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Published:
2013-12-14
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2016-07-02
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This Taste of Shadow

Summary:

When Shadow returned to Arda marred, it fell upon a land long accustomed to living beneath a veil of darkness. The light of its people was never one so easily dimmed, you see . . . A collection of ficlets and drabbles.

Next up: The survivors of Doriath, and the spring.

Notes:

Hello once again, dear readers! This latest venture of mine is a collection of ficlets - vignettes and fixed-length drabbles - set within the timeframe of the Silmarillion. Once or twice these may dip into The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but these are primarily about the early days. I have a long list of prompts I am working from - 600 of them, to be exact, but I do not expect to reach them all ;) - all of which I am writing as warm-ups before working on my original novel. So, expect anyone and everything doing anything and everything. I will update the tags as I go, as well, to make for easier reading - especially for those of you who are searching for something in particular.

That said, I welcome any who look to follow where these drivels lead, and I hope you enjoy my humble foray into Tolkien's truly breathtaking world. :)

Chapter 1: Index

Chapter Text



Here, for your reading pleasure we have . . .


01. The One, The Almighty, aka The Table of Contents

02. “things, once seen” || Indis & Finarfin & Galadriel - Finarfin learns the Sight from Indis. Years, later, Celebrían sails, and Galadriel entreats her father for her daughter's warm welcome in Aman.

03. “a stone upon stones” || Fingon & Maedhros - Maedhros teaches Fingon the sword in Aman. Years later, Fingon helps him recover his skills with one hand.

04. “lost as in a whisper” || Aredhel & Fingon - On the Ice, something is different about her brother. Something is missing.

05. “the song enchantments sing” || Elu Thingol/Melian - Snapshots of a legendary romance.

06. “the gap between bones” || Elrond & Elros - In Númenor, with Elros' ever growing family, the twins make light of the impending doom of Elros' mortality.

07. “to hold the sun” || Finarfin & Fëanor & Fingolfin - Finarfin is too young to understand why Fëanor does not view him as a brother. Fingolfin explains, in part.

08. “in sickness, in health” || Beren/Lúthien - Lúthien experiences a downside of mortality.

09. “by any other name” || Celeborn/Galadriel - Snapshots of their early days, in Doriath.

10. "from the tender earth" || Haleth/Caranthir - Their first meeting.

11. "measured by many branches" || Glorfindel - The many winters of his life, from the First Age to the Fourth.

12. "so there will be no forgetting" || Bilbo & Glorfindel & Thorin - Swords and their stories.

13. "so sweetly pressed" || Turgon & Idril - Idril considers Tuor's suit, and Turgon gives his blessing.
 
14. "we bit as the fire bites" || Maglor & Maedhros - Snapshots of their Oath and it's repercussions.

15. "as stars are startled by the dawn" || Eärendil/Elwing - He makes the ghosts quiet.

16. "the work of two hands" || Fingon & Maedhros - A second start, in the Fourth Age.

17. "had we but world enough, and time" || Galadriel/Celeborn & Celebrían || Eärendil/Elwing & Elrond - Sunderings and reunions.

18. "when you fall, you fall in flames" || Sauron & Melkor & Thuringwethil - His fall and many names.

19. "for ashes, from ashes" || Finwë/Indis - A tenative first step. || Findis - The difference between a half-brother and a full-brother. || Nerdanel/Fëanor - A beginning, in more ways than one.

20. "who touches the pupil of my eye" || Aulë/Yavanna & Saruman - After Sauron's betrayal. || Námo/Vairë - The first death in the world. || Elu Thingol/Melian -  The concept of family is explained to one who has always been a spirit. || Námo & Lúthien - Her song and Death's decision. || Aulë & Nerdanel - A shared grief.  

21. "I have filled this void with things unreal" || Celegorm/Lúthien (Celegorm/Aredhel, Lúthien/Beren) - In Nargothrond, Lúthien tries to understand her captor, and Celegorm faces his past.

22. "in distant dark places" || Aredhel/Eöl - She was not wholly unwilling.

23. "we choose our flesh over bones" || Turgon & Fingon & Maedhros - Turgon, still grieving from his wife's death, looks on Maedhros' rescue with less than kind eyes.

24. "bellowing in the bones" || Thorin & Frerin & Dís - During a youthful escapade in Erebor, the siblings encounter the First of the Seven Rings.

25. "shadows you wish to own" || Aredhel/Eöl - She was not used to sharing a bed.

26. "made for whispers" || Celeborn/Galadriel - Celeborn learns about the First Kinslaying, and Galadriel exorcises a ghost from her past.

27. "from step to step" || Maedhros & Elros - Elros has a case of hero worship.

28. "not swallowed in the sea" || Finarfin & Olwë - After the First Kinslaying.

29. "come home with a smooth, round stone" || Maedhros - In the Fourth Age, he returns to Alqualondë.

30. "given to the winter" || Lúthien & Celegorm - In Nargothrond, Lúthien reflects on her captor, and thinks of what could have been.

31. "my head is bloodied, but unbowed" || Caranthir/Haleth - He tells her of the First Kinslaying. || Caranthir & Celegorm & Maedhros - While planning the Nírnaeth Arnoediad, tempers flare, and Celegorm swears vengeance against Doriath. || Caranthir & Celegorm - The Second Kinslaying, and all that entails.

32. "once and future" || Maedhros & Elrond - The boy sees things Maedhros would rather him not. || Elrond & Elros - They realize their parents are never coming back for them. || Maglor & Maedhros - As the twins grow, their guardians realize that there is only so much they can teach them in their care.

33. "so beats the heart" || Anairë/Fingolfin - Their reunion after his rembodiment.

34. "should we teach eyes to blink, bones to disappear" || Caranthir/Haleth - After searching Thargelion for her straggling kin, they stop at Lake Helevorn, where prejudices are faced and realizations are made.

35. "rendering death and forever with each breathing" || Beren/Lúthien, Elwing/Eärendil, Idril/Tuor - The soul resides in the heart, not within its cage of aging flesh.

36. "through to the heart" || Celegorm & Aredhel - In Aman, their friendship is made and tested.

37. "songs from twilight" || Ensemble Doriathrim - Thirty drabbles from Doriath, from rise to fall.

38. "moving swiftly, ever on" || Arathorn/Gilraen - There is but one inevitable end to their time together.

39. "growing hope next to bones" I || Elladan & Aragorn - When Thorin Oakenshield and his Company visit the valley, young Aragorn has an adventure of his own.

40. "growing hope next to bones" II || Elladan & Aragorn - While the White Council marches against Dol Guldur, Aragorn's adventure continues. 

41. "strangers in a strange land" || Thorin & Gilraen - During their stopover in Rivendell, Thorin finds a kindred spirit in the most unexpected of places.

42. "thrown before fists" || Finarfin & Fingolfin - A young Finarfin deals with both his heritage and bullies. Fingolfin helps.

43. "sunrise, sunset" || Beren/Lúthien - They will not cheat death a second time.

44. "let the water wash our souls clean" || Isildur - Before the destruction of Nimloth, he steals a fruit from her branches. || Sauron - Before the burning of the White Tree, he reflects on faith and the master he still serves. || Tar-Míriel/Ar-Pharazôn - Even as Zimraphel, she fights in the only way she can. || Elendil - His thoughts on faith and hope as he watches his son through his recovery. 
 
45. "my spirit born" || Melian & Lúthien - She learns to be a mother.

46. "between sky and sea" || Elwing/Eärendil - After the Third Kinslaying, she realizes what she has left behind.

47. "where no water flows" || Maglor & Maedhros & Elrond & Elros - The days following the Third Kinslaying.

48. "on earth as it is in heaven" || Maglor & Eärendil - During Gil-estel's first flight, Maglor has a peculiar prayer to make. || Eärendil & Elrond & Elros - His sons did not leave the keeping of the Fëanorians willingly. || Elros & Eönwë - During the journey to Númenor, Elros finds peace from an unexpected source. || Elrond & Arwen - He did not realize the flaw in his thoughts until confronted with the simple insights of a child. 

49. "third of her name" || Celeborn & Arwen - She names her daughter Aranes.

50. "the eye of the beholder" || Thranduil/Canonical Wife - Dragon-fire takes its pound of flesh.

51. "as little might be thought" || Maedhros & Fingon & Elrond - In the Fourth Age, a rehoused Maedhros finds the courage to visit his former ward. Fingon gives him a push out the door.

52. "with thoughts of flight" || Caranthir/Haleth - A case of denial.

53. "into the bittersweet and strange" || Caranthir/Haleth - Their relationship comes to a boiling point.

54. "what we choose for fear" || Finrod & Lúthien - During his sister's wedding feast, Finrod unwittingly shapes the future when speaking to Lúthien of mortality and love.

55. "how many hours I spent, reading his skin" || Amarië/Finrod - At long last, she understands the nature of love.

56. "nothing false and possible is love" || Emeldir/Barahir - There was a pool in Dorthonion, rumored to show the reflection of your true love. || Beren - Years later, as a youth, he looks in that same pool. || Andreth & Beren - Conversations about impossibilities and love, in which the future is shaped unseen.

57. "as the fire grows" || Thranduil/Canonical Wife & Celeborn - Before the War of the Last Alliance.

58. "grown but for weeds" || Legolas & Tauriel - While the Wise gather to discuss the shadow growing upon the Greenwood, young Legolas makes a discovery of his own.

59. "drawn from ruin" || Annael & Rían/Huor - After the Fifth Battle, life begins anew for Annael.

60. "how this, and love too, will ruin us" || Caranthir/Haleth - Her answer to his proposal.

61. "how the sea counts the years" || Celebrían & Melian - In Valinor, Celebrían learns of her daughter's choice.

62. "put them together" || Beren/Lúthien - He is the first one to realize she is with child.

63. "waves, upon arriving" || Celegorm & Dior & Caranthir - In the years following his failed courtship with Lúthien, Celegorm cannot stay away from Tol Galen. Once, Caranthir follows.

64. "to have and to hold" || Caranthir/Haleth - Their first year together.

65. remember, with fellowship and song || Bilbo & Thorin's Company - When he returns to the Shire, he plants his acorn.

66. "beneath such drooping boughs" || Legolas & Ensemble - The shadow over the Greenwood was darkening, as Legolas learns firsthand during a coming of age trial, far from his father's halls.

67. "a veil before stars" | | || Melian/Elu Thingol & Ensemble (with a special appearance by Sauron) - She adjusts to the role of wife, queen, and mother.

68. "a veil before stars" II || Melian/Elu Thingol & Ensemble (with a special appearance by Gandalf) - Events move onwards towards the building of Doriath.

69. "sleep I cannot find, nor light" || Maedhros & Idril - Whilst recovering from Thangorodrim, Maedhros finds a helping hand.

70. "but for pale persistence" || Maedhros & Elrond - The first time the child calls him father, Maedhros makes a hard decision about the fate of Eärendil's sons.

71. "where stirs a quiet pain" || Celeborn/Galadriel - When winter comes to Doriath, Galadriel redefines her opinion of the season, with some help from Celeborn.

72. "but for we who remain" || Celeborn/Galadriel & Elwing & Eärendil - Their first winter in Sirion is given to the past as much as it is to the future.

73. "to throw truth from mirrors" || Thranduil & Legolas - He explains the origin of his scars.

74. "just so long, and long enough" || Celebrían/Elrond - With fostering Arahael Aranarth's son, they set a tradition for all of the Chieftains of the Dúnedain to follow.

75. "our share of night to bear" || Thranduil/Canonical Wife & Thráin I - While his own realm darkens even further, Thranduil visits the newly founded kingdom of Erebor for the first, where the Shadow is at work in another way. 

76. "and came my way no more" || Curufin & Celegorm & Celebrimbor - After Nargothrond's destruction, Curufin seeks word of his son's survival.

77. "love will see us through our dark, dark days" || Maglor/Canonical Wife & Ensemble Fëanorians - He brings his wife-to-be home to meet his family.

78. "stars hide your fires" || Indis/Finwë/Míriel - Her pregnancy with Fëanor was not as it should be. || Nerdanel/Fëanor & Finwë - For her complicated pregnancy with the Ambarussa, and her strained relationship with her husband, her good-father offers advice and support.

79. "until the frost steals the bloom away" || Caranthir/Haleth - In which Caranthir is most certainly not jealous.

80. "lay me down to sleep" || Fëanor & Fingolfin - It is not their father the child seeks out at night, but him. || Fingolfin & Aredhel - There is a monster in her closet that only her father can slay.

81. "shall chase us round and round" || Turgon/Elenwë & Ensemble Fingolfinians - A beginning, in Aman.

82. "who refuse to breathe in water" || Tuor/Idril & Ensemble Gondolindrim - She has not swam since falling through the ice of the Helcaraxë, and yet, with Tuor . . .

83. "I have no weapons of ocean or wood" || Rían & Emeldir, Finduilas/Túrin, Tar-Míriel/Amandil, Fíriel/Arvedui, Dís & Thorin - Snippets of a woman's strength.  

84. "I will not take from you, and you will not owe" || Glorfindel & Ensemble - His two lifetimes spent in service to the House of Turgon.

85. "these were your loves, your victims" || Maglor/Canonical Wife & Ensemble Fëanorians - They settle into exile in Formenos.

86. "something without a name" || Indis/Finwë/Míriel & Ensemble - The early days of Finwë's family.

87. "with those who favour fire" || Ensemble Finwions - The House of Finwë during the Years of the Trees, in drabble form.

88. "whose home is timelessness" || Elrond/Celebrían & Ensemble - Drabbles from Rivendell.

89. "where time comes in waves" || Ensemble Gondolindrim - Drabbles from Gondolin.

90. "to fall from depth to depth of air" || Eärendil/Elwing, Celeborn/Galadriel, Idril/Tuor & Ensemble - Drabbles from Sirion. 

91. "we have drank each other thirsty" || Caranthir/Haleth - Some days, it is easy to forget her mortality. On other days, however, such as when her visiting Lake Helevorn coincides with many Princes of the Noldor being present . . .

92. "tale as old as time" || Éowyn & Ensemble - Éowyn, and a history of tales.

93. "chance may crown me" || Maedhros & Fingon - Before Fingon's coronation.

94. "through your time" || Caranthir/Haleth - In which she may, or may have not, inadvertently poisoned him.

95. "the agony and the ecstasy" || Curufin/Canonical Wife - There was an attraction between them, of a sort.

96. "blooming you shall always be" || Galadriel/Celeborn, Celebrimbor & Elwing, Thranduil & Galadriel - The survivors of Doriath, and the spring.