DoV/RotS: the outline and editing discussions

[lindil]

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Seeker of the Straight Path
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DoV section 2 [final draft I hope]

from the annals of [X]

[58/a] $109 Now it was a time of festival, as Melkor well knew.
For though all tides and seasons were at the will of the Valar,
and there was in Valinor no winter of death, nonetheless the
gods dwelt then in the kingdom of Arda, and that was but
a small realm in the halls of Ea, whose life is Time, which flows
ever from the first note to the last chord of Eru. And it was then
the pleasure of the Valar (as is told in the Ainulindale) to clothe
themselves in the forms of the Children of Iluvatar; and they ate
and they drank and gathered the fruits of Yavanna, and drew
strength from the Earth which under Eru they ha J made.
$110 Therefore Yavanna set times for the flowering and the
ripening of all growing things: upspringing, blooming, and
seed-time. And at each first gathering of fruits Manwe made a
high-tide for the praising of Eru, and all the folk of Valinor
poured forth their joy in music and song. Such now was the
hour; but Manwe, hoping that indeed the shadow of Melkor
was removed from the land, and fearing no worse than maybe a
new war with Utumno and a new victory to end all, had decreed
that this feast should be more glorious than any that had been
held since the coming of the Eldar. He designed moreover to
heal the evil that had arisen among the Noldor, and they all
were bidden, therefore, to come to him and mingle with the
Maiar in his halls upon Taniquetil, and there put aside all the
griefs that lay between their princes and forget utterly the lies of
their Enemy.



$58 Aa [from BoLT 1]
The Valar and Eldar made ready to celebrate it most gloriously.
Long processions, there were of the Elves, dancing
and singing, that wound from Tirion to Valimar's gates. A road
had been laid against this festival from the westward gate of
Tirion even to the turrets of the mighty arch which opened in
the walls of Valimar northward towards the Trees. Of white
marble it was and many a gentle stream flowing from the far
mountains crossed its path. Here it would leap into slender
bridges marvellously fenced with delicate balustrades that
shone like pearls; scarcely did these clear the water, so that
lilies of great beauty growing upon the streams
that fared gently in the plain, thrust their wide blossoms
about its borders and iris marched along its flanks; for by
cunning. were made to flow
from stream to stream, clearest water bordering that whole long way with
the cool noise of rippling water. At places mighty trees grew
on either side, or at places the road would open to a glade
and fountains spring high into the air .
Now came the Vanyar led by the white-robed people of Ingwe,
and the throbbing of their congregated harps beat the
air most sweetly; and after them went the Noldor,
but the music that their
viols and instruments awoke was now more sweetly sad than
ever before.
Then was all that host marshalled before the gate of Val-
mar, and at the word and sign from Ingwe as one voice they
burst in unison into the Song of Light. This had Salmar, ,
who made the conches of Ulmo[V] ,
written and taught them, and it told of the longing of the Elves
for light, of their dread journey through the dark world led
by the desire of the Two Trees, and sang of their utmost joy
beholding the faces of the Valar and their renewed desire
once more to enter Valimar and tread the blessed
courts. Then did the gates of Valmar open and Eonwe bid
them enter, and all that bright company passed through.
There Varda standing amid all the Valar made them welcome,
and feasts there were in all the great halls thereafter.

$58b [see AAm $111]** * *
Now their was custom to robe themselves
all in white and blue and ascend to the heights of Taniquetil,
and there would Manwe speak to them as he thought fit of
the Music of the Ainur and the glory of Iluvatar, and of things
to be and that had been. [from X laterSilm II ] There the Vanyar,
the Noldor of Tirion, and the Maiar were gathered
together, and the Valar were arrayed in their beauty and
majesty; and they sang before Manwe and Varda in the halls of
Taniquetil, or played and danced upon the green slopes of the
Mountain that looked west to the Trees, and all the mountains echo with
their speech. In that day the streets
of Valimar were empty and still , and the stairs of Tirion were silent, and
all the land lay sleeping in peace, but the roof of the world and the
slope of Taniquetil shine with the gleaming raiment of the
Valar and Eldar. Only the Teleri beyond the
mountains still sang upon the shores of the Sea; for they recked
little of seasons or times, and gave no thought to the cares of the
King of Arda, or to the shadow that had fallen upon Valinor;
for it had not touched them, as yet.


$58c [see AAm $112] One thing only marred the hope of
Manwe. Feanor came indeed, for he read the message of Manwe
as a command; but Finwe would not come and remained in
Formenos, and with him were the sons of Feanor. For said
Finwe: 'While the ban lasts upon Feanor, my son, that he may
not go to Tuna, I hold myself unkinged, and I will not meet my
people.' And Feanor did not come in raiment of festival, and he
wore no ornament, neither silver nor gold nor any gem; and he
denied the sight of the Silmarils to the Valar and the Eldar, and
left them in Formenos, locked in a chamber of iron.
Nonetheless he met Fingolfin before the throne of Manwe,
and was reconciled in word. For Fingolfin held forth his hand,
saying: 'As I promised, I do now. I release thee, and remember
no grievance.'
Then Feanor took his hand in silence; but Fingolfin said:
'Half-brother in blood, full brother in heart I will be. Thou shalt
lead and I will follow. May no new grief divide us!'
'I hear thee,' said Feanor. 'So be it!' But they did not know
then the full meaning that their words would bear.


Lindil is often found on posting on the Silmarillion Project at the Barrowowns<u> Silmarillion canon , theories and discussion Forum </u> 'The dwindling Men of the West would often sit up late into the night, and awaken early before dawn- exchanging lore and wisdom such as they possessed , so that they should not fall back into the mean and low estate of those , who never knew or more sadly still, had indeed rebelled against the Light.' </p>Edited by: <A HREF=http://www.barrowdowns.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_profile&u=00000076>lindil</A> at: 2/14/01 3:41:50 am