All the Answers by Himring

Fanwork Information

Summary:

Maedhros and Maglor each answer a question at the Mereth Aderthad.

"Musician" was a stand-alone, until I decided to pair it with "A Word In". The two parts are rated differently: see Chapter Notes.

Major Characters: Daeron, Maedhros, Maglor

Major Relationships:

Artwork Type: No artwork type listed

Genre: General

Challenges:

Rating: Teens

Warnings: Mature Themes

This fanwork belongs to the series

Doom, Gloom and Maedhros
Chapters: 2 Word Count: 395
Posted on 15 May 2010 Updated on 20 August 2010

This fanwork is complete.

Musician

 

Maglor plays part of the Noldolante.

Rating: General.

Read Musician

 

 

Daeron wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.

‘Who would have thought it? You Golodhrim seem such a stiff-necked, solemn people and, by your reputation, I expected a son of Feanor to be more stiff-necked and solemn than any!’

He sobered.

‘But...indeed, that isn’t the work you’re famous for, is it? Forgive me for mentioning it, but even in Doriath we heard of the Noldolante. I suppose it must be quite a long piece? Would you regard it as discourteous, if, out of professional interest, I asked you to play just a part of it, a section...?’

Maglor laid his palm across the strings. He’d sung the bawdy, rollicking song with a lot of vim and energy—and a completely straight face. Now he flashed Daeron a quick smile and then looked away.

‘I just did’, he said softly. ‘It is all, all Noldolante—because it is I who play it.’

Chapter End Notes

There is a slight chronological issue here in that, if this story is set at the Mereth Aderthad, Daeron should not know of the Noldolante yet, unless he has heard of the title, but does not know what the piece is about.

A Word In

 

Maedhros, faced with a severe case of inebriation and an audience.

Rating: Teens. Mature Themes: reference to torture (unspecific).

Read A Word In

 

Passing through the crowd at the Feast of Reuniting, by chance unaccompanied, Maedhros Feanorion was accosted by a very young Noldo, who was extremely drunk, having badly misjudged the alcoholic contents of a particular Sindarin brew.

 

‘Tell me, Feanorion,’ the Noldo challenged him, ‘why is it that Morgoth couldn’t break you, if he could break everyone else? Hey?’

 

His tones were blurred, but his voice, unfortunately, was loud and carrying. Everyone around them gasped and fell silent. Most of them feared that the unfortunate young elf was about to be annihilated, verbally, if not otherwise.  Some expected that Maedhros would ignore him and treat him as beneath contempt. A very few were afraid Maedhros might actually answer the question.

 

For a moment, Maedhros silently studied the young Noldo, who was clearly having a hard time keeping on his feet.

 Then he suggested mildly: ‘Perhaps he couldn’t get a word in edgewise?’

The young elf swayed, looking puzzled, but the bystanders all laughed, very much relieved. Obviously, Prince Maedhros was alluding to his famed eloquence at the council table. They were too grateful that Maedhros had deigned to defuse that nasty moment to feel at all critical or question how funny and appropriate this witticism might be. Maedhros passed on, and general conversation resumed.

 

In the middle of the night, the young Noldo sat bolt upright, suddenly stone-cold sober, and began considering what else Maedhros might have meant to imply.

Comments

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Thank you! In my more off-beat moments, I imagine that we are, all of us together, trying to write (or re-write) the Noldolante for Maglor, that is, not just when we write about the Noldolante itself, but in anything we write about the Noldor--in which case, the Noldolante indeed contains just about everything and the kitchen sink... On a more literal level, the Noldolante seems to have been a longish work, not just a short lyric, so it was probably not, as you say, merely a tear-jerker, because I suspect Maglor was too great an artist to restrict himself to a single emotional note in a major work like that.

No, I guess he can't--not, at least, when he is practising his art, not without losing his integrity as an artist. As a performer, I think he's still enjoying himself, though, startling Daeron not once, but twice over! I am very grateful that you and Oshun chose to comment on different aspects of this piece, because I was trying to balance both these points of view against each other.

‘I just did’, he said softly. ‘It is all, all Noldolante—because it is I who play it.’

Wonderful, and so true. Daeron's comment on the Noldor shows us they don't know the real Noldor, and how much the Noldor have changed.

the young Noldo sat bolt upright, suddenly stone-cold sober, and began considering what else Maedhros might have meant to imply.

I too am considering. Is it because Morgoth didn't have anough time before Fingon rescued him? Because Maedhros was already broken by his father, or by himself or by what happened? All of the above? None? ... I love how everyone could have their own interpretation :)

Thank you very much! I'm glad these short pieces seem to work for you as a pair. I think that there are some suggestions in my other stories what Maedhros could have been hinting at. But, of course, he mainly wanted the bystanders to understand his answer as they did--although the atmosphere at the Feast of Reuniting was friendly and optimistic, the question he was being asked was actually quite a dangerous one, politically, and he was aware of that.

Sorry!

I guess Maedhros is saying, more or less, that the events before his capture had already driven him mad (or to a state approaching to madness) and that that madness probably made it more difficult for Morgoth to manipulate him, even by torture.

He's exaggerating for effect, though, so he doesn't literally mean Morgoth didn't get a word in or that he was completely unaffected by the torture he underwent. Alasse suggests in her comment that he might also be saying that he would have broken in time but Fingon rescued him before that happened. This is probably also true.

But a similar image recurs, in a story set quite a long time later, when he says he feels that he has Morgoth shouting at him in one ear and Feanor in the other.

I deliberately wanted to leave most of the details of what Maedhros went through during capture to the reader's imagination.

I've written a bit about Maedhros's state of mind in "Diptych", though.

Hope that helps!

 

Okay, I feel free to repost one comment I left recently to heget, and , yes, I am fully aware what it means to recall your fathers requests and expectations,  even if you decided they were foolish and mentally ill.

It is hard getting out of this chains of behaviour,  and it took me    great efforts, a lot of professionell help, and about twenty years to free myself.

This would be some nice idea for the never totally grown up * sons of Feanor* , just look at this term!

Some AU story to write...

When looking on the Feanorians,  I sometimes cannot keep my mind clear, itseems.

 

Once, Celegorm was somehow a pupil of Orome, he could talk to animal, had some Maia of him as companion, leads a strong friendship to Aredhel/Irisse, but when I think of his actions in Nargothrond, or, worse, to Luthien, I want to die of shame.

 

Curufin never had my symphacy, so his down fall would' nt annoy me in any way, he always resembled his father, and was loved and honoured  by him above all his other sons, and he aalways shows to much pride and self- love.

 

Caranthir/Carnistir is dear to my heart, he was the outsider in his family, he made friendship with dwarves ad men, though you can call him maybe stingy or mad of wealth, in my opinion he was only insecure about his own worth and needed some assurance,  but only did it on the wrong way. I must suggest, I like all those fanon stories of him and Haleth, it would really fit him.

 

It is hard, coming to Maedhros and Maglor...

 

They are intelligent and perceptive enough, to see what they are doing, but, there is the great BUT, they never  seem to mature beyond their father's childish behaviour, Feanor really seems to be burnt?? in their minds, only Maglor has a faint idea to defy his father's  strict rules, not to steal the Silmarils, and rather endure the Void, than to do more killing, but he was so relied on his brother's affection, he could not do against his will.

 

And Maedhros sacrified everything he loved to his fathers ideals, to fullfill Feanor' s expections, so, there was nothig left , and so he maybe choosed wilfully his own damnation, knowing there was nothing else ut this for him...

 

Okay, I somehow * took pity upon* the Feanorians, and, being the one and only child of a similar forgi g and urgi g father, I have a lot of symphacy  to give...

 

Though I went an absolutely different way,and have only pity, no more respect or love for my breeder, I have a special kind of understanding  ( and therefore even crooked love) for the Feanorians. 

 

I hope you can respect it.

 

 

 

‘Perhaps he couldn’t get a word in edgewise?’

Hi, Himring!  Reading this chapter for the fourth or fifth time (but for the first time  in quite a while), I finally figured out what Maedhros means here, or at least one meaning that would explain the young Noldo's thoughts later that night.  Very, very clever indeed! And poor Maedhros, to have to live (much less lead the Noldor) with that particular curse.  Very well done, as always!

Maeglin

Thank you!

I have to confess that at the back of my brain I know what Maedhros means, but my brain refuses to think about it in any other way than this. 

So this is a case where Maedhros is more clever or less cowardly than his author--it's something that occasionally occurs!

There are some things that I seem only to be able to approach obliquely, as a story-teller.

So you may well have figured it out, but I wouldn't be able to confirm or deny it.