrond, Nerdanel, Sons of Fëanor)

What was her desire? "I desire my father, given back to me again," she said. "And my mother, and my brothers too. And my people, and my home, and all the years of my children's lives. Can the Lords of the West grant me this?" No one answered. Everyone knew the answer. "Equally I might desire that my enemy be punished. Let him go to the Halls of Mandos, whence none escape. Let me know that he is prisoned, so that I may gladly walk free." Is this your desire? "No," said Elwing. "I already told you my desire. Let justice be done. There is no vengeance that will satisfy me; there is no redress that can restore to me my father, my mother, my brothers, my home, and my children. There is nothing I want that he or you can give to me."

4. To Love What Is Mortal by @astridbecks (Lúthien/Thuringwethil)

Splintering pain as she was torn apart, yet as she parted beneath the hands of Lúthien there was a curious want mingled with the agony – strip me of this darkness, lay bare my soul, remake me – break me – and she had known pain before, had always known pain, but this was new and different and somehow right. (hurt me, because I deserve it. break me and make me as clean as you.)

5. woman into bird by @arrivisting (Elwing/Eärendil, Idril, Tuor, Elrond, Elros)

This is the best gift parents doomed to die can give their half-elven children, after all: to spare them the sight of their ends.

5 of mine from 2023:

1. Kill the Flame (Galadriel, the whole 3rd Finwean generation)

For Angrod, laughing at everything and everyone. You were an ass but you were our ass. You taught me patience, however little you meant to! For Aegnor, firebrand of our family. You saved me when the cold of the Ice tore into my heart. From you, I learned when to burn, and when to smoulder. For Finrod, dearest brother. What can I say? What words would suffice? Your ring’s bearer is worthy of his ancestors. I miss you. I miss you I miss you I miss you I miss you I miss you.

2. The Myth Hanging Heavy Over You (Elrond & Elwing)

He sends radiant wings, dark hair streaked with silver, a queen’s pride, laughter among the waves, lembas, handkerchiefs. He receives home, with such ardentness that he weeps for a week.

3. Sorrow Beyond Words, Collected Testimony of the War of Wrath (Finarfin, Lalwen)

The Valar said that he could no longer twist elves into orcs even by the time of his first imprisonment, but from the conditions there, from the bodies we pulled out…I don’t think he cared. Every torture, every debasement, every abomination against the Eruchîn that could be imagined. For each we thought might survive if we got them to the surface, there were five who wouldn’t, and ten corpses.

4. Shall we look at the moon, my little loon? (Aerin, Aerin's mother)

Aerin stands in her mother’s dress before the looking glass, eyes unseeing. Hitheth adorns her with the jewelry which will be her dowry, the only riches of her house, the last gift of the elves who vanished into the mists as if they never were.

5. Still-untitled "What if Fëanor took the Helcaraxë" AU (Círdan, Thingol (for now))

It's still Y.T. 1497. Morgoth hasn't had centuries to innovate his siege technology, but Círdan's cities also haven't been rebuilt with Noldor walls. The Grey Annals says Fëanáro's host arrives some seven solar years after Melian raises the Girdle. (Yes if we go by the usual "1 tree year = 9.582 solar years" then it could've been upwards of 25 solar years since the Darkening in 1495 before the landing at Losgar.) (I hate Tolkien's timelines sometimes.)

[gondolindon]

Thank you for the tag @queerofthedagger! I did the same as you and combined the two challenges, so here's my input for

Last Line Tag / Six Sentence Sunday,

a snippet from my current Maeglin WIP. Not quite sure where the story is heading yet but I'm intrigued to see how the Mairon/Maeglin dynamic develops!

Mairon turned around to face him. “It is not only that. These walls do not speak to strangers, yet they did to you.”

Maeglin fell silent. He had heard it so clearly on his very first night in the dungeons—he heard it just now.

“And?”

“It means you know enough to be more useful up here than in the dungeons,” Mairon continued, placing the metal back on the table. “Go on, then, thrall.”

No pressure tags <3 @mirkwood @elvain @swanhild @realmofautumn @imakemywings

[emyn-arnens]

WIP Title Game

@echo-bleu and @hobbitwrangler tagged me—thank you both! ❤️

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

I have quite a few WIPs that have been growing mold in my folders, so I'll keep this to new and recently revived WIPs that I've been making at least some traction on:

Éowyn & her aunts

in the halls of the moon o'er the shores of the sea

Faramir's grief

Idril & Maeglin

Aegnor & Finrod

Aegnor & Angrod's last stand

Arafinwëan women & weaving

Tagging @slightnettles @grey-gazania @curufiin @afaramir @meluiloth if you haven't done this yet and would like to!

[cosmic-walkers]

'If Turgon finds out we've left Idril, he'll kill us!'

'He won't kill us, he'll kill me. Regardless, he doesn't have to know!'

[whovianofmidgard]

curious about husband of my husband!

Husband of My Husband is a Celebrimbor/Maeglin fic where both of them had married Sauron in their respective times and now are both dead in Mandos.

Maeglin betrayed Gondolin but not for the promise of Idril, instead for falling in love with Sauron as they got to know each other during his captivity. For a long time even in death he thinks his relationship with Sauron was real until one day he sees a tapestry of Annatar seducing Celebrimbor in much the same way he seduced him, just without the disguise.

When Celebrimbor arrives to the Halls of Mandos, Maeglin is there to help him through the initial trauma of torture and death, partly because he feels an obligation to the other husband of his now ex-husband, and partly because finally there is someone who somewhat understands

They find healing together and eventually fall for each other

Thanks for the ask @meadowlarkx ! If anyone else is interested in my other wips you can find the list here

[silmsmutweek]

ROUND-UP: ELF/MORTAL

All creations are Mature or Explicit unless marked as *sfw. Please see work tags for warnings.

Aegnor/Andreth I hate you, I love you by @between-thepages One Little Lie by Elves_Behaving_Badly

Bëor/Finrod A Harmony Refracted by @eilinelsghost

Beren/Lúthien An Offering Before the Fairest by @daegred-winsterhand the red blood flowing by Anonymous

Caranthir/Haleth The first of many glorious nights by @a-world-of-whimsy-5 Day 4 by @isilwhore

Caranthir/Haleth/Original Characters Put to the Test by @maglor-my-beloved

Celebrimbor/Narvi Untitled by @sallysavestheday *sfw & Gimli/Legolas Elf-Dwarf Coupling by @welcomingdisaster

Idril/Tuor/Voronwë Day 4 by @tethysresort

Maeglin/Túrin WiP excerpt by @jaz-the-bard

Míriel/Tar-Míriel Queens of Númenor by @maglor-my-beloved

Nellas/Niënor Day 1 by @slightnettles

Orodreth/Túrin Solace by @polutrope

[imakemywings]

End of Year Fics

Tagged by @swanmaids and @polutrope

Recommend up to 5 series or multi-chapter fics from 2023 that everyone should read (multi-year WIPs count, if the last update was in 2023).

Recommend up to 5 single chapter fics/one-shots (long or short) from 2023 that everyone should read.

Recommend up to 5 fics NOT from 2023 that everyone should read (oldies but goodies).

Recommend up to 5 of your own fics (completed or WIP) from 2023 that everyone should read.

I'm so sorry to tumblr-only posters but this is limited to things on AO3 because I do not have the time or energy to comb through my tumblr fanfic tag for the last year.

This was hard (┬┬﹏┬┬)

5 Multichapter fics

A Light Burns in the Forest by fictional_hr_department - T - Heartbreaking close-up of the Second Kinslaying.

The Stone City by earthbound_misfit - T - This fic creates such interesting relationships between Maeglin and his family in Gondolin where they're almost poised to be healthy and happy, but he tips the scales the other way.

Opening by @meadowlarkx - T - Finrod/Sauron - I'm counting this as multichapter. Lark creates such an intensely compelling push and pull of power between these characters that you cannot look away.

As Flowers from the Sky by Beleriand Death Trip - E - Fingolfin/Thingol - Sex counts as diplomacy, right?

A King is He That Can Hold his Own by iddump - E - Maedhros/Thingol - The dynamic is soooo good and the sex is soooo hot.

5 Oneshots

The Salt in the Wound by @swanmaids - E - Curufin's wife/Luthien - Fuck yeah, toxic yuri. I have been obsessed with their dynamic since Heather first proposed this ship and enthralled I remain.

Less Wise by @meadowlarkx - E - Maglor/Thranduil - I literally cannot say anything coherent about this fic; I am twitching on the floor about it as we speak. MUST read.

Elwing's Strategy by lifeisyetfair - T - Characterizations of Maedhros and Elwing in this are SO fucking fantastic.

Prick a Finger, Cut Your Hand by @welcomingdisaster - E - Indis/Miriel - Lena is a femslash queen of this fandom and this messy Mindis relationship is so compelling.

Angels Would Not Condescend by crownlessliestheking - G - GOD everything about this fic is just masterfully done. It's so tasty. Feanor uses math to blaspheme.

5 Oldies but Goodies

Ear to the Ground, Eye to the Sky by allthegoodnamesaretakendammit - E - Thorin/Thranduil - Masterful retelling of The Hobbit with Thorin trying to avoid the mistakes he's foreseen himself making.

The Other Things We Never Knew About Frodo's Soulmate - T - Frodo/Sauron - Look just trust me. It's so worth it.

Little Tenderness by batshape - E - Feanor/Nerdanel - I know I've recced this before but this author gets their dynamic SO well and so beautifully.

Speak, Friend, and Enter by Lady_Gavroche - E - Celebrimbor/Narvi - This one is just so cute and I love this portrayal of Celebrimbor <3

You Are Coming Down with Me by TheLionInMyBed - T - Fucking crunchy tasty look at Kindap Fam; probably my favorite fic for them.

5 Self-recs

A Cup Always Half-Empty - M - Maglor/Thranduil - Maglor wishes he could want less.

Extinguished - M - Nerdanel had hoped to beat Feanor to Formenos, but she came too late.

One Last Song - T - As Luthien prepares to surrender to old age, she is visited by a long-lost friend.

What the Water Gave Me - T - Finduilas/Nienor - Finduilas had never thought she had been saved for a reason, until she found the woman in the river.

Maedhros' Good Report Card - E - Maedhros/Thingol - Maedhros gets a reward for a job well done.

[saurons-pr-department]

WIP Sunday!

Thanks for the tag @jaz-the-bard! I know you tagged my main, but since it'll be a Tolkien WIP I decided to put it on the Tolkine blog.

Since I update my writing so rarely, I'll give ye snippets of two WIPs! (to prove they exist 😅)

1)

She shifted position slightly and a glint of light drew Aulë's attention to something in her hand.  “Oh, it’s just some peaches that a nice young Vanya gave me. You know them and their offerings.”   She held up the jar for him to see. It was packed full of peaches, peeled and halved, preserved with something syrupy. They looked delicious. Pity he was going to have to dump them the first chance he got.   “A jar! Perfect! I shall hold on to that for you while we go have a look at what marvels everyone is creating!”  Without waiting for an answer Aulë took the jar in one hand and with the other ushered his very confused wife down the corridor towards the main forge. Whether or not he would be able to successfully scoop the escaped dark lord back into a jar without Yavanna seeing was a worry he was leaving for when the time came to it. For now he was busy trying to convince her that, according to the incarnates, powerwalking is much better for your health than strolling. No really. Many of them swear by it. 

2)

To Olórin’s right, at the feet of Lady Nienna, sat Maeglin. He had only been convinced to leave the lady’s halls by the promise that the council would be held at night so that he could more easily move in secret. Not that there was much of a difference between night and day these days. He sat straight and proud, head unbowed, but Olórin could see how tightly his fists were balled in his lap, how tensely his jaw was set. It occurred to Olórin that this would probably be the first time that Maeglin would have been in the presence of so many people in thousands of years. All things considered, he appeared to be handling it quite well.

Tagging: @foxindarkness @elennalore and @chrissystriped As always, no pressure, just if you felt like posting something.

[elentarial]

This is so delayed, but @dalliansss mentioned me in WIP Whatever and @melestasflight tagged me in Throwback Thursday. I saw your tags and then just kind of went about my day.

So here is my contribution. It was started for Kinktober and never finished. It’s dark and nobody is going to have a good time, except maybe Melkor.

Maeglin cursed as he was hauled before the Dark Throne, fighting hopelessly against iron cuffs around his wrists and ankles. He tried to plant his feet, to pull his captors off-balance, but the two orcs holding the end of his chains were undeterred and Maeglin earned a gauntlet to the ribs for his defiance. Even as he fought, he knew the attempt was futile. He was exhausted, the last of his strength spent during an unsuccessful attempt to repel the orcish horde surrounding him and his miners and escape back beneath the safety of the Echoriad. 

Maeglin, Lord of the House of the Mole, was well and truly caught.

When they reached Nethermost Hall, the guards shoved him to the floor, chains clanking against the smooth, dark stone. They forced him to kneel before the Dark Lord as he lounged on his throne. He scowled up at the fallen Vala, who displayed an air of utter disinterest; one of his filthy booted feet sat propped up against the arm, the other flat on the marble floor.

The Vala grinned down at him. His teeth were filed to sharp points, or perhaps he simply crafted his fana into something that hideous; it was still a mockery of the elves, with delicately pointed ears and a fair face that belied his true nature. Only scarring along one cheekbone broke up the eerie beauty. His pale, grey skin gleamed in the bright light of the two jewels still affixed to his iron crown. It hurt Maeglin’s eyes to look at the gems even more than the sun shining on the white walls of Gondolin. Maeglin’s stomach churned at the sight of a savage gilded by the holy light of the Silmarils.

Morgoth leaned forward and smiled, the congenial expression grotesque on his scarred face. “Ah, my first guest in what seems like an Age. The last must have been…your grandfather. Welcome to the court of the Dark Lord, little Mole.”

I’m not going to tag anyone, but I am taking prompts to add to my collection of WIPs that I may or may not ever finish.