Starlight, Moonlight, light my sky tonight by Himring

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Fanwork Notes

Written for B2MeM 2022 for a photo prompt by Anerea and dedicated to Anerea, who very kindly made a story banner version of her photo for me.

No warnings, but reference is made to the Marring of Arda.

Fanwork Information

Summary:

Celeborn and Tom Bombadil watch the moon above the Ered Luin.
For the first time, Celeborn begins to have faith in the Second Age.

Major Characters: Celeborn, Tom Bombadil

Major Relationships:

Genre: Fixed-Length Ficlet

Challenges:

Rating: General

Warnings: Check Notes for Warnings
Chapters: 1 Word Count: 100
Posted on 1 April 2022 Updated on 1 April 2022

This fanwork is complete.

Starlight, Moonlight, light my sky tonight

Read Starlight, Moonlight, light my sky tonight

The moon shines down over an indigo sky filled with stars. There are mountains below. The story title has been added between the mountains and the moon.
Photo and banner by Anerea

The Blue Mountains lay peacefully, blue as their name, under a sky of a more intense blue than they. Above them hovered the moon, too hazy to obscure the light of myriads of stars.

Celeborn drew a deep breath. Beside him, Tom had fallen silent.

Morgoth, Celeborn felt, was gone—not captive only, but gone from Arda. This night, the Valar must have thrust him Outside.

Despite their losses, despite the Marring, almost it felt once again as Tom had told: the dark under the stars when it was fearless—before Morgoth came from Outside.

‘A new Age,’ Celeborn said.

Chapter End Notes

Alludes to the following from FOTR, from the chapter "In the House of Tom Bombadil":
When the Elves passed westward, Tom was here already, before the seas were bent. He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the Dark Lord came from Outside.

The original photo was entitled Starlit and was B2MeM 2022 Photo Prompt P-24.

Also incorporates the following Tolkien Weekly prompts: moonlight, starlight.

100 words in MS Word

Comments

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I feel like the moods are layered like the mountains, with more implied than the eye can see.

Starlit nights are always so calm and peaceful for me, and your piece so palpably conveys a sense of relief and release that must have been felt when the background radiation of Morgoth’s energy — insidiously permeating the last half-millennium of the First Age — suddenly subsides.

Of course Celeborn feels a fresh hope for a new Age!

I have the sense that Tom is rather Buddha-like, existing purely in the moment, accepting things as they are, ebbing and flowing in perpetual — balancing — cycles, differing only in detail.

I am curious to know what led to your choice of featuring Celeborn here, if it isn't only that he just fits so comfortably here.

Canon seems to emphasize more how much Morgoth left behind of himself, but I thought surely when he departed it must have had an effect that could be felt, especially by anyone strong in osanwe (as Celeborn does seem to be, later in the Return of the King)? And Elrond does mention later that at first they felt quite optimistic, after the fall of Morgoth, but I thought that it might take a while for that to set in, for some who had seen their home in Beleriand destroyed. 

I picked Celeborn because of how Treebeard talks about him and also because it would make sense for him to be approximately in this place at this time, if he was planning a settlement at Nenuial. He is a Sinda and he is older than both Elrond and Galadriel (at least in my 'verse) and that was what I wanted for this, because he would also remember the times  when Beleriand was (relatively) at peace, long before Melkor himself attacked again.

You were right that the banner was easy to upload! I think it looks great like this, do you agree? Thank you very much for making it and also for your comments!

 

Yes, I think there's a distinct difference between the leached influence Morgoth infused Arda with, and his radiated vibrational frequency. (No matter how I phrase this I can't help sounding all new-agey!) Same with the feeling of despair people felt due to the effects of destruction and devastation; that's directly related to the trauma they'd experienced and would take time to heal, while Morgoth's "bad vibes" would just, as you put it, feel gone.

Ah, yes, I like your line of thinking of the interconnections between Treebeard, Tom, and Celeborn.

(And I'm so happy you're happy with the banner :)