#edain oc

[arlenianchronicles]

Whelp, here it is! Part 1 of the Evil!Wilwarindil AU that nobody’s been waiting for! (unfortunately I had to split this into two parts because there’s 12 panels siiiiigh)

I actually have a lot of thoughts about this AU loll So prepare for a Ted Talk!

This is set sometime after Beleron’s passing, which in turn happened shortly after Wil returned from his three-year travels around Beleriand. I’m thinking that Morgoth or Sauron (or both) tried to convert Wil during that period -- messing around with his head and playing on his hidden/growing fears, specifically of something happening to Beleron and Beledir.

So when he finally returns to the village and Beleron passes, Wil is left vulnerable, and Sauron takes advantage of that (I say Sauron in particular because I don’t imagine Morgoth would leave Angband for all this dirty work loll). In Beledir’s eyes, Wil goes “missing,” but I think he’d be brought to Angband and meet Morgoth there while Beledir and his family are going through their mourning process.

Wil’s main fear now is that he’ll lose Beledir to mortality. He knows it’s inevitable; nothing can change Eru’s Gift. But Morgoth could promise to share knowledge if Wil joins them -- perhaps there’s a way to keep Beledir’s fëa in Arda? Bind it to another source? In a way, keeping Beledir “alive” forever by holding on to his spirit, or something like that. Given that Wil’s theme is of change and transformation, life and death (cuz butterfly symbolism), I feel that he’d have some abilities with regard to that (rather like Melian using her power to create the protective Girdle).

When Wil returns to the village, Beledir notices that something’s wrong. They talk, and he learns that Wil’s turned to the dark side. I imagine they get into a fight, and Wil acts out in the emotions of the moment. He tries to take Beledir by force, but it could also be interpreted as him trying to turn Beledir to his side, I think.

Well, Beledir passes out from the pain/stress/whatever you imagine went on, but that’s not the end of it! One of Wil’s golden butterflies appears and ... Well, I’ll talk more about that in part 2, and I’m actually really eager to tell y’all about it!! because it’s all about loooove T_T

Part 2 will be up later today! :DDD

[arlenianchronicles]

The Canto of Wilwarindil and Tar-Mairon pt2

(5)

Tar-Mairon smiled; his head did tilt,

His voice took on a taunting lilt,

To watch poor Wilwa standing there

Awash with anger, fierce and fair

But also with despair, and fear

That Mairon cruel should be so near.

“Thou thinkest highly of thy pets,

So much that thou hast gathered debts

To pay in full and ease thy guilt,

And standing keep all thou hast built.

Their lives are mortal, weak and brief.

Thou shouldst now purge thyself from grief;

To dwell on them is worth nothing!

No wind they send under thy wing

But rather hold you to the earth

As low as their own wretched birth.

My puppets they are; and for thee?

Thy pleasing servants they could be:

The floor they’d kiss where thy feet tread

And follow closely where thou lead.

Thou wish to keep them close indeed?

Then come and plant in them thy seed

So that they only know thy voice

And swiftly spurn all other choice!”

(6)

“Desire not I to make them slaves,”

Wilwa replied. “Between the waves

Of Valinor and Middle-earth

They shall be free, far from thy mirth.

Once I have cast thee ‘way from here,

Never again shalt thou come near!”

(7)

“Naive thou wert, and still thou art,”

Mairon then said, hate in his heart.

And yet his joy did rise to think

Of how to make this Maia shrink

From words of cruelty, sharp with fire,

To break through Wilwa’s eager ire

And cut him open, thus showing

The gathered guilt there festering.

“Thou spake of saving mortal Men,

And yet thou couldst not save them then

Nor now when I have cast my steel

About their necks. They will not heal,

Not e’en with balms thy hands shalt make.

Give up thy efforts for thy sake!”

(8)

And in that moment, Wilwa thought

Back to the village which he sought

Often in dreams, his poor heart’s home;

Oh, one could never fill a tome

With all the words that he might say

His love for that place to convey.

Within his mind’s eye, there he found

Young Beledir: swift like a hound,

As solemn as the trees of old,

But gentle when such tales he told

Of ancient warriors and of maids

To little children in the glades,

And to his grandsire, Beleron;

That first of deaths Wil laid eyes on.

“A Maia thou art, but what use

Is that?” Beledir would accuse

After old Beleron had passed.

“Thou as a god must have amassed

Such power that I cannot know;

Thou keepst thy friends from falling low

So that they will not suffer hurt,

Yet I canst help not but assert

How my Grandsire rests ‘neath us now!

Thou couldst not prolong his life, how?

Were all thy words just to amaze

Our minds and keep us in a haze

Of how a god walks through our land?

No, do not touch me with thy hand!”

[arlenianchronicles]

Part 2 of my Evil!Wilwarindil AU! Feel free to check out part 1 if you haven’t already :DDD

And now continuing with my story ramblings! We will now dive into the golden butterfly lore; you can find their first appearance here!

During his time with Beleron and Beledir, Wil’s butterflies turned gold around them because he loved them greatly. I imagine that those butterflies stayed gold permanently, either because they remember that Beledir is beloved to Wil, or that they become the embodiment of Wil’s love that was pure and good -- or maybe both!

(Also I’m sorry to bug you @navyinks but I just wanted to thank you again for your compositional choice in the commission! <333 I know you said it was a coincidence, but if it wasn’t for your composition genius and the happy placement of the butterflies, I wouldn’t be having all these Feels, so thank you very much and even if it the golden butterflies never appeared in the commission I’d still be very grateful to your and your hard work so thank you-)

So it is here that those golden butterflies come to Beledir’s rescue, lifting him up in a great cloud and carrying him off to a safe place. In Wil’s pov, he’s been betrayed by his companions as they take Beledir away. But it can also represent the idea that his love that was once good is now gone from him, and the love that he feels now is twisted and dark due to his fears (and Sauron’s manipulation etc.)

As for what happens after ... Well, Wil is on Morgoth’s side now; maybe he'd work with Sauron, using his corrupted butterfly friends as spies. I haven’t really thought about what Evil!Wil’s use would be, y’know? But despite what he’s doing, his continuous mission (in his mind) is to search for Beledir.

This also gives me the opportunity to give Evil!Wil a new name and design XDDD My idea is to give him a moth theme, which I find very fitting for his story in this AU: moths are attracted to light, and, applying this to Wil, he is searching for Beledir who is his light -- quite literally, given that Beledir is now accompanied by the golden butterflies T_T

[arlenianchronicles]

Grandfather has just passed away. Wilwarindil finds Grandson crouched amongst the trees just outside the village. Wilwarindil has always been an affectionate Maia and doesn’t particularly understand leaving someone alone in their grief -- even if they want to be left alone (which is one of the things he learns during his time in Middle-earth).

(If you’d like more context on Wilwarindil’s story, you can find it here!)

On a lighter note, I’m quite liking this inky, stylized style! XDD I’m finding that I don’t have to stick to proper anatomy so much hahaa and it’s quite fun playing fast and loose with the shapes!