heget | Entries tagged with character: imin

The Duel. spoilers for "Of Ingwë Ingweron."

The youths are foolish, to place their confidence and effort into elaborate posturing and flashy moves. Duels take one stroke, one stab, if the warrior is right. The fight is before; the hunt is the wait. It is to reach the mind out and feel the echo of the opponent and flow of his thoughts. That is the secret of the hunt, to sing without words and feel as others feel, both companions and prey. To know the challenger across the ring and judge his thoughts. To be either the spear, stabbing boldly forward, to overwhelm the challenger and cow him under force of will - or be the lake, to absorb the attack like the water swallowing everything in its depths, find the weakness and in the same instance push back.

Imin is master of both paths, of spear and lake, knows every trick, has watched every fight that has ever been. Oldest and first, he has no equal and no one before him. There is a pointless cruelty in accepting this challenger, for Imin has no weaknesses, and this boy has no hope. What pride compels him, this boy that hunts alone and has never challenged his companions in the ring, to think he can best the first among all? Imin reaches out to find the challenger’s spirit, to hear the beat of the other heart, and overwhelm it with his own. The boy is tall and strong, his grip on the spear relaxed but right. There is a strange gleam of health to his body and a light in his eyes that Imin does not trust. The boy speaks of a land of light without death, a land that has made him strong. Imin can feel the boy’s strength. He acknowledges it. But the boy is young, and Imin is oldest and first, with no one before him. He looks across to the calm face of his opponent and feels with mind instead of ears the steady heartbeat of the boy. Incredulous! that the boy has no fear. That the mind is as calm as the mask-like face, the heartbeat even, no trepidation to face his leader, no bravado to explain the boy’s presumptuous challenge. Not even the lake is this still, and Imin falters. It is a tiny thing, that uncertainty, which does not show on his face or body. But he is no longer first, alone, no one before him. Imin sees the boy across from him in the dueling ring.

‘Lo!’ he shouts in the quietest corner of his mind, as he feels the intention flow into the action, feels the other man stab forward with his spear, begins a strike than Imin cannot stop or deflect. ‘Here you are, my equal. I thought I was alone.’

The last thoughts of Imin, oldest of elves, as he falls dead to earth and his spirit flies west to a land of light, is this: ‘I am glad I was not. Lo! I see you. Ingwë.’

Disclaimer: Here is a blend of Original Tolkien creations (aka my best efforts at recreating the author’s drawing), modifications on the original, and designs completely from cloth. Previous Entries can be found under the sigil tag. Please credit if use.

In order:

Ingwë 01, Ingwë 02, Indis, Imin

Notes:

Yes, I'm reposting these once more. Because if people in the Silmarillion/Tolkien fandom continue to use them, I want nice official links to them. And so another crosspost from tumblr project is born.

I needed sigils and flags for the Vanyar but especially the first Eldar royal family, and I think it took me over a year and four design overhauls before I had something I was satisfied with and didn’t look too out of place with the few Tolkien originals. If you are wondering, here's what one of last rounds of these late designs were:

I had two constants during the numerous redesigns:

the color scheme : shades of yellow and gold on white
the number of points touching the edge for Ingwë himself (Elven hierarchy had 8 points for a king, Finwë as Noldor High King had 16, so logically Ingwë as High King of All Elves has …32)

The final design I decided on was very sunflower, but it pairs nicely with all the white and gold trimmed banners. For Ingwë I made two versions of the first device because I couldn’t decide on which color variation. One then is officially for Ingwë and the other can be for his sons. Indis was simple in that I cut the device to fit into a circle instead of the square lozenge and modified the elements slightly, adding some sky blue for reasons connected to Finwë.

Then after writing enough arrogant golden haired lions of Valmar, I made a third variation on Ingwë's sigil and named it Imin.

Of the history of the Elves at Cuiviénen and the development of the the three tribes, of the family of Elwë and the discovery of Oromë, of how Indis received her name and Ingwë earned his, and of the honor duel between Imin and Ingwë to decide the leadership of the Minyar and the future of the Eldar.

Note: Some names and terms are in Primitive Elvish, but should be self-explanatory. I am using elements of the Cuivienyarna from the appendix of HoMe XI -plus other parts of HoMe- and the history of the Awakening of the Elves as presented in the Silm, with the one glaring difference - logically it makes more sense to me that the first three elves to awaken and lead the tribes are not the same three elves that go with Oromë. The Ingwë and Vanyar here are based off ideas outlined in this post - Klingon Promotions Among the Vanyar.
Though the focus is mostly Ingwë and his sister Indis, the story covers early life for everyone at Cuiviénen, especially Elu Thingol and his brothers.

The first tribe of Speakers, Kwendî, were never large in number, and their choices would keep their tribe small. In this time all elves lived near the shores of the Great Mother Lake which had birthed them, Cuiviénen, and there did most remain. Yet some chose to venture away, for in that time all elves were curious. But curiosity and hunger drew the people of the first tribe away from the safety of the lake more than all other elves and thus sealed their fate.

The first tribe was the Minyar, led by the First to awaken of all the Speakers, and Imin regretted that his people were never as many as those of other tribes. Tata was the leader of the second tribe, from which they were known as the Tatyar, and their numbers were great enough that more than one village needed to hold their numbers. Of the third tribe Enel was their chief, though so many were the third tribe that added together the first and second could not equal. The Nelyar thus had many villages spread across the shores of the Great Mother Lake. The Tatyar people with flat dark hair and pale skin delighted in all curiosities and new knowledge, and the third tribe found the sounds of water sweetest and thus clamored around the shore and paddled into the lake itself.

But the people of bronze and golden skin, with hair that shone light and golden when the great camp fires were lit, they were fearless. They were first to see the meat of animal kills and use the gift of voice to shout and frighten the scavengers away. They were first to decide to emulate hunters like the great cats and the wolves, to leave the echoing water and run through the fir forest and dark plains in search of prey. With the clear voices and the use of song the Minyar Kwendî called out the plans. With newly invented words they called the ideas of running ahead, of circling the prey and herding it, and of throwing from many hands as if one.

No other creature looked like them, walked on two feet and had hands that could grasp and throw and make. On the first hunt it was rocks to scatter the animals, like they had done to the other scavengers to claim old kills, and sharpened spears from branches and young saplings around their home. A Tatyar would find a way to lash the knapped stone scrapers the Kwendî were beginning to use as knives to make a sharper spear-point atop the wooden javelin. On the second hunt this spear would prove superior. The Minyar would learn to make these stone knives, but most traded with the Tatyar instead. The second tribe had not the skills of body strength, the understanding of animals both prey and predator, the songs and strategies of how to successfully hunt the best game. Better the Tatyar craftsmen spend their time on the spearheads and knives, for their hands were skilled to it and familiar, and the Minyar to the long hunts. Thus no time was wasted, and true talents matched of crafter and hunter. This was said to be the wisdom of the customs of the Speakers, the Kwendî, and none questioned it.

The Nelyar fished. In truth they accomplished more than that, for their careful tending of the water reeds and plants growing on the narrow rich land between shore and the surrounding woods was the beginning of agriculture. The Nelyar would tend the reeds to make woven goods like clothing and baskets and later the walls of their houses. Tubers and edible greens they also farmed, beginning to control the environment instead of the other way around.

The Minyar grew strong on the rich red meat of prey, drinking the thick blood and sucking the bone marrow. They would offer pieces of heart and liver and lung to the Tatyar craftsmen who gave them the spearheads. Not just stone, but tools and art of many materials became the province of the second tribe. Clay from the lakeshore baked in fire pits became hard enough for bricks and pots, and skilled hands learned to make many shapes and patterns. Once enough deer were killed and antlers gathered, bone weapons became common. Even the Tatyar children would expend their curiosity by hunting through the woods after rutting season, looking for discarded antlers to make into new tools and ornaments. Thus the character of the Noldor, of what the second tribe would value most, was given its foundations.

But to leave the sight and hearing range of Cuiviénen, to run after the great deer and horse and boar, was dangerous. Not only was such big game dangerous to the hunters, where a kick or tusk of an animal even fatally captured could injury an unwary Minyar tracker, but the Kwendî were not the only hunters on the plains. Great beasts, monsters of horn and ivory dying the earth with blood^[1], also competed with the Minyar for prey, or saw these Kwendî as food. Hunters, both male and female for in those days and indeed forever after for the first tribe saw no difference of gender in the skill of a runner to defeat the swift deer or an arm that could hurl a spear, were lost to the violence, and thus the first tribe was never able to grow in number like their kin who did not venture into danger.

And the best illustration of this is the story of the mother and father of those we would later name Ingwë and his sister Indis.

( Read more... )

Before I can (cross)-post "Of Ingwë Ingweron" and all my other stories centered around the time before the Great Journey, I must explain a headcanon that became the bedrock upon which all else is built. It was built off some ideas about the Vanyar and my ideas and opinions about Cuiviénen, then once I mulled over some thoughts, I landed on what I swear is not a crack theory.

Ingwë is a Stone-Cold Killer, or Klingon Style Promotions Among the Vanyar

The Cuivienyarna presents the first three elves to awaken as immediately partnered with a corresponding spouse, and together these couples are the finders, founders, and leaders of the three tribes. The Three are Imin (and Iminyë) for Minyar/Vanyar, Tata (and Tatië) for Tatyar/Noldor, and Enel (and Enelyë) for Nelyar/Teleri. The most popular fan concepts are that the first Unbegotten elves are allegorical figures or if actual characters then are not alternative names for Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë but their immediate predecessors. Treating these three (six if counting their spouses) as purely allegorical will work, roughly, because the Cuivienyarna is supposed to be the simplified story that teaches counting to young elven children. But I think simplifying their existence to allegory only really applies to their names and a glossing over of political reality. And misses out on developing any real story set in Cuiviénen. If they are real historical people, then matching the First Unbegotten -Imin, Tata, and Enel- to the later trio of Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë ...doesn't work. At least not for Finwë and certainly not Elwë. But the alternative never sat easy with me. Because if Imin, Tata, and Enel exist as separate characters, why are they never heard of again or influence events in the Silmarillion? At least whomever they were based on, those shadowy first tribal leaders of the elves - who cannot be the Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë for reasons I will soon explain. The common fan theory is to make Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë (plus Olwë and Elmo) the sons or grandsons of these legendary first leaders of the three elven tribes. Or work around the problems of siblings in Ingwë's case with Indis and Elwë's two younger brothers, not to mention the disappearance of wives, and say that the Three are the same characters. Either Ingwë is Imin’s son, or just another name for Ingwë. But not even Ingwë fits perfectly into the silhouette of Imin. Or pretend that Tatië and certainly Enelyë don't exist. (For if Enel is Elu -highly unlikely- then wherefore can Melian and her love be?)

Now I’ll admit I first fell into this trap of saying Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë were the heirs of the leaders of their tribes. That this family tie was why the three were chosen as ambassadors to go with Oromë and why the elves of their kindred followed them. But it is said only this: that Oromë picked the three, and that after they came back from Valinor with tales of that land and the light of the Two Trees now in their eyes, the elves of Cuiviénen listened and followed them as leaders. The implication becomes clear. Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë were not leaders of the elves until after returning from Valinor. And no reason is given as for why Oromë chose them. (Or if they weren't volunteered or volunteered to go.)

So what? Did the elves have no leaders before Oromë's arrival? Please. Elves are social beings. There might not be a formal hierarchical structure yet, if one really wants to stretch credulity, but there would be leaders. Maybe not permanent leaders, not a single leader for every category of decision facing the group, but they exist. And if the elves were a settled community, as hints of the language might suggest, the necessity of some Initial Three Bigwigs can't be denied. So the ruling families might be but one generation, but there would be present those personages most looked to for leadership, and they will be called by their Cuivienyarna names for ease of convenience.

Back to the supposition of Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë as the sons and heirs of the leaders, that headcanon so popular to fic writers would don't ignore the Cuivienyarna but aren't willing to twist the story to make them the same figures. The headcanon I dropped. What if our three, Ingwë, Finwë, Elwë, are not at all related to the ruling families of the three tribes? That these three are on the social outskirts of the tribes, low-ranking members among their groups. Young men with ambition and drive, but little chance for opportunities. And if one or all are orphans as well, dodging the issue of an Elwë with two brothers but no parents, no recorded parents for Finwë or Ingwë, all the better to explain why there are none with authority over the three kings or to whom they turn to for counsel or must share power with in Valinor. Because it was getting unrealistic to lose all three original leaders to the Black Riders, unless in one fell swoop, or have all three choose not to follow their sons to Valinor.
And add the fact that the elves had no guarantee that those going with Oromë to Valinor would or could return or how long that they would be gone. You would not want to send a person in authority away, especially if they are either leading the tribe or depended up in an assisting role- or just to be around in case something happens to the leader. Elwë, perhaps, as he had two younger brothers as spares to the heir, and thus his loss would not be a permanently fatal blow to the running of his tribe. But this crisis would still happen to the Teleri anyway, permanently dividing their tribe and psychologically scarring them. Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë are scouts. You don't send the most important people out as scouts, people you need to be leading the tribe and nascent villages while waiting for the scouts to return with news. Send out trusted people, perhaps. Maybe your heirs. Depends on how callous one imagines the early elves, and just how great the uncertainty Oromë's offer is. Is he promising a hyper-quick visit with guarantees of their swift safe return? How much do the elves, so recently plagued by abductions by Dark Riders, truly trust that promise?

So Oromë picks (or is offered) the three that are not necessary for their tribes’ continued survival, three young men from each group who are eager for the chance at something greater.

Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë go to Valinor, bask in the light of the Two Trees, and grow stronger and wiser and more powerful. They desire to return to Cuiviénen and convince their people to follow them back to Aman. They return with the goal of gaining followers, of convincing the Eldar in their tribal groups to follow them so that they may live under the Two Trees and away from the shores of Cuiviénen. They return as the Three Prophets.
And the three leaders of the Minyar, Tayar, and Nelyar are going to see the young men as dangerous threats to their authority, rebellious and seditious upstarts trying to steal their power and leadership. Raging debates would occur as the tribal kings tried to silence these three prophets. Over time, both Finwë and Elwë (who has his brother Olwë as the Aaron to his Moses, so to speak) use speeches to convince about half the members of their tribes to abandon the authority of the true leaders and commit to going to Aman. The Tatyar and Nelyar that do not convert become the Avari, the Unwilling, staying under the leadership of Tata and Enel, knowing that they were the true elves and that those the took to the march were deserters and also rebels.

We know the Avari are equal parts the Tatyar that stay and Nelyar, and none are Minyar.

And here is where the most radical point comes in- for all of the Minyar chose to go with Ingwë to Valinor. Which means we can’t have a Imin and Iminyë, that arrogant hypothetical first elf ever awakened, still leading the Minyar unless we decide Imin and Ingwë are one and the same (which makes Indis a daughter or granddaughter). Is then Iminyë ruling as queen as the Minyar let their king go off to the unknown with a strange power, one that is of the same kindred as those frightening riders? Okay, but then we say Imin is Ingwë, but Tata isn't Finwë and Enel isn't Elwë, that only the first couple is real and the other two are stories or that our sets of trios must be unequally mixed. No, we must keep Imin and Ingwë as separate characters.

Which means Imin has to die.

...Or at least be permanently removed from power among the elves, for Ingwë will be held forever more as High King of All the Eldar.

And how is Imin going to die and to leave the power vacuum for Ingwë to step in, thus allowing Ingwë to gather all of the Minyar under him to move en-mass to Valinor? Especially when Melkor has been chained away, removing that immediate threat and oh so convenient tool to remove Imin. When debates are raging among the elves of Cuiviénen of whether to stay or go.

And that's when I had the idea for the elegantly simple solution.

Ingwë kills Imin, takes his place as king.

(**insert Lion King gif**)

( Read more... )

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Entries tagged with character: imin

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Silmarillion Sigil Set 03

Of Ingwë Ingweron - Chapter 1

Klingon Promotions Among the Vanyar