Ungoliant's Bane by polutropos

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Fanwork Notes

‘Here follow the marvellous adventures of Wingelot in the seas and isles, and of how Eärendel slew Ungoliant in the South.’
The History of Middle-earth Vol. IV: The Shaping of Middle-earth, The Earliest Silmarillion, §17

Written for the challenge Rejects. Prompt: Eärendil slays Ungoliant ('Sketch of the Mythology'). 

Fanwork Information

Summary:

A spooky story has instilled a fear of spiders in young Elrond and Elros. Fortunately, Eärendil has returned from his latest sea voyage with a tale that will put their fears to rest. 

Later, the boys tell Maglor of their father's exploits. 

Major Characters: Eärendil, Elrond, Elros, Elwing, Maglor

Major Relationships: Eärendil & Elrond & Elros, Elrond & Elros & Maglor

Genre: Family, Fluff, General

Challenges: Rejects

Rating: General

Warnings: Check Notes for Warnings, Mature Themes
Chapters: 2 Word Count: 3, 227
Posted on 16 April 2023 Updated on 22 April 2023

This fanwork is complete.

Table of Contents

Ungoliant's Bane

Warning for canon-typical talk of spiders. 

Of Brave Eärendil

Warning for canon-typical grief and past character death. It ends well, all things considered.

Comments

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Elrond stood in the doorway clutching his favourite quilt—one of two such that Círdan gifted to the boys at their birth

Awwww, what a lovely little detail!!! I love this so much, Cirdan would have been so good with the boys <3

his confidence was crumbling under the weight of his childrens’ scepticism.

LOL!!! 

The press of their warm bodies against him doubled the love in his heart and it spilled over, tears gathering along the rims of his eyes. How he wished he could stay like this forever. 

Oh my heart!  We wish they could have stayed that way forever, too!

‘Did you not?’ Eärendil tutted, feigning offence. ‘You underestimate me!’
‘Mm,’ she said, eyes falling shut. ‘No, I assure you I do not. Good night, Liantenehtar.’ 

Aaaahhhh I love this so much!!!  Good dad Earendil <3!

this is  a beautiful image of their family! I love that Elrond and Elros get to spend some time with their father, and this is for sure super quality time! I also really really like the image when Earendill scoops up Elrond in his arms, it's so cute!! aww

A beautiful ficlet!

Nevermind Eärendil, my breath was held with the excitement! This is such a classic in so many ways! I can really see them sitting in their bed, with the blankie pulled up, wide-eyed in rapt attention at their dad,  who was already a hero in their eyes!

And his tale... their grandfather's axe, seven strikes, the glowing jewels flowing from "Goliant's" sliced belly, and all forty leagues from Sirion! 

Simply delightful!

Ah, again, this scene is so vivid, sitting on the log, fronts warmed by the fire while their backs are chilled, so different from the comfort of their beds. And receiving no comfort from Maglor like they did from their dad.

I like the way you've evoked Círdan's presence in their lives in both chapters, very much with uncle/godfather feels. (not The Godfather! Although, now my brain mentions it... )

Maglor's projection of his guilt into their view of him, and their actual thoughts, are just so real and relatable, as are their respective reactions to the spider, and its squishing.

And the total disintegration of their family unit with Maedhros' departure is such a mood.

Belo! Behold! Belode!... this is just too adorable, and I hereby designate it a recognised exclamation! I'll be using it at the first opportunity!

I appreciate Amrod being thrown under the bus here. Just because they're the babies Ambarussa seem to be seen as the sweetest (and receive a get-out-of-mandos-free card the easiest), yet the youngest are often the naughtiest and/or nastiest.  (maybe because they can get away with it easier thanks to their cuteness.) And fans often forget about them with the line about the sons of Fëanor leaving the El-twins in the cave, or assume the four brothers acted in accord.

Poor Mags, having to face yet one more ugly truth about his family. 

And even if he thinks his poem needs some work, the twins were pretty impressed with it,  and I am too!

I really love this piece! Thank you!

Oh what a lovely comment this was to wake up to!

I am happy you noticed and appreciated the references to Cirdan. I've been thinking a lot about Sirion and the childhood of Elrond and Elros recently and I think there must have been so many other people who loved them there besides their parents. A lot of emphasis gets placed, I think, on the absence of their father which a) he may not have been quite as absent as we tend to assume (as I've tried to show in chapter 1) and b) there were so many other people there who might have been involved in their upbringing! Cirdan seems to me like a guy who would have made a good "uncle"/godfather. I headcanon he was a bit like that for Earendil and Elwing when they were kids, too. 

The projection of guilt thing arose because when I realised when I started writing this that *I* was projecting Maglor's feelings onto them and it felt wrong but I didn't know why. Then I happened to have a conversation with a 9-year-old (and still so young, even at that age!) and realised what I needed to do to fix it. 

Hahaha I was definitely smiling to myself when 'Belode!' came out. Then fretting that I was getting childhood linguistic development all wrong but you know what... they're peredhil so their brain development is wishy-washy at best.

It's funny you say that about the cave story, because it was actually because of some comments someone left on that post I made on tumblr a few months ago, where I pointed out that the sons of Feanor did not find them there but rather left them there, that I developed this headcanon about Amrod (and Amras) at the third kinslaying. Basically the person pointed out that theoretically Amrod and/or Amras could have left them there and Maedhros and/or Maglor could have found them. I don't find that reading super convincing but I admit it's possible! and I do like it as a way of reconciling the narratives, and (most importantly) it made me think more about A&A's role at Sirion. I think it's easy, because they're never noted for doing anything particularly special, to assume they were just "along for the ride". So the passage in Annals of Beleriand is so fascinating to me. I can imagine the Sindar telling horror stories of the terrible twin Feanorians... just when you think you've escaped one, there's another one with exactly the same maniacal face staring you down! Anyway, long digression. One day I hope to write more about them.

Thank you for your kind words on the verse. I don't really have the patience for poetry but I wanted to give it a shot for the challenge.

Thanks again, always love reading your thoughts!

 

Yeah, Círdan is just this solid, stable, head-screwed-on-right background presence throughout. Maybe it's his close relationship with Ulmo and water...

Oh! That's interesting about your conversation with a nine year old — we think we can remember what it was like, but our memories are not only coloured but recoded by experiences, so this is a good reminder to check with a good current source!

That someone suggesting Ambarussa hid the twins in the cave might have been me. It's how I initially read it, although I've never settled on whether their motive was beneficent or malicious — and perhaps M&M weren't always too sure either, although in this case Maglor knew they were deranged. I think I've only read one other fic (Idle by Dawn) where Ambarussa were wonderfullly downright ugly, and this is the first fic I've read relating them to the cave, and it's refreshing!

(I know I commented already but)
I love how Maglor's own guilt comes out in how he perceives the Twins' expressions.  I love how weary Maglor is already, of all of it, but only made worse by the persistent questions of "why can't we go home."  I bet he kind of feels the same way... :(

<3

Elrond's retelling of the slaying of Ungoliant is the cutest, omg. I'm still giggling over "Belode!"

This is such a great scene, and I really like this small step toward the love that grows between Maglor and the boys.

Oh my gosh, this is so cute! Earendil as the mighty Spider-slayer made up as a story to reassure his small children... It seems especially appropriate since some of Tolkien's stories began as bedtime stories for his children! (I can sympathize with their fear of spiders, haha.)

I like the more serious twist you've added here, too. Maglor putting their father's story in poetry as the first thread of connection between him and the two children... And Maglor's self-reproach and ambivalent feelings are just the kind of Silmarillion angst I enjoy!

Poor Earendil - no audience so skeptical as little kids who don't believe you! (And his own sons at that.)

I enjoyed wee Elrond's retelling as well. Once can see the beginnings of the loremaster... I wonder if he wrote down Maglor's version later?