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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! Last time, Celebrimbor founded Eregion, made more rings, and Polychron decided to devote quite a lot of time to recapping the story of Aldarion and Erendis. Today, we get yet more rings, yet more Numenor, and the relevance of the Aldarion and Erendis stuff comes into view as yet another character gets drawn into Galadriel’s tangled love life. Yay. Joining us today will be Shade and Thalia!
Chapter 3: Before The Fall
Thalia: *raises her hand tentatively* Beg pardon, but wouldn’t any point in Numenor’s history be ‘before the fall?’ And the events we’ve seen so far have been thousands of years ‘before the fall,’ so that doesn’t really seem like a useful categorization… unless this chapter does actually reach up to the Downfall?
MG: It does not!
Thalia: *sighs and hangs her head*
The greater Gil-galad’s wealth grew, the more frantic he became and the threat of war loomed ever closer:
Shade: Huh; that just makes it sound like the only reason Gil-Galad is preparing for war is to protect his wealth. Not exactly cutting a very fine figure, is our noble high king? I’ve known gang bosses less paranoid!
violent rumblings from savage Men, Petty-Dwarves and the surviving creations of Morgoth living beyond the Misty Mountains.
MG: *baffled* Petty-dwarves? The Petty-dwarves are absolutely a thing in the Legendarium, don’t get me wrong… but why are we bringing them up here, in this context? They seem to have been a de facto eighth clan of dwarves, composed of exiles from the Seven Houses and their descendants; they entered Beleriand well before other dwarves and the Sindar apparently literally hunted them like animals at first, not being aware they were intelligent beings until they met other dwarves who corrected them; after that, they seem to have let the Petty-dwarves be, but their numbers never recovered (and they were, understandably, not fond of elves!) and by the time of the tale of the Children of Hurin they appear to have dwindled to a single small family, Mim and his sons. After Mim’s death, the Petty-dwarves seem to have become completely extinct. This is centuries after that. So, why does Gil-Galad seemingly want to go to war with Petty-dwarves (a people who not only never seem to have had any real military strength, but who were brutally persecuted by elves in their past) and, more importantly, why are there still Petty-dwarves to go to war with in the first place? Did they stumble in through a time-warp or what?
Loremaster’s Headache: 283
These evil creatures heard rumors of the wealth in Lindon and the power of Celebrimbor’s magical creations in Edhilon.
Shade: And, since those were two entirely different places, got lost on the way trying to get to both of them at once, very sad.
To address these concerns in 880 of the Second Age, Galadriel invited Gil-galad, Emisillë, Oropher, Facerëia, Elrond, Drendelen, and many others to the first Council of the Wise.
MG: Okay, so… there was a precursor to the White Council of the Third Age that met in the Second Age… but per Unfinished Tales it first met after the One Ring was forged, in SA 1701, not 880 (its membership isn’t specified, but from context we can infer that Gil-Galad, Elrond, Galadriel and Celeborn were probably in attendance). Taking Polychron’s OCs into account, though, this does seem like a decent enough list… except I’m not sure who ‘Facerëia’ is. There is a person by that name who shows up later in the fic… in the present-day sections… but I have no idea if it’s meant to be the same Facerëia we see here, so *shrugs*.
Loremaster’s Headache: 284
Before her guests arrived, Galadriel learned Celebrimbor, Narvi, Dagnall and the Mirdainions had forged three more Rings for Elves.
Thalia: I’m beginning to think Celebrimbor may be slightly obsessed with rings. If he is literally under their sway, with the potential rings compelling him from the future to make them so they can come into being… that worries me greatly.
Rings-a-Palooza: 125
They were supposed to be a secret. But she was Celebrimbor’s Queen and his better in most things. He had almost wrecked her life before, but she had once again grown fond of the talented and charming master craftsman Celebrimbor.
Almost as fond as Celeborn.
Shade: Uh… is Polychron meaning to imply that Celeborn also has the hots for Celebrimbor, or…? Also, when and how did Celebrimbor nearly ruin her life? It sounds like their original affair broke off pretty amicably before anyone was hurt too badly by it, and her marriage survived it fine. But of course, even though she blames him for nearly ruining her life, she still wants him? Honey, you can do better, trust me.
The Unfair Sex: 62 (giving a point for Galadriel’s tangled love-life remaining the chief engine of the plot)
It wasn’t hard to guess whose hand wore one of those Rings. Undoubtedly, Gil-galad’s. But with so many Elvish kings, queens and princes trolling for power, not even she was certain who wore the others. She assumed Celebrimbor kept one. Maybe Círdan or Elrond had the others.
Thalia: …is it just me, or does that wording imply that all of these people share a single hand that wears a single Ring of Power? No? But what a fascinating concept!
Rings-a-Palooza: 128
She knew the Mirdainions were forging Rings for Dwarves. She guessed Durin and Narvi each had one, but she had no idea where the others were – and it bothered her. Celebrimbor had gotten much better at keeping secrets since his alliance with these Dwarves and so had she. She had even come to like Dwarves, though Celeborn never did.
Shade: Oh, and why do you seem to think you’re entitled to Celebrimbor’s secrets and to the knowledge of where the Rings are, hmmm? Very interesting, isn’t it?
MG: And let’s be honest – in the Legendarium, all the Rings were originally for the elves, with the possible exception of Durin’s Ring (and, of course, the One). The Seven and the Nine only got distributed elsewhere when Sauron’s initial attempt at enslaving the elves failed and he decided to try casting a wider net. All of which is, I think, important, because it reflects on how the creation of the Rings of Power to begin with was a manifestation of the hubris of the elves (Celebrimbor specifically) which Sauron took advantage of and encouraged. But when you have Celebrimbor just churning out Rings en masse, fully intending them to distribute to his allies for their benefit (supposedly…) long before he’s ever met Sauron, that sort of makes a hash of that narrative and thematic arc. And it’s far from over!
Loremaster’s Headache: 285
Rings-a-Palooza: 131
After opening the Council on the third story rooftop gardens of the Royal Palace, Galadriel thanked everyone for coming, then relinquished the floor to Gil-galad. He told them how grateful he was for their continuing efforts in resisting the Evil in the East.
Thalia: How curious. Polychron seems more interested in describing the precise details of this meeting instead of when and how these elves learned about Sauron. Is there a point here that I’m missing, or are we all just very confused?
MG: I think the latter. And at this point, the elves should be becoming aware that someone has begun gathering the remnants of Morgoth’s forces together and that presents a potential danger but not have much specific knowledge of who it is or what they’re planning.
He also praised King Tar-Meneldur for allowing his son, their good friend and ally Anardil Aldarion, to come so often and stay so long, who Galadriel alone had never met.
Shade: *whistles* Well, when you single it out like that… *sing-song voice* I bet I know where this is going…
Aldarion was right now exploring further down the coast, then returning to Lindon before going home to Númenor. Gil-galad was going to give him a sealed letter for the King because Aldarion had agreed: Númenor was so peaceful, a Regent could rule if Gil-galad invited his father to visit.
Thalia: If Tar-Meneldur visited without Gil-Galad’s permission, however, it would have to be a Chancellor who ruled in his place instead of a regent. The reasoning for this was very unclear, but the law is the law!
If Gil-galad’s letter got the response he hoped, when next they saw Aldarion’s sails he would have with him his wife, the future Queen Erendis, their daughter the Princess Ancalimë, just four years old, and the reigning King of Númenor, Tar-Meneldur. Gil-galad felt certain when King Tar-Meneldur read the letter, he would sail to Lindon with Aldarion.
Shade: Uh, is it just me, but does putting the whole royal family on one ship (presumably) seem a little… risky? I mean, all it takes is one unexpected storm at sea, and you’ve got yourself a succession crisis going. Whoops!
Their objective: convene a Council of the Western Powers, similar to this. They would create an Alliance between Elves and Men to prevent their Kingdoms from falling to Evil.
Shade: Which they would do by conquering everyone themselves! …only belatedly did they realize there was something a bit wrong with that logic...
Today an Alliance of Elves. Tomorrow, an Alliance with Men. Eventually, they’d invite the Dwarves.
“Dwarves?” Celeborn asked.
Thalia: Somehow, for the entire First Age and the early centuries of the Second, Celeborn had managed to remain entirely ignorant of the existence of the dwarvish race. Bringing him up to speed took the rest of the afternoon and sadly derailed the entire meeting. He never did quite believe they’d been there all along and he’d just never noticed, poor man.
For the first and last time, Gil-galad spoke openly of the Rings of Power. The Thirteen for Beasts had been gifted to their animal allies. Six of the Eleven for Dwarven Lords had been gifted in secret and in secret would remain. Five of the Eleven for Elven Lords at this very moment were protecting three kingdoms of Elves.
Rings-a-Palooza: 136
Celebrimbor was finishing the fourth of the Five for Mortal Warriors. In addition to the letter, Aldarion would receive it as a gift for his wife Erendis. According to Aldarion’s men (Aldarion never bragged), she was more beautiful than the women of the Eldar.
At this, Galadriel bristled. But only Celeborn caught it.
Shade: *shrugs* I mean, she had just been snubbed. I’d probably bristle a bit too, if someone said something like that in my hearing. It’s the principle of the thing!
Rings-a-Palooza: 137
Feeling inspired after the meeting, Celebrimbor eagerly returned to the Guildhouse.
Curiosity overcame Galadriel and she visited him there alone, which she’d never done. Having been lauded at the Council by Gil-galad and only recently resuming his affair with Galadriel, Celebrimbor was jubilant. In the middle of her private tour, in walked Círdan.
Shade: Considering what the “private tour” no doubt consisted of, he immediately covered his eyes and hurriedly backed out of the room, but what has been seen cannot be unseen and all that. Better him walking in on them than it being Celeborn, I guess.
“My Queen,” Círdan said, bowing.
“My Lord,” she replied, smiling.
“My good Lord Círdan!” Celebrimbor exclaimed.
Thalia: “My good Lord Celebrimbor!” Cirdan returned. Then Celebrimbor and Galadriel introduced themselves to each other, just to be on the safe side. Once everyone was quite convinced of who they all were, they could finally begin… alas, by that point they’d all forgotten what they wanted to talk about in the first place!
“What an embarrassment of riches I am having today! In my humble little blacksmitherie, first rose the Sun and now comes the Moon. My sky could not be more full!
Shade: I dunno – do you have room for stars? I thought the Eldar were fond of those!
But, what are you doing here? You’ve never graced my workshop with your august presence before.” Before Círdan could answer, Celebrimbor breathlessly went on. “No! No matter. Welcome! But beware your fine sandals, Lord. You might get a bit of blacksmitherie on them! Ha ha ha!”
Thalia: *concerned* Is… is Celebrimbor all right? He seems rather… manic. I have some experience in these matters, if he’s interested in my help?
“Now is not the time for jest, my good Lord Celebrimbor,” Círdan said, smiling. He was amused at their reaction, catching them alone together. “I have come from the King.”
“Ho ho!” Celebrimbor laughed. “Today I am Lord Celebrimbor. This must be very important. However, from which king have you come? Rather than a dearth, we have a wealth of kings and queens in Middle-earth! There are so many, among them, I seem to have lost my crown, on more than one occasion. Yet amidst this throng, no one noticed!”
MG: Is Polychron just lampshading now how he’s had Celebrimbor flip-flopping on whether he’s a king or not and how he’s been handing out royal titles like candy to characters who didn’t actually have them? I think he is! That… doesn’t actually make it better!
Círdan and Galadriel laughed and Círdan said, “You seem mayhap to have lost more than just your crown this afternoon, Celebrimbor.”
Thalia: …oh, Cirdan sees it too? I’m glad it’s not just me… *sigh* because sometimes when I see things, it really is just me… which can be very embarrassing in ways I’d rather not discuss…
“Do I seem delighted?” he asked. “Seeing you in my modest workshop, this humble jewelsmitherie, my simple shop of crafts? Yet amidst all this modesty, look at what I have wrought.” He stepped aside and presented upon his anvil, one of the last of his Great Rings.
Shade: *rolls her eyes* Yes, look at this extremely powerful magical artifact I just knocked off this afternoon like it’s nothing! Truly I, Celebrimbor, am the very soul of modesty!
Forged of the purest gold, it was unlike most others: it bore an exquisitely cut and flashingly bright red precious gem. Círdan and Galadriel’s eyes were drawn to the jewel.
“You have acquired a few new skills, studying the ancient scrolls of the learned Elven master craftsmen Mahtan, Nerdanel’s father, who taught your grandfather Fëanor,” Círdan said.
MG: *flatly* Considering Mahtan, as Nerdanel’s father, is also Celebrimbor’s great-grandfather, I think he knows who he is and what his relationship to the family is, thank you.
“I think… there are touches from the dwarven master craftsman Telchar, forger of wondrous swords, and a few from his tutor, Gamil Zirak, the Old.”
MG: *rolls their eyes* And now I think that Polychron is just rattling off the names of every smith he can think of (barring Sauron, who we all know is just a big second-rater, right? /s) to show off. Because, damn, this is stiff.
“Why, my good Lord Círdan,” Celebrimbor told him. “You’ve impressed with my own craft. I would not have believed anyone but me could see those things. I will never again underestimate the discerning eyes of Círdan.”
Amidst their conversations, there entered the Elven blacksmith, the Lady Marcidelén, daughter of Irimë, and the Dwarven whitesmith, Rudlun the Bold, son of Granmar. They bowed to their Queen and Lords, then went to their stations and began working.
Shade: …huh. Am I the only one getting the feeling that their entrance was a bit… choreographed? Anyone?
MG: Also, all of these people appear to be OCs of Polychron’s. Marcidelen’s name I can’t figure out a possible etymology for, though her mother’s derives from the Quenya for “beauty.” Interestingly, there is an “Irimë” who appears in Tolkien’s later writings… the sister of Fingolfin and Finarfin (and half-sister of Feanor) from a version of the Sil where Tolkien decided to give them a couple of more siblings (including another sister, Findis). This Irimë was close to her brother Fingolfin and accompanied him to Middle-earth (while Findis stayed in Aman with the Vanyar, her mother’s people); however, because she’s such a late addition of dubious canonicity, there’s not much more detail about her deeds or her ultimate fate, or whether she ever married or had children. I have no idea if Marcidelen’s mother Irimë is meant to be the same person; knowing Polychron’s penchant for weirdly deep lore-cuts, it could be, or he could have just grabbed a Quenya name randomly. It’s hard to say.
Linguistic Confusions: 36
“Before I forget,” Círdan said. “I have come at the request of our King. I know you are busy completing your ‘Great Ring Cycle.’ He wants you to set all that momentarily aside.”
MG: *arches eyebrow* “Ring Cycle,” huh? Apparently, in between forging all these extra Rings of Power, Celebrimbor also found time to devote himself to opera and become the true composer of Der Ring des Nibelungen. Take that, Wagner! What a guy!
“Do you know how close I am to finishing?” Celebrimbor asked. “How hard I’ve been working? I’ve been crafting Rings for centuries. Every set was made for different races to do different things. The original enchantments alone sometimes took an Age!”
Thalia: *raises her hand* Far be it from me to correct the master, but *she glances at a calendar* I don’t think that can be right…
Loremaster’s Headache: 286
“This is precisely why Gil-galad sent me,” Círdan told him. “It is for one of our mortal friends. We cannot wait an Age. If you do not set everything aside, our friend will be dead before you finish. This, Gil-galad will simply not allow.”
Shade: I don’t think Gil-Galad gets to decide whether to “allow” when people do or do not die… power gone to the High King’s head a bit, has it?
“Who is this mortal for whom I must set aside my work?” Celebrimbor asked.
“The Crown Prince Anardil Aldarion of Númenor,” Círdan answered.
“You should have said it was for Aldarion when you first entered,” he told him. “It would have saved time. Perhaps an Age! I’m happy to set everything aside for Aldarion. In fact, it would be perfect to give him a gift from you and Gil-galad, when I present him with another gift from me. What does Gil-galad want? Or, I think it is you who wants a gift for Aldarion.”
Shade: …well. That was convenient.
“Very perceptive,” Círdan said. “As you know, the Númenóreans do not build ships as I do, crafted elegantly in the shape of swans.”
“Yes, about that – ”
“Aldarion builds ships that look like kegs of beer,” Círdan told him.
MG: Ships that work. The Numenoreans were the greatest seafarers in Arda in their day, and Aldarion was a master and pioneer of his craft. I’d think Cirdan, of all people, would appreciate that, one master craftsman to another!
“As well he should!” Celebrimbor laughed. “You know what it’s like being at sea so – ”
“The least we can do is put something on the prow to delight his eyes,” Círdan said. “If not a swan, perhaps a familiar carved in stone. Elrond suggested the likeness of one of the Uinéniel, daughters of Uinen. She might take it as a compliment and increase her blessings and protections on Aldarion’s ships. Whatever it is, I wish it could be sculpted by your grandmother Nerdanel. Her sculptures are perfect. They seem to the untrained eye, alive.”
MG: This is the second time we’ve had Polychron referencing Uinen having daughters… I think I’ve figured out where he gets it. Per the Unfinished Tales, Erendis was nicknamed “Uinenial” (which she hated, since she viewed the sea, as personified by Uinen, as the chief obstacle to her having a happy life with Aldarion) but she certainly wasn’t literally Uinen’s daughter – it was a metaphor. We have no indication Uinen ever had actual daughters, nor do I think the existence of the nickname “Uinenial” implies it.
Loremaster’s Headache: 287
“How would we obtain my grandmother’s services in Valinor?” Celebrimbor asked. “Yes, I know,” Círdan said. “It is just – I so highly esteem her work. You have seen my collection in the Emyn Beraid.”
“The best in Middle-earth,” Celebrimbor told him. “What about her granddaughter, my ravishing red-haired cousin, the Princess Drendelen?”
Shade: …why are you describing your cousin as ravishing, Celebrimbor? Is the master craftsman perhaps perving on his own relations? Oooh, what a scandal!
MG: Also, I’d apparently skimmed over this line on my earlier readthroughs, so this would seem to torpedo my earlier headcanon of Drendelen as Celebrimbor’s sister. Which I guess sends us back to the drawing board as to which of the Feanorians was her father. Let’s go with *spins dial* Maglor (feel free to suggest your own alternative parentages for Drendelen in the comments)!
“Drendelen could carve Nerdanel’s features on a statue of one of Uinen’s daughters,” Galadriel suggested. “It would be a work of Art, yet sure to catch a sailor’s eye, even this mortal friend of yours. What’s his name?”
Thalia: *concerned* Galadriel, have you even been paying attention to this conversation? I thought they made it rather clear… or were you distracted thinking of Celebrimbor’s, ah, artistry. *she blushes fiercely*
“Anardil,” Celebrimbor answered. “This is a marvelous idea! Nerdanel’s likeness on one of Uinen’s daughters. It’s inspired!”
“No, no,” Círdan countered. “I did not say a daughter.”
Shade: *blankly* What, are they going to sculpt Nerdanel’s face on a statue of Uinen’s husband? I’m sure Osse will appreciate the makeover, but I’m afraid you’ve lost me otherwise.
“Yes you did. I heard you,” Celebrimbor insisted, dismayed at Círdan gainsaying Galadriel. He turned to the Mirdainions. “Did he not say a daughter?”
Marcidelén and Rudlun laughed.
“Yes,” agreed Marcidelén. “He did,” Rudlun affirmed.
“You are dismissed,” Círdan said, smiling.
MG: …okay, whatever Celebrimbor’s been drinking, I think everyone has had rather too much of it! I’m not sure what is going on here anymore, even, save that it’s clearly very, very silly.
They smiled and looked to their Lord. Celebrimbor smiled and nodded. They left. Galadriel stayed.
“I want the effigy of an Eagle,” Círdan explained. “With a beak and talons of gold, to put on the prow of his ship. You know our friends, the Eagles. You gave King Thorondor a Ring of Power.
Thalia: So it’s going to be an eagle with Nerdanel’s face? Now I’m even more confused…
MG: I’m also kind of surprised Celebrimbor made a Ring of Power for Thorondor, since he vanishes from Middle-earth’s history after the First Age, and I always figured he either died in the War of Wrath or returned to Valinor afterwards. He certainly doesn’t seem to be a thing by the Third Age, when Gwaihir is the most prominent of the Great Eagles, but I’m not giving a point because it’s theoretically possible Thorondor was still around.
Rings-a-Palooza: 138
Do not look so surprised. I want Drendelen to carve an Eagle King and you will set above its golden beak, two green eyes. Emerald eyes, like in the Ring of Barahir. Dazzling, bejeweled, enchanted emerald eyes will see far and wide, all this Eagle sees – and so shall we.”
Shade: Unless those eagle eyes are going to be palantiri, I kind of doubt that. Gemstones don’t usually “see,” unless they’ve been enchanted. Makes my job easier, for sure…
“Why, my good Lord Círdan,” Celebrimbor said. “This is genius, and devious. I would say it is both far above and far beneath you. Being both, it suits you. This was not Gil-galad’s idea. This stroke of genius has come from you and your mind alone.”
Shade: Well, someone sure wants to butter the Shipwright up…
Laughing, Círdan bowed, helpless before the truth.
“Since you’ve surprised me,” Celebrimbor told him, removing the drop cloth from another anvil. “Perhaps I may still surprise you.”
“Another Ring of Power,” Círdan said, looking closely, then back and forth between the two of them. “You have gotten better at keeping secrets.”
Thalia: By the powers, another one! Aren’t there enough? When will it end, Polychron? When will it end?
Rings-a-Palooza: 139
“This is my day,” Celebrimbor said, smiling at Galadriel. “It’s not every day I surprise the far-sighted Círdan.”
“It is an amazing thing,” Círdan said, looking closely at the perfect circle of gold. “A Ring of exquisite simplicity.”
Shade: Wait, a perfect circle of unadorned gold… so help me, if it turns out Celebrimbor made the One Ring and Sauron just stole it from him, I’m going to hurt someone. Probably Celebrimbor first, but after that, I’m flexible.
“It may not look like much – to the untrained eye…”
“Do not forget to whom you speak,” Círdan said, knowing Celebrimbor was having fun and playing along. Galadriel and Celebrimbor were the only two outside Gil-galad and Elrond with whom he felt truly at ease. “For the first time in history, a goldsmith has removed every trace of impurity. The band is truly a thing of beauty: pure gold. You know, you could include a stone, as with your other new Ring. The long lost Ring of Barahir had two.”
MG: *blankly* When was the Ring of Barahir lost? Pretty sure the Numenoreans still have it, from whom it will ultimately be passed down to Aragorn as one of the heirlooms of his house. Have you considered asking your good friend Aldarion what he knows about it?
Loremaster’s Headache: 288
“The greatest beauty is in the greatest simplicity,” Celebrimbor answered. “The quality of the craftsmanship alone will distinguish this Ring, and one or two custom touches, perhaps only your eyes can see. The greatest effort has gone into the foundations, which few will see. To add a stone, even the most precious gem, would be a corruption of my intentions for this particular Ring. This is Oialëhén, the Ring of Light, and seeing Clearly. I have forged it for Aldarion. He once told me his mother, the Queen Almarian, supports him completely when he sails to Middle- earth, but his father, King Meneldur – not always.”
Shade: *wipes her forehead* Whew. Not the One, then. Just one of Polychron’s stupid original rings that he never shuts the hells up about. Ugh. And apparently Celebrimbor never shuts up about it, either.
“The Ring of Seeing,” Círdan said, thoughtfully. “Purity and simplicity.”
“Aldarion told me sometimes, on the ocean in the middle of lightless and stormy nights, he fears he might never reach the shore,” Celebrimbor confided. “On those nights, he feels the only light guiding him is his friendship with us. This Ring will take the light living in his heart and put it on his hand, to guide him when nights are dark and he wonders who are truly friends. Oialëhén, the Ring of Light will be proof he can see: the Elves will always be his friends.”
Thalia: …that makes it sound like you are going to glamour Aldarion to always regard you as his friends, regardless of whether you actually are or not… surely that can’t be right?
“A kingly gift for our friend who will one day be King,” Círdan observed. “Yet… I still believe it could use… something.”
“What do you mean?” Celebrimbor asked.
“I noticed,” Círdan observed, “just as Aulë did with the Ring of Barahir, when you created the Thirteen, you put part of your power in each Ring.”
MG: Okay, one, there’s no indication that the Ring of Barahir had part of a Vala’s power in it. I don’t think that’s the sort of thing that goes unnoticed! Seriously, its value was primarily symbolic! For another… how much power does Celebrimbor have to put some in all of these rings? He’s a high elf and a brilliant craftsman but, like, he’s still a finite living being, not one of the Ainur! Even Sauron could only pass on part of his power into One Ring (the Sil notes that there are certain feats of craft that even the greatest craftspeople can only perform once in their lives; the Two Trees of Valinor and the Silmarili are specific examples given, but I’d always assumed the One Ring was another of these unique exemplars of their creator’s artistry)! *beat* Wait a minute, if Celebrimbor was investing part of himself in all of these rings, does that mean he can’t actually die so long as they exist… Eru help us, Polychron was going to find a way to use that to bring him back in the sequels, wasn’t he? *headdesk*
Loremaster’s Headache: 289
“It was just a spark,” Celebrimbor defended. “Even thirteen times, so small a part I’ll never miss nor ever feel the lack.”
Shade: Well, in that case I doubt it’ll have much impact on those rings, will it? What a pity.
“You misunderstand,” Círdan said. “I applaud your workmanship. Yet I noticed, despite several master enchantments, there is none of your spirit in this particular Ring.”
Celebrimbor laughed. “There’s no danger of Aldarion forgetting how to speak.”
Thalia: …you never know?
“I agree,” Círdan told him. “Yet it still could use… something.”
“Have we grown so accustomed to perfection,” Celebrimbor asked, “when presented with the achievement of the ideal, we fail to appreciate an artist who overcomes impossible odds and creates so complex, yet so simple and flawless a thing?”
Shade: *Celebrimbor* An artist like me, specifically. You may begin praising me at any time now. I’m waiting!
“Have you thought of adding a green stone?” Círdan asked, in jest.
Thalia: *confused* Ha, ha?
MG: *sigh* This is probably just a shoutout to Aragorn telling Bilbo to include an emerald in his song about Earendil (but making no other suggestions, and basically telling him that if he wants to risk making a song about Earendil in the house of Earendil’s son, that’s his problem). What it’s doing here… is beyond me.
“This Ring is a gift to Aldarion from me, personally,” Celebrimbor told him, missing the joke. “No green stone. It is a mark of my true friendship to the young prince, who ages before my eyes. He’ll grow old and pass, sometimes I fear, without our having known.”
Shade: And that prevents you from including an emerald (or whatever) because…?
“Such things are to be expected when ships put out to sea,” Círdan said.
“This is why I have made this Ring so simple,” Celebrimbor told him. “It’s a symbol of our friendship, nothing more. He’ll wear it as you see it: unvarnished, unalloyed and unadorned, for simplicity is complexity in its rarest form.”
Thalia: *nodding sagely* Oh, I see! Oxymorons can reveal deeper truths, to those who meditate on them more deeply… or they can just turn you cross-eyed.
“They say thrice pays for all,” Círdan said. “There is a boon I will grant, unasked. If I may make a gift to Aldarion, my foresight foretells a bit of foresight might be foresightful – for this particular Ring.”
Shade: *groans and buries her head in her hands* Polychron. Why.
“My good Lord Círdan,” Celebrimbor responded, in true humility. “On behalf of Aldarion, I would be honored to accept from you such a gift for his Ring.”
Shade: *snorts at the idea of Polychron’s Celebrimbor showing “true humility”* Yeah, right.
* * * * *
Celebrimbor, Círdan, Gil-galad and Celeborn returned to West Mithlond. In a grand ceremony, he gave Oialëhén to Aldarion. Aldarion immediately recognized the matchless craftsmanship required to achieve its perfect purity and simplicity.
Thalia: …beg pardon, but wouldn’t the fact that it’s magic be of somewhat greater importance here?
Rings-a-Palooza: 140
Círdan gave him the Eagle, with its golden beak and talons, and emerald eyes.
Shade: …I could say what the rest of it was made of, but I’d rather not in polite company.
Meeting him later alone, Gil-galad gave Aldarion a sealed letter for his father, Tar- Meneldur. He asked him to bring Erendis, and their daughter Ancalimë, on his next voyage.
Aldarion doubted his wife would come. “Erendis loves only Númenor. She doesn’t approve of my journeys to Middle-earth. I’ll give my father your letter. Maybe if she learns what I’ve been doing here and sees this magnificent Eagle, she’ll change her mind.”
Thalia: Because clearly, the only thing that could make Erendis want to come to Middle-earth is a gaudy metal bird that’s already been brought to her in Numenor? *shakes her head* I’m so confused…
“Next time,” Gil-galad told him, “meet me in the wonder of the modern world – The Royal Palace of Edhilon in Eregion!”
“There’s not much there to tempt Erendis,” Aldarion responded.
Gil-galad laughed. “You haven’t seen Edhilon in over a hundred years! It has grown far beyond Celebrimbor’s lone palace and become a jewel of a city. You won’t believe what he and the Dwarves have built since you first ferried him up the river.”
“What have they built?” Aldarion asked.
Shade: …a seven-hundred-foot-tall statue of Celebrimbor himself, solid gold, with sapphires for eyes, gesturing dramatically with one hand while holding a smith’s hammer in the other and wearing absolutely nothing except for… well, I’ll leave that to your imagination. But it was quite a sight!
“Enchanted palaces with baths and fountains, waterfalls, gardens, and bejeweled tapestries hanging from the ceilings that look like open windows,” Gil-galad answered. “Imagine Erendis traveling up the Swanfleet River, escorted by fleets of white swans. Staying in the Royal Palace, pampered by Elves in spas and hot springs, and eating the finest foods in Middle-earth.
Imagine traveling to Khazad-dûm and meeting the King of Dwarves, seeing the Courtyard fountains and the Palace outside the Doors of Durin, sparkling with the waters of the Silvertine. Imagine the ithildin engravings on the Doors coming to life in the moonlight, touring the magnificent halls of Khazad-dûm, escorted by their King; ascending the Endless Stair, looking out Durin’s Tower and seeing the bright stars living deep inside the mystery of the Mirrormere.”
“If anything could make Erendis love Middle-earth,” Aldarion said, “it would be all that.”
Thalia: *weakly* Ah, yes, lots and lots of garish treasures, what’s not to love? I actually think Shade’s suggestion might be more dignified…
Shade: *has no comment, as she’s busy trying to figure out how much all of that stuff is worth, what the best way to steal it would be, and who to sell it all to*
“To make our invitation irresistibly sweet,” Gil-galad told him, lifting a bright golden Ring adorned with the most beautiful red gem Celebrimbor had ever created, “give her this.”
Shade: …but of course. *facepalm*
Rings-a-Palooza: 141
“Thank you,” Aldarion said. He was astonished by the beauty of the dazzling cuts made across the surface of the glittering red gem. “What is this magnificent scarlet stone?”
“A red beryl,” Gil-galad answered. “Prized more than diamonds, this is the best one ever made. There is no rarer or more precious gem in existence than the red beryl in your hand.”
Shade: Of course there aren’t.
MG: And I really have to say, it does seem like the takeaway from all this boasting is that all of this wealth and treasure is the most important thing in Celebrimbor’s realm, and someone like Erendis wouldn’t leave Numenor for anything less. Which strikes me as rather… incongruous with Tolkien’s own works, and especially the ending of The Hobbit where the dying Thorin spells out the moral neatly for us by telling Bilbo he was right to value food and home and cheer and the company of friends over treasure, and Thorin had been wrong. *shakes their head* If Sauron hadn’t (eventually) shown up, Polychron’s Eregion was going to have a dragon problem like you wouldn’t believe.
* * * * *
Less than a year had passed since Gil-galad gave Aldarion the Eagle, letter and Rings of Power. He had never returned so soon and no one was expecting him. Yet post riders reported to Gil-galad that lookouts stationed in the tower at the tip of the peninsula of Belfalas had sighted a fleet of white-sailed ships sailing for the mouth of the River Greyflood. They were undoubtedly from Númenor and heading for Edhilon. Gil-galad sent frantic messengers to Celebrimbor, Celeborn and Galadriel, telling them to prepare for the arrival of the Númenóreans.
He hoped to reach Edhilon before Aldarion, his wife, daughter, and the ruling King Tar- Meneldur. If he didn’t, in his absence they must welcome Aldarion, his father the King, the future Queen and the Crown Princess. Galadriel must be her most charming and enchanting self, showing the Númenóreans the splendors of Edhilon and making them feel welcome.
Thalia: …is… is Galadriel being given a choice in any of this, or is she going to be forced to play hostess whether she wants to or not? *she shudders* That sounds dreadful; I find crowds bad enough at the best of times, but meeting royalty on such short notice *she hunkers down in her cloak*
Celeborn went to personally supervise the sounding and dredging of the Swanfleet River, to make sure it could accommodate Aldarion’s ships. They were reportedly bigger than any ever seen.
Shade: My, my. Between that spear Celebrimbor forged for Gil-Galad and now these ships, I’m beginning to think the men in these flashbacks are all rather… insecure, about certain things…
As Galadriel watched from the Palace, their great white sails glided majestically into view, filling the three story picture windows, bigger than towers. They had masts so tall, the billowing white cloth spreading across the windows seemed like clouds filling the sky.
But Galadriel didn’t want to meet the Númenóreans.
Thalia: I knew it!
She had never thought much of Men. Human’s
Shade: *arches her eyebrow* “Human’s” what, exactly? I’m waiting!
died so quickly, often before she learned their names. Without time to grow, or grow wise, their lives were full of the foolish mistakes of Elvish children. Celeborn had gently chided her, saying if he could accept Dwarves, she must get used to humans.
The Unfair Sex: 62 (racist Galadriel)
Gil-galad and Celeborn were so concerned she make a good impression, particularly on Aldarion, she was nervous and hesitant, and foreboding their arrival. She begged excuse, to delay, or have them choose another. But Gil-galad and Celebrimbor insisted – it must be her.
Thalia: *whimpers in sympathetic anxiety*
They had done all they could. Aldarion had done much for them, more than any mortal had.
MG: …even assuming we don’t count Earendil, since he was made immortal after reaching Valinor, I think Beren and even Turin might want to dispute that… how many Silmarili has Aldarion pried out of Morgoth’s crown lately, and how many dragons has he killed, hmmm?
They needed more, especially from his King. For the first time, Galadriel doubted her ability to charm this powerful Númenórean King and his son. Though human, they were none the less much older and mightier than other mortals. Only the heirs of Elros, descended from High Elves, of which she was one, lived so long yet stayed so strong and fair.
MG: …why does that wording make it sound like Galadriel herself is a descendant of Elros (which, justto be clear, she isn’t – Elros and Elrond were themselves descended from Galadriel’s cousin Turgon, and are generations removed from him and Galadriel was already centuries old at least when they were born)? And… yeah. I find it really hard to believe that Galadriel would be intimidated by the Numenoreans’ long lives considering she was, you know, already centuries old herself before there even was a Numenor. She’s vastly older than any of these people. Considering she’s already dismissed the short lives of Men, I kind of doubt that even the Numenoreans lifespans – several times as long as those of other humans, sure, but still measured in centuries, not millennia – would particularly register compared to her.
The Unfair Sex: 63 (for the text seeming to go out of its way to put Galadriel at as disadvantage when she really shouldn’t be)
That morning, her handmaidens brushed out her long, beautiful golden-silvered hair, until it gleamed as brightly as it ever had. She dressed in white and disdained her crown or any other ornamentation, except Elentári, the unparalleled Ring of Power she only wore openly in Edhilon.
Shade: *rolling her eyes* Yeah, you disdain all jewelry except for your all-powerful magic ring. Real humble of you there, Galadriel.
Rings-a-Palooza: 142
Messengers from the docks reported the King had come as Gil-galad had hoped, but it wasn’t Tar-Meneldur. Aldarion was the new crowned King of Númenor and he had come alone.
Shade: Crewing all those ships by his lonesome was difficult, but Aldarion was a remarkable man. Also, by the end of his voyage, an exhausted one.
Gil-galad and the others hadn’t yet arrived, so she was alone when Aldarion, the tall bearded Númenórean King,
Thalia: That makes it sound like his beard was tall… was it perhaps going up?
MG: Also, Tolkien notes in The Nature of Middle-earth that Numenorean men (and descendants of Elros in particular, presumably due to their elvish blood) were usually beardless, so it’s very unlikely Aldarion had any facial hair. Whoops!
Loremaster’s Headache: 290
walked into the great windowed reception hall. At his side he wore the legendary sword of the Númenórean Kings, Aranrúth. She had last seen it in the hands of Elros, before he and Queen Karewyn sailed from Lindon. Before that, it had been worn by Thingol, the High King of the Sindar during the First Age, he who was the father of Lúthien.
MG: …Galadriel lived in Doriath with Celeborn as a member of Thingol and Melian’s court for much of the First Age. I don’t think she needs to remind herself in her own inner monologue of who Thingol was!
And just as Thingol had towered over lesser Elves, Aldarion towered over her, she, who had ever towered over lesser men, and Galadriel felt nervous in a way she never had before.
MG: Okay, yes, Tolkien’s Galadriel is tall (the same height as her husband, per LotR’s initial description of her) but something about this description feels… off, to me, especially since, spoilers, this is supposed to be the start of their attraction. Like of course a woman would be attracted to a man who is taller than her and intimidates her (as little sense as that makes, with these characters)!
The Unfair Sex: 64
Aldarion barely glanced at her. “Where are Gil-galad and Celeborn?”
Shade: Well, you’re rude. You’re in the presence of a damned queen, man, show a little respect! Powerful people tend to get tetchy when you don’t do that…
The Unfair Sex: 65 (because Aldarion dismisses Galadriel out of hand when he meets her and wants to know where the men are instead)
“King Celeborn will not be joining us,” she answered. “He went to the Swanfleet to ensure your safe passage and has been called away to Annúminas, our tributary province. The others are late. Where is your daughter, the Princess Ancalimë… and Queen Erendis?”
Loremaster’s Headache: 291 (Annuminas still doesn’t exist yet!)
“I…” Aldarion began. He looked out the three-story picture windows beside the still life hanging tapestries, wrought from threads of precious ores, utterly lost.
Shade: Okay, maybe my joke about Aldarion being exhausted from crewing all his ships by himself was right after all! This guy clearly isn’t all there right now!
“You are dismissed,” she told her servants. They left them alone.
“I’m sorry,” Aldarion said. “We…” the long-suppressed emotion cracked his voice. He sank into a chair by the window and fought the storm of grief engulfing his heart. “It’s… over.”
Looking at the swans in the distance, he remembered how hopeful Gil-galad had been, when giving him that magnificent red beryl Ring. He remembered all the things Gil-galad had planned, all those festivities. He had thought it would be a second honeymoon, but now…
Thalia: …has Aldarion broken up with Gil-Galad and not Erendis? I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting that…
Galadriel went to the open window. “My Lord…”
Just like that, the floodgates of grief opened and she cradled his head in her hands.
Shade: …because this wouldn’t be an incredibly awkward moment between complete strangers or anything. Why would we think that?
The powerful King of Númenor cried like a child before the open windows of the Palace of Edhilon, in the arms of the tall and regal Elvish Queen Galadriel.
* * * * *
Such a shocking, and some might say inappropriate, beginning to their knowing each other could have easily led to an uncomfortable estrangement.
Shade: Oh, you think?
It didn’t.
All Sporkers: *facepalm*
When his grief was spent, he composed himself and noticed her beauty. Men always did.
Shade: What’s this, newly single and already on the prowl? *grimly* I’ve known men like that, believe me.
Yet he was also removed, talking about the beauty of the stars and sea, rather than her beauty.
That was rare.
Thalia: …perhaps he was making small talk to avoid the awkward subject? I’ve tried that sometimes but never quite found the knack… people find the things I like to talk about unsettling for some reason.
Galadriel found herself listening and attracted to this tall, bearded Númenórean King, who had seen wonders of which she had never dreamed.
MG: This is the second time in this scene we’ve had Aldarion’s (probably non-existent) beard mentioned. Would Galadriel still like him if he shaved, I wonder? And, come on. Galadriel is, at this point, probably somewhere in the vicinity of three thousand years old. She was born in Valinor, lived in Beleriand during the First Age, is a veteran of the War of the Jewels (even if she sat out much of the fighting in Doriath), settled Lindon, Eriador and Eregion in the Second, she crossed the Grinding Ice on foot with the rest of her people after the Feanorians abandoned them, and lived to tell the tale… I find it rather hard to imagine that Aldarion is the one telling her about “wonders of which she had never dreamed!”
The Unfair Sex: 66
He spoke with such passion for adventuring and discovery. She was taken by his handsome and commanding face, and remembered he happened to be a distant cousin, though that couldn’t possibly have had anything to do with it.
Thalia: Are you implying that you would have been more attracted to him if he had been more closely related to you? *boggles* Did the person who wrote that Mists of Avalon that I’ve heard about sneak in and write this section?
He came from the ocean with all his hunger for life, and suddenly her, vividly etched in his eyes, he hadn’t thought to try and hide. He was so very different from the beardless Elves and their reserved, coy, detached, almost feminine beauty, to which she’d grown insensate, just as she had grown insensate to her own beauty.
MG: …you know, despite stereotypical depictions of fantasy elves tending towards the “androgynous” or “effeminate,” Tolkien himself actually strongly disliked the idea (at least when it came to artistic depictions of Legolas in particular, but I think we can generalize somewhat). In any case, the implication here is pretty clear that elven men are “feminine” and “emasculated” and can’t hold Galadrie’s attention compared to the strong and virile Aldarion (and why would Galadriel even seem to be associating Aldarion’s beardedness with masculinity, anyway? Elves, as we’ve noted, don’t usually grow beards except in extreme age – she’d probably think Aldarion’s beard made him look old, not that it made him look manly!). In any case… yeesh. There’s no uncomfortable subtext here.
The Unfair Sex: 67
Reflected in Aldarion’s hungry eyes, she remembered how beautiful she had been, and if she saw the truth in his desires, she still was.
Shade: Oh, goody, another woman in this fic worried about ageing (an immortal woman this time, even!). We’ve certainly never seen that before!
Galadriel told him of the history of Valinor and High Elves, in which she had been a witness and participant. He couldn’t help being impressed by this valiant and mighty warrior Queen, born in the Undying Lands and having been tutored by the Valar. She had fought Fëanor during the Kin Slayings and in the War of Wrath against Morgoth, driving off an army of orcs at the founding of Lindon.
Thalia: And yet she’s still somehow impressed by Aldarion, whose life is a tiny fraction of her own, because he’s sailed a lot? I genuinely don’t understand romance…
They talked about the future. There was a nameless evil rising in the East beyond the Misty Mountains.
MG: A “nameless evil” that’s so far accomplished exactly nothing while Celebrimbor’s been churning out Rings of Power like a goddamned assembly line without its input…
She, Gil-galad and Círdan knew it would one day threaten Khazad-dûm, Eregion, Lindon and even Númenor. For the wars of one land had always spread to others, even to the shores of Valinor, requiring the Valar to decree the Ban of Elves.
MG: Pretty sure that Feanor and his followers (and those of his brothers’ followers who went with him) were exiled because of, you know, the Kinslaying, which the Feanorians committed, and the others were at least indirectly complicit in (and Feanor and his sons were additionally exiled as penalty for their blasphemous and very dangerous Oath). I think Polychron’s looking to reference the Hiding of Valinor here, which was a somewhat later, separate (but related) event.
It grew late and the others arrived. Galadriel and Aldarion barely noticed. They may as well have still been alone. Gil-galad, Elrond and even Círdan was surprised.
Celebrimbor wasn’t.
Not just because he knew, if anyone could inspire greater devotion from their devoted ally, it was Galadriel. But also because he saw how genuinely moved they were, what a precious moment in time this was, how they would carry it with them in their hearts the rest of their lives, which for Aldarion, would be exceedingly brief.
Shade: And he wasn’t jealous, even though he’s also supposedly having an affair with the lady in question and is a proud, possessive sort? I’m in shock!
Galadriel and Aldarion began meeting frequently, urged by Gil-galad and his need for more from the bustling island economy of Númenor. Yet after their first meeting, they needed little encouragement beyond their own. They were grateful for the excuse of Gil-galad’s urgent preparations for a still-in-the-future and far distant war.
Thalia: I’m not always the best at understanding… time… but if Gil-Galad’s preparations are urgent, and the war is far distant, then isn’t that a little… contradictory?
Aldarion remained married to Erendis and missed much of his daughter Ancalimë’s life. Galadriel was married too, with a son of her own, and their situations, though different, were in many ways the same.
Shade: But when Erendis and Celeborn also started having an affair (in complete defiance of both common sense and simple logistics, since they had an ocean between them and all) everyone decided the whole situation had just gotten absurd and called the whole thing off.
For her part, she said nothing about her husband, although Aldarion had met Celeborn on an earlier trip. He never asked about or mentioned Celeborn, nor did she.
If she must make peace with whatever lay between him and Queen Erendis, then he must accept whatever lay between her and King Celeborn.
Shade: But what about what lay between Erendis and Celeborn, hmmm?
Celeborn was in fact, not far away, except he may as well have been. He had been for centuries, since the birth of Amroth. In many ways, he still was and always would be. Although she loved him more than she had ever loved anyone.
Thalia: Which is… why she’s cheating on him? With two separate other men? *she shakes her head* If this is what romance brings, I’ve never been more glad to be single!
The Unfair Sex: 68
But when Aldarion was in the room, he brought one-hundred percent of himself: all his focus and attention, all his hunger and appreciation. And suddenly, Galadriel was there too, alive in ways she hadn’t felt and been in too many years; many hundreds, in fact, almost a thousand: not since the Spring of Lindon.
A thousand years is a very long time to live and only then realize you haven’t been living at all. Now she was, that’s all she knew. That’s all she needed to know. Nothing better would come along. They both knew it.
Shade: *bored* Are we at least going to get some smut out of this? No? Then spending all this time on the affairs of people five thousand years ago that has nothing to do that I can tell with the present-day story is even more pointless, isn’t it?
As for the war, though pressed and uncertain as to what he could faithfully promise, Aldarion agreed to teach Círdan and Galdor what he had learned of ship craft so they could build boats like the one he sailed, called the NKS Hirilondë, that had so impressed her. It bore on its prow the life-like figure of an Eagle, carved by Drendelen. It had bright yellow talons and a beak of the purest gold, and bright green emerald eyes, a gift from Lord Círdan.
Thalia: I think we… knew that already?
MG: And of course, Aldarion is teaching Cirdan – who has been building ships longer than Aldarion’s species has existed – how to improve his designs. Riiight. Pull the other one, Polychron.
Gil-galad wanted more.
He wanted Aldarion to rebuild the crumbling harbor of Vinyalondë, which Aldarion himself had built over two hundred years before, at the mouth of the river Gwathló. It had fallen into ruin. Gil-galad was convinced it was essential for their defense. Someday they’d build a fortress in the undefended gap between the Misty and White Mountains. For now, the best thing was to rebuild Vinyalondë.
MG: …I mean, the Gondorians did eventually build Isengard there, but neither Gil-Galad’s people nor the actual kingdom of Numenor were involved in that? So… is that supposed to be foreshadowing, or did Polychron stumble into something sort-of correct by accident?
Galadriel asked Aldarion to recruit the Men of Eriador. They sometimes traveled to Lake Evendim and tarried beside the city of Annúminas. Coming from lands beyond the North Farthing and the North Downs, they journeyed through the Weather Hills. Sometimes they could be found around the foreboding Hill of Weathertop.
MG: The North Farthing is a division of the Shire… which won’t be founded for, oh, another four thousand years, roughly. There’s no indication the name was in use before that! And, of course, Annuminas still doesn’t exist yet.
Loremaster’s Headache: 292
These Men were of the same line as Bëor and Hador, and therefore kinsmen of the Númenóreans. They feared the Elves, towering over them, wearing strange clothes, seldom speaking, and then in incomprehensible and almost musical voices, more like singing than speech. Strange indeed were the ways of Elves to Men. They feared they’d be bewitched.
MG: Well, the bit about the Men of Eriador (which would presumably include the ancestors of both the Bree-men and the Dunlendings) being distantly related to the Edain is probably true, based on some of the writings in the HoME (and, ironically, Gondor’s allies the Rohirrim were probably not very closely related to the Numenoreans despite the Gondorians claiming otherwise, also per the HoME, since they would have split off before the Three Houses even entered Beleriand).
They would only come and stay at the behest of other Men. And they perceived Aldarion for the powerful Númenórean King he was, without his having said so. Though doubtless, his sailors and the Eriadorians talked among themselves.
Shade: Which makes a fair bit more sense to me than the idea that he’s apparently just so kingly that everyone immediately recognizes it, even if they don’t speak the same language! In my experience, men who think they have that effect on people… generally don’t.
Without discussing it or thinking about it, or worrying what it meant or what it didn’t, Galadriel and Aldarion began having an affair; even as he worked with Celebrimbor, with whom he’d long been friends and much esteem they shared.
MG: So… yep. Here we have confirmation of Galadriel/Aldarion as an actual affair, not just mutual attraction. Even more than Galadriel/Celebrimbor, this one just makes me go “huh?” As far as I know, canonically, the sum total of their interactions was “Aldarion toured Middle-earth and met lots of important elves, and Galadriel was one of those elves.” And that’s about it. Not much of a foundation to build a relationship on, is it? Seriously, did Polychron just draw two names out of a hat here? And yet, weirdly enough, despite Shade’s complaint earlier both of Galadriel’s affairs are indeed going to be plot-relevant, so strap in, because this is going places!
He gathered the men who lived east of the Brandywine, taught them, and they began felling trees for building ships. Celebrimbor praised the learnings of this Númenórean King. He was flattered to learn Aldarion had copied his Guildhouse of the Jewel-smiths with an Order of captains, sailors and explorers called the Guildhouse of the Venturers, named for his grandfather.
Shade: *bored* Yes, we knew that, anything else?
For many years, Aldarion sailed between Númenor, Lindon and Edhilon. Though to Galadriel, their affair seemed like a too sweet moment in time she knew would be over before she had fully appreciated how sweet was its beginning. It had come unlooked for and would pass far too swiftly with the life of this mortal King.
Somehow in a way Galadriel didn’t understand, knowing their time would be so short made it impossibly more precious and more sweet. She wondered if this was what Ilúvatar had intended with the Gift of Men, which Elves had been denied, unless one of them fell in love with a mortal, which Galadriel realized suddenly, was happening to her.
Thalia: I don’t… think… having an affair is usually a path to enlightenment? Unless it is, in this case? *quietly* I’m so confused… Maybe I should ask Sonam later, but I think he’ll be as confused as I am.
She didn’t need to try and keep Celeborn at arm’s length. In that way Celeborn had always known, he had other duties and other interests, taking him far abroad.
Shade: *snorts* Well, that’s convenient! No need to go behind your husband’s back when he obligingly removes himself from the situation entirely and all!
But Celebrimbor looked on this mortal King and his affair with his Queen in a different light. Aldarion had been his friend for almost three hundred years, but he was intruding on his own affair with Galadriel. He was jealous and possessive, but there was nothing he could say.
Shade: So, he did the only thing he could think of, and seduced Aldarion himself. The ensuing threesome made everyone happy, except for Celeborn, but Polychron doesn’t care about him anyway.
Feeling powerless and not sure what to do, Celebrimbor began fashioning a final Ring of Power to exceed all other Rings. It would not only equal the sciences and riches of the Númenóreans, which Aldarion was gifting Galadriel and Gil-galad, it would exceed all arts and treasures that had ever existed or ever would. Out of his jealously, pride and his still passionate love for her, Celebrimbor began the enchantments that became the Master-ring of Middle-earth.
MG: So… yeah. That was Celebrimbor’s motivation for making the ultra-super-special Ring of Power that this whole “saga” was apparently going to turn on. He was jealous… because Galadriel was having an affair with Tar-Aldarion… which he felt was distracting her from her affair with him… for Eru’s sake, Polychron, is “elaborate love polygons” the only motivation you could think of for all of this? Is this Identities and its endless love polygons rearing its head at me again, after all these years (I sporked Identities ten years ago now, by the way… my God…)? And yet, it somehow feels like it comes down to everything being, indirectly, Galadriel’s fault. Because why the hells not.
The Unfair Sex: 69
Having an affair with both of them, Galadriel knew she’d gone too far.
Thalia: *perking up* Was their affair going to unlock powers that should have remained hidden for all time, fusing them all into a single powerful three-headed creature? Perhaps this will be interesting after all!
She was ‘gilding the lily’ as Celebrimbor’s own Mirdainions often said, admonishing each other against over ornamentation or excess. She couldn’t help herself. She didn’t want to.
Shade: Yeah, it’s called “being horny.” You’re thousands of years old; I doubt this is the first time you’ve felt that emotion. Also, am I the only one who thinks that, in this context specifically, “gilding the lily” sounds like a really filthy sex act? Especially considering one of the people involved in this tangle is a master goldsmith…
Two of the fairest, most brilliant, most virile men she had ever known were vying constantly in competition for her attention, while in the throes of vigorous and grand creation.
Thalia: Does that mean that Celebrimbor is literally making his rings while Galadriel is… *she falls silent and blushes furiously at the mental image*
The Unfair Sex: 70 (immortal and wise elvish queen or no, apparently two hot guys being into her shuts off all of Galadriel’s higher brain functions)
Constantly plying her with their discoveries, accomplishments and treasures worthy of the Valar, they were living a moment in time she knew wouldn’t last. She refused to allow this never-come- before, never-to-be-repeated moment to slip away.
They knew Galadriel was having an affair with both of them. But she did so without guile or deception. They accepted this as the price of their passion, just as they accepted the inevitable continuation of her marriage to Celeborn.
Thalia: I’m glad everyone’s so… understanding? Though maybe not, considering Celebrimbor is apparently trying to make an invincible magic ring to win Galadriel back for good… clearly, the actions of a stable and well-adjusted man!
MG: And this is where we’re stopping for now! This chapter is… a lot. A lot of stuff, a lot of affairs, a lot of infodumping, and generally a lot of Polychron being, well, Polychron about all of it. What more is there to be said? Except, of course, that it seems like the most powerful force to shape the events of the Second Age, and which will cause so many problems down the line, is in fact Galadriel’s sex drive (Sauron? Who’s that? Not here yet, but we’ll get to him eventually, I swear). No unfortunate implications there, why did you ask? Anyway, next time, we’ll finish up this chapter as we follow Galadriel to Numenor itself, learn the secret(?) origin of Celebrian, and discover how Galadriel’s affairs nearly bring down the most powerful empire in Arda. So, a lot of fun, basically😉. 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: 36
Loremaster’s Headache: 292
Pervy Hobbit Fanciers: 44 (adding a few points for the love polygon)
Plot-Induced Stupidity: 117
Rings-a-Palooza: 142
Take That, Tolkien!: 31
Traveling at the Speed of Plot: 35
The Unfair Sex: 72
MG: Well, everyone, it’s time to continue our journey through Demetrious Polychron’s Fellowship of the King! Last time, Celebrimbor founded Eregion, made more rings, and Polychron decided to devote quite a lot of time to recapping the story of Aldarion and Erendis. Today, we get yet more rings, yet more Numenor, and the relevance of the Aldarion and Erendis stuff comes into view as yet another character gets drawn into Galadriel’s tangled love life. Yay. Joining us today will be Shade and Thalia!
Chapter 3: Before The Fall
Thalia: *raises her hand tentatively* Beg pardon, but wouldn’t any point in Numenor’s history be ‘before the fall?’ And the events we’ve seen so far have been thousands of years ‘before the fall,’ so that doesn’t really seem like a useful categorization… unless this chapter does actually reach up to the Downfall?
MG: It does not!
Thalia: *sighs and hangs her head*
The greater Gil-galad’s wealth grew, the more frantic he became and the threat of war loomed ever closer:
Shade: Huh; that just makes it sound like the only reason Gil-Galad is preparing for war is to protect his wealth. Not exactly cutting a very fine figure, is our noble high king? I’ve known gang bosses less paranoid!
violent rumblings from savage Men, Petty-Dwarves and the surviving creations of Morgoth living beyond the Misty Mountains.
MG: *baffled* Petty-dwarves? The Petty-dwarves are absolutely a thing in the Legendarium, don’t get me wrong… but why are we bringing them up here, in this context? They seem to have been a de facto eighth clan of dwarves, composed of exiles from the Seven Houses and their descendants; they entered Beleriand well before other dwarves and the Sindar apparently literally hunted them like animals at first, not being aware they were intelligent beings until they met other dwarves who corrected them; after that, they seem to have let the Petty-dwarves be, but their numbers never recovered (and they were, understandably, not fond of elves!) and by the time of the tale of the Children of Hurin they appear to have dwindled to a single small family, Mim and his sons. After Mim’s death, the Petty-dwarves seem to have become completely extinct. This is centuries after that. So, why does Gil-Galad seemingly want to go to war with Petty-dwarves (a people who not only never seem to have had any real military strength, but who were brutally persecuted by elves in their past) and, more importantly, why are there still Petty-dwarves to go to war with in the first place? Did they stumble in through a time-warp or what?
Loremaster’s Headache: 283
These evil creatures heard rumors of the wealth in Lindon and the power of Celebrimbor’s magical creations in Edhilon.
Shade: And, since those were two entirely different places, got lost on the way trying to get to both of them at once, very sad.
To address these concerns in 880 of the Second Age, Galadriel invited Gil-galad, Emisillë, Oropher, Facerëia, Elrond, Drendelen, and many others to the first Council of the Wise.
MG: Okay, so… there was a precursor to the White Council of the Third Age that met in the Second Age… but per Unfinished Tales it first met after the One Ring was forged, in SA 1701, not 880 (its membership isn’t specified, but from context we can infer that Gil-Galad, Elrond, Galadriel and Celeborn were probably in attendance). Taking Polychron’s OCs into account, though, this does seem like a decent enough list… except I’m not sure who ‘Facerëia’ is. There is a person by that name who shows up later in the fic… in the present-day sections… but I have no idea if it’s meant to be the same Facerëia we see here, so *shrugs*.
Loremaster’s Headache: 284
Before her guests arrived, Galadriel learned Celebrimbor, Narvi, Dagnall and the Mirdainions had forged three more Rings for Elves.
Thalia: I’m beginning to think Celebrimbor may be slightly obsessed with rings. If he is literally under their sway, with the potential rings compelling him from the future to make them so they can come into being… that worries me greatly.
Rings-a-Palooza: 125
They were supposed to be a secret. But she was Celebrimbor’s Queen and his better in most things. He had almost wrecked her life before, but she had once again grown fond of the talented and charming master craftsman Celebrimbor.
Almost as fond as Celeborn.
Shade: Uh… is Polychron meaning to imply that Celeborn also has the hots for Celebrimbor, or…? Also, when and how did Celebrimbor nearly ruin her life? It sounds like their original affair broke off pretty amicably before anyone was hurt too badly by it, and her marriage survived it fine. But of course, even though she blames him for nearly ruining her life, she still wants him? Honey, you can do better, trust me.
The Unfair Sex: 62 (giving a point for Galadriel’s tangled love-life remaining the chief engine of the plot)
It wasn’t hard to guess whose hand wore one of those Rings. Undoubtedly, Gil-galad’s. But with so many Elvish kings, queens and princes trolling for power, not even she was certain who wore the others. She assumed Celebrimbor kept one. Maybe Círdan or Elrond had the others.
Thalia: …is it just me, or does that wording imply that all of these people share a single hand that wears a single Ring of Power? No? But what a fascinating concept!
Rings-a-Palooza: 128
She knew the Mirdainions were forging Rings for Dwarves. She guessed Durin and Narvi each had one, but she had no idea where the others were – and it bothered her. Celebrimbor had gotten much better at keeping secrets since his alliance with these Dwarves and so had she. She had even come to like Dwarves, though Celeborn never did.
Shade: Oh, and why do you seem to think you’re entitled to Celebrimbor’s secrets and to the knowledge of where the Rings are, hmmm? Very interesting, isn’t it?
MG: And let’s be honest – in the Legendarium, all the Rings were originally for the elves, with the possible exception of Durin’s Ring (and, of course, the One). The Seven and the Nine only got distributed elsewhere when Sauron’s initial attempt at enslaving the elves failed and he decided to try casting a wider net. All of which is, I think, important, because it reflects on how the creation of the Rings of Power to begin with was a manifestation of the hubris of the elves (Celebrimbor specifically) which Sauron took advantage of and encouraged. But when you have Celebrimbor just churning out Rings en masse, fully intending them to distribute to his allies for their benefit (supposedly…) long before he’s ever met Sauron, that sort of makes a hash of that narrative and thematic arc. And it’s far from over!
Loremaster’s Headache: 285
Rings-a-Palooza: 131
After opening the Council on the third story rooftop gardens of the Royal Palace, Galadriel thanked everyone for coming, then relinquished the floor to Gil-galad. He told them how grateful he was for their continuing efforts in resisting the Evil in the East.
Thalia: How curious. Polychron seems more interested in describing the precise details of this meeting instead of when and how these elves learned about Sauron. Is there a point here that I’m missing, or are we all just very confused?
MG: I think the latter. And at this point, the elves should be becoming aware that someone has begun gathering the remnants of Morgoth’s forces together and that presents a potential danger but not have much specific knowledge of who it is or what they’re planning.
He also praised King Tar-Meneldur for allowing his son, their good friend and ally Anardil Aldarion, to come so often and stay so long, who Galadriel alone had never met.
Shade: *whistles* Well, when you single it out like that… *sing-song voice* I bet I know where this is going…
Aldarion was right now exploring further down the coast, then returning to Lindon before going home to Númenor. Gil-galad was going to give him a sealed letter for the King because Aldarion had agreed: Númenor was so peaceful, a Regent could rule if Gil-galad invited his father to visit.
Thalia: If Tar-Meneldur visited without Gil-Galad’s permission, however, it would have to be a Chancellor who ruled in his place instead of a regent. The reasoning for this was very unclear, but the law is the law!
If Gil-galad’s letter got the response he hoped, when next they saw Aldarion’s sails he would have with him his wife, the future Queen Erendis, their daughter the Princess Ancalimë, just four years old, and the reigning King of Númenor, Tar-Meneldur. Gil-galad felt certain when King Tar-Meneldur read the letter, he would sail to Lindon with Aldarion.
Shade: Uh, is it just me, but does putting the whole royal family on one ship (presumably) seem a little… risky? I mean, all it takes is one unexpected storm at sea, and you’ve got yourself a succession crisis going. Whoops!
Their objective: convene a Council of the Western Powers, similar to this. They would create an Alliance between Elves and Men to prevent their Kingdoms from falling to Evil.
Shade: Which they would do by conquering everyone themselves! …only belatedly did they realize there was something a bit wrong with that logic...
Today an Alliance of Elves. Tomorrow, an Alliance with Men. Eventually, they’d invite the Dwarves.
“Dwarves?” Celeborn asked.
Thalia: Somehow, for the entire First Age and the early centuries of the Second, Celeborn had managed to remain entirely ignorant of the existence of the dwarvish race. Bringing him up to speed took the rest of the afternoon and sadly derailed the entire meeting. He never did quite believe they’d been there all along and he’d just never noticed, poor man.
For the first and last time, Gil-galad spoke openly of the Rings of Power. The Thirteen for Beasts had been gifted to their animal allies. Six of the Eleven for Dwarven Lords had been gifted in secret and in secret would remain. Five of the Eleven for Elven Lords at this very moment were protecting three kingdoms of Elves.
Rings-a-Palooza: 136
Celebrimbor was finishing the fourth of the Five for Mortal Warriors. In addition to the letter, Aldarion would receive it as a gift for his wife Erendis. According to Aldarion’s men (Aldarion never bragged), she was more beautiful than the women of the Eldar.
At this, Galadriel bristled. But only Celeborn caught it.
Shade: *shrugs* I mean, she had just been snubbed. I’d probably bristle a bit too, if someone said something like that in my hearing. It’s the principle of the thing!
Rings-a-Palooza: 137
Feeling inspired after the meeting, Celebrimbor eagerly returned to the Guildhouse.
Curiosity overcame Galadriel and she visited him there alone, which she’d never done. Having been lauded at the Council by Gil-galad and only recently resuming his affair with Galadriel, Celebrimbor was jubilant. In the middle of her private tour, in walked Círdan.
Shade: Considering what the “private tour” no doubt consisted of, he immediately covered his eyes and hurriedly backed out of the room, but what has been seen cannot be unseen and all that. Better him walking in on them than it being Celeborn, I guess.
“My Queen,” Círdan said, bowing.
“My Lord,” she replied, smiling.
“My good Lord Círdan!” Celebrimbor exclaimed.
Thalia: “My good Lord Celebrimbor!” Cirdan returned. Then Celebrimbor and Galadriel introduced themselves to each other, just to be on the safe side. Once everyone was quite convinced of who they all were, they could finally begin… alas, by that point they’d all forgotten what they wanted to talk about in the first place!
“What an embarrassment of riches I am having today! In my humble little blacksmitherie, first rose the Sun and now comes the Moon. My sky could not be more full!
Shade: I dunno – do you have room for stars? I thought the Eldar were fond of those!
But, what are you doing here? You’ve never graced my workshop with your august presence before.” Before Círdan could answer, Celebrimbor breathlessly went on. “No! No matter. Welcome! But beware your fine sandals, Lord. You might get a bit of blacksmitherie on them! Ha ha ha!”
Thalia: *concerned* Is… is Celebrimbor all right? He seems rather… manic. I have some experience in these matters, if he’s interested in my help?
“Now is not the time for jest, my good Lord Celebrimbor,” Círdan said, smiling. He was amused at their reaction, catching them alone together. “I have come from the King.”
“Ho ho!” Celebrimbor laughed. “Today I am Lord Celebrimbor. This must be very important. However, from which king have you come? Rather than a dearth, we have a wealth of kings and queens in Middle-earth! There are so many, among them, I seem to have lost my crown, on more than one occasion. Yet amidst this throng, no one noticed!”
MG: Is Polychron just lampshading now how he’s had Celebrimbor flip-flopping on whether he’s a king or not and how he’s been handing out royal titles like candy to characters who didn’t actually have them? I think he is! That… doesn’t actually make it better!
Círdan and Galadriel laughed and Círdan said, “You seem mayhap to have lost more than just your crown this afternoon, Celebrimbor.”
Thalia: …oh, Cirdan sees it too? I’m glad it’s not just me… *sigh* because sometimes when I see things, it really is just me… which can be very embarrassing in ways I’d rather not discuss…
“Do I seem delighted?” he asked. “Seeing you in my modest workshop, this humble jewelsmitherie, my simple shop of crafts? Yet amidst all this modesty, look at what I have wrought.” He stepped aside and presented upon his anvil, one of the last of his Great Rings.
Shade: *rolls her eyes* Yes, look at this extremely powerful magical artifact I just knocked off this afternoon like it’s nothing! Truly I, Celebrimbor, am the very soul of modesty!
Forged of the purest gold, it was unlike most others: it bore an exquisitely cut and flashingly bright red precious gem. Círdan and Galadriel’s eyes were drawn to the jewel.
“You have acquired a few new skills, studying the ancient scrolls of the learned Elven master craftsmen Mahtan, Nerdanel’s father, who taught your grandfather Fëanor,” Círdan said.
MG: *flatly* Considering Mahtan, as Nerdanel’s father, is also Celebrimbor’s great-grandfather, I think he knows who he is and what his relationship to the family is, thank you.
“I think… there are touches from the dwarven master craftsman Telchar, forger of wondrous swords, and a few from his tutor, Gamil Zirak, the Old.”
MG: *rolls their eyes* And now I think that Polychron is just rattling off the names of every smith he can think of (barring Sauron, who we all know is just a big second-rater, right? /s) to show off. Because, damn, this is stiff.
“Why, my good Lord Círdan,” Celebrimbor told him. “You’ve impressed with my own craft. I would not have believed anyone but me could see those things. I will never again underestimate the discerning eyes of Círdan.”
Amidst their conversations, there entered the Elven blacksmith, the Lady Marcidelén, daughter of Irimë, and the Dwarven whitesmith, Rudlun the Bold, son of Granmar. They bowed to their Queen and Lords, then went to their stations and began working.
Shade: …huh. Am I the only one getting the feeling that their entrance was a bit… choreographed? Anyone?
MG: Also, all of these people appear to be OCs of Polychron’s. Marcidelen’s name I can’t figure out a possible etymology for, though her mother’s derives from the Quenya for “beauty.” Interestingly, there is an “Irimë” who appears in Tolkien’s later writings… the sister of Fingolfin and Finarfin (and half-sister of Feanor) from a version of the Sil where Tolkien decided to give them a couple of more siblings (including another sister, Findis). This Irimë was close to her brother Fingolfin and accompanied him to Middle-earth (while Findis stayed in Aman with the Vanyar, her mother’s people); however, because she’s such a late addition of dubious canonicity, there’s not much more detail about her deeds or her ultimate fate, or whether she ever married or had children. I have no idea if Marcidelen’s mother Irimë is meant to be the same person; knowing Polychron’s penchant for weirdly deep lore-cuts, it could be, or he could have just grabbed a Quenya name randomly. It’s hard to say.
Linguistic Confusions: 36
“Before I forget,” Círdan said. “I have come at the request of our King. I know you are busy completing your ‘Great Ring Cycle.’ He wants you to set all that momentarily aside.”
MG: *arches eyebrow* “Ring Cycle,” huh? Apparently, in between forging all these extra Rings of Power, Celebrimbor also found time to devote himself to opera and become the true composer of Der Ring des Nibelungen. Take that, Wagner! What a guy!
“Do you know how close I am to finishing?” Celebrimbor asked. “How hard I’ve been working? I’ve been crafting Rings for centuries. Every set was made for different races to do different things. The original enchantments alone sometimes took an Age!”
Thalia: *raises her hand* Far be it from me to correct the master, but *she glances at a calendar* I don’t think that can be right…
Loremaster’s Headache: 286
“This is precisely why Gil-galad sent me,” Círdan told him. “It is for one of our mortal friends. We cannot wait an Age. If you do not set everything aside, our friend will be dead before you finish. This, Gil-galad will simply not allow.”
Shade: I don’t think Gil-Galad gets to decide whether to “allow” when people do or do not die… power gone to the High King’s head a bit, has it?
“Who is this mortal for whom I must set aside my work?” Celebrimbor asked.
“The Crown Prince Anardil Aldarion of Númenor,” Círdan answered.
“You should have said it was for Aldarion when you first entered,” he told him. “It would have saved time. Perhaps an Age! I’m happy to set everything aside for Aldarion. In fact, it would be perfect to give him a gift from you and Gil-galad, when I present him with another gift from me. What does Gil-galad want? Or, I think it is you who wants a gift for Aldarion.”
Shade: …well. That was convenient.
“Very perceptive,” Círdan said. “As you know, the Númenóreans do not build ships as I do, crafted elegantly in the shape of swans.”
“Yes, about that – ”
“Aldarion builds ships that look like kegs of beer,” Círdan told him.
MG: Ships that work. The Numenoreans were the greatest seafarers in Arda in their day, and Aldarion was a master and pioneer of his craft. I’d think Cirdan, of all people, would appreciate that, one master craftsman to another!
“As well he should!” Celebrimbor laughed. “You know what it’s like being at sea so – ”
“The least we can do is put something on the prow to delight his eyes,” Círdan said. “If not a swan, perhaps a familiar carved in stone. Elrond suggested the likeness of one of the Uinéniel, daughters of Uinen. She might take it as a compliment and increase her blessings and protections on Aldarion’s ships. Whatever it is, I wish it could be sculpted by your grandmother Nerdanel. Her sculptures are perfect. They seem to the untrained eye, alive.”
MG: This is the second time we’ve had Polychron referencing Uinen having daughters… I think I’ve figured out where he gets it. Per the Unfinished Tales, Erendis was nicknamed “Uinenial” (which she hated, since she viewed the sea, as personified by Uinen, as the chief obstacle to her having a happy life with Aldarion) but she certainly wasn’t literally Uinen’s daughter – it was a metaphor. We have no indication Uinen ever had actual daughters, nor do I think the existence of the nickname “Uinenial” implies it.
Loremaster’s Headache: 287
“How would we obtain my grandmother’s services in Valinor?” Celebrimbor asked. “Yes, I know,” Círdan said. “It is just – I so highly esteem her work. You have seen my collection in the Emyn Beraid.”
“The best in Middle-earth,” Celebrimbor told him. “What about her granddaughter, my ravishing red-haired cousin, the Princess Drendelen?”
Shade: …why are you describing your cousin as ravishing, Celebrimbor? Is the master craftsman perhaps perving on his own relations? Oooh, what a scandal!
MG: Also, I’d apparently skimmed over this line on my earlier readthroughs, so this would seem to torpedo my earlier headcanon of Drendelen as Celebrimbor’s sister. Which I guess sends us back to the drawing board as to which of the Feanorians was her father. Let’s go with *spins dial* Maglor (feel free to suggest your own alternative parentages for Drendelen in the comments)!
“Drendelen could carve Nerdanel’s features on a statue of one of Uinen’s daughters,” Galadriel suggested. “It would be a work of Art, yet sure to catch a sailor’s eye, even this mortal friend of yours. What’s his name?”
Thalia: *concerned* Galadriel, have you even been paying attention to this conversation? I thought they made it rather clear… or were you distracted thinking of Celebrimbor’s, ah, artistry. *she blushes fiercely*
“Anardil,” Celebrimbor answered. “This is a marvelous idea! Nerdanel’s likeness on one of Uinen’s daughters. It’s inspired!”
“No, no,” Círdan countered. “I did not say a daughter.”
Shade: *blankly* What, are they going to sculpt Nerdanel’s face on a statue of Uinen’s husband? I’m sure Osse will appreciate the makeover, but I’m afraid you’ve lost me otherwise.
“Yes you did. I heard you,” Celebrimbor insisted, dismayed at Círdan gainsaying Galadriel. He turned to the Mirdainions. “Did he not say a daughter?”
Marcidelén and Rudlun laughed.
“Yes,” agreed Marcidelén. “He did,” Rudlun affirmed.
“You are dismissed,” Círdan said, smiling.
MG: …okay, whatever Celebrimbor’s been drinking, I think everyone has had rather too much of it! I’m not sure what is going on here anymore, even, save that it’s clearly very, very silly.
They smiled and looked to their Lord. Celebrimbor smiled and nodded. They left. Galadriel stayed.
“I want the effigy of an Eagle,” Círdan explained. “With a beak and talons of gold, to put on the prow of his ship. You know our friends, the Eagles. You gave King Thorondor a Ring of Power.
Thalia: So it’s going to be an eagle with Nerdanel’s face? Now I’m even more confused…
MG: I’m also kind of surprised Celebrimbor made a Ring of Power for Thorondor, since he vanishes from Middle-earth’s history after the First Age, and I always figured he either died in the War of Wrath or returned to Valinor afterwards. He certainly doesn’t seem to be a thing by the Third Age, when Gwaihir is the most prominent of the Great Eagles, but I’m not giving a point because it’s theoretically possible Thorondor was still around.
Rings-a-Palooza: 138
Do not look so surprised. I want Drendelen to carve an Eagle King and you will set above its golden beak, two green eyes. Emerald eyes, like in the Ring of Barahir. Dazzling, bejeweled, enchanted emerald eyes will see far and wide, all this Eagle sees – and so shall we.”
Shade: Unless those eagle eyes are going to be palantiri, I kind of doubt that. Gemstones don’t usually “see,” unless they’ve been enchanted. Makes my job easier, for sure…
“Why, my good Lord Círdan,” Celebrimbor said. “This is genius, and devious. I would say it is both far above and far beneath you. Being both, it suits you. This was not Gil-galad’s idea. This stroke of genius has come from you and your mind alone.”
Shade: Well, someone sure wants to butter the Shipwright up…
Laughing, Círdan bowed, helpless before the truth.
“Since you’ve surprised me,” Celebrimbor told him, removing the drop cloth from another anvil. “Perhaps I may still surprise you.”
“Another Ring of Power,” Círdan said, looking closely, then back and forth between the two of them. “You have gotten better at keeping secrets.”
Thalia: By the powers, another one! Aren’t there enough? When will it end, Polychron? When will it end?
Rings-a-Palooza: 139
“This is my day,” Celebrimbor said, smiling at Galadriel. “It’s not every day I surprise the far-sighted Círdan.”
“It is an amazing thing,” Círdan said, looking closely at the perfect circle of gold. “A Ring of exquisite simplicity.”
Shade: Wait, a perfect circle of unadorned gold… so help me, if it turns out Celebrimbor made the One Ring and Sauron just stole it from him, I’m going to hurt someone. Probably Celebrimbor first, but after that, I’m flexible.
“It may not look like much – to the untrained eye…”
“Do not forget to whom you speak,” Círdan said, knowing Celebrimbor was having fun and playing along. Galadriel and Celebrimbor were the only two outside Gil-galad and Elrond with whom he felt truly at ease. “For the first time in history, a goldsmith has removed every trace of impurity. The band is truly a thing of beauty: pure gold. You know, you could include a stone, as with your other new Ring. The long lost Ring of Barahir had two.”
MG: *blankly* When was the Ring of Barahir lost? Pretty sure the Numenoreans still have it, from whom it will ultimately be passed down to Aragorn as one of the heirlooms of his house. Have you considered asking your good friend Aldarion what he knows about it?
Loremaster’s Headache: 288
“The greatest beauty is in the greatest simplicity,” Celebrimbor answered. “The quality of the craftsmanship alone will distinguish this Ring, and one or two custom touches, perhaps only your eyes can see. The greatest effort has gone into the foundations, which few will see. To add a stone, even the most precious gem, would be a corruption of my intentions for this particular Ring. This is Oialëhén, the Ring of Light, and seeing Clearly. I have forged it for Aldarion. He once told me his mother, the Queen Almarian, supports him completely when he sails to Middle- earth, but his father, King Meneldur – not always.”
Shade: *wipes her forehead* Whew. Not the One, then. Just one of Polychron’s stupid original rings that he never shuts the hells up about. Ugh. And apparently Celebrimbor never shuts up about it, either.
“The Ring of Seeing,” Círdan said, thoughtfully. “Purity and simplicity.”
“Aldarion told me sometimes, on the ocean in the middle of lightless and stormy nights, he fears he might never reach the shore,” Celebrimbor confided. “On those nights, he feels the only light guiding him is his friendship with us. This Ring will take the light living in his heart and put it on his hand, to guide him when nights are dark and he wonders who are truly friends. Oialëhén, the Ring of Light will be proof he can see: the Elves will always be his friends.”
Thalia: …that makes it sound like you are going to glamour Aldarion to always regard you as his friends, regardless of whether you actually are or not… surely that can’t be right?
“A kingly gift for our friend who will one day be King,” Círdan observed. “Yet… I still believe it could use… something.”
“What do you mean?” Celebrimbor asked.
“I noticed,” Círdan observed, “just as Aulë did with the Ring of Barahir, when you created the Thirteen, you put part of your power in each Ring.”
MG: Okay, one, there’s no indication that the Ring of Barahir had part of a Vala’s power in it. I don’t think that’s the sort of thing that goes unnoticed! Seriously, its value was primarily symbolic! For another… how much power does Celebrimbor have to put some in all of these rings? He’s a high elf and a brilliant craftsman but, like, he’s still a finite living being, not one of the Ainur! Even Sauron could only pass on part of his power into One Ring (the Sil notes that there are certain feats of craft that even the greatest craftspeople can only perform once in their lives; the Two Trees of Valinor and the Silmarili are specific examples given, but I’d always assumed the One Ring was another of these unique exemplars of their creator’s artistry)! *beat* Wait a minute, if Celebrimbor was investing part of himself in all of these rings, does that mean he can’t actually die so long as they exist… Eru help us, Polychron was going to find a way to use that to bring him back in the sequels, wasn’t he? *headdesk*
Loremaster’s Headache: 289
“It was just a spark,” Celebrimbor defended. “Even thirteen times, so small a part I’ll never miss nor ever feel the lack.”
Shade: Well, in that case I doubt it’ll have much impact on those rings, will it? What a pity.
“You misunderstand,” Círdan said. “I applaud your workmanship. Yet I noticed, despite several master enchantments, there is none of your spirit in this particular Ring.”
Celebrimbor laughed. “There’s no danger of Aldarion forgetting how to speak.”
Thalia: …you never know?
“I agree,” Círdan told him. “Yet it still could use… something.”
“Have we grown so accustomed to perfection,” Celebrimbor asked, “when presented with the achievement of the ideal, we fail to appreciate an artist who overcomes impossible odds and creates so complex, yet so simple and flawless a thing?”
Shade: *Celebrimbor* An artist like me, specifically. You may begin praising me at any time now. I’m waiting!
“Have you thought of adding a green stone?” Círdan asked, in jest.
Thalia: *confused* Ha, ha?
MG: *sigh* This is probably just a shoutout to Aragorn telling Bilbo to include an emerald in his song about Earendil (but making no other suggestions, and basically telling him that if he wants to risk making a song about Earendil in the house of Earendil’s son, that’s his problem). What it’s doing here… is beyond me.
“This Ring is a gift to Aldarion from me, personally,” Celebrimbor told him, missing the joke. “No green stone. It is a mark of my true friendship to the young prince, who ages before my eyes. He’ll grow old and pass, sometimes I fear, without our having known.”
Shade: And that prevents you from including an emerald (or whatever) because…?
“Such things are to be expected when ships put out to sea,” Círdan said.
“This is why I have made this Ring so simple,” Celebrimbor told him. “It’s a symbol of our friendship, nothing more. He’ll wear it as you see it: unvarnished, unalloyed and unadorned, for simplicity is complexity in its rarest form.”
Thalia: *nodding sagely* Oh, I see! Oxymorons can reveal deeper truths, to those who meditate on them more deeply… or they can just turn you cross-eyed.
“They say thrice pays for all,” Círdan said. “There is a boon I will grant, unasked. If I may make a gift to Aldarion, my foresight foretells a bit of foresight might be foresightful – for this particular Ring.”
Shade: *groans and buries her head in her hands* Polychron. Why.
“My good Lord Círdan,” Celebrimbor responded, in true humility. “On behalf of Aldarion, I would be honored to accept from you such a gift for his Ring.”
Shade: *snorts at the idea of Polychron’s Celebrimbor showing “true humility”* Yeah, right.
* * * * *
Celebrimbor, Círdan, Gil-galad and Celeborn returned to West Mithlond. In a grand ceremony, he gave Oialëhén to Aldarion. Aldarion immediately recognized the matchless craftsmanship required to achieve its perfect purity and simplicity.
Thalia: …beg pardon, but wouldn’t the fact that it’s magic be of somewhat greater importance here?
Rings-a-Palooza: 140
Círdan gave him the Eagle, with its golden beak and talons, and emerald eyes.
Shade: …I could say what the rest of it was made of, but I’d rather not in polite company.
Meeting him later alone, Gil-galad gave Aldarion a sealed letter for his father, Tar- Meneldur. He asked him to bring Erendis, and their daughter Ancalimë, on his next voyage.
Aldarion doubted his wife would come. “Erendis loves only Númenor. She doesn’t approve of my journeys to Middle-earth. I’ll give my father your letter. Maybe if she learns what I’ve been doing here and sees this magnificent Eagle, she’ll change her mind.”
Thalia: Because clearly, the only thing that could make Erendis want to come to Middle-earth is a gaudy metal bird that’s already been brought to her in Numenor? *shakes her head* I’m so confused…
“Next time,” Gil-galad told him, “meet me in the wonder of the modern world – The Royal Palace of Edhilon in Eregion!”
“There’s not much there to tempt Erendis,” Aldarion responded.
Gil-galad laughed. “You haven’t seen Edhilon in over a hundred years! It has grown far beyond Celebrimbor’s lone palace and become a jewel of a city. You won’t believe what he and the Dwarves have built since you first ferried him up the river.”
“What have they built?” Aldarion asked.
Shade: …a seven-hundred-foot-tall statue of Celebrimbor himself, solid gold, with sapphires for eyes, gesturing dramatically with one hand while holding a smith’s hammer in the other and wearing absolutely nothing except for… well, I’ll leave that to your imagination. But it was quite a sight!
“Enchanted palaces with baths and fountains, waterfalls, gardens, and bejeweled tapestries hanging from the ceilings that look like open windows,” Gil-galad answered. “Imagine Erendis traveling up the Swanfleet River, escorted by fleets of white swans. Staying in the Royal Palace, pampered by Elves in spas and hot springs, and eating the finest foods in Middle-earth.
Imagine traveling to Khazad-dûm and meeting the King of Dwarves, seeing the Courtyard fountains and the Palace outside the Doors of Durin, sparkling with the waters of the Silvertine. Imagine the ithildin engravings on the Doors coming to life in the moonlight, touring the magnificent halls of Khazad-dûm, escorted by their King; ascending the Endless Stair, looking out Durin’s Tower and seeing the bright stars living deep inside the mystery of the Mirrormere.”
“If anything could make Erendis love Middle-earth,” Aldarion said, “it would be all that.”
Thalia: *weakly* Ah, yes, lots and lots of garish treasures, what’s not to love? I actually think Shade’s suggestion might be more dignified…
Shade: *has no comment, as she’s busy trying to figure out how much all of that stuff is worth, what the best way to steal it would be, and who to sell it all to*
“To make our invitation irresistibly sweet,” Gil-galad told him, lifting a bright golden Ring adorned with the most beautiful red gem Celebrimbor had ever created, “give her this.”
Shade: …but of course. *facepalm*
Rings-a-Palooza: 141
“Thank you,” Aldarion said. He was astonished by the beauty of the dazzling cuts made across the surface of the glittering red gem. “What is this magnificent scarlet stone?”
“A red beryl,” Gil-galad answered. “Prized more than diamonds, this is the best one ever made. There is no rarer or more precious gem in existence than the red beryl in your hand.”
Shade: Of course there aren’t.
MG: And I really have to say, it does seem like the takeaway from all this boasting is that all of this wealth and treasure is the most important thing in Celebrimbor’s realm, and someone like Erendis wouldn’t leave Numenor for anything less. Which strikes me as rather… incongruous with Tolkien’s own works, and especially the ending of The Hobbit where the dying Thorin spells out the moral neatly for us by telling Bilbo he was right to value food and home and cheer and the company of friends over treasure, and Thorin had been wrong. *shakes their head* If Sauron hadn’t (eventually) shown up, Polychron’s Eregion was going to have a dragon problem like you wouldn’t believe.
* * * * *
Less than a year had passed since Gil-galad gave Aldarion the Eagle, letter and Rings of Power. He had never returned so soon and no one was expecting him. Yet post riders reported to Gil-galad that lookouts stationed in the tower at the tip of the peninsula of Belfalas had sighted a fleet of white-sailed ships sailing for the mouth of the River Greyflood. They were undoubtedly from Númenor and heading for Edhilon. Gil-galad sent frantic messengers to Celebrimbor, Celeborn and Galadriel, telling them to prepare for the arrival of the Númenóreans.
He hoped to reach Edhilon before Aldarion, his wife, daughter, and the ruling King Tar- Meneldur. If he didn’t, in his absence they must welcome Aldarion, his father the King, the future Queen and the Crown Princess. Galadriel must be her most charming and enchanting self, showing the Númenóreans the splendors of Edhilon and making them feel welcome.
Thalia: …is… is Galadriel being given a choice in any of this, or is she going to be forced to play hostess whether she wants to or not? *she shudders* That sounds dreadful; I find crowds bad enough at the best of times, but meeting royalty on such short notice *she hunkers down in her cloak*
Celeborn went to personally supervise the sounding and dredging of the Swanfleet River, to make sure it could accommodate Aldarion’s ships. They were reportedly bigger than any ever seen.
Shade: My, my. Between that spear Celebrimbor forged for Gil-Galad and now these ships, I’m beginning to think the men in these flashbacks are all rather… insecure, about certain things…
As Galadriel watched from the Palace, their great white sails glided majestically into view, filling the three story picture windows, bigger than towers. They had masts so tall, the billowing white cloth spreading across the windows seemed like clouds filling the sky.
But Galadriel didn’t want to meet the Númenóreans.
Thalia: I knew it!
She had never thought much of Men. Human’s
Shade: *arches her eyebrow* “Human’s” what, exactly? I’m waiting!
died so quickly, often before she learned their names. Without time to grow, or grow wise, their lives were full of the foolish mistakes of Elvish children. Celeborn had gently chided her, saying if he could accept Dwarves, she must get used to humans.
The Unfair Sex: 62 (racist Galadriel)
Gil-galad and Celeborn were so concerned she make a good impression, particularly on Aldarion, she was nervous and hesitant, and foreboding their arrival. She begged excuse, to delay, or have them choose another. But Gil-galad and Celebrimbor insisted – it must be her.
Thalia: *whimpers in sympathetic anxiety*
They had done all they could. Aldarion had done much for them, more than any mortal had.
MG: …even assuming we don’t count Earendil, since he was made immortal after reaching Valinor, I think Beren and even Turin might want to dispute that… how many Silmarili has Aldarion pried out of Morgoth’s crown lately, and how many dragons has he killed, hmmm?
They needed more, especially from his King. For the first time, Galadriel doubted her ability to charm this powerful Númenórean King and his son. Though human, they were none the less much older and mightier than other mortals. Only the heirs of Elros, descended from High Elves, of which she was one, lived so long yet stayed so strong and fair.
MG: …why does that wording make it sound like Galadriel herself is a descendant of Elros (which, justto be clear, she isn’t – Elros and Elrond were themselves descended from Galadriel’s cousin Turgon, and are generations removed from him and Galadriel was already centuries old at least when they were born)? And… yeah. I find it really hard to believe that Galadriel would be intimidated by the Numenoreans’ long lives considering she was, you know, already centuries old herself before there even was a Numenor. She’s vastly older than any of these people. Considering she’s already dismissed the short lives of Men, I kind of doubt that even the Numenoreans lifespans – several times as long as those of other humans, sure, but still measured in centuries, not millennia – would particularly register compared to her.
The Unfair Sex: 63 (for the text seeming to go out of its way to put Galadriel at as disadvantage when she really shouldn’t be)
That morning, her handmaidens brushed out her long, beautiful golden-silvered hair, until it gleamed as brightly as it ever had. She dressed in white and disdained her crown or any other ornamentation, except Elentári, the unparalleled Ring of Power she only wore openly in Edhilon.
Shade: *rolling her eyes* Yeah, you disdain all jewelry except for your all-powerful magic ring. Real humble of you there, Galadriel.
Rings-a-Palooza: 142
Messengers from the docks reported the King had come as Gil-galad had hoped, but it wasn’t Tar-Meneldur. Aldarion was the new crowned King of Númenor and he had come alone.
Shade: Crewing all those ships by his lonesome was difficult, but Aldarion was a remarkable man. Also, by the end of his voyage, an exhausted one.
Gil-galad and the others hadn’t yet arrived, so she was alone when Aldarion, the tall bearded Númenórean King,
Thalia: That makes it sound like his beard was tall… was it perhaps going up?
MG: Also, Tolkien notes in The Nature of Middle-earth that Numenorean men (and descendants of Elros in particular, presumably due to their elvish blood) were usually beardless, so it’s very unlikely Aldarion had any facial hair. Whoops!
Loremaster’s Headache: 290
walked into the great windowed reception hall. At his side he wore the legendary sword of the Númenórean Kings, Aranrúth. She had last seen it in the hands of Elros, before he and Queen Karewyn sailed from Lindon. Before that, it had been worn by Thingol, the High King of the Sindar during the First Age, he who was the father of Lúthien.
MG: …Galadriel lived in Doriath with Celeborn as a member of Thingol and Melian’s court for much of the First Age. I don’t think she needs to remind herself in her own inner monologue of who Thingol was!
And just as Thingol had towered over lesser Elves, Aldarion towered over her, she, who had ever towered over lesser men, and Galadriel felt nervous in a way she never had before.
MG: Okay, yes, Tolkien’s Galadriel is tall (the same height as her husband, per LotR’s initial description of her) but something about this description feels… off, to me, especially since, spoilers, this is supposed to be the start of their attraction. Like of course a woman would be attracted to a man who is taller than her and intimidates her (as little sense as that makes, with these characters)!
The Unfair Sex: 64
Aldarion barely glanced at her. “Where are Gil-galad and Celeborn?”
Shade: Well, you’re rude. You’re in the presence of a damned queen, man, show a little respect! Powerful people tend to get tetchy when you don’t do that…
The Unfair Sex: 65 (because Aldarion dismisses Galadriel out of hand when he meets her and wants to know where the men are instead)
“King Celeborn will not be joining us,” she answered. “He went to the Swanfleet to ensure your safe passage and has been called away to Annúminas, our tributary province. The others are late. Where is your daughter, the Princess Ancalimë… and Queen Erendis?”
Loremaster’s Headache: 291 (Annuminas still doesn’t exist yet!)
“I…” Aldarion began. He looked out the three-story picture windows beside the still life hanging tapestries, wrought from threads of precious ores, utterly lost.
Shade: Okay, maybe my joke about Aldarion being exhausted from crewing all his ships by himself was right after all! This guy clearly isn’t all there right now!
“You are dismissed,” she told her servants. They left them alone.
“I’m sorry,” Aldarion said. “We…” the long-suppressed emotion cracked his voice. He sank into a chair by the window and fought the storm of grief engulfing his heart. “It’s… over.”
Looking at the swans in the distance, he remembered how hopeful Gil-galad had been, when giving him that magnificent red beryl Ring. He remembered all the things Gil-galad had planned, all those festivities. He had thought it would be a second honeymoon, but now…
Thalia: …has Aldarion broken up with Gil-Galad and not Erendis? I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting that…
Galadriel went to the open window. “My Lord…”
Just like that, the floodgates of grief opened and she cradled his head in her hands.
Shade: …because this wouldn’t be an incredibly awkward moment between complete strangers or anything. Why would we think that?
The powerful King of Númenor cried like a child before the open windows of the Palace of Edhilon, in the arms of the tall and regal Elvish Queen Galadriel.
* * * * *
Such a shocking, and some might say inappropriate, beginning to their knowing each other could have easily led to an uncomfortable estrangement.
Shade: Oh, you think?
It didn’t.
All Sporkers: *facepalm*
When his grief was spent, he composed himself and noticed her beauty. Men always did.
Shade: What’s this, newly single and already on the prowl? *grimly* I’ve known men like that, believe me.
Yet he was also removed, talking about the beauty of the stars and sea, rather than her beauty.
That was rare.
Thalia: …perhaps he was making small talk to avoid the awkward subject? I’ve tried that sometimes but never quite found the knack… people find the things I like to talk about unsettling for some reason.
Galadriel found herself listening and attracted to this tall, bearded Númenórean King, who had seen wonders of which she had never dreamed.
MG: This is the second time in this scene we’ve had Aldarion’s (probably non-existent) beard mentioned. Would Galadriel still like him if he shaved, I wonder? And, come on. Galadriel is, at this point, probably somewhere in the vicinity of three thousand years old. She was born in Valinor, lived in Beleriand during the First Age, is a veteran of the War of the Jewels (even if she sat out much of the fighting in Doriath), settled Lindon, Eriador and Eregion in the Second, she crossed the Grinding Ice on foot with the rest of her people after the Feanorians abandoned them, and lived to tell the tale… I find it rather hard to imagine that Aldarion is the one telling her about “wonders of which she had never dreamed!”
The Unfair Sex: 66
He spoke with such passion for adventuring and discovery. She was taken by his handsome and commanding face, and remembered he happened to be a distant cousin, though that couldn’t possibly have had anything to do with it.
Thalia: Are you implying that you would have been more attracted to him if he had been more closely related to you? *boggles* Did the person who wrote that Mists of Avalon that I’ve heard about sneak in and write this section?
He came from the ocean with all his hunger for life, and suddenly her, vividly etched in his eyes, he hadn’t thought to try and hide. He was so very different from the beardless Elves and their reserved, coy, detached, almost feminine beauty, to which she’d grown insensate, just as she had grown insensate to her own beauty.
MG: …you know, despite stereotypical depictions of fantasy elves tending towards the “androgynous” or “effeminate,” Tolkien himself actually strongly disliked the idea (at least when it came to artistic depictions of Legolas in particular, but I think we can generalize somewhat). In any case, the implication here is pretty clear that elven men are “feminine” and “emasculated” and can’t hold Galadrie’s attention compared to the strong and virile Aldarion (and why would Galadriel even seem to be associating Aldarion’s beardedness with masculinity, anyway? Elves, as we’ve noted, don’t usually grow beards except in extreme age – she’d probably think Aldarion’s beard made him look old, not that it made him look manly!). In any case… yeesh. There’s no uncomfortable subtext here.
The Unfair Sex: 67
Reflected in Aldarion’s hungry eyes, she remembered how beautiful she had been, and if she saw the truth in his desires, she still was.
Shade: Oh, goody, another woman in this fic worried about ageing (an immortal woman this time, even!). We’ve certainly never seen that before!
Galadriel told him of the history of Valinor and High Elves, in which she had been a witness and participant. He couldn’t help being impressed by this valiant and mighty warrior Queen, born in the Undying Lands and having been tutored by the Valar. She had fought Fëanor during the Kin Slayings and in the War of Wrath against Morgoth, driving off an army of orcs at the founding of Lindon.
Thalia: And yet she’s still somehow impressed by Aldarion, whose life is a tiny fraction of her own, because he’s sailed a lot? I genuinely don’t understand romance…
They talked about the future. There was a nameless evil rising in the East beyond the Misty Mountains.
MG: A “nameless evil” that’s so far accomplished exactly nothing while Celebrimbor’s been churning out Rings of Power like a goddamned assembly line without its input…
She, Gil-galad and Círdan knew it would one day threaten Khazad-dûm, Eregion, Lindon and even Númenor. For the wars of one land had always spread to others, even to the shores of Valinor, requiring the Valar to decree the Ban of Elves.
MG: Pretty sure that Feanor and his followers (and those of his brothers’ followers who went with him) were exiled because of, you know, the Kinslaying, which the Feanorians committed, and the others were at least indirectly complicit in (and Feanor and his sons were additionally exiled as penalty for their blasphemous and very dangerous Oath). I think Polychron’s looking to reference the Hiding of Valinor here, which was a somewhat later, separate (but related) event.
It grew late and the others arrived. Galadriel and Aldarion barely noticed. They may as well have still been alone. Gil-galad, Elrond and even Círdan was surprised.
Celebrimbor wasn’t.
Not just because he knew, if anyone could inspire greater devotion from their devoted ally, it was Galadriel. But also because he saw how genuinely moved they were, what a precious moment in time this was, how they would carry it with them in their hearts the rest of their lives, which for Aldarion, would be exceedingly brief.
Shade: And he wasn’t jealous, even though he’s also supposedly having an affair with the lady in question and is a proud, possessive sort? I’m in shock!
Galadriel and Aldarion began meeting frequently, urged by Gil-galad and his need for more from the bustling island economy of Númenor. Yet after their first meeting, they needed little encouragement beyond their own. They were grateful for the excuse of Gil-galad’s urgent preparations for a still-in-the-future and far distant war.
Thalia: I’m not always the best at understanding… time… but if Gil-Galad’s preparations are urgent, and the war is far distant, then isn’t that a little… contradictory?
Aldarion remained married to Erendis and missed much of his daughter Ancalimë’s life. Galadriel was married too, with a son of her own, and their situations, though different, were in many ways the same.
Shade: But when Erendis and Celeborn also started having an affair (in complete defiance of both common sense and simple logistics, since they had an ocean between them and all) everyone decided the whole situation had just gotten absurd and called the whole thing off.
For her part, she said nothing about her husband, although Aldarion had met Celeborn on an earlier trip. He never asked about or mentioned Celeborn, nor did she.
If she must make peace with whatever lay between him and Queen Erendis, then he must accept whatever lay between her and King Celeborn.
Shade: But what about what lay between Erendis and Celeborn, hmmm?
Celeborn was in fact, not far away, except he may as well have been. He had been for centuries, since the birth of Amroth. In many ways, he still was and always would be. Although she loved him more than she had ever loved anyone.
Thalia: Which is… why she’s cheating on him? With two separate other men? *she shakes her head* If this is what romance brings, I’ve never been more glad to be single!
The Unfair Sex: 68
But when Aldarion was in the room, he brought one-hundred percent of himself: all his focus and attention, all his hunger and appreciation. And suddenly, Galadriel was there too, alive in ways she hadn’t felt and been in too many years; many hundreds, in fact, almost a thousand: not since the Spring of Lindon.
A thousand years is a very long time to live and only then realize you haven’t been living at all. Now she was, that’s all she knew. That’s all she needed to know. Nothing better would come along. They both knew it.
Shade: *bored* Are we at least going to get some smut out of this? No? Then spending all this time on the affairs of people five thousand years ago that has nothing to do that I can tell with the present-day story is even more pointless, isn’t it?
As for the war, though pressed and uncertain as to what he could faithfully promise, Aldarion agreed to teach Círdan and Galdor what he had learned of ship craft so they could build boats like the one he sailed, called the NKS Hirilondë, that had so impressed her. It bore on its prow the life-like figure of an Eagle, carved by Drendelen. It had bright yellow talons and a beak of the purest gold, and bright green emerald eyes, a gift from Lord Círdan.
Thalia: I think we… knew that already?
MG: And of course, Aldarion is teaching Cirdan – who has been building ships longer than Aldarion’s species has existed – how to improve his designs. Riiight. Pull the other one, Polychron.
Gil-galad wanted more.
He wanted Aldarion to rebuild the crumbling harbor of Vinyalondë, which Aldarion himself had built over two hundred years before, at the mouth of the river Gwathló. It had fallen into ruin. Gil-galad was convinced it was essential for their defense. Someday they’d build a fortress in the undefended gap between the Misty and White Mountains. For now, the best thing was to rebuild Vinyalondë.
MG: …I mean, the Gondorians did eventually build Isengard there, but neither Gil-Galad’s people nor the actual kingdom of Numenor were involved in that? So… is that supposed to be foreshadowing, or did Polychron stumble into something sort-of correct by accident?
Galadriel asked Aldarion to recruit the Men of Eriador. They sometimes traveled to Lake Evendim and tarried beside the city of Annúminas. Coming from lands beyond the North Farthing and the North Downs, they journeyed through the Weather Hills. Sometimes they could be found around the foreboding Hill of Weathertop.
MG: The North Farthing is a division of the Shire… which won’t be founded for, oh, another four thousand years, roughly. There’s no indication the name was in use before that! And, of course, Annuminas still doesn’t exist yet.
Loremaster’s Headache: 292
These Men were of the same line as Bëor and Hador, and therefore kinsmen of the Númenóreans. They feared the Elves, towering over them, wearing strange clothes, seldom speaking, and then in incomprehensible and almost musical voices, more like singing than speech. Strange indeed were the ways of Elves to Men. They feared they’d be bewitched.
MG: Well, the bit about the Men of Eriador (which would presumably include the ancestors of both the Bree-men and the Dunlendings) being distantly related to the Edain is probably true, based on some of the writings in the HoME (and, ironically, Gondor’s allies the Rohirrim were probably not very closely related to the Numenoreans despite the Gondorians claiming otherwise, also per the HoME, since they would have split off before the Three Houses even entered Beleriand).
They would only come and stay at the behest of other Men. And they perceived Aldarion for the powerful Númenórean King he was, without his having said so. Though doubtless, his sailors and the Eriadorians talked among themselves.
Shade: Which makes a fair bit more sense to me than the idea that he’s apparently just so kingly that everyone immediately recognizes it, even if they don’t speak the same language! In my experience, men who think they have that effect on people… generally don’t.
Without discussing it or thinking about it, or worrying what it meant or what it didn’t, Galadriel and Aldarion began having an affair; even as he worked with Celebrimbor, with whom he’d long been friends and much esteem they shared.
MG: So… yep. Here we have confirmation of Galadriel/Aldarion as an actual affair, not just mutual attraction. Even more than Galadriel/Celebrimbor, this one just makes me go “huh?” As far as I know, canonically, the sum total of their interactions was “Aldarion toured Middle-earth and met lots of important elves, and Galadriel was one of those elves.” And that’s about it. Not much of a foundation to build a relationship on, is it? Seriously, did Polychron just draw two names out of a hat here? And yet, weirdly enough, despite Shade’s complaint earlier both of Galadriel’s affairs are indeed going to be plot-relevant, so strap in, because this is going places!
He gathered the men who lived east of the Brandywine, taught them, and they began felling trees for building ships. Celebrimbor praised the learnings of this Númenórean King. He was flattered to learn Aldarion had copied his Guildhouse of the Jewel-smiths with an Order of captains, sailors and explorers called the Guildhouse of the Venturers, named for his grandfather.
Shade: *bored* Yes, we knew that, anything else?
For many years, Aldarion sailed between Númenor, Lindon and Edhilon. Though to Galadriel, their affair seemed like a too sweet moment in time she knew would be over before she had fully appreciated how sweet was its beginning. It had come unlooked for and would pass far too swiftly with the life of this mortal King.
Somehow in a way Galadriel didn’t understand, knowing their time would be so short made it impossibly more precious and more sweet. She wondered if this was what Ilúvatar had intended with the Gift of Men, which Elves had been denied, unless one of them fell in love with a mortal, which Galadriel realized suddenly, was happening to her.
Thalia: I don’t… think… having an affair is usually a path to enlightenment? Unless it is, in this case? *quietly* I’m so confused… Maybe I should ask Sonam later, but I think he’ll be as confused as I am.
She didn’t need to try and keep Celeborn at arm’s length. In that way Celeborn had always known, he had other duties and other interests, taking him far abroad.
Shade: *snorts* Well, that’s convenient! No need to go behind your husband’s back when he obligingly removes himself from the situation entirely and all!
But Celebrimbor looked on this mortal King and his affair with his Queen in a different light. Aldarion had been his friend for almost three hundred years, but he was intruding on his own affair with Galadriel. He was jealous and possessive, but there was nothing he could say.
Shade: So, he did the only thing he could think of, and seduced Aldarion himself. The ensuing threesome made everyone happy, except for Celeborn, but Polychron doesn’t care about him anyway.
Feeling powerless and not sure what to do, Celebrimbor began fashioning a final Ring of Power to exceed all other Rings. It would not only equal the sciences and riches of the Númenóreans, which Aldarion was gifting Galadriel and Gil-galad, it would exceed all arts and treasures that had ever existed or ever would. Out of his jealously, pride and his still passionate love for her, Celebrimbor began the enchantments that became the Master-ring of Middle-earth.
MG: So… yeah. That was Celebrimbor’s motivation for making the ultra-super-special Ring of Power that this whole “saga” was apparently going to turn on. He was jealous… because Galadriel was having an affair with Tar-Aldarion… which he felt was distracting her from her affair with him… for Eru’s sake, Polychron, is “elaborate love polygons” the only motivation you could think of for all of this? Is this Identities and its endless love polygons rearing its head at me again, after all these years (I sporked Identities ten years ago now, by the way… my God…)? And yet, it somehow feels like it comes down to everything being, indirectly, Galadriel’s fault. Because why the hells not.
The Unfair Sex: 69
Having an affair with both of them, Galadriel knew she’d gone too far.
Thalia: *perking up* Was their affair going to unlock powers that should have remained hidden for all time, fusing them all into a single powerful three-headed creature? Perhaps this will be interesting after all!
She was ‘gilding the lily’ as Celebrimbor’s own Mirdainions often said, admonishing each other against over ornamentation or excess. She couldn’t help herself. She didn’t want to.
Shade: Yeah, it’s called “being horny.” You’re thousands of years old; I doubt this is the first time you’ve felt that emotion. Also, am I the only one who thinks that, in this context specifically, “gilding the lily” sounds like a really filthy sex act? Especially considering one of the people involved in this tangle is a master goldsmith…
Two of the fairest, most brilliant, most virile men she had ever known were vying constantly in competition for her attention, while in the throes of vigorous and grand creation.
Thalia: Does that mean that Celebrimbor is literally making his rings while Galadriel is… *she falls silent and blushes furiously at the mental image*
The Unfair Sex: 70 (immortal and wise elvish queen or no, apparently two hot guys being into her shuts off all of Galadriel’s higher brain functions)
Constantly plying her with their discoveries, accomplishments and treasures worthy of the Valar, they were living a moment in time she knew wouldn’t last. She refused to allow this never-come- before, never-to-be-repeated moment to slip away.
They knew Galadriel was having an affair with both of them. But she did so without guile or deception. They accepted this as the price of their passion, just as they accepted the inevitable continuation of her marriage to Celeborn.
Thalia: I’m glad everyone’s so… understanding? Though maybe not, considering Celebrimbor is apparently trying to make an invincible magic ring to win Galadriel back for good… clearly, the actions of a stable and well-adjusted man!
MG: And this is where we’re stopping for now! This chapter is… a lot. A lot of stuff, a lot of affairs, a lot of infodumping, and generally a lot of Polychron being, well, Polychron about all of it. What more is there to be said? Except, of course, that it seems like the most powerful force to shape the events of the Second Age, and which will cause so many problems down the line, is in fact Galadriel’s sex drive (Sauron? Who’s that? Not here yet, but we’ll get to him eventually, I swear). No unfortunate implications there, why did you ask? Anyway, next time, we’ll finish up this chapter as we follow Galadriel to Numenor itself, learn the secret(?) origin of Celebrian, and discover how Galadriel’s affairs nearly bring down the most powerful empire in Arda. So, a lot of fun, basically😉. 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: 36
Loremaster’s Headache: 292
Pervy Hobbit Fanciers: 44 (adding a few points for the love polygon)
Plot-Induced Stupidity: 117
Rings-a-Palooza: 142
Take That, Tolkien!: 31
Traveling at the Speed of Plot: 35
The Unfair Sex: 72
