#writing this meta made me realise that soul affecting magical oaths are probably a Thing the noldor make

[feanorianethicsdepartment]

people expect the oath to be this dark twisted thing. a brand of thorns scarred into the soul, choking and mutilating until its victims would do anything for relief. people expect it to be painful

but it’s not like that, not at all. the oath is a creation of the greatest of the noldor in the noontide of valinor, and its craftsmanship reflects that. it is elegantly designed, artfully constructed, and accentuated with little creative touches. how easily it fits around the soul, lovingly nurturing the self until its only purpose is violence! how gracefully it channels the mind, deftly adjusting thought patterns until nothing matters beyond the silmarils!

the oath of fëanor is a horrible thing. the worst thing about it is that it is beautiful

#silmarillion #oath of feanor #my terrible headcanons #non dumb headcanon #after a while it becomes impossible to tell which thoughts come from you and which from the oath #is there even a difference? #feel like if you asked mags if they chose to do the murder or if it was the oath #he’d glare at you and go ‘does it matter?’ #writing this meta made me realise that soul affecting magical oaths are probably a Thing the noldor make #feanor’s is horribly effective but it’s nowhere near unique