crocordile: Galadhon talks to Círdan about Olwë... What Does He Say?
Galadhon found Círdan standing before a pine tree. The feeling of gratitude that he did not need to walk beyond the treeline to the shore itself to find the older elf lightened Galadhon’s mood. The ocean was close enough to smell on the breeze, but not so close as to hear its song. He would have dared the shoreline to find Cirdan, but it was a relief that such sacrifice would be unnecessary. “Planning a new ship from its lumber?” Galadhon asked to announce his presence.
Círdan only turned to acknowledge his presence but for a moment before turning back to the tree. “She’s not straight enough for what I need.”
“A relief for that poor pine.”
“Are you one of Yavanna’s Tree Shepherds?” Círdan teased.
The other elf had not dared this journey to trade jests. Galadhon gathered his will and dared to ask the questions that his father and mother could not. A weakness, or sad foresight of the answer. But only Círdan, who still spoke to Ossë, who still had the strength to look at the sea and see something besides cruel betrayal, could provide an answer, if there was one to be received. “Do they miss us?” Galadhon asked. “Do they ask Ossë about us, or have they forsaken us in all things? I won’t ask if they are sorry,” Galadhon practically spat the words, “but does my sister even remember us? Or does she pretend that she has no mother or father or sister or brother?” In his outburst of rage, Galadhon did not become cognizant of the tears. Círdan did not point to them.
I need to write/draw more Eglath-Sindar during the period between Olwë's departure and Elwë's return.
More angsty Elmo standing between the forest and shore having lost both his older brothers, bereft of both people he would always turn to, uncertain of what to do and his own abilities as a leader. Elmo hugging his cloak around his body, lost in the darkness, willing himself to stand strong, wondering why the sound of water is no longer musical and comforting, be it the roar of the ocean or the babble of a stream or the slosh of a lake.
Galadhorn visiting his wise Uncle Círdan, asking if he has heard from Ossë about the ones that left with Uncle Olwë. Is eldest sister Ilsë safe? Is she happy? Does she think about us, about mom and dad and Egnith and me? Do they miss us? Should I even care if they miss us? How can you stomach the sound of the sea? It is so loud, unlike the forest; it drowns out all other songs; it doesn't want any song but its own to be heard.
How are the search parties divided and carried out? Solemn and downcast always with disappointment or not? What are the meetings when they regroup like, and are they like mini celebrations and festivals? How to they adapt and change down the centuries into the Third Age?
Does Olwë or any of his people face back as the island is towed towards Valinor, watching the wake of waves and the slowly receding shore, praying that figures will appear on the shore running towards them shouting that they've changed their minds, that they will come, wait here we are, we're all here? That Olwë walks up to Mandos and waits for his brother to walk out, because he thinks Elwë must have died in Middle-earth and this was the shortcut to meet him. That Olwë dreams that when he gets to Valinor Elwë will be standing next to Finwë and Ingwë (as is proper, is right, is as it always was and should be), and his big brother will scold in a laughing voice that Olwë took too long.
Yeah, I have lots of angsty feels about these three elven brothers.
I heard you had a hard week, and were looking for fandom distractions – would some Elmo fic help at all? I hope this is okay because you probably have really specific headcanons about this bit…
*****
It wasn’t coincidence that Elmo found him first. Elmo was the one that had been looking for him – the one that kept looking for him. Even so, he would have to confess afterwards – he hadn’t been expecting to find Elwë that morning as he set out into the forest with his bow. He took a circuitous route to the vantage point more out of habit, and stubbornness, than an actual belief he’d see anything. And when he saw the figure moving among the trees below, his first thought was that it was a scout of one of Morgoth’s creatures – they’d finally made it this far west.
But of course, it was far too tall.
Still, even as he descended, he kept a hand on his knife – it might be anyone. After all these years it wasn’t likely that Elwë would just walk back into the camp. It might not even be him, he told himself as his heart beat painfully in his chest. He tried not to get his hopes up – but if Elmo didn’t hope, he wouldn’t be here, wandering far out from the camp just in case. He wouldn’t even be here on the shores of Middle Earth if he didn’t hope to see his brother again.
So when he caught up to the tall, unkempt figure making his way through the trees, and got within hearing range, he shouted ‘Elwë!!’
And his brother turned immediately towards his voice. At that moment, Elmo didn’t need any light of any trees. His hope was rewarded – just once, just this once, the world had turned and smiled upon him.
‘Elmo…’ Elwë’s voice was hoarse, as if he’d either been shouting, or hadn’t used it in a while. His cheeks were more hollow, and when Elmo threw his arms around him he could feel all his brothers’ ribs . ‘Elmo, ai…I was afraid I wouldn’t…how long has it…?’
Elmo leaned back to look up into his brother’s face. ‘A long time, Elwë. Most think you’re dead.’ He squeezed his brother’s thin shoulders. ‘But you’re not. I knew you weren’t.’ That wasn’t quite accurate – he had hoped he wasn’t, and had thought it worth the risk to stay behind. But he hadn’t known. Although in this moment, finally holding onto Elwë he really didn’t care. ‘What happened, where…are you alright, are you hurt?’
‘No, no.’ Elwë shook his head. ‘I’m just…starving.’
Elmo put an arm around his waist. ‘Come on. Come and show them you’re alive.’
*****
Once before, his brother had vanished, and been thought dead – although that time, he’d announced where he was going first. But most thought he wouldn’t ever return from his voyage to the land of light.
He had returned. But he hadn’t been the same. Something in his eyes was different. He was still Elwë, the elder brother Elmo had looked up to in love and respect for as long as he could remember. But there was something new in his eyes.
Now there was something different again. Elwë had seen something else new and unprecedented. As they walked, Elmo tried to ask where he had been. His answers were confusing – even he seemed unsure of what had happened. But he didn’t seem hurt. He just didn’t know how long it had been, and finally Elmo had to break it to him. Elwë’s face went slack, his eyes widening in shock.
‘…years?’ he said, after a long silence.
‘Years. I told you – they think you’re dead. And Olwë…’ now it was his turn to not want to explain. They didn’t manage much more before reaching the outskirts of the camp.
‘We’ll have to gather everyone,’ said Elwë. ‘We’ll have to send messages to wherever they’re camped.’
‘This…is it,’ said Elmo. ‘We’re mostly all here.’ Elwë frowned – clearly the whole company couldn’t fit in the area between where they were standing and the sea. Elmo put an arm around his brother. ‘I’m sorry, Elwë. I couldn’t make them stay.’
‘They…’ understanding dawned on his face. ‘They left for Valinor?’
‘They left us behind,’ said Elmo, bitterly. ‘They wouldn’t wait for you.’
He was quiet as Elmo found him something to eat, but he didn’t seem so ravenous any more. ‘How many left?’
‘A lot.’ Elmo steeled himself to say the part that would hurt. ‘Under Olwë. He’s gone, and…I don’t think we can follow.’
They sat quietly for some time, Elwë eating slowly, and Elmo watching him – studying him for any sign of injury. Finally, he looked up.
‘I had no idea it was that long,’ he said, softly. ‘I didn’t mean…I never meant to leave you.’
‘I know you didn’t,’ said Elmo. ‘I told them that. You would never willingly abandon us.’ He took his brother’s hand. ‘So…what happened?’
‘I…’ Elwë ran his other hand through his silver hair. ‘I found Melian. And I can’t describe her to you…you’ll have to meet her to understand. But I didn’t…’ He looked up to the sky. ‘The whole world rushed away and there was only her. And I couldn’t have looked away if I wanted to. Then we both…we both kind of…’ he blinked. ‘…woke up. And we came to find you. I didn’t know – I don’t think she knew either – how long it had been.’
He tried to explain a bit more, but it was obviously difficult.
‘I think I’d like to meet Melian,’ Elmo decided. Maybe then things would make more sense. Maybe not. At this, Elwë nodded, some calmness returning to his expression.
‘She’ll…well. I don’t think she knew they were gone. I was coming to…’ he sighed. ‘It doesn’t matter now. I was coming to explain that I didn’t want to cross the sea any more.’
‘You don’t…’ Another long silence passed between them. ‘Elwë, you were the one who convinced us to go in the first place.’
‘I know. But I didn’t force anyone. I would have been happy for them to go without me, that’s what I was going to say, but…’ he struggled to meet Elmo’s eyes. ‘You stayed for me, and…I never meant for you to get left behind. You shouldn’t have been abandoned for me.’
Elmo shook his head. ‘You haven’t woken up properly yet, have you.’
‘Um…’ Elwë looked uncertain. ‘Maybe not. Why do you say that?’
‘Because I stayed when there was just a tiny chance you might be alive. I stayed because I didn’t want to leave you here alone. When you might have been dead. We all did, we chose to wait for you – or to wait just in case you came back. And now you are back.’ Elmo touched his brother’s arm. ‘All the more reason to stay.’
Of course they couldn’t change their minds now – they’d have to stay. And Olwë had made his choice too soon. That hurt. But ultimately – Elwë was alive, and he was here, and Elmo would follow him anywhere. Elwë blinked hard, and with shining eyes he pulled Elmo into a hard hug.
‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘Thank you.’ He drew away slightly. ‘I won’t vanish again,’ he promised. ‘I won’t do that to you. I never would, if I could help it.’
‘I know.’ Now it was Elmo’s turn to blink his suddenly hot eyes, and Elwë squeezed his arm.
‘We don’t need to go over the sea. We have all the light and safety we need here. You – all of you who stayed for me – I promise, I won’t let you down. We’ll all be safe.’ A slight smile appeared. ‘With Melian…agh, I can’t explain her. Come and meet her – she said I should speak to you all first, she’s waiting in a clearing to the north.’
Elmo stood up, ready to once again follow his big brother. ‘Yes. I would like to meet Melian,’ he said.
I split the monologue on Elmo into smaller pieces- so here's the first part at under seven minutes.
Yes, I know the meme was weeks ago, but I'm slowly dictating my responses and then having to post them.
I say Elmo, but I talk about more than just the character. First step in talking about my favorite minor elf y'all is looking at who he is -where the mentions from canon come from (also the alternating canon for Nimloth). Then the ulterior motive of "What do you mean, the red muppet?" Then into some personal general discussion of why I read The Silmarillion in the first place and my impressions. What I liked, what I didn't. Why Elmo gives me a latchkey to more of what I want from The Silmarillion. And then the splits between tribes and the calls of duty versus family and so much dramatic opportunity.
Next part will be actual head-canon and discussion of Cuiviénen and average elf family size. And the other characters like Elwë, Olwë, and OCs.
Where I wanted to write a sentence for the baby Eöl horror fic...
The moss is cool and soft, feels like the hair of his father under the boy’s fingers, short hair right after it is shorn when the boy rides on his father’s shoulders, for the boy’s father wears not the long braids with feathers and beads like Mother and Uncle and Grandfather and the others. Dark hair, not silvery like Uncle Galadhon, or even the dark silver of Grandfather, it does not reflect light. Mother says her uncle, the missing king, has even brighter silver hair, as bright as the stars that pierce down through the trees. They will find King Elu, Grandfather’s brother, by the shining silver of his hair, like a star between the branches. Mother says to always be looking for those glimmers of light behind the leaves, to move through the forest with eyes open, to never stop and never forget to see. The boy has spent his whole life searching through the trees, even before he was old enough to know what is was everyone was searching for. He knows each type of tree by the texture of bark under his fingers. He can find his path by the scent of earth and outcroppings of rocks. His mother taught him the names of the birds and other animals by their calls as she carried him in their journeys, then how to hunt them when he grew older. His father taught him how to build snares, to find water when there are no streams, to build a fire when the cold comes, and what to say to make Mother pause and laugh.
He is not afraid of the dark forest, to be alone in its shadows, for he has always had his parents, known that he would never be lost, ever unable to find them. Even when he could not see them, he could hear and feel his way back to them, and know that in truth they had never been far. They were never truly separated, never truly lost. The king is lost between the trees. We shall search and find him. See my son, see if you can find him, don't become lost like him. You are not a star; do not wander far. Grandfather and Grandmother worried, the last time they stayed in the same camp, told Mother they disapproved. They worried she and her husband and son would disappear into the trees and never return like Grandfather’s brother the missing king. Mother had laughed then, long and sharp, and Father had rubbed the short hair of his scalp in worry.
Now the boy wishes they had stayed with the rest of his family, with Grandfather Elmo and Grandmother and Uncle. Or that he could find them, find anyone. Even a glimmer of star-silver hair, though in the back shadow cave of his heart the boy never believed Great-Uncle Elu would be found. It was just a story, like touching the stars with your fingers, or dreams of flying, or that there were songs of the family that forsook them echoing back across the waves whispering 'sorry we abandoned you sorry sorry sorry'.
I’m sorry, the boy whispers to the echoing caverns in his heart. Sorry sorry sorry. I’m lost; I wasn’t listening. Why aren’t you replying to my calls? Mother, Father, come back. Don’t join the missing king in the stars.
The boy feels his youth, too young still for an adult name, though just recently he had begged his father for a true name, a name with meaning, old enough to prove his character, old enough to search on his own.
Now the boy is alone, and rubs his fingers across the cool moss and shivers and wipes away tears.
His eyes water because he is straining them so hard, searching between the dark leaves. He must be confident, he must see. Look, look long enough, and we will find him. Behind every tree, look for the starlight. Mother’s echos are weak without her laughter to give them weight and texture.
My goal for the month: need to write more on the brotherly struggles, camaraderie, support, bickering, anger, angst, and betrayal of the awesome and interesting elven princely trio.
Okay, this ties into my Elmo/Eglath/Sindar family as well.
First of all, I prefer that Dan/Lenwë wasn’t related to Elwë. That he wasn’t connected to Teleri royalty. (Also, my Cuiviénen head-canons starting from the Klingon Promotion onward work from the assumption that Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë are not analogous to the first leaders/Unbegotten of Cuiviénen but that the three were actually outsiders, low-ranked, disenfranchised, etc…) But Dan especially as only in a leadership position because of his own merits from the moment he stood up and surprised at how he was a spokesperson for many. (Basically an anti-Bereg/Amlach). So add the first OTP naturally is his wife.
Now I read the quote about Denethor and all his kin dying around him at Amon Ereb means that Denethor had to have a bunch of family. And as it’s Denethor leading the Nandor into Beleriand, not Dan, the family members must mostly be his generation and younger. So I’m thinking Denethor would have a sibling or two, a wife, and then several sons and maybe even grandsons. All would have been warriors and leaders of the Nandor/Laegrim, and their loss felt keenly after Amon Ereb. Unfortunately I don’t have names yet for them. But add romantic OTPs between Denethor and his wife, and any of his sons and their spouses (at least one of these OC pairings is m/m).
Now the big thing is that I see Galadhorn, only son and youngest child of Elmo and Linkwînen, who was born in Beleriand a little before Elwë was lost, marrying a kinswoman of Denethor. Again I hint at the story not just in this My Little Quendi but in this fic. That Elmo goes missing, presumed dead, during the first large-scale attack on the Sindar by Sauron. (This is the episode where evil wolves and things in the shape of wolves and horrors unspecified attack Beleriand some time after Thingol starts commissioning weapons from the dwarves and builds Menegroth, but before the Nandor arrive and then the orcs. Because it doesn’t have a name, involves just the Sindar, and was successfully repulsed with only about two sentences describing it, this battle/war is overlooked. I’m placing Elmo’s exit from the narrative here to highlight it.) Linkwînen’s first child, Ilsë, left with Olwë. Her second daughter, Égnith, was Eöl’s mother and she and her husband died/captured during the period the Eglath were wandering looking for Elwë (this). So Galadhorn is her surviving child. (They do find Eöl rescued by the dwarves of Belegost, and Linkwînen is the second strongest supporter of good relations with the dwarves because she has her damaged grandson back). Linkwînen encourages Galadhorn to find happiness with Denethor’s sister (or daughter). Celeborn and Galathil are with their grandmother in the safety of Menegroth during the war with the orcs, thus they aren’t there when their mother and father die with Denethor at Amon Ereb.
So non-Romatic OTPs? Guys- the line about how excited the Sindar were to be reunited/meeting the nandor is something I love and get really emotional about. So a deep friendship of respect and joy between Thingol and Denethor, please. Thingol heaped piles of orc corpses trying to get to Denethor and save him. Tragic BroTP long before Maedhros and Fingon at the Nirnaeth (and one that actually gives me emotions- Fingon and Maedhros’s friendship and whatever else in the book does zilch for me, which I think separates me from a lot of fans. No seriously, I found them, even their eagle rescue, utterly forgettable.)
And I think it’s obvious friendships between the Sindar and Nandor was widespread and among many individuals. That some many of the Nandor went to live in Doriath and were high in Thingol’s council. So I imagine that Lúthien’s childhood companions were Denethor’s sons. That Thingol was their godfather much like he’d be for Túrin much later on. That Nellas was a Nandor, so add all the OTPs with Nellas to this list.
That it’s canon that Saeros was best friends with Daeron and really upset with Daeron’s disappearance/thus his personal dislike of Túrin? That is fic gold! Imagine these two - the sensitive frustrated Da Vinci with a Nice Guy complex and the dandy snide Saeros.
And as I love Beren and Dior, all their interactions with the Green Elves is endearing.
(so yeah, not a lot of new thoughts, but I i'm adding and connecting them)
ugh. Can't add Lenwë to this picture because my head-canon has him as a member of another Nelyar village (and utterly unconnected to any preexisting royal family; Dan champion of the common man)
Adds all the Nandor and later generations of Sindar royal family to list of bonus extra pictures
