evandar | Fic - A Kingly Gift

Entry tags:

Fic - A Kingly Gift - 1/1

Title: A Kingly Gift
Author: Evandar
Fandom: The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings
Rating: G
Genre: Gen
Pairing: Implied Thorin/Bilbo
Disclaimer: I do not own The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings and I am making no profit from this story.
Summary: No one in the Fellowship knows the true meaning of the mithril shirt, save for Gimli.

When Frodo staggers to his feet, carefully supported by Sam, and opens his shirt, gasping that he isn’t hurt, Gimli cannot help but let his lips part and his eyes widen in shock and awe. He labels the mithril shirt that glitters brilliantly in the gloom “a kingly gift” before he can stop himself – and tries not to wince as generations-old secrets weigh upon his shoulders and stick in his throat.

Not that anyone bar the elf pays attention to his comment, and all the pointy-eared princeling does is roll his eyes. He thinks, no doubt, that Gimli is merely a dwarf sighing over precious metal – and perhaps he is right, though he has no idea of how precious the metal is.

Or what it means.

Mithril, the rarest of metals, is only worked on by the line of Durin. Only those of direct lineage – the kings, the lesser lords, their children – may shape the metal as they please. It is part of why the cost of mithril is so high – and why it was only ever sold to those who were kings or princes in their own right.

He has known almost his entire life that Thorin Oakenshield, King Under the Mountain, presented Bilbo Baggins with a mithril shirt, and he has known for almost the same amount of time what exactly that presentation meant. It is another thing to actually see it, see its lustre and its quality peeking out from under stained cotton and Aragorn’s splayed palm. It is the greatest treasure forged within Erebor, and it was intended – though Gandalf’s claim that Bilbo had not known its worth rings horribly true in more than one way – as a betrothal gift.

The line of Durin only gift mithril to those who will be joining it.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

No problem. I read your objection and got a bit confused before realising that I hadn't clarified that I was talking specifically about dwarves.

I'm rereading The Hobbit at the moment, and every so often I get an 'aha!' moment when I come across a Silmarillion reference, and then I'm just awe-struck for a while that he managed to tie so much of his work together like that. (Though, he refers to Valinor as 'Faerie' in The Hobbit and it makes me giggle. Every. Time.)

I have heard that theory before. The only thing that really bothers me about it is: how the heck did it end up buried under a mountain? Other than that, yeah, there are definitely enough similarities to make it fic-fodder. The bad luck that seems to follow it around, definitely. Thror claims it, enter dragon; dragon lies on top of it, gets a hole in his jewellery-armour; Bilbo steals it, loses his friends and is dangled from a gate; Thorin makes a deal for it, dies. It's amazing nothing happens to Bard while he's holding on to it...

Edited 2013-01-08 04:40 (UTC)

I flailed in the theater when Elrond mentioned how the elves of Gondolin (!!) were his kin (yes Elrond that is your great-grandfather Turgon's sword!!), and when Radagast mentioned Ungoliant. It's even better in the book when Tolkien had to filter his references through the children's-story kind of atmosphere he was working in... I wonder what the Valar would think of being referred to as "Faerie"?

Maedhros threw that Silmaril into the a fiery chasm in the earth, or something like that, right? So it sounds like that went down all the way to the molten mantle underground; presumably the Silmaril was moved by lava and thus deposited under the mountain (especially if you buy the theory that the Lonely Mountain was an inactive volcano that also helps). Though if it really was the Silmaril, that just goes to show Bilbo's strength of will if he could give it up just like that...

I just flailed over Radagast in general. He's little more of a footnote in his own right, and I absolutely loved that they brought him in and made hims so...uniquely awesome. And yeah, the references to Gondolin and the high elves and Ungoliant made me squee with joy. And did you catch the oblique LotR reference about Saruman 'hating meddling'? Because when I started reading FotR ~~finished The Hobbit and work was quiet...~~ I actually squeaked.

And I had completely forgotten that he does that. Huh. I reeeeally need to reread The Silmarillion. Though when Bilbo's giving it up, he does feel an odd reluctance to do so, which would fit with the Silmaril theory - though apparently Bard is immune to it as well, since he puts it in Thorin's tomb. And that makes Bilbo one of the most strong-minded people in Middle Earth: giving up a ~~possible~~ Silmaril and the One Ring. Dude. Bilbo rocks.

I loved seeing the White Council, since it's not something we see even in the books, either. But you can never go wrong with more snarky interaction with Elrond, Galadriel, and the Wizards -- and generally Saruman's portrayal here was so great! It was totally in line with what we know happens in LotR, even though he's still a good guy here. Such an unexpected moment there :D

To be honest I haven't actually sat down and reread anything in years myself, I'm working off memory and extensive fanfic-reading (the lowest common denominator of what's included among stories generally tends to be canon!) The biggest possible holdup to the Arkenstone-Silmaril theory might be Thranduil, who was there at the handover and would be likely to recognize the Silmaril? (obviously Gandalf wouldn't say anything to stir up trouble there). And pfft, I wonder how possessive Gollum would have been over the Silmaril if hypothetically that had been his Precious? (How he got hold of it would be a different story though. No, bad brain, stop thinking about an AU where the Big MacGuffin is the Silmaril and not the Ring...)

The look on Gandalf's face when Saruman came in was a thing of beauty. I also loved how they had him wittering on self-importantly while Gandalf got things done ~~in his head~~ because that was exactly how I imagined they would be.

I thought he'd already been semi-corrupted by that point, anyway, and that was why he was like 'Necromancer? Are you high? I know Radagast is...'

And...you're a bad influence on me. Or a good one. I'm not sure. I read your comment and, having not thought about Thranduil at all in regards to this theory, wrote this fic (http://hikarievandar.livejournal.com/30067.html) which explains my thoughts pretty much exactly.

Though, I had it in my head that he was a bit too young to get involved in all of that and it was mostly Oropher who dealt with the Noldor before he went "fuck you guys, I'm going to take my kid and live in the woods" after Doriath was destroyed. I could be entirely wrong about that though, but who knows? I don't remember if Thranduil was ever mentioned in The Silmarillion by name.

Saruman's snarky comments about Gandalf and Radagast being "under the influence" were just priceless! (Yet he eventually develops a pipeweed habit, so ironic... [I don't remember if they kept that in the movies?]) And yeah Saruman's fondness for power structures and reaffirming his own position... it was perfect :D

I do seem to have that affect on you, don't I? :) I'll go read and headcanon over there shortly!

I don't remember about Thranduil in the Silmarillion either, but I was reading arguments on the topic and if he was born in the First Age (I don't think he's mentioned either way? Iirc Oropher only really comes up in the Second Age/Last Alliance era, and according to Wikis he's never mentioned in the Silm either, only in some of the supplementary material of Tolkien's notes.)

They definitely had the barrels of pipeweed in the extended versions. I can't remember if they were in the cinematic cut, though.

And yes, yes you do. You make things into Things.

I have vaaaaague memories of Oropher maybe being obliquely referenced somewhere, but they could have been appendices or something. ~~Tolkien focussed more on Celeborn, but I think there was a sort-of mention of them falling out over Galadriel or something.~~ I don't even know anymore. Tolkien wrote so much!

All right, Saruman the (pipe)weed user is confirmed even in movie canon! He needs a substance abuse counselor. (sorry the mental image is cracking me up, omg, I am too easily amused)

I'm no good at actually writing out my headcanons, so it's a good thing I can get people to write it for me! :D

And yeah, now that you mention it I'm pretty sure Oropher is mentioned somewhere in the Appendices. That makes sense, since he was involved in the Last Alliance, and then after that Thranduil founded his realm. ~~Celeborn and Galadriel -- that almost sounds like Amdir or Amroth?~~

Let's face it, all of the Istari need counsellors once if they all make it back to Valinor. "So Gandalf, how does it feel to have been the only one doing anything useful in all that?"

I feel like I should now point out that it's my head-canon now, damn it. But its inclusion (and Lee Pace, who was perfect) makes me like Thranduil more.

I thought Greenwood was founded by Oropher after Doriath fell? I could have sworn there was something about him going off to rule them since they hadn't bothered to find a king of their own, and that he lead wood-elves into battle in the Last Alliance...

*snickering over Radagast and his mushrooms and Yavanna's reaction* I should stop...

Lee Pace had all of, what, 1 minute of footage? But yeah I was not expecting (I don't think anyone was expecting) him to have embodied the role as much as he did. I am so excited about his appearance in the next movie, being snarky to the Dwarves (and hopefully our headcanons about Thranduil's reasons with the Silmaril won't be contradicted ~~too much~~!)

Oropher definitely went off to rule the Silvan (? too many names for divisions of the Teleri) Elves, and they took him as their king, but I'm pretty sure Thranduil was the one to found Greenwood specifically after he came back from war? Though obviously Oropher must have been ruling over something, if he had enough elves to raise an army from.... idk I could be completely wrong about what was going on where.

askafgfka I can't wait for the next film either. I really hope that minute of footage is a sign of things to come, because I'll be gutted if Thranduil doesn't turn out right.

Eh, to be honest, by that point in the book I was too turned around by everyone and their multiple names and the occasional resurrection (yes, Glorfindel, I'm looking at you) that I was totally confused and I could well be making all of this up. Hopefully I'll keep a better track of it this time.

... minute of footage?!? where?! I've seen gifs from like, behind-the-scenes material of the next movie on Tumblr but this is the first I've heard of it and asdf WANT.

Rereads (or fanfic, that works too) help a lot with the name problem! Though I'm not really one to talk, I think I only just now managed to keep Fingolfin and Finarfin's children straight, previously they were a big puddle of "Not Fëanor". And they get considerably more page time than Oropher ever did....

Okay, replying to this comment because of space. Yeah.

I meant the time he spends onscreen in Unexpected Journey. If there has been footage released for Desolation of Smaug then I haven't heard of it...and I'm fairly sure that it would send the fandom corner of the internet into some sort of meltdown.

I think Smaug was the last, but it is possible he was related to Ancalagon. He's definitely of the same type. Wasn't the first dragon (forgotten the name) wingless?

And I got so confused and frustrated with all of the 'fin' names. And the habit of having more than one name, or aliases, and by the end I was a ball of fourteen-year-old frustration. It took me about three months to get through it the first time, and I'm a fast reader.

And the more I talk about The Silmarillion the more I want to read it again, and the more I dread it, because yikes. It's a big universe to take in, let alone dabble in. ~~But I have to now, because of tolkienbigbang and oh god what have I got myself into...~~

Ahah, I just follow the link in the notification emails, so in theory I know my comment conversations with people go on and on and the space gets narrower and narrower, but yeah. Here we are.

Ah right, got it! I've seen gifs of behind-the-scenes Dwarves In Barrels on Tumblr, like I mentioned, but that's it, nothing else, and certainly no more Thranduil or Legolas. And I guess it wouldn't make sense to release any footage before even a trailer, either...

[moves dragon speculation to other comment]

It's even worse when you consider that the names we see the Noldor presented with are mostly in Sindarin so then there are all the Quenya forms of things to be messing around with, too. Thankfully the habit of having multiple names died down by the Third Age (could you imagine the narrative if Legolas had three interchangeable names?) though Aragorn/Strider/Elessar/Telcontar/what am I even missing certainly revived the habit with a iwll.

The first time I read the Silmarillion I got super confused by the Ainulindale -- I was like "this has nothing to do with Lord of the Rings!", and I stopped reading it entirely. Thankfully my second shot was rather more successful!

My goal someday is to read through more of the supplementary material for myself, but since so much of it isn't in a coherent narrative idk how likely that is. And ~~ooh did you sign up? Good luck, I'll be here for cheerleading if you'd like :D I wish I knew how to finish things....~~

I've seen a couple of images of Legolas, like the one where he's talking to Bard and one where he looks like he's carrying Orcrist, but nothing about the Elves other than that. Dwarves in Barrels is going to be a thing, isn't it. Those pics are everywhere.

Aragorn was certainly going for some kind of record there, I think. How many names does one guy need? And then there were the titles!

Mm, I was a bit confused by the Ainulindale - like, "why is this here?" - but I got through it okay. I did get through The Silmarillion far quicker the second time around, about two weeks, but then I put it aside and left it there for a very long time because my place as 'nerdiest nerd in the family' was cemented and I didn't have the strength to go through it again.

I've tried reading some of the Histories, but the lack of coherent narrative was a bit of a sticking point. Some of Tolkien's letters have interesting snippets in them, but I didn't manage to finish them before I started travelling and had to leave the book at home.

And I signed up twice. One fic will be Thorin/Bilbo, and the other Celebrimbor/Narvi, because apparently I'm a ~~masochist~~ fan of dwarf/other species relationships.

Legolas and Thranduil, how are we going to be able to take the perfection? (And the moose. Though do moose even live in forests?) And yeah iirc there was some speculation about if the dwarves-in-barrels were covered, like in the book, or if Thorin & co. were just floating around with their heads sticking out. Though if it's the latter surely the elves would notice?)

We thought Fëanor's kids were bad with names, but Aragorn really gave them a run for their money, didn't 'he?

It's funny because of course, after having gone through the Silmarillion, the Ainulindale is so simple and easy to get through, since the narrative is so coherent. That really is the problem with the Histories -- they really are Tolkien's notes, with various versions of things presented with commentary, and not "Extra Finalized Bits Of Canon Material We Couldn't Fit In The Silmarillion." I've tried flipping through them but I don't know where to start? How do people index things? (I cheat and rely on Wikis, etc.)

Those two fics sound fascinating -- you've already demonstrated you can do Thorin/Bilbo believably, and I am curious to see how you write Celebrimbor too! I am here to cheer you on :)

Not to mention Kili, Thorin and Bilbo as well ~~and Benedict Cumberbatch's voice~~. We're all just going to sit there hyperventilating from too much pretty.

Wiki says they live in "boreal and mixed deciduous forests of the Northern hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates" so I suppose they do. And we now know what kind of habitat Mirkwood is, beyond 'damn scary'.

Maybe they take the lids off once they're in the river? They don't seem to be being rafted... And yeah, I think the elves would notice a bunch of dwarven prisoners in their barrels no matter how drunk they were.

Rereading it, he just seems to pick up another name every other chapter or so. Hell, he's got two in the first chapter he's in!

I wish they'd turned out as extras that couldn't be fit into The Silmarillion rather than the jumble that they actually are. I mean, in a sense it's very interesting to see which bits were edited from what and how they differ, but actually trying to read them is...yeah. Wiki is your (and my) friend.

Thank you! I think I'll definitely be needing those cheers. :)

I'm hyperventilating already at the thought! It'll get me through this year though, it has to. O,g.

Look at Peter Jackson, sneaking in worldbuilding even in his choice of animal life!

Aragorn even ends up saddling his royal house with "Strider". Quenya or not, he couldn't have picked a more impressive-sounding name?

Regarding Tolkien's notes, I've also found that you can also get a lot by reading the fanfic of authors who have actually done the research -- it's almost the same, but considerably easier to follow. I mean, in a way since even in-universe the historiography is kind of doubtful, we're doing just more of the same, right?

If you need a sounding board or anything I'm here! :)

So am I! The sheer amount of pretty might actually be fatal. The third film will be made entirely of feels and I'm fully aware that I'll be a sobbing wreck through most of it.

Peter Jackson has epic skills, got to admit. I'm so glad he came back to do The Hobbit as well!

Maybe he chose it because it was one of the ones that meant the most to him? After all, being a Ranger took up a good part of his life and was something that a lot of his ancestors did as well - very important...or at least, that's why I hope he chose it.

What if you want to be one of the authors that actually does the research, though? Lol. Screwed...

Back to an earlier point, though ~~because I just read this part last night~~, in FotR Gandalf says that all the mithril does come from Moria, which - I suppose - gave the Dwarves a free-for-all on potentially stringent trading standards (which possibly exist only in my headcanon) since apparently everyone in Middle Earth was after the stuff.

Oh hell yes, I'm claiming you as a sounding board. You make me actually write things!

Edited 2013-01-13 09:26 (UTC)

Although Peter Jackson might take a somewhat free hand with plot and characterization (or at least, "not entirely faithful to the books" which obviously has some canon purists up in arms) his vision of Middle-Earth -- the production values -- is just without peer. Casting! Costuming! Etc. (Well, I didn't think Celeborn and Haldir felt too Elf-like to me, but anyway.) I disagree with some of his choices but that is what Middle-Earth looks like to me. Which is also why I'd kind of love to see PJ do a Silmarillion thing -- I know that the plot would be impossible to make a movie out of, and it would certainly get bastardized in any adaptation, but it would be so pretty and tragic! (I harbor vague hopes maybe of someday a Game of Thrones type show. maybe.)

I'm sure there's some deep meaning to be had in the "Strider" title, something about how that was what his line-of-unbroken-descent-from-Isildur actually ended up doing, but even so. He had all the lineages of the First Age, ALL the fancy titles, and that's what he comes up with? (Is Arwen now "Arwen Telcontar"? or "Arwen Telcontári"?)

I may compromise and just look at the bits of things that people tend to cite a lot. Apparently there are certain essays and things that have large amounts of information and lists of things. I want to do the research, I think things are fun that way, but... how?!

I swear some Wiki said that there was mithril in Valinor? Though of course that was Valinor and this is Middle-Earth. Though id the Elves just not have a ready source of mithril until Moria happened? Though of course apparently Khazad-dum has been around since the First Age or something, according to something else I read (which may or may not be true), so I guess the Elves would have had some source of mithril even then. Do we ever see the stuff mentioned in the Silmarillion? Or I'm sure we do, but in what context?

You know where to find me! :D

A Silmarillion TV series would be a thing of beauty and joy and OMG I need it in my life. (Though even as a series it would be seriously hard to pull off and would need a huge budget and therefore will probably never happen. But. Yessssssssssss.)

I always thought she would remain Undomiel since that was her title?

There probably was mithril in Valinor, and the Noldor probably brought some of it along with them when they sailed East. And Khazad-dum was around in the First Age, at least in some measure, since that was when the Dwarves awoke and it was supposed to be Durin than founded it after looking in the Mirrormere. (At least, that's what I gathered from FotR.) I can't remember any Silmarillion references at the moment - still need to start rereading.

I'm probably send you a PM then, when I'm up to the plot development stage. :D

Even if we never got an actual movie/tv series (I am also half convinced they'd ruin the plot irreparably), just the production values. Baby Galadriel and baby Elrond and Fëanor and everything. Well, apparently the Tolkien Estate didn't like the LotR movies because of how they changed some of Tolkien's messages (I shudder to think of what they must think of the Hobbit movies), so apparently they're never letting the rights pass to PJ. But it would still be so pretty.

I imagine that in practice, yes, she would remain Arwen Undomiel, because she had that going for her before she became queen, but technically in the historical records-based sense surely she would have joined the House of Telcontar and it would have become one of her afternames?? I don't know, that's assuming the names of royal houses even work like that. It's hard to know since a) we don't hear much about queens and b) royal lines seem to generally be "of the House of [person's first name]", not with a Random Quenya Word like Aragorn did.

Speaking of rereading, I finally obtained my own paper copies of the Silmarillion and the trilogy from a book sale today!! I am super excited :D (The Silm is the same edition and cover as the one I first read, but the trilogy's covers are just hilariously old, I should take a picture...)

I'll be happy to natter at you when the time comes! This will be fun :D

I hadn't heard that (though I'm not surprised) and yeah. The Tolkien Estate must be absolutely frothing by now. But even if it wasn't PJ directing it, it would still be something I would love to see. Because the shiny and the pretty would be incredible, and even though a ton of it would have to be changed, it would be worth it.

What we have to go on for royal names and titles doesn't add up to much at all. And what might be commonplace for royalty in our world doesn't necessarily hold for those in the Tolkien-verse. Though I suppose Aragorn's Random Quenya Word eventually evolved into "of the House of Telcontar" rather than having all of his heirs named (for example) Eldarion Peredhellion Telcontar etc.

Lol, you should! My paper copy of The Silmarillion is a fairly ancient hardback that I inherited off my Dad. (Apparently he didn't make it past page two of the Ainulindale XD) I miss it so. Reading on Kindle is kind of weird.

I know, right? I'm really looking forward to it now. It seems so less daunting now that there's a person I can bounce ideas off. Now I just need to actually have the ideas... XD

I wonder what a fully Tolkien Estate-approved adaptation of anything would actually look like -- certain things do have to be lost when you're adapting things to suit a new medium. (There was a LotR musical, even...)

I think Arwen gets referred to as "Queen Evenstar" in translation in the Appendices, so she might be also "Queen Undómiel" the same way Aragorn is "King Elessar", though we never see him as "King Elfstone". In any case it looks like their "given names" (Arwen and Aragorn) might not be used in official/historical documents much any more. Naming traditions in Tolkien are weird, ahah.

This is the cover of the Silmarillion I have -- those are clearly the Silmarils on the cover, sure, but I have no idea who that's supposed to be posing with them (why is their hair blue???) As for the other covers, they have to be seen to be believed, I'll see if I can post proper pictures later, or something. It's good to have proper paper copies to mark up and hold, electronic copies are just not the same at all.

I know you mentioned you were planning two, but I'm really curious -- what do you have imagined for Celebrimbor and Narvi? I don't think Narvi ever gets a mention in canon except for his namedrop on the door.

Oh, simply love the possibility.
What a great idea about Mithril.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 2 of 3

Fic - A Kingly Gift - 1/1

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject