New Challenge: Bollywood
This month's challenge offers songs, films, and tropes from Bollywood, the world's largest film industry based out of India, as prompts for fanworks.
The dragon and his executioner. A take of the death of Glaurung, but with a twist. (Artwork)
Galadriel has a vision;
Elrond has a reputation;
Erestor and Glorfindel have a conversation;
Celeborn has an objection;
And Celebrian has a big surprise.
Idril sits down to dinner with her cousin Maeglin shortly after the deaths of his parents. What begins as an uneventful meal dominoes into resentment and defensiveness as her own traumatic memories of her mother's death surface.
It is an ill omen when a Prince of Doriath appears in the tent of a Dwarf without any weapons and lowers himself to sit beneath her while they speak of important matters.
Melian is bored and travels to Arda to see the Quendi. She meets Elwe. His people wonder where he is.
Celegorm's musings before, during, and after the Battle of Menegroth.
Warning for: incest (referenced), non-graphic violence, major character death, and Celegorm's IssuesTM
The actor Melairë writes to his lover to tell of meeting Glorfindel.
Turgon dies on the Ice instead of Elenwë. This is the story of what happens after that.
Written for Solanaceae for Ardor in August 2017.
Anarion, son of Elendil, on his way into exile.
Nerdanel looks back on her marriage as she watches the return of Finarfin with Anairë and Eärwen.
This is as grim as you would expect.
Back in Nargothrond after several seasons on the northern border, Túrin finds himself entangled in Gwindor's personal and political conflicts and comes to a decision about his own future.
At Nienor's request, the women of Brethil share stories and songs about Haleth, the river's daughter, and those they loved. (Goldberry/Haleth, Goldberry/Nellas, Haleth/OFC)
Caranthir the Dark does business with an Edain, and unwittingly gives rise to the hope of Middle-earth. Maedhros forms a plan.
The first Crown Prince of Arnor comes to Mandos.
Of the Petty-Dwarves, the Elves, and first encounters. What they told themselves, and others.
About the Nauglamír and the other side of the story. Of culture clash, betrayal, and lost art.
We have our teaching, and the Elves have theirs. Through countless years, they have continued to tell their own version of events about the Nauglamír. Ever they turn the story against us, saying it reveals the greed of the Dwarves, and our treachery.
They say that Elven memory is perfect. And yet it seems not so.
Caranthir is offered a chance to read an unpublished diary entry. It’s a copy of a recently discovered ancient manuscript apparently written by Haleth the Hunter. It’s a follow-up to my previous story The Manly-hearted Woman, but can be read independently of that one. It is also an entry in the SWG Challenge Just an Old-Fashioned Love Song. (“...use a popular love song as a prompt to inspire a fanwork about romantic or sexual love. You will choose your own prompt from the list of love songs below.” I chose "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers: video | lyrics).
“You come all the way to Belegost to see the Lord of Himring?”
“Yes,” says Amlach.
“I hope you’re not here to impart a message of doom upon him—a memorandum that one of his brothers has died, a notice that the Dark One has broken the Siege, something like that.”
After the Fall of Gondolin, Maeglin's more than a little broken. Is there any hope for him?
The sun’s dying rays faded over Doriath for the first time, and Lúthien looked at Nimloth.
"But Lúthien came to the halls of Mandos, where are the appointed places of the Eldalië, beyond the mansions of the West upon the confines of the world. There those that wait sit in the shadow of their thought. But her beauty was more than their beauty, and her sorrow deeper than their sorrows; and she knelt before Mandos and sang to him..."
This is a story of Haleth. The challenge it meets requires that one write a story based upon one of the SWG bios about a character one has never written before. I owe many writers for my inspiration, but mainly those who have written Caranthir/Haleth stories I have read and enjoyed over the long years I have been reading Silmarillion fanfiction. I did write the original SWG bio of Haleth, but I wrote it so many years ago that I thought someone else might have written it, until I opened it to consult it for source material (it’s definitely one of mine). This is a story complete in itself, but I do reserve the right to add an epilogue.
And once again, I must thank IgnobleBard for his Beta read at the last minute!
Two vignettes featuring the parents of Voronwe of Gondolin.
Inspired by Oshun's bio of Voronwe's father Aranwe, which is here.