Another Man's Cage by Dawn Felagund

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Fanwork Notes

This was the very first Silmarillion story that I posted and, to date, it is the longest story that I have ever written. I have avoided posting it on the SWG for a long time now, despite requests to do so, because the original was desperately in need of some spit and polish, and it takes a long time to spit on and polish up a 350,000-word novel. One of my goals for the Season of Writing Dangerously was to finally finish editing and polishing this story, so here it is, at last.

Part of me cringes when I read this story--I can write much, much better now--but I also can't deny that this is probably the most important story that I've ever written. This is the story that thrust me headfirst into the Silmarillion fandom, and it is probably the story to credit with inspiring most of my fannish friendships and nearly all of the long-enduring ones. I've also been told that it has helped to encourage others who don't view the world Tolkien created in canatic-compliant ways to share their own heretical visions, and that it has inspired a lot of stories and artwork based on it. I don't know about that, but it's a nice thought. Finally, and perhaps most importantly given the context, the attention I received as the author of this monstrosity was what kindled the SWG.

When I started this story, back in 2005, I never intended to share it. In fact, it started as a series of character studies inspired by a comment on a story on fanfiction.net. By "inspired," I don't mean that said comment encouraged me to look at the House of Fëanor not as villains but as complex humans; I mean that said comment made me so angry (because of its insistence on pure villainy for the pack of Elves that were and are my favorite characters in all of Tolkien's works) that it was either stoop to the level of flaming--a pointless, ignorant endeavor--or take out my anger by showing their side of the story. After a while, these character studies took on a life of their own, picked up something resembling a plot, and became this story. The rest is history.

I'm going to try to post this story a few chapters at a time till the whole thing is up. It's a long story and my real life is a seething maelstrom of chaos, so it might take a little while, but it will get there, I promise.

Fanwork Information

Summary:

In the Time of the Trees, during the Bliss of Valinor, the young family of Fëanor experience the everyday triumphs and tragedies of life in paradise. But as Fëanor's genius blossoms and his sons grow into their roles in Tirion society, tensions build that will sunder the House of Finwë and drive the House of Fëanor to open rebellion.

Completed!

Major Characters: Anairë, Caranthir, Celegorm, Eärwen, Fëanor, Finarfin, Fingolfin, Fingon, Finwë, Indis, Maedhros, Maglor, Nerdanel, Original Character(s), Valar

Major Relationships:

Artwork Type: No artwork type listed

Genre: Drama, General

Challenges:

Rating: Adult

Warnings: Torture, Mature Themes, Sexual Content (Moderate), Violence (Moderate)
Chapters: 53 Word Count: 355, 782
Posted on 25 September 2011 Updated on 10 March 2013

This fanwork is complete.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Tyelkormo
Chapter 2: Tyelkormo
Chapter 3: Tyelkormo
Chapter 4: Carnistir
Chapter 5: Carnistir
Chapter 6: Maitimo
Chapter 7: Maitimo
Chapter 8: Maitimo
Chapter 9: Maitimo
Chapter 10: Nerdanel
Chapter 11: Nerdanel
Chapter 12: Findekáno
Chapter 13: Findekáno
Chapter 14: Tyelkormo
Chapter 15: Tyelkormo
Chapter 16: Tyelkormo
Chapter 17: Macalaurë
Chapter 18: Macalaurë
Chapter 19: Nerdanel
Chapter 20: Nerdanel
Chapter 21: Findekáno
Chapter 22: Maitimo
Chapter 23: Maitimo
Chapter 24: Nolofinwë
Chapter 25: Carnistir
Chapter 26: Macalaurë
Chapter 27: Macalaurë
Chapter 28: Fëanáro
Chapter 29: Fëanáro
Chapter 30: Maitimo
Chapter 31: Arafinwë
Chapter 32: Tyelkormo
Chapter 33: Nerdanel
Chapter 34: Macalaurë
Chapter 35: Macalaurë
Chapter 36: Macalaurë
Chapter 37: Findekáno
Chapter 38: Nolofinwë
Chapter 39: Maitimo
Chapter 40: Maitimo
Chapter 41: Maitimo
Chapter 42: Carnistir
Chapter 43: Carnistir
Chapter 44: Macalaurë
Chapter 45: Macalaurë
Chapter 46: Macalaurë
Chapter 47: Macalaurë
Chapter 48: Maitimo
Chapter 49: Maitimo
Chapter 50: Maitimo
Chapter 51: Maitimo
Chapter 52: Maitimo
Epilogue: Tyelkormo

Comments

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OMG, Dawn! I was looking at this just now.

Mood stealing, actually. Finishing my WIP of five years about Nerdanel and Feanor and I accidentally ran across this paragraph.

I adore it. Of course, I read it before and probably really liked it. But haven't read this section again since I read your novel The Sovereign and the Priest.

Grandfather Finwë told me once that some of our people in the early days would speak with animals but that most of these people had refused the invitation of the Valar and remained in the Outer Lands among the creatures that they loved. I wonder: Had we been born centuries sooner and given a similar choice, how would we align ourselves? I see myself beside my father, among the Noldor, with Carnistir in my arms. I see Macalaurë joining the Teleri. But Tyelkormo—with his vestigial gift—I see on the shore behind us as we depart, bidding sad farewell to brothers he loves but is content never to see again.


It's very interesting how it foreshadows (written ten years earlier) the grown-up Tyelkormo in The Monarch and the Priest, if not in the particulars in the sweeping characterization. No wonder I love Another Man's Cage so much.

I have always seen Tyelkormo as the oddball in the Feanorian family. I feel like fandom always made that Macalaure, but Macalaure is a consumate artist: a lot more like Feanaro in that than most of his brothers. (And most of fandom's seeing Macalaure as softer somehow is pure unadulterated fanon.) But while the others turn toward some aspect of the civilization that the Eldar or Noldor, Tyelkormo looks back upon Arda itself, to connecting to what is already there rather than forging ahead to make something new. (The twins could also be seen in this light but I've honestly written them so little that I can't say that this is necessarily how I see them. Only time will tell! :)

The separation he feels from his family (especially Feanaro) is what motivates a lot of his behavior, in my mind. So one could say that this essential characterization (since I started with Tyelkormo in this story because I thought he was the hardest of the four brothers in AMC to defend and so needed the deepest characterization) really was a core idea in writing this story, from which so much else (including TS&tP, even though it is a different "verse") derives.

I woke up in the middle of the night with isomnia and decided to read a couple of chapter of this to calm my agitated mind! I picked two of Nerdanel (my favorite along with Feanor) and stumbled into this incredible love scene. Seriously, I knew I loved this lot, but I had forgotten how much. Ho hum, the daily-grind of married love! People who've never been married could not write this one! Wow! On the other hand, there are the less than stellar examples, the times when married sex is more affection than fireworks. But this scene a terrific and believable example of the Other Times.

I'm sorry to hear that you had insomnia but, aww, I was your choice of insomnia reading! :D (Mine is always what's closest at hand on the nightstand since I can often read myself to sleep if I'm deliberate about it.) And you *still* commented on it! (Take that, people who can't be arsed to speak to an author after reading hours and hours of that person's work!)

> People who've never been married could not write this one!

I'd been married, what, maybe a year or two? If that?? :D (Actually, I'm not even sure I was married at all yet when I was writing AMC ... crap, the years are starting to run together!)

I'm glad it feels realistic, though. I was young enough that I had to imagine my way through some of the experiences in this story, and it's always a relief to hear that I didn't totally faceplant.

I hold my arms up to Macalaurë (such ploys had stopped working on Nelyo shortly after Carnistir was born, but Nelyo is too distracted by pacing and shushing Carnistir to advise Macalaurë that I am perfectly able to walk to the kitchen on my own), and he lifts me, groaning at my weight, which makes me smile over his shoulder, and I squeeze my arms around his neck.

 

Makes me laugh every time!!

Have I told you how much Ilove Carnistir?

 

Carnistir is intentionally missing his gaped mouth to rub a piece of sweet potato up and down his face, leaving lumpy orange streaks across his nose and cheeks. At times like these, Carnistir is an embarrassment. He is four years old; surely he knows how to feed himself by now? Surely he doesn't need Atar to mash his peas for him before he can eat them? (This habit was adopted after our parents learned that Carnistir likes to stick peas in his nose and ears, and one particular unfortunate instance when one got stuck so far up his nose that Nelyo had to hold him, bound and wriggling in a towel, screaming as though put to torment, while Atar attempted to avoid his gnashing teeth and remove the offending pea with a tiny pair of pliers and Amil paced outside the door, wringing her hands, and weeping almost as hard as Carnistir was.)

I think it more sincere to move past just the lips and add a good gnash of the teeth when you really want to show that you love someone.

 

I am sure I have picked this out many times- but every time I read it, I feel a wonderful delight in the sheer gorgeousness of Carnistir! I could gnash him quite happily myself:)

I wish that I could press this moment into my memory the way my mother presses leaves into her journal, preserving their color and even their scent for years to come. I ask only for a lifetime—and just this one moment.

 Most beautiful line. Just dipping into this now and again- my all time favourite fanfic.

I have just realised that of course Arafinwe not touching meat for 5 years is because he shares Carnistir's gift- so I wonder if somehow he also fet the warm smoke...

I love Carnistir- he is just SO NAUGHTY! I just enjoy reading him so very much-my little sister used to be a bit like this- she had to have one pea for every year she was but she was too little to count so my mum just piled them on!

This is so beautiful- their moment of climax, the tenderness of the aftermath- their love and his deep, deep grief that not-quite consumes him.

Caranthir became one of my favorite--maybe even my favorite?--Silm characters to write because of this story. Of course, I was playing with the idea of "mindspeak" and developed his character from there, and he has grown in the last 15 years from this origin, off the top of my head, on a bored day at work. XD He's just a lot of fun, his outlook on the world is unique, and writing "mindspeak" is good practice as a writer (which is why I started writing him in the first place, since when I wrote this chapter I had no intentions of anyone reading it or even knowing about it but me).

Thanks for commenting on this round! :D I hope you continue to enjoy your reread!

I reread a big chunk of this wonderful story while in a waiting room queue most of Sunday, and realised that I hadn't commented before on either SWG or AO3. It has amazing breadth and scope. Even though it is an older work of yours you have every reason to remain proud of it, particularly because it is such an achievement to have captured the Fëanorians so beautifully.