Founded in 2005, the Silmarillion Writers' Guild exists for discussions of and creative fanworks based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion and related texts. We are a positive-focused and open-minded space that welcomes fans from all over the world and with all levels of experience with Tolkien's works. Whether you are picking up Tolkien's books for the first time or have been a fan for decades, we welcome you to join us!
New Challenge: Bollywood This month's challenge offers songs, films, and tropes from Bollywood, the world's largest film industry based out of India, as prompts for fanworks.
Cultus Dispatches: Fandom Chocolate … or Authors Love Comments Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data provides insight into how comments benefit authors and which authors are most impacted by a lack of comments, with a digression on authors' perspectives one-click feedback like kudos.
A Sense of History: Passing Ships As Tolkien's characters in various texts gaze out to the sea, what do they see? What is brought by the ships coming out of the West?
Beta-Reader List Now Available The beta-reader list and profiles have been moved into our new system and are available again.
Nimruzimir, a natural philosopher recently out of his apprenticeship, hardly considers himself very important to anyone, least of all his colleagues. When his strange, prophetic fits bring him to the attention of the High Priest, however, he may find that his existence is less superfluous than…
This is my new poetical attempt to add my own interpretation to Tolkien's Cosmology as to Eru's Creation and the Valar's minds and behind-the-scene providence reasons and mechanisms.. I often review Eä as part of our own world, just in another dimension, this is why I have always seriously…
My newly drawn map of Aman, as complete as I could make it.
Current Challenge
Bollywood
Prompts this month are films, songs, and tropes from India's dazzling film industry, Bollywood. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Holiday Party
No matter if you're in the Northern or Southern hemisphere, it's a time of year to think about holidays. Whether you're bundling up in blankets or slipping a swimsuit into your suitcase, we invite you to an SWG holiday party! Read more ...
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data shows that authors view comments as driving their motivation to create fanfiction. However, perception of comments by authors is part of a larger shift in fandom around how and how often fans interact with each other.
The arrival and departure of ships across the Great Sea carries mythic significance for the peoples of Middle-earth. The image of ships crossing out of and back into a mysterious West appears as well in Beowulf and is alluded to in Tolkien's tower analogy in his lecture "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics," where the tower allows those who climb it to observe the passage of the ships.
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data shows that while most authors self-identify as taking their craft seriously, a growing subset of authors may be pushing that norm.
He and Diamond were visiting, though Pippin had been disappearing every afternoon, and taking Frodo and Elanor and most other lads and lasses in the neighborhood with him—though why they couldn’t use Pippin’s own pony, Sam couldn’t imagine.
So gathered they were to Bree, what lieutenants who could be spared, from their scattered watches west and east, for their chieftain had returned from his long sojourn in lands godless and mountains strange.
Aragorn returns from the South to tells his tales. Halbarad listens.
Elrond Week 2024
Elrond Week is a fandom event dedicated to Elrond Peredhel that will run from July 10th to July 16th on Tumblr.
July challenge at tolkienshortfanworks posted
The tolkienshortfanworks challenge for July has been posted to the Dreamwidth community. The thematic challenge is: original character or unnamed canon character; the formal challenge: fixed length of multiple of 50 words. New participants welcome.
Teitho June/July Challenge: Mentor
The June/July prompt for the Teitho challenge is "mentor" and invites fanworks about this relationship in Tolkien's works.
Subscribe to the SWG Newsletter
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.
This is a wonderful beginning chapter. Also, I rarely read slash, but the pairing itself intrigued me.
The Lord of the House of Golden Flower had never believed in prayer, for he had heard the Doom of Mandos in his youth and believed it with his heart that there would be no mercy or help for the Exiles, but at that exact moment he saw the creature, he knew that the Higher Power was their only hope.
*snorts* No help from the Valar, but I firmly believe that Eru, while not liking the Kinslayings, didn't care nearly as much as the Powers did about the Rebellion.
“I’m dead then,” he said, resigned.
This made me snort in laughter because of how I pictured him saying that.
Despite Námo’s reassurance, he could not help but suspect that the judgment he was about to face would be more terrible than the horrible death he had just endured.
I do believe Valar could and did make mistakes. They often did things that I think was not Eru's intention and even Tolkien wrote that Eru questioned the Valar for their decision to bring the Elves to Aman because it was not what Eru intended.
I found this chapter difficult to read because of Glorfindel's fear-- it came across easily.
It made him feel humbled and vulnerable, especially in front of the majestic beings that would be his judges.
*snorts* And vulnerable people have trouble defending themselves…
The air hummed and crackled at the mingling of their force.
With the wonderful description of the Máhanaxar, this line sent shivers down my spine.
I like your Nienna.
“So you say the fault lies with us.” Manwë’s tone was mild, but the underlying displeasure could not be hidden.
Eep. Though, as Glorfindel pointed out, he and many others *didn't* rebel. (Who, me a heretic? :P)
Ah, LaCE… Such a wonderful muddle.
His sentence is harsh, but I expect nothing less from the Valar. They can't force someone to believe something different, because difference doensn't mean it's wrong. And that begs the question of what will happen to the Sindar who die who *also* follow that custom. (Or when they arrive on the Lonely Isle.)
Poor Glorfindel, and his ordeal was not finished yet.
This fic IS intended to be "heretic". And it is indeed interesting to find out what fate Sindar are doomed to be, isn't it? We'll see how Echtelion coped later on and the Lonely Isle is caled that for a reason, is it not? *hint hint*
This is an interesting take on the Halls. I like the fact that you show some disagreement between the Vala regarding the appropriateness of the conditions set on Glorfindel's return. And now with the hint that these conditions are going to pose an unexpected problem, things are turning quiteinteresting!
Thanks! As I read the Silmarillion and HoMe, it's clear to me that each of the Valar has different personality and function. It is expected that they think differently and perhaps, have major arguments. Ulmo's action on Middle Earth spoke volume for his disagreement with the rest of the Valar concerning the exile.
It was sad, but beautiful, and most of all, it showed that Someone had heard, had understood, and perhaps, had also shared their pain.
Wonderful explantion of why Nienna's songs and visits to Mandos are healing. I confess I've never really thought of why before now.
Námo's observation about how the fëar made me snort. It makes absolute, perfect sense. I have no answers, either, save that they possibly think no one else will understand.
As it is, we cannot change the condition of your release, and I am not sure if Lord Manwë will want to anyway. There are some things that he highly values, and the propriety of your love lives is one of them it seems.” Glorfindel noticed there was a hint of exasperation in the Vala’s voice.
*snorts* Why? It's none of Manwë's business who chooses to love who! And I adore that Námo appears to be exasperated by it. :)
Nienna is one of a rare Valar described as being empathetic towards the Eruhini in the canon, even Namo is portrayed as strict and forbiding. If he had shown more empathy towards the souls he was guarding, perhaps he'd understood why they chose solitude. As for Manwe, who is mentioned as the King of Arda, all his power has gone over his head, I'm afraid. His behavior is much the same as some of our religious leaders, no?
The Valar has forgotten, that unlike other creation, they had no part whatsoever in the making of Eruhini, and thus they do not fully understand them or what Eru wants with them. Eru himself had shown displeasure to Manwe for ushering the elves to Valinor while their main task was actually heal the marring of Arda. In away, the exile of the Noldor are more compliant to Eru's will than the Valar's decision to shut them out of their help.
I love how Eönwë sees Glorfindel, and how long he's known him.
It's interesting to see that the Maia thinks Nienna's singing is eerie while Glorfindel takes comfort from it.
Instead, the Lord of the Doom chose to keep this information from the Elder King himself.
*snorts* Wonder why? [/sarcasm]
I shuddered when you described the politics of the Darkening from a Ainurin point of view, even though it's easily figured out from the Silm. It's always the hardest section for me to read because of everyone's (over)reactions to the events.
In that moment, Eönwë understood, perhaps for the first time, of Melian’s fascination with her elven husband.
Eonwe is learning about elves intimately, perhaps for the first time. It is no wonder he found Glorfindel so fascinating. He'd found any elf he'd learned about intimately fascinating, but Glorfindel is not any elf, isn't he? :D.
Yes, this takes place before the War of the Wrath. I wrote the whole tapestries thing into a chapter, but my beta advised me to give it more details and nuances, so I break it into two chapters. The timeline will be more apparent in the next part.
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.