Bonfires of Trust, Flashfloods of Pain by Klose

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Fanwork Notes

Fanwork Information

Summary:

 

The loss of innocence with the Kinslaying at Alqualondë, the invocation of Doom at the very edges of Arda... and then, the parting of Fingolfin and Anairë.

[Written in honour of Fingolfin being character of the month at SilmarillionWritersGuild  for January 2007 (I've been slow to post it to this archive!), and also because I refuse to believe Anairë's friendship with Eärwen was the sole reason for their separation.]

Major Characters: Anairë, Fëanor, Fingolfin, Fingon

Major Relationships:

Genre: Drama

Challenges:

Rating: Teens

Warnings: Mature Themes
Chapters: 1 Word Count: 2, 628
Posted on 8 December 2007 Updated on 8 December 2007

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Table of Contents

Bonfires of Trust, Flashfloods of Pain

The title of this story (having been changed from "Once We Were") is taken from the song "Exitlude", as credited to one Brandon Flowers.

Also, due to my long-time love affair with Quenya names, they've been used a little (only a little!) here:

Findekáno = Fingon;

Fëanáro = Fëanor;

Arafinwë = Finarfin;

Nolofinwë = Fingolfin (=Nolyo, although I where in fanon this came from I can't quite remember!)

Comments on Bonfires of Trust, Flashfloods of Pain

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Very nicely done, and a moment in the story that I haven't seen done a lot! I also have an (unpublished) story that has the parting of Anaire and Nolofinwe, and it's so completely different from your vision, which makes your vision feel so fresh to me, so intriguing to connect the canon dots in a different way.

(And I apologize if this makes little sense; it is late, and I should be in bed, but I had to read this before departing. And then, of course, review. ;) I'm so pleased to see you posting these pieces here--thank you! :)

Crapola, I originally submitted this as a review instead of a response - d'oh! :P

And urk, another late reply - my apologies, but thank you very much for reading & commenting, Dawn! :D  (And no worries, you were completely coherent! ;))

I must admit I'm curious to see your version of how it happened - interestingly, it's been a year since I wrote this story, and my ideas have been re-adjusting - a new scenario is floating in my head somewhere, but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to invoke the same inspiration that vomitted this particular piece out. 

But I ramble! I'm really excited to be posting to this archive and once exams are over I plan to do some serious reading & reviewing. Thank you for giving us a place to play! :)

I'm so glad that I read this story -- I think our views of Nolofinwë are remarkably compatible, and I particularly like how you've drawn Anairë as also being torn about whether or not to join the Noldorin exodus, rather than just passively obedient to the Valar.

Your depictions of Nolofinwë's sense of betrayal by all those closest to him, and the horror he and Anairë feel about their children's participation in the Kinslaying seem exactly right to me. 

It's interesting that we both have imagined that Anairë and Ëarwen would become close friends -- I would think that, as non-Noldor in the House of Finwë, they'd be natural allies.

It's a pity that Nolofinwë and Anairë part on bad terms.  She understood quite well what drove him, and yet she also knew that it was not the right choice ... was it?  Of course, a wish to not condemn their children to an unknown fate while remaining in Aman might be sufficient reason to override misgivings -- and it does seem likely that any who actually killed in the Kinslaying would feel compelled to follow the Fëanorians, if only to justify their awful actions.  So, who was right?  Still, their parting seemed especially tragic.

Finally, I liked how Nolofinwë's vision of their destroyed love, which once burned brightly but was now a ruin of ashes, foreshadowed Fëanáro's fate.