Quennar and Rúmil were elves of the Tatyar who awoke upon the shores of Cuiviénen. They befriended one another upon the Great Journey, and once they settled in Tirion they fell in love and married in a private ceremony, never ones for inviting the outside world into their lives. Yet they both became renowned scholars whose works were highly influential upon all the Eldar, and soon became esteemed teachers among the Lambengolmor, the society of loremasters. Among their many students were Pendelótë, Ailios, and Avamordo, each of whom earned distinction of their own in after years.
Rúmil was particularly interested in linguistics, and strove to create a visual representation of speech. It was he who created the first elvish alphabet, known as the Sarati, for which he earned the name Saratitamo. When the Teleri at last arrived in Valinórë, Rúmil was the first to note the divergence in their language from what was spoken among the Noldor, and set about to studying the different evolutions of Common Eldarin into Vanyarin Quendya, Noldorin Quenya, and Telerin.
The great works of Rúmil were many, for his interests were broad. He recorded the Ainulindalë, the story of the Music of the Ainur learned from the Valar themselves; the Lambessë, a study of the development of spoken language; the Ambarkanta, a treatise on the shaping of Arda; and the Annals of Aman, the history of the Eldar in Valinórë co-written with his husband Quennar. His wisdom was also recorded by his students and compiled into the collection i Equessi Rúmilo, “the Sayings of Rúmil.”
Rúmil always shied away from the attention of the academic community, and was glad when Prince Fëanáro took his place as the most interesting scholar in Tirion. He did not begrudge Fëanáro’s advancements and improvements of the Sarati into the Tengwar, and indeed was honored to advise Fëanáro in his many writings.
The work of Quennar was more focused upon timekeeping and measurement, earning the epessë i Onótimo, “the Reckoner,” though he dabbled in linguistics and indeed had been the one to coin the word menel, “heavens,” at Cuiviénen. He collaborated with his husband on the Annals of Aman, but his greatest work was a labor of many years, and would not be completed before the Darkening of Valinórë.
Amid this tragedy and chaos, both Rúmil and Quennar were compelled to follow the Princes of the Noldor into exile, but after the Doom of Mandos was proclaimed, Rúmil was overcome with grief and horror and turned back with Arafinwë. Yet Quennar did not, pressing onward with Ñolofinwë, and the parting between him and Rúmil was one of great sorrow. In Beleriand, Quennar was awed by the rising of the Moon and Sun and reinvigorated to complete his master-work, the Yénonótië or “Reckoning of Years,” a comprehensive analysis of chronology from the early days of the Valar in Arda and through the current Years of the Sun.
But once his work was published, Quennar found himself deeply unhappy and missing both the land of Aman and the husband he had left behind. He followed his former student Penlod to Gondolin, and hid away quietly among the House of the Pillar. Only a handful of people knew he lived in Gondolin, but two of his most faithful students cared for him in his grief and solitude: Ailios, a peer from Cuiviénen who had taken the name Gilfanon, and his dear friend Avamordo, who was now known as Evromord.
Gilfanon and Evromord had learned from Quennar and Rúmil in Aman, and now as full-fledged loremasters themselves they were responsible for the preservation of ancient writings, with students of their own—most notably young Pengolodh, who would go on to revise and continue much of Rúmil and Quennar’s work in later Ages. Evromord and Gilfanon ensured Quennar’s survival amid the Fall of Gondolin and the War of Wrath, protecting him through many dangers, and sailed with him back to Aman at the end of the First Age.
Rúmil had left Tirion for Tol Eressëa, looking west for Quennar’s return, and their reunion was great and glad. Quennar woke from his stupor and became active and joyful once more, and together he and his husband dwelt on Tol Eressëa for many Ages, founding the Cottage of Lost Play. Evromord and Gilfanon remained close by, and when they at last were wed to one another it was Quennar who officiated their marriage. By the end of the Third Age, Rúmil and Quennar returned to the mainland, passing down their responsibilities to Evromord and Gilfanon, and they settled in a small home outside of Tirion, where they yet dwell in peace.
