Not all who wander are lost but I sure am

Before anyone says anything, I know this is an abomination lmao

I do know how sheet music works, I just couldn't be bothered to both make it look nice and accurate

It's a few steps removed from the original—I had to uhhh, how to say this?, decode it, then removed about 5 minutes of silence, and added a voice + tweaked dynamics etc.... regrettably, the lyrics are only wordless 'ah's 😔.

Anyway, here are some progress shots of the score for anyone interested:

No such thing has ever been in question for Celegorm & Curufin, as princes who have always been backed by systemic power or only temporarily disadvantaged yet still construed as within the right in their framework of power; the Exile is a schism, Maedhros' abdication is unprecedented, Nargothrond is seized by rhetoric and populism, Doriath - as later Sirion - are assaulted by means of military power. And what examples has Fëanor given them? That subterfuge and infiltration are the tools of Morgoth (theft; disguise; lie) and the way that Fëanor himself had been wronged (infiltration of the family structure by Indis), not something a king or prince is liable or allowed to use. Fëanor himself utilises rhetoric and takes advantage of the legal framework, and if no other thing will avail, uses military power and force to achieve his objectives, and decries cowardice, where a line can be drawn to assume that direct, open conflict is thus assumed to be the morally correct path to attain what you want. Celegorm and Curufin, the two most likened to Fëanor, exemplify his lack of willingness to treat with anyone considered a traitor to the cause or compromise on their objectives perhaps best of all. To them, guile is both humiliating and morally suspect in this ideological framework; the sons of Fëanor in Beleriand utilise force, organise military operations, send intimidating letters and use political posturing, but nothing akin to guile even such as Fingon uses to rescue Maedhros from Thangorodrim. That brings me to the second reason: guile missions in the Silmarillion require a certain amount of faith and hope in things turning out the right way, and a certain amount of divine providence. Fingon would not have succeeded without prayer just as Lúthien would not have enjoyed the fruits of their success without convincing Mandos. But hope in divine favour is not something that people famously eschewing the authority of the Valar and undertaking a blasphemous oath not once, but twice, would champion; clinging to hope for aid from the same people considered to have betrayed the cause & good of the Eldar is not to be expected. In light of that, relying on goodwill clearly seems like a suicide mission, especially in the aftermath of the Dagor Bragollach which has revealed that all of the military might the Noldor have been amassing is still insufficient to move any closer to their goal. The only possible way forwards is more power, more resources, more bodies. There is no hope to talk of.

Because I do think that the fact that Celegorm and Curufin were for a time in possession of key objects/helper for a possible Silmaril heist is meant to highlight the difference between them and Beren and Luthien, and to point out that there was a world in which they could have tried.

It sort of reminds me in a very nebulous and entirely-based-on-vibes way, of another very famous novel in my country that is built entirely on a Catholic framework and the plot events are directly influenced by divine providence--which the characters can embrace or reject, to various outcomes. And it seems to me that the same is true of the Silm/Lotr, where even beyond the explicit actions of the Valar and later Maiar, we are meant to assume that Eru is overseeing it all and subtly influencing things according to his unknowable plan. Characters who do lean on faith even in the face of overwhelming odds are often rewarded with unexpected help. And so I wonder whether Curufin having Angrist, for example, was a subtle Eru test, a "See I gave you all the tools you needed". Now, I am, er, very critical of this particular worldview and it seems unjust to me that, for example, the SoF should be expected to have faith in a higher power after they were explicitly told by the Valar that no help would be coming, and generally with the notion that blind (by definition) faith is a virtue at all, but the text clearly frames it like that.

A stealth mission like this one requires a surrender of pride, but it also requires the ability to treat yourself as an acceptable loss. If you are captured, nobody will be able to save you, and anything you know is likely to be extracted through torture. This is something the Feanorians have been through once, and I don't think any of them could stomach handing themselves over to the enemy and doing that to their brothers again; and more than that, they are not just princes but ruling princes. They have, in the political setting of the Silmarillion, a responsibility not to die and leave their people without a leader. Curufin and Celegorm rule together, so one might have been able to go; but neither of them would let the other one go alone, and the information loss would still have been devastating.

So could they hypothetically have gone and tried to steal the Silmaril with no real expectation of victory? Yes. They probably wouldn't have succeeded, being under Namo's Doom, but Eru might have let them if they humbled themselves enough and maybe prayed to Oromë.

But that doesn't mean that doing so would have been the right decision.

I was looking at Curufin's Tolkien Gateway page and noticed a line that I hadn't before: when describing the Dagor Bragollach, it noted that "In F.A. 457 Morgoth sent a great force, under the command of his lieutenant Sauron, to capture the tower Minis Tirith, which guarded the Pass of Sirion. The fortress was eventually taken and its lord, Orodreth, was driven out where he would have been slain if not for the intervention of Celegorm and Curufin; they arrived with their riders and other such forces they could gather and fought fiercely, allowing Orodreth to escape and retreat to Nargothrond."

(The Shaping of Middle-earthChapter: III THE QUENTA - Commentary) It is now suggested that Celegorm and Curufin came to Nargothrond after the Battle of Sudden Flame as to a refuge already in being, and with them came Orodreth their friend

(The Shaping of Middle-earthChapter: III THE QUENTA - Commentary) ‘Orodreth, Angrod, and Egnor (Aegnor) took the part of Fëanor’ (in the debate before the Flight of the Noldoli).

(The Shaping of Middle-earthChapter: VI THE EARLIEST ANNALS OF VALINOR) Felagund and the other sons of Finrod (finarfin) went forward also, for they had aforetime great fellowship, Felagund with the sons of Fingolfin, and Orodreth, Angrod, and Egnor (Aegnor) with Celegorm and Curufin sons of Fëanor.

(The Shaping of Middle-earthChapter: VI THE EARLIEST ANNALS OF VALINOR) Added here in ink: with all his folk and no others save Orodreth, Angrod, and Egnor (Aegnor), whom Celegorm and Curufin loved

(The Shaping of Middle-earthChapter: VI THE EARLIEST ANNALS OF VALINOR - Commentary) The alliances and friendships between the princes of the Noldoli in the third generation have been touched on in S and Q §5, where Orodreth, Angrod, and Egnor (Aegnor), sons of Finrod, sided with the Fëanorians in the debate in Tûn before the Flight of the Noldoli; in AV this becomes a friendship especially with Celegorm and Curufin

(The Shaping of Middle-earthChapter: VI THE EARLIEST ANNALS OF VALINOR - Commentary) The friendship of Celegorm and Curufin with Orodreth, Angrod, and Egnor (Aegnor) just referred to leads to the remarkable development (in the addition given in note 21) that these three sons of Finrod (finarfin) were actually allowed passage in the ships by the Fëanorians, and that only Felagund came over the Helkaraksë with Fingolfin

(The Shaping of Middle-earthChapter: VII THE EARLIEST ANNALS OF BELERIAND) Turgon son of Fingolfin is great in friendship with Felagund son of Finrod; but Orodreth, Angrod, and Egnor (Aegnor), sons of Finrod, are friends of the sons of Fëanor, especially Celegorm and Curufin.

(The Lost Road and Other WritingsChapter: PART TWO VALINOR AND MIDDLE-EARTH BEFORE THE LORD OF THE RINGS - II THE LATER ANNALS OF VALINOR) Fëanor and his folk seized all the ships and sailed east across the sea, and they took none of the other companies save Orodreth,10 Angrod, and Egnor (Aegnor), whom Celegorm and Curufin loved

Prompts are here for Tolkien Siblings Week 2026! Feel free to use all, some, or none of these to inspire your works each day. While prompt use is optional, the expectations of this event are not, so be sure to look over the event guidelines if you plan to participate. And if you need any clarification or support in the meantime, asks, messages, and replies are always open. Wishing you luck and communion with the muse!

Text version under the cut:

Tolkien Siblings Week

Day 1 - beginnings, growth & change, play, communication

Day 2 - joys, truths & lies, disagreement, survival

Day 3 - sorrows, collaboration, suspicion, good & bad deeds

Day 4 - successes, competition, rumor, (in)dependence

Day 5 - failures, manipulation, anger, closeness

Day 6 - memories, debts, illusions, balance of power

Day 7 - endings, making amends, separation, peace

Nienna