30 Day Headcanon Challenge - Day 7: Círdan 

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Day 7 – Something about a character you’ve never really understood

Círdan

It is well known that Círdan was fast friends with Eärendil, even having apprenticed the young half-elven prince in the ways of shipbuilding. As Eärendil grew to full manhood, their relationship matured from master and apprentice to fast friends even unto the point that Círdan stood beside Tuor, Eärendil’s father, on the day of his wedding to Elwing.

When Elros and Elrond were born to Elwing, Círdan made the journey from Balar to Arvernien, both to offer his own congratulations and blessing, as well as the High King’s. When Círdan was first told the babes’ names, a strange look passed over his face and clouded his eyes. Yet when Eärendil and Elwing asked him about it, Círdan merely shook his head and smiled. He never spoke of what it was that he saw or felt in that moment, yet never once did he mistake one twin for the other, even upon seeing them for the first time after their arrival on Balar following their release from the Fëanorians.

Círdan visited Sirion a number of times after the twins’ birth, and he made a point of visiting Elwing and the twins, particularly whenever Eärendil was away. The twins adored the bearded Elf, clinging to his back as he would carry them up and down the docks, and clambering into his lap when he would attempt to read them bedtime stories. It was Círdan who first taught the toddlers how to swim in the ocean, for their father, for whom that joy would have otherwise been granted to, had set sail nearly four months prior, and would not return for at least another three – far too long a time to allow the twins, who were just beginning to get their legs beneath, to live by the sea without knowing how to swim.

When the Third Kinslaying occurred, Círdan, along with Gil-galad, led an army to defend the Havens against the sons of Fëanor. When they arrived, however, they found the great city of Arvernien burning, the streets rivers of blood, and the Fëanorians gone.

Círdan searched for the twins, going first to their house by the sea. What he found was smoldering timbers and blackened stone, and the entirety of the household slaughtered.

There was never any sign of the twins, nor of their bodies, and all who may have seen what had happened to them had been slain. None knew what had become of the children of Eärendil and Elwing, and so the people turned to the only option that seemed viable – that the twins had been slain and their bodies consumed by the flames. The Fëanorians were not known for taking captives, and all messages sent by Gil-galad to Maedhros and Maglor questioning what had become of the children was refuted coldly and dismissively.

Círdan was the first on Balar to meet the twins and know them for who they were. How it was that they managed to find and talk their way into the palace, Círdan would never know for sure, but he would always remember the moment in which a guard hurried into his study, and told him that two young Elves who claimed to be the dead sons of Eärendil and Elwing were waiting in an antechamber.

At first he had not believed the guard, and he had entered the room skeptical. But as soon as he set eyes upon the twins, standing side-by-side and dressed in the fine clothing of the house of Fëanor, he knew them for who they were. And the vision that had flashed before his eyes on the night that he had first met them once more flared in his mind, and once again he saw Elros with a crown upon his head, standing upon the prow of a mighty ship; and he saw Elrond standing with a circlet in his hair and a blue ring upon his forefinger, and he knew Elrond to be one of his greatest friends and allies.

(Arvernien, the Havens of Sirion – F.A. 537)

Elrond and Elros were both sitting up in bed when Círdan came in to wish them both goodnight and farewell. The fire had burned down low, leaving only a dull glow to permeate the room but for the single small candle that flickered on the bedside table. The curtains were drawn shut and the window closed against the chill of the autumn air.

“You two should be lying down and going to sleep,” Círdan reprimanded the twins gently.

“I know,” Elrond said, ducking his head. “It was just…”

“We just didn’t want to be asleep when you came to say goodbye,” Elros finished, mouth set in a firm line.

Círdan sat down at the edge of the twins’ bed, and smiled fondly at the two children. “I would have woken you,” he reminded them. “You know that I would not depart without saying farewell.”

“We know,” Elrond admitted, and then sighed.

“Before you go,” Elros spoke up, “will you tell us a story? Please?” he begged. Elrond perked up, looking at Círdan with wide, hopeful eyes that mirrored his brother’s.

Círdan smiled, but said, “Only if you agree to go to sleep directly after. Do we have a deal?”

“Yes,” Elros said, nodding fervently, an action which was mimicked by Elrond.

“We promise,” Elrond added.

“Very well then,” Círdan relented, and settled back against the headboard. Elrond and Elros wriggled over to him, Elrond snuggling up against his side, and Elros laying his head down on his knee.

“A very long time ago, when the stars lit the sky both day and night, and Ithil had not yet lifted his head into the sky, there were three brothers: Feren, Norno, and Alve. These three brothers were exceptionally close, and those that knew them said that they had a special bond.

“It was said that each of these three brothers embodied one of the greatest traits of the Elves: strength, speed, and cunning. The eldest, Feren, was strength; the middle, Norno was speed; and the youngest, Alve, was cunning. They were loved by all, but not merely for their greatness, but also for their kindness, and their willing hearts. Always, they were willing to put the wellbeing of another above their own.

“Now, these three brothers belonged to the great lord Elwë’s house, and when the time came for the Eldar to forsake their homeland and travel with Oromë to Valinor, these three brothers followed, for if they loved anything besides each other, it was their lord.

“The road was long and hard, and the three brothers proved themselves to their people again and again. Once, they drove off a pack of howling wolves that had been following the people, with using sticks, stones, and cunning alone. And later, during the heavy raining seasons of the spring, they found a way for the people to cross a river swollen into a raging flood. Feren, Norno, and Alve were the heroes of their people and of Elwë’s house. Alas, this was not to last.

“The tale of Elwë meeting a mysterious maiden in the forest and falling entranced is well-known. It is told in many ballads and songs of how Elwë fell in love with the Maia Melian, and how the nightingales sang through the trees of Middle-earth for the first time for the Eldar to hear. And it is told how many of Elwë’s followers long searched for him, but never could they find where he stood.

“Feren, Norno, and Alve were among those who went to search for Elwë. But alas, tragedy would befall them, and they would never again be seen by the Eldar, no matter the length of years.

“For you see, Feren, Norno, and Alve traveled northwards in search of Elwë, and there they found a dark, and imposing forest. The trees whispered strangely to their ears, and the earth felt odd. Yet the brothers forged ahead, for fear that some terrible mischance had befallen their lord, and they shuddered to turn back if such was the case.

“The woods were thick and dark, and the vines entangling. Strange eyes peered out at the brothers from every shadow, and an eerie whispering sang upon the still air between the trees. Moss clung to the trunks, and water dripped from the branches. Yet still, the brothers forged onward, piercing ever deeper and deeper into the sickened forest.

“At last they came to the utmost center of the forest. It was a large glade, and at the center of the glade was a hill. And on that hill stood a tall tower. It was fashioned from black stone that oozed, and there were no windows cut into the walls. The brothers could sense the evil coming from this tower, could feel it leaking out of the very stones.

“’What are we to do?’ Feren asked. ‘It will be simple enough to simply walk around this accursed glade. But Norno shook his head. ‘What if Lord Elwë is imprisoned in the tower,’ he said. ‘We cannot leave him there.’ And then Alve the Cunning spoke. ‘I agree with Norno here, brother,’ he told Feren. ‘This place is evil, and it has tainted this forest. Even if Lord Elwë is not there, is it not our duty to rid the land of any darkness that we may?’ His words seemed wise to his brother, and so they set forth into the clearing, and set their feet against the foot of the hill.

“They began to climb. But as they climbed, it seemed to them as if the hill grew both steeper and higher, stretching on for an eternity above them. Alve faltered first, and then Norno, sliding down the hillside for many paces before they could catch themselves. Only Feren kept strong.

“At last, Alve and Norno could go no further. ‘Come,’ Feren urged them. ‘We are nearly to the crest!’ But his brothers could simply not take another step. And so Feren turned back, and went to his brothers. And bearing them up, Feren carried them to the crest of the hill.

“Feren collapsed when they reached the top of the hill. Above them the black tower reached high into the sky, imposing, evil. Slowly, exhausted from the trial of climbing up the hill, the three brothers stood. And there before them was a simple wooden door leading into the tower.

“The brothers opened the door and went in. The inside was dark and dank, with water dripping down the stones, and collecting in pools on the ground. The only light came from guttering torches that burned in brackets every few hundred paces around the walls. And up, twisting into shadow high above, rose a winding staircase that hugged the wall.

“So up the stairs the brothers went, and as they climbed, it felt as if time began to slow. First Alve, then Feren stilled, unable any longer to break through the enchantment that slowed time and kept them still, unable to break free. Only Norno with his speed could continue on. And turning, when he saw his brothers frozen, he cried ‘Come!’ and then descended down to take his brothers by the hand. And he guided them up the stairs, leading and urging, lending them his speed.

“Until at last, they reached the top of the stairs. And at the top of the stairs was a single, ancient wooden door. The brothers opened it, and they entered the room on the other side.

“It seemed at first that an old man was sitting in an armchair by a table littered with parchment. Alve stepped forward to speak, to question the old Elf, or to urge him to flee, but then the old man turned, and his eyes opened. And there was not the eye of an Elf but rather a black, empty void, and when the not-Elf spoke, his voice was echoing with a thousand tones of a thousand people.

“‘Why have you come?’ the not-Elf asked. ‘We have come to free this land of the curse that it lies under,’ Norno replied, stepping forward. ‘You fools,’ the not-Elf said. ‘By stepping into this tower, you have forfeited your life. For I know all the answers to the world, and I shall take your life into mine.’ And the thousand voices screamed and laughed all at once.

“But then Alve stepped forth. ‘I propose,’ he said, ‘a simple riddle. If you can complete the simple task that I give you, then you may have our lives without quarrel. But if you cannot, then we are allowed to go free.’ ‘Go free?’ the not-Elf asked, ‘I think not.’ ‘Then let me propose this,’ Alve said, a sly smile in his eyes, ‘if you can answer, then you may have our lives. But if you cannot, then we will have yours, to do with as we please.’ Then the not-Elf laughed, thinking the Elf foolish, for his life and the lives of the others he had consumed were utterly warped and twisted, and would bring to destruction all that they touched. ‘Very well, I accept,’ the not-Elf cried. ‘Tell me what is your riddle?’”

“’You say you know all?’ Alve asked with a smile. ‘I do, ask me anything,’ the not-Elf laughed. ‘Then tell me,’ Alve said, ‘what is something you don’t know?’

“And the not-Elf screamed, for he knew he had been tricked, and the lives of the others flew out of him. They tried to overtake the brothers, but Norno with his speed caught them, and Feren with his strength bound them, and Alve laughed. ‘Come, let us take these poor creatures far away, and return them to their homes!’ he cried.

“And that, my children, is what they have done. They passed away, far out of sight and out of memory, on a quest to return the souls of those who had been taken.”

Círdan finished, and looked down at the twins, who were curled up against him. Both were fast asleep. Círdan smiled, and then carefully moved them onto their pillows. Instinctively they snuggled together, burrowing deeper under the blankets.

Standing, Círdan leaned over and kissed both of them on the brow. “Farewell, little ones,” he murmured, “until we meet again. And in the meantime, remember the lesson the story taught – only through working together will you accomplish your goal.”

Círdan turned and left the room, closing the door softly behind him. A soft smile played at the corners of his mouth, and his eyes were filled with tenderness. He would look forward to seeing them again, and perhaps even taking them out onto his ship for a few hours.

But he would not see the twins again for thirty years.