The Greatest of Gifts by Michiru

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Fanwork Notes

Well, it is in two parts, but now it seems to want an epilogue.

Fanwork Information

Summary:

A double-study pair of vignettes concerning Maglor, who isn't quite so noble as we would like him to be.

Major Characters: Daeron, Fëanor, Maedhros, Maglor, Nerdanel

Major Relationships:

Artwork Type: No artwork type listed

Genre: Drama

Challenges:

Rating: General

Warnings:

Chapters: 2 Word Count: 1, 568
Posted on 1 January 2010 Updated on 1 January 2010

This fanwork is complete.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1
Chapter 2

fter some debate, I decided not to ruin the end of the fic with a bunch of notes, so they're being put up here. Comepletely out of context, but you'll see.

The text of the Oath is my favorite rendition of it, and comes from The Lays of Beleriand, page 254. It has a wonderful rhythm to it, but is a bit too composed for me to accept that all of it was made up on the spot.

I ought tribute an author whose penname I should know and don't. Um. That makes it a bit difficult, doesn't it? Anyway, he/she wrote a wonderful fic about the moment Maedhros and Maglor decide to take in Elrond and Elros, and there was this lovely sentence about how, "Nelyafinwë and Maitimo and Russandol are dead; there is only Maedhros left, and he has no patience for children." Whomever you are, it bothers me that I can't find your fic again, but it definitely inspired the final line.

Comments

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Awesome. It seems intead of replying to your review, I chose to review myself in response to your review.

 

Thank you! I will confess that some of my bias bled into this fic, as I've always been rather outraged on Maglor's behalf when reading about how he was the greatest singer ever- except for Daeron. And this is one of the more positive reactions to this story I've gotten since the second chapter came out (the other being an abject denial of Maglor ever even considering not singing for the rest of his life).

There's tons of room for development in Maglor's story (I've actually come up with two separate theories just now that could lead to the dear artist mellowing out enough to adopting some kids.)

Thanks again for the review!

I loved this story, it's very touching. Poor Canafinwë, always the second... His jealousy and despair resonate deeply with me, I feel like hugging him and saying he's still # 1 for me ^ ^ Honestly, Daeron is something like da Vinci in Tolkien's work- a multitalented genius, but I still never particularly liked him. It's so unfair that in the House of Fëanor, only Fëanor himself has a talent unparalleled... Cáno must be feeling such a failure after being bested by a Moriquendë who overshadows him in everything except possibly fighting -_-

I'm curious to read a story of yours telling how he progressed from the state he's in at the end of this story to being the only one who wishes to break the Oath.

The only thing that didn't sit too well with me was the fact that the Noldolantë, a tale of the fell deeds of the Noldor, should be sung at such a joyous event as the Mereth, where the Sindar are present as well.

Wow, thanks for your review!

I've always really taken exception with the assertion that Daeron was the better singer. It seemed a bit unfair for that distinction to be taken away from Mako (Maglor + Cano = Mako... somehow), considering ALL THE OTHER STUFF that eventually gets taken away from him. Looking at the published Silmarillion as a biased historical document frees me up to call shenanigans on Pengolodh, who would have had no reason to be nice to the Feanorians by the end of the First Age, but I wanted to capture something of the sense of injustice of it all in this piece, which necessitated an acceptance of Daeron's superiority.

Re: Noldolante: I've actually heard that from a lot of people who read this piece, which is one of the things that surprised me, in terms of things that didn't enter my head when I was writing it. I suppose I tend to see the Noldolante in an odd way? That while it was a lament for the evil the Noldor have done, it was also meant as a way of acknowledging shared culpability and a determination to move forward, while at the same time always looking back. Kind of a "Never forget" sort of thing. I feel like there's an emotional honesty to Maglor, where he would want to "come clean," so to speak, before this grand, reconciliatory meeting. In essence, it was going to be his version of Maedhros surrendering the crown to Nolofinwe. (And then he was upstaged.)

Looking at it from what seems to be a majority of readers' perspectives, however, I can totally see why having him sing the Noldolante at the Aderthad is an issue.

Thanks again for your review!