Ottor Wǽfre was a Man of Middle-earth, the son of Eoh of the coast. In his youth he was made a bondslave by his cruel uncle Beorn, but soon he fled an island in the North Sea, where he met and married the woman Cwén. Always did sea-longing grip Ottor’s heart, and for that reason he called himself Wǽfre, the Wanderer, for he was born under Eärendil’s light and could not rest in one place in contentment. Yet for the sake of Cwén and the sons which she bore him, Hengest and Horsa, he remained on the island for many years.
Eoh his father had been born on the coast before he and his brother Beorn had wandered inland, and though Wǽfre had never himself seen the Sea he could feel its call within his bones, whetted by stories of Eoh’s youth, and now he was glad to find himself near the ocean of his heart’s desire. Still he yearned for more, and his contact with sailors and mariners put him in a mood to travel, and but for his young family he would have traveled with other adventurers to seek out the legends of Lost Tales and Fairy Lore.
When Cwén his wife died of an illness, Wǽfre left his young sons in the care of their mother’s family and succumbed at last to his sea-longing. For years he sailed the Western Sea, searching for unknown isles and fantastical lands, and once he wrecked upon the westernmost island known to Man, which in elder days had been called Tol Morwen. But an ancient sailor found him and gave him shelter, and over a fire in his lonely cabin fashioned out of the remnants of his boat, this old man told him strange tales of lands beyond the Western Seas, of the Magic Isles and that most lonely one that lay beyond.
This tale awoke a deep hunger within Wǽfre to find those lands himself, and with the words of the old sailor echoing in his mind he began a long and grievous search for the Lonely Isle. After many a weary voyage in treacherous waters, he at last discovered what he sought beyond an enchanted fog, and landed upon the shores of his dreams.
Upon this island he met many strange and wondrous folk, elves out of ancient tales who were fascinated by his mortality. They called their home Tol Eressëa, and gave unto Ottor Wǽfre new names: Sarothron, Angol, Melinon, and Eriol, which signifies “one who dreams alone.” He took up the name Eriol and begged to learn more of the elves, and the elders of Tol Eressëa took counsel and agreed to teach him their history.
He was welcomed into the Cottage of Lost Play, where he heard many stories from wise old elves and bubbly elflings alike. The doorward Evromord spun him the tale of the Ainulindalë first recorded by Rúmil, and the story of how the Valar entered the World; Meril-i-Turinqi, queen of the Isle, related the story of Melkor’s chaining and the coming of the Elves; the singer Lindo spake of the Darkening of Valinor and the theft of the Silmarils, leading to the Flight of the Noldor and the rising of the Sun and Moon; Lindo’s wife Vairilmë told of the hiding of Valinor; the loremaster Gilfanon spake of the trials of the Noldor and the coming of Man. Even the island’s children joined in the storytelling: the young maiden Vëannë told the Tale of Tinúviel and her mortal lover Beren, and her cousin Ausir spoke of Turambar and the Dragon, first recorded by the mortal Eltas. Ilverion related the tale of the Fall of Gondolin, whereupon Gilfanon took up the storytelling and continued with the history of the Nauglamír, and then Ilverion concluded with the Tale of Eärendil.
Thus educated on the lore of the elves, Eriol desired to dwell upon Tol Eressëa forever, and begged the favor of Meril to remain. This she granted, and wove magic upon him to return his youth and strength, and he made his home with Vairilmë’s niece Naimi, whom he wed and named Éadgifu in his tongue. Naimi bore him a son, called by her Vorindo and by his father Heorrenda, and for many years Eriol lived gladly among the elves of the Lonely Island.
But as age crept upon him once more (for the power of Meril could not change his mortal fate, only delay it a little while), a desire arose in him once more to return to his homelands and see the black cliffs of his shores. Meril warned against this departure, but Naimi his wife gave him this blessing, and so Eriol took up once more the name of Wǽfre and with his son Heorrenda sailed back to Middle-earth. With them they took the Golden Book in which Eriol had recorded the tales of the Eldar, which Heorrenda completed and shared among his kin, revitalizing the ancient legends of their ancestors.
Ottor Wǽfre Eriol died on his ship within sight of the black cliffs of his father’s homeland, though he never again set foot in Middle-earth. His spirit departed to receive the Gift of Men, but Heorrenda Vorindo continued to the mainland where he met his elder half-brothers Hengest and Horsa, and together they became great leaders of Men. Hengest and Horsa were mighty lords, but Heorrenda was a writer and recorder of their adventures, and thus the great stories of then and now were spread across many lands, never to be truly forgotten.
