The Voyage of the Sand Piper by Himring

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Fanwork Notes

Written for a Beginner's level version of the "X Marks the Spot" challenge.

The two prompts are:

Havens of Sirion: coming and going

Isle of Balar: feeling alone

I am using the challenge locations as well as the prompts.

As far as the challenge goes, this story is complete.

I may add another chapter set in Gondolin, as a kind of epilogue.

Fanwork Information

Summary:

In the Years of the Trees, Cirdan and a young relative of his, Voronwe's mother, decide to go on a voyage together. It promises to be an enjoyable trip. Nevertheless, Beleriand at this time is less peaceful than it was, if not as dangerous as it will one day become.

Major Characters: Unnamed Female Canon Character(s), Círdan

Major Relationships:

Genre: Family, General

Challenges: X Marks the Spot

Rating: Teens

Warnings: Creator Chooses Not to Warn
Chapters: 3 Word Count: 1, 640
Posted on 8 November 2022 Updated on 13 November 2022

This fanwork is a work in progress.

Table of Contents

The Voyage of the Sand Piper: Setting Out
The Voyage of the Sand Piper: At the Mouths of Sirion
The Voyage of the Sand Piper: On the Isle of Balar

Comments

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I love Cirdan!  This was such a sweet glimpse - I especially liked the note about how proud he was of his first ship <3  And your OC is lovely!  Poor darling, just wants safety :,(

I adore the idea of Elves pearl diving (I'm not sure if it's specifically mentioned but I absolutely believe the Falmari and Falathrim did so!)  All around this was a lovely fic!

Thank you very much!!

That was one of the fastest reviews I have ever received! (I was still tinkering with the end notes.)

I'm happy you like my OC and that you enjoyed this glimpse of Cirdan!

I think Tolkien may not go into enough detail to mention pearl diving anywhere (I could be wrong, though), but both the Falmari and the Falathrim seem to be getting more pearls from the Sea than could easily be explained otherwise, so it seemed to make sense.

I love how you explore Cirdan and his people here, the idea of safe havens, worry over depleting the oyster-beds, the shadow of the threat of Morgoth growing. Very nice.

I liked this a lot! It's a great setup for Cirdan's later move to Balar for safety, and it's also a neat peek at the logistics surrounding Thingol's payment of pearls to the Dwarves, and the Falathrim's role in it.

I really enjoyed the narrative style here!

And I can well imagine Círdan being a harsh taskmaster with his students!

Halven seems like an interesting character! I'm excited to move on to the next chapter!

Comment for Chapter 1

The worldbuilding around pearl diving is really interesting, and Círdan's concerns about the oysters add so much depth.

I also loved your description of their current shelter! There is a small lake near where I live that looks rather similar to what you described (minus the midges though, luckily!)

Comment for chapter 2

How interesting!

Even though it seems outwardly as though all is still mostly well at this point, there are cracks beginning to show - Halven's concern about safety, Thingol not heeding what Cirdan is telling him about the pearls...