#zimrahin

[thelandswemadeofpaper]

I know my favorite taste of Tolkien female character

[melestasflight]

... then Findekáno released his friend from his chains and saved him

tagged by @grey-gazania and @last-capy-hupping to share a snippet from my fics.

Here, Aredhel is in Estolad and tells the tale of Maedhros' rescue to the children of the House of Marach. Part of To Find a Home in the Twilight

It is easiest with the children, because children are children, be they of the Noldor, the Sindar, or the Edain. She is amused by how they follow her around everywhere. The littlest ones slap their hands over their giggling mouths as Aredhel moves her ears on purpose. The older ones are fascinated by her skill with weapons, especially Marach’s young sons, Malach and Imlach, who spend afternoons on end watching Aredhel carve wooden arrows for her bow.

But the bravest among them is a girl who is often in their company. There’s something about her observant eyes and neatly braided golden tresses that summons Idril’s image as a child, so when the girl comes to join them, Aredhel wastes no time in pursuing this friendship.

‘My name is Írissë,’ she puts her hand on her heart.

‘I know. Everyone talks about you,’ the girl responds in flawless Sindarin, taking her seat between Aredhel and Marach’s boys. ‘I am Zimrahin. Mama says that if I want to become a Wise-woman, I should learn the stories of the Elves. Will you tell me a story?’

Zimrahin has no qualms about being forward about what she wants. She resembles Idril in this also.

‘It would be my honor, my lady Zimrahin. What kind of story would please you on this fine day?’

Three voices at once answer Aredhel’s question.

‘A story about friends,’ says Zimrahin.

‘An adventure!’ says Malach.

‘A scary story,’ jumps in little Imlach with twinkling eyes.

With the criteria established, Aredhel does not have to think long. She chooses everyone’s favorite.

‘This tale is very famous among the Elves,’ she begins, ‘and rightfully so, because it is a tale about the bravest Prince in Beleriand.’ The answering smiles confirm it is the right choice, and Aredhel continues. ‘Long ago, before the Sun and Moon rose in the sky, there lived a Prince across the Great Sea whose name is Findekáno.’

‘Before the Sun and the Moon? That is a long time ago!’ Zimrahin exclaims. ‘How old is Findekáno?’

‘This winter, he shall turn two thousand six hundred and sixteen years old.’ Aredhel purposefully stretches out the numbers, waiting for six little eyes to widen in astonishment. She is not disappointed. ‘But, if you were to meet him, he would look no older to you than your fathers. Anyway, Findekáno had a best friend, Maitimo, and they were rarely apart in their youth, traveling and studying together every moment they could. There was great love between them.’

Aredhel lowers her voice for this next part, ‘But one day, a very powerful Dark Lord got jealous of the friendship among the Elves and decided to ruin their joy.’

‘It must be Morgoth, the Great Enemy,’ says Malach, unperturbed. The Edain, it seems, do not spare their children from the woes of their people.

‘Yes, it was Morgoth before anyone knew him for who he was. He spread many lies, causing strife among Findekáno and Maitimo’s families. But ever more intent on evil, he also stole the Light of the World and took it to his dark fortress in Angband.’

Seeing how her audience does not blink in anticipation, Aredhel carries on, deciding what parts should be skipped in a story for children. ‘Maitimo was brave and decided to cross the Great Sea and take back the Light of the World, but Morgoth captured him and took him to his fortress also.’

‘Did he die?’ Little Imlach squeaks and Aredhel does her best to ignore the shiver that runs down her spine.

‘No, he was very strong, and when Findekáno discovered that his friend had been captured, he decided to go and rescue him. He left in the middle of the night, alone, with very few things, and went to Morgoth’s fortress.’

‘Did he carry a weapon?’ Asks Imlach again.

‘He most certainly did. A very fine bow of yew.’

‘Was he not scared?’

‘Imlach, if you do not stop asking questions, we will never hear the end,’ his older brother gently reprimands him.

‘He was scared,’ Aredhel answers the question anyway, ‘but he knew he must save his friend and reunite their people. Now, the Moon and the Sun had risen up in the sky, and all of Morgoth’s creatures were scared of the light. Findekáno used this to hide and climb high on Thangorodrim, but try as he might, he could not find Maitimo. Then, in defiance of the Orcs, he took his harp and sang a song that his grandmother had taught him in Valinor.’

‘Why did he have a harp with him on the Dark Mountain?’ Comes from Imlach again.

‘Imlach!’ Both Malach and Zimrahin exclaim at once, shushing the little boy so he does not interrupt the story yet again, for which Aredhel is grateful because she herself still fails to understand why Fingon had decided to take a harp of all things.

‘In any case, Findekáno sang and suddenly, above him, someone answered his song. It was Maitimo, who was chained to the mountain by Morgoth. But Findekáno still couldn’t find a way to his friend, and he was very sad, so he prayed to the Vala Manwë, who is most merciful. Manwë sent Thorondor, the King of Eagles, the mightiest of all birds that have ever been.’

‘Thorondor allowed Findekáno to climb on his back and brought him up to Maitimo. Then Findekáno released his friend from his chains and saved him. Once returned, they renewed their friendship and they are now great Lords among the Elves: Fingon, Prince of Hithlum, and Maedhros, Lord of Himring. They fought Morgoth together and locked him in his fortress so that he can never leave again!’

As the story ends, many voices cry out in excitement unanimously, and Aredhel finally notices that many have gathered to hear the tale, young and old.

‘One day, I will go and fight the Morgoth with Prince Fingon,’ Malach says with determination.

‘And when I grow up, I will go and join Lord Maedhros,’ Imlach rises and swings the wooden toy sword he always carries with him.

Marach comes then to gather his young warriors and winks at Aredhel playfully. ‘But to do that, my sons, you must first sleep and grow tall and strong.’

‘What of you, Zimrahin?’ Aredhel asks the girl as they remain by themselves. ‘Would you like to see the kingdoms of the Elves?’

Zimrahin chews her lower lip as she thinks. ‘I like being home and listening to stories,’ she says at last, simply.

Someone calls Zimrahin’s name, and the girl places a wet kiss on Aredhel’s cheek before she scurries away.

I like being home. Aredhel sits with the thought for a long while, even as the people around her scatter and the village falls dark and quiet. She thinks of her brothers, her friends, and all the places she has called home.

For the first time since leaving Gondolin, Aredhel begins craving a home.

A home of her own.

[matrose]

Zimrahin and her daughter, Adanel. Zimrahin was the maternal great-great-grandmother of Beren the Renowned

[arofili]

three houses of the edain ❂ house of hador ❂ headcanon disclaimer

         Malach was the elder son of Marach, and the second leader of his House. The elf-lords of the Noldor welcomed the Edain into Beleriand, and many young men joined their households, eager to learn from the Eldar. Among them was Malach, who as a young man left Estolad for Hithlum and entered the service of High King Fingolfin. He spent fourteen years among the elves, learning their languages and the craft of war, and earned the name Aradan from his liege.          Though Fingolfin was reluctant to let such a faithful vassal go, at last Malach returned to Estolad and his family. There he married the woman Zimrahin, who bore him two children: a daughter, Adanel, and a son, Magor. But soon Malach yearned to return to Hithlum, and discovering that many of his people were eager to move further west, he bid farewell to his father and brother and led a great number of Men to the vales of the southern slopes of Ered Wethrin. There he reassumed the elvish name of Aradan, and Zimrahin took the name Meldis, while their children had been named in Sindarin from their birth.           Adanel was a wise-woman of her people, having learned lore and healing from her mother. She had been half-grown when her father took her family west, and missed the land of her birth and those among the House of Bëor whom she had befriended. When she came of age, Adanel wed Belemir, a descendant of Bëor, and bore him five children, the youngest of which was Beren, father of Emeldir the Man-hearted. Adanel preserved the old legends of her people, including one telling that Men had once been immortal but had fallen into mortality when some of them chose to worship Melkor rather than Eru, and passed these tales down to her husband’s young kinswoman Andreth.           Magor, meanwhile, remained in Ered Wethrin with his father, and when Aradan passed on to receive the gift of Men he inherited the leadership of the House of Marach.

[kareenvorbarra]

zimrahin

This is just a little bit of fic I wrote years ago about Zimrahin, Malach Aradan's wife and one of the early Edain women who's basically just a name on a family tree. Of course, names of family trees are some of my favorite characters, because my brain looks at them and goes "it's free real estate" and I pretty much do whatever I want with them.

I originally started this story for a Silm fandom event that happened......seven years ago now, yikes, which was called Edain Summer. Juliana and I organized it, and only a handful of people participated, mostly people we were friends with at the time, but we used it as an excuse to create detailed headcanons about every Adan we could find. This fic was supposed to be kind of a companion for our headcanon post, which you can read here if you're interested, but I could never think of an ending so I just never posted it.

The short version of my Zimrahin headcanon is that she's from an influential family in the House of Marach (which won't be called the House of Hador until later), and when Malach returns from Fingolfin's court, their families arrange a marriage between them, as Malach's father wants him to settle down among his own people again. Zimrahin is nervous but optimistic, and they end up being well-matched and happy together.

The whole thing is only about a page, so I'm going to post it all under the read more. There are also a couple sentences of notes in brackets at the bottom.

Zimrahin’s marriage to Malach son of Marach took place only two months after his return from Hithlum. Ordinarily even an arranged match would take longer, giving the couple a little more time to get to know each other, but Zimrahin accepted her parents’ decision with few misgivings. She had known Marach her whole life, and he had always been kind and generous - if Malach was anything like his father, he would be a good husband.

It was difficult not to be shy of him, at first. He was ten years older than her, and had seen and done so many things that she could not even begin to imagine. He dressed differently, in fabrics finer than anything their people made, and the way he held himself made him seem taller than most men. He smiled and spoke to her with an easy courtesy the few times they met before the wedding, but she could not completely shake the impression that he was a bit strange.

He seemed confident and sure on their wedding night, treating her with a consideration that went a long way towards calming her nerves, and she was able to relax and enjoy herself. Afterwards she did wonder how many elven women he had bedded during his time in the High King’s court, but that wasn’t the sort of thing you brought up after being married for a day.

They spent a great deal of their time in the early days visiting Zimrahin’s friends and acquaintances, as she helped introduce Malach back into his own society. Her family was large and powerful, second only to Marach’s own among their people, and she knew everyone of note in Estolad. Malach was as personable and charismatic as his father, but he did not have Marach’s instinctive knowledge of the people here and how they thought and behaved, their friendships and factions and feuds. As such he was very grateful for her help, and praised her good memory for names and details.

When they were alone, she asked him about the elves, both in an attempt to learn more about her mysterious husband and because she was genuinely curious. Sometimes he took a few moments to respond when called by name, which he assured her was only because the elves had called him something else - Aradan. It meant “noble man” in their language, and Zimrahin thought it suited him well.

It seemed to Zimrahin that she became pregnant almost instantly after the wedding, so quickly did time pass in her busy new life.

[he starts calling her Meldis at some point, and she thinks it’s super sweet when he tells her it means “dear one” - he also teaches her some Sindarin]

[is Adanel’s name Sindarin? Magor is definitely not, it’s probably an old family name - maybe he’s named for Marach’s father, or Zimrahin’s. Maybe in Zimrahin’s family, the eldest daughter is traditionally educated in the manner of the Wise, so from her daughter’s birth Zimrahin intends for her to be taught by her own older sister.]

[thegirlwhohid]

Zimrahin was the wife of Malach Aradan, whom she wedded in F.A. 337 after his return from fourteen years in Hithlum.

Zimrahin moodboard

Legendarium Ladies April: (30/30)

The Silmarillion characters: (82/?)

Characters’ moodboards: (347/?)

[kareenvorbarra]

Women of the House of Hador

The people of Hador, being hardy to endure cold and long wandering, feared not at times to go far into the north and there keep watch upon the movements of the Enemy...His people were of great strength and stature, ready in mind, bold and steadfast, quick to anger and to laughter, mighty among the Children of Ilúvatar in the youth of Mankind. Yellow-haired they were for the most part, and blue-eyed…

- The Silmarillion

The Folk of Hador were ever the greatest in numbers of the Atani, and in renown (save only Beren son of Barahir descendant of Bëor). For the most part they were tall people, with flaxen or golden hair and blue grey-eyes, but there were not a few among them that had dark hair, though all were fair-skinned.

- Of Dwarves and Men

Zimrahin Meldis - Sofia Helin ✧ Adanel - Leelee Sobieski Gildis - Sarah Gadon ✧ Glóredhel - Sophia Myles Aerin - Rebecca Hall ✧ Niënor Níniel - Anastasia Tsilimpiou

[houseofhaleth]

"I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere." Hurin and Huor

Kate I wrote something for this but it's really horrible and there's death and I want to know you're absolutely sure you want to see it before I publish it.