Enchantment by Anérea

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Fanwork Notes

"Then an enchantment fell on him, and he stood still; and afar off beyond the voices of the lómelindi he heard the voice of Melian, and it filled all his heart with wonder and desire. He forgot then utterly all his people and all the purposes of his mind, and following the birds under the shadow of the trees he passed deep into Nan Elmoth and was lost. But he came at last to a glade open to the stars, and there Melian stood; and out of the darkness he looked at her, and the light of Aman was in her face." ~ The Silmarillion, Of Melian and Thingol

~*~

I painted Lúcëmetta to illustrate this ficlet, which fills the last prompt.

I'm not sure how my ice skating choreography would look, but I chose these Arda On Ice prompts:

  • Rocker: a quiet moment
  • Flip: something unexpected
  • Upright: a change of perspective
  • Mohawk: forming an alliance
  • Layback: look skyward
Fanwork Information

Summary:

When Melian and Thingol met they silently stared at each other for two hundred years. What actually happened between them during that time? And why could no one find them?

Major Characters: Elu Thingol, Elves, Melian

Major Relationships: Melian/Thingol

Genre: Fixed-Length Ficlet, General, Het, Romance

Challenges: Arda on Ice

Rating: General

Warnings:

Chapters: 2 Word Count: 447
Posted on 12 April 2022 Updated on 18 August 2022

This fanwork is complete.

Table of Contents

Lómelindi Lúcë
Náre Oialëa Lúcë

During those two hundred years, what attracted each to the other and held them so utterly captivated?

Comments

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I like this a lot, how the second part complements the first!

How they discover the Flame Imperishable in and through each other, both macrocosm and microcosm.

More than a purely romantic rapture, although of course that, too!

I am so glad you chose to write about this! Your writing style suits it so well. You really captured the faerie and magic of their meeting while also making it just the right amount of relatable to us poor mortals in the way that the Silmarillion does not. 

I loved this: "In him she beheld the mind of Ilúvatar reflected anew which otherwise had been hidden even from the Ainur, and she saw in him a world like unto Arda, as vast and manifold and thorough in its crafting, yet so small as to be wholly contained within."

What a beautiful way of thinking about and describing Melian's love for Thingol <3. 

Thank you! I'm glad you like the concept. I've often seen people say it's easy to understand what he saw in her, but can't fathom what she sees in him, and I think in a world that you yourself sang into existence, something not created by you would be fascinating. I guess it could have been anyone, but fate made it Elwe. (I believe Eru is a hopeless romantic at heart!)

I have liberally appropriated bits of phrases from the Silmarillion and then attempted to emulate the style to make a kind of word-collage, so the first half of the quoted sentence is basically Tolkien's. It which was a very interesting challenge! Some words I would naturally use felt wrong, such as trill, inhale, miniature, scale, and complexity, so I ended up burrowing down a fascinating etymological rabbit hole, in the process learning some Old English/Anglo Saxon words I wish would come into common parlance again!

I love how you mixed phrases from the Silmarillion with your own and how seamlessly both fit together.

The mists as the breath of the trees is a wonderful image. And it's beautiful how they are both something new and wondrous to each other and their own way to the Secret Fire.

I love that Melian's interest in Thingol makes sense here - I've sometimes wondered what drew her to him.

And I adore the imagery in the first chapter of the trees/forest as a living entity, breathing.

Oh, I'm so pleased her interest her makes sense for you.

I think my idea of the forest being a mist-breathing entity came from Peter Wohlleben's books The Hidden Life of Trees and The Heartbeat of Trees, both of which are fascinating and I can highly recommend. (I've found the audiobooks to be the perfect bedtime listening for someone who doesn't fall asleep easily: interesting so they don't bore and irritate me awake but not too thrilling that I can't fall asleep!)