Chapter 2: The Silmarillion 101 for Elflings
Glorfindel drew Elladan and Elrohir close as he spread a map out across his knees. He looked at one, then the other and drew in a deep breath.
"Maybe you are not old enough for this story yet."
"Glorfindel!"
"There is much you need to know to understand what was happening then," Glorfindel protested. "I do not know that you can remember all of this!"
"Glorfindel!"
"Are you sure? There are many names of men, elves, and places to keep track of," Glorfindel warned them.
"We can remember lots of things!" Elrohir tugged on the sleeve of Glorfindel's tunic. "Please Glorfindel?"
Glorfindel paused and studied them for a moment. "Well, we can try," he relented. "You must promise to stop me and ask questions if I tell you too much and you don't remember what something means. Later you will need to study this map with me. It is best to see the geography of the land we are talking about."
"Yes Glorfindel, we promise!" each elfling promised for himself and his twin.
"Now, where should we begin? Glorfindel mused, looking at first one elfling, then the other. "Well, I suppose there is no better place to begin than. . . the beginning. You are mighty small pen-neth. Perhaps the beginning is too far back?"
"No Glorfindel! We can start at the beginning. We have very good minds," Elrohir answered.
Glorfindel smiled. "In the beginning Eru, the One, who we call Ilúvatar sang into existence spirit beings, each one a representation of his thought. Do you know what these spirit beings were called?"
"The Valar!" Elrohir answered.
"Some of the Valar took on bodily forms and with the thoughts that had created them, they created Arda. There are seven Kings of the Valar and seven Queens. But there was one, one who was as mighty as Manwë and most in the thought of Ilúvatar"
"Melkor!" Elladan exclaimed. "It was Melkor and he was bad!"
"It was Melkor," Glorfindel replied. His paused, then lowering his voice continued, "Do you know why Melkor was bad?"
Two small heads shook as they drew closer to Glorfindel.
"He was jealous. Even though Melkor was one of the most powerful of the Valar, he was jealous of the other Valar and that which they created. He turned to destroying the good things they made instead of adding his own good things to Arda."
Elladan looked at Elrohir and felt his face flush. He leaned across Glorfindel's knees and beckoned his twin to draw near. "I am sorry I scribbled on your drawing," he whispered.
Elrohir patted his hand. "And I am sorry I ruined your carving," he whispered back.
Elladan's eyes narrowed. "You did that?"
Glorfindel suppressed a chuckle and gently separated the elflings, continuing the story. "There are others who are like the Valar, who act as their helpers and servants, called the Maia. Some of them thought Melkor was great and they wanted to serve him, to be like him. Do you know who some of the servants of Melkor are?"
"Sauron," Elladan breathed.
"Yes, Sauron is one. But there were others."
Elrohir thought for a moment. "The balrog? The balrog you fought?"
"There were many balrogs," Glorfindel answered. "The balrogs were servants of Melkor too. So were Ungoliant, the giant spider, and the vampire Thuringwethil."
Elladan's eyes widened and Elrohir shuddered as Glorfindel whispered those fearsome names. "Melkor and his servants rose up against the Valar and fought over Arda long before elves or men awakened. Melkor destroyed Middle-Earth. The great lamps that provided light to Arda were broken, the lands split and the seas rose up in tumult. The dwellings of the Valar were destroyed so they moved to the westernmost land which was called . . . ."
"Aman!" Elrohir interrupted.
Glorfindel smiled and tousled the elfling's hair. "Yes Aman. The Valar built their mansions in Valinor, and Yavanna sang the two trees into being. The light of the trees was glorious and the Valar turned all their attention to making Valinor beautiful. Who else did Ilúvatar create? "
"He created the elves," Elrohir's eyes were wide with excitement.
"The elves are called the Firstborn of the Children of Ilúvatar. Sometime after the Valar moved to Aman the firstborn awoke in Middle-Earth. They woke under the stars that Varda, Elbereth the star kindler we call her, had created, and they loved the twilight. But there was evil still in Middle-Earth, and it was Melkor who first knew that the elves had awakened. Do you think Melkor liked the elves?"
"No," Elladan whispered. "I think he tried to hurt them."
"You are right, Elladan. Melkor and his evil creatures captured some of the elves. The elves spoke of the Hunter that would come and take them if they ever went too far, alone, from the safety of their group."
"The Valar should help them," Elrohir protested.
"The Valar thought they should too," Glorfindel answered. "They went to war against Melkor in the Battle of the Powers, finally capturing him and imprisoning him in the Fastness of Mandos. But even with Melkor gone, there was still much evil in the dark places of the earth. So the Valar went to the elves and asked them to come live in Aman. Many of the elves decided to go. Do you know what this is called?
"The Great Journey!" Elrohir jumped up. "We learned that."
"Some elves were unwilling to go. . ."
"The Avari!"
"Right," Glorfindel laughed as both elflings were now standing before him. "The Avari were the ones unwilling to make the journey. Do you know what kind of elves did make the journey? One is the Vanyar."
"Noldor!" Elrohir shouted.
"Teleri!" Elladan was close behind.
"My, you do know lots," Glorfindel complimented them. "Do you remember if all of these elves completed the journey?"
"Some did not," Elrohir answered, his little foot tapping as he tried to remember which ones had not completed the journey.
"Some of the Teleri did not go, and this is important for our story. They fell away and settled here in Beleriand," Glorfindel pointed at the map. "These elves that fell away and the Avari are known as the Moriquendi."
"Why did they fall away?" Elladan asked.
"Because there was much to see in Middle-Earth and they loved it there. In the case of one of the elf Kings, Elwë, it was because he met the Maia Melian and fell in love with her. They settled with many of King Elwë's people here at Doriath in Beleriand. Do you know where Beleriand was located?"
Heads shook again, and Glorfindel directed them to the map in his lap. "Beleriand is this land located west of the Blue Mountains. All that is left of it today is this little piece of land we call Lindon. You can see how big this used to be. All of the elves of Beleriand considered Elwë, now called Thingol, their King."
The twins studied the map of Beleriand, noting the lines Glorfindel drew to show them where the new shores of the sea were located and watching as he pointed out landmarks as he spoke of them.
"Now, what elves came to Middle-Earth at the beginning of the First Age?"
"The Noldor!" Elladan cried. "We just learned that today!"
"You are correct, Elladan," Glorfindel answered as he ruffled the elfling's hair. "Do you know why the Noldor came to Middle-Earth?"
"Not exactly," Elladan admitted.
"Finwë was the King of the Noldor in Aman," Glorfindel continued.
"We are related to King Finwë," Elrohir offered.
"Yes, you are," Glorfindel smiled. "Finwë had a son named Fëanor. Fëanor was very talented at making things, and he made three great jewels. These jewels held the light of the trees in Valinor. Do you know what these living Jewels were called?"
Both elflings shook their heads.
"They were the Silmarils. They were beautiful and strong - unable to be damaged or destroyed. Held within the Silmarils was the fate of Arda, earth, sea and air."
"Oh," Elladan and Elrohir were both open mouthed.
"Now Melkor served his time, three ages, in the fastness of Mandos before Manwë released him. Melkor returned to live among the elves and the Valar in Aman, and he pretended to be helpful and good. But he was still evil, and he really was looking for a way to harm the elves and the Valar. He wanted the Silmarils. So he began looking for ways to deceive and create unrest among the elves, especially the Noldor.
"Now Fëanor was very possessive of the Silmarils and did not want anyone looking at them or touching them. Melkor told him that the Valar desired the jewels. So Fëanor took his seven sons and moved from the city of Valmar where they had long dwelled and they formed a new stronghold called Formenos where Fëanor thought he could better protect his treasure.
"Now there was a great feast in Valmar that all the Valar and elves attended. While everyone was at the feast, Melkor and Ungoliant destroyed the two trees of Valinor. The only way the light could be restored would be to take that light back from the Silmarils. While Fëanor was struggling over whether he would give up his Silmarils, Melkor and Ungoliant went to Formenos and cast down the walls, killing King Finwë, the father of Fëanor. This was the first murder.
"Ungoliant took the treasures of Fëanor and Melkor stole the Silmarils. Melkor and Ungoliant returned to Angband, his former stronghold in Middle-Earth. There they fought over the Silmarils, with Melkor finally winning when his Balrogs awoke and helped him defeat Ungoliant. Melkor set himself up as King of the World and set the Silmarils upon his crown.
"Fëanor, in his grief at the death of his father and the loss of the Silmarils, incited the Noldor elves to revolt against the Valar. Fëanor and his sons, and some others swore an oath to seek the Silmarils at any cost from any who withheld one of the jewels from them Fëanor is who gave Melkor the name Morgoth.
"Then the Noldor marched to the sea where the Teleri elves kept their ships. They would not aid the Noldor. Do you know what Fëanor did then?" Glorfindel held the rapt attention of the elflings. Two heads shook slowly.
"Fëanor and his sons fought the Teleri and killed them. This was the first kin-slaying, the first time elves killed elves. The Noldor who killed the Teleri stole their ships and sailed to Beleriand. Because of this, the Valar exiled Fëanor and all the Noldor that decided to follow him from Valinor. They were told if they left, they could not come back. Many of the Noldor who had not sworn oaths or killed could not bear to be parted from their kin, and so followed them on foot over the great ice bridge to the north. It was a long and terrible journey."
Elrohir snuggled close to Glorfindel, twisting his fingers in the elf-Lord's tunic. "Glorfindel?"
"Yes Elrohir?"
"Did you come with the Noldor?"
"Yes Elrohir."
"Glorfindel?"
"Yes Elrohir?"
"Did you swear an oath?"
"No, Elrohir. Nor did I kill anyone. I did follow, though, as did your grandmother Galadriel."
The elflings were silent as they pondered this information.
"Glorfindel, does this mean you cannot ever sail west?" Elladan asked softly.
"No, Elladan. Manwë lifted the exile at the end of the First Age - we can all sail west."
The twins smiled, clearly relieved.
"When did you move to Gondolin?" Elrohir asked, wanting the story to continue.
"The Noldor princes set up various kingdoms and lands in Beleriand. Turgon, the middle son of Fingolfin who was the second son of King Finwë, built the stronghold of Gondolin. I lived there because I was related through the line of Fingolfin's mother Indis, a Vanyar elf."
"Glorfindel, that was some story," Elrohir looked upon their friend with awe.
"We have not even started the story Elrohir!" Glorfindel's glorious laugh filled the room. "Now you know who the main people of the first age are and why they are part of the first age. Tomorrow we will learn about the coming of men and then in another 400 years your Ada will be born!"
Elladan and Elrohir stared at each other in shock. "Four hundred years until Ada is born?" Elladan mouthed to Elrohir.
"Glorfindel, will you tell us just a little bit more?" Elrohir pleaded.
Glorfindel sipped his water and glanced at Elrond, who had remained silent throughout. Elrond rose gracefully and stepped outside the room for a moment, then returned to his seat.
"Dinner will be served here," Elrond announced.
Two shining eager faces turned to Glorfindel, who rolled his eyes and sighed. "Well, I guess I must continue if you are so insatiable in your thirst for knowledge. This next part will require that we draw some genealogy trees."
Both elflings looked at him blankly. Glorfindel smiled. "That is where we learn how everyone is related."
He gathered some parchment and ink, placing both in front of Elrohir.
"Now, men first appeared in FA 305. There were three main houses of the Edain or the second born. You are direct descendents from the house of Bëor and the house of Hador. You are very special in the genealogy of Middle Earth - you are descendents from the high Kings Finwë of the Noldor, Ingwë of the Vanyar, and Olwë and Elwë of the Teleri; the men Bëor and Hador, and the Maia Melian. There is no one else like you in all of Middle-Earth."
Elladan and Elrohir gaped at Glorfindel. He smiled at them and picked up the ink quill. "Ready?"
"Finwë was your four times great grandfather on your father's side and your mother's side;
"Ingwë is your great-great-great-grandmother's father; also on your father's side.
"Olwë is your four times great grandfather on your mother's side;
"Elwë and Melian are your fives-times great grandparents on your father's side;
"Barahir of the House of Bëor is your six-times great grandfather on your father's side;
"Hador is your four times great grandfather on your father's side;
"There have been two elf-edain marriages in history - Lúthien and Beren, and Idril and Tuor. They are your great great grandparents and great grandparents, respectively.
"You have Noldor, Vanyar, and Teleri blood
"Your grandfather on your father's side, Eärendil, is the morning and evening star."
Glorfindel finished the diagram with a flourish and grinned at the stunned looks on the younglings' faces. They stared at the paper for a few moments, small fingers tracing the trees and counting the generations. Elrohir turned to his father.
"Ada, why did you not tell us how confusing we are?"
Elrond tried to suppress a laugh, but it was no use. "I am sorry, Elrohir. It never seemed so confusing until Glorfindel explained it."
Glorfindel threw a wadded up sheet of parchment expertly at Elrond, bouncing the paper off his forehead. Elrond merely laughed harder.
"Finish your dinners, nín-ions," Elrond finally managed to say, "then I will help you with your baths and tuck you in bed."
Elrohir and Elladan looked at each other, then their father, then Glorfindel. Then they laughed too.
"Glorfindel, we cannot wait until tomorrow." Glorfindel was the recipient of enthusiastic hugs. "We are so glad you are home."
* * * * *
nín-ions -----------my sons
pen-neth----------young ones
A/N: Glorfindel of Rivendell is Glorfindel of Gondolin in this story. After reading all I could on him, I have given him a back-history of being part-Vanya and of having crossed on the grinding ice with those who followed the Noldor. These are conclusions I have drawn, but are not facts.
Also, regarding Dior's twins in the last chapter: In the Silmarillion we know only that Dior and Nimloth had two sons. The HoME series makes reference to them in Volumes 4, 5, 11, and 12. The first of those I read was Vol 11 (looking for any speculation as to Elrond's date of birth) and there are three references to them being twins born in the year I 500 and one indicating they were not. I am now further educated (thank you Kalurien!) but I think I will leave it, but site it as speculation as after all I have read I still am not sure that one entry carries more validity than another! The twins also were given three sets of names. Sometimes HoME is a blessing and a curse!
Thank you for all the wonderful responses! It is good to know that there is interest for this kind of story.
Strangeblaze: Thanks for returning for another story! I think Elrond and Celebrian did love each other, and I want to write them as a love story.
JastaElf: You can smack Istuion if you want! He does come around though. I was so blessed with good history teachers through secondary school and college that I definitely have a love for it too!
Fan81981: I promise no Evil!Gil-Galad! I am still fleshing out his character though . Expect him by around chapter 6 or 7.
Treehugger: My fellow Glorfindel-lover! I like that you call your hubby meleth-nin! He'll be speaking elvish before your know it.
Fadesintothewest: I think this is going to work - the Sil history within an elfling story! We shall see. The twins are at a very eager age - eager to learn, eager to please, eager to get into a little mischief!
Daw the Minstrel: I am in awe of the idea of meeting someone who lived in ancient history like through it, like Glorfindel. I would rather hear the history from the perspectives of those who were there too.
Erhothwen: I'll update every other day for a little while (I had to write ahead on this story just because the Sil scares me!)
Dot: I am sorry I made you cry! Okay, not. But I think too that Elrond is one of the most fascinating people of Middle-earth and Tolkien left much room to fill in details of his life - 6000+ years!
Elf of Sirannon: Glad to see you again! I can't say exactly how long this will be - but I have plans written through at least 10 chapters - if I were to guess I'd say about as long as 'Valar' but that was mapped to 25-30 chapters before I even started. This one I sit with HoME and the Sil each night trying to find just the perfect little details to work into the story.
NekoMegami-chan: Thanks and welcome! I hope you continue to enjoy the story.
Asynje: I am glad you liked that - I think Glorfindel hopes to comfort some of the pain Elrond has long hid by telling his story to his children - comfort by proxy is a good way of saying it! Sorry if I inflicted harm with a personal peeve! I meant for Celebrian to be reminding Elrond of all he was now - husband, father, lover, lord. I'll be more careful!
Isiswhit: I am glad you liked my fluff - there will be more. I hope Elrond is helped in hearing all of this - and that his family will grow to a greater understanding of who he is too.
Lazysloth: I am glad you liked it! I actually visualize the scenes and characters and then write what I see - so I am glad you can see it to. There will be much more.
Marnie: Hello! The first age has so much it is actually hard to pare it down into a workable story. I have sent three reviews on your last chapter of 'Golden Wood' and it will not go through. My apologies. I am still enjoying it.
Kia and MadMaddie: Thank you - here is more! Elflings are cute, too. So are big elves. Oh, you meant the story.sorry, I am easily distracted.
Kira: Glad there is an audience for Elrond family stories. I hope these next chapters are enjoyable too.
Kalurien: Thanks for your note. I hadn't looked beyond HoME 11 on Dior's sons. Sometimes that series drives me crazy with all the conflicting information!
Arabella Thorne: Pacing is tough, so thank you. Hope you continue to enjoy!
Dragon: I love your young twins stories too. Elrohir and the caterpillar is yours, right?
JeevusLaJiggles: I think it might be easier for Glorfindel to tell this story than Elrond. I am thinking parenting is an unspoken fear he might have, considering how unstable his own childhood was. Yet he is a great Ada and telling the story will help us all to know him better. After all, the Elrond of the hobbit and LOTR didn't just happen overnight. He is one wise elf!
Woman of the Dunedain: Yep, Maglor too. I am still figuring him and Maedhros out.
HobbitsRfun: I think it will be fun to see Elrond with his family now, while showing his own childhood. It will make for interesting compare/contrast scenes (subtlety done, I hope).