'Star People' & 'Orc' by Himring

Star People

A scene in the Pits of Angband

In the depths of Angband, a mother is trying to soothe her screaming children.

They have claws, these children. They have pointed teeth. Their voices would grate on the ear even if they were not screaming their heads off, as they are now. They are more orc-like than her, just as she is more orc-like than her parents were.

In the depths of Angband, a long struggle is gradually being lost, but children still need to be lulled to sleep. The dark that she no longer remembers is dark, the pain that she no longer remembers is pain—they weigh on her mind. But, with difficulty, she remembers the word.

‘El’, she croons. And repeats:  ‘El...el...el...’

She’s never seen a star. Her children never will. But the savage little creatures curl up and go to sleep.

Chapter End Notes

This is how I remember it: El is the first word the first Elves said. In primitive Elvish, it meant "star", in later Elvish it is a base rather than itself a word and from that base both the words meaning "star" and "elf" are derived. Initially, all elves were "star people", not only those that undertook the journey to Aman.