The Meanings We Give, The Light We Find by Nienna

| | |

Fanwork Notes

"There has been a comparatively greater portion of good queens, than of good kings."

-Sarah Moore Grimké

Reply to the Question: “How Can You Become a Poet?”by Eve Merriam

take the leaf of a tree
trace its exact shape
the outside edges
and inner lines
memorize the way it is fastened to the twig
(and how the twig arches from the branch)
how it springs forth in April
how it is panoplied in July
by late August
crumple it in your hand
so that you smell its end-of-summer sadness
chew its woody stem
listen to its autumn rattle
watch it as it atomizes in the November air
then in winter
when there is no leaf left
     invent one

Fanwork Information

Summary:

In a world newly wrought, Yavanna ponders all the ways in which the world is being brought into being, and her place in it.

Major Characters: Nienna, Valar, Yavanna

Major Relationships:

Genre: General, Slash/Femslash

Challenges: Rise Above

Rating: General

Warnings:

Chapters: 1 Word Count: 457
Posted on 2 May 2018 Updated on 2 May 2018

This fanwork is complete.

Table of Contents

The Meanings We Give, The Light We Find

The perspective is a "young" Yavanna.

Comments

The Silmarillion Writers' Guild is more than just an archive--we are a community! If you enjoy a fanwork or enjoy a creator's work, please consider letting them know in a comment.

I liked this, especially the concept that the stars are for the consolation of the Children. Also, the concept of the Valar "becoming" the world is intriguing, as it takes Tolkien's conception a bit farther than the original (as far as I remember). In fact, it reminds of the Aedra in the Elder Scrolls games universe, who basically gave their existence to give it to the world. Is something like this what you meant, or only the fact that the Valar were tied to Ëa after entering it?

I'm sorry I took a little while in responding. Thank you for commenting! I really love the idea of the stars as consolation for the Children, and it is a concept I keep coming back to(in the very little that I have written.) 

As for the Valar "becoming" the world, I actually do think there is some degree of canon support for this concept. "But this condition Ilúvatar made, or it is the necessity of their love, that their power should thenceforward be contained and bounded in the World, to be within it for ever, until it is complete, so that they are its life and it is theirs."-Ainulindale " But mostly Ulmo speaks to those who dwell in Middle-earth with voices that are heard only as the music of water. For all seas, lakes, rivers, fountains and springs are in his government; so that the Elves say that the spirit of Ulmo runs in all the veins of the world. "-Valaquenta (Emphasis my own.)

 In my mind, the "spirit of Ulmo running in all the veins of the world," sound like he is the water, as it runs its course through all the depths of Arda. So that's really what inspired it. I suspect this is mostly headcanon, but I do feel that Tolkien's conception does contain the concept of it.

As for the Elder Scrolls universe, I know nothing about it so any resemblence was purely unintentional. I didn't really mean that the Valar "gave their existence" for the world, more that they are continually creating it and forever apart of it's being.

Thank you for commenting!

Yes, I have a special fondness for the Valier. Someting about them just fascinates me. Even the ones about whom we hear almost nothing,(I'm thinking Nessa,Este etc...) the little bit that we do here is so intriguing.

I'm so glad you appreciated the ending!

Thank you for commenting!

I really like that line too. I enjoyed writing Yavanna's perspective here, very introspective and yet with a sort of youthfullness to it.

I am so glad you found this lovely!

Author's Response:

Thank you for commenting!

I really like that line too. I enjoyed writing Yavanna's perspective here, very introspective and yet with a sort of youthfullness to it.

I am so glad you found this lovely!