sitoutside:by Joe Curtin Thus at last the Teleri were…

sitoutside:

by Joe Curtin

Thus at last the Teleri were overcome, and a great part of their mariners that dwelt in Alqualondë were wickedly slain…. And Olwë called upon Ossë, but he came not, for it was not permitted by the Valar that the flight of the Noldor should be hindered by force. But Uinen wept for the mariners of the Teleri; and the sea rose in wrath against the slayers, so that many of the ships were wrecked and those in them drowned. Of the Kinslaying at Alqualondë more is told in that lament which is named Noldolantë, the Fall of the Noldor, that Maglor made ere he was lost.
– The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter IX Of the Flight of the Noldor

The tints of red just evokes the aftermath of the Kinslaying for me.

– sitoutside:by Joe Curtin

Thus at last the Teleri were…

In Varda’s playground, aka stellar rorschach

Against the deep of the Firmament, the Queen of the Valar made new stars, twinkling beacons that break the unending dark, a welcome from the heavens for the Firstborn waking upon the shores of Cuiviénen, in response to the Doom Mandos spoke.

‘In this age the Children of Ilúvatar shall come indeed, but they come not yet. Moreover it is doom that the Firstborn shall come in the darkness, and shall look first upon the stars. Great light shall be for their waning. To Varda ever shall they call at need.’

Was this the icescape facing Fingolfin and his folk after Fëanor…

Was this the icescape facing Fingolfin and his folk after Fëanor ditched them and went on his own way with his folk?

– Was this the icescape facing Fingolfin and his folk after Fëanor…

Reader: The Silmarillion. Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter 24 “Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath”

Reader deep thought: It had to take a man of uncommon heritage to take up, and succeed, where Turgon’s thirteen expeditions have failed. Still, Ulmo was definitely the unsung hero, working quietly (as ever), and sometimes on his own accord, able to see where sometimes even his higher brethren remained blithe. Blasphemy is not condonable, but does no one else breath a sigh of relief the Silmarils were finally beyond temptation’s reach? First Age=done!

Reader: The Silmarillion. Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter 23 “Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin”

Reader deep thought: Tuor and Túrin. Two peas in a pod when they started. But their life stories could not be more different. What would have happened if Tuor had spoken to that tall, dark stranger he encountered at Irvin? Probably something bad (even were it no fault of the stranger), and somebody would behave badly. Whatever might have transpired, chances were it would have driven a trident in Ulmo’s plans and given him a litter of shark pups. So sometimes it does pay to heed the elders: Don’t speak to strangers!

Reader: The Silmarillion. Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter 22 “Of the Ruin of Doriath”

Reader deep thought: If Túrin’s story was epic in its melodrama and bitterness, a thousand thousandfold that must be Húrin’s lot, for not only was he the horrified, helpless spectator of the entire script Morgoth orchestrated, his part was not ended when his children died. Perhaps the only strand of comfort was his reunion with Morwen before the end. Still, again, Thingol figured greatly; his kingdom brought down utterly, thanks in part to his demise and Melian’s departure. Jewel fixation is a dangerous addiction.

Reader: The Silmarillion. Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter 21 “Of Túrin Turambar”

Reader deep thought: No wonder this chapter trumped the one on Beren and Lúthien; the Lay of Leithian was also the shorter compared to the Narn i Hîn Húrin. After reading this chapter, it’s beginning to feel like proper measures and superb fortifications against depression are needed to attempt the actual book. Unsurprisingly, the Silmarils again asserted their glittering allure. Still, buried under all the melodrama must be the great wonder of Thingol’s about-face on a core tenant of his belief system.

Reader: The Silmarillion. Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter 20 “Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad”

Reader deep thought: With the year it happened was everafter called “Year of Lamentation”, that surely was a mark of the abject horror among wars the Nirnaeth Arnoediad was. Unless one sat it out *cough*Doriath*cough*, everyone who signed up seemed to have died or suffered terrible fates in its aftermath. Even those who betrayed the allies were rewarded with just desserts, served cold and ironically bitter by the deceitful Morgoth. But truly, surviving Nirnaeth Arnoediad was really the raw deal to end all bad deals when you were Húrin.