Avariel - Tumblr Posts
hardest of hearts - prologue
hardest of hearts masterlist
a/n: i suck at writing but i hope whomever is reading this that you enjoy it just as much as i do and feel free for critiques i need all i can get (in a nice way please).
chapter warning(s): death and explicit details of death as well
prologue: all good things must come to an end
song: and the sky turned red
Once upon a time in Middle Earth before the Battle of Dagorlad there was a group of elves known in later years to be that of just a myth, who had resided in the Grey Mountains. They were delicate creatures compared to that of their other elven kin, their eyes slightly larger than normal and it was said that they had the most beautiful voices in all of Middle Earth. Upon their group there were the warlike and peaceful, the warlike were known to be warriors who showed no mercy in combat and believed that others should have known better than to create an enemy of a superior foe such as themselves.
They lived by a complex code of honor and spent their lives defending their race as well as other races of elves. The peaceful were known to consist of scholars, philosophers, and artists who relied on their brains and diplomatic abilities including their magic power. They spent their lives studying the world, its history and creating works of art simply for the joy of creation. Despite their contrasting personalities, the two subcultures interacted surprisingly well.
Though as the saying goes all good things must come to an end, and soon it did just that. As Sauron got stronger, chaos within Middle Earth grew feral causing all to be on edge and constantly looking over their shoulder especially the elves in the Grey Mountains. Not much would attack them without them knowing, but one particularly cold night in the middle of the winter tragedy would strike..
It had been a daunting day as the temperature kept dropping causing the elves' bodies to work even harder during training, pushing themselves to the point of severe exhaustion. Many elves were sent back to their bed chambers earlier that day from either broken bones or hyperthermia. Soon the sun set and the stars came out of hiding winking in warning as if they knew what troubles lay ahead. As the hours passed mostly all were asleep in the comforts of their beds except for the few elves who were stationed guard outside the royal families living quarters and around the kingdom itself.
Unknowing to those in the mountain something wicked moved their way, sailing through the sky with ease, jealousy and bloodlust coating their tongues. And before they knew it the elves were ripped out of their dreams by the sound of a mighty roar and unnatural heat surrounding them. It was mayhem as smoke and flames surrounded the mountain, warriors jumping out of bed going to the source of destruction while some of the peaceful gathered the children and the others were fighting alongside the warriors with whatever magic they could conjure.
Nobody knows what truly transpired that frightful bloodshed night, only of the aftermath that was caused as the next day a select number of elves from Rivendell and Mirkwood traveled to the Grey Mountains to see if the rumors were true. Upon arrival the elves couldn’t believe what they were looking at, it was dead silent as bodies of their distant kin were scattered around.
Navigating through the heavy smoke that still lingered in the air, more and more bodies appeared. Some of children others of warriors with their eyes wide open in terror and the peaceful who had nothing of themselves left but their bones. And in the center of it all was a dragon the color of charcoal who seemed to be in the form of a statue, its mouth and eyes open wide as if to give one more lethal breath of fire to the kingdom that was submerged in ruins. All around lay death and it was just like that that the group of elves who were once known to be the superior of the elven races seemed now to be of nothing.
Thousands of years of history had become extinct overnight, turning one of the most ancient elven races into myth. To those in Middle Earth the Avariel elves, who carried angelic feathered wings on their back, were of nothing but falsehood the stories of their kin now told to younglings before bed. Though, it is said that if one looks to the north toward the Grey Mountains on the coldest night of the year they can still see the smoke, still hear the dragons roar along with the war cries of the Avariel, and still smell that of burnt feathers lingering in the air.
chapter one
hardest of hearts - masterlist
(the hobbit fanfiction)
summary: this is a story about an ancient group of elves who where known to be extinct, turning from legend to myth. until one day Gandalf finds a survivor and asks her to join an unexpected journey with a bunch of dwarfs and a lone hobbit. will this journey risk not just her life but her sanity or will she find her truth and finally confront her demons? after all she hasn’t been seen since the Second Age.
warning(s): will contain mature content and death, you have been warned and this is sorta slow burn
prologue
chapter one
i don’t own the hobbit or lord of the rings or avariels but i do own my own characters and their story lines of sorts. also all the information on the avariels i did get from the internet.
tags: @emrfangirl @nikkitc0703 @sugarandspicebutnonice
hardest of hearts - masterlist
(the hobbit fanfiction)
summary: this is a story about an ancient group of elves who where known to be extinct, turning from legend to myth. until one day Gandalf finds a survivor and asks her to join an unexpected journey with a bunch of dwarfs and a lone hobbit. will this journey risk not just her life but her sanity or will she find her truth and finally confront her demons? after all she hasn’t been seen since the Second Age.
warning(s): will contain mature content and death, you have been warned and this is sorta slow burn
prologue
chapter one
i don’t own the hobbit or lord of the rings or avariels but i do own my own characters and their story lines of sorts. also all the information on the avariels i did get from the internet.
tags: @emrfangirl @nikkitc0703 @sugarandspicebutnonice
hardest of hearts - chapter one
hardest of hearts masterlist
prologue
a/n: first all i would just like to say thank you to all who have liked, comment, reblogged, and read my story so far! and second of all, in this chapter you still won’t know that of the woman’s name (for reasons) which will sort of be addressed in the next chapter. okay, well please sit back relax and enjoy!
chapter warning(s): nothing much only that of sadness
chapter one: deep in the old forest
song: experience
Deep in the Old Forest bordering that of The Shire does live a woman who hides in the shadows, concealed by the darkness and tanglement of trees. She was never to step foot out of her small cottage in fear of the monsters that lay awake, listening to her every move. So when a knock sounded at her door late in the afternoon, her heart rate started to quicken as she had thought that of the worst. Not knowing what to do, she pulled her cloak tighter around her body with the hood covering the majority of her face as she made her way to the sound. Her hands shaking as she ever so slightly cracked open her front door.
Looking through the small crevice that separated her from the outside world, she didn’t see much, only that of the color grey. “Who’s there?” the woman’s voice that of a whisper.
“It has been a while since I have seen you last, but surely I am not that easy to forget. Am I?” the voice on the other side of the door responded with a slight chuckle.
Before she could stop herself her body acted on its own accord, pulling the door wide open. Casting her eyes on the man in front of her, she let out a shaky breath believing that this was just another trick of her mind. Hesitantly she raised her hand toward the man's face afraid that if she made any sudden movements he would disappear out of thin air. With the touch of an angel she laid her hand on his cheek, feeling his life running under his skin through her palm. “Gandalf, is that...is that really you?”
With a smile tugging at his mouth and unshed tears glistening in his eyes Gandalf responded, “It is I Mellon Nin.” In that moment no more words were of need to be spoken, the silence hanging between them said enough.
With a shake of her head followed by a dainty laugh she snapped out of the moment as she dropped her hand from the man's face, “How rude of me, please do come in.” Ushering him inside her home she quickly glanced around the forest making sure that somebody or something didn’t follow his trail. Locking the door behind her, she turned around dropping her hood letting Gandalf see that of a face he hadn’t seen since the Second Age. To him she had grown even more mesmerising than he remembered her to be.
Her eyes being larger and more expressive than the other features on her face, her irises shifting from a cloud grey to a sky blue as light bends around her. Her hair could be compared to the peaks of her once home in the Grey Mountains a white silver in tone, long like her former kin he presumed but couldn’t tell as for it was styled into an updo fashion. Her cheekbones sat high on her heart shaped face complementing the air of haughtiness that clung to her.
She bore the manner of grace and poise compared to thousands of years ago when instead she bore that of restlessness and ignorance. Ended were the years of childhood and adolescence as now she had grown into that of a woman, whose wings he had still not seen. Her wings, which he could only imagine were under the thickness of her cloak, must be even more exquisite than they were when she was just a child.
Before he could think upon it anymore his thoughts were interrupted by the woman's gentle voice, “To what do I owe the honor of your presence?”
“Is there a place we can sit and talk? I have been on my feet all day it seems.”
“Of course, please follow me,” Gandalf trailed after the elven woman into a small kitchen where in the corner sat a small breakfast nook which he gladly took a seat at. “Would you like anything to eat or drink?”
“Red wine would be lovely, dear.” With elegance the woman poured the wizard a glass of wine, setting it down in front of him waiting for him to state his reason for the very unexpected visit. Downing his drink in three large gulps, he smacked his lips together before letting out a long breath followed by his answer to her earlier question. “Thorin Oakenshield and his company of dwarves are going to reclaim the kingdom of Erebor in part with the treasure from Smaug and in order to do so they need a burglar and a guide. The burglar will be that of a Hobbit, now the guide on the other hand I was hoping would be you.”
Dark eyebrows furrowed, the woman didn’t know what to think. “Out of all those in the land you could have asked, you chose me. To guide them to a dragon of all living things,” the woman slightly snarled before gaining composure. “You know what those creatures have done to my kin, but yet you still ask. Why?” Disappointment couldn’t help but shine on the woman's elven features.
“I know what I ask of you is difficult, Mellon Nin. Though you are the only one that knows these lands better than myself.” Lightly grabbing her hands in his, he continued. “You are the only one I trust to steer these dwarves in the right direction for I won’t be there throughout their whole journey. All I ask is for you to guide them and nothing more, just to get them to the mountain safely.”
Taking her hands out of his soft grip, the woman walked a few steps away from where the man sat trying to get a little bit of distance from him in order for her to clear her head and think. Upset, she turned her back to him and started gripping the kitchen sink causing it to creak under her palms. “It is getting dark. I think it would be best for you to leave now,” she couldn’t help but to dismiss him as all she wanted to be was alone.
Making a small humming noise in the back of his throat, the man got up out of his seat, collected his things, and started to head for the point of both entry and exit. Just as his hand came in contact with the door handle, the woman began to speak once more. “I-I’m not certain I can do what you ask of me, but I will sleep on it. I'm sorry it seems that is all I can give to you for now.”
Smirking lightly the wizard dressed in grey opened the door, but not before parting with a few last words. “Very well then dear, if you decide that you are up for the journey myself and the company of Thorin Oakenshield will be passing through Buckland sometime in the early morning. It was wonderful seeing you again and for I hope this is not the last time either as that red wine was quite delicious.” And just like that the front door slammed shut while a lone tear slid down the elven woman's cheek.
Later in the night, the woman couldn’t help but toss and turn in her bed, more tears escaping her eyes as a memory of her former life plagued her mind like a dream..
Her father had arrived earlier in the day, back to Forlond, after being gone for more than three days straight. And now with her siblings absent she was sitting on his left hand side as dinner was served before them, a question resting on the tip of her tongue but knew not to speak of it, scared that her father would get angry. Unfortunately for her she could never hide her feelings and somehow they most always made their way onto her face.
“Anna,” not her name, instead a term of endearment her father used whenever speaking to her. “What is it that is troubling you?” she was asked without so much a glance in her direction.
Wiping her mouth with the napkin laying in her lap, she asked the question that had been bothering her for days now with caution. “Ada, why is it that you do much for others what they don't do for you?” Silence echoed around the dining room, causing the young elven girl to retreat back in on herself, she knew she should have never asked an idiotic question to begin with. “I-I don’t mean anything bad by it Ada, I was just curious is all an-.”
Before she could continue on her rambling, her attempt at extinguishing the lingering silence was interrupted by that of her fathers calm soothing voice. “No it is fine Anna, no need to try and explain yourself.” He set down his utensils, resting his forearms on the table in front of him turning his gaze to that of his daughter.
“When I was your age I asked my father, your grandfather the same question once,” her father chuckled to himself, his obsidian colored hair slightly shaking intandem. “And in turn he asked me, why not give to those what they don’t have? Just because we are different from our distant land bound kin from all others on this land and in the skies does not make us mightier than them, it does not give us superiority over them. We help those who need help.”
It felt as if his eyes were piercing through her seeing that into her soul, “Would you rather spend the rest of your days helping others in need or live the rest of your days knowing you just stood by and did nothing?”
Before her younger self could respond, she jolted awake from the memory that had taken the form of a dream. Only to curl in on herself and weep, not in sadness but instead in shame. If her father could see her now he would be disappointed, not at all happy with how she handled yesterday's company. Wiping the tears off her cheeks, untangling from bed, she stood on shaky legs knowing that if she didn’t do what was right she wouldn’t be able to live with herself at all.
Snapping out of the thoughts that clouded her mind, she grabbed a bag and began darting around her living quarters packing only that of her essentials. At last she secured her cloak around her body, pulled her hood over her face and made sure her wings were hidden from view. She took one final look around that of the place she had called home for the past couple hundred years, turned around and stepped outside of her small cottage just as the sun was beginning to rise. Silently she started her trek to Buckland, hoping and praying that this journey wouldn’t lead her into that of a lion's den.
★ ✩ ★
elven translations:
ada ➝ father
anna ➝ gift
forlond ➝ avariel kingdom
mellon nin ➝ my friend
I have more reasons but I don’t have the energy to write them right now.
But yeah, I’ve been thinking about what I’d be if I were in Faas and Enya’s universe and I thought I’d be a changeling as well for a while for many reasons, but upon further consideration I think I was wrong. So here’s the first concept art for a my avian persona.
As for the songs (which was one of the main influences on why I started thinking about avians because I realized that over the last six months the majority of songs I’ve been obsessed with have bird centric undertones at the very least) you can find them here
If you click the names of the birds below, you will find photos of the actual birds I’m referring to; mostly provided because the second two are morphs
EDIT: So honestly. Contrary to final poll results and my initial lean toward the grosbeak, I think I might just go with the crow. The design’s grown on me and in the last week I’ve collected many bones and observed many local crows and found myself just quietly very drawn to them. Nothing’s set in stone, but. . . It feels more right than the grosbeak- there are still things that draw me to the latter, and I still really love them and might switch in the future, right now I relate more to crows I think.
Rose Breasted/Cutthroat Grosbeak (female)
Similarities (between myself and the bird) - small and chunky - eats mainly seeds, fruits, and nuts - elusive and relatively solitary aside from nesting season - very intricate, unique nest type - monogamous - take care of young for a month after fledging (which is longer than quite a few birds) - dwells mainly in deciduous forests - I honestly think I do look a bit like a grosbeak overall - there is limited information on them (which is obnoxious, but kinda goes with my aesthetic honestly)
Things I Like About Them - very pretty markings, especially on face which makes for fun character design - they were my favorite bird as a child and I would get so excited during the brief period that they would be at our feeder
Differences - females don’t sing as much as males - I am very much a mimic- I echo other people’s words as well as animal noises a lot, mostly without thinking, and grosbeaks do not mimic. The males learn songs from their fathers, but that’s different, and I’m not male anyway.
Black Billed Magpie (cinnamon)
Similarities - eat a lot of fruit and grain - they are skilled mimics - mate for life something I aspire to achieve one day - have only been seen in Michigan ten times in the last hundred years, so it fits the “elusive bird who’s sightings should be documented” narrative - parents allow their young to stay with them as long as needed, sometimes even years - males and females are both very vocal and sing, talk, and chatter quite often - wary of new things and will shy away from bright colors and flashing lights (yes, that includes shiny things) - many widely believed myths spread about them (such as tendencies to thievery, attraction to shiny objects, and hoarding things tho I am guilty of that last one)
Things I Like About Them - Gorgeous wings and tail (though rather plain facial markings which is sad) - they’re just nice, funky little guys and they were one of my favorites when I was younger as well
Differences - not a bird I’d really call chunky lol - they eat meat (mostly bugs) and meat is not my favorite honestly - while some do only stay in groups of two, many others have tribe of up to twelve
Common Crow (cinnamon)
Similarities - will bring people they like random bits of things such leaves, rocks, lost keys, and bones, as gifts - stops for roadkill (though I don’t eat it, I’m just there to steal feathers or check opossum pouches for potential surviving babies) - bones is good, we like bones - also talented at imitating human speech, other animals, and just random noises they find intriguing - mate for life - very family oriented and good at taking care of each other. They’ve even been known to adopt unrelated fledglings - stay in the nest up to forty days after hatching and often remain with a family group for two years, helping their parents look after younger siblings - males and females are very vocal - wants to eat rocks - scavengers - likes fruits, nuts, and seeds - seen as weird or gross by the majority - slow to trust humans, but is very loyal once they do - could be considered chunky - cinnamons tend to have blue or silver eyes
Things I Like About Them - they are just. very good. - wing markings of cinnamons are very interesting, and while I’d like more intricacies to work with for facial markings, they’re still good and simple
Differences - they are very social birds (but most of that social time is spent with their family, which is where most of mine is spent as well, so I’m not sure this is a true difference) - consumes a lot of meat (which, as stated, is not my favorite) - they are very common in Michigan and easy to spot almost anywhere
So I was playing on my survival world and found this cave (pictured below cut) and my brain went MMMMMM ART. Except I don’t do landscapes. Or backgrounds. Therefore. Um. This is the third time I’ve drawn this scene from scratch and the only one I actually like. However, I do actually really like it, so there’s that. I was trying to do lineless in the previous two and it did not work, so I ran in the absolute opposite direction. And the fact that the art even exists is a miracle because I was very close to just throwing my hands in the air. But. I’m happy I did not. Cuz I did a background and it doesn’t look bad actually.
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Idk if it’s the same across platforms, but the entrance to this cave is through a small waterfall at 45, 110, 195 (those numbers make me so happy-) in the Lush Caves seed
