PS: I actually finished the first drawing in… uh, November, I think? But I still had to do Vana, Tulkas, and Este, and then I got distracted with other doodles and projects, and these ended up in my schoolbooks's pages... Towards the end of February I picked up them again and finished the Valar that I still had to do, but then I forgot to post them. Gist of the story: It's April, and it's been so long that I've forgotten what some of the images I used as specific references were. But I finally did it! It took me something like five hours to write down all the descriptions (wtf, how), but I did it!
Side note about the random stuff I found while researching: the Latin word fana is the plural of fanum, a type of small religious building of the Romans :)
TBBMS AU has a more pagan structure than the canon, which, despite "sketching" a pagan structure with the Ainur as adjacent deities-like with specific powers actually resembles a monotheistic structure with an omnipotent "creator" god and a divine plan, and the Ainur as various "angelic hosts," including "fallen angels" led by Melkor (that the metaphysics of the Legendarium also fails the monotheistic-Christianish framework is a discourse for another post).
In TBBMS, however, Eru is the creator of the Ainur, yes, but he is an "extra-world" deity, while the Ainur themselves are a divine pantheon of immanent and amoral forces. However, Eru still tries to "control" the Ainur and maintain control over their choices and creations, which led to Melkor's rebellion. (this is a very complex worldbuilding lore that I want to dedicate a separate post to too. Sorry guys I know this is the already the second time I've mentioned it in this same post, but it's one of the cornerstones of the plot-lore and I'd like to give it the focus it deserves.)
The Valar are all siblings between them since they were created at the same time by Eru and when they wed between them (greek phanteon style) each couple had children, the Maiar. The Ainur are personifications of the elements they dominate (Ulmo IS Water), and the parts of reality/world over which the Ainur rule/have power are called Domains. The powers of the Maiar are either a specific manifestation of one of their parents' Domains (e.g., Ossë is the Storm, Unien is the Calm Sea) or one of their meeting points (e.g., Eonwë is Dawn/Dusk Sky). There is also a fundamental distinction among the Ainur, which was lost in communication with the Elves (Noldor) and consequently with Men, between "Maia of" (= child of) and "Maia in service of" (= apprentice/student of). For example, Melian is a Maia of Yavanna but she also had been a Maia in service of Vana and Este, Olòrin is a Maia of Irmo (one of the dreambringers specifically, that do complementary works to their nightmerebringers sibilings) and has been a Maia in service of Manwë, Varda and Nienna.
As in canon, the Ainur are fundamentally bodyless Spirits, and had to take on a fana when they descended into Arda. However, while being shapeshifters, they have a """natural""" form which they tend to automatically shift into as the basis of a fana, unconsciously shaped by their Domains and personalities. During the Years of the Lamps the fanar were pretty much humanoid in shape, but usually had either animal elements, or even elements of the flora (Yavanna and Vana) and/or minerals (Aulë). The "basic" fana of the Maiar tends to resemble that of their respective Valar in the same way that human children resemble their parents. Some examples regarding eyes specifically: Mairon has Aule's, Eonwë and Ilmarë both have Varda's, Ossë and Unien both have Ulmo's :)
(the Dragons, being Melkor and Mairon's children, while in their Ainuric forms have Mairon's eyes with Melkor's scales.)
With the awekening of the Children of Illuvatar, these fanar have been "polished and sanded" to appear more elf-like and therefore more familiar and reassuring.
In this post I will talk about what the Valar's eyes look like in the Years of the Lamps, as well as their Domains. Furthermore, taking inspiration from some Catholic traditions that associate certain colors with candles for prayers/summonings of specific angelic hosts, I will mention which are the sacred colors of the Valar for their in-AU rituals.
Varda is the goddess of the Stars and the Night Sky, and her eyes are like a open window to her Domain. They are almond-shaped but tilted upward 45° compared to a human's. They have no sclera, irises or pupils and they are black like Eä outside the borders of Arda is. If you look in them from close enough you can see the stars moving. Technically she don't even have eyelids too, but the long silver lashes that grow from her eyes' edges give the impression that she does. She is also a goddess of War, even though her battles are more a thing of the Primordial Past, when she (along with Tulkas) was the main protector of the Timeless Halls against the void-spawn monsters of Eä's first millennia. Her colors are black or purple.
Manwë is the god of the Day Sky, Air, Winds, Lightning and Rain, as well as the Lord of the Birds. His eyes are those of an eagle, but with sky-blue irises and sclerae and white pupils, senile arches and eyelashes. It is said that he can see the world through the eyes of all living (incarnate) creatures that soar in the sky, and that if you look deep into the eyes of an Eagle (his sacred animal), you can see what he sees across the physical dimension of Arda. His colors are azule and white.
Melkor is the god of Entropy, Shadows, Winter (Cold, Ice, Snow) and Destruction, as well as the Lord of Reptiles. As such his eyes are like those of a reptile (unfortunately I can't remember WHICH reptile I used as a reference; I know their eyes can be quite different sorry), but with black sclerae and ice-blue irises, with black slitted pupils that absorb the surrounding light. Also the "skin" around his eyes its covered in black scales and his eyelashes are encrusted with snow. His colors are black, ice-blue, dark blue and some specific shades of green and purple.
Ulmo is the god of Water and of the Ocean. His eyes are shaped like a fish's (again, I've forgotten which fish I specifically referenced, sorry), round and large. He has no eyelids, and his pupils have a glassy, liquid-like effect. The irises are fixed in size, almost as large as the eye itself, and their colour shifts between aquamarine and the various shades of blue found in the sea's different depths, with the visual effect typical of light refracting on the surface of the sea. His colour is blue.
Aulë is the god of Earth, Fire, Stone, Gems and Minerals and of the Arts of Craft. His Domain also includes volcanoes and earthquakes. His eyes have a geometric shape with very sharp angles, which often change due to the movement of the magma that flows inside his fana along with ichor. The edges have a thick, dark line of solidified lava. They have no irises, but a sclera of living flame, and the lines are straight and serpentine, though they can narrow or widen during strong emotions. His colors are red and orange.
Yavanna is the goddess of Plants and Agriculture. Her eyes are shaped like ovoid leaves of a bright green colour, and that widen toward the nose. They have no irises or pupils, but they are crisscrossed by yellowish leaf-like veins. Her colours are any shade of green but especially the dark ones.
Oromë is the god Hunt, Archery, Predatory Animals and Wilderness. His eyes are like a wolf's in color and shape, but they glow from inside. It is said that a mortal's heart stops beating if they looks directly into his eyes. His colors are any shade of brown and occasionally blood red.
Nessa is the goddess of Herbivorous Animals and of the Arts of Dance, Gymnastics and Acting. Her eyes look like a the ones of a deer, her sacred animal. Her color is pink.
Nienna is the goddess of Mourning, Suffering, Crying, Hope, Compassion and Consolation (and in a broader sense of Emotions and Interiority in general). Her eyes are slightly downward-slanted (I took inspiration from SU's Blue Diamond for this), with cool gray sclerae, warm gray irises, and silver pupils and lashes. Given her divine role, it's common to see her cry light-glistening tears. Her colour is grey.
Irmo is the deity of Dreams, Nightmares, Sleep, Psyche, Unconsciuos, Imagination, Madness and Ecstasy. As such, they're a Spirit whose gender is ever-changing, eluding all definition. Their eyes are human-like in shape but not in appearance, giving so a sense of disorientation. Their eyes are pink and have neither iris nor pupil, but hypnotic circles that eternally expand from the center to the edge of the eye, where they are "eaten" by the eyelids. Their eyelashes are violet. It is said that if a mortal look them in the eye while they're awake they'll descend into madness. Their colors are lilac and impossible/imaginary colors such as olo.
Namo is the deity of Death, Souls, Fate and Prophecies. As an unembodied Spirit they were completely genderless, although once they took the fana they were not averse to being addressed as either male or female. They don't speak much but when they do they use a very deep, booming and reverbering voice, and for this reason in many cultures (especially human ones) they are interpreted as male and therefore depicted with male attributes/characteristics. In reality, even after the awakening of the Children of Illuvatar, their fana remains completely hidden by black robes, and when their hands appear from beneath the cloth they appear bony, as if completely devoid of muscle, and with a wrinkled skin of the paled color of a dead body's. Namo's face cannot be seen from beneath their hood, but if one could, one would see that they have no eyes. Instead there are two hollow cavities like those of a skull from whose centers blazes a purplish light. Their colour is dark purple.
Vairë is the Deity of Time, History, Writing (Alphabet) and of the Arts of Weaving, Tapestry and Drawing. They are also the deity associated to insects and spiders. They're a genderless Spirit like their spouse, but like them they don't mind being addressed as male or female. Their fana is also completely covered by robes (although of lighter colors than their spouse), but unlike Namo's, Vairë's hands and face are left uncovered. Their eyes are large and vaguely insect-like, a grayish color without irises or pupils that reveals nothing. They too aren't particularly talkative, and when they speak their tone is said to be airy yet little expressive. Many peoples interpret and depict them as having feminine attributes and/or characteristics, including elves. Their colours are violet and occasionally ash gray.
Vana is the goddess of Youth, Childbirth and Parenthood, as well of one of the deities of Life. Her eyes have an iris like the stamens of a daisy, the central one the same pale green as the sclera and acting as the iris. Her eyelashes are petals of various colors, starting greenish at the part touching the eye and becoming increasingly brighter towards the edges. Her color is light green.
Tulkas is the god of Strenght, Fight, Violence and (even if not all peoples recognize and/or worship these parts of him) Bloodshed and War. His eyes have pink sclerae with yellow irises and orange pupils and limbal rings. His eyelashes are yellow too and longer and thicker than a human's, to match his lion mane-like hair, mustache and beard. His color is yellow.
Este is the goddess of Healing, Medicine and the Body. She has the more human-like eyes of all the Ainur. She has hazel irises (brown blending into green) becouse most of ancient medicines were made with plants and herbs. Her color is white.
WIP of the first chapter of Love is in the air tonight, or in all the nights of Echoriath. A comedy of errors ft. Tuor and Maeglin plus the Court of Gondolin as collateral damage.
Or, to summarize: Maeglin enters pre-rut hyperphagia and Tuor has a sexually repressed bisexual crisis over it, while accidentally performing all the right steps of a food courtship and so gaining a boyfriend without even knowing it.
NB this is a set in an AU where Elven Kindreds are actually different species. Becouse of the huge differences between the Kindreds biologies they can't """interbreed""", to use a technical term, and while they can have children between them they will inherit only the father's species (which is the reason Elven families are patrilinear). So Maeglin is a Linda like Eöl and not a Noldo like Aredhel. The Lindar are the less humanoid-like of all the three Kindreds, and also the only one working on a hormonal cycle. They are also carnivores, unlike Noldor and Humans who are omnivores. Most of the fic misunderstandings are based on the fact that Tuor does not know any of this.
⚠️ cw: misoginy, bodyshaming, references to offscreen violence, and sexual tension that borders oogling. Also, there are several moments in which Tuor is scared, uneasy and/or anxious that may be uncomfortable to read for people sensitive to that.
When the frost began to melt, Lómion began to act weirdly. Well, weirder than usual.
If he already wasn't the embodiment of sunshine, he was now irritable and aggressive, seeming prone to anger at even the wrong look (though what the Prince considered "a wrong look" seemed more subjective than ever, which led servants and lords alike to avoid his gaze altogether, lowering their eyes when they crossed his path and staring past him if they absolutely had to speak to him. Not that Lómion encouraged conversation). He squinted uncomfortably at the light, and could barely hide a grimace at the lively sounds of the city. He was more tired than usual, exhausted even, especially in the afternoon when he seemed almost drowsy. At the same time he was incredibly restless, especially at evening, shifting uncomfortably in his chairs as if struggling to remain seated, his leg twitching with frantic impatience, his eyes darting to follow every movement.
His appetite had also visibly increased.
On the third day of this new change, dinner consisted of larded pheasant stuffed with deer liver sausage (left over from lunch) and slivers of roasted chestnuts.
Usually, the platters of meat were placed in front of the King's seat and then passed to his left, counterclockwise, so that Lómion would get it last and the Prince could finish the entire remaining portion without fear of offending the rest of the diners. That day, however, no one seemed interested in the meat, whose platter had strangely been placed directly in front of Lómion, including the Prince himself, who was far more focused on his frankly alarming quantity of pork and taleggio cheese rolls. Tuor glanced nervously around the other diners, eager to have some, but the bizarre atmosphere was making him feel uneasy for a reason he couldn't name. It didn't seem like a dish meant for any kind of ceremony (for Illuvatar only knows how many Gondolin had!), but he didn't want to risk disrespecting some tradition he might be unaware of. After all, since the Elves' lives were so long, some of their celebrations fell on a five-year, ten-year, or even centennial basis, unlike the annual one of Men. He wanted to ask Lord Aldaron, sitting to his right, but the Lord of the House of the Tree was too absorbed in his discussion with Lord Tuilindo about the tiles of the new rose garden pavilion. Itarillë also seemed very engrossed in her animated conversation on the last equestrian palio with Princess Lalwen, to which the King was also paying attention with a slightly frowning look, adding comment about a specific horse or rider every now and then.
After a moment of hesitation, he thought it would be a shame if a dish prepared with such obvious care would go to waste, and decided on a leg. But he hadn't even touched the edge of the tray before a low, deep growl reverberated through his bones, and the entire room suddenly fell silent.
The other diners were watching the situation sideways, tense as violin strings, but Tuor was too frightened by the source to care. Prince Lómion was pinning him with a gaze so fierce and penetrating it almost seemed as if he were considering how best to slice him into pieces. With the hairs on his neck standing on end, Tuor pulled his hand away from the meat and used it instead to push the tray toward him, like a little tender bunny rolling an apple toward a hungry fox. Then he slowly removed his hands, still keeping them visible, and raised them in surrender for good measure.
Only then did Lómion stop growling, blinking a couple of times as if he were just now remembering where he was, and he coughed to regain his usual cold composure, though he continued to glare at him.
"It's mine." the Prince simply announced in an icy voice, and Tuor nodded with perhaps a little too much energy than necessary, while Lómion pulled the tray closer to him and returned to concentrating on his rolls. The other diners then finally relaxed, and the room returned to its usual idle chatter as if nothing had happened.
Tuor also returned to his plate, timidly moving the onions and lentils in salsa verde with his fork. Actually, the meat wasn't really essential; surely there must be other delicacies. All the dishes in Gondolin were so flavorful and varied that Tuor could survive on vegetables alone for a few weeks. Just look at that salad, what's healthier than a salad? There were primroses and violets in this one too! Yes, Lómion could have all his meat dishes, after all, Tuor didn't need them that much.
The next day, just to be sure he'd settled whatever kind of disagreement was the one over the pheasant, he decided to forgo his portion of sliced beef, sliding his blue majolica tray toward the Prince. The elf practically jumped in his skin at the unexpected contact, too absorbed in his thoughts to notice the muffled sound of the tray on the silk until he felt the cool ceramic touch his arm. He whirled around, his ears flattened against the skull and his eyes wide with something that could almost have passed for fear, the pupils so large they blended with his black sclerae. It lasted only a fraction of a second before they focused on Tuor, and the human felt a tingle down his spine as he watched them shrink to pinpricks. He fought hard the urge to leap from his chair, instead pressing himself against the edge of the backrest as the Prince seemed to peer at him, a light pressure at the edges of his mind that the man had come to recognize as telepathy. Lómion's, however, was different from that of his relatives: not a flow of words as fresh and light as the summer breeze, but a warm, pulsating sensation, an electric impulse that bounced constantly between a mind and the other, but which Tuor was unable to grasp and stop to read. Or at least it was in most cases, seemingly involuntary, for even though he had never used it on the human himself, Itarillë had told him that Lómion was capable of speaking with ósanwë as his cousins did, and even of transforming the breeze into a sharp, icy spear, like a dagger driven painfully deeper into the skull until the other surrendered or retreated, an ability no Noldo had ever possessed, and which understandably left them very unsettled. In any case, whether voluntary or not and even if it wasn't a painful sensation, Tuor was too dizzy by it to be able to raise the walls of his mind as Itarillë had taught him.
Finally, after what must have been a few seconds but felt like an eternity, Lómion seemed to find what he was looking for, for he tore his gaze away and turned to the tray, pulling it toward himself. Tuor blinked a couple of times as the room around them came back to his senses, not even a faint throb remaining in his head. Perhaps he was even more lucid than before, for he realized that subconsciously he would have preferred Lómion to ignore the offer so that he could eat the beef instead. He watched with something akin to despondency as the Prince grabbed his knife to scrape away the thick layer of sesame seeds in honey and ground almonds sauce that coated and flavored the meat, and then devoured each slice in a single bite.
But perhaps he had made a mistake. For all the days that followed, Lómion appropriated every plate of meat that Tuor received without even asking, meticulously eliminating everything that wasn't protein. Tuor didn't even protest; something in his gut told him it wouldn't be wise to try.
After a week from the start of the Spring Tour, reaching slightly for the salt, accidentally bumped his knee against Lómion's thigh. It was a fairly common occurrence, in fact, because if Tuor was tall, Lómion was even taller; his incredibly long legs, bent under the table as they were to fit, would inevitably have been cramped even with a neighbor smaller than the Human. Still, Tuor found himself in a cold sweat. He furtively glanced at Lómion, who was watching him with a strange intense expression, but he didn't move and soon went back to ignoring him to concentrate on what he was eating. Clumsily returning to his seat, Tuor noticed that the thigh against which his knee was pressing suddenly seemed more… soft?
While the elasticity of his large, firm muscles could still be clearly felt, there was definitely a softer, spongy sensation now, almost like...
Fat???
Incredulous, Tuor looked down and noticed that yes, his neighbor's pants were visibly tighter.
Eleven days after the start of spring, an incident occurred. The details were not known exactly, but it was said that it had occurred in the middle of the afternoon, in the Well Cloister of the East Wing, starting as a harsh altercation between the Prince and some of the roundsman and ending with five shattered elf-sized amphora planters, the intervention of the guards, a broken arm for the gardener and a terrified and sobbing maid who was then transferred in the following days to work in the South Wing.
Lómion was immediately dragged into the King's office and remained there until the next day. The Prince was then temporarily suspended from his duties and then locked himself in his chambers. In this period the staff of the House of the Mole also became more cold and hostile toward the other households, though the specific reason remained private between the Prince's and the King's Houses.
Two and a half days later, the Prince returned to dinner, and for the next few days he continued to not leave his chambers except for dinner.
Two weeks after the start of spring, Lómion's thighs had begun to visibly overhang the edge of the chair, even as closed. They seemed so soft that Tuor felt a sudden irrational urge to dip a finger into them, but he held back. Although Maeglin didn't seem particularly responsive at the moment, Tuor shared the common human preference of wanting to keep all his limbs attached to his body, nor was it respectful to touch another person's body without their permission.
Though it was absolutely none of his business how much or what another person ate, Tuor couldn't help but be concerned. He was well aware that while the two Races looked fairly similar, elven health wasn't the mirror image of human health, and thus it wasn't reasonable to use the parameters of one to evaluate the other, but such a drastic weight gain didn't seem healthy even for an elf. Especially since it seemed strangely localized: though his thighs, hips and gluteal region were visibly thicker and, err… jiggly, the rest of his body seemed to have undergone no visible change, save for a very thin extra layer of fat over his abs.
Not that Tuor was staring at the ass of his future wife's cousin! That would have been not only unfair to Itarillë, but also completely disrespectful to Lómion himself, and Tuor was truly trying to be a man capable of better and deeper appreciation for a person than an old drunkard in a tavern would have!
It was simply that the weight gain had also increased the natural sway Lómion possessed, which he normally tried to suppress, and consequently had also increased the… movement… of those parts.
As the days passed, this had become increasingly evident, to the point that even those who normally didn't notice the most subtle changes had noticed it (because it was anything but subtle), to the extreme discomfort of the entire court. For the Noldor everything relating to the body, especially the adult body, had to be hidden under numerous layers of clothing and kept as politely as possible out of conversation, even when it involved medical matters. This new shape of the Prince (which apparently wasn't new, according to the little information that had reached Tuor's ears. It was simply that most of the years since he had obtained his House, the Prince had chosen to absent himself from the city for "business trips" to the quarries and mines, although some more insidious rumors insisted that he wasn't actually heading for the mountains at all but rather eloping with a mysterious maiden to the infamous Telerin Quarters) was not only shamefully effeminate for a Lord, but also incredibly obscene and dishonorable for everyone involved. However, no one, not even the King himself, had dared to say this to his face, not wanting to risk suffering the same fate as the poor gardener. Even Lord Aldaron, who was notoriously blunt, knew better than to point this out to him, especially since, judging by how Lómion's cloaks had become progressively looser and more covering throughout that period, the Prince was already quite aware of it himself.
Two weeks and two days into Spring, something strange happened, something that could be considered a significant improvement on Tuor's diet at the time.
The human was diligently eating his dish of boiled agretti, leeks, and spring onions spiced with nigella and poppy's seeds, and his salad of lovage, seseli leaves, and nasturtium cultivated directly in the fountains of Lord Ektelion's private garden, when a small loaf of white mayne bread was rolled from his right.
Alarmed, Tuor looked up at Lómion and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end when he saw the Prince giving him that strange, intense look again. The elf remained seemingly unfazed by his anxiety, but he tilted his head slightly and moved his eyes toward the loaf, implicitly gesturing for him to take it. Tuor then reached out to take it, his heart pounding and his ears ringing, and he did not take his eyes off Lómion for a second.
The Prince didn't break eye contact too, still with that impassive expression, and seeing him frozen with his wide-eyed gaze, he mimed the action of swallowing, impatient and a little bit irritated as if dealing with a particularly difficult child.
Finally realizing what he wanted, Tuor brought the loaf to his mouth, but hesitated to bite: his instinct told him that if he didn't accept, there would be severe consequences, but he also sensed that if he did accept, there would be equally important consequences, although in both cases he had no idea what they might be.
Lómion continued to stare at him intently, and so finally hunger won and Tuor took the first bite of the bread. Encouraged by the fact that Lómion hadn't yet shown the slightest sign of fangs, the man finished the loaf, though the sweat on his hands made it slightly slippery and his dry mouth made it difficult to swallow.
After what was frankly a ridiculously high level of effort to chew a loaf of fresh bread, Tuor didn't even have time to open his mouth to ask for clarification before the Prince pushed a small earthenware bowl of goat's cadolet steeped in semi-fermented milk toward him. The man felt his eyes widen in surprise and froze like a deer before a torch, until Lómion began stamping his foot impatiently. Despite his young age, Tuor was wise enough not to waste an opportunity when it was presented to him, and he decided that the chance to eat and not being killed by Lómion's bite for doing so was one of the best opportunities he had ever had. But as he moved to grasp the spoon, the Prince lifted his lips to slighty reveal his fangs, without growling, and Tuor instinctively dropped the silverware from his hand. It clattered to the floor with an audible metallic clung that earned him a sideways glance from the other diners, who just as quickly returned to their conversations. His heart pounding again, the human turned to Lómion, who was looking at him with visible approval, and again silently nodded toward the cheese bowl.
Thus it was that Tuor, vaguely wondering what combination of his recent choices had led him to this situation, found himself dipping his fingers into a bowl of semi-fermented milk under the unyielding scrutiny of the Prince of the Hidden City. Only when he had thoroughly cleaned them with his tongue Lómion did finally break eye contact, leaning closer to sniff the crook of his neck, a strange rumble emitted from his chest, unthreatening but low enough to vibrate through Tuor's own ribcage.
His breath was as warm and moist as his skin, a metallic aftertaste too strong and pungent to be from any kind of cooked meat, and Tuor felt his heart stop as a long tongue slowly ran along the back of his ear. He then moved slightly higher to nibble delicately at the roots of his hair, a little snort as the blond strands tickled his nose. The prince concluded with a light bunt of his head against the human's temple with a rumble just a note higher than the previous one, and then returned his concentration on what was his tenth partridge egg for the evening, looking exceedingly satisfied.
Tuor wasn't sure what had happened, since Lómion ignored him for the rest of the dinner that evening, and continued to ignore him for all the other dinners. The fact is that from that moment on, Tuor was able to resume eating dairy products, even though Lómion had made it clear that meat and eggs were still off-limits.
Edit: For those interested, here the site where I got most of the herbs/plants mentioned in the text, along with their uses. Also, since I couldn't find anything directly related to an explanation of Mayne bread specifically, here a general explanation of medieval bread :)
Quick marker drawing of Olórin during his years on the Halls of Mandos :)
He's one of the children of Irmo and Este, though his powers are a specialization of his father's Domain. His Valarin name (hc) is Illibūlēz (Dream-maker), as he's the leader of the Dreambringers. Since communications between Houses/Wards mainly occur through the House/Ward Heads, after a few millennia "Dream Bringer" began to refer to Illibūlēz par excellence, and it remained as a nickname even when he went to apprentice with Nienna. For this, the elves of Valinor later will slightly "mistraslste" his name, for in Quenya he's known as Olórin ("Dream Bringer").
His skin is lilac like Irmo's, and his hair are like his father's too. In this form, his head is shaped like almost perfectly round sphere, on which his face "sits" on in the shape of a butterfly's wings. The markings on his upper wings resemble Vairë's eyes, but they are actually just markings. His actual eyes are the six spots on his lower wings (three on each), round and slightly flattened, with the sclerae of the same fuchsia as the spirals in Irmo's. His irises, however, are the same bright "unnatural" red shade as his lips.
His palms are squat and broad, slightly asymmetrical, and his fingers are long and tapered, with slightly curved tips and sharp claw-like edges. Despite this, they do not cut. Instead, they serve to delicately penetrate the unconscious of mortals, and during sleep, combine the abstract figures and memory elements found there to create dreams.
His "clothes" aren't actually clothes but rather the fana itself. The under strate is a robe dark gray outside and cold gray inside. Over it he "wears" a sort of giornea in the shape of a series of overlapping leaves, a callback to the Gardens of Lórien, and with the colors of Autumn, for autumn is the season where nature prepare to sleep. It could also be interpreted as an inverted flame, foreshadowing his future connection with Narya, the Ring of Fire.
His fana has no feet, instead his robe "creeps" over the ground, with the frayed edges that work like the legs of a centipede.
Love your speculative botany thoughts (plus your blog is super cool in general!)
-@outofangband
ahdidfsshfkhds thank you so much! The first time I saw this message I literally squeaked with joy (it was a really unexpected surprise, but the good kind), and it still brings a smile to my face every time I think of it <3
Sorry it took me so long to reply, but I thought since you liked my thoughts on botany you might also be interested in this post on my Silm AU sideblog too, and I had to finish it first 😅. I'd started this speculation already back in August, but then I got distracted as usual and so it ended up in the mental garage. Your comment was what pushed my procrastinating ass to finally finish it, so thanks for that too <3
(speculative) Flora and Fauna of Beleriand in the Years of the Stars
(Or TBBMS AU biology part 1)
cw: mentions of necrocannibalism, elves kindreds as different species.
Everything I've written is based on the knowledge I've gained from school science classes and various Google searches, so any scientific or pseudoscientific information in this text should be taken with a grain of salt. If anyone with a reliable source contradicts anything I've written, please let me know so we can learn together :)
Also, English is not my native language, so I apologize if some passages are unclear, especially the more technical ones.
First of all, I think it's important to begin by specifying that I believe it's incorrect to use the term "Years of the Trees" to refer to the counting of the Years of Beleriand, given that the Two Trees are in Valinor and their light couldn't reach across the Ocean, given that it's explicitly stated that Beleriand is illuminated only by the stars (and that the reflection of the Trees' light is a characteristic of the Calaquendi!). It makes sense to use the terms "Years of the Stars" and "Years of the Trees" from a Noldor historiographical perspective, because for them they correspond to two very different eras in their history as a people. If, however, we consider the cultural lens of the various Elven peoples of Beleriand (or even the Dwarves), this distinction seems illogical: it's as if we expected a Chinese person to use "the Tudor Era" to refer to the history of China, or vice versa an English person to use "Han Dynasty" to refer to the history of England. It's much more likely that the Elves remaining in Beleriand counted their years from the Awakening, and/or had a particularly impactful historical event marking a major change among multiple peoples, such as the war/battle that killed King Denethor (son of Lelwë), which led the Green-elves to their semi-nomadic lifestyle.
The term Years of the Stars may indeed have been introduced to Beleriand by the Noldor, and then adopted by the Elves of Beleriand in relation to the "Years of the Sun," which had just begun.
Therefore, when I use "Years of the Stars" for Beleriand, I am referring to the period of time between the Awakening of the Elves at Cuiviénen and the first rising of the Moon (and therefore the Sun).
So, what were the flora and fauna of Beleriand like in the Years of the Stars?
Let's start with geography. Melkor is the only Ainur associated with cold, with his lands covered in thick layers of ice and snow. His power alone, in the most ancient times (such as the Years of the Lamps), would have created an Ice Age. However, many of the Umaiar, such as the Balrogs and Mairon himself, are associated with fire, and it's likely that their powers "pushed in the opposite direction," that is, "warmed" the continent and thus led to a partial "mitigation" of the climate (we're still talking about Arctic tundra not the Mediterranean). But Beleriand would still have remained extremely colder than Aman, if only for the fact that Aman has no winter. Furthermore, there was no Sun, and consequently its rays did not warm the ground (night is colder than day precisely because of the absence of sunlight).
In the Arctic regions, due to the extreme tilt of the Earth's axis and the limited solar radiation received, there are only two main seasons: "polar night" (a long, cold winter with almost total darkness) and the "midnight sun" (a short, cool summer with continuous light). Arda in ancient times is flat and sunless, so these criteria don't apply, BUT! The powers of the Ainur dictate the changes in Eä, and this means that specific Ainur bring the seasons (whether there is one per season, or some have the same job in different parts of the world, we don't know because Tolkien doesn't specify). Melkor is Winter, as noted above, and Mairon (according to my analysis that I will publish sooner or later, I swear, either separately or as part of another post) is Spring. So Beleriand DOES have an alternation of seasons, which are less differentiated than those of the Years of the Sun but still present.
Melkor's chaining and his subsequent imprisonment in Valinor would have meant that the power of Mairon and the other Ainur of Fire would have had a greater overall impact than when Melkor was present in the flesh, leading to a partial mitigation of the climate, but Beleriand in that part of the Years of the Stars would therefore still have remained colder than it will be in the Years of the Sun (by the way, I wanted to specify that I consider the formation of mountain ranges and volcanoes as "the work of Melkor" a propaganda manipulation by the Noldor, or even a mistranslation due to their cultural parameters, to magnify the figure of the "Great Dark Enemy" as the father of all that is "evil"... such as natural disasters, apparently. Instead, they were created by Mairon and the Balrogs, who are also Maiar formerly of Aulë, since Tolkien SPECIFIES that Aulë is the Vala of the Earth and "of its heart of fire". That is, magma. And therefore volcanoes are part of the Domain of Aulë, not of Melkor. End of the matter).
Doriath, protected by the Belt of Melian (which is present IMMEDIATELY with the foundation of the kingdom and not "by chance after battle x", because THERE ARE NATURAL PREDATORS AS A THREAT, TOLKIEN, FOR FUCK’S SAKE), is the most "temperate" area of YoS Beleriand, which however must be considered "warm" as Denmark is "warm" compared to Siberia.
Another phenomenon that would be absent is the sea's climate mitigation: water has a very high thermal capacity; to heat or cool, it must absorb or release a lot of energy. Therefore, it takes longer to change temperature than the land, which, combined with the constant heat exchange with the air (when water is warmer than the air, it releases heat; when it is colder, it absorbs it), means that coastal areas experience warmer winters and cooler summers than continental areas. Without solar radiation, the sea would not accumulate thermal energy, and therefore the coastal and continental areas of Beleriand are equally cold.
Furthermore, other large bodies of water, such as Cuiviénen itself, unlike the sea are not even moved by currents or tides (which in the Tolkien universe would be caused by the Maiar of Ulmo rather than the Moon), making them stagnant and overloaded with cold moisture. This means they are very foggy, if not downright marshy, areas.
For life to exist, however, there must also be something counteracting entropic cooling. The most likely option is geothermal energy through a high volcanic presence, with Thangorodrim as the largest complex (yes, I know that canonically Melkor created it after returning with the Silmarils, but let's pretend it's one of the things Tolkien wrote multiple versions of. Like, he drew the mountains straighter than the African colonies' borders 💀 like wtf are those 💀💀💀), although there are others scattered across the mountain ranges across the continent, in varying states of activity. Marine volcanoes are probably also abundant, but they're too deep for their heat to reach the surface. In short, Beleriand is sort of Iceland-like, but on a continental scale.
The vast amount of heat from the subsoil would also have warmed the underground aquifers, and the underground lakes (Beleriand and Middle-earth appear to have many karst areas) would have created a sort of "thermal effect," while the surface lakes and rivers would be much colder, again due to entropic dispersion. This may be one of the main factors that drove many dwarven and elven societies (just think of Menegroth!) to develop inside caves, to protect themselves not only from predators but also from the cold, as well as have convenient and stable access to drinking water.
The animals would therefore have characteristics typical of our world polar fauna, with thick, camouflaged fur (like that of the Arctic fox, which changes color with the season), thick skin with blubber (a layer of insulating fat), and a slow metabolism, with many species hibernating during the coldest months. They would also be similar to nocturnal animals in our world, with highly developed hearing and smell, and large eyes, equipped with a tapetum lucidum and a retina rich in rod cells. Furthermore, predatory birds would have developed feathers capable of silent flight, like owls.
Almost all animals would also be gigantic in size, like the Pleistocene megafauna, according to Bergmann's law, which states that larger animals have a lower surface area/volume ratio than smaller animals, thus losing heat much more slowly (and judging by wargs and dragons, Melkor & Co. canonically have a real passion for prehistoric gigantism and things with very sharp teeth and claws, lol).
Broad, hairy paws would also be common, to distribute weight and thus be more stable on terrains like ice and snow, and since these are lands with a high water content, also large front paws for swimming (both are adaptations of the polar bear, for example).
At the base of the carnivore food chain are fish (both oceanic and riverine), most species of which are bioluminescent, and mollusks (preferably giant ones), particularly the types that anchor themselves to rocks (mussels, clams, limpets, date shells, chitons, etc.), which are also the Falathrim's main food source.
The other base of the food chain is scavengers, because if I find a dead carcass (perhaps gnawed by someone else, perhaps another animal that died of starvation), I don't have to waste energy hunting, and in extreme cold, energy conservation is VITAL. Ice and snow also slow the decomposition of carcasses, increasing the likelihood of this happening. However, opportunistic predators (wolves, foxes, seagulls, etc.) are more common than "pure scavengers" (vultures, for example).
[NB: Orcs and Lindar are also opportunistic scavengers, both of randomly found animal carcasses and of deceased members of their own species, purely out of biological instinct. The Noldor and Vanyar, however, are not, because they have a visceral reaction of disgust to the notion of cannibalism, linked to the specific survival methods of their respective species. Indeed, some animals, including humans, regardless of whether or not they have species-specific feelings of mourning and/or funerary rituals, bury their dead to avoid attracting predators. (For humans, the method of "disposal" of a corpse is influenced by culture; in addition to actual burial, there are other options such as entombment, cremation, embalming, etc. I believe that the Noldor in particular share this psycho-biological characteristic with humans.)
Therefore for Orcs and Lindar psychologically the mourning process coincides with eating the corpse. So, if the Elves are reborn with a new body when they leave Mandos, it means that the body is ultimately just an object, and (what remains of) the old one is just flesh. Furthermore, from the standpoint of the survival of the species, it is more important to nourish the living than to risk attracting other predators and/or scavengers with the smell of blood and rotting flesh.]
Fungi, especially saprophytes (i.e., necrophages and decomposers), would have proliferated for the same reason, developing in various shapes and sizes, from small clusters no larger than pennies to colossal species, towering as oak trees. Almost all of them would have exhibited total or partial natural bioluminescence: primarily high-frequency colors like blue, electric cyan (very common in deep-sea fish!), and, more rarely, dark green. This is due both to the fact that they are the simplest and most energy-efficient colors to produce via luciferin-luciferase reactions (and Nature loves to optimize energy, so the least energy-consuming option is always the most efficient, especially in such extreme environments), and because they are the colors most visible to most animal eyes, especially nocturnal ones. In fact, many fungi, in order to reproduce, attempt to attract animals by producing chemical odors similar to floral scents and/or edible regenerative parts. This allows the spores to fall by moving the hair or special filaments, being carried by the wind, and/or attaching to the animals' fur.
Some fungi may exhibit violet, red-fuchsia, or white bioluminescence, but these are small species that seek to attract a niche of specific animals. These frequencies have a higher energy cost, either because they are located at extremes in the spectrum (violet, red), or because they require different pigments to be produced (white, fuchsia, pink), making them less convenient.
About the plants, the lack of sun would make them very alien to what we know, given that our star has been a constant in our world. First of all, plants would not be green: chlorophyll is that color because it primarily absorbs the blue and red wavelengths of the solar spectrum, while reflecting green light. However, the sun is absent, and so photosynthesis must be maximized from available sources. That of stars is minimal, almost imperceptible, so the primary source is fungal bioluminescence, and chlorophyll would specialize in absorbing those high frequencies. Leaves would be various shades of red, orange, and, more rarely, yellow or black.
Flowering plants would have been less common than in our world, while anemophilous (wind-pollinated) plants, such as conifers, and those that reproduce through spores (algae, mosses, ferns), would have dominated. The flowers would have characteristics common to nyctophilous (night-blooming) flowers: light and/or pastel colors, a sweet and intense scent, large size, and a tubular or very open shape. "Wild" flowers, those that grow directly from the ground, would be present only in warmer areas, where the snow gives way to bare soil and therefore grass (also reddish in color).
Despite the harsh climate, Beleriand would be extremely fertile, and its trees would be characterized by thick, very deep roots to extract nutrients from the soil. Volcanic soils are rich in essential minerals, released by lava and ash, which improve soil structure, increase the availability of nutrients (nitrogen, sulfur, microelements), and create an optimal environment for plants. Volcanic ash also makes the soil more aerated, draining, and capable of retaining water, while pH and microbial activity can help reduce acidity and promote the activity of beneficial bacteria, improving the mineralization and humification of organic matter.
All trees would have developed characteristics similar to those of evergreens (well, "evereds" in this case, lol), namely slow leaf turnover, with tough, leathery, and/or needle-like leaves to better withstand cold and drought, with cells featuring thickened lymph vessels and very robust tissues. However, there would still be significant differentiation. While, as mentioned, trees in cold, dry environments (such as the vast frozen plains of the north and the areas around Utumno and then Angband) would be little different from the conifers of our world, in more humid and "warm" environments, such as river and lake areas, they would have developed characteristics such as robust stems, woody at the base, often lanceolate leaves with stomata and trichomes (small hair-like or crystal-like growths, which serve crucial functions of protection from predators, UV rays, and stress, and produce useful compounds such as resins, essential oils, cannabinoids, and terpenes), and, of course, waterproof roots or at least ones with a very high tolerance for water. Aquatic plants, such as floating, lacustrine, or submerged plants could also be present (the latter, perhaps because they are closer to the heat source, could be incredibly widespread!). However, precisely because of this continuous contact with water, aquatic and semi-aquatic plants must have elastic and heat-insulating tissues, so that the leaves and trunk do not explode due to the increase in volume caused by the freezed water, thus leading to the death of the plant itself.
But the most widespread organism would be lichens, which are everywhere in our world: from tundra to desert, from mountains to city walls. Where nothing else reaches, lichens survive. The most notable feature of Beleriand would therefore be this: immense expanses of lichen, stretching as far as the eye can see over the rocks on the shoreline, the interiors of caves, around the craters of volcanoes, and covering the bare earth instead of meadows.
