#elros

Can we please talk about how the most criminally underrated comedic aspect of the legendarium is the length of Elros’ kingship. Like bro caused the funniest succession crisis known to mankind when he died because his son, who was almost 400, abdicated on the spot because he was too old and passed the kingship to his own son right.

Which implies that abdication due to age was absolutely a possibility. An option, in fact. One which Elros clearly didn’t take up. Why? Because in my book, motherfucker was having way too much fun. Bro watched his son start to hobble around the place and was like ‘yeah but I like fucking and dining and wining and hunting, I’m keeping the crown, sucks to be you, major loser’. He gives me young Robert Baratheon vibes right. I know my beloved himbo was drinking to excess every night and streaking nude through the courtyards with his hunting buddies while Elrond learned to play depressing tunes on the harp and pulp herbs or whatever the fuck he was doing back in Middle Earth. I know Elros laughed like 20 times a day. I know you could hear him from four streets away. I know he had like 30 illegitimate children because his wife probably didn’t live even half as long as him. At least 30. I know his sneeze was audible from the moon.

Anyway just imagine being Vardamir and being like ‘dad is it my turn for the crown now?’ every fifty years and your dad just lifting a finger and going ‘no 😇☝🏻’. And you have to tell yourself not to take offence at this because your dad grew up in like the worst time to grow up ever and had the most traumatic childhood and was practically orphaned by six. Like of course he wants to spend his dying days drinking and dancing right. Unfortunately his dying days last 400 years long. I tell you this, in my mind, the only reason why the Númenoreans canonically have a tradition of abdicating a few years before their death is because final-stage Elros went down in history as the most irritating monarch to exist.

Because even though his children and some other descendents lived to 3/400 etc, even the longest reigning ones only spent like 150 years on the throne at most. Not so with Elros. Elros’ ass was parked firmly on the throne for four hundred years straight. And Númenor is canonically a swift-advancing society right. Four hundred years is a wacky amount of time. In terms of technological advancement at least. Imagine Queen Elizabeth the First was still kicking around on the throne right now. Imagine her managing Brexit and having to do a TikTok dance to get tourists into Buckingham Palace. Imagine the President was still George Washington. Imagine George Washington having to deal with ChatGPT and taking publicity photos with Beyoncé. Imagine Emperor Jahangir encountering a Big Mac.

Elrond and Elros hanging out with Great Grandad Annael ♡

Being able to look at them whenever I like is making me very happy ❤️ I also love how framing the piece gives the impression that Elros is looking, not just out of the window, but out of the picture itself - his hand is almost on the frame, wondering what lies beyond the boundaries of his world.

There's a very interesting perspective on Lúthien and Elros choosing to be counted amongst Men regarding their Númenórean descendants. Because if Lúthien hadn't chosen to be mortal, she wouldn't have returned to Middle-earth with Beren and Dior wouldn't have been born. The other option for her is remaining immortal and staying in Valimar where Beren couldn't come, so he would left the world to go beyond.

Because of her labours and her sorrow, she should be released from Mandos, and go to Valimar, there to dwell until the world’s end among the Valar, forgetting all griefs that her life had known. Thither Beren could not come. For it was not permitted to the Valar to withhold Death from him, which is the gift of Ilúvatar to Men. But the other choice was this: that she might return to Middle-earth, and take with her Beren, there to dwell again, but without certitude of life or joy. Then she would become mortal, and subject to a second death, even as he; and ere long she would leave the world for ever, and her beauty become only a memory in song.

- Silmarillion: Beren and Lúthien

So, her Númenórean descendants existed at all because she chose death, the very thing they feared. I think people reading this tale would have a realization in the line of, "In her death, we were born."

The same worked for Elros.

Elros was the first King of Númenor, and was afterwards known by the High-elven name Tar-Minyatur. His descendants were long-lived but mortal. His descendants were long-lived but mortal. Later when they became powerful they begrudged the choice of their forefather, desiring the immortality within the life of the world that was the fate of the Eldar, and murmuring against the Ban.

- Appendix A: The Annals of the Kings and Rulers

In a way, it's ironic that his descendants thought that he shouldn't have chosen mortality. Because if he had chosen immortality instead, they wouldn't have existed, since most likely he wouldn't have married a mortal woman and had the same children, and considering that Elves didn't pocreate as fast as Men did, especially in the Second and Third Age, the later generations wouldn't have been born. Look no further than his brother, Elrond. He married and had children in the Third Age, and his children remained unmarried for nearly 3000 years.

Little comic of E&E and Maglor

Inspired by: @braxix