The History of Shadows

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Heartsong
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The History of Shadows

Post by Heartsong »

I'm a huuuge Tolkien nerd, and when I was re-reading The Silmarillion for the billionth time, this little story popped into my head. The language is antiquated, but I wanted to capture just a little of his writing style. Thought I'd share. :)

The elves are the only ones to remember enough of it to tell about the shades that linger in the twilight. It was said that, long before man or elf first set foot on a single blade of grass, before Telperion and Laurelin grew in the garden of Yavanna, there existed two great lamps to give light to the world. Illuin, made of silver set far in the north on the tower of Helcar, and Ormal, of brightest gold, was set in the south, on the tower of Ringil. Aulë had fashioned the towers from the same stone with which he had blessed with life in a later age, and they stood for a time that was beyond measure. It was under the soft light of these lamps that the shadows first came into being.

It was curiosity that drove them at first. With gentle puffs of air tugging at their edges, the shades discovered their ability to move and shift. In that spring of the world, the darkness had not yet swept across the earth, and the shades were only gentle reflections of what the light of the lamps touched. Their hearts were full then, of wonder, delight, and a desire to explore. And so, they did, dancing on the wind, jumping from mountain to tree and back again. They found that their reach was far, and that their forms allowed them to merge and blend, until none could tell where one ended and another began.

But then the lamps were cast down by the hands of Melkor and the shadows were suddenly swallowed in blackness. Frightened and unable to dance over hill and vale as they had in days past, they could not fend off the encroaching darkness of his influence. Their awareness dimmed and many of them faded back into the murk, unwilling to face a world without light. Those with the will to remain did not long possess it. The ages crept forward. Yavanna sang, in hope and in pity, bringing forth the two great trees whose brightness touched the remaining shades, beckoning to them. And they once again learned to dance, under the limbs of the trees and beyond the mountains to the West. But the beauty of Telperion and Laurelin was not to last, for Melkor was ever jealous and vengeful. With a fury unbeknown to all except those with twisted hearts of rot and envy, he sent Ungoliant, the mother of all spiders, to destroy the trees and plunge the world into darkness for a second time.

And the shades were once again cast into the darkness, and from this loss of light and joy, they never recovered. Yavanna sang and Nienna wept, salvaging only two tiny potions of the blossoming trees. The flower of Telperion was hung in the sky, along with the fruit of Laurelin, the third and final light to be given to Arda. Yet the shades had truly become shadows in the time between the blackness and the rekindling of light. Their hearts, burdened by the light that always seemed to leave them, gave up all hope of ever dancing again. Their fears were affirmed, for the moon flower was too gentle, and the sun fruit too bright for them to frolic as they had in ages long gone.

It is only in twilight, that time between the waning of day and the rise of night, that the ghost of memory comes to them and they slip from their hiding holes to wander the land. But the hearts of the shades are cold now, rendering them unable to do anything other than cling to those most fortunate beings that can bear to walk in the light of the sun and moon.
Dance like the Maiden
Laugh like the Mother
Think like the Crone
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Violet
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Re: The Missing History of Shadows

Post by Violet »

You have a beautiful writing style. I enjoyed this story. I love the metaphorical inferences of light and shadows. It reminded me of some old tales about this Earth: how our daemons and "fallen angels" are relics from a past world twice or thrice destroyed.
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Xiao Rong
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Re: The Missing History of Shadows

Post by Xiao Rong »

Very beautiful!!
~ Xiao Rong ~ 小蓉 ~ Little Lotus ~
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Heartsong
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Re: The History of Shadows

Post by Heartsong »

Thank you both. :)

You know, Tolkien was a devout Catholic, and The Silmarillion was written in such a way as to mirror (in some respects) the creation story in the book of Genesis. So it makes perfect sense to me that he would have beings that are reminiscent of angels, deamons, and other parts of the Christian mythos incorporated into his work. He had such a wonderful and vivid creative streak in him. Part of the reason he's my favorite author. ;)
Dance like the Maiden
Laugh like the Mother
Think like the Crone
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