#oc failaher

[arofili]

men of middle-earth ∿ misc. númenóreans ∿ headcanon disclaimer

          Nornion was the eldest son of Vóreäla, seventh Lord of Andúnië. He was raised as his father’s heir, but when Vóreäla opposed the imperialistic politics of Prince Círyatan, Nornion and his brothers were forced into the royal navy as punishment. By the grace of Tar-Minastir, his youngest brother Vilwarindo was spared, but no amount of pleading for the sake of his young daughter could save Nornion from his fate. He bid farewell to his wife Caliniel and his little girl Roquendië, and set sail for Middle-earth alongside his brother Callondur for a campaign of twenty years.           Círyatan ordered the brothers into the most dangerous parts of battle, eager to see his enemy’s sons die for his wars. Callondur was slain upon the fields of Haradwaith in the eleventh year of his sentence, but Nornion survived all twenty. Indeed, he was only a month away from returning home to Andúnië when Círyatan began a bloody battle against the Haradrim to claim the sea-port of Umbar. Though the Númenóreans won the day, it was at the cost of much life, and Nornion perished from his wounds before a healer could tend to him.           Hearing of her father’s unjust demise, young Roquendië vowed to avenge him and took up the sword. As she grew older and learned pity and kindness from her mother Caliniel and her grandfather Vóreäla, Roquendië’s heart softened, but she remained ever-hateful of Tar-Círyatan, his son Tar-Atanamir, and his son Tar-Ancalimon, who was as eager as his forefathers to violently subdue the Middle Men of the mainland.           Roquendië married late in her life to Vasaryamarto, a priest of Eru, and together they raised their son Failaher to love peace and honor the Valar, even as such positions grew less popular among the people of Númenor. Upon inheriting her uncle Vilwarindo’s title, Roquendië redoubled Vóreäla’s efforts to halt Númenor’s expansions, and though she was unsuccessful during her lifetime, her descendants would continue to resist the corruption and bloodshed enacted by the Kings of Númenor.

[arofili]

men of middle-earth ∿ misc. númenóreans ∿ headcanon disclaimer

          Failaher was the son of Roquendië, and the ninth Lord of Andúnië. Like his mother, he wed late in his life, taking the dancer Pirucendëa as his wife. She bore him two children: a daughter, Canyahondë, and a son, Tultaro. When Princess Vanimeldë entered his wife’s dancing troupe under the stage name Liltalissë, Failaher saw an opportunity to steer the next generation of rulers toward peace. Yet Vanimeldë cared little for politics, having fled to the arts to escape such things, and was not at all receptive to Failaher and Pirucendëa’s overtures at allyship.           Indeed, when she was crowned Ruling Queen, Tar-Vanimeldë allowed her husband Herucalmo to rule in her stead, and it was he who sat in her place on the Council of the Scepter. During his time of power, he steered Númenor in the direction of more aggressively patriarchal traditions, using Vanimeldë’s disinterest in ruling as an excuse to bar women from leadership. Canyahondë, who had by now inherited her father’s title, spoke out against this tyranny, but Herucalmo openly mocked her and dismissed her from the Council, telling her that Andúnië must bring a suitable politician to Armenelos or else go unrepresented.           Furious at this ill treatment, Canyahondë decried Herucalmo’s injustice, but even in her home city the response was not as supportive as she had hoped. Grimly, she took counsel with her younger brother Tultaro, and together they came to a bitter compromise. Canyahondë feigned surrender of her position to Tultaro, making him the official Lord of Andúnië, and he took her place on the Council of the Scepter—but behind closed doors, Tultaro still loved and respected his sister and deferred to her decisions, allowing her to retain a portion of her power. When the siblings decided it was time to pass their shared title onto the next generation, it was Canyahondë’s son Ilcarion who inherited leadership of Andúnië, not any of Tultaro’s children, and the line of leaders continued down through Canyahondë’s descendants.

[arofili]

the line of elros ☼ house of andúnië ☼ headcanon disclaimer

          The line of Andúnië continues thus:           Vóreäla was the son of Moruinë and Ortólorë, an athlete and mariner. In his youth he was friends with Prince Ciryatan, but as the former turned to greedy imperialism in his kingship Vóreäla used his place on the Council of the Scepter to speak against his former friend. Ciryatan’s abduction of his wife Ciara of Dunland was a great horror to Vóreäla, as his own mother Ortólorë was from a nearby region of Middle-earth, though she had come to Númenor willingly. But Vóreäla’s overtures of friendship to Ciara Tar-Morivanessië were unsuccessful, even when he entreated his own wife, Tyulussë, to aid him.           Tyulussë bore Vóreäla three sons, but the elder two were slain in Ciryatan’s wars, leaving the youngest, Vilwarindo, to inherit his father’s title. Vilwarindo was not raised to rule and when threatened by Ciryatan’s son Tar-Atanamir he reversed his father’s position of opposition to the king. His husband was the hunter Rómandur, and as they had no children together, Vilwarindo’s heir was his brother’s daughter Roquendië.           Though she was a warrior like her father, Roquendië hated her contemporary Tar-Ancalimon’s penchant for violence and as Lady of Andúnië she redoubled her grandfather Vóreäla’s efforts to halt Númenor’s expansion. Though she was unsuccessful, the next king was more amenable to her demands. Roquendië married Vasaryamarto, a priest of Eru, and they raised their son to love peace and honor the Valar even as such positions were growing less popular among the people of Númenor.           The son of Roquendië was Failaher, a gentle soul who loved the arts. He wed the dancer Pirucendëa, and as the young princess Vanimeldë entered his wife’s dancing troupe under the name Liltalissë, Failaher saw an opportunity to steer the next generation of rulers toward peace. Yet Vanimeldë cared little for politics, and her husband Herucalmo reigned in her stead as she engaged in theatrical pursuits, and thus Failaher’s plan failed.           Canyahondë was the daughter of Failaher and the third ruling Lady of Andúnië. Though she ruled during the time of Tar-Vanimeldë, Númenor had begun to return to more aggressively patriarchal traditions, using Vanimeldë’s disinterest in ruling as an excuse to bar women from leadership. Canyahondë was thus forced to allow her younger brother to act as Lord in her place, though she was the true leader of Andúnië and he always deferred to her decisions. Her spouse was Elwenára, a commoner who fled their home in the north of Elenna to a place where they would not be forced into their assigned role as a man, and in Andúnië found love with its Lady who was likewise struggling to be her true self in a darkening Númenor.           Canyahondë and her son Ilcarion were both long-lived even as the lifespans of the Númenóreans began to dwindle. Thus Ilcarion, twelfth Lord of Andúnië, ruled his city through the reigns of both Tar-Calmacil and Ar-Abattârik. This was a troubling time for the Faithful, who endured terrible persecution from the King’s Men. Ilcarion welcomed all Númenóreans who were Faithful to Andúnië, sheltering them in the last safe haven for those loyal to the Valar. One woman who fled Armenelos in this time was Morilindië, a singer who became his wife.