#queen ravennë

[squirrelwrangler]

Ingwë of Cuiviéven, (9/?)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8

Look. yes. I know. hasn’t been a real update in years. Didn’t think it was four years. Pretend it’s only been one or two. Oh god please I’m sorry just pick it back up.

Some of the delay was because this wanted to be the short pre-Road Trip chapter and I worried that it won’t be enough without starting to include Oromë ferrying to boys to Valinor. Final scene of family angst means I could delay the Maiar fun times.

Primitive elvish names and terms still left mostly untranslated, but context clues should explain them. More world-building in my mode from Klingon-Promotion-Vanyar and young bucks of Cuiviénen.

...

The earth tremors ceased, and as the duration of their absence lengthened so grew the easing of the Kwendî’s tension and fear. Such mollification was not universal. Enel, chieftain of the Third Tribe, monitored the volume flow of the waterfall beside his village with lingering trepidation, for the quantity of water had diminished in the shakes, and the song of the waterfall had altered. Nervously he awoke and listened for its roar, irrationally fearful that if the cascading water was ever silent, then he that was The-Third-to-Awake would no longer wake. In those first seconds of life, opening his eyes to see the bright stars without knowing what he saw, only their beauty, Enel’s ears had not yet opened as his eyes had. But in the irrational yet deeply emotional center of his mind Enel thought that it was music, not starlight, that woke him. He could not prove this thought, but he believed that when the first drops of water poured into the lake the beautiful sound that was created was the cue that awoke the Kwendî. He wished not to hear of logic establishing that the waterfall flowed over the rocks beside his village in a time before he awoke, because to Enel all time before his existence was null. The song of water hitting the surface of the lake only started when his lungs took in breath, and the working of his lungs only persisted with that song. Waterfall and wakefulness were one and same to him that was The-Third-to-Awake.

Enelyë, his spouse, chastised her spouse for his paranoia, dragging him away from the stakes that he had driven into the muddy bank to measure the water depth and fret over each shift in the watermark and change in color. She told Enel that he saw nothing more than the progression of tides, ignoring the evidence of the receding shore. The Great Mother Lake was eternal. Enel must be wrong. The hammer blows of lightning had not dislodged the stars from the black sky. Thus it followed that none of the earth shakes had touched the water. The shells and beads of her netted cap rattled as she shook her head. Her hand on her spouse’s arm, tugging him from the riverbank, her own ankles sinking deeper into the mud, her voice pleading with Enel to return to their village and attend his duties as leader of the Third Tribe - all noise of Enelyë, all pointless. “Something eats my lake,” Enel muttered. “Something drains it. Enelyë, release me. I must see it. See the proof. You must see it, too. My waterfall.”

Daunted by the ineffectiveness of her efforts to erode the stubborn stone that was her spouse, Enelyë returned to their village and her cold pillow.

Enel stood at that waterfall when the Vala Oromë rode out of the northern shadows atop the luminous silver Nahar. A piercing horn blast heralded Oromë’s arrival, so Enel was not startled when the rider pulled out of the mist. He did not care. The call faded into the darkness beyond Enel’s torch lamp, and silence hung over their meeting. Enel’s wide umber eyes met those of the Vala, unconsciously begging for reassurance but wary of what new missive might upend his world. Before the unseen war to capture Melkor Enel would have treated the arrival of Oromë with glad hope, most eager of the first awoken three to celebrate the Vala’s arrival and aid, but now after the earth tremors and lightning-filled skies he was chary of the Rider’s gifts. His trust had receded with the shoreline. Enel did not yet directly blame Oromë for all the ills that would follow, cursing the Valar along with their apostate Melkor, as they who would name themselves the Penni did. Those were the words of the Unwilling and the first division of the Eldar, a time that had not yet come to pass.

Nahar’s footsteps slowed, the horse reluctant to approach the waterfall, as if he sensed the doubt and coldness of Enel’s thoughts. “I know of your fears,” Oromë called above the roar of the water and the mist that hung above its churning wake, “and I bring a proposal that shall soothe it.”

Oromë’s proposal irrefutably did not.

...

Of the grave conference between Oromë and the first three elves: Imin, Tata, and Enel, little is known and details unspoken. Only Oromë’s words were recorded, his offer of the Valar’s own homeland to the elves, that the Children of Eru should relocate across the vast sea and be enriched by their protection and gifts, greatest of all being the light of the Two Trees. The reluctance of the three chieftains is known and their reasoning easy to guess at. The shores of Cuiviénen, the Great Mother Lake, was all of the world that they knew, and Oromë’s words alone would not cleave them from the site of their birth. The war against Melkor to lay Utumno to its foundations had fostered dread in all Powers that were not the familiar Hunter and his shining horse. Oromë anticipated their reluctance. “Let me choose three to bring with me to Valinor, one from each of your tribe, to see the truth of my words and return to you with their validity, as I myself tarried among you to learn your ways before I returned to my king and kin.”

It is said that Imin nodded first, and that Tata tapped his lips and agreed, and that Enel turned away to look at the waters behind them before he turned back to Oromë and said, “We know the three that you wish to take with you, the three boys that found you.”

“It is fitting,” said Tata, and Imin looked, it is said, to the stars above them as if seeing solace or sign.

“Those three I wish as the ambassadors,” Oromë replied. “They were the first to speak to me and speak on behalf of all Speakers, to inform me of your woes brought upon you by Melkor, of your lives and joys and sorrows, your needs and dreams. Let them speak again in the Maharaxë before the full council of my peers and let them see and hear of what we offer up to the Children of Our Father. They are the three that I choose.”

“Who else but them?” murmured the first leaders of the elves.

...

After their discussion with Oromë, each of the three elves mounted a horse and rode towards a village, leaving in one direction whereas they had rode in from three. To the village that Rúmil founded did Tata ride, and Finwë greeted the news of his task with loquacious delight. Praise flowed like a torrent from his lips, and Tata applauded himself for his wisdom. This orphan boy with his mountain of words and ingratiating attitude was the perfect choice to send to Valinor and bring back accountings of its land. Rúmil and the other Unbegotten adults of their village watched as clever Finwë charmed Chief Tata, nervous that the clever lad would tip the scales into an unctuousness of obvious falsity or his clever tongue edge into an offense. The villagers piled gifts onto their chieftain: beautiful items of metal and ceramic and salt. With loaded bags to weigh down his horse, Tata rode home, head full of new words and Finwë’s eager promises.

Further west at the village at the river’s mouth Enel beheld tall Elwë appoint his brothers as stewards to watch over their people, officially bequeathing their parents’ hut to Elmo. “I know we promised a telu celebration to build you and Linkwînen a new house in which to welcome your firstborn child, but if I am to leave to this land of the Balî, there is no time, and our parents’ house has space,” Elwë said as he clasped his youngest brother’s shoulder.

“I will help,” Olwë added with laughter in his voice to mask his fear. “And sleep in the house of Nôwê when the infant’s cries drive me to tears.” Olwë smiled at his brother, and Elwë rolled his eyes and pointed his knowing gaze to Nôwê’s comely sister. The teasing interplay between the three brothers amused Enel. The-Third-to-Awake regretted that his own son had no siblings, thinking that Nurwë would be strengthened by the support of a brother or sister. The shift in Enel’s mood -and the return of her husband’s attention to her- pleased Enelyë. Of this thought’s naivety one should not be quick to judge, for the third generation of Kwendî were yet unborn and dynastic struggles between siblings and cousins likewise nascent. And the sorrows that this began among the Nelyar Avari, grave as they were, paled to those of other tribes.

Only to his own village did Imin return, the sprawling singular Minyar home ringed by a mighty palisade and pasture pens full of horses and sheep. His son, Inkundû, was not at the gates to greet him and turn the horse loose in a pasture. His son’s absence neither surprised nor consciously aggrieved Imin, and Inkundû was found, as expected, in the cleared circle of the dueling ring, wrestling with Asmalô over leadership of the next hunt. A minor squabble, the bout lasted only to the first ground pin, and Imin watched his firstborn win the match. Inkundû failed to notice his father’s observation, preoccupied with crowing victory as Asmalô rolled his eyes and grumbled a final time about herds moving away from depleted grazing fields. Nor did the chieftain stay to congratulate his son. The dueling ring was a sour reminder of the one that never partook in the rituals. Imin asked if the young man that would be Ingwë was inside the palisade or once more roaming the darkness far from his people. “Skarwô-iondo, where is he?”

Feinting an ignorance of the peevish tone of Imin’s question, Elnaira bowed to her chieftain and answered, “Inside, as he has been since before the Nelya messenger came for you.” Imin turned to the approaching Iminyë and sighed in relief as his wife looped her arms through his and led him deep into the village. He poured his concerns over the meeting into her waiting ear.

“The scarred ones’ son is with Elnaira’s spouse, dutifully helping him butcher and dress meat. I decreed that we roast a sheep to celebrate your return. And if Great Arâmê graces us, a lamb we shall roast.” Iminyë smiled as she walked her husband to the large campfire prepared with grilling racks and beyond to where several elves knelt over animal carcasses with various stone knives. Two elves who were butchering a young sheep carcass, carefully separating the ribs into beautiful racks, lifted their heads at Imin and Iminyë’s approach, but it was the third elf still focused on the least-desirable offal that Imin wanted. “Skarnâ-Maktê’s son, attend us.”

Ingwë raised his head. 

“Great Arâmê made a request for you and your friends. End this task and hear what you have been commanded to do,” spake Iminyë.

With blood-dried fingertips the young man answered Iminyë, “If the Great Hunter calls for me, I obey.”

Imin’s eyes narrowed. There was an insult buried in those words that he could not see, but Iminyë smiled. Imin trusted his spouse. Her judgment was his.

Judgment was not foresight.

Imin and Iminyë believed that there would be no danger to himself or his position as the chieftain paramount of all Kwendî in sending this boy to the abode of the Valar.

One person who slept in the finest house in the Minyar village was still doubtful. Inkundû returned from a disappointing hunt to learn the specifics of his father’s meeting with Oromë and the other two chieftains. He sulked through the feast repurposed into a farewell gift for the chosen ambassador. Imin’s son listened with growing alarm as his mother, already appraised of the details, saw no need to listen to a tale repeated and commentary made upon it, more concerned with the final food preparation. Iminyë’s displeasure with her son’s recent failures was subtle, but of its two most recent causes which had more weight was unclear: that his judgment on the hunting trip resulted in little quarry to show for the expenditures or that Inkundû had not been ready to greet his father at the village gate. Inkundû regularly disappointed Iminyë. This Imin knew and accepted, as he knew and accepted Inkundû’s jealous and untrusting moods. To his father alone did Imin’s son make his displeasure known.

“If to be sent as scouts to the homeland of the Powers is a task of great trust and honor, then why do we send Ûkwendô? Father, why not me?” Inkundû petulantly asked.

Imin framed the choice as one that the three leaders had come to independently of Oromë, and perhaps in Imin’s mind he had refashioned the decision as a debate that he had won, such that was his pride. Inkundû would have still protested Oromë’s decision had he known the truth of who made it. He would have argued that Imin should counter Oromë’s decree, as Imin had once done to a poor decision of Tata’s or his reprimands to Enel about the various Nelyar that ran free, like wandering Denweg or Awaskjapatô who lived out on rafts on the lake. Imin’s role was to rule over all elves, even fellow chieftains, and curtail their blunders.

Again the twinge of dissatisfaction with his first-born child bobbed to the surface of Imin’s thoughts before sinking once more, like one of the giant salamanders that swam in the lake.

“Ûkwendô can be spared, and if mortal doom befalls him, our tribe is not greatly harmed by his loss.” Disposable, like the Noldo orphan, the chieftain did not say aloud. Or that the third one, the Nelyar young chieftain, had two capable brothers as suitable replacements. Great Imin frowned. “I have decided that the scarred ones’ child has proven himself useful and able to fulfill responsibilities to his tribe that he has neglected. This is my test of the gift of my trust, as it is also a test of the Powers and if Their promises can be believed or honored.”

“And what if the Powers speak the truth of how wondrous their Paradise is? Do we believe then that Ûkwendô will return to us?”

Imin turned to stare across the village to where Maktâmê struggled to adjust the infant daughter strapped across her chest, shifting Indis’s head so that the small infant could nurse with ease. “He will return for his sister, even if the sullen boy has no sense of duty towards his tribe.” Inkundû scoffed at this evaluation of Ingwë’s motivation, how unbalanced the scales were if the home of the gods was half as glorious as promised. His younger sister, Ravennë, watched her father and older brother in keen, frownful silence.

...

With a leather satchel packed tightly with freshly smoked mutton, Ingwë waved a greeting to his two best friends outside the palisade of the Minyar village. To the west, under the dark shadows of the encroaching trees, Nahar shone brilliantly white. Oromë waited.

The travel kits of Elwë and Finwë were many parts: reed woven mats slung as rolled knapsacks across the hip, heavy bags full of tools, blankets, and food, belts hanging with more items like the fine pouches for flint and dried moss to quickly tinder a fire, and in their finest clothing. Everything spoke of their villages’ collective efforts to outfit these favored sons with the wherewithal to face every imagined possible disaster and a hope to impress the Valar. Finwë in particular carried the illusion that he had half his weight in borrowed beads and copper jewelry. Elwë’s hat shimmered with the iridescence of bird feathers, and this was not the only garment of his that played opalescent in the village light.

The Minyar dressed not their Ûkwendô in fancy garments. As a hunting party scout, he was given dried food and a filled water skin to carry him on the long trek. The only addition to his normal appearance was a line of ritual paint across his heart and outlining his jaw.

Before he joined his friends, Ingwë turned back around. His mother, standing a few feet away from the others at the gate, knew that her son would need this final farewell. Dried paint flaked off of her one good hand as she raised it for a gesture to beckon him towards the patiently waiting Oromë.

Strong hands caught those fingers and lowered them.

Stuttering, aware of the eyes of the First Tribe upon them, Maktâmê repeated the instructions that she had given her son before the feast started and Imin had dropped his world-shattering proclamation.

Ingwë gripped his mother’s shoulders and pulled her close to him, foreheads touching as he pleaded for the final time. “If I don’t return- if you cannot stay, Mother, if you cannot stay in the village,” and the young man could not articulate which dire outcome he feared as more likely, that his tribe force his family out by a formalized banishment or merely through the absence of communal aid or via the internal grief of his absence driving his mother to despair, “then you go to Rûmilo. You go to the Tatyar. The journey is quick. Is safe. You take the goods that I left for you, the knives, you trade. Phinwê left some pottery in your name. They will help, the Tatyar. And if you cannot settle in their village, go only as far as the river. The next village is Elwê’s. It is the closest. The braided river to the shore, the lights are easy to find, reflecting off the water. His brothers lead their village. Kind boys. Promise me, Mother. You take Indis to them. Do not stay in this place.” Years of negligence and cruelty from his people forced Ingwë’s whispered words in a cornered snake’s desperate hiss. “Go to them. Elmo’s spouse is gravid; soon their first child will be born. A new mother will welcome you and Indis. Someone to help nurse, if nothing else. They have food to share, a place at their fire. Please, promise me.”

Crying, Maktâmê kissed her son’s brow. “Stop. This fear, do not carry it with you to the land of the gods. We shall be safe, your sister and I. We are provided for. Go with hope, my son. With joy and excitement. Explore this new land that they have promised with the same wonder that filled your father and I when we first stepped away from the lake-shore. The beautiful light when we first saw the stars.” Her voice shook. “When Imin lit fire and gave us all warmth and light. The Powers promise greater than that. Go. See if it is true.” A thumb smoothed away the deep creases of his brow. The dried paint did not leave a mark. “Look forward, as a brave scout of our people. As Alakô’s son, fleet-footed light and sure, Star-beacon. A torch is for the unknown path before us. So look forward.”

Ingwë closed his eyes and willed his heart to steady and slow its rhythm. “I promise.”

[freespierit]

Here ya go, Ravennë! She doesn't like fish, especially not shellfish, loves fruits and dairy- custards yogurts and such sweet treats. not a fan of heavy farthingale skirt in the Noldorin style, likes having linen undergarments, loves her lioness hair combs. one older brother, daughter of chieftains, ruling queen. choral music, epic songs. Ingwë. plots I need to get through canon Cuivienen/Great Journey and the AU Elu/Ing swap where she leads her people

I love how much thought you put into cultures and customs! All the DETAIL ahhh thank you for sharing!

[squirrelwrangler]

“If to be sent as scouts to the homeland of the Powers is a task of great trust and honor, then why do we send Ûkwendô? Father, why not me?” Inkundû petulantly asked.

“He can be spared, and if mortal doom befalls him our tribe is not greatly harmed by his loss.” Disposable, like the Noldo orphan, the chieftain did not say aloud. Or that the third one, the Nelyar young chieftain, had two capable brothers as suitable replacements. Great Imin frowned. “I have decided that the scarred one’s child has proven himself useful and able to fulfill responsibilities to his tribe that he has neglected. This is my test of the gift of my trust, as it is also a test of the Powers and if Their promises can be believed or honored.”

“And what if the Powers speak truth of how wondrous their Paradise is? Do we believe that Ûkwendô will return to us?”

Imin turned to stare across the village to where Maktâmê struggled to adjust the infant daughter strapped across her chest, shifting Indis’s head so that the small infant could nurse with ease. “He will return for his sister, even if the sullen boy has no sense of duty towards his tribe.” Inkundû scoffed at that evaluation of motivation. His younger sister, Ravennë, watched her father and older brother in keen, frownful silence.

[squirrelwrangler]

Have you read the NoME preview yet? I skipped over a lot but there was some interesting stuff about Cuivienen politics that was similar to your idea of Ingwe/Finwe/Elwe challenging the authority of Imin/Tata/Enel. Also in one place Indis was the daughter of Ingwe and older sister of Ingil/Ingwion which made me go ??? but also hmmm... ((Kind of unrelated, but what are your views on the whole Fingolfin vs Finwe/Feanor politics in HoME? Were Indis/Ingwe involved?))

I have not read anything about NoME except a post or two reblogged by my few Tolkien mutuals, and I, to be truthful, will not actively go hunting for info about it but wait to see if anything interesting or useful and actually new eventually reaches me. Cuiviénen politics would be nice, though by now I've established a solid idea of most everyone for my head-canons, especially once I reworked Morwë. Indis as a daughter of Indis is something floated by in one the HoME drafts, which is not new. It's also a reason for my Indis and Ingwë relationship where Ingwë is biologically a brother but fills more of a father role for Indis, being the one to name her.

As for the other question .... lol you read my blog you know my opinion of Fëanor. He, in part thanks to Finwë's awful parenting and leadership, needed no help in being a scummy political figure who was so paranoid that he saw enemies everywhere - partially because that sort of controlling melomaniac ego-consumed figure would make enemies of anyone. Was Indis involved in Noldor politics? Yes, as their queen and as a sensible person with a focus on duty towards her adopted people. Indis was assisting damage control, but wasn't as involved as she was blamed to be, and her role overblown by Fëanorian partisans, in part because the Noldor as a whole were more patriarchal than other elves and less accepting of a Queen as a co-ruling figure as compared to the Telerin branches or the Vanyar who had most day-to-day administrative work done by Queen and First Princess. Ingwë though? In my view he wasn't even involved except very remotely and only on a few spiritual matters with politics of the Vanyar, let alone anyone else - that was all Ravennë and their children Minyë and Ingwion.

[squirrelwrangler]

Re-reading your Ingwe headcanons and while I’m uncomfortable with the whole ‘Ingwe claimed Ravenne as his wife’ stuff, I couldn’t help but think ‘Wait, so this is where Fingolfin got it from!’. And yes, I know there’s a world of difference between Ingwe’s calculated challenge and Fingolfin’s glorified suicide, but there are similarities between the two warrior kings. I can’t help but wonder if Ingwe and Fingolfin ever talk about it?

When I get to it, the actual way the I/R plays out is frankly closer to ‘Ravennë claims Ingwë’. There’s a post or two where I break it down, but after Ravennë publicly backs down after the duel and is first to proclaim Ingwë the new chieftain, she ends up in Mahtamë and Indis’s household, where she’s sort of uncomfortably treated as his sister. And Ravennë sees more of Ingwë’s private side - and the sheep interlude I hope was making it obvious that she was contemplating Ingwë as a spouse as a possibility pre-duel. So she decides that she can marry him, and while Ingwë has bedded down once again for the night, Ravennë very publicly and on her own, not prompted by him, joins him - forcing him to either kick her out and reject her proposal of ruling with her as queen (and that the Eldar until then was used to a dual leadership so this once again is Ravennë offering to shore up and legitimize Ingwë’s power) or accept her. So the power imbalance is still there, and all the vibes that implies, but it’s not cut and dry, and in the AU or canon, Ravennë will be the day to day ruler of the Vanyar while Ingwë is up in the mountain.

Fingolfin pre-Beleriand is so focused on Finwë and that familial drama, but yes, I did keep Fingolfin, his duel, his hands-off yet inspirational kingship, the patience snapping and deciding to act even if it’s a solo act that only has a slim chance, etc... in mind when writing Ingwë and that the parallels should be there for readers to pick up on. I haven’t really plotted stories of what FIngolfin does when he returns from Mandos, but I think the most natural place for him would be to join Ingwë up in the Taniquetal monastery, at least for the beginning, so that Fingolfin can stay out of Finarfin’s way and not challenge his brother while not escaping him, to have a calming person who understands the hardships of a king and the guilt of murder. Fingolfin liked and admired his uncle, but then I think they would grow really close. And of course my version of Anairë approves. 

[squirrelwrangler]

For the fic meme: will you update the "Of Ingwe Ingweron" fic (it's so interesting)? Also, do you have any headcanons for how Indis' kids and grandkids relate to/what they think about the Vanyar? Random, but the tidbits we get about the Vanyar make them seem almost equal to the Maiar imo. "Friends of the gods" sounds badass. Also, I just really love your Ingwe; he absolutely seems like the kind of king that "all elves revere his name". That's it, sorry for being so incoherent lol

You’re fine! 

I haven’t given up on of Ingwë, don’t worry - it’s just that I’m trying not to leave Cold Shower, Service, and some of the fluff pieces unfinished. But I love Ingwë and the elves at the beginning and I’ll never be able to start that Elu/Ingu swap places AU if I don’t finish OII. Wisp’lights took me five years to return and finish, but I did. The next section has to be the boys off to Valinor, which requires spectacle.

Indis’s kids and grandkids and the Vanyar- ok, well there is the Summer Olympics fic. Indis when she marries Finwë tries to fully commit to being Queen of the Noldor and adopting her new people’s culture and ways - and unlike Míriel she’s truly interested in the governing elements of queenship, but she still takes her children to Vanyar events and they have Vanyar food every so often. Fëanor’s court faction especially as they become entrenched in the politically rivalry with Fingolofin and the efforts to purge/purify the Quenya language make any sign of non-Noldor partisanship derided. Findis retreats to her library and then to Valmar, but she deep down is very Noldor in her scholarship and attitudes. She does like to read Vanyar philosophical and theoretic texts, but she’s a fiction author foremost, so it’s only for research. Fingolfin bonds with Uncle Ingwë after the First Age and rebirth and not beforehand. But his wife Anairë is the daughter of a man that is in a very close partnership with a Vanya and her family runs basically the giant publishing company of Tirion that is staffed almost exclusively by Vanyar immigrants to Tirion. Therefore their children were used to Vanyar- but the Vanyar who chose to come work for a few years as a minority among the Noldor and then return home, which colors their ideas of what is ‘Vanya’. Fingon is sort of ironic in that he could have fit in most among the Vanyar jocks but he’s one of those unthinking racists and didn’t want to hang around the stuffy workshops of these strange commoners and he doesn’t want or excel at reaching out to people, especially anyone seemingly different from him. Turgon is more bookish but also way more extroverted and likes meeting and interacting with different people and takes the time to listen and learn. He falls in love with Vanyar music and mathematical notation and even their ag studies - all which puts him into contact with Elenwë, help him when interacting and integrating the Sindarin population with his followers, and then building and running Gondolin as a highly successful isolated city for centuries. Also traits shared with close friend, Finrod. Most of Ingwë and Ravennë’s children are older than their cousins - Minyë was born during the Great Journey, Ingwion is older by a few years than Fëanor and was only ever cordial as fellow princes, but their younger daughters were the same age as Findis down through Maedhros (who according to timelines is far closer in the generational bracket to Fingolfin than Fingon). Netyarë and her sister in particular are closer to Findis, Lalwen, and Finarfin (but then Finarfin as he grows older starts to hang out in Alqualondë and gets semi-adopted in with the rest of Olwë’s sons) and it’s their children who befriend Finrod, Turgon, and the others and whom they visit. Maedhros’s husband, Urumarillo, is the one to hook Celegorm up with the Hunters of Oromë via his connections in the Valarin horse scene, but the Hunters are a mix of Maiar, Vanyar, and Noldor (mostly Noldor as years go on). The ones that hang out with the Vanyar monk types that run the houses of learning and mediation either in the city of Valmar or up in the mountains are Finrod and to a lesser extent his siblings and Turgon. Therefore Finrod and Artanis are the ones most used to Maiar that aren’t horses or hounds mingling. Argon does join the Vanyar wrestling and boxing junior league right before the Darkening destroys that.

As a treat, the start of Chapter 9:

The earth tremors ceased, and as the duration of their absence lengthened, so grew the easing of the Kwendî’s tension and fear. Enel, chieftain of the Third Tribe, monitored the volume flow of the waterfall beside his village with lingering trepidation, for the quantity had diminished in the shakes, and the song of the waterfall had altered. Nervously he awoke and listened for its roar, irrationally fearful that if the cascading water was ever silent, then he that was the Third to Awake would no longer wake. In those first seconds of life, opening his eyes to see the bright stars without knowing what he saw, only their beauty, Enel’s ears had not opened as his eyes had, but in the irrational yet deeply emotional center of his mind Enel thought that it was music and not starlight that woke him. He could not prove it, but he believed that it was when the first drops of water poured into the lake, that the sound was the same cue that awoke the Kwendî. Enelyë, his spouse, chastised her spouse for his paranoia, dragging him away from the stakes he had driven into the muddy bank to measure the water depth and worry over each shift in the tide.

[squirrelwrangler]

heget’s Silmarillion OC and Textual Ghosts Masterlist

Will continue to add to this as I go, but here’s the start. Many characters and familial relationship crop up across multiple fics of mine. Also consider this a fairly expansive if shallow highlight of many of my headcanons and general world-building of the Silm. 

Starting with the Cuivienen Era:

Imin and Iminyë (and the other 4) are separate and distinct characters from the Three Kings of the Elves and are not the parents of Finwë, Ingwë, or Elu. Overall proud, jealous of their counterparts, in a codependent relationship with their spouses that especially with Imin and Iminyë borders on a hive mind. 

Imin and Iminyë’s oldest child is a son, Inkundú. Asshole. Political problem. Indis definitely doesn’t want anything to do with him.

Their other child is a daughter, Ravennë. Proud, ambitious, smart, and more patient than her sibling. She will marry Ingwë and become the High Queen of All Elves and does more of the day-to-day ruling.

Minyë is the eldest child of Ingwë and Ravennë, a daughter born during the Great Journey.  Ingwion is their son and second child. Netyarë is their fourth child, the third daughter. Laitissë is Ingwion’s wife and they have two children, a son named Ingil and Helinë, a daughter.

Ingwë’s parents are Alakó (Alaco) and Maktâmê (Mahtamë). Both were horrifically injured by a wild animal attack when Ingwë was a boy, Alaco more so. Alaco commits suicide soon after Indis is conceived; however his bitter spirit is found and corrupted by Morgoth to become the most feared undead spirit and shows up in multiple works.

Asmalô is Ingwë’s former childhood friend, born right before him. Hunter, Ingwë supporter.

Kanatië is a First Gen Vanyar contemporary of Mahtamë, mentor of Asmalô, initially disdainful of Ingwë.

Lasrondô is another Vanyar hunter loyal to Imin.

Elnaira is Elenwë’s mother. Handë is her father, and he later in Valinor creates a business partnership with Anairë’s family to supply the skilled scribes and paper-makers in a joint manuscript-book-paper factory for Tirion, especially the nobility.

Katwânîbesê (Cantëantanissë) is a contemporary of Ravennë, a vain woman.

Nurwê is the son of Enel and Enelyë; his name is based on one of the Avari leader names. Eleniel is his wife.

Rúmilô (Rúmil) is the same Noldor written language inventor as canon, though I’ve added that he was the leader of the (mild, for Noldor) rebels against Tata who splintered away from the main Tatyar group to form a village closer to the Minyar and Nelyar, and is closest that Finwë has to a father-figure.

Istarnië is Mahtan’s wife (name is old rejected name for her daughter). Besides Nerdanel they have another child (unnamed, gender undecided but probably male) who has three children: Vénea, Lissë, and Enedir.

Sarnê is a First Generation Tatyar that joined Rúmil’s village. Is the initial main provider/’inventor’ of salt for the elves. His eldest son was Morisû, and the two were captured/killed by Morgoth’s hunting, leaving Herenvarno to raise a litter of tamed wolves and his sister, Laiquawen. Herenvarno was a good friend and supporter of Finwë but fled to the northern area of Valinor to hide out from court pressures and grieve for his father and brother. Herenvarno marries the oldest granddaughter of Mahtan, Vénea, making him related via marriage ties to the Finwëans - drama he would have rather avoided. (Strongly based on the Starks from ASoIaF.)

Herenvarno and Vénea have five children, Alcar (Aglar), Amanë, Mornaiwë (Mornaeu) nicknamed Craban aka Crow, Arë, and Sarnor. Herenvarno reluctantly joins the Exile out of obligation to Finwë, but is murdered at Alqualondë by Fëanor in the chaos of the initial attack out of paranoid fear. Also going into Exile was Aglar, Mornaeu, and Arë. Vénea stayed behind with Sanor because he was too young, and Amanë stayed because of a betrothal to a Vanya lord she later breaks off. Aglar stays with Finrod and dies at Tol-in-Gaurhoth, Mornaeu goes up with Angrod and Aegnor and dies in the Bragollach, Arë disappears after boarding the stolen swanships. Sarnor later joins as a scout during the War of Wrath.

Laiquawen ran off and married someone she never divulged the identity of whom she almost immediately separated from after the birth of her son, Annalossion. Laiquawen knew she didn’t have the temperament to be a good mother and dropped her son off with Herenvarno and Vénea who had just had Aglar so that he would have a more stable home-life, still periodically checking in with the boy but not ideal, hence his nickname of Hecilion. He joins Fingolfin.

All six had giant Hounds of Oromë; Amanë kept the ones belonging to her siblings and cousin since they refused the Exile. 

Ñalatiê is Míriel’s mother, another member of Rúmil’s village, inventor of glass beads.

Elwë’s mother and father (unnamed but jokingly named Estiriwêg and Estiriwen after the village that they founded) are again implied to exist in canon and are distinct from Enel and Enelyë. They have three sons, the canonical Elwë, Olwë, and Elmo. The third tribe due to their size and more lax attitude of Enel and Enelyë quickly splintered and spread into multiple villages and free-roaming groups. Lenwë (Dan) leads one of these, and there are also groups on floating rafts in the middle of the Great Lake. Elu’s parents’ village is unique for being very close to the Minyar and secondary Tatyar village, making their people technically the most cosmopolitan and wealthiest village, certainly the most well-connected. Not all of the Teleri who make the initial Great Journey come from this village, but it is the core of the Teleri/Sindar inner circle, and most named Sindar/Teleri come from here, like Beleg, Círdan, and the wives and ancestors of the House of Elwë and Olwë.

Olwë’s wife is Hwindië, sister of Nowë (aka Círdan). Aside from Eärwen, they had at least three sons. One of the sons is named Elenyálenér or Elentulwë in honor of his uncle (and Olwë’s guilt at having argued with Elmo about staying to fruitlessly stay to search for Elu), who aside from physical appearance isn’t too much like his missing uncle in personality but was secretly Olwë’s favorite - and is among those killed in the First Kin-slaying. Another of Olwë’s children, Airesarë and a grandson, Uilon, were also killed. Elwing hears of how he was recently restored from Mandos and, mishearing the name because of the close meaning, thinks that one of her brothers had been restored.

Eredêhâno (Eredhon) is a second generation member of Elwë’s village, between Elwë and Olwë in birth order. A natural constant worrier and a skilled weaver -first of reed cloaks, then of cloth in general- he is one of Elwë’s lieutenants and becomes the overall leader of the Northern Sindar of Beleriand/Mithrim, a regional governor under Elu’s king with not quite as much autonomy as Círdan but almost. Highly trusted. His younger sister, Linkwînen, married Elmo, making Eredhon Elu’s brother-in-law. Tragically captured and turned by Morgoth, used to kill his own sister and almost kills Elu. Had two sons, the elder which inherited his position as lord of Mithrim, the younger of which was named Ereglas stayed in Doriath. Both sons had at least one daughter. The older son’s daughter was Meril, Lady of the Mithrim. She marries Fingon out of lukewarm affection, pity, and political calculation to protect her people and keep them from losing all political power to their new Noldor overlords. She is the biological mother of Gil-galad. Ereglas has a daughter, Eregiel, who falls love-at-first-sight for Orodreth. They marry in Nargothrond and she becomes lady of Tol Sirion and mother of Finduilas. They all escape the fall of Sirion (Meril dies in the Nirnaeth), and Eregiel escorts her nephew Gil-galad to Círdan and stays with them. Originally she meant to return to Nargothrond, but the war strands her on the Isle of Balar and she lives through the First Age and into the Second Age as Gil-galad’s surrogate mother and the most senior noble lady of the Noldor of Gil-galad’s court. Thus confusion arises on Gil-galad’s parentage. She sails eventually to reunite with her family late in the Second Age, only to learn what happens to her adopted son.

Elmo (canonically the youngest brother of Elu) and Linkwînen have three children. Following Tolkien’s habit, they are two older sisters and then a son that was named in canon, Galadhon. The older of the two sisters, Ilsë, is named for her silver hair the exact shade as Elu, as she was born during the period when Elwë first went to Valinor. (Yes, about a third of Elu’s nephews, nieces, or great-grand-kids are named for him; it also happens when you have the most generic and popular elven name possible except for Finwë). Ilsë sided with Olwë against her father in the great ugly debate that permanently split the Teleri, leaving her parents and siblings behind to sail to Valinor. She becomes the Grand Fleet Admiral of Alqualondë; her wife is one of the primary sailcloth weavers and said wife was murdered in the First Kin-slaying along with a nephew, Marillo. Ilsë carries the righteous anger against the Rape of Alqualondë longer than most, understandably.

The middle child is Égnith, and she stays with her parents and brother in Beleriand to search for Elu. She marries Bao, a Tatyar that decided halfway to join the Eldar on the Great Journey and who stayed with the Eglath. They have one son, Eöl. During the search for Elu, Égnith and Bao are captured by Morgoth’s forces and turned into proto-orcs. Their young son, Eöl, is nearly captured and killed by his turned parents, only saved and adopted at the last second by a dwarf.Understatement to say this traumatized Eöl.

Galadhon marries Dan’s daughter who joined her brother, Denethor, in travelling over the mountain into Beleriand. Danaril and Galadhon both died with Denethor, Denethor’s family, and other Nandor at the battle of Amon Ereb, orphaning their two sons, Galathil and Celeborn. (Note: one of Denethor’s sons was in tentative courting with Lúthien, as the most logical match. They had only met a few times and weren’t opposed to the idea though there was no romantic attachment, and since Beren is more woods-fey than any elf, the Green Elves of Ossiriand are half-convinced he is the reincarnation of Denethor’s son). 

Among the Nandor of Ossiriand is Orothaiben, an outlaw leader and bowman who went a little bloodthirsty and wild after the Kinslayings and loathes the Fëanorians as much as the orcs. Also famous for wearing crowns of bright pink cherry blossoms. Finds and rescues Elrond and Elros when they run away from Maglor and Maedhros and return the twins to Círdan and Gil-galad on the Isle of Balar. (There is no canon to debunk the idea that the twins successfully ran away from their captors a few months or years after).

Galathil marries a relative of Oropher, possibly Thranduil’s sister or aunt, making Oropher a regent candidate for Elwing. He and his wife die in the Second Kin-slaying trying to save Eluréd and Elurin.

[squirrelwrangler]

Do you have any headcanons for Indis going back to the Vanyar after the darkening? Is she close with Ingwe? Does she help Ravenne out with like administrative stuff?

Hmm, I haven’t focused specifically on that time period (though the Indis/Nerdanel stuff covers that time as well as the before and after). I think, once Finwë decided to side with Fëanor, Indis stayed in Tirion to support Fingolfin for a little bit, and because she was Queen of the Noldor and took her role as Queen seriously, even if actually we never get the wife of a Noldor King acknowledged as Queen and ruling side by side with authority as in the Sindarin model - but I’m going to pretend that while the Noldor are more misogynistic than the Sindar, that they do still have a concept of Queen as more than the King’s Wife with the example of Manwë and Varda’s union. And Indis is used to how the Vanyar are governed in the day-to-day as well as important matters by Ravennë aided by her eldest daughter Minyë, then son and second daughter, then Ingwë himself, with some advice from Mahtamë (in that order). Ravennë doesn’t need Indis for administrative help anymore- before Indis married Finwë that was her job, but over the centuries Minyë and her siblings and the various grandchildren grew to replace that role. Indis (and Nerdanel) do go to Mahtamë for refuge and healing and a lot of therapeutic gardening, and for a while visit Ingwë (Nerdanel  sculpts cats and busts of Ingwë, Indis sings, composes more songs, critiques her brother’s writings). Indis wanted to give Anairë space to be Noldor Queen, but after the Darkening she returns to help Finarfin, especially when Earwen is not there. Nerdanel gets heavily involved in helping to construct the Sun and Moon vessels - and so does Indis on the Song consecration side of things. 

[squirrelwrangler]

M (fanfic ask game)

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?

Oooh, okay so here are the potential fic ideas I can think of off the top of my head; some have been around for years so it’s just a matter of when I get to them- ‘Blood on Bone for a Lover’s Burial’ is an example of this:

The Great Fever of Dorthonion, in where as plague hits Ladros and young Baragund and Belegund are sent to live with their aunt Andreth for the summer. Inspired in part by the London children sent to the countryside for magical adventures subgenre, the boys uncover the secret.

Elu and Ingu swap places canon divergent AU to Of Ingwë Ingweron where the Vanyar are stuck behind in Beleriand while all the Teleri go. Featuring the platonic best friends Ingwë and Melian (a boy and his bird), the Minyar Queens Council, Ravennë’s internal struggles, Sauron is caught before his can cause big problems later, and ends with the uncomfortable realization that I have set up the perfect excuse for Fëanor/Indis.

Galadhon asks Círdan about their estranged family in Valinor.

continue Bân and Aereth’s volunteer mission to kickstart agriculture in Númenor.

The Hangover starring the Band of the Red Hand.

Another disaster buddy comedy adventure staring the Band, narrated by Faron, on why a camping trip turned into a disaster, the conclusion of which might involve Mandos again.

A short life story of Bortë, First Queen of Númenor

Elros and Elrond successfully escape Maedhros and Maglor and are rescued by the Nandor (this might just become an interlude inside the “In Need of a Cold Shower aka Elrond quests with two horny but bickering elves to find why the polar cap is in trouble”)

the Míriel/Daeron/Durin ot3 once I have a plot for it

[squirrelwrangler]

What sort of Silmarilion canon divergencies type aus you have considered in past, be it something you gave a lot of thought or just an idea, cropped up in your mind that seemed maybe interesting but never truly went anywhere?

Retyping this out the best that I am able. First off, the majority of my silm fics are an interconnected AU where things like Klingon Promotion Vanyar, continued survival of Bór civilians, etc... are my personal canon but could be classified as an AU to anyone else. But the AUs and canon divergences off of this I do have several, some more thought out than others and some which I have gone into detail in other posts. So, starting from the beginning:

“Of Ingwë Ingweron” - there is a divergence where Alako doesn’t walk into the lake as soon as he does and Ravennë comes to her realization about needing a spouse to gain autonomy and power to rule over her own village a little faster. She makes that mental evaluation of her peers and notices ‘Ukwendo’ caring for his disabled parents, thinks to herself that here’s a caring boy that will raise her children and leave the ruling to her. And hey he’s actually skilled - and hot. Time to meet him in the forest outside the village and have sex-aka marry- him. Cue the awkward families’ dinner afterward where Ravennë defends this decision. Imin and Iminyë across the dining table from Alako and Mahtame, fun times. Ingwë rises to power and it’s almost the same as OII, just minus the murder. Some other tweaks to Vanyar history and dynamics, but the rest of canon isn’t vastly altered. It’s my “But Batman Never Kills” alternative for readers.

The other OII AU is the big timeline divergence of Ingwë and Minyar swap places with Elu and all the Teleri. Have gone into detail about that one. Dan doesn’t stay in Middle-earth. Sauron captures Ingwë in Nan Elmoth- Giant Nightingale Melian helps defeat him. Ravennë, Mahtame, Indis, and Minyë leading their left-behind tribe across the Helecaraxë to Aman. Most of Valinor settled by various Teleri groups. Elwë and Melian fall in love in front of Valar. No elves left in Middle-earth until Lúthien and friends canoe back to help them. I hate myself because this is the Indis/Fëanor AU.

BEST AU EVAR is the other big one. Míriel cottons on earlier that she has no interest or temperament to be Queen of the Noldor and rejects Finwë’s proposal. Fëanor nor his sons are never born, good riddance. The spotlight of Epitome of Noldor Genius lands on Nerdanel, who has an art rivalry w/ Míriel. Melkor is freed and has to turn to the Falmari to sow dissent because he doesn’t have enough finger-holds in the Noldor. Plays up the abandoned your kin angle.Olwë and Falmari are the ones to leave- but then when trying to tell Elu and the Sindar to go to Aman... Well, thanks for helping us with our war against Morgoth but no thanks. Family drama. Too many kings in the kitchen. But less war crimes and acts of genocide. Finarfin and his family along with some of Fingolfin’s kids join the exile as a reverse of canon.

Less thought out are the various “Fuck it, instead of just ignoring Fingon and Maedhros, let’s straight up remove them.” One point is Fingon dying on the Ice and Argon surviving and taking his spot militarily. There’s the Maedhros was never rescued and so Maglor has to do some things solo, and Maedhros is just the footnote of how Vanyar soldiers find him on the slopes of Angband right before the Final Battle. The version where Maedhros is rescued as an afterthought by Beren and Lúthien during the Silmaril retrieval, so he has to have an actual crisis of conscious and oath versus life debt and have some moral dilemmas and get some depth and chance to choice not to be the anti-villain he was. And all of these are not mutually exclusive with the AU where Fingolfin’s camp attacks the Fëanorian camp at Mithrim before the Sindar arrive. Thus they have no reason to cover up the war crimes at Alqualondë or what happened at Losgar. The Sindar aren’t lied to. They also know what and who the Noldor are off the bat. There is no Quenya Ban. There is no Fifth Column Kin-slayers to fuck up the War in Beleriand. Slightly rockier start, much smoother war effort.

..will add more later

[squirrelwrangler]

WIP List, updated for 4/22

Now that the Bân of My Existence fic is finally finished and posted, aka #6 on the Tol-in-Gaurhoth kill list, time to see what’s left on the proverbial docket:

Beren’s Band of the Red Hand, #3 - Aglar

Beren’s Band of the Red Hand, #8 - Gadwar

Beren’s Band of the Red Hand, #10 - Edrahil

(#10 Finrod?)

Release from Bondage - only have Chapters 11 and 12 left.

Bân and Fân’s Excellent Adventure

The Hangover, featuring the Band of the Red Hand

Of Ingwë Ingweron - chapters 6+

The Vanyar and Teleri switch narratives AU, aka Queen Ravennë

Best AU EVAR aka Fëanor is never born

The Great Fever of Dorthonion

Andreth gets into a Song Duel with Hadorim Fuckboi

Meng Jiang-nu of Dorthonion

Galadhon asks Círdan about their relatives across the sea

The conclusion to the Baby Eöl, Your Parents are Orcs

Dwarf watches Thingol mourn Denethor

Thingol drunkenly reminisces with Huan about Hound-shaped Maia at Cuiviénen

Vagabond Gondor

Bortë of the War of Wrath and First Queen of Númenor

Trying to remember any others I’ve hinted, pondered, suggested, or have a start of a draft. Open to suggestions.

And of course the various bits of the original universe Rose Red stuff, especially Under the Rose Hood and the Sad Dog Squire Story.

[squirrelwrangler]

So the new SW doll-maker is incomplete (probably at least two more updates), but I am having fun with it and that I can already make a vaguely close to accurate Cuiviénen-era Ravennë amuses me.

And for kicks, the oh-so-boring couple version w/ Ingwë and Ravennë. I have the two pairs of the love cube from the haunted cat story as well, and tried to make a few of the Rose Red characters before getting annoyed with the lack of hair-covering hats for Rohese. 

[squirrelwrangler]

Snippet for Chapter 5 of “Of Ingwë”

(Yes I know I should finish Chapter 4 first)

Where I divert the narrative to describe our long-belated second heroine:

The second child of Imin and Iminyë must be here described, their daughter Ravennë. A boast it was to name their child the lioness, in honor of the great hunting cats that instructed by example the Minyar to hunt and who shared the same tawny golden pelt. It was a proud name for a proud young woman. Most beautiful the daughter of Imin and Iminyë was named, the princess of the Beautiful Ones, but this was falsehood. All Kwendî were comely, and the golden hair of the first tribe prized as beauty by others, but Ravennë objectively did not outshine her peers in appearance. For one, she was short among a people that prized height, and her mouth considered ill-shaped for her face, especially having inherited her father’s jawline that made Imin handsome but his daughter not. Her eyes were the bluish purple common to her tribe, whereas had she inherited the golden brown of her father, the striking similarity to her namesake would have elevated her to the acclaim so liberally bestowed.