The Legacy of Love by Rhapsody

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Fanwork Notes

Written, although I missed the deadline ahem, for the MPTT July 2013 Fixed-Length-Ficlet Challenge: Time in a Bottle. My assigned word count: 270 words.

A heartfelt thanks to the members of the Lizard Council who went over this little tale.

Fanwork Information

Summary:

After having found his shelter on the isle of Balar, a messenger delivers a memory from the past.

Major Characters: Celebrimbor

Major Relationships:

Artwork Type: No artwork type listed

Genre: Drama, Fixed-Length Ficlet

Challenges: Family Matters

Rating: Teens

Warnings:

Chapters: 1 Word Count: 270
Posted on 28 September 2013 Updated on 28 September 2013

This fanwork is complete.

The Legacy of Love

Read The Legacy of Love

For long he had wished never to see it again. When asked, none could tell him who delivered this errand; only that messenger had worn a dark cloak and that a hood obscured its face. It mattered not: what lay on the cloth in front of him told more than enough. So it did happen: his mighty father perished in forsaken battle. 

His fingers traced the engraved runes which were entwined by his grandfather’s sigil: he remembered the day that his father had crafted the then forbidden weapon. Surely its craftsmanship was the best, yet he wondered how many were slain by it, wielded by his father? 

With care he turned the blade around, still remembering how he would sit quietly in the corner of the forge counting how often the steel was folded over and over again until his father believed that it was adequate. Then there was the scabbard: one of the few things left to him that reminded him of his mother. Her smile, the look of love in her eyes as she gifted it to him. For long the evidence of their love had given him hope that his father would not stoop so low. They had parted with high hope in their hearts, would she await him there?

Celebrimbor sighed deeply: he had renounced him. Firmly and steadfast he had looked his father in the eye. Their love, could he turn back on that? Their only son and heir? Where was the hope? Quietly he slid the sword into the scabbard and then buckled the belt around his waist: the future was his to claim.


Comments

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You wove the details of the sword's past well--how the forbidden weapon used in the Kinslayings could be a legacy of love at the same time...

I gather that you know a great deal more about Celebrimbor's mother than is said here, but the hints here do paint a strong picture.

 

I do have a whole backstory worked out around her, why she stayed behind and all of that. I hope that once I have the first novel of Bard Rising finished, the backstory done as well (now at 8 pages and still not complete)... more side stories regarding Celebrimbor and Curufin will make more sense. *points to her files at het HD* If there were only more hours in a day...

I do believe that the actions of the house of Fëanor, and their fate are double edged: he renounced one, misses the other and then there is this legacy with the bitter sweet memories... I am glad that this unnamed wife of Curufin left such a strong impression. Thanks!

This is really lovely. Fixed length ficlets just have such a density of language. And Celebrimbor is of course a source of epic drama. But I really like how you've been able to work in so many small details into this ficlet: the memories of the swordsmithing, the scabbard, the associations between objects and persons.

Rhapsy, this is lovely! So much going on in so few words, revolving around the sword as a symbol and one with so many meanings for Celebrimbor. I love how the sword at once contains fond memories of his relationship with his father while he acknowledges the death it caused. This is a perfect little vignette. :)

Rhapsy, this is lovely! So much going on in so few words, revolving around the sword as a symbol and one with so many meanings for Celebrimbor. I love how the sword at once contains fond memories of his relationship with his father while he acknowledges the death it caused. This is a perfect little vignette. :)