Melian squeezes his arm, and continues their slow walk through the morning dew. “But we have this. For now. It’s enough.”
Ohhhh, this chapter was so beautiful. What a perfect last line for the peace years. And what a wonderful friendship Melian and Maedhros have built! Never in a million years could I have predicted all the twists and turns the Thread verse has taken, but I have loved every one (and am already eager for the next!).
Now that the kids are all grown up and taking on responsibilities, I’m looking forward to seeing them in action. And Elwing has her twins! Really curious how all that’s going to go, but I already love your Elwing just from the glimpses we‘ve gotten so far.
Bc it‘s been a while and I got inspired, here‘s a moodboard for the entire Endure for eyes to see series:
I‘m a little sad that the peaceful interim is over, but it was lovely while it lasted. I‘m so attached to your Beleriand, I honestly dread the war of wrath (and am very excited). But first, Tyelko gets to yell at his god/boyfriend (?) which I also can‘t wait for.
As always, thanks for sharing your stories with us!
I am also a little sad that these peaceful years are coming to an end! I've honestly gone back and forth a lot on how much War the War of Wrath is going to be, but I've ultimately come down on the side of honouring one of Tolkien's themes: nothing can last forever, and change can be mourned but should not be fought relentlessly against to try and preserve something that is not built to last forever. The War of Wrath will be big and full of fighting, but in the themes of the thread verse, whilst it may not all be on the surface the happiest ending ever where nothing and nobody changes, it will all mean something.
Elwing has been such an interesting character to develop and write, and there will be more of her growing up- thematically it made more sense to go to the Celegorm story first, but after that we will be jumping back a bit and seeing snapshots of both her and Earendil growing up. This will then give context to the story that follows after, in which we, and Maglor, gets to meet the twins.
Elwing, like Turin, is another great example of nature vs nurture and how much upbringing affects someone. Elwing in canon lives through the sack of Doriath and of Sirion, the decay of Beleriand and constant danger from not only Morgoth but also their kin. Beleriand is fractured and dangerous, the Noldor have fallen apart politically (hard not to when most of their rulers are dead and the ones left are held by the Oath) and everything is Bad.
In contrast, in the thread verse Elwing is born into the most stable period of Beleriand that has ever existed. The Noldor are a political and military powerhouse that has fulfilled the Feanorion Oath and have political control or influence over most of Beleriand. Doriath is a stable and thriving kingdom with not only solid political and economic relationships outside of their own kingdom but personal friendships with the other ruling classes in Beleriand (Maedhros and Melian, Dior and Maeglin, Ereinion and Elured and Elurin, Turin and Beleg). It's all good! It's great! She is the princess second in line for a throne that will never pass to her, and all the heroes in the stories she grew up hearing, all the heroes she idolises, are still very much alive and ruling these lands. Maedhros Feanorion is right there.
It's a lot for a young person to try and work out their place in the world when they are not only living in a time of the most complete peace they've ever had, but the people who brought that peace about through heroism and sacrifice and duty and love are very much still here.
Anyway. Lots of thoughts about Elwing, and we will get to her! But first, yes, Celegorm needs to get to yell at his god boyfriend a bit, and I am so, so very excited for it.
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