#amon ereb

Maedhros!Valinor:

The underwear is made of linen and here a long skjorte with a tied inner cloth with loose breaches to accompany Valinor stable weather that can easily cool you down and keep you warm at the same time. The edges of the skjorte is embroidered as it is meant to be shown. This has been seen a lot over history that an undergarment or something "sexual" meant to be hidden is shown in a glimpse - a modern equivalent would be showing the rim of your boxers or a bra strap. The clothes are long and layered and reaches the ground, unpractical for any manual labour or any wear that doesn´t have clean floors. The colours are saturated and a lot of white is used too.

Detail notes: While not noticeable I HC that Maedhros white robe is lined with gold cloth to match the embroidery around it, which is made on top of it where his purple robe is made with brocade.

Maedhros!Himring:

The underwear is not tighter and shorter to give better modality and keep warmth rather than cold. The sleeves are sewn to look big as heavy clothes can´t be used the same way, the sleeves have therefor become a new fashion symbol as well as status, it makes the arm look bigger and therefor the wear stronger, as well as give something to look at now that heavy fabrics that reaches the hands aren´t a choice anymore. All the robes reach just below the knee to still cover and fill, but also to make it easy to move in. The clothes are now looking broader to show strength and satiety. - Beleriand is in war, food is scarce, especially in the north close to Angband, and clothes are now made to make you look fat and well fed in this part of Beleriand. Fur has become an important aspect of fashion too, especially if sewn into clothes as padding or trims. Damask is used more in Himring than brocade which is used most in Doriath and Hithlum court.

Black is used due to the symbolism, but also as it is an expensive colour to hold as black as possible, it shows that someone with so much black clothes has the money to uphold it and to constantly buy new clothes to replace the old ones, as it is one of the easiest to break. - Due to Himring´s long winter and harsh climate, flowers and other forms of fauna quickly make themselves into fashion and are depicted on almost everything from walls, to tables, to clothes, to windows, and so on.

Maedhros!Amon Ereb:

The clothes here are still made to look you well fed but not in the same way as it was in Himring, as this part of Beleriand was hit much later with scarce food and therefore has a stronger hold on thin and strong fashion.

While still black, it is more gre,y which shows a fall in wealth, due to the visibility to now keep the clothes functioning for as long as possible without the possibility to carelessly throw it away.

Genreal notes on Noldorin Clothes:

Clothing are a social marker and always has been therefore it´s the same for the Noldor. There is a difference between the classes of society in how clothes are worn and the decorations used, to quickly show rank and status to those around you. Usually, the less practical your clothes are, the richer you are.

The style of clothes is also tied to your rank, meaning someone of one rank can´t wear a certain type of clothing style as that is outside of their social class. Different textile techniques are also sometimes defined by your rank.

Notes on fabric and technics:

Brocade and damask are also used a lot due to the hardship of producing it, where a cheaper solution would be printed patterns to those outside of the elite. Brocade is usually worn to court, where damask is a more daily solution as it is mostly made on linen and doesn´t appear as three dimensional as brocade.

Linen and cotton are usually worn as under clothes due to their lightweight and breathable properties, they are also used for pants. = flax fibers and cotton plant

Silk is usually worn as some form of overwear due to it reflecting light and expensive manufacture. = Silkworms cocoon

Velvet is usually used for clothing padding, or pants. = special loom usually with silk although linen, cotton and wool can be used

Cashmere is used for thin over clothes and usually only for decoration. = cashmere goats

Wool is used rarely and if it is it is used as padding in colder climate, so something you have in between your under and over clothes. It is also and important aspect of the military later in Beleriand as it is easy to get and you stay warm even in rain. = hair of animals (sheep, goats, cows, dogs, etc)

Rayon is used a lot by the Noldor too as it is easier to get than silk and hold a more stable temorature. Rayon is usually chosen for a pieces of clothes that requires a lot of embroidery silk wouldn´t be able to hold or as a tunic. = wood pulp

Notes on dyes:

Dyed clothes can be categorised in two; cheap home dyed fabrics, with local based dyes and expensive professional dyed fabrics, coloured with imported and expensive ingredients. The more clearer a colour the wealthier. - the colour mentioned here is what I draw him in.

White although not seemingly much is expensive due to the ingrediency being hard to obtain and not something you just get shipped to you, it shows wealth as the common folk of the Noldo really uses it and are more drown to easy colourful clothes instead, it also symbolises purity as it absorbs colours better than any other dyes. - Easy = sun bleaching (never really white white more like a pale yellow or brown) Expensive = chemical help Black requires the fibres to be dyed repeatedly therefore, it is also a symbol of wealth, although it is less eye catching which also makes it the colour for humility and plainness. Black fabrics also holds the shortes amount of times if dyed with alum. - Expensive = mix of the basic dyes: (madder, weld and woad, alum), acorns, galnuts, oak apple Yellow/gold although and easy colour to obtain is still a colour used by the elite as it can represent gold as a heraldic colour. - Easy and mild yellow = tansy, goldenrod, birch leaves and wild chervil Expensive and satured yellow = turmeric, saffron, onion skin, marigold, chamomile Red/Scarlet is at times some of the most expensive due to the material used to get a scarlet red. Easy still expensive but cheaper = madder root (the root are harvested once a year - the leaf are harvested the whole year but gives a slightly different colour - madder can also give pink), brazilwood (can also make pink and purple) Expensive = raisin dragonsblood, kermes, scale insects Purpel/violet is at times more expensive than gold due to the ingredients. - Easy = kermes and alum Expensive = dog whelk

Elros' laugh petered off as he came and stood before him. He could bear the old Lord’s stares better than most but just the awareness that this would be the last time threw him off kilter.

"Too many people love you for you to die now, do you understand?"

His mouth went very dry but he nodded, "Yes sir."

"These are for you." Maedhros said, turning away finally and bringing out a pair of swords.

They lifted them up in the half light of the dawn. One they recoginse, it was Idril's or perhaps King Turgon's, long ago in Gondolin. Their mother always called it Idril's sword. The other was given to Elros and he did not know it. But it was beautiful and well balanced and the way the metal sang... it must have been made before the Sun, maybe even in the Blessed Lands themselves.

He ran his fingers over the hilt. Valar, he fears he would be too afraid to use it. Perhaps that is how it had survived for so long.

"The bearers of these weapons were noble and cunning,” Maedhros said gravely, “if you can manage to be both you may escape the sort of fates that befell them."

"Seems we have little choice," said Elrond wryly as he fastend the sword to his sadle.

Maedhros let out a soft breath, the long spidery scars that stretched across his twitched. The closest thing to a smile, he has ever managed. There was another silence and a shift in the air. This was the farewell, he would say no more. Elros bit his lip turning to the path leading down from the fortress.

"Is he coming?" Elrond asked softly, "Or do we leave?"

Before an answer could be made, the doors slam open again and the last tension in Elros' chest eased. Maglor would not look at them as he approach nor answer any of their questions, instead he grabbed his hand sharply and pressed something small and gold into it. He turned it over between his fingers, eyes wide.

"This is..." his voice trailed of as Maglor moved on to Elrond, draping a cloak over his shoulders. Elros called after him weakly, "How?"

“They are yours. I took them from Sirion," Maglor clicked his tongue, fussing with the clasp at Elrond's throat, "You were covered with this when I found you."

He ran his hand along the hem of it before shaking his hand out. Elros was not surprised that what latent magic was left in the cloak of Luthien did not seem fit to be touched by a Son of Fëanor.

"You think I did not know you would leave us someday?” Maglor said, folding his arms across his chest and fixing his eyes on the gate, “Make no mistake, there will be those who will call you imposters and traitors and spies.” He nodded as Elros place the ring on his trembling finger, “But you must not forget who you are.”

He glanced between the two of them and looked as though he had more to say, but the only thing that passes his lips were the words

"Be good."

Then with uncharacteristic abruptness he began to tramp back inside. Elrond called after him suddenly, reaching out and pulling him into a hug. Maglor was stiff for only a moment before collapsing into his arms drawing him close and whispering words only the two of them could hear.

Elros glanced at Maedhros, who watched the scene with his usual steady bemusement. When they had been younger it had been a common enough sight. All they had out here was eachother at the end of the day and though even back then they had known the Fëanorian were not good people, they were always kind. ,

Then the star had appeared in the sky and everything changed. A glaring, ever present reminder of exactly what had brought them here. And that their being here had no more practical purpose. He and Elrond had been 16 and more than old enough to understand what they had forgotten at six.

And there was kindness still there but it did not come so simply. And love that left an aftertaste of guilt.

Maedhros caught his eye quite by accident and gave him a questioning look. When he was little he had to jump, he still sort of does to wrap his arms across his shoulders and pull him down into an embrace. He heard him sigh as he rested his head on his shoulder.

Im sorry, he prayed at the last star in the sky as dawn tried to push its way through the dark clouds

Under a veil of scarlet hair he allows himself a few tears. It feels steady and smells like home.

Im sorry im sorry imsorryimsorryimsorry

One last time.

And then its done. Maedhros gives his shoulders a quick squeeze and let him go.

“You will be alright, I have seen it.”

Elros wished he could say the same. All his dreams are of fire.Maglor pulled him aside, murmuring a soft blessing and planting a kiss in his hair. By the time they had mounted their horses the last two sons of Fëanor had disappeared from the courtyard.

*At night, you were lying on a couch as Maglor was talking stuff with Maedhros, having gotten bored of the conversation.* 

Elrond: *walks into the room with his toy rabbit and blanket* (Name). I had a nightmare. Can I stay with you? 

You: Sure, come here *opens arms*

Elrond: *comes over to you and climbs into your arms, dozing back to sleep immediately* 

Maedhros: *Notices this but doesn’t remark on it*

*Other day*

Twins: *playing catch with each other. *

You: *watering plants in the herb garden*

Elros: *raises his hands to catch the ball* I got it!

Elros: *his foot suddenly sticks on something, causing him to trip and fall. Missing the ball.* 

Elros: Ow! *sees scrapes on his hands and tears up when it stings* OOWWW!!!

You:* sets the watering can down and walks over to him* You okay, buddy?

Elros: *shows his hand* It hurts.

You: Let me see. *checks his hands* Oh! Ouch. That’s gonna sting for a while. 

Elros: *tears up*

You: You’re okay. You’re okay. You’re not dying. It's just a small scrape. You’re not gonna let a small scrape beat you and stop you from playing, now are you? 

Elros: *shakes his head, still in tears* No…

You: Atta boy. *cleans his hands from the dirt* 

You: See? That doesn’t hurt anymore, now does it? 

Elros: *shakes his head again* No. 

You: Really? Then give me a big boy smile. 

Elros: *smiles*

You: There you go. Come back once I’m done with gardening, then we go get some healing salve on it later. 

Elros: *gets up and fetches the ball to keep playing with Elrond*

You: *go back to gardening*

Maedhros:* watches this from a window*

*Later that week* 

*A storm rolls over Amon Ereb. Thunder rumbles loudly outside the fortress walls.*

You: *writing some letters*

Twins: *playing with toys*

Elrond: *flinches slightly after hearing another thunder* 

You: *notice his reaction as he had kept glancing at the window since the storm started*  

You: Loud today, isn't it?

Elrond: ...A little.

You: It’s okay to feel scared, you know? 

Elrond: I’m not…scared. *jumps at the sight of a lightning flash*

You: Would it help if you two hid beneath the table where it's quiet? 

Elros: *confidently* I’m not scared! I don’t need to hide—!

Twins: *shriek as a loud bang echoes right outside and quickly crawl beneath your table to hide* 

You: *lean down and lift the tablecloth a little to see the twins*

You: *grin a little at Elros* You were saying?

Elros: *visibly shaking* I wasn’t afraid. That just… caught me off guard!

You: *shake your head with a laugh* It’s okay. Even I get nervous when nature decides to be angry. Here. 

You: *place a small lamp beside them, giving them light* Have some light. I’ll keep the bad thunder away from you. 

Twins: Thank you. 

Maedhros: *raises an eyebrow after seeing this through the open doorway*

*Another night when one of the twins came to you, and you let them doze into your arms*

Maedhros: You know, (Name). If you keep coddling them, they might end up growing up soft. 

You: *freeze and slowly turn toward him, your expression unreadable* 

Maedhros: *is quiet as you don’t say anything for a hot minute*

You: Maedhros… Do yourself a favor, and keep your opinions to yourself. 

You: The twins are children. If they're gonna ask for comfort, I’m gonna give them comfort. 

You: And if you comment on my parenting style again, especially when I’m not asking for it, I’m gonna go to your wine cabinet. I'll switch all the labels, replace some of the bottles with plain water and vinegar. I might even add laxatives to one of them.

You: So, whenever you feel like having a drink, you'll be playing wine roulette.

You: Understood? 

Maedhros: That seems excessive.

You: *raise a brow while grinning with ill intent* Is it?

Maedhros: ...

Maedhros: Understood.

You: Good. 

You: *cheerfully* Anyway, have a good night. *carries the twin away in your arms.*

Maedhros: *exhales and prepares to take a sip from his wine*