men of middle-earth ϟ the first men ϟ headcanon disclaimer
The first Men were Unbegotten as were the elves, and as the Firstborn woke beneath the stars, so did the Secondborn awake with the first rising of the Sun. Even as plants and animals woke from the Sleep of Yavanna, the first Men opened their eyes and wondered at the light above them, rejoicing in their gift of life and the discovery of the world around them. But before even this awakening there were two Men who knew Arda under the cloak of Darkness, for the elf Nuin of the Hwenti was a curious wanderer who stumbled upon Murmenalda, the Vale of Sleep, where the forms of Mankind awaited the first Sunrise. Nuin wondered greatly at this sight, deep in the mountains of Hildórien in the land of Palisor, and watched over the sleeping figures for long stretches of time. Eventually Nuin’s curiosity overwhelmed them, and when they stumbled against one of the Sleepers, causing the Man to stir, they could wait no longer. Nuin woke two Sleepers, a man and a woman, and though they had yet no speech and no understanding, they saw Nuin as a friend from the beginning. Nuin gave them the names Ermon and Elmir and taught them a little of the speech of the Hwenti, and it was not long before the Sun rose at last and the other Men awoke around the first two. Nuin remained in dear friendship with the first Men, especially Ermon and Elmir, and though they were eventually slain by the treachery of the Úmaia Túvon, the Men of the East held them in legend forever after, and the Edain remembered the kindness of Nuin when they first encountered the Eldar in Beleriand.
