#ilmarin

THE WHITE MOUNTAIN -- THE HOLIEST MOUNTAIN IN ALL OF ARDA.

PIC INFO: Spotlight on Taniquetil, the highest of the mountains of the Pelori and the highest mountain of Arda -- Manwë and Varda’s mountain. Artwork by Ted Nasmith.

MINI-OVERVIEW: "Taniquetil -- "High White Peak," highest of the mountains of the Pelori and the highest mountain of Arda, upon whose summit are Ilmarin, the mansions of Manwë and Varda; also called "the White Mountain," "the Holy Mountain," and "the Mountain of Manwë.""

-- "THE SILMARILLION," from the "Index of Names," written by J.R.R. Tolkien (edited by Christopher Tolkien)

- The palace complex is huge. It houses a great number of permanent residents (Manwë, Varda, their Maiar) and also has many rooms set apart for visitors.

- Ilmarin is not just the seat of the king; it also functions as a centre of learning, something akin to a university but with less of a hierarchical power structure. As such, it houses a renowned library, where one can find not only Ainur and Elven works, but also a selection of Mannish literature.

- The throne room is an incredibly majestic sight: the high ceiling reflects the ever-changing sky; the long, marble pillars seem almost transparent; the walls feature detailed mosaics representing the most important events in the history of Arda (among the various scenes, a portrait of Melkor can still be spotted, unscathed and unharmed). Manwë’s and Varda’s thrones are framed by lifelike sculptures of the Two Trees.

- Ilmarin’s many windows are huge and generally remain open, so the winds can easily traverse through the entire complex and birds can flutter inside and out. (The temperature inside the palace is agreeable, though; Manwë makes sure that it doesn’t become too cold for his visitors.)

■ and ☾ for Manwe

Please and thank you💚

Still open, 🙂. I'll be taking these HC asks tomorrow as well.

HC game from this post

I will stick to the bedroom portion of the first headcanon.

*Cracks knuckles*

■ - Bedroom/house/living quarters headcanon:

Manwë's bedroom is massive, as it should be. He is the Elder King after all.

As for the overall decor and themes? The walls and coffered ceiling are comprised of white marble. On one side, beautiful, wide-arched windows made of stained glass strong enough to withstand the winds atop Taniquetil can be found. These windows depict some of Arda's history since the time of the Ainulindalë. In fact, most of the windows (save for those in the observatory) in Ilmarin are all stained glass, depicting various historical events and stories.

His bed is a stunning four-poster made of white wood. The drapes and bed linen are all white with gorgeous blue accents. A crystal chandelier hangs in the center of the bedroom. The prisms of the chandelier are shaped to look like feathers.

Others- a fireplace in one corner, with an occasional table and a pair of plush chairs (in blue) in front of it. Then you get your usual items, like a bedside table, a chest of drawers, a wardrobe, and a sofa set. All have the same color scheme of white and pleasing shades of blue.

☾ - sleep headcanon:

Manwë doesn't just sleep. He has a whole routine. A warm bath first and foremost, to soak his cares away. We're talking fragrant oil and candles, perhaps with an elven minstrel in the bedroom strumming a harp. Then he will slip into comfortable silken robes and braid his hair before going out and paying the minstrel with a gold coin. Once he is alone, he will slip into bed with a good book. He's a light sleeper, often worrying about his brother and Arda in general.

Taniquetil

The Holy Mountain, The White Mountain

Other names: Amon Uilos, Arfanyarassë, Oiolossë, Sinsnáw, Elerrína

Taniquetil was the tallest mountain in Arda and part of the Pelóri, the chain of mountains that the Valar raised in Aman to defend their new home after Melkor destroyed their first dwelling on the isle of Almaren. The Pelóri were known as the Mountains of Aman and the Mountains of Defense in Tolkien’s later works, while they were referred to as the Mountains of Elvenhome in his story Roverandom. While Taniquetil was the highest mountain in both the Pelóri as well as all of Arda, there were other great mountains in this chain, such as Hyarmentir. In the furthest east of Arda there was a mountain called Kalormë, which corresponded to Taniquetil symmetrically and was the second tallest mountain in Arda.

Besides its immense height, Taniquetil also housed Ilmarin, the Halls of Manwë and Varda. The halls were domed and contained the thrones of Manwë and Varda, and spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles constantly brought news of the events of Arda. The name Ilmarin means “mansion of the high airs” due to the altitude in which it’s located. A high feast was held there to praise Eru Illuvatar and the Valar, Maiar, Vanyar, and Noldor all gathered to participate. The Vanyarin elves were especially close to Manwë and Varda, and many of them eventually settled on the slopes of Taniquetil. When Manwë is on Taniquetil with Varda he can see beyond all eyes through mists and darkness, and when Varda is with him she can hear all voices from every corner of the world.

The Quenya name Taniquetil means High-Snow-Peak, which was translated into Sindarin as Amon Uilos. Another name for Taniquetil was Elerrína, which means “Crowned With Stars” and references both its great height and the fact that it was the home of Varda the Starkindler. Taniquetil also had other names that referred to its snows and the white tone they created. These were Oiolossë (Ever-snow-white), Arfanyarassë (High shining white peak), and Sinsnáw (Ever-snow). 

Thanks for the ask, @squirrelwrangler! 💗

Mmm, let me see. I once saw someone suggest that there must be an easier, faster way to get to Ilmarin than to climb the highest mountain of the world, which led me to think about portals, magical doors, that kind of thing. I HC that there are several such portals strewn across Aman, most of them in and around Valmar, some in Tirion, some in Alqualondë… At the same time, since the Elves quite literally live forever, they have ample time to make the journey physically, and I think there is also a bit of a religious, ritualistic aspect to climbing Taniquetil, like a pilgrimage of sorts.

Ilmarin the angelibean

As a massive LOTR fan, more specifically Silmarillion fan, I of course have an entire Valarin collection of beans😂 in fact, I have a bean for each of the 15 Valar mentioned in the Silmarillion (and even some Maiarian beans). I’ll be posting them all here in the future, but to start, we have Ilmarin the angelibean. Three guesses which Vala gets the angelibean?👀