Orca by Himring

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Fanwork Notes

I'm not sure this actually "solves" any canon problem, exactly.

But it was written in response to either of these prompts:

Are Orcs capable of redemption?

Or:

What are the afterlives of Orcs?

I'm not quite sure which of the two: the reason for the uncertainty will emerge in the story.

What gave me the idea for this piece was this lovely painting of Ulmo  by bunn and the accompanying comment that it showed an orca, not an orc.

I should mention that it is AU (although perhaps not explicitly contradicted by canon) 

Fanwork Information

Summary:

An orc escapes into the hands of Ulmo.

Major Characters: Orcs

Major Relationships:

Genre: Alternate Universe

Challenges: Solve a Problem

Rating: Teens

Warnings: Creator Chooses Not to Warn
Chapters: 1 Word Count: 754
Posted on 27 July 2019 Updated on 27 July 2019

This fanwork is complete.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Comments

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Oooh!  I absolutely love this!  The struggle internally with Morgoth's will (or Sauron's) the painful change and the joy that goes after it.  

How wonderful!  I'm really glad my random remark tripped off this idea!

Got a little choked up right at the end there. I was glad he made it. Orcas are great favourites of mine  and I do love this and hope many orcs either delieberatelly or accidentally found themselves in Ulmo's realm. 

I think it does answer something, I just find it hard to put into words. But it answers in a hopeful kind of way.

OMG! This is so lovely. I am an absolute sucker for redemption. Not one of those readers who like to think that Orcs are corrupted Elves. Whatever your intention, this story does not force me to chose, although I think you did. "He must be changing, changing back? No, not back..." I am presuming you meant that he was changed from an Elf into an Orc. But I am just gonna ignore that consideration--the horror is too much for me. However he came into existence, he is now one of Ulmo's most beautiful creatures. That's a lot of redemption. Now if we can only save him from what Men are doing to Ulmo's realm.

Thank you very much, Oshun!

I'm glad you like the idea of the Orc being redeemed by becoming an orca!

In the First and Second Ages, orcas would not have been a threatened species, of course. It's terribly sad that they are now and I do hope they can be saved.

 

As you say, in this story it's not important whether the Orcs were originally Elves, Men or some other being, just that they had not consented to be made into Orcs.

I don't think this Orc remembers what he was, very clearly; he remembers just enough to choose freedom when he hears the call of Ulmo.

I have committed myself on the question of their origin elsewhere in my stories, but as this story is an AU, their origin could of course be different here, if you want it to be!

I found your exploration of the mental barriers particularly interesting - how there is much more to the Orc's escape than removing himself physically from the realm of Morgoth, and how he had to - and managed to! - overcome his terror of the sun and ultimately his fear of the sea. Glad there's a happy ending for this brave orc (and others like him)!

This is, of course, an AU. But there are some hints in canon that Morgoth and Sauron might have employed such methods, starting with the manipulation of the elves of Cuivienen into being afraid of Orome. I was also thinking of Gollum choking on lembas and Frodo's comment on that. (There is also a throw-away remark in the Silm that Finrod's watchtower on the coast proved unnecessary, because Morgoth never attempted an attack by sea.)

I assume the uruk-hai and their First Age ancestors would not have been aware of their fear as fear and considered themselves courageous even while they were enslaved by it. But I'm glad that you called this orc brave! Because that was very much what I wanted to get across, how brave as well as lucky he had to be to escape.

Yes, I want there to have been others like him! And I sneaked in a suggestion that what Uinen did could have been a rescue of Osse, too, even though Tolkien makes it sound more like feminine pacification and despite the fact that Osse as an Ainu would be less vulnerable.

Yes, it works very well with the canon hints about the fear of sunlight and running water! I didn't even think of Gollum's horror of Elven food but it probably plays into it, too. I'm sure that the Orcs, at their most Orcish, wouldn't have realised their fears - it would have felt like common sense to them, I suppose - but once they do try to escape, getting over these barriers must be a greater challenge even than the sheer hopelessness of their situation (which the Orcs in LotR discuss - how they hate working for Sauron, but how they expect that the other side will kill them, so what choice do they have). Which must be discouraging enough! So yes, your Orc definitely comes across as brave to make that decision and go through with it.

I really like the thought that Osse might feel some sympathy for these Orcs because he, too, escaped from Morgoth's influence. As an Ainu, he probably had it easier than the Orcs, but it still must have been a struggle. Raiyana has written a couple of fics that explore U?nen's role in Osse's redemption, and I found those extremely compelling as well!