A Mingling by cuarthol

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Fanwork Notes

Ilwen is named as the wife of Ingwë in the Nature of Middle-earth

Gwidhil is my round-about inspired name for the wife of Orodreth and mother of Finduilas and Gil-galad (Originally the named mother of Gil-galad was Meril, the wife of Finrod.  The Gnomish cognate of Meril is Gwidhil)

Fanwork Information

Summary:

Parallel narratives of Ilwen, wife of Ingwë, and Gwidhil, wife of Orodreth.

Major Characters: Unnamed Female Canon Character(s), Ilwen

Major Relationships:

Genre: Ficlet, General

Challenges: Hidden Figures, Jubilee

Rating: General

Warnings:

Chapters: 1 Word Count: 467
Posted on 8 January 2023 Updated on 13 January 2023

This fanwork is complete.

Of Silver Stars and Golden Sun

Read Of Silver Stars and Golden Sun

Ilwen, wife of Ingwë

Long she had dwelt beneath the stars of Middle-earth, upon the shores of Cuiviénen which sparkled blue with its own soft light.  She was born to the Minyar: the firsts, the chieftains, the fair Elves with golden bright hair.

Before the Darkness had come, she had walked upon the earth, soft with green mosses and tiny flowers.  Before the dread had fallen, she had delighted in song, dancing in meadows and forests.

The day the shining Hunter came, she had not fled but felt drawn to his light.  Beautiful and terrible he had seemed to her, and yet she felt no danger though dangerous he could be.  Rather she lifted her hands to him, eager to know him, and she wept for joy at his touch.

When the three emissaries were chosen to follow him, her beloved was among them, and it grieved her to be parted.  Uncertainty settled in her heart as she watched him go, praying to the Queen of Stars for his safe return.

And when he returned, the light of the West in his face, she knew she desired nothing but to dwell herself in that Blessed Land, the queen of their people.

 

Gwidhil, wife of Orodreth

Long she had dwelt beneath the stars of Middle-earth, upon the shores of Mithrim, which her mother said reminded her of her own childhood long ago.  She was born to the Teleri: the thirds, the singers, the sea-Elves, long after they had left the shores of Nen Echui, the waters of their awakening.

Before the Darkness had returned, she had walked upon thick beds of pine needles amongst the little flowers that grew in the north.  Before their Enemy had brought ruin, she had sung, dancing with delight in the waters.

The day the bright-eyed Noldor came, she felt wary of them.  Proud and stern they seemed to her and she hid herself in the hills.  Dangerous they felt, and dangerous they could be, driving the Orcs before them in terrible wrath.  Though she was glad of their protection, she was not eager to know them.

When the moon first rose with the coming of the second host, she watched them in awe.  Many of her kin who had remained hidden in the hills were drawn to those who arrived then, bringing, it seemed to them, the lights of the Valar to their shores.

There was one among them she felt drawn to more than all the others, a son of princes, his hair like the newly risen sun.  She felt love blossom in her spirit as she gazed upon him, and with kindness and gentle words he won her heart.  With him, she would dwell until his death, and bear the last King of his people.

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The way you have made these two parallel each other is amazing! Some beautiful description, too.

This last line was really moving: With him, she would dwell until his death, and bear the last King of his people.

Oh boy.. lol 

So I knew about Ilwen but I didn't realize just how *terribly minor* she was until I ran across this challenge.  So I *love* rare characters, and I was browsing through the provided list to see if any jumped out at me and I noticed she wasn't on that list so I thought oh wow, she must have more content on here?? So I got curious and went to the list of characters in the database and she wasn't there either so I started wondering if I'd made some terrible mistake somewhere, but no, she is a named character, just - apparently - one that is so hidden that she didn't even make the Hidden Figures list!

And then Gwidhil is one of my beloveds, I wrote her once and was absolutely hooked - I mean really the entire Arafin family tree - Bëorians honorarily included - are my beloveds.

How I wrote this in particular however was I was waffling on who I wanted to write and thinking okay well I guess I'll write whichever I can think of a story for first, and I started at Mithrim then though oh I could do a Cuivienen fic, I do love those but I still kind of wanted to write Gwidhil, but I realized very quickly as my brain shuffled them both that they had (or I could imagine them having) almost eerily parallel lives.  And... off I went :D

I'm so glad you enjoyed it and thank you for asking me about it!

Thank you for talking to me about them! 

You've put Ilwen on my radar, actually. I can't remember exactly now whether or not it had registered with me that NoME gave us her name, but I guess I had already forgotten again! There was such a lot of new stuff to absorb in NoME. I think at the time of the original Hidden Figures Challenge we probably didn't know her name yet. (It is possible that somebody did write about her, before, but there would have been no way to tag for her on the old site, except possibly "Vanyar". Even the tagging for unnamed canon characters is relatively recent.) 

I had written Ilwen once before in a fic that never got finished and sort of shuffled aside while I was writing a series of those who remained in Valinor after the Exile of the Noldor, but this is the first piece I've actually posted with her.  Might be why she was on my mind in terms of rarer characters.

If she was only first named in NoME that would narrow the window for any fics she might appear in, but any number of approaches to her as an OC wife of Ingwë prior could still be out there!  Maybe a scavenger hunt is in my future :)