Glimpses of a Life in Ennore by Lferion

Glimpses of a Life in Ennore

Written for the Silmarillion Writer's Guild January 2021 New Years Resolutions challenge. Specific prompts in the end note.

From a festival in Nargothrond to the harbor at Mithlond, with a stop or two between -- four moments in three Ages; three double-drabbles and a single drabble.

I
Sunflower Festival

It was high summer in Nargothrond when Maentâl Sílorion returned from harrying the servants of the Enemy into the Sea with Luinmorgon Galasilion and his picked squad of Yrch-hunters. Just in time for the Sunflower Festival, which this year could be held out in the fields as it ought, with the surrounding area safe for now. And what a festival it was! While there were not many actual elflings, there were Men-children, and young Dwarves, and really, the games and contests were open to the young at heart as much as the young in years. The festival was much needed.

Stung foot or no, Maentâl was determined to play hide-and-find (at which he was an expert, as indeed were all the scouts and lookouts, of necessity) with all the young ones, especially since they enjoyed being found as much as they did hiding, and several were of an age where they exploded into giggles on being come upon unexpectedly, adding to the fun. He reluctantly bowed out of the spinning-dances -- his foot was not healed enough for that kind of exercise -- so he joined the musicians with his small-drum, and spun elaborate tales as the summer twilight faded into night.

II
An Inn at a Crossroads

The Prancing Pony -- established sometime in the Second Age, and continuously operated -- was one of the few establishments in Eriador that made a point of welcoming all peoples, Tall, Very Tall, Short, and Very Short (that is to say, Men, Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits; possibly a Maia or two as well, but they didn't stand out generally, boasted several hearths in the common rooms, some large, some smaller, suitable for different groups to enjoy. This night, a company of Dwarves gathered at one of the smaller ones, mugs full of the inn's good dark beer, cheerfully engaged in a song-battle.

Maentâl stretched out his feet to the fire. One of Durin's Folk was singing a tale that harkened back to the long struggle against the Black Foe, with stirring rhythm in a hopeful key. It told of the Dwarves part in the defense of halls of stone, the battles, the rebuilding after. Ultimately hopeful, if bittersweet, especially for one who had called Nargothrond home. The Dwarf who stood up next was as fiery-headed as Maedhros, but their song was the opposite of grim, speaking of the wonder of the world in simple, heart-felt words, and an ear-worm of a tune.

III
Change Unexpected

Yrch! thought Maentâl, launching himself up the nearest tree. (Which was a very stickery juniper, his toes would be telling him about it, but never mind that now.) But what had to ears too used to the noise of the Enemy's foot-soldiers sounded like a foray of niben-yrch was an atan and a bear -- no, ahyahröaro morcöatan, a Man who was also a bear, Maentâl could perceive the fëa of them -- two Atani, with deep harmony between them. Generally the ahyahröari kept to themselves, yet these two were definitely a pair. A wonder and a hope for this new Age.

IV
Water-gate

There was Dwarf-wrought ironwork in Mithlond (and in Forlond, though little of that city remained), despite the general Dwarven caution regarding large bodies of water. Dwarves emphatically did not float, and few could effectively swim. Many rivers and small lakes could be walked across under the water: Dwarves could hold their breath a very long time, but it was not a skill enjoyed or advertised, beyond a few venturesome individuals who retrieved things lost overboard ferries, off the edges of piers and bridges, or sought oysters and pearls. But Dwarves had been no strangers in Mithlond, nor Lindon before it.

Dwarves with an affinity for water were uncommon, not unknown -- witness the extraordinary plumbing, hydraulics, and water sanitation found in Erebor and Ered Luin, Khazaddum and Aglarond! -- But oftimes lonely. Over the long years Maentâl had counted a number of Dwarves as friends, and they him. With his hands on the ancient water-gate, he recalled Thordir Riverwalker long a misfit in the halls of his birth, finding the enclave of water Dwarves in Lindon, and the joy of that meeting, the exuberance of their welcome. The work still sang of the happiness of having found the people of his heart.

Chapter End Notes

Maentâl Sílorion is intended to mean Clever-foot son of Bright-heart in Sindarin

Specific prompts:

I - Sunflower Festival
-- Day 10: Bonus prompts are images for instadrabbling from the Naturalist's Guide to Middle-earth challenge, Sept 2020. Image 9, Man-o-War Jellyfish,
-- Instadrabble prompt words from Morgynleri: Festival, Sunflower, Giggles, Hide-and-find, Spinning.

II - An Inn at a Crossroads
-- Day 16: Dwarves and Men instadrabbles -- DM1. A horn rings out, beware! beware!  An enemy is at the gate! 
He's angrily waving this prompt. Will you make him a friend by presenting him with 100 words (or more) of prose or poem about Men or Dwarves, or will you die messily upon his spear?
Fire burning in a hearth in a pub, basket of logs nearby
-- Day 25: The bonus prompt for January 25 comes from the Utopia/Dystopia challenge and features two songs. Friendly reminder that you can use any part of a song: the title, the lyrics, the music, the video, the general feeling it gives you, the performers' hair, something else I haven't thought of?
-"What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong -- Lyrics, Video
-"Battle of Evermore" by Led Zeppelin -- Lyrics, Video

III - Change Unexpected
-- Day 16 Dwarves and Men Instadrabbles -- DM2: Oh no!  Travelling through the mountains, you have been captured by GOBLINS.  Your only hope is to entertain them with 100 words (or more) about Men or Dwarves, in the hope that they will let you escape!  Your only aid is THIS PICTURE.

IV - Water-Gate
-- Day 16 Dwarves and Men Instadrabbles -- DM4: Drums!  Drums in the deep!  Your only hope of escape from the approaching Balrog is to drop 100 words (or more) of prose or poetry about Dwarves (or Men). (You can write about Elves, but that might make her crosser. I really don't recommend mentioning other Maiar or Valar.  She doesn't talk to her family.)
An iron-work gate looking out over water
-- Day 30: For our penultimate bonus prompt, we offer two music videos for the Utopia/Dystopia challenge. Both, as songs, straddle the line between the idyllic and the dark but the videos settle where they fall. As always, you can use any aspect of the prompt--the title, the lyrics, the music, of course the videos and their imagery--in your response.
-"No Rain" by Blind Melon - Video, Lyrics
-"Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden -- Video (warning for some disturbing imagery), Lyrics