Finwean Correspondences on the Topic of the Edain (Posthumously Selected by Elrond Half-Elven) by Dialux, Anne Wolfe, , Idrils Scribe, , Dawn Felagund, , Aprilertuile, , janeways, , Himring

Finrod

To my dearest (and, regrettably (solely due to the irreconcilable differences between your parents, I assure you), only) twin cousins,

You’ll never imagine what I found in the last fortnight! 

I went hunting with your brothers- the ever-glorious Maedhros and Maglor, long may the sun shine on their faces. However, as I’m sure you remember, your brothers tend to become single-minded on a hunt (perhaps something to do with having to provide for all of your hungry mouths in the dusty hills of Ered Mithrim?) and I wearied within two months of chasing after one specific buck that seemed to have the blessings of Vana, Orome and Namo. I therefore went on to the northern reaches of Ossiriand, which holds the richest elm trees that I’ve ever seen- including Yavanna’s Pastures under the Light of the Trees- but stumbled upon lights in the evening.

I know what you’re thinking- and I did check to see if they were orcs before approaching- but they spoke a different language, and sang unlike any dwarf or elf I’ve ever heard. And the creatures themselves! What marvelous people! They are quite small- similar enough to us in likeness, perhaps- but smaller and rougher, both in hair and skin. They call themselves humans, though I learned that only after some time.

I sang amongst them that night, using the harp that one of them had laid down before sleeping: rudimentary and rough-shod, as one might see for a child’s first attempts at hewing one from wood, but well-tuned nevertheless. Later, I learned that the harp itself was Balan’s, their leader’s, and that he’d built it himself; he and his people enjoy singing and music as much as we do, and I therefore spent many long weeks teaching them our language and learning theirs. 

However, they do not hear all that we hear- not the speech of the birds (as one of your brothers is wont to do, to all our detriment), not the songs of the trees, not even the language of many animals, though they have domesticated some dogs and other livestock for their own use. And life in Ossiriand… as you can imagine, the Laiquendi here are not happy with their tree-cutting or their beast-hunting. The humans are much more akin to a Noldoran temperament than any of the Laiquendi- this has caused quite the uproar amongst the Laiquendi, and they’re demanding that the humans leave so long as they break the peace the Laiquendi have grown accustomed to. One of them even told me to my face that they’d “afflict them in all ways that we can,” which was rather frightening when coming from someone with red hair and hanging off a tree- I’m not used to anyone delivering threats of quite such weight while upside-down or with a face painted like a dancer at the height of the Summer Festival.

I did not panic. I very admirably told the Laiquendi that I had a plan. I then told Balan that I had a plan. I then, very quickly, decided to go off alone for a while to think about a plan. 

While some of the humans intend to remain near Thargelion, others wish to dwell further to the west. Sending them to Maglor would leave them as cannon fodder; sending them to Maedhros would leave them as cupbearers and water-drawers for the cannon fodder; sending them to Celegorm and Curufin would be akin to sending unwitting suspects into an archery range. Of the lands to the east, yours remain the kindest and most able to support others- and I do remember you mentioning some assistance you’d like for taming the land a few years ago. If you’d still like that assistance (and I can’t imagine that you don’t, if you’re just as lazy as I remember you being), I have a number of people that will aid you in that, for free, if you give them building materials and promises of aid. 

Reply by pigeon if you have any objections!

Give my respects to our cousins if Uncle-King Fingolfin decides to hold another family reunion, and my apologies to Maedhros and Maglor for running off- though they should be used to it by now, really- and my love to everyone else if you get the chance. 

See you in a few years,

Finrod