To Forgive by Dawn Felagund

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Fanwork Notes

These small stories are for Rinnor, who said, "I'd like to see a story about forgiveness among the Noldor in Aman. Since they're an immortal people, and tribal, I imagine that social pressure would push both parties to resolve their differences, but that's my interpretation ... Whereas mortals can take a grudge to the grave, how does an immortal come to terms with a grievance against another, when s/he is likely to see the other party, well, forever."

This was a thought-provoking topic, and I may continue to add ficlets to this series as time progresses.

Fanwork Information

Summary:

For Rinnor, three fixed-length ficlets about forgiveness among the Noldor: Feanor on forgiving his half-brother, Maedhros on pardoning the mistakes baby brothers make, and Fingolfin on why forgiveness is essential for the Noldor to defeat Morgoth.

Major Characters: Curufin, Fëanor, Fingolfin, Fingon, Finwë, Maedhros, Turgon

Major Relationships:

Genre: Fixed-Length Ficlet, General

Challenges: Gift of a Story

Rating: General

Warnings:

This fanwork belongs to the series

To Give in Return
Chapters: 3 Word Count: 1, 597
Posted on 5 December 2007 Updated on 5 December 2007

This fanwork is a work in progress.

Show all chapters on a single page

Table of Contents

Unforgiving

Young Fëanáro is confronted by his father about his biggest flaw: his inability to find forgiveness for his new half-brother. A quibble (500 words).

Broken

Maitimo learns from his baby brother about loss, pride, and forgiveness. A quadrabble (400 words).

The Spiderweb

Nolofinwë on why even the most grievous deeds must be forgiven. 700 words.

Comments on To Forgive

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I *love* Maitimo, and yours is someone wonderful.  He....well, he understands love and swallowing pride so much better than any others of the Noldor.  He values his brothers more than the works of his hands, and this wisdom will serve him well in the years to come.  I don't think he truly forgets it until the 5th battle. 

I'm sorry to have taken so long to reply to this, MithLuin! I had to reread the piece myself, as it's been a long time since I wrote it, and it definitely shows why I chose to follow Maitimo primarily in my stories about the Noldor. In my mind, he had the furthest to fall, as I wanted this piece to show. Thank you for reading and commenting. :)

Once upon a time, I could do nothing but write about him! :) And I still would if not for other obligations. I had to reread this piece, as it's been a long time since I wrote it, but it is definitely Classic Maitimo. I catch flak in some circles for making him "too perfect," but I think this ficlet details exactly why I chose him, because in my mind, his fall was the furthest. Thanks for reading and commenting, Ziggy!

I don't know why I decided to look at these this morning. I felt like I needed some Vintage Dawn Feanorians! Unlike others commenting here, I do not see Maedhros in this story as a sainty or outstandingly virtuous creature. But he is a young man of integrity, honor, and a mature sense of balance. His compassion and love for his brothers means that he is able to hold them together through long years of struggle and a myriad of differences of opinion and conflicts.

People instinctively see this in his actions throughout the texts--you said in a response to another comment: he had the furthest to fall. Which is one of the aspects that makes The Silmarillion tragic and not just a disaster. Why we keep reading it and why we care what happens.

Since it's a trend in replying to comments on this story ... I had to reread it to remember it. Ouch. Maybe I'll get another comment in a couple years time and will be able to remember enough to reply without having to reread it again.

I do not see Maedhros as saintly either, although that's probably the #1 complaint about AMC (mostly on ff.net, to be fair). But he's a pretty extraordinary character in the Silm, even when seen through Pengolodh's biased eyes. (Even Pengolodh can't completely eradicate that "integrity, honor, and  ... sense of balance"! :)

Thanks for reading this dusty old thing and commenting on it too!