Into This Wild Abyss by pandemonium_213

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Fanwork Notes

MEFA10 Winner 1st Place Character Study The Silmarillion

Banner by Beruthiel's Cats.  Thanks so much, Cat! 

 

Into this wild abyss the wary fiend

Stood on the brink of Hell and look'd a while,

Pondering his voyage; for no narrow firth

He had to cross.

~~ John Milton, Paradise Lost

Thanks to the Lizard Council -- in particular Aeärwen, Clodia, crowdaughter, Darth Fingon, Independence1776, Jael, Raksha, Robinka, sanna, and Surgical Steel -- for much valued nitpicking, critique and comments and especially to Lilith, who aptly quoted this verse from one of my favorite poets.

Note that the text herein may be slightly different than that shown in the "scrolls" of the Akallabêth in August 2009 sub-site. I constantly self-edit, sort of like picking at a scab.

You Made Me Love You (I didn't want to do it)

Fanwork Information

Summary:

A series of contributions for Akallabêth in August 2009 in response to the following prompts: 1) Sauron fortifies Mordor; 2) Sauron begins to afflict Númenórean settlements to the south; 3) Sauron convinces Ar-Pharazôn to break the Ban of the Valar; 4) storms from the West strike Númenor; and 5) Sauron returns to Middle-earth.

MEFA 2010. Winner, First Place; Genres: Character Study: The Silmarillion.

Major Characters: Ar-Pharazôn, Sauron

Major Relationships:

Artwork Type: No artwork type listed

Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, General, Science Fiction

Challenges: Akallabêth in August

Rating: Adult

Warnings: Expletive Language, Mature Themes, Sexual Content (Moderate), Violence (Moderate)
Chapters: 5 Word Count: 14, 917
Posted on 6 August 2009 Updated on 3 September 2009

This fanwork is complete.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Measure of Dreams

Mairon paces across a high plateau in a stark land, knowing that all great structures begin with a dream and precise measurements. (Rated: General)

Chapter 2: The Talisman

A tribe in the southlands suffers during a long drought, but after the patriarch of the tribe makes a sacrifice to the sky-father, a stranger comes from the desert and offers the gifts of his knowledge and skills. A young boy discovers such gifts come with a price. (Rated: Adult)

Please find a brief glossary in End Notes.

Chapter 3: This Mortal Coil

Ar-Pharazôn and his chief counselor cast their lines into the surf off a beach in the Land of the Gift where Mairon finds that the bluefish of Númenor require a different kind of lure than the trout of Eregion. (Rated: Teens)

Adûnaic glossary in End Notes.

Chapter 4: A Tempest's Name (illustrated by Lady Elleth)

With the onslaught of increasingly powerful and terrifying storms as well as the afflictions of pestilence, the people of Númenor question Ar-Pharazôn's preparations to invade the Blessed Lands and doubt the Zigûr's ability to withstand the wrath of the gods. Through a combination of his arts and the power of a tempest, Mairon puts these doubts to rest. (Rated: Teens)

Illustration by Lady Elleth within the text of the story; please click on the image to expand. Many thanks to the talented Lady Elleth for this darkly atmospheric and dramatic illustration that fits the story so well. Special thanks to Darth Fingon for pummeling me.

Chapter 5: On the Perilous Edge

Battered, burned and bruised, Mairon tosses stones into a river and contemplates the fate of Númenor while he awaits those he has summoned. (Rated: Teens)

Comments

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Wow! I love this piece! The way you show Shual's development under Sauron's influence is amazing, and I like how you showed the culture of the area without it becoming a massive information dump. The thought and detail you put into that as well as the names you chose and the characters you created made this an amazing story :D

 

"I like how you showed the culture of the area without it becoming a massive information dump."

:^D    I do like to address the other peoples and their cultures of Middle-earth, those places off the map in the mysterious East and South, and it's a delicate balance to show the details without resorting to an info-dump, so that's a relief to hear.  Thanks so much!

Your depiction of Númenor court life and Pharazôn's attitude towards it was pretty amusing, for some reason. And I love how you point out Sauron's human aspects through Ar-Pharazôn's eyes. The way you describe his conflicting thoughts regarding 'the Zigûr' is really interesting - on the one hand, he's pretty friendly with him, but there are those moments where he remembers exactly who - or what - his advisor is.

And, of course, Sauron's pov was perfect. I love the contrast between what he's thinking and what he's saying to Pharazôn. And the fact that he's also worrying about the fish getting overcooked as he's trying to convince Pharaozôn to attack Valinor. 

I feel the need to mention that I love your descriptive writing - your use of figurative language is amazing. Like the line... "where fry leapt like popping seeds in hot oil" I just... thought that was a great image. And you do that a lot! It seems like you're just really good at painting pictures with words.

"And I love how you point out Sauron's human aspects through Ar-Pharazôn's eyes."

Thanks very much.  That's certainly deliberate.  When I first stumbled upon Tolkien fandom and fan fiction (Dawn's fantastic Another Man's Cage drew me in), my motive for writing Sauron was drawn from my reaction to how (in general) Tolkien treated the greatest smiths (read: scientists and engineers) of Middle-earth and Aman.  I mean, even Aulë gets into trouble.  I also wanted to examine Middle-earth from a humanist's perspective.  Anyway, when I began to read for research, so many portrayals of Sauron were pretty unidimensional (obvious oily villain).   So I went for a far more humanized Sauron than most characterizations (probably closer to the powerful "bad guys" of our primary world) Pandë!verse, in fact, has good qualities that make people want to listen to him, to like him, even to love him, but at the same time, he is more than capable of truly heinous acts.  

Ooooh, thanks for the compliments on my prose!  That is VERY flattering!

Thanks so much, Astris.  Y'know, I have come across other interpretations of the religion that Sauron manufactured in Númenor, and the created religions sometimes have an Islamic flavor.  That kind of referencing makes me deeply uncomfortable, i.e., associating Evil™ with Islam, so I, uh, made allusions to another of the great Abrahamic religions.  Fair's fair.  At any rate, my Dark Muse came up with a version of himself here that is part mad scientist, part sorcerer, part Elmer Gantry. :^D  

Your description of the fall of Númenor was vivid and scary! Having Sauron try to save the fleeing woman was a nice touch, and I liked his thoughts regarding the Valar and their utter destruction of the island and everyone on it.

That last scene was very interesting, both for Sauron's relationship with those who serve him and his thoughts - his pride and weariness (and maybe regret?) as counterpoints.

So! I'm pretty glad I read this, 'cause all five pieces were amazing! Got any suggestions for something I should read next? :D

(It's totally going to become a goal of mine to eventually read all your stories!)

Thanks, Astris.  I'm glad the atmosphere came across.  On Sauron trying to save the fleeing woman, that's his fundamental humanity kicking in, that is, human altruism, which is integral to the survival of our species.  My take on the Maiarin fanar is that these beings cannot just take physical form on and off like a sweater (raiment, as JRRT names it), and that's one of my arguments with Tolkien (although, uh, he can't argue back ;^)).  Taking on human form means said Maia will link strongly into human characteristics and behaviors.  Or a Maia taking the form of an eagle or a wolf or a wolfhound - same thing. This strong link is one reason I took the "alternative history" explanation that he actually returns to Mordor in physical form (although battered) rather than the mythic stormcloud per The Akallabêth.

"That last scene was very interesting, both for Sauron's relationship with those who serve him and his thoughts - his pride and weariness (and maybe regret?) as counterpoints."

He's full of pride, that's for sure, but I have to guess that being a Dark Lord and with all the bureaucracy that entails would be an exhausting business, even for a Maia. ;^)

"It's totally going to become a goal of mine to eventually read all your stories!"

OMG, that will be a lot of work! :^D  Hmmm.  Recommendations.  Maybe Trinity, which got the whole ball rolling, the The Apprentice.  Then, the chronological list under my bio might work (I'm fond of Chosen, Ulmo's Wife, and the more recent Saltation as alternative views of the Ainulindalë creation myth).  The Pandë!verse is an alternative history, as you no doubt have deduced.    The Elendilmir is my biggest WIP and a labor of love.  I haven't abandoned it, but I have to admit I feel some sympathy for GRR Martin - takes time to do these things.  Plus I have this thing called a career... :^D

Thanks again for all the wonderful comments on this story, Astris.  I deeply appreciate your reading Into This Wild Abyss...and so does my Dark Muse. :^)