Natural History of Middle-earth: A Tour

by Himring

Summary:

Drabbles inspired by natural history prompts, from the Years of the Trees to the Fourth Age, from Valinor to Far Harad.

Ch. 1: Indis and Miriel
Ch. 2: Ilmare and Varda
Ch. 3: Earendil and his mariners
Ch. 4: Aragorn
Ch. 5: Beruthiel and her white cat

Notes:

These pieces came out of the Naturalist's Guide to Middle-earth Image Instadrabbling session on the SWG Discord.
The majority of the Image prompts were from the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

Chapter 1: Valinor, Years of the Trees: Singing and Sewing

Summary:

Characters; Indis and Miriel

Notes:

For a series of image prompts, including a print showing seven cedar waxwings.

Indis cleared her voice a little, Miriel’s gaze attentive on her face. But as soon as Indis began singing, Miriel’s needle began moving at a speed bewildering to the eye. Indis stopped, disconcerted, and the needle stopped, too, after a moment.

‘Go on,’ said Miriel, with a bright, encouraging smile. ‘I am listening! You had stopped at seven birds sitting…’

Indis resumed, and once again Miriel’s needle flew over the cloth.

‘Look,’ she said, when Indis’s song had ended.

And there it all was, what Indis had seen and sung of: flights of birds, butterflies, grasshoppers, flowers in the fields!

Chapter 2: Aman, Darkening of Valinor: A Warning in the Sky

Summary:

Characters: Ilmare and Varda

Notes:

The image prompt showed the Northern Lights, after art by M. Raebel.

‘Ilmare,’ said Varda sternly. ‘What did I say about not communicating with the Exiles in Araman?’

‘But I didn’t talk to them!’ Ilmare protested.

‘No communication, I said! That includes writing! Even if you used light, rather than pen and ink. We really have to toe the party line, here, you know!’ Varda paused. ‘Whether we like it or not... Although I have to say your method was quite ingenious and I will file it away for later use. Anyway, I doubt they will heed your warning.’

‘I did use Sarati,’ Ilmare went on defending herself, ‘rather than Feanorian letters.’

Chapter 3: Vingilot, Late First Age: A Deadly Fleet

Summary:

Characters: Earendil and the three mariners who accompanied him on his last voyage: Erellont, Falathar, Aerandir

Notes:

The image prompt showed several examples of the Portuguese Man of War, a kind of jellyfish, also known as bluebottle.

‘Have the Valar sent out a fleet against us?’ asked Falathar in alarm.

‘No,’ said Erellont, ‘look, they are closer than you think. That means they must be smaller.’

‘Smaller, but maybe not less dangerous?’ said Falathar.

‘They do rather look like helmets, don’t they? As if a host of Oarni were approaching us underwater, with just their crests sticking out?’ Aerandir commented. He sounded far too detached, Falathar thought, who was scanning the waves for evidence of weapons.

‘We are not close enough to Valinor to warrant an attack,’ said Earendil, almost regretfully ‘These are just animals, I think.’

Notes:

Oarni are a kind of water spirits associated with Osse.

Chapter 4: Eriador, Lake Evendim, Fourth Age: Receding Waters

Summary:

Character: Aragorn

Notes:

The image prompt was a photo by bunn of a place called New Quay.

Here, records still kept at Rivendell said, there had once been a quay, before the waters of the lake changed. Aragorn imagined Elendil setting sail out onto Nenuial, when the quay was new, with Isildur, maybe even Galadriel and Celeborn in a swan ship, early in the Second Age. They would have to resist the temptation to try and put back everything back as it once had been; it was impossible and not even to be desired.

Green lapped against old stone work and the foot of the gentle hills like water. He sat on the grass and made plans.

Notes:

Nenuial = Evendim.

The site is Annuminas, former capital of Arnor.

Chapter 5: South of Umbar, Third Age: Far Harad and a Lot of Mud

Summary:

Characters: Beruthiel and one of her cats

Notes:

The image prompt showed the Bommi Fish, also called mudskipper.

Beruthiel could not suppress a yelp when the fish jumped into the air. She did her best to recover her queenly dignity, although in this patch of swamp there was nobody there to see. But she owed it to her ancestors to maintain composure, even as a shipwrecked exile. Even in a place so far south that the fish jumped and skipped, instead of swimming as ordinary northern fish would.

Well, maybe ordinariness was overrated!

The white cat batted at one of the mudskippers.

‘Bad cat’, she said automatically—even though the fish’s expression reminded her rather of her ex-husband’s…

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Mariners