Elros and Elrond were the twin sons of Elwing and Eärendil, and thus half-elven princes of both the Noldor and the Sindar peoples. They were born at the Havens of Sirion among the last remaining Free-peoples of Beleriand, and though their parents loved them, Elwing their mother was busy as Queen of Arvernien and Eärendil their father was called to the sea by the Vala Ulmo, seeking aid from the Valar against the ever-present threat of the Enemy. While on his journeys, Eärendil gave Elwing his wife an enchanted stone known as the Elessar that he had inherited from his mother, but Elwing already wore a necklace with a stone of greater power, the Silmaril her foremother Lúthien had wrested from the Iron Crown, so she passed this gift along to her sons so they might have a token of their father while he was away.
Though for many years Elwing had succeeded in hiding from the Sons of Fëanor who had slain her family in pursuit of the Silmaril, at last the news that she lived and yet bore the jewel reached her foes and they began to stir amid the torment of their Oath. She denied their demands to the Silmaril, trusting that it would protect her family and her people from any assault and refusing to surrender the jewel her parents and brothers had died for. Within a year, the Fëanorions descended upon the Havens of Sirion with a furious desperation, and the last peaceful haven in Beleriand was destroyed.
As the battle raged, Elwing entrusted her children to the care of their nurse Evranîn, who managed to hide them in a wardrobe before she was slain. Elwing herself fled to the highest point in all the city, a clifftop tower overlooking the unforgiving sea below, and there made her final stand. The eldest sons of Fëanor, Maedhros and Maglor, cornered her upon her ledge and entreated her for the Silmaril once more, promising to call off the attack if only she returned it to them. But Elwing was proud, and distrustful, and seeing her city burn below her she was filled with despair. These Kinslayers had slaughtered her parents and left her brothers to die, and they would do the same to her and her sons; they could in no way be trusted and in no way be allowed to gain the for which she had lost so much.
Thus Elwing turned and leapt into the sea, plummeting toward the unforgiving rocks below, and both she and the Silmaril were lost. With their prize out of reach, the grip of the Oath slackened, and and Maedhros and Maglor sat back to weep at their evil deeds and the deaths of their youngest brothers, who had been slain among the fighting. But even as they lamented, Maglor discovered that Elwing had left behind her twin sons, and so despite Maedhros’ warning that only ill could come of it, he took the boys into his care and returned with them to their fortress of Amon Ereb.
In that lonely fortress, Elrond and Elros were raised with as much comfort and love as might be found amid the horrors of Beleriand. Maglor and Maedhros both promised to return them to the care of their parents if they could. Indeed, they wished to exchange the twins for possession of the Silmaril, for rumor had it that Elwing had been saved by Ulmo and yet lived, but as time passed the likelihood of she or Eärendil returning and demanding custody of their sons diminished, and Maglor accepted the responsibility of the twins’ education and protection.
In the early days, Elrond and Elros were cared for by two of the Fëanorions’ loyal servants, Erestor and Edhelvain. Erestor was Maedhros’ steward and an elven survivor of the fall of Himring; he was a friendly face who had not been present amid the carnage at Sirion, and the twins trusted him more easily than their captors. Edhelvain was a Woman of Maglor’s people, and with her skill and wisdom she cared for the young peredhil as a mortal might, sensitive to their human ancestry both physically and emotionally. Yet in time, Maglor slowly won Elros and Elrond’s trust, and became so dear to them that he earned the title of foster-father.
Maedhros was more resistant to the twins’ charm, for he had suffered many deep and bitter losses in his past and was not swift to extend his love again. This was made all the more difficult by Elrond’s possession of the Elessar, which Maedhros had himself given to his husband Fingon in years past. He had thought the jewel lost when Fingon perished in the Nírnaeth Arnœdiad, but it had made its way to Gondolin and into the twins’ possession from their father Eärendil, grandson of Fingon’s brother Turgon. This reminder of his grief reopened old wounds in Maedhros’ heart, but in time the children won his affection also, and he wept when Elrond allowed him to hold the Elessar once more. From then, Maedhros also became as a father to them, and he would tell them stories of his own twin children, Gil-galad and Erien, who yet lived upon the island of Balar with Círdan their foster-father.
After some years of living with their kidnapper-fathers, a new star rose in the sky that Elros and Elrond recognized at once to be the Silmaril their mother had worn. Maedhros and Maglor confirmed this intuition, for none knew the jewels better than the sons of Fëanor their creator, and though few others understood the origin of the star and none knew how it had come to be lifted into the heavens, it became a symbol of hope, earning the name Gil-Estel. Maglor took it as the sign of hope it was meant to be, but Maedhros only saw the fulfillment of their Oath move ever out of reach, and despair clouded his mind once more. Elrond and Elros, also, were devastated, for this was proof at last that their parents were not coming for them, and they found themselves turning to the Fëanorions for comfort. Maglor promised to care for them as a parent, for the first time voicing the strange bond that had been forged between them, and with only a little persuasion Maedhros agreed, and offered to officially adopt the children.
Though Elrond and Elros were at first hesitant, after conferring with one another they accepted their new situation, complicated as it was, and in the most festive ceremony Amon Ereb had ever seen they were adopted by Maedhros and Maglor. Here they were welcomed into the House of Fëanor (or what was left of it), and given new names in Quenya: Elenyafinwë to share, after the Fëanorian pattern, and each a name of their own also. Elrond was named Aþelairë, for he was as kind as summer, and Elros was named Almatáru, for he had great foresight and fate had made clear that in time he would become a king.
For a few years, there was gladness between this strange new family despite the darkening world around them, but when the Host of the Valar arrived to at last fight against the dominion of Morgoth, things changed rapidly. Maedhros threw himself into the war effort, allying himself with leaders of the Valar’s Host and those lords and kings of Beleriand who yet lived, and Maglor stepped up to take sole responsibility for the twins’ care. Yet when Amon Ereb was besieged and overrun, Maglor and Maedhros knew that they could not protect their sons any longer while the War of Wrath raged. Though Elrond and Elros protested the separation from yet another set of loving guardians, they were sent away with only Erestor for company to the dwarven city of Belegost. As payment for taking in his lords’ children, Erestor gave to the dwarf-king Elros’ mithril coat, another relic out of Gondolin as the Elessar was to Elrond, and meant for a young prince rather than the near-adult Elros had become.
Elros and Elrond chafed at the restrictions placed around them, insisting that by the count of their mortal forefathers they were old enough to fight. They had never known a life not plagued by danger, and they were eager to take up arms against the Enemy as all their parents did, each in their own way. Though Erestor lent them a sympathetic ear, he was firm in his ruling that they must obey Maglor and Maedhros and remain in the safety of the Blue Mountains. After a decade of biding their time, Elrond and Elros at last saw a chance to escape, and fled from Belegost to join the Host of the Valar as they marched northward towards Angband. There Elros swiftly won great renown among the Mannish soldiers as a powerful warrior and charismatic leader, and he found a place for himself among their ranks, more at home with his fellow Men than he had ever felt; and Elrond proved his great skill in healing, taking few lives and saving many.
As soon as he discovered his charges’ departure, Erestor frantically ran to Maedhros and Maglor to tell them of their escape. Desperately afraid for the twins’ safety, the Fëanorion lords immediately abandoned their positions to search for their sons, and upon discovering them among the Host of the Valar a great argument was had. Elrond and Elros impressed upon their fathers that they were more than full-grown, their Mannish blood having great influence upon their maturity, and more than capable of participating in this war. Their fellow soldiers and healers vouched for them, and seeing their determination, Maedhros and Maglor were humbled. Though they grieved the loss of Elros and Elrond’s innocence, they understood the urge to fight back against evil and finally agreed to let them choose their own path. In honor of this momentous coming of age, Maedhros gave unto his son Elros Elenyafinwë Almatáru his best sword: Narþil, crafted by the great dwarven smith Telchar of Nogrod, which would become an heirloom of Elros’ house for Ages to come. And to his son Elrond Elenyafinwë Aþelairë, Maglor gave his silver harp, carried out of Valinor and preserved through much tragedy, heavy with enchantment and rich in mighty Song.
Though Elros and Elrond offered to join the contingent of Fëanorian soldiers, Maedhros and Maglor refused, for if their sons were old enough to strike out on their own, it would not do to stain them with the Fëanorian reputation more than they already had. Instead, they instructed Erestor to take the twins to High King Ereinion Gil-galad, their kinsman, that they might earn valour and renown under his banner. Elros’ mortal soldiers swore allegiance to him and followed him to his new general, under whom he became a captain in his own right; and Elrond swiftly grew close Ereinion, becoming his personal healer and his herald. As the war raged on, small moments of companionship were snatched between the twins and their kinsfolk; Ereinion and his sister Erien took Elrond and Elros as their brothers, and befriended Erestor as well, the five of them becoming a tight-knit group bound by friendship and love. Elros found a love of his own, as well, in the young mortal dragonslayer Hiril of the Haladin, and they forged a strong bond upon the battlefield that would lead to their eventual marriage in the years to come.
As the War of Wrath drew to a close, Elrond and Elros at last reunited with their birth parents. As Elwing and Eärendil were forbidden from setting foot upon Middle-earth, Elros and Elrond instead boarded the flying ship Vingilótë in which their father bore the Silmaril into the heavens as Gil-Estel, and though many tears were shed at this meeting, they were perhaps more bitter than sweet. Over fifty years had passed since the Kinslaying at Sirion, and all of them were much changed from the last time they had seen each other, and they could not find common accord among them. This was when Eönwë, herald of Manwë, informed them of the Choice their parents had been offered, between the fate of the Eldar and that of Men, and extended it to Elros and Elrond also. Their parents had both chosen to be counted among the Eldar, and clearly hoped they would choose the same path and return with them to Valinor when the war was over, but Elrond and Elros balked at the proposition, for they were not inclined to abandon Middle-earth after having fought so much in its defense.
Elrond and Elros were both present to watch their father Eärendil’s defeat of the dragon Ancalagon the Black and the destruction of the Thangorodrim as the beast’s body crashed to the ground. They witnessed the cleansing of Angband, and the final defeat of Morgoth, and the freeing of the Silmarils from his Iron Crown. Conscious of their foster-fathers’ Oath, they entreated Eönwë to relinquish the jewels to the remaining sons of Fëanor, but he told unto them the same verdict he gave to their fathers, that their claim was made void and the Oath invalid. Again, Eönwë offered them the Choice of the Peredhil, but Elros and Elrond could not decide between them which path to take, and fled from him to seek the advice of Maedhros and Maglor.
But though they discovered the small camp of Fëanorian followers, there was no sign of the sons of Fëanor, and none knew where they had gone. Turning back to the camp of the Valarin host, Elrond and Elros arrived just in time to witness the murders of those elves that guarded the Silmarils and their theft of the jewels by none other than their fathers, who had once again slain their own kin. Though Eönwë refused to attack them for their crimes, Elros and Elrond were distraught and attempted to run after them as they fled into the darkness, but at the Maia’s command they were restrained and protected from the madness that had overcome Maglor and Maedhros.
For a long time, no one knew what had become of the final sons of Fëanor, but eventually rumors spread of Maedhros’ fatal fall into flame and Maglor’s surrender to the ocean’s siren call. Elrond and Elros were heartbroken, and in defiance of Eönwë and their birth parents, they refused the call to Valinor. At last they made their Choices: Elrond for the elves, retaining his position as the herald of Gil-galad—and Elros for mortality, accepting the mantle of King and leading the surviving Men of Beleriand to an island kingdom blessed by the Valar and created especially for them.
Thus the fates of Elros and Elrond were sundered, though they remained close in brotherhood for the remainder of Elros’ life. Both would go on to honor the memory of their foster-fathers, naming their children in the Fëanorian pattern, however subtly; and though they remembered also their birth parents, it was Maedhros and Maglor whom they always searched for in hope that the rumors of their deaths were false and their family might be reunited. In the end, Maglor was discovered alive and wandering the shores of Middle-earth, and reconciled with his sons in time to be present at Elros’ deathbed; but Maedhros and his Silmaril had indeed been claimed by the fires of the earth, and was lost.
No matter Maglor’s attempts to slip away into obscurity, Elrond would always find him and reaffirm his love despite his mistakes. In time, Maglor would settle in Elrond’s valley of Imladris, and he would even sail with Elrond to Valinor at the end of the Third Age of Middle-earth, where in time they both would reunite with Maedhros upon his release from the Halls of Mandos, and though Elros’ mortal spirit had long since passed beyond the circles of the world, his memory remained with them always.
