WOW, what am I doing?

WOW.

Amazing, huh? I've had another change of heart! I'm really sorry for this, people, really, really sorry, but it appears what I have done is far too complicated and far too long for a story. And if it's not too long, than there would be HUGE blanks. Terrible.

So, it's still on the same canon, same main character. However, it's back waaaaaay before the events of LOTR and The Hobbit. If you don't know much Tolkien, and you're worried about what it's going to be about, then I'll try band explain in the simplest way possible and I decided to drop the idea of Tolkien language. I liked the idea, when I first read Tainted Light in fanfiction.net, but it's too complicated, requires extra wording and makes it too long. The rules in this are really restricting! I've had to rethink nearly everything again!

Please try to understand, I'm trying to make this as entertaining and interesting for anyone who reads, as much as possible, while trying to stick to the rules. But its tough. Please, bear with me and be patient. I'm also trying to get this done by Sunday.


  

 
Top Left and Right: The Two Trees of Valinor. Bottom: Arda/Earth as it was set in the story before LOTR and The Hobbit.
 

For people who believe that Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit is based on some other universe/planet, far, far away, they are, it appears, wrong. It is set in our world, and it appears Tolkien was really, really smart. It was set on Planet Earth, but in a mythical past. If you learned enough about the theories of the Big Bang and evolution then you can't say that, fictional as it was, Tolkien's work was utterly rubbish. He was also a Catholic, Somehow he managed to bring his love of mythology, his strong connection to his Catholic faith and science together. Hey, only a real genius could ever do such a thing. Tolkien liked myths and legends, Greek and Roman, Celtic and Germanic, Norse, you name it. He wanted to create some myths and legends with great sagas that for Britain. Yet, he also wanted to stay true to his Catholic faith as well as science. If you studied science you would know pf the Big Bang Theory. Or at least I hope you were taught that (Not meaning to insult your intelligence if you do know- sorry- but there are people who have absolutely no idea.). There is a single entity in Tolkien's universe, much like Allah and Yaweh in Islam and Judaism as well as God in Christianity- well it's supposed to be the same God. He creates Tolkien's angels- the Ainur, and sends them to a world that's just been created. Except that its flat, barren, full of toxic gases, no oxygen or water, no life, plant or animal, rocky and with lakes, rivers, oceans, seas and falls of lava- the same as prehistoric earth in the real world. They come down, get divided up into the Valar- the kings, queens and teachers- and the Maiar- friends, helpers, companions- the latter order included Gandalf, Saruman and even Sauron- back when he was good. So there's another question you might have had answered- was Gandalf a human or what- 'cos he looks older than an elf- but doesn't act like a frail old man. He just chose to look old, to be inconspicuous. So the Ainur set everything the way Eru- God, also known as Illuvatar-All-Father- wanted things to be. They made the earth more habitable- except that it was still flat. That had yet to change. But the first Big Baddie made himdelf known. He was Melkor and he was jealous of the other Valar, particularly his brother who was made the king over all Ainur. He ruined a great deal of their creations- the world was no longer perfect- and he toppled the Great Lamps- Illuin the Silver and Ormal the Gold- used before there was a sun or moon. He got chased, hid beneath his evil fortress and the first elves then awoke. The Ainur- worried because they haven't found Melkor, invited them to live in Aman/Valinor/the Undying Lands, where Frodo later went in the last LOTR book/movie. Most of the elves went- not all, but Melkor ensnared some of them and tortured them, driving them insane and mutilating their bodies and souls. They became the first orcs. This was actually mentioned in the Two Towers movie when Saruman was speaking to the Uruk-Hai. The Ainur went to war against Melkor and he was chained up, for over a thousand years. The elves that did leave ended up in Valinor. They lived there in peace until Melkor was released and destroyed the Two Trees of Valinor- Laurelin the Gold and Telperion the Silver- which replaced the Two Lamps. The sun and moon were created then. Melkor also killed Finwe, High King of the Noldor elves- and my character's great-grandfather- and started a war. But that's even long before the story begins- it begins when they're still happy. Melkor, a.k.a Lucifer/Satan, is still chained up. Sauron and many other Maiar hadn't yet gone to his side, and Numenor, a.k.a Atlantis, hadn't yet sunk, creating a round world in the cataclysm.

       

Top Left and Right: Melkor/Morgoth, First Dark Lord and Sauron's old boss. Bottom Left: Sauron in his real form. Middle: Saruman, then Curumo before he sets out to Middle-Earth. Right: Gandalf, then Olorin, also before he sets out for Middle-Earth.



The Noldor elves are the smartest, most talented bunch in the elf race. None of them was smarter than Feanor. He was the guy that made the Palantiri/ Seeing Stones that are featured in LOTR, used by Saruman and later Pippin, the Silmarils- the most beautiful, priceless gems in history and invented the elven script that is also seen in the books and movies. He was King Finwe's son and my character- Estela's grandfather. He was the guy with seven kids too- the biggest number the elves could ever achieve with offspring- immortals don't need to breed much do they? All of them boys, Maedhros the Tall- whom fanfiction sites have described as being a Prince Charming/Knight in Shining Armour, Cassanova, romantic love interest or Gary Stu type. He's really popular apparently people go crazy over the idea of him- haha! In this, he isn't a love interest- just my character's father. Maglor "the Mighty Singer"- because he was a famous musician and the best male singer in the world, was the second son, Celegorm "The Fair" the blond dude and the one who had a hasty temper but could speak to animals, Caranthir "The Dark One" who had an even more frightening temper and could terrify the living daylights out of whole orc packs, and Curufin "the Crafty". He was the one who was most like his Daddy and inherited a great deal of his brains- not as renowned as his dad though. He was also the father of Celebrimbor maker of the Rings of Power. Then Feanor's two youngest were the twins- Amrod and Amras. The Fred and George of Tolkien universe, as portrayed by other fanfic writers. One big "happy" family. Feanor only goes AWOL, when his dad was killed and his silmarils stolen.

    


Top: Pregnant Nerdanel and Feanor with their then only four, children. Right: The Seven Sons of Feanor. Bottom: Nerdanel and her young twins.

Now the elves have more than one name- the one given by their father-father-name and their mother- mother-name. They may have a nickname, called "epesse", and if their names ever reach the loremnasters of the Sindar elves- Legolas' people, they give them a Sindarinized name. I actually prefer to call them by their original names, but if it gets too complicated I'll try and sort that out. I'm dropping the idea of Tolkien language, for reasons mentioned above, this won't be set in Middle-Earth, but in the Undying Lands/Valinor/Aman. Estela is called Amatire - as I said, I'm keeping the character. That's her mother-name. Eruvande is her father-name. Estela is the name she's given by the Sindar. In this she's a sweet, fun-loving charming little creature, not yet grim and bitter- the war changed everything- and she's just starting to learn about Melkor- the Big Baddie that did a lot of bad things to elves and tried to stop them from living happily- that her grand-dad did not like his stepmum- what was that even- elves don't marry twice- and that her parents might be keeping a big secret from her. It may feature Sauron- before he turned completely bad- he's still a pain though- Saruman and Gandalf. Galadriel's a cousin, so she'll be there, Elrond and Arwen haven't been born yet, as the elves haven't moved back to Middle-Earth.

So here is a list of characters and what they're called. I'm keeping it limited as I don't want to put in too many words or go around searching for new elvish names too much!

• Finwe- The King
• Miriel Serinde- just Miriel in the story- his first wife and an accomplished weaver. Died not long after the birth of her son.*
• Indis- "The Fair" Second wife of Finwe, niece of Ingwe the High King and King of the Vanyar elves.
• Curufinwe Feanaro/Feanor- called just Feanaro son of Finwe and Miriel, husband of Nerdanel and father to seven sons and many more grandchildren- including the main character. Inventor of the Tengwar script, maker of the Palantiri and Silmarils.
• Nolofinwe/Fingolfin- just Nolofinwe, son of Finwe and Indis. Feanaro's half-brother.
• Findis, daughter of Finwe and Indis. Feanaro's half-sister*
• Arafinwe/ Finarfin- just Arafinwe- youngest son of Finwe and Indis,  Feanaro's half-brother, husband of Earwen and father to Galadriel- as well as three older sons.*
• Irien Lalwen/Irime- Youngest daughter of Finwe and Indis, half-sister to Feanor.*

• Nerdanel- sculptress, wife of Feanaro mother and grandmother to his descendants.
• Nelyafinwe Maitimo/ Maedhros- Eldest son of Feanaro, lore-master and swordsman, father of the main character-Estela. Called Maitimo or "Russandol" meaning, "Copper-top" by relatives for his red hair. Estela calls him "Atar" or "Atto", meaning "Father" and "Daddy".
• Irimawen Eleninear-  "Elen" his wife, granddaughter of the Telerin King, Earwen's niece, mother to Estela. She is called "Amil" or "Amma"- "Mother" or "Mummy".
• Eruvande Amatire/Estela- just Estela, the main character. barely out of her baby days but very precocious. Can be called "Selde", meaning "Daughter" or simply "Little One".
• Canafinwe Macalaure/Maglor- just Macalaure. Second son of Feanaro and best musician and male singer. Husband of Vingarie.
• Vingarie-"Auntie Vingarie"- Macalaure's wife. Telerin by birth and singer and musician.
• Turkafinwe Tyelcormo/Celegorm- Tyelcormo, third son, hunter and athlete. Has a hasty temper.
• Morifnwe Carnistir/Caranthir- Carnistir, fourth son has a harsh temper only when provoked.
• Curufinwe Atarinke/Curufin, - Called "Curvo" fifth son, smith like his father and father of Telperinqar.
• Telperinqar/Celebrimbor- "Telpe" son of Curvo and future maker of the Rings of Power.
• Nityafinwe and Telufinwe/Ambarussa- called Ambarussa if together or just Nityo and Telu, the youngest twin sons of Feanaro.

Others:
Nolofinwe's family.

• Anaire- Nolofinwe's wife.
• Findekano/Fingon- Findekano son of Nolofinwe and Anaire, Maitimo's closest friend.
• Turukano/Turgon and Elenwe. Turkano is Nolofinwe's second son and his Vanyarin wife Elenwe.*
• Itarille/Idril- Itarille, their daughter.*
• Irisse/Aredhel- called only Irisse, daughter of Nolofinwe and Anaire, friend of Feanaro's family.
• Arakano/Argon- Youngest son.*

Arafinwe's family-

• Earwen, his wife, daughter of Olwe, the Telerin King, mother to Galadriel- then Artanis, aunt to    Eleninear- her brother's daughter and Maitimo's wife.*
• Finderato/Finrod- "Daro" eldest son of Arafinwe
• Amarie- his fiancée.
• Angarato- "Rato" his second son.*
• Aikanar/Aegnor- Aikanar, the third son.*
• Artanis Nerwen/Galadriel- Artanis is the youngest and only girl. Cousin to Maitimo and Eleninear on either side.

                                                                                                            
Others:

• Ingwe- High King, Vanyarin king and uncle to Indis*
• Olwe- Telerin King, father to Earwen and Arcalimar. *
• Arcalimar- Eleninear's father, Earwen's brother, Estela's maternal grandfather.
• Curumo/Saruman- Curumo is a maia.
• Olorin/Gandalf- Another maia, called Olorin
• Mairon/Sauron- Later renamed Sauron, before he went bad- a maia but a pain even then.
• Melkor/Morgoth- Then Melkor, First Dark Lord, currently imprisoned.**
• Alarcaniel- A maia, friend of Olorin/Gandalf.
• Ilwion- Another maia and friend of Olorin
• Maltariel- a young Vanyarin princess, Ingwe's grandchild and member of Estela's "acting troupe."

  *- only mentioned. Might be there for some gatherings, but not picked out to be a character. Unless it's Miriel- she's dead.
** Constantly mentioned, never present, but may appear in dreams and visions.
Of course Feanaro's other sons have wives and kids of their own, and maybe some of his nephews, but they won't be named, 'cos there is a word limit and I don't know enough elvish names!

So, my main character- that's Estela- is, as I said, barely out of her baby days. However, don't be to surprised if she acts all smart- like she's very precocious in language, tone, and senses inside her head. Tolkien wrote about that. Elves are born a year after they have been conceived, not nine months. Their conception- begetting day- is celebrated instead of their birth. They reach their full adult height- and come of age- at fifty. Physical maturity has already set in by the time they are one century old. However their minds mature much faster. By the time they are one, they can already speak, walk and even dance flawlessly.



 


    
Top Left: Varda, queen of the Ainur and Queen of Stars. Right, Nerdanel, reading her two youngest a story. Above: Ungoliant, mother of Shelob sucking the life out of the Two Trees- under Melkor's direction. Bottom: Manwe and Varda, king and queen of the Ainur, beneath the Two Trees, on Erzellohar, over-looking Valmar in Valinor. 

Hope you enjoy this. Please be kind!

                        
                                                    

                                      
Top: The Two Trees. Bottom: Ships arriving to Valinor.