#tolkien headcanons
Thranduil personally writes down every single name of any elf who dies in his kingdom.
The names arnt in alphabetical order, but by date. He writes the name, the cause of death (usually) and then something everybody loved about them.
He’s certain that others are in charge of far more thorough record keeping but that isn’t his concern. He keeps this list for himself, and flips through the pages often enough he has started to memorize some of the names. Perhaps most of the names by the time he leaves Middle Earth.
He does this for two reasons.
1) inspiration and motivation. Trying to keep going relentlessly forward is difficult, but it’s a lot easier for him if he can look back on how far his people have already come. How much they believe in this fight. How much they need him to keep fighting it.
And 2) He plans to personally thank each and every one of them once they come back from the halls. He will not be satisfied until every single name is crossed out.
In the bottom corner of the cover page is a tiny little note written in code; A sort of enchantment thats meant to bring the attention of Lady Yavanna, and a plead (not a prayer, Silvan elves as a rule didn’t pray.) that his sons name would never stain the pages.
*Tour guide voice* And if you look above us, you’ll see the headcanon that led to this user writing perhaps the most heartbreaking fic she ever has
There’s a rumor that’s less of a rumor but more of a stretched fact that some sort of horrible River Monster lurking in the rivers of Mirkwood.
Many visitors claim to have seen it, as they stare desperately into the depths of the surprisingly deep waters. Occasionally it’s said that the great creature will leap up on some unsuspecting thing coming to the waters edge for a drink. Finding themselves snapped nearly in half by a powerful set of jaws quicker than they could blink
But for something so large, the creature is fast. Extremely fast. So while many people say they have seen the great beast, the do not know what it is.
Some say it’s some sort of old and forgotten water dragon, content to lay in its murky depths and ignore the world.
Some say its a different form of hideous beast that doesn’t have a name, but even if it did few would dare utter it for fear of summoning the great creature.
Some even whisper that it was some kind of evil creation sent from the poisoned walls of the old fortress.
The men of Laketown have the most stories of the massive, mysterious beast for sometimes it leaves the fast flowing rivers for the calmer waters of the Lake.
Even the Men can feel the shift energy in the waters beneath their feet, as the fish draw away quickly to hiding places unknown to any that don’t have gills. Children stand on the roofs of their houses eagerly searching for a glimpse of it, while the adults continue to try and convince themselves ita all just stories. For their own peace of mind if nothing else.
For none know the identity of the horrible river monster except for the woodelves that share a forest with it. Woodelves that could be persuaded to take a young inquisitive ranger to meet the creature of myth as long as he promised to keep the information within the confines of of mind.
Even the elves of Imladris has begun to whisper to one another about this powerful water creature, and Aragorn could not suppress his smile at listening to his own brothers debate the issue between them.
Knowing it was not some sort of dragon or a creature created and formed in darkness, but something much different:
Snip-Snap, the massive vegetarian Snapping Turtle who enjoys neck scratches, elvish music, blowing bubbles out of her nose, and trying to jump out and scare her elvish friends.
You know if you really think about it, in a weird way Legolas also “Choose Mortality” for Aragorn and Gimli after the War of the Ring. Not in the literal sense like Arwen who became mortal, aged, died, and never returned to the earth. But Legolas actively chooses to ignore and suffer his Sea Longing to stay in Middle Earth for an extended period of time instead of sailing to Valinor. The literal only thing that can cure his Sea Longing.
The only thing that can cure a body that’s not even supposed to be able to get sick. Getting sick is for mortals.
Growing steadily worse with each passing day instead of getting better is for mortals.
Yet every single morning Legolas continues to choose to stay. To live among his mortal friends because suddenly time is more important than it’s ever been before.
Even though Legolas doesn’t age physically, the passage of time begins to impact him like it’s never done before. With each passing year the ache from the song gets worse, it wears on him in a way the centuries of war never could.
Because he knows that whether he wants to leave these shores or not, sooner rather than later he will run out of time. He will have to leave everything and everyone he knows behind.
Inevitably he will end up on a beach somewhere, a timeless being who’d run out of time.
Just like a mortal.
Further exploring realms of extreme possibility concerning the fate of Nenya (as well as the other two Rings of Power) should Sauron regain the One Ring.
The purpose of these posts are to allow me to brainstorm ideas for The Circles, an alternate universe fanfiction series. Writing ideas out like this helps me solidify more nebulous concepts and choose a course of action.
Today I just finished re-reading “The Council of Elrond.”
ELROND: “The Three were not made by Sauron, nor did he touch them. […] But they were not made as weapons of war or conquest: that is not their power. Those who made them did not desire strength or domination or hoarded wealth, but understanding, making, and healing, to preserve all things unstained. These things the Elves of Middle-earth have in some measure gained, though with sorrow. But all that has been wrought by those who wield the Three will turn to their undoing, and their minds and hearts will become revealed to Sauron, if he regains the One.” (p. 301)
The way I read this is that Elrond is theorizing that all that has been made by the Three Rings (such as the defenses around Lothlorien and Rivendell) will effectively be cursed should Sauron regain the One Ring. Elrond may or may not be correct in his assumptions, but we never got to find out in the canon version.
THE THEORY I AM PLAYING AROUND WITH IS AS FOLLOWS: As long as Galadriel does not wear Nenya, the magical girdle that she has established around Lorien will continue to protect her realm for an indefinite period of time, even though Sauron has the One Ring. I further theorize that Sauron cannot control a Ring of Power from afar unless someone is wearing it. Sauron KNOWS now that Galadriel is a Ringbearer, and he has an understanding of the defenses around the forest, but he has to rely upon less powerful underlings to do his bidding. Here is where the Galadhrim may have the upper hand - at least for a while. Of course, if Sauron came in person to Lorien, he could easily shatter Galadriel’s defenses. They would stand up to the might of the Dark Lord like a house of cards in a wind storm.
In my post Galadriel vs Sauron and the Fate of Lorien, I had entertained the possibility that over time, the enchantments around Lorien would start to show signs of corruption, such as strange and twisted vegetation. However, I hesitated on this, because the Three Rings were not evil in themselves, and I wasn’t certain if their works could turn to evil.
However, Elrond theorizes, “But all that has been wrought by those who wield the Three will turn to their undoing[…]”
So maybe the vegetation in the forest SHOULD eventually start showing the effects of the Shadow. The trees could sicken, but instead of dying, they cling unnaturally to life, becoming gnarled, twisted abominations that are terrifying to behold… a corruption of the preservative, time altering, entropy defying effects of the Three Rings…
OR maybe instead of a physical effect, the elves start to turn against each other, like how in the various times in the Silmarillion that the ramifications of the Oath and the Curse of Mandos became activated, igniting suspicion, paranoia, and bloodlust.
Some intriguing ideas to contemplate.
OTHER POSTS IN THIS SERIES……..
The Ring is on Sauron’s Finger; What Happens Next?
Galadriel vs Sauron and the Fate of Lorien
Further Thoughts on Galadriel, Sauron and Nenya
Master of Rings Mastered by Ring… Or At Least Inconvenienced)
Following up on Galadriel vs Sauron and the Fate of Lorien.
THE SCENARIO: Sauron has regained the One Ring! What happens next???
These thoughts came to me… like the sudden strike of lightning…
With the One Ring in Sauron’s possession, Galadriel cannot wear Nenya without falling to thralldom. But what of the enchantments that Galadriel laid over Lothlorien using Nenya in the past?
(I believe that Galadriel used a combination of her own native strengths and those of her Ring of Power to create her own version of Melian’s Girdle around Lothlorien – an enchanted circle of protection and concealment. I think that this would have been an established system of spells, maybe using runes of power, so it wasn’t a magical force field that she had to concentrate upon all the time to maintain. She needed to keep her mind free to perceive Sauron’s thoughts concerning the elves, after all.)
While Sauron can control the wearer of a Ring of Power, I don’t think he can control the Ring itself from afar if no one is wearing it. So he couldn’t just command Nenya to turn off the defenses around Lorien; he would have to command Galadriel to do this. So, therefore, in theory, Lothlorien could remain under the protection of Nenya for an indefinite period of time, IF GALADRIEL DOES NOT PUT ON THE RING.
“Nenya’s power was preservation, protection, and concealment from evil.”
– Tolkien Gateway Wikipedia
The motivation behind the creation of the Rings of Power was so that the elves could halt the effects of time and create a form of heaven (Valinor) on earth (Letter 131). The elves really, really hated the Second Law of Thermodynamics, and sought to bypass entropy, and prevent change from occurring. Since Nenya was created with these ideas in mind, I suppose it’s theoretically possible that this Ring could continue protecting Lothlorien indefinitely, as a sort of elven perpetual motion machine.
This would effectively mean that Celebrimbor would be achieving revenge upon Sauron FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE, since he was the one who created Nenya.
This is a follow-up of sorts of this post: The Ring is on Sauron’s Finger; What Happens Next?
As I contemplate a world in which Sauron has possession of the One Ring, I find myself straying more and more into the Realm of Extreme Possibility.
When Angmar and I discussed plans for the The Circles back in 2005, we thought that Lorien would be one of the first places in Rhovanion to fall, due to its closeness to Dol Guldur and the fact that it seems to have more magical than natural defenses. Galadriel would not be able to use Nenya without falling under thralldom to Sauron, so this would severely lessen Lorien’s defensive power.
HOWEVER, over the years I have discovered that there are multiple theories about Galadriel’s powers and the properties of the Three Rings.
It is known that the Three Rings will lose their powers after the One Ring is destroyed, but as far as I can tell, Tolkien never specifically stated if this was a sudden shutdown or a slow and gradual diminishing. I have seen this issue argued both ways.
On March 28, THREE DAYS AFTER THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ONE RING, Galadriel and Thranduil led an assault on Dol Guldur, and “Galadriel threw down its walls and laid bare its pits.” Many people believe that Galadriel used the waning powers of Nenya to achieve this feat.
However, there is an opposing theory that states that Galadriel used HER OWN POWER to destroy Dol Guldur, much like how Luthien threw down Tol Sirion with the power of enchanted song. (Having Galadriel destroy Sauron’s fortress with song also seems fitting, especially since her brother Finrod lost a battle in song to Sauron.) Galadriel was the student of Melian, the maia queen of an enchanted forest, and she learned much from her tutor. Lorien seems to be inspired by Melian’s own forest home.
Another factor to consider when contemplating this second theory is that Nenya’s powers seem defensive, not offensive. Even if the ring still retained some of its powers after the destruction of the One Ring, it might not have been able to destroy a fortress.
GOING BY THE SECOND THEORY… If Galadriel possesses the power to destroy a fortress through magic or song, perhaps Lorien would not fall immediately to the forces of Dol Guldur and Sauron.
IN REGARD TO THE SCENARIO OF SAURON REGAINING THE ONE RING… We know absolutely nothing about what could possibly happen!!! After all, when Sauron put on the One Ring, the elves took off the Three Rings and hid them. So no one had been using them. But at the time of Year 3019 of the Third Age, the Three Rings had been used for thousand of years… Galadriel used Nenya to surround Lorien with mists and enchantments; Elrond used Vilya to make Rivendell a refuge; and Gandalf used Narya to stir the fires of hope, POSSIBLY to make fire magic, and POSSIBLY fireworks.
Obviously, with the One Ring on Sauron’s hand, Galadriel cannot use Nenya. But would all of the enchantments and protections that she laid upon Lothlorien with the power of this Ring immediately be deactivated like someone turned off a light switch?
WHAT WE KNOW FOR A CERTAINTY…
“For if you fail, then we are laid bare to the Enemy.” –Galadriel
Once Sauron puts on the One Ring, he instantly knows the identity of the other Ringbearers. So he knows that Galadriel, Elrond, and Gandalf were in possession of the Three Rings at the moment he regained the One.
I don’t know if Sauron would be able to control the subserviant Rings unless someone was wearing them. So I don’t think he could just command Nenya from afar to undo all of the magic that it had wrought.
Perhaps Nenya’s enchantments would then continue to remain active, even though Galadriel could not use her ring anymore.
Remember, Frodo had the One Ring in his possession for 17 years. He kept it at Bag End, and never wore it. But he stopped aging the moment it came into his posession. The passive powers of the Ring caused him to stop aging, even when he never actually used it.
So possibly the enchantments that Galadriel laid over Lorien using Nenya would continue to protect the realm. Perhaps over time, though, they would begin to weaken.
Another intriguing possibility would be if the enchantments would slowly begin showing signs of corruption… like maybe the vegetation starts looking weird and twisted… But that might go against the concept that the Three Rings, while being made using the skills Sauron taught to Celerimbor, were free of evil.
Now I think Galadriel, of all the Three Ring bearers, would struggle especially to cope with life without Nenya. Her magic forest is part of her identity, and I think she would be severely pained by the reduction of her powers. I think she would struggle with the temptation to put the ring on again, even though she knows well the dangers.
“I say to you, Frodo, that even as I speak to you, I perceive the Dark Lord and know his mind, or all of his mind that concerns the Elves. And he gropes ever to see me and my thought. But still the door is closed!” –Galadriel
Galadriel had been fighting a psychic war of sorts with Sauron for some time. Now the tables would be turned. I think that he would be doing a lot of meditating upon Galadriel and Nenya, trying to exert his psychic will over her and tempt her to wear her ring once again. Sort of like how the Palantir, a neutral object that has been turned into a communication device between Isengard and Sauron, seems to tempt Pippin to look into it. He would also be extending his thought towards Elrond and Gandalf as well.
The knowledge of the location of the Three Rings could potentially alter Sauron’s war strategies.
Gondor is obviously one of Sauron’s main objectives, as well as Rohan. Tolkien never wrote much about the war in Rhovanion. There were attacks on Lorien, Mirkwood, Lonely Mountain, and Dale. However, I’m not sure which of those locations would be most important to Sauron. With the knowledge that Nenya is in Lorien, I think his objective might shift to Lorien, and Mirkwood, as Thranduil is an ally of Galadriel. Perhaps Sauron might abandon the fight at Dale and the Lonely Mountain for a time to focus on fighting with the elves.
I wish I had some people to swap ideas with regarding alternate universe what if possibilities concerning how the war in Gondor, Rohan, and Eriador might progress if Sauron regained the One Ring. There are the usual forums, but there is are ideological differences between fanfiction writers and non-writer fan/scholar types. (Fanfiction writers tend to be more creative and open minded in their approach to Tolkien’s world, while non-writers tend to look down upon alternate interpretations of the text, or deviations from it in creative media.) I don’t want to argue with someone who is convinced that their understanding of the canon is the only right one, or those who shut down these sort of discussions because they feel that a Fourth Age that starts out with Sauron in command is too depressing to contemplate.
It would be good to discuss these matters with people who are open to multiple and possibly conflicting interpretations of the canon, and all of the various ways one can diverge from it while still remaining rooted in Tolkien’s lore.
In The Circles, Sauron has regained the One Ring, and now controls the eastern part of Gondor. There were major Mordorian losses in Rohan, and as of the summer of 3019, Rohan remains free.
When he started writing The Circles, one of Angmar’s goals was to bring a First Age feel to the Third/Fourth Ages. He was especially inspired by the dark years that followed the Nírnaeth Arnoediad and the fall of the various strongholds of Elves and Men. He also liked the concept that not all the elves would flee to Valinor, but that many would stay, and fight for Middle-earth. Therefore, in The Circles, there ARE elves at Helm’s Deep, but it’s the Second Battle of Helm’s Deep, and the elves are from Rivendell and led by Glorfindel.
The Circles was inspired by a RPG of which Angmar was the gamemaster. He was forced to end the game prematurely, and so he made Mordor win major victories in eastern Gondor but suffer major losses Rohan. This resulted in a temporary ceasefire, with Rohan, west Gondor, and Mordor hastily making fortifications and seeking reinforcements. Since The Circles was originally meant to be a campaign in this RPG, Angmar and I carried over these ideas into the fanfiction version of the story.
I like the concept of a sort of cold war between Mordor and East/West Gondor, as Sauron works on fortifying and strengthening his hold in eastern Gondor while planning his next move. I can see a lot of spying and espionage going on, as well as border skirmishes. Outlaws, rebels, La Résistance. (Angmar led an Occupied Gondor campaign towards the end of RPG, in which the Mordorian occupying forces in eastern Gondor demanded that the people pay extravagant tribute to their new overlords.)
For the sake of the story, I don’t want Sauron to achieve swift widespread victories. There is this attitude in the Tolkien fandom that if Sauron regains the Ring, BOOM, all of Middle-earth will be his. However, it takes weeks for an army to get from Point A to Point B, and many of Sauron’s allies come from a great distance from the lands with whom he is waging war.
Also, Angmar envisioned there being dissent within Sauron’s own allies, nations and tribes who resented paying tribute of money and slaves to the Dark Lord. With the publication of Nature of Middle-earth, it turns out that Tolkien had the same idea - that the Blue Wizards were working behind the scenes, stirring up resentment against Sauron, and this was one of the reasons that led to Sauron’s forces at the time of the War of the Ring not being as strong as he would have liked. While Angmar did not get a chance to do anything with the Blue Wizards, he did play around with the concept of rebels and revolutionaries. In the early days of Angmar’s RPG, he entertained the idea of the peoples of both the West and East joining together to fight against Sauron in a sort of War of the Last Alliance type situation - but something like this would probably occur later in the Fourth Age. (He imagined Sauron as eventually becoming more and more power mad, to the point of Morgoth-style insanity.)
In the summer of 3019, the war in Gondor and Rohan seems easier to contemplate than the conflict in Rhovanion. I’m not sure what parts of Rohvanion would be most important to Sauron. Angmar and I thought that Lorien would fall first, because Galadriel couldn’t use Nenya to defend her territory if Sauron had the One Ring. However, over the years, I have had some second thoughts about this, because there is significant evidence that Galadriel has similar powers to her brother Finrod, and was able to destroy Dol Guldur with her own native strength even after Nenya lost its powers. Also, while Galadriel can’t wear Nenya when Sauron has the One Ring, I’m not sure his having the One Ring in his possession would negate the defensive spells laid on the area using Nenya in the past.
I think Lothlorien would have personal significance to Sauron, especially since now he knows that Galadriel was a Ringbearer. But I’m not sure what order of significance the other Rhovanion territories would have - Thranduil’s kingdom, Dale, the Lonely Mountain, the Beorning lands, and any Northmen settlements. The Rohvanion front is often overlooked in favor of Gondor and Rohan, both by fans and by Tolkien himself.
There is another matter to consider. Since he now has the One Ring, perhaps Sauron’s goals might shift to reclaiming the Three? The war for Middle-earth might morph into Part Two of the War of the Elves and Sauron.
A CAVEAT… I don’t actually want to write a war novel with a lot of combat scenes, but these are events that would be taking place in the background of more peaceful plotlines. The Circles was never really meant to be about the war, but how the war affected the characters.
NOTE: These topics are further explored in Galadriel vs Sauron and the Fate of Lorien.
Iknow it’s not quite so literal as that, but I think it’d be hilarious if elves were like cats in that they can be and often are awake during day, but are actually most active at night (because stars!), while mortals of course are very much diurnal (because sun!)
Three baseline assumptions (read: headcanons, not canon) in order to get to a pointless headcanon:
1) Elves greatly value personal space and don’t usually get very near people who are not immediate kin, especially not if both individuals could conceivably marry each other
2) Elves have a very keen sense of smell. Maybe not as much as their hearing and sight but way better than any of us mere mortals
3) Due to the canonical widespread hair kink of the eldar, they favor scented hair oil well above perfume. I don’t think I have to say its making is a subcreation and the scent possibilities are endless, right?
And now the pointless headcanon: getting close enough to someone to be able to identify the individual scent notes of their hair oil is a major relationship milestone. How classy you are about getting close enough to do that is definitely subject of gossip, of course
some thoughts onÍRIMËLALWEN and her youth
- it’s hard being related to fëanor and then not having some issues. i feel like she’s probably the most similar to fëanor in a way. at least, out of all the children of finwë.
- other elves would whisper that she seemed like an angry child. that she must not be happy in some way. she didn’t cry or throw tantrums though. and she wasn’t sullen and quiet. but there were aspects of her that would make older elves furrow their brows and take a step back from the young lalwen.
- she didn’t stomp around the polished floors of the palace. after all, a lady was taught to float and to seem entirely unbound from the earth on which they stepped. but her footsteps were just disturbing enough to make finwë wince as her paces resounded past his study.
- the scrape of her cutlery on fine plates is jarring to those who sit with her. she opens her a mouth a bit too much when she smiles and laughs a bit too loud. she presents herself as an entirely normal child but there are so many small eerie things that shake those around her.
- she loves her family of course. even if her father is always preoccupied with his duties or he’s always checking in on fëanor and not taking many glances back at findis, nolofinwë or arafinwë.
- nolofinwë is always kind to her. he always helps her up onto her horse. he lets her sit in his room and browse through his books. he takes her into the city’s markets and lets her choose fine fabrics to her heart’s desire.
- at first, she doesn’t know what to think of arafinwë. he’s younger than her. and he’s born with the same golden hair of findis and their mother. he’s always tripping over and letting out small babbling sounds that babies usually do.
- later, she grows to quite like arafinwë. he’s reasonable and well-mannered. but it always irks her at how little space he seems to take up. her younger brother is perfectly content with following the will of others. he’s placated. the perfect grace and manner for a diplomatic prince. not a hair out of place, a pleasing smile and hands folded over his lap. he doesn’t scream. he doesn’t cry. he doesn’t shout.
- even nolofinwë has had his frustrated moments and lalwen can hear the bang of books being thrown from his room, probably due to frustration from fëanor’s harsh words.
- even findis isn’t a perfect picture. but she’s perfectly poised and a doll in the eyes of their mother and her people, the golden vanyar. she’s all coiffed sunlit hair and thick skirts that brush the floor. lalwen knows that findis can hold her temper. she has never heard findis raise her voice but what findis lacks in volume, she makes up for in her sharp, acidic tongue. lalwen likes how her older sister can quell even the sternest of arguments with a harsh bite and barely concealed frustration that can make elves take a step back.
- but arafinwë just keeps that calm smile on his face and some days it makes lalwen so irrationally angry that she wants to push her perfect, happy little brother down the stairs just so she can see some real emotion from him. but she doesn’t. he’s the baby of the family and it would do no good.
- lalwen hates the strict rules of society. a princess should not yell. she should not venture out beyond the borders of tirion in search of maiar. she should not come home after dark, her skirts snagged on stone and littered with small holes and loose threads. but she can tolerate that.
- what she truly despises is how insignificant she feels in the grand scheme of things. well, she’s a princess. she knows the privilege she has. but what is she? what is she allowed to be, compared to mighty gods who sit in their court on taniquetil? what is she able to be and achieve?
- she likes fëanor because he agrees with her. he allows her into his forges occasionally. her older brother cares little for the thoughts of others. he lets her sit at a murky looking table while he twists some contraption of wire and she talks about how she feels so confined and so angry for some reason. at everything.
- fëanor looks up at her. he asks if its truly anger she’s feeling. what is she angry at? it makes lalwen pause. she doesn’t truly know if its anger. she just feels red-hot and bursting and she burns to move, to conquer, to spit out. it makes her want to put her hands in her silky black hair and tear it out and to wrench her hands into velvet skirts and rip them apart. she wants to ride a horse far away and lay on the earth and feel the heartbeat of the ground beneath her.
- fëanor tells her that she’s fierce and she’s not angry. she shouldn’t punish herself for feeling that way. she’s passionate. and she knows her brother understands her. he has that knowing look in his silver-hot eyes that seem to contain a fire of their own. and lalwen knows her brother understands. they carry a similar flame and it is only after the tragedies that unfold many years later, after the death of their father, that lalwen realises that fëanor’s flame is something else entirely.
Tar-Míriel be like: I know Tar-Mairon is obviously plotting my husband’s downfall but tbh so am I. mlm wlw solidarity.
Tar Miriel and Tar Mairon on their way to ruin Ar Pharazon’s life:
