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masterghandalfThis is a repost from Das_sporking2. Previous installments of this sporking may be found here.
MG: Well, everyone, it’s time to continue our journey through Demetrious Polychron’s Fellowship of the King, with the second part of the second chapter of the second Book (whew!). Last time, Undomiel of Borg (supposedly) bonded with her daughters and tried to prove she has a heart, while Celendrian… did not actually dream of Numenor yet but instead had flashbacks to Galadriel in the early Second Age, involving the forging of the first Rings of Power (in Polychron’s version, that is…) and the fact that she was, of course, having an affair with Celebrimbor (why?). Today, we continue with Galadriel’s flashbacks and finally reach Numenor itself and thereby justify the chapter title. Yay. Joining us today will be Shade and Kasanari!
It was nothing someone else said alerting Celeborn.
Shade: He intercepted a raunchy love note Celebrimbor sent to Galadriel, as it happened. Very embarrassing for everyone involved.
It was just one of those off-hand remarks Galadriel made, which meant nothing to anyone else. As if a bell rang, he realized she and Celebrimbor were having an affair.
Kasanari: And now I’m imagining that this “remark” happened at a large and formal dinner, and Celeborn spent the rest of it staring at his soup in a slack-jawed stupor that somehow nobody else noticed.
It hurt so deeply, he spoke to Gil-galad discretely and obtained his permission to leave Harlindon. He wished to travel over the mountains to the forests around Lake Evendim and he began gathering a large contingent of woodland Elves. They liked the sea, but loved even more the sounds, smells and feels of the primeval forests they’d known before the Fall of Beleriand.
Shade: As “woodland elves” are wont to do. Or so I’m told. *rubs one of her ears idly* My own elven heritage is… not that; sorry, Kasanari. Though imagine if what they really missed was a nice, open desert. That’d make everyone nice and confused!
As their preparations to depart commenced, Galadriel learned Celeborn was leaving, just as innocuously as he had learned of her affair. One day in conversation with him and in this same innocuous manner, she mentioned she was leaving and going with him.
Kasanari: Is everyone going to be finding out everything in this chapter this way? Can none of these people just… talk to each other?
Celeborn suspected what she was doing. He confirmed it by casually and innocuously mentioning to Celebrimbor that he and Galadriel would soon depart Lindon. His heart swelled in renewed love when genuine shock and hurt filled Celebrimbor’s face.
Shade: …and thus Celeborn discovered both his own deep attraction to Celebrimbor, and how much he got off on shocking and humiliating him. Hey, it’s a thing, I don’t judge.
Much later in private, Galadriel and Celebrimbor shared a tearful and chaste farewell.
Shade: So, what, did Celeborn just end up telling Galadriel “hey, honey, we’re moving,” and she agreed with it and the affair was over? Huh; that was easy!
MG: Well, it’s not actually over for good yet, and its consequences certainly aren’t… though more of that for the next two chapters.
Then Celeborn led a great host of Sindarin and Laiquendi Elves with Galadriel. They headed east over the hills of the Emyn Beraid, past the White Towers and Far Downs to the shore of Lake Evendim. It lay at the feet of the Emyn Uial, called the Twilight Hills of Eriador.
There, Galadriel and Celeborn rediscovered their passion for each other. They felt so happy, so free, like when they first met. Galadriel became pregnant and bore them a son they named Amroth.
MG: So… okay, per Unfinished Tales, Tolkien does seem to have toyed with the idea of making Amroth Galadriel and Celeborn’s son. OTOH, Christopher Tolkien thought he’d firmly abandoned the idea by the time LotR since no connection between the characters (beyond them having been, at different times, rulers of Lorien) is even alluded to there. In most of Tolkien’s writings, Celebrian was an only child, and Amroth was the son of the Silvan king Amdir, who wasn’t related to any of these people. Of course, this isn’t the last time this chapter where Polychron will seem to be freely mixing details from different drafts in the UT without apparent rhyme or reason…
Loremaster’s Headache: 267
In celebration, with the great industry and craft of their kin and kindred, they built on the southern shore a wondrous city they named Annúminas, the Sunset Tower. Every evening, its high grey stone walls caught the fading light of the Sun and turned gold.
MG: …Polychron, do I seriously have to repeat my “saying Galadriel and Celeborn founded Annuminas is like saying Julius Caesar built the Eiffel Tower” joke from a few chapters ago? Because I can do it if I have to!
Loremaster’s Headache: 268
Back in East Mithlond, Gil-galad again appointed Celebrimbor the Lord of Harlindon, for he now refused the title ‘King.’ Celebrimbor apprenticed his adopted son Elrond to rule the remaining Sindar and Ñoldor, and to help him run the Kingdom. Often he was in his smithies and workshops, forging more of the Thirteen.
Kasanari: …I’m seriously starting to lose track of whether Celebrimbor is currently lord of anything or not at the moment. I suspect this problem is only going to get worse as we go.
MG: Also… I have no idea why Polychron says that Elrond was adopted by Celebrimbor. Per the Sil, he and Elros were fostered by Maglor, Celebrimbor’s uncle, after the Third Kinslaying when the Feanorians raided Arvernien looking for the Silmaril (at least partially out of Maglor’s guilt at the fact that he and his brothers had, as far as they knew, caused the death of the twins’ mother, Elwing). Celebrimbor, who disowned his father Curufin and uncle Celegorm for their treachery during the story of Beren and Luthien, probably wasn’t even there, and it’s doubtful he would have fought for his uncles (his father having already been killed at an earlier point) and been in a position to raise the twins if he had. I wonder if Polychron just… genuinely misread or misremembered something here, because this is bizarre otherwise.
Loremaster’s Headache: 269
It had been six hundred years since King Elros, Queen Karewyn and the Edain left for Númenor. No one had heard from them or their descendants.
One day a ship appeared on the horizon greater than any ever built, greater than even those of the master shipwright Lord Círdan. It had a higher draft and mightier sails. Yet these sails were not white, but woven from threads of gold, with taller masts than any ever seen.
Shade: Well, isn’t that just typical. You don’t hear from your estranged kin and allies for centuries on end, and when they finally show back up, it’s just to show off!
Everyone imagined the tiny figures winding ropes and raising golden sails must be their kin: High Elves returning from the West, fair Tol Eressëa or perhaps even Valinor.
The ship sailed into Gil-galad’s harbor in West Mithlond and there they saw it wasn’t manned by Elves. These were Men descended from the long dead King Elros, Queen Karewyn and their people – the many years missing and long lost Númenóreans.
Kasanari: …did they think the Numenoreans literally sailed off the edge of the earth? Even if they hadn’t heard from them, surely they knew where they were going and why? Especially since I believe it was elvish mariners who helped transport them there?
The commander of the Númenórean King’s Ship, the NKS Entulessë, which meant ‘Return’ in Quenya, was the young Captain Vëantur. He was a fourth generation descendent of King Tar-Elros and Queen Karewyn, and the grandson of Prince Atanalcar. He spoke Quenya natively and was Captain of all the King’s Ships in the port of Andúnië. It was the capital of the province of Andustar on the western-most shore, closest to the Undying Lands. Vëantur was a distant cousin and served the ruling Númenórean King, Tar-Elendil Parmaitë, Wise in Lore.
MG: Okay, most of this is correct, but… a couple of nitpicks. First off, while Polychron gets the name of Veantur’s ship correct, I don’t know why he felt the need to add “NKS” (Numenorean Kingdom Ship, I guess?) to the front of it, which feels like trying to crudely adopt a real-world naming convention to Middle-earth (and just makes Sam being referred to as “HMS Samwise” all the weirder…). For another, I don’t think Elros was usually called “Tar-Elros?” His regnal name was Tar-Minyatur (and not “Tar-Minotaur,” as my younger self kept misreading it, either).
Kasanari: Nonetheless, we finally have some actual Numenoreans in this chapter named for Numenor, so I suppose that is a good thing?
Loremaster’s Headache: 270
The Eldar often sailed from Valinor and docked in Andúnië bearing gifts. They brought gold, jewels and most incredibly, marble statues forged by the Elvish master sculptress Nerdanel, wife of the long dead Fëanor.
Shade: …you don’t usually “forge” marble statues, do you? Unless you mean a different sort of “forging” – the Numenoreans had better hope they can get refunds, those elves are frauds!
Lord Vëantur had welcomed Nerdanel to Númenor numerous times and was her friend.
MG: …I don’t think there’s any evidence Nerdanel ever traveled to Numenor, but also no reason to assume she didn’t, so I’ll let it slide.
Many generations of Men had passed since Elros and Karewyn sailed away. To the Elves of Lindon, it seemed a heartbeat.
MG: …it’s been centuries. Even for elves, that’s not a mean span of time.
It reminded them how fleeting were the lives of mortals. To Vëantur’s great surprise, Gil-galad welcomed him and his Men as kin. There was no point in telling them how well they’d known their many-times-over great grandmothers and grandfathers, especially King Elros and Queen Karewyn, their own distant cousins. They knew from long experience, it would only serve to unnerve and disquiet the mortals.
Shade: I dunno… I’m only half-elven, but I do sometimes like to remind a guy I’m drinking with that I’m closer to a century than not, specially when he’s taken me for an impressionable twenty-something. The looks on their faces? Always worth it.
Kasanari: *disapproving look*
Gil-galad, Círdan, Elrond and the rest crowded around Vëantur, eager to hear of Númenor. When the Elves transported the settlers six hundred years before, they hadn’t gone ashore. The Valar had decreed the Land of Gift was exclusively for the Men of the Edain.
Vëantur told them of the wonders: there were vast virgin forests in Hyarnustar that bloomed with new kinds of flowers and trees: mallorns of silver bark with golden leaves. The great capital city of Armenelos had a citadel: a colossal tower of solid gold rising a thousand feet above the cliffs. It caught the first light of the Sun every morning and the last light every night. In the beautiful, sheltered ports of Rómenna, Eldalondë and Andunië, they received in friendship the Eldar of Valinor, bringing gifts from the Valar. Above all other peaks, in the center of the island rose the great mountain Meneltarma. It was a fourteen-thousand-foot snowy peak on which the Vala Manwë (and some said Eru Ilúvatar Himself) spoke directly to their King.
Shade: I was promised dreaming of Numenor in this chapter. Instead, I’m getting Celendrian dreaming of some guy telling other people about Numenor. I swear, if this continues, I want my money back!
Kasanari: …we didn’t pay to take part in this. Thank the Four.
Shade: …it’s the principle of the thing.
Vëantur saw the wonder, and envy, on the faces of many Elves. He began giving out the presents he’d brought himself and those from King Tar-Elendil, priceless treasures: gems, silver, gold, jewels and fabled mithril. These Elves had thought it was only found in Khazad-dûm.
Celebrimbor valued their maps and star charts, and their arts and sciences of ship craft. He prized their metallurgy and navigation; their lore of the Sun, stars, Moon, and the planets circling beyond. He was fascinated by the strange meteors, comets and other things they documented living high above their heads in the hallowed realms of Ambarexä, Kúma, Tarmenel, Vaiya, Ilmen, Vista, and those hidden within the Olórë Mallë – the Path of Dreams.
MG: Okay, so… after double-checking some terminology. Kuma is the Void, the outer darkness lying beyond Arda. Tarmenel seems to be a term for the outermost layer of Arda’s atmosphere, and Vista is an inner layer. Ilmen is the region of space where the sun, moon and stars reside and living beings cannot survive unaided. Vaiya is not strictly a realm of the heavens or air, but the primordial ocean on which Arda floated when it was still flat (possibly replaced as a concept later in Tolkien’s development of the Legendarium by Ekkaia, the Encircling Sea, which is depicted as a more mundane sort of ocean, though I’m not 100% sure on that), though it also seems to encompass the “sea” of emptiness between the outer air and the Void. Ambarexa I can’t find anything on; if anyone else knows better, feel free to correct me (though it does appear to contain the element “Ambar,” ie earth in the context of being the physical substance of the world). The Olore Malle seems to have been a concept from the Book of Lost Tales, referring to secret, mystical paths connecting Middle-earth (or the “Great Lands” as the continent was usually called in the Lost Tales) to Valinor; Tolkien appears to have abandoned the concept very early on. And in any case, I find it kind of hard to credit that the Numenoreans have apparently surpassed the elves – and not just any elves, but the Noldor! – in this sort of cosmological learning, when it was the elves who first taught it all to them.
Loremaster’s Headache: 273
By necessity, the crafts and sciences of the Númenóreans had grown. Only now did they have the confidence to dare the long ocean crossing and return to Lindon. It was a crossing, which until that day, had only been successfully completed by Elves.
Heartened by their success, Vëantur and his Men continued their explorations, going far to the north, then south along the coasts. They also went inland through the Gulf and up the River Lhûn, mapping its twists and turns, and describing the lands beyond. After two years and many trips, Vëantur and his men bid them farewell and sailed back to Númenor.
Many seasons passed. The seven hundredth anniversary of the Second Age fast approached. As plans for a great celebration spread through Lindon, at the suggestion of Círdan, Gil-galad asked Celebrimbor to forge a Ring of Power for Men, anticipating the Númenóreans would one day soon return.
Kasanari: And now the Rings of Power seem to have been reduced to party favors. I really don’t think Polychron has any appreciation at all for the gravity of the topics with which he’s working, does he?
Rings-a-Palooza: 115
Celebrimbor worked for years on the first of the Five Rings for Mortal Warriors, because Vëantur, though mighty, would never be a king.
Shade: But he is related to the royal family, and if you give him a super-special, powerful magical artifact, well… accidents may happen…
After almost a hundred years passed since the Númenórean’s first visited, Vëantur still had not returned. Gil-galad, Elrond, Galdor and others began imploring Celebrimbor to consider one of their own favored allied Kings of Men, living beyond the Misty Mountains, as an alternative recipient for this mighty magic Ring.
Kasanari: Which would be… who, exactly?
MG: No idea. The “Akallabeth” indicates that in the early Second Age – and keep in mind that the early Second Age was pretty much post-apocalyptic from the aftermath of the War of Wrath, not something Polychron seems to have paid attention to at all – most human kingdoms were ruled by tyrants who had been among Morgoth’s human servants and escaped the fall of Beleriand and their descendants. Outside of the elven realms and Numenor, this time period was very much a dark age, in every sense of the word. As the Sil rather bluntly puts it, “the lot of Men was unhappy.”
For the first time Celebrimbor fully appreciated what an incredible series of treasures (and problems) he was in the midst of creating.
All Sporkers: *groan and headdesk*
Plot-Induced Stupidity: 117
He knew it was a weighty decision and he wanted time to consider. Though it was winter, he got permission from Gil-galad to travel to the Misty Mountains as an emissary to King Durin III in Khazad-dûm. Leaving Lindon, he crossed the great dwarven East Road, passing Celeborn and Galadriel, clamoring for his attention in Annúminas to the north.
Shade: …now I’m imagining him riding quickly past and ignoring the two of them completely as they desperately call out his name. *beat* Considering the history, can’t say I blame him much.
In the east, he found a pleasant series of gently rolling hills and mild fertile valleys stretching across the midlands.
He took the dwarves’ Greenway to the Great South Road.
MG: The Greenway was part of the road system built by the Numenorean realms in exile in the late Second and Third Ages; it shouldn’t exist at this point (barring the possibility this is a different road of the same name). And it was only called “the Greenway” because it was the part of the road that went north, towards Fornost and Annuminas, and by the late Third Age both those cities were in ruins and nobody went that way anymore, so the road was overgrown with grass.
Loremaster’s Headache: 274
Crossing the convergence of the Rivers Glanduin and Mitheithel, there he found an enchanted delta. Here the streams and rivers ran together, slowed, and then sometimes, reversed their course. The line along the horizon between land and water became hard to distinguish. The turbulent flows slowed, becoming gentle eddies. Then, they stilled – to mirror finishes.
He found fleets of graceful swans sailing majestically over the bright reflecting surfaces.
For fifty miles, he was enchanted. At the end, he found a forest of green trees that hadn’t shed their leaves in winter, like those in Lindon. Instead, they bore winter-ripened bright red berries.
Kasanari: I’ve heard of humans straying into the country of the Fair Folk and being enchanted and unable to leave… for it to happen to an elf is, I must say, rather ironic…
His spirits rose and he thought somewhere here, surely he would find a new home. At a second delta there lay a jewel of a valley, set between the rivers Glanduin and Sirannon. Along their southern shores wound the rough foot-worn path leading to Khazad-dûm. Before him rose a great hill. At the top he looked back, seeing again the fleets of swans gliding over the mirrored lakes behind. The snow-white peaks of the Misty Mountain rose in the distance far ahead, and below, the rivers ran together. The green trees bearing bright red berries all around he called Holly trees and he named the land Eregion, Hollin in Westron. This was his new home.
MG: Again, nitpicky, but from the way Gandalf describes it, it sounds like the land didn’t come to be called “Hollin” until the Third Age, after Eregion had fallen. And Westron as a language doesn’t exist yet (Westron, for context, is a derivative of Adunaic, or Numenorean, which is still very much a living language at this point)!
Linguistic Confusions: 33
Leaving the hilltop, he followed the foot-path and headed to Khazad-dûm. Dwarven travelers hailed him and messengers went ahead to announced his impending arrival.
Shade: Considering all this land appears to be unsettled, I wonder where the “dwarven travelers” are going. Off to visit their kin in the Blue Mountains, maybe? Or are they just out for a hike?
When he reached Khazad-dûm, King Durin and his beautiful Queen Myrkinamid received him graciously in the Palace of the Courtyard of the Fountains. Amidst great ceremony, they introduced him to their master craftsman Narvi, and Narvi’s lovely wife Dagnall.
MG: …apparently, this is part of what Polychron accused Amazon of ripping off from him, namely accusing “King Durin and his beautiful Queen Myrkinamid” being used as the basis for Prince Durin and his wife Disa in Rings of Power. Despite the fact that it’s a different Durin (RoP’s Prince Durin is Durin IV, the son of this Durin!), the wives are different people and have different names, and “a man is married” and “dwarf women exist” hardly seem like concepts specific enough to sue over (I’ve read a copy of the court doc where Polychron alleges all the things Amazon supposedly ripped him off on; needless to say, they’re all this sort of stretch, and I’ll likely go over them in my final thoughts). I’ve not been able to find the name “Myrkinamid” anywhere but this fic, but I’m not giving a point since dwarves almost never share their real names with outsiders and instead use public names taken from other languages, so I don’t even know what language “Myrkinamid” is supposed to be.
After feasting Narvi asked, “For which of our gems or precious metals have you come?”
Shade: *Celebrimbor* All of them, actually. Fork ‘em over, I don’t have all day here! Do you have any idea how many rings I’m contracted for? *as herself* And that, dear friends, is how the feud between the elves and the dwarves was actually rekindled.
Celebrimbor laughed. “I hold you in great esteem, though not for those treasures, nor your beautiful wives or fair jewelry, which surpasses those of Elves, as the Nauglamír made clear.
Kasanari: *mildly* That being the same Nauglamir that only reached the pinnacle of its beauty when a Silmaril, an elven jewel, was added to it?
What I have come for is the cunning of your minds, the ingenuity of your cavern palaces and the loyalty you bear each other, keeping always and forever, your greatest secrets, secret. Dwarves have been in Middle-earth longer than Elves.
MG: *sighs, rubs their forehead* No. No, they haven’t. Aule made the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves before the first elves awakened, sure, but by Eru’s command he left them to sleep until some point after the awakening of the elves. The dwarves as a people are very explicitly younger than the elves (though older than Men or hobbits). This isn’t hard, Polychron!
Loremaster’s Headache: 275
Though Elves laugh, treading lightly in the woods, Men have surpassed our ship and star craft and Dwarves have surpassed all our finery. Elves seem frozen in time, unable to grow.
MG: *as Celebrimbor* Which is why I, Celebrimbor, am currently setting out to create artifacts whose purpose will be in part to freeze our realms as they are in unchanging splendor… wait a minute, I may not have thought this through very well…
Most impressive to me, you have kept the secrets of your language and how you build your magnificent mountain homes. I am not asking you to share those secrets. I am asking for your help and I’ll pay you handsomely, so highly do I esteem your skills, unknown among Elves. I want a cavern home below a palace in this fair land of holly trees near your guarded tunnels, far from the Elven King and Elvish kind, and close to the unwavering steadfastness of Dwarves, which I value higher than my own people.”
Shade: *muttering* Laying it on a bit thick there, aren’t we, Celly? If it were me, I’d be left wondering what the catch is…
Durin and Myrkinamid, and Narvi and Dagnall were shocked and complimented, and abashed. It was during this season that the night of the great and lucky Seventh Millennium fast approached and they were preparing to celebrate the greatest Durin’s Day ever.
MG: *flatly* They were going to have balloon animals and clowns and a bouncy house and everything. Seriously, why does that sound to me less like a major celebration of great import and more like planning a kids’ birthday party?
Celebrimbor had not asked and few of Elven kind had been allowed to enter the Great Halls of Dwarves, but they invited him into the underground halls of Khazad-dûm. After he gratefully accepted, they ushered him through their heavily guarded, iron and timber gates.
Although everyone in Lindon (it seemed) had bragged to Celebrimbor of seeing the outside wonders of Khazad-dûm: The Dimrill Dale, Durin’s Stone, the Mirrormere, and far above, Durin’s Tower, he was the first to experience the wonders deep within: the monumentally mammoth First and Second Halls. Durin’s Bridge. The seemingly endless corridors containing the records of the Dwarves. They spanned three Ages of Middle-earth in many branching rooms, containing the libraries and archives of the vast Chambers of Mazarbul.
MG: The Chamber of Mazarbul… as in the smallish-seeming chamber where the Fellowship found Balin’s tomb and fought the orcs… right. Also, it’s very impressive that the dwarves’ records cover three Ages, when Middle-earth at this point is partway through the Second Age, unless dwarves have a different calendar from everyone else…
Loremaster’s Headache: 277
Rich veins of precious ores and gems threaded through three mountains, like strands of trees, bubbling streams and fields of bright flowers flowing through open fields on the surface. These were Caradhras (the Redhorn), Fanuidhol (Cloudyhead), and Celebdil (the Silvertine).
Kasanari: Yes, that was in the original book, we know that – are we going to get any more story in this chapter, or is it just going to turn into an encyclopedia entry for Khazad-dum?
He was the first of Elvish kind to climb the Endless Stair. It rose from more than 14,000 feet below the earth to over 14,000 feet above. At the top, Celebrimbor was the first to look out from Durin’s Tower. He said Dwarven creations didn’t rival those of Elves, they surpassed them.
Hearing this praise from the legendary Elven master craftsman left Durin and Myrkinamid, Narvi and Dagnall speechless. They had never felt so gifted by someone’s praise, nor held in such high regard for the things they valued most highly about themselves.
Shade: *bored* Yeah, yeah, we get it, everybody just loves everybody else… say, isn’t this supposed to be Galadriel’s flashback? Where’s she in all this? And where’s Numenor?
To them, his intensity and quiet study of their stairs, halls and doors began to look more and more like that of a Dwarf.
Shade: …when he suddenly sprouted a beard and lost a foot and a half in height, they began to suspect shenanigans were at play…
Feeling he’d met kindred spirits, Celebrimbor invited Narvi and Dagnall to work alongside him. Astonished, the two happily accepted Celebrimbor’s invitation. Together, they designed a palace of the strongest stone atop a hill above the rivers Glanduin and Sirannon, and an impregnable stronghold underneath. It contained a hidden library, archive and armory, like those found in the many levels and branching corridors of the Chambers of Mazarbul.
For a season, unnumbered Dwarven craftspeople strove with fire and earth, stone and water,
Kasanari: …I’d ask what the difference is between “stone” and “earth” in this context, but my eyes are already glazing over, so let’s just move on.
building a high palace fortress like no other. It had been conceived in an unprecedented alliance between the greatest Elvish and Dwarven craftspeople of their Age.
Celebrimbor was so delighted with the results, in return he offered whatever humble skills he possessed to add one or two modest ornamentations to the magnificent palaces and mansions of King Durin, Queen Myrkinamid and the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm. If, in the spirit of generosity they had shown him, they would afford him such an honor.
No one had ever offered to do freely for Dwarves, what everyone else offered payment and demanded Dwarves do for them.
Shade: I dunno, I’m usually happy to do things when people pay me to. I suppose I’m just weird like that.
Plans were made, entrances and exits designed, and the sculpting commenced for two great and magical sets of doors. When they were done, the impregnable Doors of Durin secured Khazad-dûm in both the east and west entrances and exits.
MG: Actually, I’m pretty sure Celebrimbor and Narvi only designed doors for the West gate, which was built to connect Khazad-dum and Eregion. The much older East gate (ie, Khazad-dum’s main gate) already had doors, and doesn’t seem to have been sealed by the same sort of magic.
They also built a road between Celebrimbor’s palace and the West Gate. It was called the Elven-way (by Elves, it was really the Khazad-ûlnâla, in Khuzdûl).
MG: I don’t think Tolkien specified that the road had another name in Khuzdul, but it makes sense that it would, and while I’ve not been able to find the word “ulnala” meaning something like “way” or “road,” Tolkien outlined so little Khuzdul I’m not giving it a point here.
They created a new form of writing with smelted liquid mithril and Celebrimbor named it ithildin. It was only visible in the light of the stars or Moon.
Returning from Khazad-dûm to his new home, Celebrimbor named it Ost-in-Edhil, which in Sindarin meant ‘Of-the-Elves.’
MG: “Fortress of the Elves,” technically, but close enough.
In the strongest and deepest vault, he locked Anqaúrë, the Ring of Feeling, Sensing, Intuiting. It had aided him mightily in his dealings with his new friends; King Durin, Queen Myrkinamid, Narvi, Dagnall, and their Dwarven kin and kindred.
Kasanari: Oh, so that is how Celendrian is remembering this! Although, I find myself disturbed that Celebrimbor was apparently reading peoples’ minds throughout all of these conversations and passing it off as his own insights, instead of actually forging a connection with the dwarves… and weren’t we told that this was a ring made for humans that elves, for some reason, can’t use? Has Polychron forgotten his own additions to the lore?
MG: …do you really want to know the answer to that?
Rings-a-Palooza: 116
With his treasure safely stored, Celebrimbor returned to Lindon. He told them of the beautiful and majestic halls and palaces of the Dwarves; the beauty and abundant wealth of precious metals, gems and jewelry; the wonder of the Endless Stair; their magnificent creations in mithril adorning caves and chambers; the spectacular view from inside Durin’s Tower looking outside on the West; and the hidden treasure of the stunning beauty of their wives and daughters.
Shade: We. Know. Get on with it!
MG: And yes, Polychron seems to take issue with canon’s depiction of dwarf women as being mostly indistinguishable from their menfolk (because Aule forbid a different culture might have different standards of beauty…); more on that later on, as we get Polychron’s actual explanation for why people of other races mistakenly believe there are no dwarf women.
Above all, Celebrimbor praised the kindness of King Durin and Queen Myrkinamid; the comradery of his master craftscouple, Narvi and his equally skillful but undeniably more beautiful wife Dagnall; and the expertise of their thriving craftspeople community.
Shade: Hey, don’t knock Narvi, I’m sure he’s somebody’s type, if you like your men short and hairy…
Most surprising to Elves, Dwarves had delighted in Celebrimbor’s company. In addition to the natural and unnatural wonders of their realm, they had shared the marvels of their crafts and the arts of their jewelers, smithies and forges.
Shade: *exasperated facepalm*
It was a testament to the reserve and discipline of Celebrimbor and the Dwarves that no one else ever learned that on his first visit they built his library, archive and armory where he stored his Ring of Power; not even Gil-galad, Elrond or Galadriel ever knew.
Gil-galad was suitably impressed by Celebrimbor’s achievements.
Kasanari: …shall we tell him Celebrimbor was cheating? Does Polychron realize that he wrote Celebrimbor as a fraud who only got his way with the dwarves by literal magic?
In private, he and Círdan agreed: the economic and military advantages couldn’t be ignored. He and Círdan asked Celebrimbor to return to Eregion and found a joint colony of Elves and Dwarves for craftspeople. It would be a haven for those who delighted in the arts; a tie to further bind the unlooked for and burgeoning friendship between their two races. Celebrimbor was delighted by the proposal. He had a vision of his dream coming true: his new Kingdom of Eregion would be a city for all races. He would open its doors to all those who adventured in the creation of precision tools, precious metals, jewelry and other beautiful things.
It had been 125 years since the Númenóreans left Lindon. Many generations of mortals had been born and died. To immortal Elves, the years passed quickly.
MG: Well, considering the lifespans of the mortals in question, the Numenoreans (per Tolkien’s notes, during Numenor’s height even “normal” Numenoreans lived for a couple of centuries, and descendants of Elros were longer lived than that), it’s not all that many – Veantur is still alive, even! And I’ll also note that, previously (and we’ll be returning to it) we had the idea that Galadriel and Celeborn ruled Eregion. In the versions where they did that, they also founded Eregion and it was Galadriel who made the alliance with the dwarves. Here, Celebrimbor is the founder and made the alliance… but Galadriel and Celeborn will still end up in charge, because we’re just throwing all of Tolkien’s drafts into a blender and seeing what comes out. Fun!
Loremaster’s Headache: 278
* * * * *
In 725 of the Second Age, the Númenórean Crown Prince Anardil Aldarion; a young adventurer, sailed to Lindon with his mother’s very old father, Lord Vëantur.
MG: So… as those of you familiar with the Unfinished Tales (and from some of the hints I believe I’ve already dropped) may have guessed, we’re about to get Polychron’s take on the events of Tolkien’s incomplete novella “The Mariner’s Wife,” aka the story of Aldarion and Erendis. In case you’re wondering why we’re getting a recap of “The Mariner’s Wife” (which in addition to being a rather uncharacteristic work of Tolkien’s – dealing as it does with the messy, dysfunctional relationship a single couple where nobody is entirely in the right, with the more epic events of the Legendarium being decidedly in the background – one might think isn’t the sort of thing Polychron personally would be into, from what we’ve seen of his style so far)… well, aside from the fact that it included a lot of worldbuilding for pre-corruption Numenor, which Polychron does end up referencing… yes, he’s going to be shoehorning both Galadriel and the Rings of Power into the story. Because clearly, that is what the story of Aldarion and Erendis needed. *headdesk*
Gil-galad, Círdan and Celebrimbor welcomed their return and Círdan had a vision: secretly, he advised Gil-galad that Aldarion and the Númenóreans, if properly courted, would become powerful allies and could play decisive roles in defending Lindon against Morgoth’s surviving servants in the East.
Shade: …unfortunately, it turned out the next morning that it wasn’t a vision at all, it was just a side-effect of getting a bit too festive to celebrate the Numenoreans’ return and smoking some things he probably shouldn’t have and then being too embarrassed to admit it.
Just as before, Aldarion and Vëantur explored the coasts and deep inland waterways for almost two years. When they first docked, Gil-galad, Círdan and Celebrimbor celebrated their arrival and upon receiving gifts from Númenor, gave them many in return.
Celebrimbor told Aldarion he was fascinated at how much his father, soon to be the Númenórean King Tar-Meneldur, had advanced star craft by himself, in the short 125 years since Lord Vëantur’s first visit.
MG: Well, I knew that the Numenoreans were the most advanced civilization of their day, and even their descendants in Arnor and Gondor never reached the same heights of advancement as Numenor itself had… but I did not know that Tar-Meneldur singlehandedly revolutionized the playing of Starcraft! No wonder the elves were so impressed, especially considering all the gaming technology he doubtless had to invent to even get there…
Aldarion promised to bring copies of Tar-Meneldur’s notebooks, scrolls and records when he returned. Privately, Celebrimbor doubted he would see him again.
Kasanari: So… not very dependable is our Prince Aldarion, I take it?
But he did – just three years later. Aldarion sailed back without Vëantur, who had reached the end of his hardiness and retired, bearing wondrous star charts full of new knowledge, just as he had promised. Celebrimbor was impressed by the accomplishments of these Men, none more so than their King, who’d shared the gifts of his knowledge of the stars, borne by his son.
Shade: *bored* Woohoo. I’m starting to get the idea that the Numenoreans may have revolutionized the study of astronomy. Just a hunch. It’s subtle, but I think it’s there… /s
Celebrimbor was delighted finding himself indebted to the race of Men, and Aldarion in particular, despite only having the fleeting years of mortals. When Aldarion prepared to return to Númenor, he personally promised Celebrimbor he’d dare the seas and return yet again.
Kasanari: *arches an eyebrow* Really. Even most of the most honorable people I know wouldn’t be delighted to be in someone’s debt, usually, even if they had full intention of paying it off! And someone as proud as Celebrimbor, well…
Which he did again – three years later. The Elves were elated that Aldarion’s passion had brought him back so quickly, whose frequency was unprecedented. After feasts and fetes, the Mariner continued exploring the coasts with his two other ships. He wanted to see for himself Forodwaith and its great ice fields and glaciers standing like mountains, even at the height of Summer. He would also extend his navigation charts and continue tracking stars.
Before he left, the Elves again feasted their intrepid and courageous new mortal friend.
Shade: Okay, I’m impressed. Polychron has taken what sounds like an endless parade of feasts, parties and celebrations, and made them all sound boring. That takes talent.
Celebrimbor had gone to Ost-in-Edhil and retrieved the first Ring of Power for Men, called Anqaúrë. He gave it as a gift from the Elves to their closest mortal ally, Aldarion himself.
Kasanari: Which explains how Celendrian knows all of this, I assume. Why Polychron thinks we need to know all of it, I’m still waiting on…
Rings-a-Palooza: 117
Gil-galad used these celebrations to announce that Celebrimbor was looking for colonists to found a new kingdom (a fiefdom of Lindon, of course).
Shade: I don’t think Gil-Galad quite seems to know what a “new kingdom” entails, because this sounds like it’s just going to be an outpost of the old one! Not to mention that he seems very concerned with making sure everyone knows this kingdom will still be under his control.
It was for any creative craftspeople who wanted to create beautiful things in a land of evergreen trees. These tree, like the Elves, never withered, never died, but under the harshest conditions in midwinter, produced the brightest berries. The response was overwhelming.
Kasanari: As someone who cares deeply about trees… I don’t think Gil-Galad quite understands what an “evergreen” is. Just because they don’t drop their leaves, that does not mean they’re literally immortal.
So many Elves wanted to go, Gil-galad was forced to cap their numbers, in fear of depopulating his established kingdoms. Aldarion offered his ships to transport the newly crowned King Celebrimbor of Eregion (he felt worthy and wanted the title again).
Shade: …but tomorrow he’ll probably decide he’s unworthy and abdicate to focus entirely on his rings, I’ll bet. Because he sure doesn’t seem like he’s being consistent about this…
MG: He’s not, because, as I’ve noted, Polychron seems to have mashed several different versions of the history of the Second Age together, in some of which Celebrimbor was always the ruler of Eregion, and some where he wasn’t. And so we get Celebrimbor the flip-flopper, who can’t decide if he wants the crown or not. And in any case, as far as I know Celebrimbor never called himself a king.
Loremaster’s Headache: 279
Aldarion ferried him and his Elvish colonists down the coast of Harlindon and up the River Gwathló. It was called by Men, the Greyflood, which Númenóreans called Gwathir, the River of Shadow. The forest canopies were so dense, Aldarion couldn’t see any sunlight reaching the forest floor.
Eldarion realized that with all these trees beside the ocean, the river mouth was perfect for a harbor and repair yard to maintain his ships. They suffered greatly during the stormy ocean crossings. To avoid denuding the forests of Lindon, Círdan’s fleet had been neglected and was falling to ruin. Aldarion offered to repair them and also provide shipping and repair services to Eregion and Khazad-dûm. There he founded the first Númenórean port in Middle-earth and named it Vinyalondë, also called Lond Daer Enedh, New Haven, in support of Gil-galad and Círdan in Lindon, Celebrimbor in Eregion, and Durin and Myrkinamid in Khazad-dûm.
MG: So… yeah, at this point this has basically just turned into a very dry recap of events you could already read about in the Unfinished Tales and History of Middle-earth, yaaay. I don’t know if Polychron wanted to pad out his word count, make sure we all know that he, too has read the UT, or a bit of both. My money’s on “both.”
In his new capital, Celebrimbor immediately began stocking his library and archive in his personal palace. His smithies, forges and workshops were built in another building called the Gwaith-i-Mírdain, the Guildhouse of the Jewel-smiths, patterned after the guilds of Dwarves.
Narvi and Dagnall were founding members.
MG: Okay, no points because we don’t know for sure either way, but I don’t think Tolkien ever indicated that Celebrimbor based the Gwaith-i-Mirdain on dwarven guilds, though he did establish that the friendship between the Gwaith and the dwarves of Khazad-dum was unusually close (and again, Tolkien’s version of the Gwaith seem to have been entirely elves, though they worked with the dwarves on projects such as the West-gate of Moria). It just can’t help but feel to me like more of Polychron’s weird fascination with shilling the dwarves in general, and Narvi in particular. Ironically, considering how he sued Amazon over Rings of Power, Narvi does not actually appear in the first season of the show (the only one out at the time of the lawsuit) and in the second season he’s a decidedly secondary character compared to the royal family (though I will say that, in my experience, the dwarf subplot seems to be one of the better-received parts of RoP overall).
Rarely were new Elvish Kingdoms established.
Shade: *looks over the map of First Age Beleriand and Second Age Middle-earth, both of which are dotted with numerous elvish kingdoms* Uh-huh, right. I’m sure that’s just how the Noldor established themselves as the dominant power in Beleriand, by staying put and never establishing new kingdoms. Right.
Never had one been built in league with Dwarves.
MG: Depends on how you define “in league” and “built.” Dwarves didn’t help found Doriath, but they did excavate Thingol’s capital at Menegroth for him; they did help Finrod found Nargothrond and excavate his capital as well (which is where he earned his epesse Felagund, “Hewer of Caves”), albeit to the consternation of the petty-dwarves who lived there before him. And other individual elf lords, like some of the Feanorians and even Eol, did business with the dwarves. Sure, the alliance between Eregion and Khazad-dum was unusually tight, but it wasn’t unprecedented (though once Eregion fell, that mostly marked the end of lasting friendship between elf and dwarf for a very long time).
Add the mystique of talented artists, musicians, blacksmiths, whitesmiths, goldsmiths and jewelers, then wonder at the artistry, beauty and wealth in mithril tools, jewelry and other gems flowing from Eregion. Celebrimbor and the Mirdainions became the marvels of the Modern World. Stories of their arts and treasures spread through many lands.
MG: …”Modern World” being capitalized makes it sound like Eregion has stumbled into our earth in the middle of the twentieth century or something. Possibly because “Modernity,” with capital, has connotations that really… don’t work, for Middle-earth. Maybe it’s just me.
With one majestic stroke, Gil-galad cemented strong alliances with the Dwarves in the East and the Númenóreans in the West. United against the rumors of the unnamed but growing evil in the shadowy south-east, the friendship between the Edain and the Ñoldor was renewed.
Kasanari: …except we were just talking about the friendship between the elves and the dwarves, weren’t we? How did they fit into this grand alliance, exactly, beyond providing labor for everyone else?
The Mirdainions were joined by other Dwarven and Elven smiths and jewelers, and they discovered their differences enhanced their arts rather than marred them, as some had feared.
Celebrimbor continued crafting Rings of Power, completing the Thirteen he promised Gil-galad. Four of the Eleven for Dwarves went to Durin, Myrkinamid, Narvi and Dagnall (not in that order).
Shade: *whipping her brow* Whew! I’m so relieved Polychron has put thought into the exact order all of these people got their Rings of Power in! Whatever would we do without knowing that?
Rings-a-Palooza: 121
At last, he finished his second of the six of the Eleven for Elven Lords, yet it didn’t go to Gil-galad, as everyone expected, but rather surprisingly – to Celeborn.
Kasanari: *arching an eyebrow* Word of advice – if your romantic rival gives you a rare and experimental magical artifact that seems to have been made just for you… don’t take it. Celeborn does not want to know what that ring will probably do to him!
Rings-a-Palooza: 122
No one was more surprised than Celeborn himself. The trade in mithril had helped Ost- in-Edhil, as Celebrimbor had provincially named it,
Shade: *mouthing* Provincially? What in the Nine Hells does that mean, in this context?
grow quickly from a small rural town to a rich bustling city. Along with the Ring, Celebrimbor sent an invitation for Celeborn to rule Eregion, at the new and magnificent Palace of Edhilon. It was the grandest Citadel ever built above ground, thanks to the great creative alliance between Dwarves and Elves.
MG: So… yep! Celebrimbor is now giving up the rule of Eregion so Galadriel and Celeborn can come in and take over. Because we are, again, mashing up various versions of the story where the identity of “who ruled Eregion?” was different, so everyone’s just sort of… swapping it around. Fun!
The Palace rose over natural hot springs. Narvi and Dagnall had built two great arched aqueducts from the River Sirannon. The grounds were full of fountains; hot and cold public and private baths fed from mountain springs. Flowering beds of perennials, large bushes and tall Holly trees were transplanted onto the Palace rooftop gardens from which falls of water cascaded down to fountains. The pools in gardens far below overflowed with the singing waters of the Gate Stream. They ran south from the Silvertine sparkling effervescent in the Sun.
Inside the palace walls there hung bright tapestries woven from threads of silver, gold and mithril. They were inlaid with precious stones and spun into majestic landscapes of the Misty Mountains or the coastlines. Visitors often mistook them for open windows.
Out the three-story picture windows, majestic white watermills on the rivers provided the grinding for great stores of grains that had been grown in the surrounding countryside. The overflow of this bounty went to Lindon, Annúminas and Khazad-dûm.
But their flavored butters, spiced cheeses, sweetened creams and pastry custards spoiled too quickly for transport and could only be found in Eregion. They filled the many granaries, bakeries, pie and cake shops, and of course the royal kitchens, dining rooms and banquet halls, with the best and freshest of everything. The sheer opulence had jealous Elves in Lindon calling this new capital, Ost-en-Tatious.
MG: *groans and facepalms* Good lord, Polychron, that’s terrible. Maybe even worse than “Glorfindell,” though at least Celebrimbor hasn’t actually changed Ost-in-Edhil’s name to that. And, more to the point, that pun doesn’t work in Sindarin, it only works in English, a language these characters don’t speak and doesn’t even exist in-universe, what the hells?
Shade: *eyes wide* I don’t care what it’s called, that place sounds like it would be so much fun to rob… excuse me, I think I have to go and pack… I may be gone a while…
Linguistic Confusions: 34
Celeborn could not think of a good reason to say no.
Kasanari: *quietly points up at her previous comment*
He and Galadriel left Annúminas. Celebrimbor welcomed them as the new King and Queen of Eregion, vassals of the great High King Gil-galad, as before. The Ring of Power Celebrimbor had given Celeborn was Anor, the Ring of the Sun.
MG: …which might be considered something of a stealth insult, ominously. Elves, after all, revere the light of the stars more than that of the sun. Is Celebrimbor calling Celeborn a second-rater?
After he (and Galadriel) began ruling, wearing Anor on his hand, his own long flowing silver hair now shown and glowed almost as bright and beautiful as Galadriel’s own.
Shade: *snorts* Is that all it does? Ring of the Sun? Ring of hair care, sounds more like it! Then again, I’m sure I could get a buyer for that…
Between the two of them, it was as if the Sun had come to live in Edhilon, as Galadriel had immediately and sensibly rechristened the city, on arrival.
MG: As I’ve mentioned previously, I don’t believe the city was ever called “Edhilon,” nor do I have any idea why Galadriel would want the name changed.
Loremaster’s Headache: 280
The land flowed with honey from tended beehives, milk from pastured cattle, music, beautiful white swans in the distance swimming atop mirrored lakes, cherished jewels and a wealth of precious metals: silver, gold and mithril. Thus began the Summer of the Elves.
MG: *arches eyebrow* The Summer of the Elves. Really. The peak of the elves’ civilization is generally considered to be the Noontide of Valinor, in the First Age during the time of the Two Trees, which is more than a millennium in the past at this point. The awakening of Men has already come by now, and the elves as a people took a real shellacking in the Wars of Beleriand that they never fully recovered from. Their decline has already begun, though obviously not nearly as obvious as it will be by the Third Age; hells, canonically, trying to stave off that decline is why Celebrimbor made those rings! This isn’t the Summer of the Elves, it’s more a… “warm early autumn before the real chills have come but with the leaves already starting to turn” of the elves. Which is, admittedly, much more of a mouthful.
The one blot on their perfect happiness: Amroth had refused Celebrimbor’s invitation.
With a band of followers, he went north around the Misty Mountains to a land called Lórinand. It lay far to the east of the East Doors of Khazad-dûm, to escape (he said) the dwarfish influence.
Kasanari: So, apparently Galadriel and Celeborn raised a racist. Lovely.
MG: And, again, in the versions Tolkien ultimately seemed to go with (Christopher Tolkien thought so, at least) Amroth was not the son of Galadriel and Celeborn but of the Silvan king Amdir, the actual founder of Lorien (or, as it was then known, Lorinand). But, despite having gone with the earlier idea of Amroth being Galadriel’s son, Polychron… does absolutely nothing with the idea, has the guy barely matter in the story, and writes him out as soon as he can. Fun!
With Edhilon as the unmatched Wonder of the Modern World,
Shade: *flatly* Great, I’ll sell tickets, split the proceeds with Celebrimbor fifty-fifty, we’ll make a killing.
Celebrimbor’s legendary status as creator of miracles was assured, enshrined among the greatest smiths in history.
Kasanari: *shaking her head* All this, and he hasn’t even met Sauron yet. Am I correct to think that Polychron may be downplaying the contributions of one Annatar, Lord of Gifts to Celebrimbor’s success?
MG: Well, Annatar hasn’t actually showed up at all yet, but… yes, yes he is.
Whatever transpired between Galadriel, Celeborn and Celebrimbor, no one knew. Yet all was tranquil. Edhilon grew ever more wealthy, powerful and beautiful. Its many palaces, great houses and stone streets grew grander and more full of fountains, trees and gardens, just as Celebrimbor’s private palace, treasury and library did.
Shade: *nonplussed* Celebrimbor, friend… why do you have trees, gardens and fountains in your treasury? That is not the place for them!
Its entries and exits, its very existence, were his most closely guarded secrets, shared only with Narvi and Dagnall. There they recorded their discoveries and greatest secrets: how they fashioned Ring of Power. For the entire history of Middle-earth, those secrets and the secret location of the library remained hidden and inviolate. Not even Celeborn or Galadriel ever knew.
Shade: And I guess if Celendrian learned it, she’s not going to tell us, neener neener? Why am I not surprised?
MG: I have a feeling that, had the series continued, some sort of “quest for Celebrimbor’s archives” was going to feature in, because Polychron mentions it several times in this fic, but never actually does anything with it. And of course, he shared the knowledge of its location with Polychron’s favorite dwarves, and nobody else.
Aldarion had returned to Númenor before the arrival of Celeborn and Galadriel. Inspired by Celebrimbor, in Númenor Aldarion established his own guild. Instead of building it in a fixed location on land, his professional society of merchants, sailors and captains was on his personal ship Eämbar. He anchored it off the island of Tol Uinen, centered in the large bay of Rómenna.
MG: …and, now we’re back to recapping “The Mariner’s Wife,” yay. With the addition that Aldarion patterned the Guild of Venturers on the Gwaith-i-Mirdain, which I just double-checked the UT and found no evidence of (Cirdan, not Celebrimbor, seems to have been the elf who most influenced Aldarion, perhaps unsurprisingly). This just feels like Polychron trying to crudely justify tying these two stories together.
Númenórean tradition said the bay had been put there by the Vala Uinen, the Lady of the Seas, when the Valar first created Númenor. Númenórean sailors held her in special reverence, for she protected them from storms when their ships were far from shore.
MG: Okay, Uinen? Not a Vala. Now, Uinen and her husband Osse were Valar in the Book of Lost Tales, but by the time Tolkien was developing the mythos into what we call the Silmarillion he seems to have wanted to cut the number of Valar down to a more manageable level. Some, like the barbaric brother-and-sister war gods Makar and Measse, he decided didn’t fit at all and cut outright; others, like Uinen and Osse, got “demoted” and stuck around as Maiar. Now, per the Sil, the Numenoreans did love Uinen (as she was the protector of mariners) and revered her as equal to the Valar, but that doesn’t actually make her a Vala.
Loremaster’s Headache: 282
Whenever Númenórean sailors returned, women welcomed them carrying branches from the Oiolairë tree, found only in Númenor. It was a symbol of the special favor and protection the Valar had given them and their ships.
Kasanari: Let me guess… yet more repetition of elements already established in the source material? *she notices MG’s expression and sighs* I thought so.
Among these women, the greatest beauty was named Erendis. She had caught Aldarion’s eye when bearing such a branch, but her grace and kindness ensnared his heart. Together, they harvested the trees of the surrounding forests and built the Order of the Guildhouse of the Venturers, named for Aldarion’s grandfather Vëantur. Only the hardiest mariners were invited to be members and it became the most famous guild in Númenor. Young Númenóreans sought admission from all the inland regions and they called Aldarion, the Great Captain.
Shade: …well, if I ever want to infiltrate the Guild of Venturers, I suppose all of this will come in handy to know? As to why all of this is relevant to this story, I remain at a loss.
MG: Also… is Polychron implying that “Venturers” comes from “Veantur?” I think he is… oh, dear Eru… *buries head in their hands*
Linguistic Confusions: 35
On his ship Eämbar, Aldarion and Erendis collected and bound the records of his voyages. But as the years passed, Aldarion kept delaying their wedding. Erendis grew fearful something might happen to him at sea. If so, she would never see her love again.
In 850 of the Second Age, Valandil, Lord of Andúnië, held a feast to honor the Lady Erendis, betrothéd of Aldarion. At the height of the feasting Valandil stood and made a toast, naming her, ‘Uinéniel, Daughter of Uinen.’ But Erendis saw Uinen as a jealous rival who might allow something horrible to happen to Aldarion, to claim him as her own.
“Call me by no such name!” Erendis cried, sore afraid and horrified. “I am no daughter of Uinen: rather is she my foe.”
MG: *sigh* More recapping of “The Mariner’s Wife” ahoy. While Aldarion and Erendis are going to both end up being important in these flashbacks, I really can’t help but feel like the only reason for Polychron to include all this in such detail is so he can say “look at me, I read the UT, aren’t you impressed?” And it’s wearying on me, not going to lie.
Aldarion had given Anqaúrë, the Ring of Feeling, to Erendis for their engagement. He had not known about and would have much grieved Erendis discovering the power of her Ring to absorb the memories of others.
Shade: Gah! Arwen gives that ring to her daughter, and it mind-rapes her. Aldarion gives that ring to his wife, and it mind-rapes her. You’d think, after thousands of years, people would have stopped giving this damned thing to their loved ones!
MG: And no, I don’t know why Polychron thought “Aldarion and Erendis’ marriage wasn’t dysfunctional enough, let’s give her the ring of mind rape to make it even more dysfunctional!”
Rings-a-Palooza: 123
The secrets and terrible truths it revealed in the hearts of those she loved and thought she knew were so sever, they made her bitter.
Kasanari: Because being married to a man who seemed to love the sea more than her and was constantly risking his life on dangerous voyages for, from her perspective, no good reason wouldn’t do that. No, we clearly need a magic ring to explain Erendis’ attitude!
Aldarion had also given his father, King Tar- Meneldur, Rómhandë, the Ring of Sound, Music, Hearing, Language and Discerning Truth.
No one else knew it existed.
MG: *sigh* And we’ve got another one.
Rings-a-Palooza: 124
In exchange for their Rings of Power, Aldarion received from them their solemn oaths: when they passed their Rings to heirs, or whomever they felt (or if in dreams, as the Valar instructed)
Shade: And I’m still waiting for an explanation for why the Valar care so much about who specifically gets these damned things, in any case. I’ve stolen quite a lot over the years, mind you, but I’ve never had any of the Four show up in my dreams to take a personal interest in the distribution of the loot!
they believed they should, then the identity of the recipients would only be known to them, and so on to each successive Ringbearer, as Aldarion had promised Celebrimbor.
MG: *sigh* Which just seems to be Polychron’s way of trying to explain why nobody in the actual LotR seemed to have heard of any of these things…
In time, Aldarion and Erendis married. They eventually had a daughter. They named her Ancalimë and when she was full grown, Erendis passed Anqaúrë to Ancalimë, knowing her daughter was destined to become the first ruling Queen of Númenor.
MG: …you know, I’m not actually sure at what point Aldarion had the law changed to that the reigning monarch’s eldest child inherited the Scepter regardless of gender; “The Mariner’s Wife” cuts off before it reaches that part of the story.
Unfortunately, like all who possessed Anqaúrë, the bitter knowledge which the Ring passed to its Keeper made Ancalimë as bitter as her mother, and as bitter a Queen as any who ever ruled.
Kasanari: And yet Arwen still passed this… ring of cynicism and bitterness on to her child. The more I learn of this object, the less I like it.
MG: and, of course, Ancalime couldn’t have just become bitter and cynical from watching her dysfunctional parents and their messed-up relationship, or her own bitter, loveless marriage later in life – no, she had to have a magic ring to make her so jaded and cynical. Right. Anyway, that is it for Book II, Chapter Two! And… I’ll be honest, everyone, this was a hard one to get through for me, not because it was bad but because it was boring, IMO easily the most boring chapter in the whole fic. I tried to make my spork of it entertaining and/or informative, but… I really don’t know if I managed to pull it off. The problem is, it’s mostly just a rather dull recap of the events of the first millennium of the Second Age, with some weird bits regarding Polychron’s pet issues (shilling the dwarves, shilling his new Rings of Power, the Galadriel/Celeborn/Celebrimbor love triangle he’s pulled straight from his behind) sprinkled throughout it. Also, the name doesn’t really fit, since Numenor itself only appears briefly at the very end of the chapter. “I Dreamed of Eregion” might be better; that’s the place that actually gets founded and that Polychron seems determined to talk up this time around, at least. The bad news is… we have two more chapters of Second Age flashbacks to get through (technically, the next chapter, “Before the Fall,” is all flashbacks; the one after that, “The Forging of the Ring,” is mostly flashbacks but has some “present-day” sequences). The good news is, they’re not this dull. “Before the Fall” has Polychron’s weird take on Galadriel’s tangled love-life come to the fore, actually ties in the stuff from “The Mariner’s Wife” to everything else that’s going on and reveals the shocking “truth” of Celebrian’s parentage, while “The Forging of the Ring,” in addition to covering the creation both of Celebrimbor’s “Master Ring” and the One Ring, reintroduces us to Polychron’s version of Sauron and has some real wallbangers in it. So, I’d say we’re past the nadir, at least. Anyway, that’s all for today. Next time, Galadriel’s love life gets even messier. We’ll see you then! Our counts stand at:
Bigger, Louder, More!: 71
Expansion-Pack World: 23
Feel My Edge: 82
Happy Ending Override: 24
Linguistic Confusions: 35
Loremaster’s Headache: 282
Pervy Hobbit Fanciers: 41
Plot-Induced Stupidity: 117
Rings-a-Palooza: 124
Take That, Tolkien!: 31
Traveling at the Speed of Plot: 35
The Unfair Sex: 61
MG: Well, everyone, it’s time to continue our journey through Demetrious Polychron’s Fellowship of the King, with the second part of the second chapter of the second Book (whew!). Last time, Undomiel of Borg (supposedly) bonded with her daughters and tried to prove she has a heart, while Celendrian… did not actually dream of Numenor yet but instead had flashbacks to Galadriel in the early Second Age, involving the forging of the first Rings of Power (in Polychron’s version, that is…) and the fact that she was, of course, having an affair with Celebrimbor (why?). Today, we continue with Galadriel’s flashbacks and finally reach Numenor itself and thereby justify the chapter title. Yay. Joining us today will be Shade and Kasanari!
It was nothing someone else said alerting Celeborn.
Shade: He intercepted a raunchy love note Celebrimbor sent to Galadriel, as it happened. Very embarrassing for everyone involved.
It was just one of those off-hand remarks Galadriel made, which meant nothing to anyone else. As if a bell rang, he realized she and Celebrimbor were having an affair.
Kasanari: And now I’m imagining that this “remark” happened at a large and formal dinner, and Celeborn spent the rest of it staring at his soup in a slack-jawed stupor that somehow nobody else noticed.
It hurt so deeply, he spoke to Gil-galad discretely and obtained his permission to leave Harlindon. He wished to travel over the mountains to the forests around Lake Evendim and he began gathering a large contingent of woodland Elves. They liked the sea, but loved even more the sounds, smells and feels of the primeval forests they’d known before the Fall of Beleriand.
Shade: As “woodland elves” are wont to do. Or so I’m told. *rubs one of her ears idly* My own elven heritage is… not that; sorry, Kasanari. Though imagine if what they really missed was a nice, open desert. That’d make everyone nice and confused!
As their preparations to depart commenced, Galadriel learned Celeborn was leaving, just as innocuously as he had learned of her affair. One day in conversation with him and in this same innocuous manner, she mentioned she was leaving and going with him.
Kasanari: Is everyone going to be finding out everything in this chapter this way? Can none of these people just… talk to each other?
Celeborn suspected what she was doing. He confirmed it by casually and innocuously mentioning to Celebrimbor that he and Galadriel would soon depart Lindon. His heart swelled in renewed love when genuine shock and hurt filled Celebrimbor’s face.
Shade: …and thus Celeborn discovered both his own deep attraction to Celebrimbor, and how much he got off on shocking and humiliating him. Hey, it’s a thing, I don’t judge.
Much later in private, Galadriel and Celebrimbor shared a tearful and chaste farewell.
Shade: So, what, did Celeborn just end up telling Galadriel “hey, honey, we’re moving,” and she agreed with it and the affair was over? Huh; that was easy!
MG: Well, it’s not actually over for good yet, and its consequences certainly aren’t… though more of that for the next two chapters.
Then Celeborn led a great host of Sindarin and Laiquendi Elves with Galadriel. They headed east over the hills of the Emyn Beraid, past the White Towers and Far Downs to the shore of Lake Evendim. It lay at the feet of the Emyn Uial, called the Twilight Hills of Eriador.
There, Galadriel and Celeborn rediscovered their passion for each other. They felt so happy, so free, like when they first met. Galadriel became pregnant and bore them a son they named Amroth.
MG: So… okay, per Unfinished Tales, Tolkien does seem to have toyed with the idea of making Amroth Galadriel and Celeborn’s son. OTOH, Christopher Tolkien thought he’d firmly abandoned the idea by the time LotR since no connection between the characters (beyond them having been, at different times, rulers of Lorien) is even alluded to there. In most of Tolkien’s writings, Celebrian was an only child, and Amroth was the son of the Silvan king Amdir, who wasn’t related to any of these people. Of course, this isn’t the last time this chapter where Polychron will seem to be freely mixing details from different drafts in the UT without apparent rhyme or reason…
Loremaster’s Headache: 267
In celebration, with the great industry and craft of their kin and kindred, they built on the southern shore a wondrous city they named Annúminas, the Sunset Tower. Every evening, its high grey stone walls caught the fading light of the Sun and turned gold.
MG: …Polychron, do I seriously have to repeat my “saying Galadriel and Celeborn founded Annuminas is like saying Julius Caesar built the Eiffel Tower” joke from a few chapters ago? Because I can do it if I have to!
Loremaster’s Headache: 268
Back in East Mithlond, Gil-galad again appointed Celebrimbor the Lord of Harlindon, for he now refused the title ‘King.’ Celebrimbor apprenticed his adopted son Elrond to rule the remaining Sindar and Ñoldor, and to help him run the Kingdom. Often he was in his smithies and workshops, forging more of the Thirteen.
Kasanari: …I’m seriously starting to lose track of whether Celebrimbor is currently lord of anything or not at the moment. I suspect this problem is only going to get worse as we go.
MG: Also… I have no idea why Polychron says that Elrond was adopted by Celebrimbor. Per the Sil, he and Elros were fostered by Maglor, Celebrimbor’s uncle, after the Third Kinslaying when the Feanorians raided Arvernien looking for the Silmaril (at least partially out of Maglor’s guilt at the fact that he and his brothers had, as far as they knew, caused the death of the twins’ mother, Elwing). Celebrimbor, who disowned his father Curufin and uncle Celegorm for their treachery during the story of Beren and Luthien, probably wasn’t even there, and it’s doubtful he would have fought for his uncles (his father having already been killed at an earlier point) and been in a position to raise the twins if he had. I wonder if Polychron just… genuinely misread or misremembered something here, because this is bizarre otherwise.
Loremaster’s Headache: 269
It had been six hundred years since King Elros, Queen Karewyn and the Edain left for Númenor. No one had heard from them or their descendants.
One day a ship appeared on the horizon greater than any ever built, greater than even those of the master shipwright Lord Círdan. It had a higher draft and mightier sails. Yet these sails were not white, but woven from threads of gold, with taller masts than any ever seen.
Shade: Well, isn’t that just typical. You don’t hear from your estranged kin and allies for centuries on end, and when they finally show back up, it’s just to show off!
Everyone imagined the tiny figures winding ropes and raising golden sails must be their kin: High Elves returning from the West, fair Tol Eressëa or perhaps even Valinor.
The ship sailed into Gil-galad’s harbor in West Mithlond and there they saw it wasn’t manned by Elves. These were Men descended from the long dead King Elros, Queen Karewyn and their people – the many years missing and long lost Númenóreans.
Kasanari: …did they think the Numenoreans literally sailed off the edge of the earth? Even if they hadn’t heard from them, surely they knew where they were going and why? Especially since I believe it was elvish mariners who helped transport them there?
The commander of the Númenórean King’s Ship, the NKS Entulessë, which meant ‘Return’ in Quenya, was the young Captain Vëantur. He was a fourth generation descendent of King Tar-Elros and Queen Karewyn, and the grandson of Prince Atanalcar. He spoke Quenya natively and was Captain of all the King’s Ships in the port of Andúnië. It was the capital of the province of Andustar on the western-most shore, closest to the Undying Lands. Vëantur was a distant cousin and served the ruling Númenórean King, Tar-Elendil Parmaitë, Wise in Lore.
MG: Okay, most of this is correct, but… a couple of nitpicks. First off, while Polychron gets the name of Veantur’s ship correct, I don’t know why he felt the need to add “NKS” (Numenorean Kingdom Ship, I guess?) to the front of it, which feels like trying to crudely adopt a real-world naming convention to Middle-earth (and just makes Sam being referred to as “HMS Samwise” all the weirder…). For another, I don’t think Elros was usually called “Tar-Elros?” His regnal name was Tar-Minyatur (and not “Tar-Minotaur,” as my younger self kept misreading it, either).
Kasanari: Nonetheless, we finally have some actual Numenoreans in this chapter named for Numenor, so I suppose that is a good thing?
Loremaster’s Headache: 270
The Eldar often sailed from Valinor and docked in Andúnië bearing gifts. They brought gold, jewels and most incredibly, marble statues forged by the Elvish master sculptress Nerdanel, wife of the long dead Fëanor.
Shade: …you don’t usually “forge” marble statues, do you? Unless you mean a different sort of “forging” – the Numenoreans had better hope they can get refunds, those elves are frauds!
Lord Vëantur had welcomed Nerdanel to Númenor numerous times and was her friend.
MG: …I don’t think there’s any evidence Nerdanel ever traveled to Numenor, but also no reason to assume she didn’t, so I’ll let it slide.
Many generations of Men had passed since Elros and Karewyn sailed away. To the Elves of Lindon, it seemed a heartbeat.
MG: …it’s been centuries. Even for elves, that’s not a mean span of time.
It reminded them how fleeting were the lives of mortals. To Vëantur’s great surprise, Gil-galad welcomed him and his Men as kin. There was no point in telling them how well they’d known their many-times-over great grandmothers and grandfathers, especially King Elros and Queen Karewyn, their own distant cousins. They knew from long experience, it would only serve to unnerve and disquiet the mortals.
Shade: I dunno… I’m only half-elven, but I do sometimes like to remind a guy I’m drinking with that I’m closer to a century than not, specially when he’s taken me for an impressionable twenty-something. The looks on their faces? Always worth it.
Kasanari: *disapproving look*
Gil-galad, Círdan, Elrond and the rest crowded around Vëantur, eager to hear of Númenor. When the Elves transported the settlers six hundred years before, they hadn’t gone ashore. The Valar had decreed the Land of Gift was exclusively for the Men of the Edain.
Vëantur told them of the wonders: there were vast virgin forests in Hyarnustar that bloomed with new kinds of flowers and trees: mallorns of silver bark with golden leaves. The great capital city of Armenelos had a citadel: a colossal tower of solid gold rising a thousand feet above the cliffs. It caught the first light of the Sun every morning and the last light every night. In the beautiful, sheltered ports of Rómenna, Eldalondë and Andunië, they received in friendship the Eldar of Valinor, bringing gifts from the Valar. Above all other peaks, in the center of the island rose the great mountain Meneltarma. It was a fourteen-thousand-foot snowy peak on which the Vala Manwë (and some said Eru Ilúvatar Himself) spoke directly to their King.
Shade: I was promised dreaming of Numenor in this chapter. Instead, I’m getting Celendrian dreaming of some guy telling other people about Numenor. I swear, if this continues, I want my money back!
Kasanari: …we didn’t pay to take part in this. Thank the Four.
Shade: …it’s the principle of the thing.
Vëantur saw the wonder, and envy, on the faces of many Elves. He began giving out the presents he’d brought himself and those from King Tar-Elendil, priceless treasures: gems, silver, gold, jewels and fabled mithril. These Elves had thought it was only found in Khazad-dûm.
Celebrimbor valued their maps and star charts, and their arts and sciences of ship craft. He prized their metallurgy and navigation; their lore of the Sun, stars, Moon, and the planets circling beyond. He was fascinated by the strange meteors, comets and other things they documented living high above their heads in the hallowed realms of Ambarexä, Kúma, Tarmenel, Vaiya, Ilmen, Vista, and those hidden within the Olórë Mallë – the Path of Dreams.
MG: Okay, so… after double-checking some terminology. Kuma is the Void, the outer darkness lying beyond Arda. Tarmenel seems to be a term for the outermost layer of Arda’s atmosphere, and Vista is an inner layer. Ilmen is the region of space where the sun, moon and stars reside and living beings cannot survive unaided. Vaiya is not strictly a realm of the heavens or air, but the primordial ocean on which Arda floated when it was still flat (possibly replaced as a concept later in Tolkien’s development of the Legendarium by Ekkaia, the Encircling Sea, which is depicted as a more mundane sort of ocean, though I’m not 100% sure on that), though it also seems to encompass the “sea” of emptiness between the outer air and the Void. Ambarexa I can’t find anything on; if anyone else knows better, feel free to correct me (though it does appear to contain the element “Ambar,” ie earth in the context of being the physical substance of the world). The Olore Malle seems to have been a concept from the Book of Lost Tales, referring to secret, mystical paths connecting Middle-earth (or the “Great Lands” as the continent was usually called in the Lost Tales) to Valinor; Tolkien appears to have abandoned the concept very early on. And in any case, I find it kind of hard to credit that the Numenoreans have apparently surpassed the elves – and not just any elves, but the Noldor! – in this sort of cosmological learning, when it was the elves who first taught it all to them.
Loremaster’s Headache: 273
By necessity, the crafts and sciences of the Númenóreans had grown. Only now did they have the confidence to dare the long ocean crossing and return to Lindon. It was a crossing, which until that day, had only been successfully completed by Elves.
Heartened by their success, Vëantur and his Men continued their explorations, going far to the north, then south along the coasts. They also went inland through the Gulf and up the River Lhûn, mapping its twists and turns, and describing the lands beyond. After two years and many trips, Vëantur and his men bid them farewell and sailed back to Númenor.
Many seasons passed. The seven hundredth anniversary of the Second Age fast approached. As plans for a great celebration spread through Lindon, at the suggestion of Círdan, Gil-galad asked Celebrimbor to forge a Ring of Power for Men, anticipating the Númenóreans would one day soon return.
Kasanari: And now the Rings of Power seem to have been reduced to party favors. I really don’t think Polychron has any appreciation at all for the gravity of the topics with which he’s working, does he?
Rings-a-Palooza: 115
Celebrimbor worked for years on the first of the Five Rings for Mortal Warriors, because Vëantur, though mighty, would never be a king.
Shade: But he is related to the royal family, and if you give him a super-special, powerful magical artifact, well… accidents may happen…
After almost a hundred years passed since the Númenórean’s first visited, Vëantur still had not returned. Gil-galad, Elrond, Galdor and others began imploring Celebrimbor to consider one of their own favored allied Kings of Men, living beyond the Misty Mountains, as an alternative recipient for this mighty magic Ring.
Kasanari: Which would be… who, exactly?
MG: No idea. The “Akallabeth” indicates that in the early Second Age – and keep in mind that the early Second Age was pretty much post-apocalyptic from the aftermath of the War of Wrath, not something Polychron seems to have paid attention to at all – most human kingdoms were ruled by tyrants who had been among Morgoth’s human servants and escaped the fall of Beleriand and their descendants. Outside of the elven realms and Numenor, this time period was very much a dark age, in every sense of the word. As the Sil rather bluntly puts it, “the lot of Men was unhappy.”
For the first time Celebrimbor fully appreciated what an incredible series of treasures (and problems) he was in the midst of creating.
All Sporkers: *groan and headdesk*
Plot-Induced Stupidity: 117
He knew it was a weighty decision and he wanted time to consider. Though it was winter, he got permission from Gil-galad to travel to the Misty Mountains as an emissary to King Durin III in Khazad-dûm. Leaving Lindon, he crossed the great dwarven East Road, passing Celeborn and Galadriel, clamoring for his attention in Annúminas to the north.
Shade: …now I’m imagining him riding quickly past and ignoring the two of them completely as they desperately call out his name. *beat* Considering the history, can’t say I blame him much.
In the east, he found a pleasant series of gently rolling hills and mild fertile valleys stretching across the midlands.
He took the dwarves’ Greenway to the Great South Road.
MG: The Greenway was part of the road system built by the Numenorean realms in exile in the late Second and Third Ages; it shouldn’t exist at this point (barring the possibility this is a different road of the same name). And it was only called “the Greenway” because it was the part of the road that went north, towards Fornost and Annuminas, and by the late Third Age both those cities were in ruins and nobody went that way anymore, so the road was overgrown with grass.
Loremaster’s Headache: 274
Crossing the convergence of the Rivers Glanduin and Mitheithel, there he found an enchanted delta. Here the streams and rivers ran together, slowed, and then sometimes, reversed their course. The line along the horizon between land and water became hard to distinguish. The turbulent flows slowed, becoming gentle eddies. Then, they stilled – to mirror finishes.
He found fleets of graceful swans sailing majestically over the bright reflecting surfaces.
For fifty miles, he was enchanted. At the end, he found a forest of green trees that hadn’t shed their leaves in winter, like those in Lindon. Instead, they bore winter-ripened bright red berries.
Kasanari: I’ve heard of humans straying into the country of the Fair Folk and being enchanted and unable to leave… for it to happen to an elf is, I must say, rather ironic…
His spirits rose and he thought somewhere here, surely he would find a new home. At a second delta there lay a jewel of a valley, set between the rivers Glanduin and Sirannon. Along their southern shores wound the rough foot-worn path leading to Khazad-dûm. Before him rose a great hill. At the top he looked back, seeing again the fleets of swans gliding over the mirrored lakes behind. The snow-white peaks of the Misty Mountain rose in the distance far ahead, and below, the rivers ran together. The green trees bearing bright red berries all around he called Holly trees and he named the land Eregion, Hollin in Westron. This was his new home.
MG: Again, nitpicky, but from the way Gandalf describes it, it sounds like the land didn’t come to be called “Hollin” until the Third Age, after Eregion had fallen. And Westron as a language doesn’t exist yet (Westron, for context, is a derivative of Adunaic, or Numenorean, which is still very much a living language at this point)!
Linguistic Confusions: 33
Leaving the hilltop, he followed the foot-path and headed to Khazad-dûm. Dwarven travelers hailed him and messengers went ahead to announced his impending arrival.
Shade: Considering all this land appears to be unsettled, I wonder where the “dwarven travelers” are going. Off to visit their kin in the Blue Mountains, maybe? Or are they just out for a hike?
When he reached Khazad-dûm, King Durin and his beautiful Queen Myrkinamid received him graciously in the Palace of the Courtyard of the Fountains. Amidst great ceremony, they introduced him to their master craftsman Narvi, and Narvi’s lovely wife Dagnall.
MG: …apparently, this is part of what Polychron accused Amazon of ripping off from him, namely accusing “King Durin and his beautiful Queen Myrkinamid” being used as the basis for Prince Durin and his wife Disa in Rings of Power. Despite the fact that it’s a different Durin (RoP’s Prince Durin is Durin IV, the son of this Durin!), the wives are different people and have different names, and “a man is married” and “dwarf women exist” hardly seem like concepts specific enough to sue over (I’ve read a copy of the court doc where Polychron alleges all the things Amazon supposedly ripped him off on; needless to say, they’re all this sort of stretch, and I’ll likely go over them in my final thoughts). I’ve not been able to find the name “Myrkinamid” anywhere but this fic, but I’m not giving a point since dwarves almost never share their real names with outsiders and instead use public names taken from other languages, so I don’t even know what language “Myrkinamid” is supposed to be.
After feasting Narvi asked, “For which of our gems or precious metals have you come?”
Shade: *Celebrimbor* All of them, actually. Fork ‘em over, I don’t have all day here! Do you have any idea how many rings I’m contracted for? *as herself* And that, dear friends, is how the feud between the elves and the dwarves was actually rekindled.
Celebrimbor laughed. “I hold you in great esteem, though not for those treasures, nor your beautiful wives or fair jewelry, which surpasses those of Elves, as the Nauglamír made clear.
Kasanari: *mildly* That being the same Nauglamir that only reached the pinnacle of its beauty when a Silmaril, an elven jewel, was added to it?
What I have come for is the cunning of your minds, the ingenuity of your cavern palaces and the loyalty you bear each other, keeping always and forever, your greatest secrets, secret. Dwarves have been in Middle-earth longer than Elves.
MG: *sighs, rubs their forehead* No. No, they haven’t. Aule made the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves before the first elves awakened, sure, but by Eru’s command he left them to sleep until some point after the awakening of the elves. The dwarves as a people are very explicitly younger than the elves (though older than Men or hobbits). This isn’t hard, Polychron!
Loremaster’s Headache: 275
Though Elves laugh, treading lightly in the woods, Men have surpassed our ship and star craft and Dwarves have surpassed all our finery. Elves seem frozen in time, unable to grow.
MG: *as Celebrimbor* Which is why I, Celebrimbor, am currently setting out to create artifacts whose purpose will be in part to freeze our realms as they are in unchanging splendor… wait a minute, I may not have thought this through very well…
Most impressive to me, you have kept the secrets of your language and how you build your magnificent mountain homes. I am not asking you to share those secrets. I am asking for your help and I’ll pay you handsomely, so highly do I esteem your skills, unknown among Elves. I want a cavern home below a palace in this fair land of holly trees near your guarded tunnels, far from the Elven King and Elvish kind, and close to the unwavering steadfastness of Dwarves, which I value higher than my own people.”
Shade: *muttering* Laying it on a bit thick there, aren’t we, Celly? If it were me, I’d be left wondering what the catch is…
Durin and Myrkinamid, and Narvi and Dagnall were shocked and complimented, and abashed. It was during this season that the night of the great and lucky Seventh Millennium fast approached and they were preparing to celebrate the greatest Durin’s Day ever.
MG: *flatly* They were going to have balloon animals and clowns and a bouncy house and everything. Seriously, why does that sound to me less like a major celebration of great import and more like planning a kids’ birthday party?
Celebrimbor had not asked and few of Elven kind had been allowed to enter the Great Halls of Dwarves, but they invited him into the underground halls of Khazad-dûm. After he gratefully accepted, they ushered him through their heavily guarded, iron and timber gates.
Although everyone in Lindon (it seemed) had bragged to Celebrimbor of seeing the outside wonders of Khazad-dûm: The Dimrill Dale, Durin’s Stone, the Mirrormere, and far above, Durin’s Tower, he was the first to experience the wonders deep within: the monumentally mammoth First and Second Halls. Durin’s Bridge. The seemingly endless corridors containing the records of the Dwarves. They spanned three Ages of Middle-earth in many branching rooms, containing the libraries and archives of the vast Chambers of Mazarbul.
MG: The Chamber of Mazarbul… as in the smallish-seeming chamber where the Fellowship found Balin’s tomb and fought the orcs… right. Also, it’s very impressive that the dwarves’ records cover three Ages, when Middle-earth at this point is partway through the Second Age, unless dwarves have a different calendar from everyone else…
Loremaster’s Headache: 277
Rich veins of precious ores and gems threaded through three mountains, like strands of trees, bubbling streams and fields of bright flowers flowing through open fields on the surface. These were Caradhras (the Redhorn), Fanuidhol (Cloudyhead), and Celebdil (the Silvertine).
Kasanari: Yes, that was in the original book, we know that – are we going to get any more story in this chapter, or is it just going to turn into an encyclopedia entry for Khazad-dum?
He was the first of Elvish kind to climb the Endless Stair. It rose from more than 14,000 feet below the earth to over 14,000 feet above. At the top, Celebrimbor was the first to look out from Durin’s Tower. He said Dwarven creations didn’t rival those of Elves, they surpassed them.
Hearing this praise from the legendary Elven master craftsman left Durin and Myrkinamid, Narvi and Dagnall speechless. They had never felt so gifted by someone’s praise, nor held in such high regard for the things they valued most highly about themselves.
Shade: *bored* Yeah, yeah, we get it, everybody just loves everybody else… say, isn’t this supposed to be Galadriel’s flashback? Where’s she in all this? And where’s Numenor?
To them, his intensity and quiet study of their stairs, halls and doors began to look more and more like that of a Dwarf.
Shade: …when he suddenly sprouted a beard and lost a foot and a half in height, they began to suspect shenanigans were at play…
Feeling he’d met kindred spirits, Celebrimbor invited Narvi and Dagnall to work alongside him. Astonished, the two happily accepted Celebrimbor’s invitation. Together, they designed a palace of the strongest stone atop a hill above the rivers Glanduin and Sirannon, and an impregnable stronghold underneath. It contained a hidden library, archive and armory, like those found in the many levels and branching corridors of the Chambers of Mazarbul.
For a season, unnumbered Dwarven craftspeople strove with fire and earth, stone and water,
Kasanari: …I’d ask what the difference is between “stone” and “earth” in this context, but my eyes are already glazing over, so let’s just move on.
building a high palace fortress like no other. It had been conceived in an unprecedented alliance between the greatest Elvish and Dwarven craftspeople of their Age.
Celebrimbor was so delighted with the results, in return he offered whatever humble skills he possessed to add one or two modest ornamentations to the magnificent palaces and mansions of King Durin, Queen Myrkinamid and the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm. If, in the spirit of generosity they had shown him, they would afford him such an honor.
No one had ever offered to do freely for Dwarves, what everyone else offered payment and demanded Dwarves do for them.
Shade: I dunno, I’m usually happy to do things when people pay me to. I suppose I’m just weird like that.
Plans were made, entrances and exits designed, and the sculpting commenced for two great and magical sets of doors. When they were done, the impregnable Doors of Durin secured Khazad-dûm in both the east and west entrances and exits.
MG: Actually, I’m pretty sure Celebrimbor and Narvi only designed doors for the West gate, which was built to connect Khazad-dum and Eregion. The much older East gate (ie, Khazad-dum’s main gate) already had doors, and doesn’t seem to have been sealed by the same sort of magic.
They also built a road between Celebrimbor’s palace and the West Gate. It was called the Elven-way (by Elves, it was really the Khazad-ûlnâla, in Khuzdûl).
MG: I don’t think Tolkien specified that the road had another name in Khuzdul, but it makes sense that it would, and while I’ve not been able to find the word “ulnala” meaning something like “way” or “road,” Tolkien outlined so little Khuzdul I’m not giving it a point here.
They created a new form of writing with smelted liquid mithril and Celebrimbor named it ithildin. It was only visible in the light of the stars or Moon.
Returning from Khazad-dûm to his new home, Celebrimbor named it Ost-in-Edhil, which in Sindarin meant ‘Of-the-Elves.’
MG: “Fortress of the Elves,” technically, but close enough.
In the strongest and deepest vault, he locked Anqaúrë, the Ring of Feeling, Sensing, Intuiting. It had aided him mightily in his dealings with his new friends; King Durin, Queen Myrkinamid, Narvi, Dagnall, and their Dwarven kin and kindred.
Kasanari: Oh, so that is how Celendrian is remembering this! Although, I find myself disturbed that Celebrimbor was apparently reading peoples’ minds throughout all of these conversations and passing it off as his own insights, instead of actually forging a connection with the dwarves… and weren’t we told that this was a ring made for humans that elves, for some reason, can’t use? Has Polychron forgotten his own additions to the lore?
MG: …do you really want to know the answer to that?
Rings-a-Palooza: 116
With his treasure safely stored, Celebrimbor returned to Lindon. He told them of the beautiful and majestic halls and palaces of the Dwarves; the beauty and abundant wealth of precious metals, gems and jewelry; the wonder of the Endless Stair; their magnificent creations in mithril adorning caves and chambers; the spectacular view from inside Durin’s Tower looking outside on the West; and the hidden treasure of the stunning beauty of their wives and daughters.
Shade: We. Know. Get on with it!
MG: And yes, Polychron seems to take issue with canon’s depiction of dwarf women as being mostly indistinguishable from their menfolk (because Aule forbid a different culture might have different standards of beauty…); more on that later on, as we get Polychron’s actual explanation for why people of other races mistakenly believe there are no dwarf women.
Above all, Celebrimbor praised the kindness of King Durin and Queen Myrkinamid; the comradery of his master craftscouple, Narvi and his equally skillful but undeniably more beautiful wife Dagnall; and the expertise of their thriving craftspeople community.
Shade: Hey, don’t knock Narvi, I’m sure he’s somebody’s type, if you like your men short and hairy…
Most surprising to Elves, Dwarves had delighted in Celebrimbor’s company. In addition to the natural and unnatural wonders of their realm, they had shared the marvels of their crafts and the arts of their jewelers, smithies and forges.
Shade: *exasperated facepalm*
It was a testament to the reserve and discipline of Celebrimbor and the Dwarves that no one else ever learned that on his first visit they built his library, archive and armory where he stored his Ring of Power; not even Gil-galad, Elrond or Galadriel ever knew.
Gil-galad was suitably impressed by Celebrimbor’s achievements.
Kasanari: …shall we tell him Celebrimbor was cheating? Does Polychron realize that he wrote Celebrimbor as a fraud who only got his way with the dwarves by literal magic?
In private, he and Círdan agreed: the economic and military advantages couldn’t be ignored. He and Círdan asked Celebrimbor to return to Eregion and found a joint colony of Elves and Dwarves for craftspeople. It would be a haven for those who delighted in the arts; a tie to further bind the unlooked for and burgeoning friendship between their two races. Celebrimbor was delighted by the proposal. He had a vision of his dream coming true: his new Kingdom of Eregion would be a city for all races. He would open its doors to all those who adventured in the creation of precision tools, precious metals, jewelry and other beautiful things.
It had been 125 years since the Númenóreans left Lindon. Many generations of mortals had been born and died. To immortal Elves, the years passed quickly.
MG: Well, considering the lifespans of the mortals in question, the Numenoreans (per Tolkien’s notes, during Numenor’s height even “normal” Numenoreans lived for a couple of centuries, and descendants of Elros were longer lived than that), it’s not all that many – Veantur is still alive, even! And I’ll also note that, previously (and we’ll be returning to it) we had the idea that Galadriel and Celeborn ruled Eregion. In the versions where they did that, they also founded Eregion and it was Galadriel who made the alliance with the dwarves. Here, Celebrimbor is the founder and made the alliance… but Galadriel and Celeborn will still end up in charge, because we’re just throwing all of Tolkien’s drafts into a blender and seeing what comes out. Fun!
Loremaster’s Headache: 278
* * * * *
In 725 of the Second Age, the Númenórean Crown Prince Anardil Aldarion; a young adventurer, sailed to Lindon with his mother’s very old father, Lord Vëantur.
MG: So… as those of you familiar with the Unfinished Tales (and from some of the hints I believe I’ve already dropped) may have guessed, we’re about to get Polychron’s take on the events of Tolkien’s incomplete novella “The Mariner’s Wife,” aka the story of Aldarion and Erendis. In case you’re wondering why we’re getting a recap of “The Mariner’s Wife” (which in addition to being a rather uncharacteristic work of Tolkien’s – dealing as it does with the messy, dysfunctional relationship a single couple where nobody is entirely in the right, with the more epic events of the Legendarium being decidedly in the background – one might think isn’t the sort of thing Polychron personally would be into, from what we’ve seen of his style so far)… well, aside from the fact that it included a lot of worldbuilding for pre-corruption Numenor, which Polychron does end up referencing… yes, he’s going to be shoehorning both Galadriel and the Rings of Power into the story. Because clearly, that is what the story of Aldarion and Erendis needed. *headdesk*
Gil-galad, Círdan and Celebrimbor welcomed their return and Círdan had a vision: secretly, he advised Gil-galad that Aldarion and the Númenóreans, if properly courted, would become powerful allies and could play decisive roles in defending Lindon against Morgoth’s surviving servants in the East.
Shade: …unfortunately, it turned out the next morning that it wasn’t a vision at all, it was just a side-effect of getting a bit too festive to celebrate the Numenoreans’ return and smoking some things he probably shouldn’t have and then being too embarrassed to admit it.
Just as before, Aldarion and Vëantur explored the coasts and deep inland waterways for almost two years. When they first docked, Gil-galad, Círdan and Celebrimbor celebrated their arrival and upon receiving gifts from Númenor, gave them many in return.
Celebrimbor told Aldarion he was fascinated at how much his father, soon to be the Númenórean King Tar-Meneldur, had advanced star craft by himself, in the short 125 years since Lord Vëantur’s first visit.
MG: Well, I knew that the Numenoreans were the most advanced civilization of their day, and even their descendants in Arnor and Gondor never reached the same heights of advancement as Numenor itself had… but I did not know that Tar-Meneldur singlehandedly revolutionized the playing of Starcraft! No wonder the elves were so impressed, especially considering all the gaming technology he doubtless had to invent to even get there…
Aldarion promised to bring copies of Tar-Meneldur’s notebooks, scrolls and records when he returned. Privately, Celebrimbor doubted he would see him again.
Kasanari: So… not very dependable is our Prince Aldarion, I take it?
But he did – just three years later. Aldarion sailed back without Vëantur, who had reached the end of his hardiness and retired, bearing wondrous star charts full of new knowledge, just as he had promised. Celebrimbor was impressed by the accomplishments of these Men, none more so than their King, who’d shared the gifts of his knowledge of the stars, borne by his son.
Shade: *bored* Woohoo. I’m starting to get the idea that the Numenoreans may have revolutionized the study of astronomy. Just a hunch. It’s subtle, but I think it’s there… /s
Celebrimbor was delighted finding himself indebted to the race of Men, and Aldarion in particular, despite only having the fleeting years of mortals. When Aldarion prepared to return to Númenor, he personally promised Celebrimbor he’d dare the seas and return yet again.
Kasanari: *arches an eyebrow* Really. Even most of the most honorable people I know wouldn’t be delighted to be in someone’s debt, usually, even if they had full intention of paying it off! And someone as proud as Celebrimbor, well…
Which he did again – three years later. The Elves were elated that Aldarion’s passion had brought him back so quickly, whose frequency was unprecedented. After feasts and fetes, the Mariner continued exploring the coasts with his two other ships. He wanted to see for himself Forodwaith and its great ice fields and glaciers standing like mountains, even at the height of Summer. He would also extend his navigation charts and continue tracking stars.
Before he left, the Elves again feasted their intrepid and courageous new mortal friend.
Shade: Okay, I’m impressed. Polychron has taken what sounds like an endless parade of feasts, parties and celebrations, and made them all sound boring. That takes talent.
Celebrimbor had gone to Ost-in-Edhil and retrieved the first Ring of Power for Men, called Anqaúrë. He gave it as a gift from the Elves to their closest mortal ally, Aldarion himself.
Kasanari: Which explains how Celendrian knows all of this, I assume. Why Polychron thinks we need to know all of it, I’m still waiting on…
Rings-a-Palooza: 117
Gil-galad used these celebrations to announce that Celebrimbor was looking for colonists to found a new kingdom (a fiefdom of Lindon, of course).
Shade: I don’t think Gil-Galad quite seems to know what a “new kingdom” entails, because this sounds like it’s just going to be an outpost of the old one! Not to mention that he seems very concerned with making sure everyone knows this kingdom will still be under his control.
It was for any creative craftspeople who wanted to create beautiful things in a land of evergreen trees. These tree, like the Elves, never withered, never died, but under the harshest conditions in midwinter, produced the brightest berries. The response was overwhelming.
Kasanari: As someone who cares deeply about trees… I don’t think Gil-Galad quite understands what an “evergreen” is. Just because they don’t drop their leaves, that does not mean they’re literally immortal.
So many Elves wanted to go, Gil-galad was forced to cap their numbers, in fear of depopulating his established kingdoms. Aldarion offered his ships to transport the newly crowned King Celebrimbor of Eregion (he felt worthy and wanted the title again).
Shade: …but tomorrow he’ll probably decide he’s unworthy and abdicate to focus entirely on his rings, I’ll bet. Because he sure doesn’t seem like he’s being consistent about this…
MG: He’s not, because, as I’ve noted, Polychron seems to have mashed several different versions of the history of the Second Age together, in some of which Celebrimbor was always the ruler of Eregion, and some where he wasn’t. And so we get Celebrimbor the flip-flopper, who can’t decide if he wants the crown or not. And in any case, as far as I know Celebrimbor never called himself a king.
Loremaster’s Headache: 279
Aldarion ferried him and his Elvish colonists down the coast of Harlindon and up the River Gwathló. It was called by Men, the Greyflood, which Númenóreans called Gwathir, the River of Shadow. The forest canopies were so dense, Aldarion couldn’t see any sunlight reaching the forest floor.
Eldarion realized that with all these trees beside the ocean, the river mouth was perfect for a harbor and repair yard to maintain his ships. They suffered greatly during the stormy ocean crossings. To avoid denuding the forests of Lindon, Círdan’s fleet had been neglected and was falling to ruin. Aldarion offered to repair them and also provide shipping and repair services to Eregion and Khazad-dûm. There he founded the first Númenórean port in Middle-earth and named it Vinyalondë, also called Lond Daer Enedh, New Haven, in support of Gil-galad and Círdan in Lindon, Celebrimbor in Eregion, and Durin and Myrkinamid in Khazad-dûm.
MG: So… yeah, at this point this has basically just turned into a very dry recap of events you could already read about in the Unfinished Tales and History of Middle-earth, yaaay. I don’t know if Polychron wanted to pad out his word count, make sure we all know that he, too has read the UT, or a bit of both. My money’s on “both.”
In his new capital, Celebrimbor immediately began stocking his library and archive in his personal palace. His smithies, forges and workshops were built in another building called the Gwaith-i-Mírdain, the Guildhouse of the Jewel-smiths, patterned after the guilds of Dwarves.
Narvi and Dagnall were founding members.
MG: Okay, no points because we don’t know for sure either way, but I don’t think Tolkien ever indicated that Celebrimbor based the Gwaith-i-Mirdain on dwarven guilds, though he did establish that the friendship between the Gwaith and the dwarves of Khazad-dum was unusually close (and again, Tolkien’s version of the Gwaith seem to have been entirely elves, though they worked with the dwarves on projects such as the West-gate of Moria). It just can’t help but feel to me like more of Polychron’s weird fascination with shilling the dwarves in general, and Narvi in particular. Ironically, considering how he sued Amazon over Rings of Power, Narvi does not actually appear in the first season of the show (the only one out at the time of the lawsuit) and in the second season he’s a decidedly secondary character compared to the royal family (though I will say that, in my experience, the dwarf subplot seems to be one of the better-received parts of RoP overall).
Rarely were new Elvish Kingdoms established.
Shade: *looks over the map of First Age Beleriand and Second Age Middle-earth, both of which are dotted with numerous elvish kingdoms* Uh-huh, right. I’m sure that’s just how the Noldor established themselves as the dominant power in Beleriand, by staying put and never establishing new kingdoms. Right.
Never had one been built in league with Dwarves.
MG: Depends on how you define “in league” and “built.” Dwarves didn’t help found Doriath, but they did excavate Thingol’s capital at Menegroth for him; they did help Finrod found Nargothrond and excavate his capital as well (which is where he earned his epesse Felagund, “Hewer of Caves”), albeit to the consternation of the petty-dwarves who lived there before him. And other individual elf lords, like some of the Feanorians and even Eol, did business with the dwarves. Sure, the alliance between Eregion and Khazad-dum was unusually tight, but it wasn’t unprecedented (though once Eregion fell, that mostly marked the end of lasting friendship between elf and dwarf for a very long time).
Add the mystique of talented artists, musicians, blacksmiths, whitesmiths, goldsmiths and jewelers, then wonder at the artistry, beauty and wealth in mithril tools, jewelry and other gems flowing from Eregion. Celebrimbor and the Mirdainions became the marvels of the Modern World. Stories of their arts and treasures spread through many lands.
MG: …”Modern World” being capitalized makes it sound like Eregion has stumbled into our earth in the middle of the twentieth century or something. Possibly because “Modernity,” with capital, has connotations that really… don’t work, for Middle-earth. Maybe it’s just me.
With one majestic stroke, Gil-galad cemented strong alliances with the Dwarves in the East and the Númenóreans in the West. United against the rumors of the unnamed but growing evil in the shadowy south-east, the friendship between the Edain and the Ñoldor was renewed.
Kasanari: …except we were just talking about the friendship between the elves and the dwarves, weren’t we? How did they fit into this grand alliance, exactly, beyond providing labor for everyone else?
The Mirdainions were joined by other Dwarven and Elven smiths and jewelers, and they discovered their differences enhanced their arts rather than marred them, as some had feared.
Celebrimbor continued crafting Rings of Power, completing the Thirteen he promised Gil-galad. Four of the Eleven for Dwarves went to Durin, Myrkinamid, Narvi and Dagnall (not in that order).
Shade: *whipping her brow* Whew! I’m so relieved Polychron has put thought into the exact order all of these people got their Rings of Power in! Whatever would we do without knowing that?
Rings-a-Palooza: 121
At last, he finished his second of the six of the Eleven for Elven Lords, yet it didn’t go to Gil-galad, as everyone expected, but rather surprisingly – to Celeborn.
Kasanari: *arching an eyebrow* Word of advice – if your romantic rival gives you a rare and experimental magical artifact that seems to have been made just for you… don’t take it. Celeborn does not want to know what that ring will probably do to him!
Rings-a-Palooza: 122
No one was more surprised than Celeborn himself. The trade in mithril had helped Ost- in-Edhil, as Celebrimbor had provincially named it,
Shade: *mouthing* Provincially? What in the Nine Hells does that mean, in this context?
grow quickly from a small rural town to a rich bustling city. Along with the Ring, Celebrimbor sent an invitation for Celeborn to rule Eregion, at the new and magnificent Palace of Edhilon. It was the grandest Citadel ever built above ground, thanks to the great creative alliance between Dwarves and Elves.
MG: So… yep! Celebrimbor is now giving up the rule of Eregion so Galadriel and Celeborn can come in and take over. Because we are, again, mashing up various versions of the story where the identity of “who ruled Eregion?” was different, so everyone’s just sort of… swapping it around. Fun!
The Palace rose over natural hot springs. Narvi and Dagnall had built two great arched aqueducts from the River Sirannon. The grounds were full of fountains; hot and cold public and private baths fed from mountain springs. Flowering beds of perennials, large bushes and tall Holly trees were transplanted onto the Palace rooftop gardens from which falls of water cascaded down to fountains. The pools in gardens far below overflowed with the singing waters of the Gate Stream. They ran south from the Silvertine sparkling effervescent in the Sun.
Inside the palace walls there hung bright tapestries woven from threads of silver, gold and mithril. They were inlaid with precious stones and spun into majestic landscapes of the Misty Mountains or the coastlines. Visitors often mistook them for open windows.
Out the three-story picture windows, majestic white watermills on the rivers provided the grinding for great stores of grains that had been grown in the surrounding countryside. The overflow of this bounty went to Lindon, Annúminas and Khazad-dûm.
But their flavored butters, spiced cheeses, sweetened creams and pastry custards spoiled too quickly for transport and could only be found in Eregion. They filled the many granaries, bakeries, pie and cake shops, and of course the royal kitchens, dining rooms and banquet halls, with the best and freshest of everything. The sheer opulence had jealous Elves in Lindon calling this new capital, Ost-en-Tatious.
MG: *groans and facepalms* Good lord, Polychron, that’s terrible. Maybe even worse than “Glorfindell,” though at least Celebrimbor hasn’t actually changed Ost-in-Edhil’s name to that. And, more to the point, that pun doesn’t work in Sindarin, it only works in English, a language these characters don’t speak and doesn’t even exist in-universe, what the hells?
Shade: *eyes wide* I don’t care what it’s called, that place sounds like it would be so much fun to rob… excuse me, I think I have to go and pack… I may be gone a while…
Linguistic Confusions: 34
Celeborn could not think of a good reason to say no.
Kasanari: *quietly points up at her previous comment*
He and Galadriel left Annúminas. Celebrimbor welcomed them as the new King and Queen of Eregion, vassals of the great High King Gil-galad, as before. The Ring of Power Celebrimbor had given Celeborn was Anor, the Ring of the Sun.
MG: …which might be considered something of a stealth insult, ominously. Elves, after all, revere the light of the stars more than that of the sun. Is Celebrimbor calling Celeborn a second-rater?
After he (and Galadriel) began ruling, wearing Anor on his hand, his own long flowing silver hair now shown and glowed almost as bright and beautiful as Galadriel’s own.
Shade: *snorts* Is that all it does? Ring of the Sun? Ring of hair care, sounds more like it! Then again, I’m sure I could get a buyer for that…
Between the two of them, it was as if the Sun had come to live in Edhilon, as Galadriel had immediately and sensibly rechristened the city, on arrival.
MG: As I’ve mentioned previously, I don’t believe the city was ever called “Edhilon,” nor do I have any idea why Galadriel would want the name changed.
Loremaster’s Headache: 280
The land flowed with honey from tended beehives, milk from pastured cattle, music, beautiful white swans in the distance swimming atop mirrored lakes, cherished jewels and a wealth of precious metals: silver, gold and mithril. Thus began the Summer of the Elves.
MG: *arches eyebrow* The Summer of the Elves. Really. The peak of the elves’ civilization is generally considered to be the Noontide of Valinor, in the First Age during the time of the Two Trees, which is more than a millennium in the past at this point. The awakening of Men has already come by now, and the elves as a people took a real shellacking in the Wars of Beleriand that they never fully recovered from. Their decline has already begun, though obviously not nearly as obvious as it will be by the Third Age; hells, canonically, trying to stave off that decline is why Celebrimbor made those rings! This isn’t the Summer of the Elves, it’s more a… “warm early autumn before the real chills have come but with the leaves already starting to turn” of the elves. Which is, admittedly, much more of a mouthful.
The one blot on their perfect happiness: Amroth had refused Celebrimbor’s invitation.
With a band of followers, he went north around the Misty Mountains to a land called Lórinand. It lay far to the east of the East Doors of Khazad-dûm, to escape (he said) the dwarfish influence.
Kasanari: So, apparently Galadriel and Celeborn raised a racist. Lovely.
MG: And, again, in the versions Tolkien ultimately seemed to go with (Christopher Tolkien thought so, at least) Amroth was not the son of Galadriel and Celeborn but of the Silvan king Amdir, the actual founder of Lorien (or, as it was then known, Lorinand). But, despite having gone with the earlier idea of Amroth being Galadriel’s son, Polychron… does absolutely nothing with the idea, has the guy barely matter in the story, and writes him out as soon as he can. Fun!
With Edhilon as the unmatched Wonder of the Modern World,
Shade: *flatly* Great, I’ll sell tickets, split the proceeds with Celebrimbor fifty-fifty, we’ll make a killing.
Celebrimbor’s legendary status as creator of miracles was assured, enshrined among the greatest smiths in history.
Kasanari: *shaking her head* All this, and he hasn’t even met Sauron yet. Am I correct to think that Polychron may be downplaying the contributions of one Annatar, Lord of Gifts to Celebrimbor’s success?
MG: Well, Annatar hasn’t actually showed up at all yet, but… yes, yes he is.
Whatever transpired between Galadriel, Celeborn and Celebrimbor, no one knew. Yet all was tranquil. Edhilon grew ever more wealthy, powerful and beautiful. Its many palaces, great houses and stone streets grew grander and more full of fountains, trees and gardens, just as Celebrimbor’s private palace, treasury and library did.
Shade: *nonplussed* Celebrimbor, friend… why do you have trees, gardens and fountains in your treasury? That is not the place for them!
Its entries and exits, its very existence, were his most closely guarded secrets, shared only with Narvi and Dagnall. There they recorded their discoveries and greatest secrets: how they fashioned Ring of Power. For the entire history of Middle-earth, those secrets and the secret location of the library remained hidden and inviolate. Not even Celeborn or Galadriel ever knew.
Shade: And I guess if Celendrian learned it, she’s not going to tell us, neener neener? Why am I not surprised?
MG: I have a feeling that, had the series continued, some sort of “quest for Celebrimbor’s archives” was going to feature in, because Polychron mentions it several times in this fic, but never actually does anything with it. And of course, he shared the knowledge of its location with Polychron’s favorite dwarves, and nobody else.
Aldarion had returned to Númenor before the arrival of Celeborn and Galadriel. Inspired by Celebrimbor, in Númenor Aldarion established his own guild. Instead of building it in a fixed location on land, his professional society of merchants, sailors and captains was on his personal ship Eämbar. He anchored it off the island of Tol Uinen, centered in the large bay of Rómenna.
MG: …and, now we’re back to recapping “The Mariner’s Wife,” yay. With the addition that Aldarion patterned the Guild of Venturers on the Gwaith-i-Mirdain, which I just double-checked the UT and found no evidence of (Cirdan, not Celebrimbor, seems to have been the elf who most influenced Aldarion, perhaps unsurprisingly). This just feels like Polychron trying to crudely justify tying these two stories together.
Númenórean tradition said the bay had been put there by the Vala Uinen, the Lady of the Seas, when the Valar first created Númenor. Númenórean sailors held her in special reverence, for she protected them from storms when their ships were far from shore.
MG: Okay, Uinen? Not a Vala. Now, Uinen and her husband Osse were Valar in the Book of Lost Tales, but by the time Tolkien was developing the mythos into what we call the Silmarillion he seems to have wanted to cut the number of Valar down to a more manageable level. Some, like the barbaric brother-and-sister war gods Makar and Measse, he decided didn’t fit at all and cut outright; others, like Uinen and Osse, got “demoted” and stuck around as Maiar. Now, per the Sil, the Numenoreans did love Uinen (as she was the protector of mariners) and revered her as equal to the Valar, but that doesn’t actually make her a Vala.
Loremaster’s Headache: 282
Whenever Númenórean sailors returned, women welcomed them carrying branches from the Oiolairë tree, found only in Númenor. It was a symbol of the special favor and protection the Valar had given them and their ships.
Kasanari: Let me guess… yet more repetition of elements already established in the source material? *she notices MG’s expression and sighs* I thought so.
Among these women, the greatest beauty was named Erendis. She had caught Aldarion’s eye when bearing such a branch, but her grace and kindness ensnared his heart. Together, they harvested the trees of the surrounding forests and built the Order of the Guildhouse of the Venturers, named for Aldarion’s grandfather Vëantur. Only the hardiest mariners were invited to be members and it became the most famous guild in Númenor. Young Númenóreans sought admission from all the inland regions and they called Aldarion, the Great Captain.
Shade: …well, if I ever want to infiltrate the Guild of Venturers, I suppose all of this will come in handy to know? As to why all of this is relevant to this story, I remain at a loss.
MG: Also… is Polychron implying that “Venturers” comes from “Veantur?” I think he is… oh, dear Eru… *buries head in their hands*
Linguistic Confusions: 35
On his ship Eämbar, Aldarion and Erendis collected and bound the records of his voyages. But as the years passed, Aldarion kept delaying their wedding. Erendis grew fearful something might happen to him at sea. If so, she would never see her love again.
In 850 of the Second Age, Valandil, Lord of Andúnië, held a feast to honor the Lady Erendis, betrothéd of Aldarion. At the height of the feasting Valandil stood and made a toast, naming her, ‘Uinéniel, Daughter of Uinen.’ But Erendis saw Uinen as a jealous rival who might allow something horrible to happen to Aldarion, to claim him as her own.
“Call me by no such name!” Erendis cried, sore afraid and horrified. “I am no daughter of Uinen: rather is she my foe.”
MG: *sigh* More recapping of “The Mariner’s Wife” ahoy. While Aldarion and Erendis are going to both end up being important in these flashbacks, I really can’t help but feel like the only reason for Polychron to include all this in such detail is so he can say “look at me, I read the UT, aren’t you impressed?” And it’s wearying on me, not going to lie.
Aldarion had given Anqaúrë, the Ring of Feeling, to Erendis for their engagement. He had not known about and would have much grieved Erendis discovering the power of her Ring to absorb the memories of others.
Shade: Gah! Arwen gives that ring to her daughter, and it mind-rapes her. Aldarion gives that ring to his wife, and it mind-rapes her. You’d think, after thousands of years, people would have stopped giving this damned thing to their loved ones!
MG: And no, I don’t know why Polychron thought “Aldarion and Erendis’ marriage wasn’t dysfunctional enough, let’s give her the ring of mind rape to make it even more dysfunctional!”
Rings-a-Palooza: 123
The secrets and terrible truths it revealed in the hearts of those she loved and thought she knew were so sever, they made her bitter.
Kasanari: Because being married to a man who seemed to love the sea more than her and was constantly risking his life on dangerous voyages for, from her perspective, no good reason wouldn’t do that. No, we clearly need a magic ring to explain Erendis’ attitude!
Aldarion had also given his father, King Tar- Meneldur, Rómhandë, the Ring of Sound, Music, Hearing, Language and Discerning Truth.
No one else knew it existed.
MG: *sigh* And we’ve got another one.
Rings-a-Palooza: 124
In exchange for their Rings of Power, Aldarion received from them their solemn oaths: when they passed their Rings to heirs, or whomever they felt (or if in dreams, as the Valar instructed)
Shade: And I’m still waiting for an explanation for why the Valar care so much about who specifically gets these damned things, in any case. I’ve stolen quite a lot over the years, mind you, but I’ve never had any of the Four show up in my dreams to take a personal interest in the distribution of the loot!
they believed they should, then the identity of the recipients would only be known to them, and so on to each successive Ringbearer, as Aldarion had promised Celebrimbor.
MG: *sigh* Which just seems to be Polychron’s way of trying to explain why nobody in the actual LotR seemed to have heard of any of these things…
In time, Aldarion and Erendis married. They eventually had a daughter. They named her Ancalimë and when she was full grown, Erendis passed Anqaúrë to Ancalimë, knowing her daughter was destined to become the first ruling Queen of Númenor.
MG: …you know, I’m not actually sure at what point Aldarion had the law changed to that the reigning monarch’s eldest child inherited the Scepter regardless of gender; “The Mariner’s Wife” cuts off before it reaches that part of the story.
Unfortunately, like all who possessed Anqaúrë, the bitter knowledge which the Ring passed to its Keeper made Ancalimë as bitter as her mother, and as bitter a Queen as any who ever ruled.
Kasanari: And yet Arwen still passed this… ring of cynicism and bitterness on to her child. The more I learn of this object, the less I like it.
MG: and, of course, Ancalime couldn’t have just become bitter and cynical from watching her dysfunctional parents and their messed-up relationship, or her own bitter, loveless marriage later in life – no, she had to have a magic ring to make her so jaded and cynical. Right. Anyway, that is it for Book II, Chapter Two! And… I’ll be honest, everyone, this was a hard one to get through for me, not because it was bad but because it was boring, IMO easily the most boring chapter in the whole fic. I tried to make my spork of it entertaining and/or informative, but… I really don’t know if I managed to pull it off. The problem is, it’s mostly just a rather dull recap of the events of the first millennium of the Second Age, with some weird bits regarding Polychron’s pet issues (shilling the dwarves, shilling his new Rings of Power, the Galadriel/Celeborn/Celebrimbor love triangle he’s pulled straight from his behind) sprinkled throughout it. Also, the name doesn’t really fit, since Numenor itself only appears briefly at the very end of the chapter. “I Dreamed of Eregion” might be better; that’s the place that actually gets founded and that Polychron seems determined to talk up this time around, at least. The bad news is… we have two more chapters of Second Age flashbacks to get through (technically, the next chapter, “Before the Fall,” is all flashbacks; the one after that, “The Forging of the Ring,” is mostly flashbacks but has some “present-day” sequences). The good news is, they’re not this dull. “Before the Fall” has Polychron’s weird take on Galadriel’s tangled love-life come to the fore, actually ties in the stuff from “The Mariner’s Wife” to everything else that’s going on and reveals the shocking “truth” of Celebrian’s parentage, while “The Forging of the Ring,” in addition to covering the creation both of Celebrimbor’s “Master Ring” and the One Ring, reintroduces us to Polychron’s version of Sauron and has some real wallbangers in it. So, I’d say we’re past the nadir, at least. Anyway, that’s all for today. Next time, Galadriel’s love life gets even messier. We’ll see you then! Our counts stand at:
Bigger, Louder, More!: 71
Expansion-Pack World: 23
Feel My Edge: 82
Happy Ending Override: 24
Linguistic Confusions: 35
Loremaster’s Headache: 282
Pervy Hobbit Fanciers: 41
Plot-Induced Stupidity: 117
Rings-a-Palooza: 124
Take That, Tolkien!: 31
Traveling at the Speed of Plot: 35
The Unfair Sex: 61
