Tag: Teleri are great

A kind-faced old mortal man pointed them to the ship that would ferry them to the staging point at the bare rock island of former Dorthonion and onto a Falmari ocean-going ship. Faron laughed then, for he recognized the vessel that he would board.

The single square sail was black wool twill, and obviously a fresh sailcloth with the lack of patches or mends, and the prow curved up and over like an octopus tentacle, complete with rings painted along both sides and down the length of the hull. Faron always thought that the pattern looked more like the feathers of a hawk owl than the row of suckers that it was supposed to emulate. On either side a row of oars hung above the water like a seabird drying its wings. Priming for a soon departure, as thus did Faron read into those oar positions. Again he laughed with himself over this private joke the universe was sharing with him, for the ship was a coastal galley of Brithombar. Specifically it was a ship captained by a member of his family. Grandfather’s boat had been a great hollowed log from a giant oak tree, rigged with a sail when Ossë taught the elves how to use sails to catch a wind to propel their canoes and rafts, and he had named the boat Mithmeren. All subsequent watercraft, be they small coracles or forty-oared trading vessels, were the Grey Daughters of Mithmeren, manned by Faron’s father, uncles, brothers, cousins, and sister. This ship meant one thing – a member of Faron’s family had survived the war.

And befittingly, they were taking him to his new home.

squirrelwrangler:

Story notes:

Elwing during the days she’s with her Falmari relatives while Earendil is campaigning for the War of Wrath to start hears that Eluenyanië/Eluearyon (fix name) has recently be released from Mandos and how happy Olwë’s family is to have all this family returning. Elwing does the quick mental translation to “Elu’s Remembrance” – one of my brother’s has been reborn and is now an adult? living here? getting very nervous but ecstatic to reunite with one of her big brothers she lost as a toddler. But when she finds him, looks at him, there’s no recognition on either end. She knows on her part it’s the unfortunate fact of being parted so young. Eventually he recognizes what the mistake is and clears it up- he is Olwë’s son, Eárwen’s older brother. When his parents arrived in Aman, they thought Uncle Elwë, Olwë’s older brother and senior king and the prophet who had led them (but not the final steps to see it) to the Promised Land, was lost to them forever. So Olwë named his elder son in memory and honor of their lost leader, and because Eluenyalië reminded them of Elwë in looks. Eluenyalië isn’t so sure if he looks so much like this person he never saw but who was constantly compared to and held up as this distantly recalled shining figure (and what to know who most idealized this perfect tragically-lost Elwë? Finwë, duh.) Asks Elwing. She admits she only met her grandfather a few times as an infant; she can’t say what features are a match. Elenyalië remarks that Elwing doesn’t look at all like he thought she might- he assumed and hoped she looked like Elwë. No, she answers, in looks with her dark hair and more Bëorian features, she looks like her grandparents Beren and a little bit Lúthien and therefore Melian. Eluenyalië asks about the brothers Elwing had hoped he had been. “Elurin, Remembrance of Elu. And Elured…Heir of Elu.” Cue then Elwing having to explain that one was given the name in a mix of Sindarin and Taliska, go into the Problem of Ros for the mix of Sindarin and Taliska for Elwing, Elros and Elrond’s names.Finish up the linguistic tangent, Elwing asking about why Eluentalië returned from Mandos. As she guessed, he died during the Kinslaying and Theft of the Swanships. As his father’s heir he had been among their people at the ships trying to calm nerves and reassure people after the Darkening and Fëanor’s attempts at inciting revolt. Trying to convince families it’s safe to be on the mainland, in the city, free to leave the ships, when Fëanor attacks. He leads the waves of defense- brings up that there hadn’t been any violence or fighting in Aman, such a thing was utterly anathema, that they did have small hunting bows for shooting birds that they could use. Another tangent on hunting in Aman- few actually dangerous beasts, need just some meat for the dinner table. That the Noldor hunted birds with falconry as well as bow, which they had learned from the Vanyar. That the Vanyar had mind-speech with their hawks and falcons. Call-forwards are my jam. That Eluenyalië and at least one of his younger brothers died.

You can’t tell me it isn’t canon that Olwë would not have named one of his sons something-something-Elwë and at least one of those sons died at Alqualondë and Olwë was denied his vengeance for his dead family.

bamboocounting:

gurguliare:

abadpoetwithdreams:

Were stars ever visible in Valinor before Ungoliant nommed the Trees? Just wondering this suddenly in relation to how the symbol of Feanor is, of course, a Star, because Finwe’s was also a Star, but Finwe came to Valinor from Beleriand where stars were very important, soooo … I’m at work so I don’t have access to my HoME right now (my recollection is each Tree would wax and wane so that their light would commingle in a sort of twilight in-between phases but it never got truly dark?) but the potential of Finwe having his House symbol be something his children wouldn’t really have any concept of is super interesting all of a sudden, idk

…it was called Tol Eressëa, the Lonely
Isle. There the Teleri abode as they wished under the stars of heaven, and yet
within right of Aman and the deathless shore; and by that long sojourn
apart in the Lonely Isle was caused the sundering of their speech from that of
the Vanyar and the Noldor.

To these the Valar had given a land and a dwelling-place. Even among the
radiant flowers of the Tree-lit gardens of Valinor they longed
still at times to see the stars; and therefore a gap was made in the great walls
of the Pelóri, and there in a deep valley that ran down to the sea the
Eldar raised a high green hill: Túna it was called. From the west the
light of the Trees fell upon it, and its shadow lay ever eastward; and to
the east it looked towards the Bay of Elvenhome, and the Lonely Isle, and the
Shadowy Seas. Then through Calacirya, the Pass of Light, the radiance of the
Blessed Realm streamed forth, kindling the dark waves to silver and gold, and it
touched the Lonely Isle, and its western shore grew green and fair.

So the stars aren’t visible in full Tree-light; definitely are visible on Tol Eressëa; and on the shores of Aman/around Calacirya… might be sort of a twilight situation? some light coming through the pass (and distantly over the tops of the mountains?) but still certainly dark enough for stars? Alqualonde, which is on the far side of the Pélori and isn’t even as close to the pass as Tol Eressea is, seems to be dark all the time, hence later “the Haven of the
Swans, lit with many lamps.” Then there’s Tirion itself: built IN the pass because the Noldor miss stars, the Trees shine on it from the west, “and its shadow lay ever eastward”—so in its shadow the stars are visible, it seems like, which is the best thing.

…sorry to OP for the lengthy driveby answer but I love pre-Darkening lighting details, always. also very into the star of Feanor being this weird abstraction up until it suddenly isn’t—even if one has to fudge it a little I think the setup as given means that for at least the Vanyar and most of the inland(??) Noldor, by the end of the age of the Trees, stars were like, a vacation sight and not a regular thing

#the fact that alqualonde was never in tree-light at all is my favorite thing like no fucking wonder after the darkening when#everyone’s running around like chickens with their heads cut off the teleri are just#’…’ (via gurguliare)

Yet again the strong logical reason for assuming that the Teleri were on or at their Swan-ships during the Darkening, because it would be perfectly natural to have no Tree-light, just darkness and some starlight, if aboard the ships. The lack of light coming down from the Pass would have been noticeable, but not as much on the dockside of the city. And if aboard the ships themselves, would have been easy to fool themselves that nothing dire had changed. This normalizing effect would have calmed them. Also why they were psychologically ready to just wait out the Two Trees’ destruction and Darkening of Valinor instead of panic or rash action. Frankly I would not have been surprised if the Teleri floated a plan to evacuate everyone over to Tol Eressëa temporarily; it was probably only the need to stay together at all times as a community and because they were waiting for word from the Valar(Ulmo) that they stayed in Alqualondë.

Considering the very first word and first sight of elves at Cuiviénen were stars (ele!), the star imagery is highly religious and probably for Fëanor’s sigil more a symbol of being the first: the first creation, the first word, the embodiment of how elves define themselves as Eldar, and thus himself as the embodiment of this pinnacle preceding all others.