#irien

[quenta-narsilion]

Princess of the Noldor

“(Finwe’s) second daughter was named Írien and her mother-name was Lalwendë (laughing maiden). By this name, or in shortened form Lalwen, she was generally known. She went into exile with her brother Fingolfin, who was most dear to her of all her kin.”

~ The Peoples of Middle-Earth

Lalwen: @maellor

[ospreyeamon]

írissë arafániel < írimë lalwen < írien ?

It puzzles me where the íri in Lalwen’s father-name came from, especially since her elder sister Findis is so very clearly named after their parents Indis and Finwë. I had discontentedly assumed that she must be named after one of her grandmothers but now I wonder if she, like her namesake Írissë, was named after a paternal aunt. Perhaps that is who Írien is, rather than one of Lalwen’s daughters?

The lack of a discernible pattern in the daughters’ father-names in the family when basically every son gets a patronymic irritates me. Aredhel named after an aunt, Galadriel after her father, Arwen after her maternal grandmother, Findis after both parents. With only half a Noldorin princess named after her mother, Írien the Aunt seems a better bet than Írien the Daughter.

Does it follow that Indis and Írien were close? Or did Írien remain unsure about her brother’s remarriage and honouring her in Írimë’s name was meant as a placating gesture?

(Now I finally have a suspect I am happy to accuse of being Glorfindel and Aranwë’s royal forebearer.)

All the inconsistencies around the names and number of Indis and Finwë’s daughters makes me think there is in-universe text called ‘Daughters of the House of Finwë’ about the Finwean women – Írien, Findis, Lalwen, Finvain, Aredhel, Galadriel, Idril, etc – with details about their looks and interests but little about their relationships. One surviving into the Third Age in fragments with the sole intact section being the table of contents. One based off a collection of songs from Tirion rather than a genealogy. Fun to think about Galadriel hunting down the minstrel because the initial version of her ode is basically just a hundred lines comparing her hair and the light of her eyes to Telperion and Laurelin with nothing about her athletics or debating victories, and intimidating him into composing a new song about every single time she told Fëanor ‘no’ instead of just the ‘three strands of hair’ incident.

[nightingaletrash]

Maggie: from now on we'll be using code names. You can address me as Eagle One

Maggie: Jakarn is Been there, Done That

Maggie: Darien is Currently Doing That

Darien: *winks*

Maggie: Lerisa is It Happened Once in a Dream

Maggie: Kaleen is If I Had to Pick a Captain

Kaleen: I-

Maggie: Neramo is...

Maggie: Eagle 2

Neramo: oh thank the Stars

*later*

Maggie: I'd By Lying If I Said I Hadn't Thought About It is in position

Irien: by Auri-El, if you don't stop calling me that-!

[kipestshin]

Irien the teifling. Drawn as a little gift for his player. Kindly without armor.

[hyracia]

Did a simple lil coloring job on the gorgeous lines I got from @gainstrive for my boyo Irien!

PS Gain- Thunderclap is lookin v snazzy & should probs have lore soon ;)

what a cute noodle!

[taleoftal]

I love Irien - she is so headstrong and extremely determined to discipline Jakarn! Truly, they are a match made in heaven.

[irien-chronicles]

Welcome to Irien

A traveller, eh? You're new to Irien? Well. That's something we don't see every day. If you're not from Irien, where are you from? They say Irien's a ball, don't they? It's not like you could've just jumped onto our map from your own.

Earth? Like soil? Soil ain't a place, buddy. Unless you mean to say that you just crawled out of the ground like a plains-mole. But I'd hardly be surprised if you did. Strange things are happening here, you know.

What kind of strange things? Oh, all sorts. No, I can't really explain. I pick up a lonely wanderer's tale here and there, but you can't really expect a little man like me to spell out the mysteries of the world. You know, there was another strange bloke just like you around here the other day. Just opened up a rift in reality and stepped casually out of his little nowhere. It was the strangest thing, I tell you.

But I digress. You know, there are some people who are really good at this sort of thing. I mean, the strange sort of thing. The knowing what's going on sort of thing. Some people are real good at having their eyes and ears open. Oh, not me, no. Not me at all. I can tell what's happening one day at a time. Some folks can string together the days, too, to make era-long garlands. But not me. I'm just here to take you across the ocean.

Give it a try, though, won't you? The garland-stringing, that is. What you see here in Irien might not make an awful lot of sense at first. It might not make an awful lot of sense after a lifetime, either. But if you happen to be one of those people who are good at seeing things – good at tying days into garlands – you can learn a lot here. The world speaks volumes, but you have to know its language. So piece together the little scenes you come across and the little stories you observe. You might find that things are connected in ways you’d never have imagined. Do it for me, and for the little folk who want to know what’s happening in the world that we belong to. And if we meet again, tell me what you learn. Keep your eyes open, your ears unplugged and your wits whetted, and start learning the language of my world.