Back to Middle Earth Month: Fate

[tarion-anarore.livejournal.com]

*All who dwelt in Aman were filled with wonder and delight at the work of
Fëanor. And Varda hallowed the Silmarils, so that thereafter no mortal
flesh, nor hands unclean, nor anything of evil will might touch them, but it
was scorched and withered; and Mandos foretold that the fates of Arda,
earth, sea, and air, lay locked within them. The heart of Fëanor was fast
bound to these things that he himself had made.*
The Silmarillion, *Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor*

Over the last month, we have compassed fully the Circles of the World, from
beginnings to endings. Today--the final day of Back to Middle-earth
Month--we consider one final theme that links them all: Fate.

Fate underlies all of the events of *The Silmarillion. * It gives purpose to
the pointless and makes sense of the inscrutable. Each birth and each death,
each wonder discovered then lost in downfall, each love plighted and parted,
each war weathered and creation revealed, each allegiance forged and blade
raised in betrayal, and each petty rivalry and profound friendship occur for
a reason.

Today's stories are about Fate.

Noliel's excerpt from "Where the Heart Is" brings the fate of the Noldor
full circle through Maglor: from Cuiviénen to Cuiviénen. Ranger1's aptly
titled "Fate" ponders Finwë's fate, while Oshun's excerpt from "A New Day"
describes the enmeshed fates of Maedhros and Fingon. Dawn Felagund considers
the purpose behind the senseless loss of Amandil from Númenor in "This
Place." Finally, Robinka's drabble "Suicide Is Painless" looks at the fate
of Maedhros, as well as the fate of each of us who has made Tolkien's works
a part of his or her life. "I guess it is likely to say that my fate is to
read and love Tolkien's works," she says. "I do not mind at all."

Today's stories about Fate can be found at
http://www.silmaril lionwritersguild .org/b2mem2008/ fate.php.

That concludes our Back to Middle-earth Month project The Circles of the
World. We hope that you have enjoyed the contributions of the participating
authors, poets, and artists and thank our readers, volunteers, and
contributors alike for their support of the project. We'll see you next
year!

Comments

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to let you know that there is a dot too much at the end of the link, so it shows up as an error page. :) Thank you for a lovely month full of Tolkien appreciation!

[tarion-anarore.livejournal.com]

Oops! Thanks for pointing that out - it should be fixed now. And we're glad you enjoyed it. :)

[periantari.livejournal.com]

What an interesting theme! I will try to catch up on all entries this month soon!
Thanks to all those who participated this month in CMEM08! =)