Favoured Son

As well as [Arafinwë] could he kept aloof from the strife of his brother and their estrangement from the Valar, and he often sought peace among the Teleri. (The Peoples of Middle-earth, 'The Shibboleth of Fëanor' p 337)

His impending explosion made no impression upon the agreeable but unhurried servant who met him at the door.

"Indeed, your brother is here. Will you wait on him in the drawing room, lord?"

"I would rather not wait on him at all. Where might I find him?"

"He is in the library. If you will please follow me?"

"I know the way." He brushed past the servant and knew his manner must seem rude. "Thank you," he added. No calamity could shake the infinite patience and calm of a people who sat hours waiting for a fish to surface. Normally, he found great peace in Olwë's home, but this day...this day...was no day of peace.

"Lord Finuráto is not-." Whatever the servant was going to say to him was lost as he made his way to the east side of the great house. (1)

Alone, he mentally finished the servant's sentence. Nolofinwë could not recall the name of Arafinwë's grandson. Nor did the boy acknowledge him but continued to study the chessboard, his forehead wrinkled with concentration.

"I must speak to you."

"Go on, then."

"This concerns our brother," he hedged.

The child picked up his rook, reconsidered, and moved a pawn instead.

"You were right the first time," Arafinwë said. "Trust your instincts, Artaher."

"This is important!"

His brother glanced at him with maddening calm. "So is this chess game."

"Arafinwë!"

His brother must have seen that he was nearly at the end of his patience. All his good sense and strength of will had turned heel on Fëanáro in the square of Mindon.

Arafinwë moved his knight and patted his grandson's hand. "I will be back in a moment, child."

The peculiar boy looked after him with the eyes of one who is lost. He followed Nolofinwë into Olwë's private library.

"I have taken the matter to Atar, before the council."

"As I advised you not to do. And now a quarrel between brothers is made public, as it should not be, and Atar must choose, to the shame of the other son."

He threw up his hands. "You know he will not hear a word against Fëanáro."

"Rumours and lies, brother. You should stay a spell in Alqualondë, away from the gossip of Tirion."

"You do not know all of it!" He envied his brother's serene nature, but at times, it seemed almost self-righteous. "It was said that he was preparing to drive us from Tirion, and so he is, and I have seen that he is making swords and armour."

"So are you! Do you not see that rumour is made true?"

"I have made them only in defence. He threatened me, Arafinwë. On the steps of Atar's house, he drew a blade upon me."

His brother paled. "And did you do likewise?"

"Of course not! He has become fey, our brother. He will call me craven for it, no doubt-.

"-But wiser hearts shall not see it so." Arafinwë frowned. "This must stop, Nolofinwë, ere our family is splintered beyond hope. You think only of your rivalry with Fëanáro, but what of Amil? And our children? I want no part of this, brother. And I do not count upon Fëanáro to end it."

In his younger brother's expression, Nolofinwë could see the child who had looked up to him in near-worship. Once again, Arafinwë looked to him to make things right. But already, it was too late; Fëanáro was past reason. And he knew, with crushing certainty, how his father would choose. They were not the favoured sons.

(1) Finuráto

To the best of my knowledge, Tolkien never gave us a Telerin form of Arafinwë. Telerin is like Sindarin in that the adjectival part would come second; hence, we get Angaráto (T) and Angrod (S) as cognates of Artanga (Q). (The Peoples of Middle-earth, 'The Shibboleth of Fëanor' p 346) We have two versions of Olwë, one that preserves -wë (p 357) and one that gives -ue as the Telerin cognate. (The War of the Jewels, 'Quendi and Eldar' p 369) I thought it was important to keep that ending to distinguish Arafinwë ('noble Finwë') from Findaráto ('noble hair'), and 'u' sounds better than 'w'. But I would love to hear anyone else's ideas on this.