#I’m thinking Dunlendings???

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

Hello, as the resident Rohan Person, I was wondering if you have any thoughts/headcanons about Gamling? He's one of my fav background characters in the books. No worries if not and very much looking forward to hearing more about Gúthlaf and Wídfara!

Oh my gosh! I love that you love Gamling! He doesn’t appear in a lot of the story, but when he’s there, he’s great – wise and observant and educated and still a mighty warrior despite being an old man. (Sorry to Bruce Hopkins, who I like, but he was way too young to be cast as a character who is literally called Gamling the Old!)

Gamling is someone that I haven’t *entirely* worked out in my head canon yet. Part of me really likes the idea that he’s actually Erkenbrand’s father – that Gamling was himself lord of the Westfold during his prime years and turned the job over to his son once he got old. But then when things started to go to shit with Isengard and the Westfold got increasingly dangerous, Erkenbrand asked his dad to come back into service to help out and that’s how he ended up commanding Helm’s Dike. 

That gives an explanation to something that always stuck out to me when Aragorn and the others first arrive at Helm’s Deep…Gamling tells them that his “son’s son” is there to fight alongside him, but his son doesn’t seem to be there. You’d think that the son would have been the first called into action since the grandson is noted to be too young to really be in the fight, so where is this kid's dad? Well, if he’s Erkenbrand, he’s out dealing with the aftermath of the Second Battle of the Fords of Isen and won’t be back until later. And Gamling DOES take the first opportunity to ask for news about Erkenbrand, which, as his father, he would presumably very much want to know! (We also see that both Gamling and Erkenbrand speak Dunlendish, so it would make sense that Erkenbrand learned it from his father – lords of the Westfold are well served to know how to communicate with the nearest neighbors.)

That’s kind of the limit of my formal thoughts so far, though he’s definitely someone I want to get more into. As a member of Théoden’s generation, they could have had some good adventures together when they were both younger men. And the whole Dunlendish thing could lend itself to making him a distant ancestor of Freca, the dude of mixed Dunlending and Rohirrim ancestry who got into it with Helm Hammerhand and got himself punched to death. Most of Freca’s family went on to ally themselves with Dunland (which is a reasonable thing to do when the king of Rohan has just murdered your father and then declared your whole family to be enemies of the state!), but maybe there were some relatives who stuck it out in Rohan and worked hard to prove themselves loyal to the throne in Edoras through great service? I’m undecided on that, but it’s interesting to think about!

What I am most interested to know now, though, is about why YOU love Gamling! What makes him stick out to you as a favorite background character? Or, I could send that to you as an Ask if you’d prefer so that you could answer it as separate post?

#asks #answered asks #gamling #rohan #with a dash of erkenbrand #background rohirrim #lotr #lord of the rings

[inquisitorhierarch]

so i think it’s been long enough since the post i’m going to vague about was last in circulation anywhere near me that i can finally talk about it without getting a flood of harassment in my inbox like i Always do every time i talk about people Lying on here about lotr. (a HUGE number of posts about lotr on here are either misleading or simply Made Up lmfao. it’s really infuriating)

anyway there’s a post going around about. the weakness of man and tolkien incorporating what he knew firsthand about the horrors of war into the story - and that part’s all totally fine. but Somebody chose to add on a widely-reblogged addition that stated something so incredibly and offensively wrong that i honestly think maybe i died at some point and read that awful reblog here in hell.

they talk at length about how the “moral” of humanity’s failing is somehow represented by. rohan “failing in its border obligations to gondor” and theoden having to die to redeem himself. and i just have one single thing to say about that

what in the good love of fuck fascist divine right of kings bullshit are you on mate

you couldn’t possibly be missing the point More you fucking weirdo

one criticism of lotr that i am very vocal about (which i for some weird reason Never see popular criticisms touch on) is that Of Course tolkien’s biases as a heavily christian british man gave him certain worldviews that obviously affected the worldbuilding of middle-earth, and he Loved him some divine right of kings rubbish. but even HE would NEVER have said or thought something so oppressively fascist about rohan’s response to gondor’s failure, because let’s be clear - the ONLY human kingdom that failed in the course of the war of the ring was fucking gondor. theoden had his problems, but the vast majority of the kingdom of rohan remained either uninterested in his descent into madness or tried to save him from it.

gondor had already been off the rails for ages at this point.

gondor, and its predecessor Numenor, represent the Higher Race of Man, God’s Chosen People (in a christian sense) - the Norman Kings who came from across the sea to civilise the British Isles and drive out the Wild Men and their offensive scottishness/welshness/cornishness/etc. the men of rohan, and other indigenous inhabitants of middle-earth ranging from dunlendings and the druedain (most likely pictish and cornish analogues) to the haradrim, easterlings and lossoth (spain/the moors, the ottoman empire, and vikings, respectively), are literally termed Lesser Men, because they’re not iluvatar’s chosen, and they are literally Expected to submit themselves to gondor’s rule, or become bad guys if they won’t. rohan literally came into being as a vassal-state of gondor, and their Happy Ending is eomer swearing himself back into that form of service and following aragorn on all his wars in the south.

now, because of tolkien’s biases, this turns out Well for them of course, but from the perspective of readers it’s easy to notice that this is actually fucking dystopian and horrific. in fact, the Most horrific example is the dead men of the Stone of Erech who fight for aragorn at Minas Tirith in order to be released from their oaths.

from their perspective, all those years ago, they were living their own lives on their own land in southern middle-earth doing their own thing, and then some tall dickheads pitched up on a boat after their island home sunk and just Declared that they were the chosen kings and all men have to submit to them. literally anyone in these circumstances would probably be justified in saying “yeah sure okay bro” and hoping the guys would go away - because they don’t have the omnipresence to know that tolkien’s version of christian god said elendil really WAS the true king and they’d be punished for not randomly right off the bat obeying some arrogant jackass walking onto Their land and insisting it all belonged to Him instead and also that their “sure thing buddy” was legally and magically binding. they literally suffered constantly for centuries because of a mistake literally anybody without magical fourth-wall-breaking genre knowledge would make.

sauron might be The bad guy of lotr, but anybody with a capability for analysis can look at the actual worldbuilding and see that gondor is also. Absolutely Horrific

and then we come to Denethor. motherfucking Denethor

DENETHOR is the one who failed in his “border obligations”. to rohan. the idea that rohan failed to guard its borders is fucking gibberish. because even if it HAD been their obligation (which it fucking WASN’T), the reason they failed was an overwhelming flood of orcs massacring their soldiers - you know. a thing that it’s pointless to blame someone for on account of all the Deaths being punishment enough you weird Freak. rohan was constantly begging gondor for help as they were being overrun... as the isen was taken and the first AND second marshals of the mark were killed. and denethor didn’t give a shit. he didn’t even want to light the beacons to call rohan for help - he was only angry that theoden supposedly didn’t answer in time because he was so twisted by the palantir that he saw defeat and betrayal in everything.

to claim that the failure in the disaster that befell the kingdoms of man in the war of the ring was rohan’s is to so totally misunderstand everything tolkien was trying to convey that i have to wonder if you even Read the fucking books or if you just Really like to wax lyrical about how great kings are. the point of theoden’s hesitation to go to gondor’s aid is that he has been through absolute hell and gondor sent NO AID WHATSOEVER so he intended to do the same thing back. and instead chooses to be the bigger man and give help even though gondor has no right to ask for it after offering nothing of its own. to do good for no reason other than it IS good. 

THAT is the motherfucking point of theoden’s change of heart - not some fucking bullshit about being a good little slave to gondor’s king and laws, but the idea that in his heart of hearts, theoden couldn’t even let the people who allowed his son to die due to their inaction to suffer if he could do something about it. rohan’s entrance to the battle of the fields of pelennor is literally about how showing up for no other reason than because it’s right will win the day, even if you’re “lesser” than the big hero guys.

“rohan failed to uphold their border obligations” literally go fuck yourself you fucking prick lmfao

#accidentally got reminded of this godforsaken post this afternoon and have been fuming ever since #whoever wrote it. i hope you get better but i kinda doubt you ever will #literally. obscenely cruel take. unbelievably offensive to anyone isn't a Bonkers Fucking Monarchist #anyone who** #i bet that person fucking Loves charles *rolling eyes emoji* #i hate the dichotomy of correcting posts like this because it's like #i desperately want people to see it because i need everyone to understand how offensively wrong it is #but also everytime i point out that someone is Lying or just Wildly Wrong about lotr on here i get anon hate for months afterwards #shoutout to p/nny/nn/ for literally deliberately sending their followers to bother me #because of how Wrong they were about things they were confidently stating as Fact #sigh. anyway fuck gondor fuck denethor fuck the divine right of kings fuck elendil fuck isildur. and fuck that guy

[magpiecaranthir]

Hi! Hope your ask box sitch gets fixed soon 💜 Do you have any thoughts or opinions about clothes and fashion in middle earth from any time period and any people? I’m doing a little fashion timeline project for myself and thought it could be fun to hear other opinions if you feel like it 💜

Oh, from what I hear it's not going to get fixed like, ever. But that's fine that's what I have this acc for now :)

Ok ok so you opened a big can of worms I'll try to keep the lid on best I can

So I'll ramble about the Dunlendings first because I have been knee deep into their existence with my recent fics I cant leave my babies alone. It's all over the place bc I got in ramble mode sorry. Also, it's very long lol.

Ok so dunlendings are said to be the descendants of some of the haladin, right? So their clothes are partially influenced by that in the same way gondor is influenced by former numenorean trends and the likes

I fucking hate the movie depiction of the dunlendings. Look at this shit. No. I refuse.

What I will take from that shitshow is the primarily dark hair and the preference for shorter (not more than like 5cm) unadorned beards, and some incorporation of furs.

The dunlendings used to live in the forests of Middle earth, not just in what would come to be Dunland. But when the numenoreans needed wood they chased them off.

Based on that I think they used more muted, natural colours like greens, deep reds and oranges, brown, the occasional black. They preferred light fabrics back then, especially in the settlements close to the shores and further south. They did a sort of tiedye to imitate natural fur patterns during hunting. That's something they do even in later ages.

When they were forced to migrate inland and into the mountains (what would be Dunland) their fabrics in general became sturdier. Thicker linen, more wool, and the likes.

They keep the population of larger predators in check in the mountains, so their furs make it into the garments fairly often. Usually used for children's clothing because they are very much mortal and they know babies and elders need a bit of extra protection from the cold.

Usually they also have ceremonial furs for special occasions (usually any type of bear for holidays of sorts)

And pelts with peculiar colouring/patterns or from mountain lions/wolves/other pack animals and the likes for special festivities relating to members of the community. (Think wedding, burial, birth).

Not everyone wears those to all celebrations. They are worn by the one who is the star of the show and their family, so to speak. Bride and groom's families wear those, while everyone else wears normal festivity clothes.

Those are accompanied by fairly unadorned clothes with sturdy but artful geometrical embroidery, usually around the hems, collars and cuffs.

Belts worn by the males are the centerpiece beside the felt, and are very artful, especially because in my hcs every village has mastered the art of burning patterns into leather. The belts are wide and loose, and usually are made from a prey animal of their formal fur garment bc they believe they should not deprive predator from prey, even in death.

Women wear usually dresses for celebrations, they are sturdy and have several layers so you can mix and match depending on the season. So several underlayers, chemises, stockings per ensemble.

The dresses themselves formal but not center-stage formal, but every single one has a decorative overskirt you tie around the waist. That comes on and off, and the dress is perfectly complete without it. That one has lots of embroidery.

The women in the family usually start embroidering a fabric when the baby is around 5 and shows some character, and its finished when they marry. Jts their dowry of sorts. If no women are in the family/can sew then theres usually elders who are more than happy bc while dunlendings do not particularly care for fashion statements, the overskirts are an expression of love from the community for the girl/woman.

Every day clothing is still muted in the later years of the 3rd age, and each settlement has their own preferred garment and usually pelt of choice. For example, you'll have a settlement close to the mountains of Dunland where the people prefer bear fur over wolf, while a settlement further towards Rohan/south prefers wolf pelt over bear. It's not entirely dependent on where they live.

Also families that havent moved away for a few generations have developed special embroidery similar to family heraldry, which gets more elaborate with every generation bc they take pride in their heritage and survival despite the numenorean's best efforts to get rid of the dunlendings.

I'll cut myself off here because it's already so long lol.

Idk if the dunlendings are something you're interested in, but imo much of these things (use of natural colours and tyedye to blend into woodland realms, use of ceremonial furs and artful belts and hand-me-down dedicated embroidery) are what have been passed down from the haladin people, and adjusted to the current time/living situation of the dunlendings

#ask box #deadqueernoldor's ask box #id in alt text

[rohirric-hunter]

I’m gonna be quite frank: I think it was very inappropriate of the LotRO devs to make a quest about colonialism against Dunlendings with any other people before they made one about the history between the Dunlendings and the Rohirrim. The questline in the Angle was also clumsily handled, inaccurate to the lore, and all around bad but even if it was done well it still would have been tasteless and bad because what the devs communicated by not having a quest like this in regards to the canonical history between the Dunlendings and the Rohirrim was that they were simply not going to address it at all and it was up to the players to fill in the blanks on their own. Which was fine. But when they added in that questline they communicated that they were going to address it. But badly. And they’re still not going to address the preexisting point, which way more people care about.

I don’t really want to harp on that Angle questline but it established a precedent and it left me very concerned about their plans for Swanfleet and Cardolan, which are geographically quite close.

#lotro #discourse #i certainly hope the devs got enough immediate backlash on that quest that they know better than to expand on that concept #or at the very least that they put more *effort* into it #but really they shouldnt touch it at all until theyve explored the preexisting point re: dunland and rohan

[ithilienns]

5, 11 and 12!

Ooohh thank for asking ☺️🥰

5. What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?

For 2022 I have sadly only published one fic and to my absolute surprise it’s for HOTD? I didn’t even plan on watching the show and now I’m back to not only writing fic but also actually publishing it in a timely fashion? I blame all the fun I’m having with the High Valyrian dialogue, because nothing gets me excited to geek out like conlangs and when it takes hours for you to figure out a handful of lines of dialogue then I’m just desperate that all that work doesn’t join my drafts graveyard lol.

11. What work took you the longest to write?

I’ve been working on a queens of Númenor fic FOR YEARS. Not even joking. My main problem is I get stuck in the feels and it becomes debilitating. I spent a good chunk of this year editing it (and it’s not even a very long fic, I just keep changing my mind). I don’t think it counts because I haven’t published it this year, but it’s coming sometime (I hope).

12. How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year?

Ooof buckle up, I just had to dive down into my draft graveyard and just gave up counting!!! 😳

Tolkien Legendarium

- Spring of the Elvenking: Set in the Fourth Age, a sort of outside perspective on the fading of the elves. I wrote in full About two years ago and then accidentally deleted it so I had to rely on an early draft. Obviously I lost a bunch of motivation because of that (especially because I put so much effort into editing it!!) but I want to just get it out there because I was super proud of it.

- Queens of Númenor fic

- Faramir fic

- Éowyn fic (maybe parallels Faramir, maybe standalone, I haven’t edited so I can do either at this stage)

- Elrond fic

- Fíriel of Gondor fic

- Dunlendings / Rohan war + Long Winter fic

- Míriel and Indis fic

- I also would have sworn I wrote a fic that was a bit more fun about the shire but I can’t find it anywhere so maybe it was a fever dream or more likely it was in the folder I accidentally deleted along with my Spring of the Elvenking fic.

Other fandoms:

ASOIAF/HOTD/GOT:

- I reread the Dunk and Egg short stories (even if you don’t like game of thrones stuff, I’d recommend. Very fun, relatively wholesome and in the same universe but ~100 years before GOT and ~100 after HOTD so you don’t need to remember names etc.) Because of this, I’ve lost my mind and decided to write my attempt at a the 4th instalment because it’s not like its coming anytime soon :/ So far, I have not had good results lol.

- An angsty fic on Aegon III’s legacy for his three daughters (particularly Elaena)

- Some other miscellaneous stuff for fic challenges I’ve entered just to get back into the writing habit (plus I’m having so much fun with the High Valyrian, conlangs are my jam!!!)

Merlin

- A post-canon fic dedicated to angsty once and future king times with lonely Merlin, but it’s a rough draft

- Morgana character study (because I love women and most of all I love HER)

I’ve also got some fics for other non-fantasy fandoms that are well overdue an update, but the longer I wait to get back to writing then the guiltier I feel and I just stop!!!

Anyway, thank you for asking!!! 😊

#asks #fanfic #writing

[silmaspens]

Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die

#thinking about the nazgul #starting off the second age with these losers #okay 3 are nuemenoreans #probs lords of umbar #3 are from the north/Misty mountains #I’m thinking Dunlendings??? #and 3 are from rhun #you can pick who you like best for the witchking :) #nazgul #Tolkien #silmart #akallabeth #? #second age lockdown

[theemightypen]

Ok guys I SWEAR I’m working on Too Wise and I even have proof:

Erkenbrand quirks an eyebrow at him. “May I ask what was in Ceorl’s letter, sire?”

“I think it best if I share his message with you and the council all at once. It is not a simple matter.” 

“Ah. It must concern the Dunlendings, then.”

Eomer silently curses the older man’s canniness. It is no ill thing, to have such an observant advisor, except when said observational powers prove too exacting for secrecy. “Do not look so troubled, Eomer King,” says Erkenbrand, clapping a hand to his shoulder in a way so reminiscent of Theoden that Eomer’s eyes nearly water, “you have my support in whatever you decide.”

“How do you know I will make the right choice?”

The question is out of his mouth before he can think better of it, and he forces himself not to flush red in embarrassment. It is the question of a youth, untested and unsure. Not of a seasoned marshal, and certainly not one of a king! 

“Lad,” comes the older man’s voice, “you have had my full confidence since you were naught twenty years old. You had Theoden King and Theodred Prince’s long before that. The boy you were then and the man you are now has only ever wanted what’s best for Rohan. More still--you have worked and sacrificed to achieve it. What better thing could there be to trust in that, eh?”

 Eomer grips his hand in a silent gesture of thanks--he does not think he could manage speech without his voice shaking, and Erkenbrand may not judge him for such a show of emotion, but he would certainly judge himself!

Well, then, he thinks as the first council members begin to trickle curiously into the chamber, let Eomer Eadig prove himself worthy of the title his people have given him, the faith his council have put in him, of Eowyn’s pride, Erkenbrand’s confidence…of Lothiriel’s love.

#it's been 84 years #i stg i will finish this fic if it kills me!!!! #too wise to peaceably woo #LOTR fic #my writing #god i've missed writing eomer's POV tbh

[guardianofrivendell]

We’ve Got Your Back

The Fellowship x fem!reader, Legolas x fem!reader

A/N: Remember the “LOTR characters and how they react when you’re hurt or sick” and I said there was supposed to be a bonus character? Well, this is that imagine that I promised you. In this imagine Legolas is your partner. PS: This is based on a true story: it’s something that actually happened to me once... woops!

Requested: Nope

Warnings: mentions of abuse, a lot of misunderstandings

King Theoden was finally freed of Saruman’s curse. Today you would discuss the plans how to defend Rohan against the army of Uruk-Hai and Dunlendings. You knew King Theoden would want to go to Helm’s Deep, but you also knew that that was something Aragorn and Gandalf wanted to avoid at all costs. So to say today was going to be interesting, was an understatement.

You were on your way to the Dining Hall to have a nice and calm breakfast with the remaining members of the Fellowship Gimli, Aragorn, Merry, Pippin, Gandalf and Legolas, before your meeting with the King.  Legolas was already gone when you woke up, he probably hadn’t even slept for more than a few hours. He had a very restless night. You on the otherhand had slept like a baby. That’s what you get when you could finally sleep in a bed after weeks and weeks of sleeping on the cold, hard ground. Eowyn had made sure you were all cleaned up and gave you one of her finest dresses to wear. It made you nervous because it had been ages since you last wore a dress, and you were anxious to see Legolas’ reaction to it. 

Everyone gasped when they saw you, a reaction you thought was a little over the top. Did you really look like a potato sack the entire time that a simple dress was enough to drop their jaws to the ground? You were more offended than flattered.

Legolas got up from the table and slowly made his way towards you, staring at your face. His lips were in a thin line and his eyes were cold, his jaw clenched. When you looked at Aragorn, Gimli and the others, their expressions weren’t very different. Every single one of them looked like they were ready to slit some throats. He halted right in front of you, and his expression changed from pure hatred to... pity? He touched your cheek gently, you barely even felt his fingers graze your skin. 

“Who did this to you, Y/N?” he asked softly. What? Did they really think you looked that ridiculous?  “W-what? What are you talking about?”

Aragorn also made his way to you, Gimli right behind him.  “Whoever it was, we will make him pay,” he promised, Legolas nodded at him gratefully.  “Yeah Lassie, leave it to us! We’ve got your back!”

“Seriously, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you laughed. But then you felt a dull pain around your eye. Oh... suddenly you remembered. 

“Oh this?” you asked, pointing at your bruised eye. “Nothing happened, don’t worry about it.”

“Nothing? Meleth nin, someone assaulted you. Never try to hide something like that from me. Ever!” Legolas said, cupping your face with his hands. 

“Legolas, really... It’s nothing, it’s just-”

“Y/N, this isn’t nothing,” Aragorn interrupted you, you noticed he became a little irritated. “Tell us who did this to you.” You looked at their faces one by one, seeing their determined looks. They would not let this go until you told them. Merry, Pippin, Eomer and Gandalf were still sitting at the table, but they were also waiting for your answer. 

“Fine! But you’re not going to like this...” you sighed. 

“It was Legolas. He did this to me.”

Several things happened at once, but you could say that all hell definitely broke loose. 

Upon hearing Legolas’ name, Merry and Pippin jumped up from their seats, ready to tackle the Elf to the ground. Aragorn looked at his friend in disbelief, while Gimli shouted all sorts of profanities at him.  Everyone was shocked Legolas was capable of doing something like that, but there was no one as horrified as Legolas himself.

“I hurt you?” he whispered, eyes wide.  “No! Well... yes!” you said. “But you didn’t mean to, it was an accident.”

You took a step towards him, but he stopped you.  “No, don’t come near me. I’m a monster...”

“You could say that!” “What kind of man lays a hand on his own las?” “And to think I called you my friend!” “You were the last person I expected this from.”

They all started to yell over each other, shocked by what they just learned about their Elven friend.

“Would you all just calm down for a second and let me explain this?!” you yelled.

“Last night, he threw his arm on my face by accident. He was sleeping, he didn’t know what he was doing,” you explained. You took a few steps to Legolas, relieved to see he let you. “It was an accident, meleth nin. I know you would never hurt me on purpose.”

You looked towards the others.  “But it’s nice to know you all have my back...” 

A/N: Ah... misunderstandings!  Like I said, this actually happened to me once and it was hilarious. 

#legolas x reader #legolas #legolas greenleaf #lotr #lord of the rings #lord of the rings imagine #lotr imagine #aragorn #gimli #fellowship #fellowship x reader #lotr fanfiction

[morwensteelsheen]

Okay anyways whingeing aside, here are some of the stories I’m hoping to try to write in the coming year. If anybody sees one of these and wants to write it….please……take it from me………..I would love to read it………

A multi-year look at the relationship between Gríma and Saruman, potentially painting it as the anti-Frodo & Gandalf, with a little more familiarity. Saruman pegs Gríma at a young age and essentially grooms him for future treachery.

“Witch King Anakin Skywalker Gothic Romance” which, if I’m parsing my garbage handwriting correctly, I think means I’m wanting to write a story about the downfall of Númenor and the Witch King’s downfall specifically via a ~gothic romance~ wherein he’s seduced by Sauron because he wants to save the person he loves. Or: dunking on Anidala for absolutely no reason besides my own pettiness.

An Elf, a Rohir, and a Dunlending walk into a bar… a LOTRO-inspired story about how fucking weird the coalitions during the Ring War must have felt for everybody involved.

Some sort of Mrs Dalloway bullshit but with someone in either Harad or Khand just for banter purposes

Éowyn and Tar Míriel misandrist revenge story, inspired by…some horror movie, I can’t mind which exactly.

Finduilas and Denethor Pride & Prejudice amen hallelujah 🙌

Breath of the Wild……Éowyn is Link, Faramir is Zelda. C’maaaaaaaan

#e writes #hold me accountable pls xoxo

[warrioreowynofrohan]

I think the thing that gets me about tolkien writing is that like…Gondorian (dunedian, Númenorean) crimes against their fellow humans are never paid for. The Easterlings and Haradrim are treated poorly by the narrative as distinctly evil or less deserving of…basic human consideration than the dunedain? And later on in the appendix, we are shown Eonwe and aragorn waging war with the Easterlings and preforming expansionist actions.

I think a good part of my personal criticisms with tolkien is that he doesn’t go far enough with the war is bad, and he never says “gondorian empire building is bad” Like he can have Faramir can bemoan the state of gondor all day, but never once implies maybe so many Easterlings and Haradrim wouldn’t hate them if their ancestors hadn’t taken them as slaves and colonized middle earth? It never crosses his mind that his people have always been the bad guys not just becayse sauron manipulations but because of their own actions. Hell? Their bloodiest civil war was over the fact their king was a son of a “inferior” human women, and people were mad about It. Like sauron is gone, that’s great but where are the self examination that they need to have? They need to confront their own superiority complex that their ancestors (the edain?) Almost never had. They need to recognize they are HUMAN and mortal and flawed just like everyone else left in middle earth, their .00009 elf blood doesn’t make them special, the same worms will eat them too

But they never do. and it’s disappointing.

Yes, there’s no real grappling with the legacy of Númenor as far as its relation to Third-Age Gondoran politics. I’m not sure whether you mean Eómer rather than Eönwe given the rest of the post (I find the fate of the Easterlings in the War of Wrath rather tragic, but I think it’s a product of circumstance and the mutual incomprehensibility of the Valar and Men, and don’t think the Valar could have really done any differently than they did).

I think it’s mostly the product of the author - Tolkien does consider the Númenoreans to be special, he just thinks they used their specialness the wrong the way. Yet at the same time, he does recognize the evil of their pride in their lineage - the side in the civil war that you mention who are opposed to their king marrying someone not from Gondor are the side who are in the wrong, and who lose and become the first Corsairs of Umbar. Tolkien writes that the gradually decreasing lifespan of the Gondorians was “no doubt due above all to Middle-earth itself,” not to lineage.

And another element is that the deeds of the Númenoreans were a vastly long time ago (as in, it’s on the level with the idea of people of our present day going to war out of hostility towards ancient Assyria), so I don’t think the characterization that Sauron operated by stirring up old hatreds among the Easterlings and Haradrim is altogether invalid. And the Gondorians would likely not see those deeds of the Númenoreans as their own, given that (as stated in the Akallabeth), “the Elf-friends had small part” in the colonization of Middle-earth, and were later oppressed by the kings of Númenor, and Gondor is descended from the Elf-friends. And as a consequence of their imperialism “the lives of the Kibfs of the House of Elros waned”, so it’s not something that was overlooked. That said, Tolkien also treats the grievances of the Dunlendings, who were forced from their lands when Gondor ‘gave’ them to the Rohirrim, as equally invalud, so althogether it’s a perspective of the narrative that I certainly don’t like.

Regarding expansionist actions in the Fourth Age, I’m guessing you’re referring to this passage at the end of the Rohan section of Appendix A:

For though Sauron had passed, the hatreds and evils that he had bred had not died, and the King of the West had many enemies to subdue before the White Tree could grow in peace. And wherever King Elessar went to war King Éomer went with him; and beyond the Sea of Rhûn and on the far fields of the South the thunder of the cavalry of the Mark was heard, and the White Horse upon Green flew in many winds until Éomer grew old.

So yes, I agree that it’s generally disappointing.

If you’re the same person who sent the other Asks about Men - you’ve got a lot of good and interesting thoughts! why not start your own tumblr blog?

#tolkien #gondor #númenor #rohan #imperialism

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

Tolkien Family Week, Day 3: Extended Family (aka Éomer's substitute dads)

It’s Day 3 of @tolkienfamilyweek and we’re still in Rohan! As usual, I’m thinking about my guy, Éomer. In my head canon, his father-in-law is Elfhelm, the marshal of the Mark most famous for looking the other way when Éowyn and Merry join his éored and ride to war in Gondor. I have a lot of affection for Elfhelm even though his role in the canon is pretty small, and he appears in my work semi-regularly. 

In this case, I found myself thinking a lot about what it means to Éomer to have other father figures in his life, given that his own father died when he was so young, and Elfhelm would obviously be a major one (reminder, in my HC Éomer grew up best friends with Elfhelm’s daughter, who he later married. So Elfhelm had been in Éomer’s life for a long time both as unofficial and official extended family). The context/setting is a time shortly after the war of the ring, as the armies of Rohan are preparing to ride out once again in support of Gondor, this time to help Elessar rid Middle Earth of the evils remaining after the fall of Sauron.

**********

Éomer heard Elfhelm before he saw him. The stomping feet, the angry shouting as those feet approached his office. By the time the door flew open to reveal his father-in-law in all of his displeasure, Éomer was already up and out from behind his desk, ready to address the outburst that was clearly coming. 

“Éomer! Have you heard this nonsense from Hildred?” Hildred was Éomer’s closest military advisor, and he had recently issued new duty assignments for each of the marshals. “Commander of the home forces? I am supposed to stay here and babysit Edoras while someone else takes my men out on your campaign with King Elessar?”

Éomer would not have allowed any other man in Rohan to storm in like this, unannounced and raging, but Elfhelm was no average Rohirrim. He had a claim on Éomer’s affections that no other living man could best, and Éomer was prepared to accept much from Elfhelm that he would not tolerate in others. He tried now to steer the older man to a chair. 

“I have spoken with Hildred,” Éomer said. “And I understand why you are angry. Please, sit. Let us talk this through.” 

Elfhelm threw himself into the nearest chair, but no sooner had his back hit the cushion than he sprang back up to pace angrily across the room. “I’ve been a marshal of the Mark since most of you were still schoolboys. Since that time, I’ve killed more orcs than just about anyone else in Rohan, not to mention Dunlendings or Haradrim or whoever else needed to be dealt with. And I’m every bit as strong now at sixty as I was at twenty.” He stopped in front of Éomer and poked a finger in his chest. “You could ask those fools at Helm’s Deep or outside Minas Tirith whether I’ve gone soft with age. But they couldn’t tell you, because they’re already buried in a mound somewhere with bodies full of holes from my sword!” He stomped a foot for emphasis before resuming his angry steps. 

Éomer sighed and rubbed a hand across his face. To see Elfhelm in such a mood was a vanishingly rare occurrence. Ordinarily, he was almost unnaturally cheerful. He could maintain a happy countenance and a lighthearted spirit through the most appalling conditions, and he lost his desire to trade stories, gossip or groan-inducing jokes only while in the heat of preparations for battle. His gregarious, easygoing nature made him enormously popular with soldiers and civilians alike, but there was little sign of that nature now. 

“Everyone in Rohan has nothing but the deepest respect for you as a soldier.” Éomer tried to find a calming tone that would not be heard as patronizing. “We would all trust you with our lives on a battlefield, without hesitation. Believe me, no one doubts your capabilities.”

Elfhelm wheeled around on his heel. “Hildred must have such doubts, or that order would never have been given. Unless it is not that he thinks me incapable of leading my men but simply that he does not want me to anymore. And, frankly, that is not any better. After all, who is Hildred to make such a decision?”

Éomer grimaced and shook his head. “This has nothing to do with Hildred.” He put a hand on Elfhelm’s arm. “Please sit down, and let us talk calmly. Are you not always the one telling me to keep my head and control my temper?”

Elfhelm huffed in grudging acknowledgement of his own advice. He sat, as requested, but remained perched on the edge of the seat as though to be comfortable would be too much of a concession. He folded his arms and glared out ahead of himself. “Alright. I am sitting.”

Éomer cleared his throat and looked down at his feet. “As I said, this has nothing to do with 

Hildred.” He toed at a crack in the stone floor. “Hildred issued the duty assignments, but he is not the one who devised them. I did.” He looked up. ”I’m the one who wants you to stay in Edoras.”

Elfhelm’s mouth dropped open slightly. “You? You are the one who wants to put me out to pasture like an old stallion who is past his prime? To be stared at and pitied by all the younger studs?”

“Hold on, that is not—“

“‘Oh look, there’s old Elfhelm,’ they’ll all say. ‘Remember when he was once a formidable soldier? How times have changed’.”

“If you will just please allow me—“

Éomer’s attempts to break in went entirely unheeded as Elfhelm instead picked up speed and volume while he continued.

“I have been nothing but good to you since the day you first showed up at my house, a skinny, sad, scared little boy who found comfort and happiness in the friendship of my daughter. A lot of fathers around these parts would have shown you the door right away, you know. They would have thought such a close relationship between a boy and a girl could lead to nothing but trouble. But I welcomed you in. You’ve eaten more meals at my family table than I can count. We’ve celebrated with you, and we’ve grieved with you. We’ve watched you grow and taken pride in what you’ve done and what you’ve become. I didn’t need you to marry Mereliss in order to feel like you were my own son. I had already long since started to think of you that way. But despite all of that, now you would humiliate me like this?”

Exasperated, Éomer jumped to his feet, desperate to get in a word of response. “Enough!” he thundered. When Elfhelm went quiet, Éomer dropped the volume of his own voice and sat down again. He had an almost pleading look in his eye. “Don’t you see? All of that—everything you just said—is precisely why I don’t want you to go off to battle again. You are like a father to me, and I have lost enough fathers already!”

A stunned silence enveloped the room as Elfhelm stared at him, trying to process another unexpected revelation. “You…you are worried for my safety?”

Éomer dashed a hand across his eyes as though to fend off tears. “Of course I am. I was only eleven when my father was killed. He was my hero, and I didn’t think I would ever manage his loss. But then Théoden took us in, and he gave us not just shelter and food but stability and affection and pride. And Théodred took me under his wing, teaching me how to be the kind of man that he was… how to ride and fight, how to make and keep a commitment, how to treat others with respect and kindness. And you gave me a home away from home, a place that I could always go for support and advice and comfort. I always felt welcome in your house, even when Mereliss was not there. And so, against all of my expectations, I found other fathers, not to replace the one I lost but to fill in for him and give me what he no longer could. And now…” He broke off as his voice cracked, and he took a deep breath before continuing. “Now you’re the only one left. And so, yes, I wanted you to take on a safer role, and perhaps that was selfish of me. But I only hoped to make sure that I could keep you for as long as possible. I am sorry.” He dropped his head.

Every hint of anger left Elfhelm’s body in an instant. He looked on Éomer’s slumped form and saw once again the young, vulnerable child who had first come into his life so many years ago. And he knew that protecting that child, who still existed inside the strong, tall body of the man in this chair, was far more important to him than the glory or excitement of yet another battle. He wanted nothing more than to make that child feel loved and secure. 

“Oh, Éomer, my boy. I’m the one who is sorry. I leapt to all the wrong conclusions.” He rose and pulled Éomer to his feet, wrapping him in a tight embrace. When he released him at last, he left a hand on Éomer’s shoulder. “Can you forgive me for my harsh words?”

“If you will forgive me for putting you in this position,” said Éomer. “It is not fair to make you choose between your family and your pride.”

“Oh, to hell with pride. I’ve won enough battles in this lifetime to be a proud soldier already. Now I can be proud just to be the sort of man that the king of Rohan wants to keep around.” He dropped back into his chair, the jovial glint returned to his eye once again, and propped his feet up on a nearby side table, ready to settle in for a long stay. 

#tolkien family week #extended family #eomer #elfhelm #father figures #in-laws that you genuinely love #rohan #forth eorlingas #lord of the rings #lotr fanfiction

[absynthe--minded]

I saw your conversation post about your Boromir and Théodred headcanon. I would love to hear more!

asdfjkg where do I start??? ummmmmm hm. okay. I’m gonna give you a List Of Things That Have Informed My Thoughts, and then pick one to elaborate on, and if you or anybody else has a desire to see more from me on this please let me know? Help Absynthe Be Less Of A Disaster 2k21, etc.

(these are mostly headcanons; if something is explicitly confirmed in the text

Gondor is the only society in Middle-Earth that I will accept any homophobia from. It’s not religious homophobia, it’s class-based and centered on how the nobility must preserve the blood of Westernesse and Dol Amroth’s elvish lineage by having a lot of heterosexual marriage with each other. marriage is a duty, and sex for sex’s sake or for love only (when it’s not someone of your class and a good political match) is seen as a base urge that must be controlled. fine for the lower classes, sure, but not for the important people, and certainly not for the steward’s son

there are a lot of stereotypes about the Eorlingas that we see in the text, expressed both by Éowyn to Faramir and by Saruman to Théoden - they’re wild, they’re savage, they’re uncultured, and they’re uncivilized. we can guess that these are applied to Rohan by Gondor, as the Dunlendings believe that the Eorlingas are cruel and dangerous warriors, and the hobbits, elves, and dwarves have no preexisting opinions about them. this is something that Boromir has to deal with, and overcome, and he does

Théodred takes one look at Boromir when they meet and immediately realizes that this is an Extremely Traumatized Man and also he’s super hot ( @nikosheba​ writes him like a masc blond Jadzia Dax and I’m here for that characterization so I’m adopting it) and then they catch feelings after some post-battle “yay we’re alive” sex (this is in a fic that is being written so perhaps do not ask for clarification on that, lol, it’ll be published eventually)

For Boromir, Théodred is freedom, really. this is something that I think they share with Russingon (they have a LOT of things in common with Russingon, which explains why I’m as invested in them as I am, because it all runs back to The OTP) but like. Théodred cares about what Boromir wants to do, who he wants to be, what his dreams are. Théodred doesn’t treat him like The Son Of The Steward. Théodred treats him like Boromir.

and conversely, Boromir is one of the few people who really gets Théodred, who understands growing up motherless, who understands wanting to take big steps to change things and make the world better but having to move slowly because your duty is to your people. Boromir encourages him to take charge and think for himself, and Boromir supports his decisions and validates him.

they love one another fiercely and they’re both intimately aware of the fact that this situation is temporary at best because Boromir is going to have to, eventually, settle down and marry. Boromir is doing his damnedest to not be sick at the thought of betraying his love and he really hopes the war will last forever just because as long as he’s more suited to the front lines than the Stewardship he never has to worry about a wife ever.

look they really are Russingon 2.0 Théodred’s death is basically the Nirnaeth except there aren’t any Balrogs and Boromir almost certainly had some kind of psychic or supernatural vision/dream of the thing considering how Faramir maybe-possibly dreamt of his brother’s death (he says it was a dream with no waking in TTT but it’s described like a dream or a vision)

#replies #anon replies #boromir/théodred #needs a ship name for ease of reference #tolkien #lord of the rings

[nenuials]

Who are your favorite non-canonical characters added to Middle-earth? I.e. characters like Andriel, Tauriel, Elgarain etc.

You can't just name my top faves, just like that, off the bat (I mean you can) Gosh, that's such a cute question!

The trio from War in the North: Andriel, alongside Farin and Eradan have a really special place in my heart. WITN has a special place in my heart overall. Who would have expected THE most canon adventure not written by Tolkien to come from a hack-n-slash game? I think about Andriel like 24/7. She just lives in my mind rent free.

Elgarain. My heart bursts at her mere mention. Like, devotion? She invented it. I can't believe she pined for Arathorn for like 20 years but then STILL became friends with Gilraen and then took care of little Aragorn and then s a c r i f i c e d herself for Arathorn and his family.

Uhm, LOTRO sweetie - how can you just sit there in the corner and not talk about your many crazy good ocs, like? I mean mentioning the ENTIRE Grey Company kinda goes by default since I am a northern dunedain stan. Nona? Are you gonna give me a Dunlending character this good? Lorniel? Narmeleth? Noriel? Lotro just has too many good ocs to even mention, the list is just endless.

The only good things about the Shadow of Mordor games are Eltariel and Lithariel - I said what I said. I love how by the nature of her role, Eltariel enrichens the lore about Lorien and Lithariel bb? I love?

Tauriel my love. Ditch Kili and/or Legolas and marry me. Spare hand in marriage? I am still INCREDIBLY angry at the wasted potential with her. And at the creative choices taken by WB execs. It’s been like 10 years and I’m still here stewing cause I finally have the elf-maiden warrior of my dreams and they did what they did to her. 

I mean I can’t write a post about non-canon ocs and now mention Idrial from LOTR: The Third Age.

There are of course a lot more OCs I didn’t mention, but you specifically asked for my favs.

#andriel #elgarain #eltariel #tauriel #nona

[lesbiansforboromir]

Hi! Was reading the recent Faramir thread you have going on and I wanted to ask you to elaborate on something you mentioned in it about patriotism. "It also gives this sense of choice to it, as though the choice is between being patriotic and not being patriotic, when it’s really between everyone dying now or everyone dying later." A lot of people use nationalist language for Boromir/Denethor. However, you seem to be saying that patriotism is almost a luxury. Would you mind elaborating please?

There’s a post going around called ‘Gondor and nationalism’ which I have yet to find the energy to read properly, but yeah like! Given the circumstances, I have no idea where nationalism can be reasonably applied to any of the character’s motivations, unless you’re just taking Gandalf entirely at face value. 

Because patriotism is just... it’s not a luxury it’s just an unimportant element here! You can build feelings around how much better your country is than other countries all you like, what’s that going to help when you’re all bare years away from imminent destruction? Like, realistically Faramir is the only one who ever makes Gondor out to be any better than other allied or neutral countries or peoples, and specifically laments ‘becoming more like’ Rohan. Denethor and Boromir have nothing but good respectful things to say about the rohirrim! 

There are the very concerning meta text elements about the ‘the wild Easterlings or the cruel Haradrim’ as Faramir calls them (Boromir also calls the Easterlings wild folk). But the problem with isolating that as the reason Gondor is the most nationalistic is that no one else cares about those people either! Gandalf once mentions how he ‘cares for even Sauron’s slaves’ or some such, but Gandalf doesn’t actually do anything to help them, or makes any efforts to treat with them, or tries to do anything other than ensure their destruction. Aragorn doesn’t try to convince the Corsairs that Sauron can be defeated, he kills them all with ghosts!

The Rohirrim take Dunlending prisoners, but they also make no mention of how their treatment of the dunlendings caused them to join Saruman’s side. The hobbits of the shire are all xenophobic as hell, even other hobbits on the other side of the river are considered outsiders and strange with unseemly ways of life. All Denethor and Boromir are saying is ‘hey, we’ve lived next to Mordor for 3000 years and we’ve done a lot of warring with them in that time and no one but the Rohirrim really help us with that. You all know once he’s done with us he’ll chew the rest of you up right?’ But no apparently Gandalf thinks that’s selfish and unreasonable and everyone else is doing FINE. 

So I suppose what I’m saying is patriotism is just a very odd thing to point out in Denethor and Boromir when it has no real baring to events or realities. And nationalism is an odd critisism when they’re not saying anything that isn’t true and no one is even trying to claim otherwise nor is behaving any differently from them in any way. I simply do not see where nationalism or patriotism comes in as unique or pertinent to Gondor or the story as a whole. 

#gondor #erran vs tolkien #chats #denethor #boromir #lotr #lord of the rings #fairy-anon-godmother

[rohirric-hunter]

Léonys of Rohan Part 6

Part 1 | Part 5 | Part 7 | Part 10

So if you saw me complaining about writing in the past -- *consults calendar* -- month and a half, it was about this. Despite everything, I’m reasonably pleased with how it came out. I have provided myself with a sufficient amount of vague-metaphor-enrichment, which is what I live for.

This is a Boromir Lives fic too now, and the reason for that is this scene and this scene alone. I tried to sketch it out with Éowyn and I just ran the risk of changing canon in a way that I didn’t want to change it. Also with most Boromir Lives fanfics I’ve read they tend to take the position that Boromir would be more or less over Amon Hen by this point, and I’m not about that. I had a half-finished Boromir Lives fanfic years ago where Aragorn wouldn’t let him go on the Paths of the Dead because it’s not a place to be while you’re dealing with that kind of mental weight and I borrowed that idea and expanded on it. Mind you, Léonys has no clue what kind of crisis he’s dealing with, so that’s pretty irrelevant, but I wanted to say so anyway.

                         ***

This is how it is to be Léonys of Rohan:

Dunharrow is cold in the early dawn air. You have been sitting in the same place for long enough that the earth beneath you has gained some of your body heat, but the stone pillar at your back is still chill as death. Your bow lies across your lap, half-strung, and at your side lies one of your knives, unsheathed. There are tales of orcs and worse things in the Harrowdale, but you have seen nothing, not for hours, not since the Grey Company departed into the dim slot that they say leads to the Paths of the Dead, and your fingers are tangled in the wet grass before you, slowly teasing the roots loose.

It is not the same bow that you once used to bring food home to your family. That bow was broken in an accident, in Angmar, when you had fallen into a ravine and it had shattered against the rocks below you. You had replaced it with a war bow from a fallen man of Angmar, and your forearms had bled until someone had taught you how to wield it. You bear that bow now, and it serves its purpose. You wonder, idly, if it could be used for hunting. Your hunting bow had been turned to war easily enough, though with nothing near the harsh efficiency of this weapon.

Unease tickles the back of your spine, and you know its source is the narrow path before you, barely visible as a deeper shadow in the wall of rock on the far side of the Fireinfield, but you remain there, knowing you will not find rest this day.

You are aware of the Man approaching long before he comes up behind you, but you do not acknowledge him, hoping he is simply passing by, patrolling, perhaps, or gathering weapons and food, or tending to one of the many other tasks that a war camp such as this needs to maintain itself. No such luck. When he speaks he is close behind you, much closer than you anticipated, and one hand strays to the hilt of the bare knife at your side before you recognize the voice.

“Has sleep escaped you as well?” Boromir of Gondor asks, stepping alongside you and shielding his eyes as he gazes down the road, though the sun has not yet climbed high enough to peek over the walls of the dale.

“I haven’t tried,” you respond, not offering him more than a glance.

A long, silent, uncomfortable moment passes. You wrap your cloak around yourself a little tighter and lean forward, finally repulsed by the chill of the stone you had set your back to. There is little comfort in the Man’s presence, but he does not speak again, and you are unwilling to disturb the relative stillness of the morning with your voice. Even the sounds of the camp behind you are muted under slowly melting fog.

You wonder why he was excluded from the ride of the Grey Company. It was not by choice, that much was made clear by the stony look on his face after Aragorn finished speaking to him during a lull in your swift ride here. You do not press. This is only your fifth, or perhaps sixth conversation with the Man, if conversation it can be called, and though your previous interactions have been amicable, you do not consider him a friend.

And yet he is here, a bleak darkness draped across every line of his body like a mantle; something weighs heavily upon him as it does upon you, and he must see it as clearly as you do. And you are here, watching an evil road like one of the statues on the path climbing the valley behind, emptiness behind lifeless eyes.

You do not press.

For yourself, you believed you would have followed Aragorn and the Dúnedain to any end, as you have so many times already, but a sliver of doubt curls in your chest, that perhaps you would not have. Perhaps, at the end of that dark road before you, lies something that you would have fled, by any means necessary. You had fled, during the battle at Helm’s Deep, staggered away from the body of Lheu Brenin, lying facedown in a pool of water in the caves beneath the keep, one of your knives still buried in his back. He may lie there still if no one has bothered to move him. Your running feet had taken you only to more battle, inescapable battle, to a tall lord of the Rohirrim who had taken command at once, who had made snap decisions and executed them with easy confidence, calling someone to inspect Gimli’s injury, directing you and Golodir and a small posse of men first to plug up the caves that had let the Dunlendings into the refuge and then to the entrance of the cave, where your bow sang as you picked off every orc and Dunlending who dared come within your range.

The evil presence from the road is dimly familiar. A cavern in the Enedwaith had borne the same stink of undeath, albeit quieter. You have struggled not to think too hard of that dark street, or what happened on it, or what almost happened on it, but the memory comes uninvited in the shadow of its older sibling, and once you open your mind to it, the horror of watching a ghostly blade slice across Candaith’s back as he turned to face you, and the petrifying chill in the space between the moments for those few minutes when you truly believed he was dead, you can’t seem to retreat out of it into the cool dawn air of Rohan.

You had dragged Candaith’s bleeding body from the cave, you do not quite remember how, and you cannot recall why at all, for you had been entirely certain he was gone until Elrohir had caught the near indistinguishable rise and fall of his chest, a great distance outside the cavern where you had finally collapsed under the weight of your grief, and of Candaith’s body.

That same Candaith who now follows his chieftain down that road unafraid, knowing full well the fate he risks in such an evil place. Your shoulders tremble at the thought of the road ahead, cold and evil; and of the camp behind, slowly waking to further war; and the king that rides toward it, who does not even remember banishing you from the lands you were born in; of the fields of Rohan, wide, and open, and empty; and of the long road back to the North.

Aragorn had bid you remain in Dunharrow with gentle words, but firm, brooking no argument. “There is nothing for you on that road, Léonys of Rohan,” he had said, “and much that lies behind.”

Hathellang, when he saw Aragorn urge his steed forward and you direct Wídethym to the side, slowing her to a walk, had also left the group to ride alongside you, but before he could speak you had reached out and grabbed his hand. “Watch their backs,” you had whispered. “They’re -- they’re not very good at watching their own backs, you know.”

He had paused for a long moment, and part of you had wished he would say no, insist upon staying with you, that someone at least would stay with you, but Hathellang has not made a particular habit of saying no to you for many years, and when the moment passed he had leaned in, kissed you gently on the cheek, and then turned his horse and followed after the company without a word. You are glad, for if he had spoken you would surely have begged him to stay.

Boromir shifts, stirring as if pulling himself free from some invisible bonds. “I have consulted with the Lady Éowyn,” he says abruptly. “Théoden King will come to Dunharrow tomorrow, if all goes well. The armies of Rohan will ride on the following morning. I shall ride among the King’s men, and so shall you.”

You look up then, and look at him though he is not looking at you. “Am I wanted there?” you ask, trying to hold back the bitterness out of habit alone.

He looks at you for just a moment. “We will have need of every sword and bow that can be trusted,” he says, and then he nods and turns away, turning his back on the dark road ahead, facing his own path.

After Hathellang left you, Golodir had passed close by, and he had not spoken, but as he urged his horse past yours, his hand had caught yours and you had felt something pressed into your palm. He had met your eyes, and there was soft understanding there, and pity, and then he was gone, fading into the mist with the rest of the Grey Company. You had watched them go until the sounds of their passing faded into the shadows that lay across the field, and then you had looked down and discovered that in your hand lay the knife you had left buried in Lheu Brenin’s back, catching what light was to be found and reflecting it back, bright, and clean, and deadly.

You stand, and sheathe your knife, and turn to follow Boromir.

Part 1 | Part 5 | Part 7 | Part 10

#lotr #lotro #lord of the rings #lord of the rings online #lord of the rings online fanfiction #lotr oc #leonys of rohan

[arofili]

Line of Elros Edit Series: Appendix E

Continued from Appendix D. This section will contain information on the the Stewards of Gondor.

~~~

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Appendix A: Royalty of Númenor Appendix B: House of Andúnië, Royalty of Arnor Appendix C: Royalty of Gondor Appendix D: Princes of Dol Amroth, Chieftains of the Dúnedain Appendix E: Stewards of Gondor (you are here!)

~~~

STEWARDS OF GONDOR

Are you ready for a bajillion names reused from the First Age?! The Stewards loooved to name their kids after First Age heroes - and I decided that the ladies shouldn’t get left out of that tradition either, so I scoured the family trees of the Three Houses of the Edain for some names to give their wives and daughters :)

Astorion ft. Astorion (OC), Húrin of Emyn Arnen, Idril of Emyn Arnen (OC) Though Astorion himself is an OC, everything about the appointment of the first Steward is canon or strongly implied by canon. The rules surrounding who could be Steward are also canon, though the exact circumstances of how they came about are my headcanon. Húrin of Emyn Arnen was indeed Minardil’s steward, and the stewards were chosen from his House after this, but the details about his role in these two succession crises are all headcanon. The House of Húrin was related to Anárion, though this relation being through one of his daughters is speculation on my part. See the linked Kings for details about the canonicity of their stories.

Pelendur ft. Pelendur, Meleth of Gondor (OC), Vorondil, Anwariel (OC), Mardil Voronwë The details of Pelendur’s friendship with Eärnil, and Eärnil’s ambitions toward royalty, are my headcanon; check out Eärnil’s edit for more on that. The conflict between Eärnil and Arvedui is canon, as is Pelendur’s influence in choosing which would become King. Vorondil’s hunting of the Kine of Araw and making of the Horn of Gondor is canon, though I made up the bit about it being part of a matched pair.

Mardil Voronwë ft. Mardil Voronwë, Anoriel (OC), Eradan, Gilwen of Gondor (OC), Herion, Cadwareth (OC), Belegorn, Lossendil (OC) Mardil’s ascension to power is canon, but the details of Eärnur’s demise, while canon, have been embellished (see his edit for more info on that). Mardil’s work on the calendar is canon, but his wife’s influence on its creation is headcanon. Everything about Eradan, Herion, and Belegorn is headcanon.

Húrin I ft. Húrin I, Beril of Gondor (OC), Niënor of Gondor (OC), Urwen of Gondor (OC), Túrin I All of this is headcanon; we have practically no information about Húrin I save that he had two daughters before Túrin I.

Túrin I ft. Túrin I, Andreth of Gondor (OC), Lalaith of Gondor (OC), Nellas of Gondor (OC), Níniel of Gondor (OC), Meldis of Gondor (OC), Hador of Gondor All we know about Túrin I is that he had “several daughters” with his first wife, and was the first (and only) leader of Gondor to take a second wife, with whom he had a son. Since Hador was born a year after Túrin became Steward, I think it’s reasonable to assume he had to wait ’til he was in charge to change the law to allow him to remarry, but that’s not canon. All other details are headcanon. Sorry for making him a massive dick. Túrin Turambar deserves better than being remembered like this; I’ll try to make up for it when I get to Túrin II.

Hador ft. Hador of Gondor, Maerion (OC), Barahir of Gondor, Taweneth (OC), Dior of Gondor, Rían of Gondor, Bellmund (OC), Denethor I Hador did canonically add a leap day to the calendar, and he was also the last Steward to have the “lifespan of a full Dúnadan.” Dior canonically had no children and was succeeded by his nephew. I made up literally everything else here. I’m baffled by the decision of Rían to name her son after an Avarin king when all the other names in her family that were taken from the First Age are from the Edain and the occasional Noldor or Sindar royal; there’s no reason why she would have picked that name, so I tried to give her one here.

Denethor I ft. Denethor I, Felucaliel (OC), Lalwen of Gondor (OC), Emeldir of Gondor (OC), Steward Boromir Denethor canonically had two daughters before Boromir; I changed one to be nonbinary. It was also during his rule that the Watchful Peace ended. Everything else is headcanon.

Steward Boromir ft. Steward Boromir, Amathael (OC), Círion, Hirwen of Gondor (OC), Hallas, Thalieth (OC), Húrin II, Beldis of Gondor (OC) Boromir did canonically do all that fighting, though we know nothing about his wife and sibling fighting with him; his decline after receiving a Morgul wound is also canon. Almost all of Círion’s story is canon. Hallas did indeed come up with the names “Rohan” and “Rohirrim.” Everything else is headcanon.

Belecthor I ft. Belecthor I, Glóredhel of Gondor (OC), Orodreth of Gondor, Morwen of Gondor It’s canon that the Corsairs reared their heads again in this time, but we don’t know of any major battles so I decided a stalemate made sense here. Everything else is headcanon.

Orodreth ft. Orodreth of Gondor, Beleth of Gondor (OC), Ecthelion I The only canon thing here is that Ecthelion did rebuild the White Tower. Also, you know I’m gonna make all the childless Stewards gay and/or aspec :p

Morwen ft. Morwen of Gondor, Dammoron (OC), Adanel of Gondor (OC), Faeleth (OC), Egalmoth of Gondor All of this is headcanon, except that Morwen was canonically the grandmother of Egalmoth.

Egalmoth ft. Eglamoth of Gondor, Hareth of Gondor (OC), Beren of Gondor, Gildis of Gondor (OC), Steward Beregond, Bregil of Gondor (OC), Belecthor II, Thúliel (OC), Thorondir, Helheth (OC), Túrin II, Eregil (OC), Turgon of Gondor, Mírdholen (OC) As usual, everything with the women in this edit is headcanon. The wars with the Dunlendings, Corsairs, orcs, etc. are all canon, as is Saruman’s appearance in the narrative. The recovery period after the war has been greatly embellished; everything about Belecthor II and Thorondir is headcanon except for their lifespans and the death of the White Tree (and Belecthor being an only child, weirdly enough that’s specifically noted in canon lol), though I made up the reasoning behind Thorondir’s declaration. Túrin I’s deeds are all canon, though with the exception of the Rohirrim the supporting cast’s involvement is mostly my headcanon. Nothing significant happened during Turgon’s rule except for Sauron’s declaration; his reaction to that event is headcanon.

Ecthelion II ft. Ecthelion II, Narwiel (OC), Denethor II, Taeneth (OC), Beniloth (OC) Everything about Ecthelion and Thorongil/Aragorn is canon (and leaves me wondering if they fucked...) Ecthelion canonically had two unnamed daughters. Taeneth and Beniloth are Sindarin names I adapted from the Quenya “Terenis” and “Vanyalos” given to them in LOTRO; I also poached their backstories from LOTRO. (Disclaimer that I haven’t played the game, I’m getting this all from Tolkien Gateway.)

Denethor II ft. Denethor II, Finduilas of Dol Amroth, Boromir, Faramir This is pretty much all canon, though details have been embellished here and there.

Faramir ft. Faramir, Éowyn, Elboron, Rohiril (OC), Silevegil (OC), Barahir of Ithlien All of this is canon, though it’s been slightly condensed, up until the details about Faramir and Éowyn’s descendants. It is canon that Barahir wrote the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen, but we don’t know if he was the son of Elboron or of some unknown sibling of Elboron. I ship Elboron and Eldarion, so I chose to go with the latter possibility :)

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My Peoples of Arda Edit Series continues with the Three Houses of the Edain Edit Series!

#line of elros #headcanons #gondor #my meta #tefain nin #loe appendices #stewards of gondor #peoples of arda