Hold Fast Ere Night Comes by heget

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Fanwork Notes

Fanwork Information

Summary:

Loving mortals will end in death. Angrod knows this.

Major Characters: Aegnor, Angrod, Bregolas, Eldalótë, Original Character(s)

Major Relationships:

Genre: Adventure, Drama, General

Challenges:

Rating: Teens

Warnings: Character Death, Mature Themes, Violence (Moderate)

This fanwork belongs to the series

Bëor and Nóm
Chapters: 1 Word Count: 12, 884
Posted on 13 August 2015 Updated on 13 August 2015

This fanwork is complete.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

“Darkness fell in the room. He took her hand in the light of the fire. 'Whither go you?' she said.

'North away,' he said: 'to the swords, and the siege, and the walls of defence - that yet for a while in Beleriand rivers may run clean, leaves spring, and birds build their nests, ere Night comes.'

'Will he be there, bright and tall, and the wind in his hair? Tell him. Tell him not to be reckless. Not to seek danger beyond need!'

'I will tell him,' said Finrod. 'But I might as well tell thee not to weep. He is a warrior, Andreth, and a spirit of wrath. In every stroke that he deals he sees the Enemy who long ago did thee this hurt.”

‘Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth’ History of Middle-earth X : Morgoth’s Ring

Comments

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Thank you! I've fallen in love with using Angrod as a narrator, especially for more light-hearted drabbles, and as just enough of an outside perspective to this first great failed romance. Re: Aegnor's feyness (in both definitions of the word) - I'm glad that carried over as I envisioned. Aegnor had to have that right balance of suicidal recklessness and despair, but driven by duty to fight Morgoth and protect Dorthonion (and thus Andreth by proxy) as to both temper and reinforce that death-seeking drive. Reversing the flame/moth metaphor in the Athrabeth was a goal as well. Reading it and especially Finrod's description of mortals as 'guests' (I love that passage) shows that to elves, humans are the vaguely otherworldly ones, and that it's Aegnor's (and Angrod, slowly) more human-like attitude shift that spooks them. And even as with the hindsight from Lúthien I grump at Aegnor for ditching Andreth without explanation, I've never lost sympathy for him. 

And a story, a very good one, about my favourite brothers of the Indis heritage.

Yes, Finrod is interesting, but there is so little written about the both of them, neither in Fanfics nor by Tolkien himself,and I long desparately for more stuff.

Some brothers taking care about each other, in the style of the thousands of fics dealing with the relationship between the two oldest Feanorians.

Angrod excepting the desparate beserk  rage of his brother, but keeping him from merely death seeking without meaning...

I admit I found the Fëanorians the most boring of the Finwions, especially with their glut of stories. And have found it fun to write about these two elven brothers and their Edain companions and neighbors again and again - though this story is still my favorite/what I think is my strongest effort. Angrod's care to keep his brother from falling over the edge of that suicidal bloodlust Finrod hints at in the Athrabeth (which Finrod admits is not without motive or meaning. If you're going to blame someone for heartbreak, Morgoth's a fine scapgoat) 

That was intense! I don't think I've read anything from Angrod's pov before. I loved it. 

One of my favorite lines -- 

Too late, too late, a refrain of Angrod’s life, to watch the horrid aftermath of everything that has slipped through his grasp.

(I've signed up at SWG planning to do the holiday feast challenge, using the reading and commenting prompts.)


 

Glad you're having fun with the challenge and that it does have this option for the most valuable member of fandom -our readers!

 

I've written several fics of varing lengths from Angrod's POV (still haven't from Aegnor, alas). Yes! I liked that line too, and escepially for the first third of this fic, i was building around the conciet of Angrod's name. To have hands that hold with the strength of iron is a strong, compelling image, and so the mind naturally goes to 'what can't this character hold?' And Angrod in the Silm is a relatable and admirable figure for me. He and his brother are the only ones to listen to Fingolfin's urging to stay focused on the war and not empire build (and the Fëanorians least), his father's hosts are too late to stop their cousins from killing their cousins at Alqualondë, he's the one to have the courage and moral fortitude to step up and tell Thingol the truth and try to do real damage control (and was a key ambassador to Doriath in the first place). And now he has to deal with the day-to-day fallout of Aegnor and Andreth's tragedy.