Return to the Sea by daughterofshadows

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Fanwork Notes

I derailed a conversation about age on the discord with a suggestion of elves who first lived in the water and then migrated to the land.

This is my take on a universe where the sea-longing is a bit more sea-focused
Also featuring elves that can turn into mer-people in the style of H2O - Just add water

Fanwork Information

Summary:

Cúrandil knows the stories, knows how their people first awoke in the water. How they came to walk the land and how the sea has called them back ever since.
It is their turn to follow the call now.

Major Characters: Original Nonbinary Character(s)

Major Relationships:

Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe

Challenges: Birthday Bash

Rating: General

Warnings:

Chapters: 3 Word Count: 1, 194
Posted on 13 March 2025 Updated on 15 March 2025

This fanwork is complete.

Show all chapters on a single page

Table of Contents

Heading out
In the Kelp Forest

Kelp forests should have ents, too!

Thank you to moiety for the suggestion!

The last leg of the journey

We finally found the elves! Well. One elf. But it's a pretty cool one, so it should count extra!

Also a fill for the Birthday Bash poetry prompt of March 14

Comments on Return to the Sea

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Ahhhh! I love this so much! It makes the sea longing so much more relatable (as a waterbaby myself!) as a natural yearning for what they were once rather than a Valar-induced craving.

Alf oh my gosh, I can so vividly see the kelp Ent swaying out between the fronds of their forest! And the idea of living in drowned Beleriand is so bittersweet, although I feel there's so much healing to be found and given there now.

I'm curious about your OC's name, what does it mean?

I'm so happy you like it! This is a blast to write, proving once again that the strangest ideas are often the most inspiring *grin*

Hopefully we'll be able to make it to Beleriand in the next chapter, I have some ideas about Menegroth and what's left of the Girdle specifically that have been turning in my head.

Cúrandil's name hopefully means "friend of the crescent moon" in Sindarin! The eldamo entry was a bit confusing, giving cúron as the potential original word for crescent moon, with cúran being a neo-Sindarin word. I liked Cúrandil better than Cúrondil though, so I went with that one. After all, it's all about the Lámatyávë, isn't it ;-)

This is full of magic! I love her experience of the night, the whale song, her walking song come lullaby, and the dawn tickling her awake. 

And Nimrodrel! Mithrellas! In Doriath-that-was! So this is where you ended up! I love that Cúrandil knows her so she's not not with strangers — but then the added bonus that she'll be reunited with her parents is just lovely to end on!

I'm really glad you liked where we ended up!

I always knew Cúrandil was going to end up in Doriath, but Nimrodel & the others only came up when I was debating what to name the OCs and realised that. Hey! No need to come up with my own names if I just reuse ones that could have ended up here, too! And who better to pick than Nimrodel, Amroth & Mithrellas *grin*
Their story will likely be the next one I write in this universe.