Comments

The Silmarillion Writers' Guild is more than just an archive--we are a community! If you enjoy a fanwork or enjoy a creator's work, please consider letting them know in a comment.

I know I already replied to you, but it would only be fair to do that in public as well - this ficlet is so wonderful, Indy, thank you. I love literally everything about this - Indis and Míriel and their love for each other and their family - and the prospect of Nerdanel joining them, and just the fact that they all exist and get along - it's the best of both worlds, really, and, well. I'm glad the Poetry 'verse exists, and this is such a lovely gift - thank you again.

That's an awesome passage to expand upon.  The Akallabêth has been in my mind today too, so I snapped this one up right away.

I guess Elves probably would end up finding their bodies, wouldn't they? And they would probably speculate and debate about it, as your OCs are doing. I love vignettes that explore obscure/overlooked points of the Legendarium, especially ones with darker themes.  This is great!

Thank you! I'm thrilled you enjoyed it. I can't really see the Valar getting their hands dirty, and the Maiar I don't think would have any reason to be on the shore. So it would have to be the Elves.

It is an interesting passage. I'm guessing that it's supposed to be something Bermuda Triangle-esque with no actual knowledge of what happened, but it also seems that Tolkien may have intentioned that it actually did happen. There's no way to know, of course, but it's one of those things that does have darker undertones under the "it's a reward!" surface-- and the darkness is the reason I wanted to write it. (And post it right before Halloween.)

That is so totally creepy! Great little story for Halloween. Shit! I could just see blundering into the straight way and getting offed. It could be worse. The valar could sue me. Good thing I am not doing any sailing these days, I have had a run of bad luck for the last few years.

That quotation is a perfect, perfect example of "if that is the Valar's favor, I pass!"

Awesome! I was going for creepy! (I thought I ended up near "sad" so to hear otherwise thrilled me.) And guilty as charged for being a Halloween story.

"The Valar could sue me" made me laugh.

It absolutely is. One of those things where I can see Tolkien's probable viewpoint and rather disagree that it's a good thing.

You're right, I don't think I've ever seen this particular line handled in fanfic either. Of course, it's a sort of despressing thought, no matter how poetic the Akallabêth makes it sound. Ilarwa raises a lot of good points...

That said, I enjoyed this very much. So far, I've more or less read this line as part of the grim fate of Númenor, never giving any thought to what it means in practical application. Now I'll probably never be able to read it without goosebumps and a twinge in my stomach - thanks to your story!

Heee! I'm not a fan of unicorns, but I still thought this was quite a neat little encounter. And sitting down to sketch them for a future project sounds just like what Nerdanel would do!
I love what you make out of these little throwaway lines. (Of course, the people who'll raise a fuss about "Mary Sues" on unicorns would probably object to mammoths or even zebras, too...)

Thanks! It's not an idea I take particularly seriously either, but the scene entered my head and wouldn't leave. (And that apart from the point I wanted to make.) What can you do? :P Thank you! It's the throwaway lines that are sometimes the most intriguing. Ooh, yes, you're right. I didn't even think about mundane animals they'd object to. (I'm now determined to put zebras in a post-Darkening pre-Eärendil Valinor fic I'd like to write next year.)

That's my preference, too. It's the sheer vitriol directed at the latter when their authors are just having fun that bothers me. (Unicorns are one of those things that aren't really canon, but this line could be used to justify their presence. Twisting something like that is something I occasionally enjoy doing.)

Oooooh. I'm so glad I finally got around to reading this - I love the more natural approach to the Valar where they become manifest in nature and their chosen areas rather than in institutionalized worship so to speak - this is simply gorgeous, Indy!

Thank you! I honestly wasn't sure if it would be too hopeful or light to "count." So I'm thrilled you like it. I actually like the "reached Valinor safely" scenario-- but I think it happened after they woke up from this sleep/stasis thing. That way, it doesn't interfere with Eärendil's voyage/specialness.