It is told that even as Fëanor and Fingolfin stood before Manwë there came the mingling of the lights, when both Trees were shining, and the silent city of Valmar was filled with a radiance of silver and gold. And in that very hour Melkor and Ungoliant came hastening over the fields of Valinor, as the shadow of a black cloud upon the wind fleets over the sunlit earth; and they came before the green mound Ezellohar. Then the Unlight of Ungoliant rose up even to the roots of the Trees, and Melkor sprang upon the mound; and with his black spear he smote each Tree to its core, wounded them deep, and their sap poured forth as it were their blood, and was spilled upon the ground. But Ungoliant sucked it up, and going then from Tree to Tree she set her black beak to their wounds, till they were drained; and the poison of Death that was in her went into their tissues and withered them, root, branch, and leaf; and they died. And still she thirsted, and going to the wells of Varda she drank them dry; but Ungoliant belched forth black vapours as she drank, and swelled to a shape so vast and hideous that Melkor was afraid.
–J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion, “Of the Darkening of Valinor”
And as they watched, upon the mound there came forth two slender shoots; and silence was over all the world in that hour, nor was there any other sound save the chanting of Yavanna. Under her song the saplings grew and became fair and tall, and came to flower; and thus there awoke in the world the Two Trees of Valinor. Of all things which Yavanna made they have most renown, and about their fate all the tales of the Elder Days are woven.
The one had leaves of dark green that beneath were as shining silver, and from each of his countless flowers a dew of silver light was ever falling, and the earth beneath was dappled with the shadow of his fluttering leaves. The other bore leaves of a young green like the new-opened beech; their edges were of glittering gold. Flowers swung upon her branches in clusters of yellow flame, formed each to a glowing horn that spilled a golden rain upon the ground; and from the blossom of that tree there came forth warmth and a great light. Telperion the one was called in Valinor, and Silpion, and Ninquelótë, and many other names; but Laurelin the other was, and Malinalda, and Culúrien, and many names in song beside.
–J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion, “Of the Beginning of Days”
okay but dwarves put SO much effort into their tombs already, carving perfect stone and inscriptions and making records to bury kin with kin and everything, let alone for Gimli son of Gloin Lord of the Glittering Caves.
The years of planning and amounts of paperwork and arrangements for the tomb of Gimli son of Gloin Lord of the Glittering Caves one of the Nine of the Fellowship one of the Heroes of Arda the Elf-friend and sturdy and possessor of the three hairs of Galadriel would be IMMENSE
and then Legolas rocks up in Gimli’s final days of life like: ok so I built this boat
- Every decade or so, the students have to repaint the classrooms. Elemmírë forced them to like it by telling them they could pick the color scheme, and Rúmil is always thankful he’s partially colorblind.
- Discord helped me title all the books here! A good portion of them are actual fics (!!), so this post is therefore full of fic recs. ✌️ Links below the cut.
- The frieze on the dais has (imagined) scenes of oathtakers accepting their oaths - L to R is Lenwë, Morwë, Enel, Culunálta, & Finwë. No, Rùmil did not have input on the design.
- He helped to found the university, so of courseeverything is wheelchair-accessible. This becomes very helpful later when elves start arriving on ships to Valinor having lost limbs to various wars.
- Yes, he’s an ambulatory wheelchair user. Fëanor made him that cane (not that he tells anyone this - he doesn’t want weird looks) and it’s nearly indestructible.
(disclaimer: ratings & content differ; look through the tags yourself! these are not in any kind of order, and i’ve read most but not all of them myself. )
“His spouse is Uinen, the Lady of the Seas, whose hair lies spread through all waters under sky. All creatures she loves that live in the salt streams, and all weeds that grow there; to her mariners cry, for she can lay calm upon the waves, restraining the wildness of Ossë. The Númenóreans lived long in her protection, and held her in reverence equal to the Valar.”
THE SKY: Tilion was so delighted by Arien’s splendor that he burnt himself when he sought to be near her. Arien was baffled by this, for it happened more than once— though he knew well the consequences.
She tried to persuade him to stay back, to stay safe, for she missed the silver glow of the moon when he was blackened. Tilion obeyed her for a little while, but he could not be kept away for long.
The next time he came close to her, she gave him earrings of moonstone, so that he might always have a glow about him. He smiled.
VALINOR: In their anticipation for the arrival of the Children of Iluvatar, some of the Ainur molded their forms to mimic The One’s dearest creations. Aüle made wiry masks for some Maiar, that they might show their eagerness without losing their wildness.
The Silmarillion aesthetic | Amarië, beloved of Finrod Felagund
Although in love with one another, she wasn’t permitted to follow him. But it is said that released soon from Mandos, Finrod went to Valinor and there dwells with Amarië.
Yavanna, Kementàri, queen of the Earth and giver of fruits . Also creatress of the Ents and the two trees of Valinor. Wife of Aulë.
Aulë, the blacksmith god ⛰️, lord of matter and all crafts, father of the Dwarves. Creator of the Two Lamps and the vessels of the Sun and Moon. Husband of Yavanna.
I’ve been really enjoying my Flora, Fauna and Environment of Arda series and I want to write more about geography and climate in general so I’ve been putting together a series of geographical resources!
This is a very short one as unfortunately there aren’t many named bodies of water in these places but I did the best I could! As always please feel free to ask more!
Númenor
One of the only named rivers was Nunduinë, the second biggest after Siril. It flowed West from the center of the island and formed the lake Nísinen before its mouth at the sea.
The greatest river of Númenor was Siril, also starting in the center of the island on the holy mountain of Meneltarma and flowing South from there to the sea after passing though a slower area of reeds and marshes.
Nísinen is the only named lake. It was formed from the river Nunduinë and was located on the Western side of the island not far from the sea
Aman:
Lórellin was a lake in the gardens of Lórien where the Vala Irmo, lord of visions and dreams dwelt with his spouse, Estë the gentle, the healer of the weary or hurt. Estë lived upon an island in the center of the lake and throughout the day, marked before the rising of the sun by the prominence of the light of Laurelin, she slept, waking at night to walk the gardens.
North of Tirion was the stream Sirnúmen which flowed from a spring called Kapalinda. It was located on the Western side of the Pelóri mountains and ran towards the Plain of Valinor and Telperion
Híri is a small river that flows through Sirnúmen nearby Formenos. Little is known about it.
Other: In the Book of Lost Tales which is largely considered not canon, on the island of Tol Eressëa, there is the bridge of Tavrobel over two rivers, Afros and Gruir. Neither are elaborated upon in detail. I plan to go into Tol Eressëa for another post!
Again this is unfortunately pretty short but as always I take requests for geography and environment posts!
I know it’s probably been said before, but Gimli would be SO popular in Valinor:
- He’s Legolas’ best friend, obviously, and Legolas won’t let you forget it—he’s constantly telling people about Gimli’s accomplishments in the War of the Ring, and how they met, and how they became friends, and their adorable Middle-earth road trip
- He’s Frodo’s and Sam’s friend, and Bilbo went on the quest of Erebor with Gimli’s father, so Bilbo would obviously dote on him—basically all three Ringbearers adore him
- Galadriel absolutely loves him, obviously, and she’d probably take him everywhere with her, and help him feel at ease in an unfamiliar land, and if Gimli ever started feeling homesick, she would talk to him about the starlight on Kheled-zâram; she understands missing Middle-earth
- Aulë would be SO EXCITED TO MEET HIM! He hasn’t seen a Dwarf in who knows how long—let him spend time with his child!!!!!!!!! They would have so much in common, they could go exploring caves in the Pelóri together and talk about how pretty the rocks are
- Celebrimbor also hasn’t seen a Dwarf in ages—he’d be excited to meet him! They’d have so much to talk about! Gimli would get to hear stories about Narvi and what Khazad-dûm was like at its height! They could compose new verses to Gimli’s song about it
- Finrod would be obsessed with him, like, can you even imagine? Finrod was such close friends with the Dwarves that they gave him a name in Khuzdul, and this Dwarf specifically is friends with his sister AND fought against Sauron in the War of the Ring? He’d be jumping for joy! Plus Finrod also loves caves, so they’d have a great time talking about the ideal cave city
- Literally everybody would be fighting over who gets to hang out with Gimli
- Legolas is over in the corner like, hello, he’s MY best friend, let ME spend time with him!
In seven hours the glory of each tree waxed to full and waned again to naught; and each awoke once more to life an hour before the other ceased to shine. Thus in Valinor twice every day there came a gentle hour of softer light.
“Now the thought of Morgoth dwelt ever upon Turgon; for Turgon had escaped him, of all his foes that one whom he most desired to take or to destroy. And that thought troubled him, and marred his victory, for Turgon of the mighty house of Fingolfin was now by right King of all the Noldor; and Morgoth feared and hated the house of Fingolfin, because they had the friendship of Ulmo his foe, and because of the wounds that Fingolfin gave him with his sword. And most of all his kin Morgoth feared Turgon; for of old in Valinor his eye had lighted upon him, and whenever he drew near a shadow had fallen on his spirit, foreboding that in some time that yet lay hidden, from Turgon ruin should come to him.”
I would like to see everyone faces at Valinor when Thranduil arrives this way…. How I love Thranduil, he does whatever he want and is amazinly fabulous always…. Adorable Thranduil
