makalaure: (hold me i'm a fermata)
2014-03-05 02:21 am

(no subject)

OOC

Player Handle: Snarky
Player Journal: N/A
Contact: wildzubat for plurk
Age if under 18: that age over there
Invited by: I invited myself. :| No ok Beth.
Current Characters at Matched: If you play anyone at Matched already


IC

Character Name: Maglor / Makalaurë Kanafinwë ... um. If he needs a surname then I guess Fëanarion would be it.
Canon: The Silmarillion
Canon Point:
Option A: I would really like to play him significantly post canon with the idea that he's just... kept wandering the earth right on into modern times, following the idea Tolkien remarked on in a letter somewhere, where he estimated that we'd be in something like the eight age? With WWII being the cusp of the 7th and 8th ages, if I recall rightly. HOWEVER if that is not kosher b/c it stretches into 'AU' territory or w/e, then option B can be a thing.

Option B: should option A be unacceptable, then his canon point should be shortly after he chucks the silmaril into the ocean and wanders off and vanishes from known history. Long enough that the upheavals have finished, and the host of the Valar has returned to Valinor but still basically at the last point we hear of him in canon.

Age: immortal, but I guess he probably looks like he's in his 20s or 30s or something. idk. elves man.
Birth Date: BUT HE DOESN'T REMEMBER ANYMORE also he was born before years defined by sun and moon and round planets were a thing. . . . . . so yeah just RNG it. Or don't since look he's really old and would be Matched so does it even matter?
Gender Role: A man despite his pretty hair
Match: he'd prefer single because wow rude he was already married, but actually no no preferences

Abilities:
Being an Elf. So yeah functionally immortal, immune to diseases, all that jazz. I am sure Beth has ramble to you about elves before. She seems to really like them or something idk.

His music is goddamn amazing, and as a singer he is named second only to one other elf which has to mean something since elves are a very musical people. It is reasonable to assume that, like Finrod, he is capable of wielding music for battle purposes, even if his musical exploits are primarily spoken of regarding more artistic pursuits than epic rap battles.

He's really good with weapons and not dying. He has a hell of a lot of experience in battle. He is deadly and quite capable of being ruthless.

He knows his way around horses. He knows his way around a lot of things, actually, but having been in positions of ruling and governing a land that was primarily open plains and guarded by cavalry, he happens to be particularly familiar with those things.


Setting:
Go ask your sister. :|

History:
Wiki on Maglor

If you want it all in my own words complete with headcanons and choices between conflicting versions of canon, it's all written out in my app to Ataraxion here.

If canon point A, then his history continues on as basically him wandering the earth for a very long time. He takes on a primarily observant role, watching humanity gradually rise and thrive and spread. Eventually he turns more inland from the coasts as elves dwindle and fade or sail west, but he retains an affinity for places with water. He generally refrains from active participation in history, so to speak, instead preferring to live on the fringes and simply watch humanity, which continues to fascinate him in its own way. His love of music has never faded, and one thing he particularly enjoys about humanity is how very musical they are and what a variety of instruments and styles they concoct. And also the stories they come up with.

Elves, for all their artistry, are not nearly so good at fiction as humanity. Elves tend to tell things as they are or as they were, and while viewpoints might be biased and misconceptions made or metaphoric language might be used, their memories are very good and very long so they tend not to make things up to fill in gaps... because there aren't gaps in memory for them to fill in, really. That isn't to say they are incapable of coming up with fiction, but simply that it is less in their nature to craft whole new worlds and more to instead tell beautiful stories and poetry about the world as it is. (Or at least this is my headcanon on one of the major mental differences between elves and men...) In any case, Maglor also finds this fascinating, and basically just - as an artist in his own right, he likes exploring the things humans come with. Always something new. And yet - always many old things reworked and redone.

Aaanyway, he makes his way in the world doing odd jobs and as a wandering street musician. Given his ageless nature and the bother of paperwork forgeries and so on, at least in the modern world, he tends to avoid sticking around in one place too long or leaving much of a trace. He has at times taken up the sword again for his own defense (he does not wish to go to the Halls of Mandos, thank you very much), for employment from time to time and very occasionally participating in some of humanity's numerous conflicts. He does not do so out of any bloodlust or generally any sort of investment in the outcome so much as soldiers have their own stories and music to tell and sing, and having lived through a great deal himself, Maglor knows full well the value of art from all sources. And he knows the need people have to be heard even by just one other person.

When he shows up, however, it would be during one of his stints as a street performer.



Personality:


Maglor is made of music and loyalty and level-headed steel and a dash compromise. But only a dash.

One of the things he is best known for is being one of the greatest of elven minstrels. Indeed, the name his mother gave him - Makalaurë - translates to something like 'cleaver of gold' and is said to be in reference to his skill with a harp and possibly his voice. Song is forever a part of him and his life - and if left to his own devices, it likely would have remained the central part. Even now, in the end, when he no longer has any responsibilities, he reverts to songs, though all he has to express what is in his heart now seem to be laments. Dirges and mournful eulogies to all that has been lost. Heck, the one song of his we do know the name of is the Noldelantë - the Fall of the Noldor - and it is likely not a happy one. But perhaps he once wrote light, playful pieces in his youth. Or sung happier songs for his children and before them, his younger brothers and cousins.

( Canon point A note: He has become less focused on his own regret, though that remains deep down and will never ever go away, and so he has more music again besides mournful things. His music retains a melancholy, weary nature but there is more resignation and more variety now. )

Which brings us to the next point - loyalty. Another quality that greatly defines him is his loyalty to his older brother in particular. However, he ... has been somewhat betrayed in this aspect, as at the very end, his older brother has left him behind. Still, when it comes to those he cares about, he will remain absolutely loyal to and protective of them, even if it means compromising his own wants and beliefs. Moreover, he is generally of a friendlier temperament and seems to get along much better with his cousins than his younger brothers ever did. He - like Maedhros - remains friends with others, such as Finrod.

Moreover, he is one of the more level-headed of his brothers. Like Maedhros, he inherited some of the more grounded even temperament of their mother, Nerdanel. She is known for being wise and even-keeled. And Maglor seems to be prone to thinking things through and advising caution and trying to take the lesser of two dark roads. He refrains from launching an unwise attack on Morgoth to get Maedhros back and likely get them all killed in the process. He tries to pursued Maedhros to forsake the Oath in the end, as well, saying that they would do less evil in breaking it, since it's likely that the Everlasting Darkness is their lot either way. Logically it's the better thing to do, and face it, it's... better for other reasons, too. He is the only one of the brothers to really consider renouncing the Oath, and that definitely says something about his willingness to back down at times and compromise. In addition, he is shown as being caring and capable of kindness by his adoption of Elrond and Elros. It is said that love grew between them, and it is doubtful that love would have existed if he had been a poor caretaker and had been cruel to them. It is more likely that he was kind and taught them well, given that they both grow up surprisingly sane and capable.

However, that is not to say that he is all sunshine and softness. Maglor is as much a kinslayer as his brothers. He participated in all three Kinslayings, and even if he advised against it, in the end he still followed Maedhros and killed a few guards to get back the Silmarils. His hands are deeply stained with blood, and the fact that he is repentant for that doesn't really change that fact. It just makes him a little less terrible than if he were totally unrepentant. He has a heart, but he is not and should not be held guiltless. He is a warrior, and he has been through terrible wars, and if he needs to, he will not hesitate to kill. There was no place for mercy in fighting orcs or men who turned against them, and he slew many of both. Moreover, given what he has been through, it is likely that he has some serious PTSD going on - his deeds haunt him, as do his losses and the things he has witnessed. He is no longer entirely stable - he is somewhat jumpy, and he also is very pained. And often when people are in pain, they react to things badly, lashing out. He may very well do the same, falling back on pride and sarcasm to guard himself against others if they strike a nerve. He can be very dangerous if provoked, and though he is not sadistic and will not try to cause pain, he is a war veteran and is not above threats or fighting to get what he sees as necessary.

But... he is very tired and less interested in confrontation than in being reclusive and mourning and ... just... going on. He lives on, now, to remember those who have fallen and those he has wronged and see what is yet to come.


Inventory:
Canon Point Option A:
A violin in its case. The case is somewhat battered, but the violin itself is very well cared for despite seeing a lot of use.
The clothes on his back
a necklace with a few special things on it - a pendant and a few ancient rings
a battered duffel bag with a couple changes of clothes, a half empty pack of cigarettes, a water bottle, a notebook or two with stories and poems and chord notations written in a variety of languages and two elvish swords that his father made ages ago. Also a couple pens, at least one of which has a really chewed up cap and all of which probably have bite marks on the end.

Canon Point Option B:
A lap harp in a battered case
The clothes on his back
a couple rings / pendants - basically just a necklace or two with mementos of his brothers and wife hanging off it.
sand is probably stuck to the clothes so he's bringing sand, too. :|
two swords
miscellaneous things that were on his person, such as a water skin. However, he isn't really geared for long travel despite... having become a wanderer
bandages wound around his hands which are burned and still healing.



Port Network: Is a Dear Mun entry from ages ago ok?
If not I will whip up a new one.

Logs: ( from his ataraxion app )

Maglor crouches at the edge of a pool in one of the rec centers and contemplates the chlorinated water.

The water here is strange, and Maglor is not certain what he thinks of it, yet. A week is not enough time for him to truly decide much of anything about this place - besides that he thinks he does not like it much. He has lived in cities before, and he has taken shelter in forts upon bare hilltops overlooking burned fields where nothing seems to grow. But that is different. In cities, a sky still wheels overhead, and the air carries with it a different feel. In cities, the air pressure and temperature often shift as the weather around them changes, but here nothing changes unless he moves to a different part of the ship. The air isn't exactly stale but there is a sameness to it, a lack of signals about the world around him that unsettles him.

Even in the oxygen garden, nothing is quite right. Not even the water. He cannot hear the Great Music in it, like he can in the ocean, and flowing through pipes and filters and constantly recirculating, it sounds and smells and feels just enough different to unsettled him, too, and he cannot take comfort in any fountains or gardens yet.

But the pools like this are altogether different. They reek of chemicals he knows the names of and has learned the structure of (the libraries here are positively fascinating to comb through) but still finds strange. However, his is almost better than the not-quite-right water elsewhere. It is very different and therefore somehow less unsettling, even if it tastes vile and leaves his skin smelling of the chemicals and his hair feeling dry. And it is silent. He can hear the faint hum of the filters circulating the water, but with no one currently swimming in the pool, it is nearly still, save for faint ripples across the surface from the drafts out of nearby hallways. But the water itself is silent, and he doesn't think that is such a bad thing.

It gives him room for his own songs, and after a time of staring into the water, he begins to hum to himself, a melody in tune with the filters and the thrum of the ship itself beneath his feet and all around. And for the first time since he arrived here, he closes his eyes and forgets the swords he still carries with him and relaxes.
makalaure: (Default)
2013-07-24 11:08 pm

(no subject)

P L A Y E R   I N F O R M A T I O N
Your Name: Snarky
OOC Journal: N/A
Under 18? If yes, what is your age?: No I am 23
Email + IM: PM me for it ; AIM = sargentsnarky ; plurk = sargentsnarky
Characters Played at Ataraxion: N/A

C H A R A C T E R   I N F O R M A T I O N
Name: In his native language (Quenya), his full name is Makalaurë Kanafinwë. If a surname is required, then Fëanarion should suffice; it simply means 'son of Fëanaro'. He also goes by Maglor, which is simply 'Makalaurë' rendered in Sindarin, another Elvish language. The best default name to call him, however, is either Maglor or Makalaure as those are what he prefers to be called.
Canon: The Silmarillion
Original or Alternate Universe: Original
Canon Point: Right after his older brother kills himself
Number: 002 or 007 or 107; if all are taken for this round, then RNG it up!

Setting: Arda, the world he inhabits. But specifically he has resided in Beleriand and then also Valinor when he was younger.

History:
First, however, a note. Tolkien's writing is at times contradictory as he wrote multiple versions of some things, left gaps, changed his mind on details, etc. Therefore, I admit I have done some cherry picking with which version of events to go with in an attempt to create a cohesive whole. For the most part, I draw first from Lord of the Rings, then from The Silmarillion and only the from the Histories of Middle Earth and other notes and letters. However, there are a few scenes and such in which what is in The Silmarillion has been later admitted by Christopher Tolkien - one of J.R.R.T.'s sons and the primary editor of The Silmarillion - to not be his father's final decision on the matter. In those situations, I go with what seems to be the most recent or most widely favored version.

And now... onto A Story of Mess Up Families and Bad Decision Trauma Conga Lines

Our Story begins not with Maglor but with his father Feanor. Feanor was the eldest son of Finwe, king of the Noldor (a group of elves who were particularly restless and also into things like mining and crafting and weaving) in Valinor, and only son of Miriel, a silver-haired elf known for her stubbornness and her weaving ability. However, it is said that the strength that could have sustained having many children all went into Feanor, which resulted in him being particularly fiery and energetic but also absolutely sapped Miriel's strength and will to live. After giving birth to him and naming him, she released her tired spirit from her body and died. Finwe was, needless to say, pretty distraught, and in general everyone was pretty shocked because no one really expected anyone to die in Valinor. In fact, that was part of the reason so many Elves went to Valinor to begin with: it was thought to be safe and prosperous.

Miriel's body was kept preserved in gardens pretty much devoted to healing and rest, but she refused to return to it. In fact, the more people asked her to, the more she dug in her heels and refused. This unrelenting stubbornness is a trait her son (and his sons) inherited in spades. In any case, this left Feanor to grow up without a mother, and it also resulted in his father being very indulgent with him. Even when later Feanor had half siblings, Finwe continued to favor his firstborn son.

In any case, Feanor was basically a mad scientist elf and also the sort of person who was rarely still. He married young to Nerdanel and they then proceeded to have seven sons together - quite a large family among the elves, who generally tend to have no more than two or three children. Of those seven, Maglor was the second oldest, and it can reasonably assumed that he and his older brother Maedhros assumed a good deal of responsibility looking after both their younger siblings and their younger cousins, given the authority they later hold over their brothers and the fact that they, of all their family, were on the best terms with said cousins.

Meanwhile, while Feanor was growing up and nearing adulthood, Finwe - being lonely and sad and wanting more than one child - married again, this time to Indis. With Indis, he proceeded to have two more sons - Fingolfin and Finarfin - who Feanor rather disliked. Because Finwe married a second time and the Valar - (the powers that be in the world who, among other things, govern things like if an elf gets to be re-housed in a body if their first one dies) - are big on monogamy, Miriel was not permitted to return to life as long as both Finwe and Indis were alive, and this really pissed Feanor off. He didn't want his mother replaced, and that Miriel agreed to this likely made him feel rather abandoned by her.

Some say that perhaps Finwe shouldn't have remarried because of the bitter feelings this instilled and things that later resulted from this, but if that were the case, then we would be short some pretty awesome elves, and all of history would've been pretty different, so it's just as well things went as they did. In any case, I feel it's important to step into the realm of headcanon for a moment with regards to timing. There are a few different timelines Tolkien put together at various points, but some of them conflict and it's hard to know exact time measurements anyway as at the time there was neither a sun nor a moon, and so days were measured differently. And in any case, there are a lot of events left off of the timelines, which is where we get into headcanon for timing yaay!

Okay, my headcanon is thus: Feanor married Nerdanel around the time that Finwe married Indis. Then, perhaps in response to Indis getting pregnant, Feanor and Nerdanel had their first child - Maedhros - not very long after Finwe and Indis had Fingolfin. Similar timing occurred for Finarfin and Maglor, and then there was a bit longer of a gap before Celegorm and the rest of Feanor's sons. Because of this close timing and growing up together (and, of course, visiting grandpa and young uncles), Maedhros and Maglor were much closer and friendlier with their uncles and then later their cousins. The being on better terms with and friends with them is canon - my headcanon here is just on timing and some of the reasoning behind why the better terms. Anyway back to canon.

It is important to note that Feanor was impetuous, hot-tempered, restless and quite independent. He was also highly creative and invented a great many things, including divising three gems - called the Silmarils - that held within them the mingled light of the Two Trees that at the time lit the land of Valinor. These gems are basically considered to be one of the most beautiful things ever, and Feanor put a lot of himself into making them. Indeed, given the nature of creation in Tolkien's world, it's entirely possible that there literally is a piece of Feanor's soul in them. In any case, being the paranoid and jealous sort of person he was, Feanor closely guarded these jewels and prized them above all other things.

Before he got around to making these jewels, however, a dark being known then as Melkor - who had been imprisoned by the Valar before they led the elves to Valinor - was set free as per the terms of his sentence. And for a while, it seemed like Melkor had turned over a new leaf. However, this was only in seeming, for actually Melkor hated the Elves and the Valar and the pretty trees and basically just wanted to mess everything up because he liked destroying things that weren't his. So he set about subtly spreading rumors and manipulating the elves - particularly the Noldorin elves - to create a sense of division and further the gap between Feanor and his brothers. He spread the idea that Fingolfin wished to usurp Feanor's place as heir and favored son and spread the idea that Feanor wanted to get rid of Fingolfin and basically just made everything really awkward and politically tense. People started openly wearing swords and plumes and family sigils and stuff where before that hadn't mattered so much.

It all came to a head when Feanor, walking in on Fingolfin talking to their father about how maybe Finwe should reign Feanor in since he's paranoid and has a short fuse and is being ridiculous, drew a sword on his brother, interpreting Fingolfin's actions and words as demonstrating the veracity of those rumors. Now, drawing a sword on one's brother is never a nice thing to do, and the Valar took it upon themselves to administer justice, banning Feanor from the city of Tirion for 12 years. Finwe was pretty upset by this and forsook his crown - leaving Fingolfin in charge - to leave the city with his eldest son and family and take up residence in a stronghold called Formenos. Maglor and his brothers, of course, went with their father as the family was very loyal to each other and pretty tight knit.

Now, the upshot of all of this was that the Valar realized that Melkor was stirring shit up, and so they went to go grab him again. Unfortunately, Melkor ran off and hid, though not without stopping by Formenos to try and offer a deal to Feanor. Come with me, and we'll be free to do what we want and stuff. Feanor thought about it, but then wound up slamming his door in Melkor's face because Feanor didn't afraid of anything, and Melkor pissed him off. Eventually, he met with a giant evil spider beast thing named Ungoliant, and the two made a deal with each other. Ungoliant was always hungry and also was terrifying and destructive, and Morgoth coveted the Silmarils and also just wanted to stir more shit up.

So at the end of the 12 years of banishment, there was a big feast in Tirion, and basically just about everybody went to it - including Feanor who came to stand before the Valar and his brother again. Fingolfin readily forgave Feanor for the whole threatening with a drawn weapon thing and made peace by swearing to follow his older brother in all things. Remember that because it'll become relevant shortly. Meanwhile Finwe stayed behind in Formenos, and Feanor's sons happened to be out and about riding in the countryside.

HOWEVER ALL WAS NOT WELL.... This was the time that Melkor and Ungoliant chose to strike. Not only did they show up at Formenos and kill Finwe, but they also broke open Feanor's treasuries and stole all the jewels and things Feanor had made including the Silmarils. Now, the Silmarils had been hallowed by one of the Valar shortly after they had been made, and therefore they burned the very unpure Melkor, but he didn't care because they were his now ahahaha! They didn't stop there, however, but went on to go kill the Two Trees. Melkor stabbed them with a spear and Ungoliant drained their sap and poisoned them, and all of Valinor went dark. Then they escaped off to Melkor's old stronghold and that was that.

With the Trees dead, the only source of pure light left was, of course, the Silmarils, and the Valar asked Feanor if he'd be willing to hand them over to be broken and the light used to recreate the trees. Feanor said no - that to break them would be like breaking his own soul. But it turns out that this request didn't really matter, as not too long after that Maedhros showed up with the news that Formenos had been ransacked, the Silmarils were gone and Finwe was dead. Feanor was pretty upset by this news for he loved his father dearly and he also held the Silmarils dear, and let's just face it - that was all around a pretty dick move by Melkor, whom Feanor later renamed Morgoth.

After this, everyone was upset and unsure what to do, and the Valar gathered to discuss what their next move would be. In the meantime, Feanor - now bent on vengeance and retrieving his stolen jewels and getting away from the Valar who he viewed as ineffective and overbearing rulers - returned with his sons and stood before the Noldor and spoke long and eloquently about how the Valar sucked because they didn't prevent this and Morgoth is technically one of them which means they all suck by association and because what are they doing now but just sitting around being useless and oh by the way didn't you hear the rumor that they brought us here just to make room for the Secondborn (aka humans) in Middle Earth whence we came, so let's go back and kick Morgoth's ass and make realms of our own in the great expanses outside of the rule of the Valar. YEAH. In fact -- Feanor jumped up and swore an Oath - which his sons including Maglor jumped up and swore right alongside him - that he and his kin would take back the Silmarils from anyone who held them, whether Valar or elf or human or basically anyone besides them. It was an incredibly powerful Oath that would prove to haunt everyone for centuries to come.

Now, the Noldor were of mixed opinions on leaving - many of them were eager and thought wow this sounds like an awesome idea! Some of them were hesitant, however - including Fingolfin and Finarfin. However their children, on the other hand, were quite keen on leaving and making realms of their own and being free and all that jazz. But among those who were willing to leave, not all were willing to take Feanor on as their leader. Fingolfin was just straight up better liked. So for the sake of his people and for the sake of his own promise to follow his older brother, he determined to leave as well.

So nearly all of the Noldor got ready and left, traveling first to the city of Alqualonde, where another kindred of elves called the Teleri lived. The Teleri were sea farers and had ships, which Feanor asked to use to cross back over the ocean to Middle Earth. The Teleri said no, these are our ships. While you helped us build our city, you didn't help us with the ships so we won't lend them to you. This pissed Feanor off, so he led his people to take the ships by force. When others following Fingolfin showed up and saw the fighting, they assumed that the Teleri were trying to stop them all, so they joined in the fighting, and soon enough the Noldor had mastery of the ships. It was only after the fact that they learned that oops no... Feanor kinda ... started that... yeah. Awkward. This was later to be known as the First Kinslaying or the Kinslaying at Alqualonde. And this was the first Terrible Deed that was a result of the Oath and so forth.

There weren't enough ships to get all of the Noldor across the ocean in one go, so they traveled north to where the continents were closer together, but on the way Mandos - one of the Valar and the one in charge of keeping souls and also delivering prophecy - appeared before them and proclaimed the Doom of the Noldor, which goes as follows:

"Tears unnumbered ye shall shed; and the Valar will fence Valinor against you, and shut you out, so that not even the echo of your lamentation shall pass over the mountains. On the House of Fëanor the wrath of the Valar lieth from the West unto the uttermost East, and upon all that will follow them it shall be laid also. Their Oath shall drive them, and yet betray them, and ever snatch away the very treasures that they have sworn to pursue. To evil end shall all things turn that they begin well; and by treason of kin unto kin, and the fear of treason, shall this come to pass. The Dispossessed shall they be for ever."

In response, Feanor declared that although that may be, they would also wind up being the subject of song and stuff. He and many of his people were not dissuaded by this prophecy, but Finarfin and a significant portion of those who followed behind most slowly were, and they took this opportunity to turn back and seek forgiveness. Feanor, Fingolfin and their followers, however, pressed on, as did Finarfin's children.

When they could go no further north, Feanor and those he deemed worth it took the boats and snuck across to the other side. There, Maedhros asked what boats and crew they'd send back to bring the next batch of people over, and Feanor - who was pretty off his rocker by this point - laughed darkly and said none because screw them. They're needless baggage. (Have I mentioned that he really didn't like his little brother?) Then, a little while later, Feanor burned the boats - which Fingolfin & co. could see from across the water and, needless to say, they were pretty pissed off about all this. Buuuut Feanor & his people didn't exactly get off scott free from the burning, as the youngest of Feanor's sons - Amras - was accidentally burned alive on one of the boats. So ended the first of Feanor's sons and Maglor's youngest brother.

But they couldn't just wait around on the shore forever, so they pressed inland, fighting Morgoth's forces that he sent out to intercept them along the way. Fresh and strong and with horses and really great weapons and armor made in Valinor, Feanor & his people mowed down a lot that stood in their way, and Feanor got rather ahead of himself, thinking that maybe they'd just charge straight at the gates of Angband - Morgoth's stronghold - and take him down right then and there. Sadly, this did not happen, and instead Feanor rushed ahead and wound up surrounded by Balrogs. It is a testament to his sheer fiery passion and stamina (and insanity) that it took multiple Balrogs to bring him down, and it was only due to the arrival of his sons and the rest of their host to drive off the Balrogs that prevented Feanor from being slain right then and there. Instead, he was merely mortally wounded. But before he died, he told his sons to remember their oath and then his spirit was apparently so fiery that his body actually burned to ashes as he died.

Anyway, this left Maedhros in charge - both of his family and of their people, as technically now he was the High King of the Noldor. He wasn't in this position for terribly long, however, before Morgoth sent a messenger, saying, "Hey let's meet up and talk terms of surrender. I might even be willing to hand over a Silmaril~"

Rightly guessing that this was a trap but nevertheless compelled to at least consider it, due to their oath, they send Maedhros and a larger than agreed upon party to meet with Morgoth's emissaries. Unfortunately, Morgoth sent more and killed everyone except Maedhros, whom he captured and dragged back to Angband. There, Morgoth tortured Maedhros and eventually hung him off of a cliff by his right wrist.

Meanwhile, after a while he sent a message to the remaining Sons of Feanor saying that he'd release their brother if and only if they stopped this nonsense and went back West or at least went very far South and left him alone. Of course, they figured this was a lie and that nothing they would do would be likely to free Maedhros, and besides their Oath constrained them. Even if they left temporarily, they'd eventually have to come back to try and get the Silmarils again. So they withdrew and set up fortifications while they plotted their next move and tried to figure out what to do next. It is not known if they tried to rescue Maedhros or not or if they simply assumed him dead.

In any case, not terribly long after this, however, the Valar made the Sun and the Moon to light the world, and at that time the rest of the Noldor finally showed up, lead by Fingolfin and following after the Feanorions. Fingolfin & co. were still pretty pissed about having been left behind, but they were also more cautious than Feanor, and so in time they came to Hithlum, where the remainder of the Feanorions were, to rest and recover from crossing and also to build up their strength and figure things out as well. The Sons of Feanor & co moved to the other side of the lake they were camped on, leaving their former encampment for Fingolfin & co . And things were basically really tense and divided because of Fingolfin's bunch being still pissed and Feanor's bunch not really being sure how to apologize and make amends.

This is another moment wherein I must talk about headcanon regarding Maglor. Now, with Feanor dead and Maedhros missing, that left Maglor as the next eldest member of the House of Feanor and also technically the de facto High King of the Noldor. Whether he took this title or not remains unsaid, but I tend to think that whether or not he took the title, he at least took the authority among his brothers - a position he didn't want and wasn't happy with. Out of all his brothers, he was canonically closest to Maedhros, and rarely are the two of them mentioned separately. Therefore, it must have pained him terribly to know that Maedhros was in Morgoth's clutches, and the last thing he wanted to do was doom his brother to more torment, and yet he also had all his other brothers and their people to look after. Now was not the time to compound loss with more loss and risk having more of his people killed or captured, when they as of yet only had a sketchy understanding of their enemy. Therefore, I believe it was Maglor who ordered that they withdraw to Hithlum, where he did his best to keep the peace and try and get things set up for the long haul, so to speak. However, because of this and his decisions here, I believe that this also becomes a motivator for why he sticks so close to Maedhros and follows him so loyally later on in canon - guilt and a desire to never leave his dearest brother to suffer like that again.

Anyway back to canon.

Fingon - Fingolfin's son and also a good friend of Maedhros - eventually decided screw this, I'm gonna go rescue my friend, and then he did, bringing Maedhros back, and between that and Maedhros publicly renouncing the High Kingship and passing it to his uncle, relationships were (for the most part) mended between the Noldor. Following this and some diplomacy with the Sindarin elves, who were already living in Middle Earth, the Noldor then set up what amounted to a siege on Morgoth's realms, forming a sort of semi-circle circle of guard between Angband and Beleriand to the South. Maglor, for his part, took up watch in a gap between mountain ranges, watching over said gap and the plains beyond with his cavalry.

Many years of not all that much occurred before Morgoth suddenly attacked in a big battle called the Battle of Sudden Flame both because it was sudden and because it involved him erupting a volcano at the elves and also sending Fire Dragons to go burninate all the things. This battle caused severe casualties among the Elves and also broke the siege. However, it didn't totally wipe them out, and they recovered somewhat. However, Maglor's realm was pretty much burned to a crisp by dragons, and he and what survivors there were retreated to Maedhros' stronghold, where they assisted in holding off and fighting back the armies that attacked them there.

One other note of headcanon -- in an essay Tolkien wrote on names of various elves, he mentioned that Maglor was probably married. I take the headcanon that he definitely was but that his wife died during this battle.

Moving on, after this, eventually Maedhros had the bright idea of hey - what if EVERYONE combines their forces and goes and attacks Morgoth together? SO he and Fingon and basically most of the remaining Noldor and also many humans (who had by this time come into being and showed up in Middle Earth) and some dwarves allied and got together and attacked Morgoth. Unfortunately this went completely terribly, and there were TREMENDOUS casualties on both sides, but basically the elves lost, and they were pretty scattered after that except for a few strongholds here and there. The Feanorions took to wandering for a while.

However, before that battle (and indeed serving as part of the inspiration for it), an elf and a man had stolen one of the Silmarils from Morgoth, and during this time, the Silmaril eventually wound up in the hands of their son, named Dior, who became the ruler of the Sindarin kingdom Doriath. The Sons of Feanor asked him to give them the Silmaril. He said no. They said look we'll kick your ass if you don't hand it over. He still said no. So they attacked. The three middle brothers died during the fight, though Maglor, Maedhros and Amrod survived. However they did not get the Silmaril, as Elwing - Dior's daughter - ran off with it.

Eventually, Elwing met and married a man ( or well... half man half elf, but he was male) named Earendil, and they had two children together - twins Elrond and Elros. They're important and we'll get to them in a minute. Anyway, the settlement they lived in was located at the mouths of the river Sirion, and for some strange reason the people living there seemed to regard the Silmaril as something of a good luck charm. Yeah. Go figure.

Anyway, so Maglor, Maedhros and Amrod held off attacking for a while and asked nicely, "Look can you please just give us the stupid rock already?" But Elwing said no, and so eventually - pushed on by their oath which seems to have tormented them somehow - they attacked Sirion, too. Pretty dick move, but hey they were desperate. Earendil was away, trying to sail West to go beg the Valar to stop giving them all the cold shoulder and come take care of Morgoth already. And Elwing probably assumed that they were going to kill her sons, her and all her people, so she jumped off a cliff with the Silmaril. However, she was (luckily) turned into a bird and flew off to join her husband and help him finish sailing West to go plead for help.

Meanwhile, Amrod died in the Kinslaying at Sirion, and Maglor and Maedhros wound up taking in Elrond and Elros and raising them. It's important to note that it is said that love grew between Maglor and the twins - they were family in more than just really distant cousin sense. After this, Maglor, his brother and his foster sons (and whatever remained of their people who weren't dead or turned on them because wow stop killing your own species you assholes) were basically wandering and trying to avoid getting killed by the many orcs and things that now overran Beleriand.

But luckily Earendil meanwhile made it to Valinor and got the Valar to come help. So the Valar came and kicked Morgoth's ass and accidentally destroyed a lot of Beleriand doing it, and of course they recovered the other two Silmarils. Maglor and Maedhros asked if they could have them, and they were told fuck no. All those dick moves you guys pulled in Doriath and Sirion mean that your rights to these jewels are forfeit. You could surrender to us, though, and we'll take you back to Valinor for judgement. You might be given them then.

Maglor was all, "I'm sick of this. Let's just do this. It's not like the Oath says we can't delay a while, you know." But then Maedhros was all, "No. What if they never give them to us? Then we really WON'T ever get them back and then the everlasting darkness is our lot." And Maglor sighed and said, "Yeah well that'll be our lot whether we keep the oath or break it. We'll hurt fewer people if we break it." But Maedhros ultimately won the argument, and so they sent Elrond & Elros off to be with their other kin and prepared to do this last goddamn deed. They were prepared to fight to the death even against the whole goddamn world to fulfill this oath even though honestly at that point they really didn't want to. But such is the nature of Oaths with a capital O. You can't just *not* fulfill them.

So they snuck into the Valar's camp and stole the Silmarils, and the Valar just let them go because siiigh. Maedhros took one Silmaril and Maglor took the other, and they skipped off into the sunset. No, that's a lie. The Silmarils were made holy, remember? They burned dark, tainted things, which meant that they burned the fuck out of Maedhros and Maglor. In despair and pain (and probably because oh god FINALLY this is all over), Maedhros threw himself into a pit of lava, and Maglor went to go throw his into the ocean and then wander the beaches, singing laments and otherwise avoiding other elves forever.

Except that instead, he's being brought on board this spaceship! Isn't he lucky? \o/

Personality:

Maglor is... complicated.

... What? You said there was no minimum personality requirement. I figured after that history section, you'd want something shorter.

...
...
...... oh all right. Here we go.

Maglor is made of music and loyalty and level-headed steel and a dash compromise. But only a dash.

One of the things he is best known for is being one of the greatest of elven minstrels. Indeed, the name his mother gave him - Makalaurë - translates to something like 'cleaver of gold' and is said to be in reference to his skill with a harp and possibly his voice. Song is forever a part of him and his life - and if left to his own devices, it likely would have remained the central part. Even now, in the end, when he no longer has any responsibilities, he reverts to songs, though all he has to express what is in his heart now seem to be laments. Dirges and mournful eulogies to all that has been lost. Heck, the one song of his we do know the name of is the Noldelantë - the Fall of the Noldor - and it is likely not a happy one. But perhaps he once wrote light, playful pieces in his youth. Or sung happier songs for his children and before them, his younger brothers and cousins.

Which brings us to the next point - loyalty. Another quality that greatly defines him is his loyalty to his older brother in particular. However, he ... has bee n somewhat betrayed in this aspect, as at the very end, his older brother has left him behind. Still, when it comes to those he cares about, he will remain absolutely loyal to and protective of them, even if it means compromising his own wants and beliefs. Moreover, he is generally of a friendlier temperament and seems to get along much better with his cousins than his younger brothers ever did. He - like Maedhros - remains friends with others, such as Finrod.

Moreover, he is one of the more level-headed of his brothers. Like Maedhros, he inherited some of the more grounded even temperament of their mother, Nerdanel. She is known for being wise and even-keeled. And Maglor seems to be prone to thinking things through and advising caution and trying to take the lesser of two dark roads. He refrains from launching an unwise attack on Morgoth to get Maedhros back and likely get them all killed in the process. He tries to pursued Maedhros to forsake the Oath in the end, as well, saying that they would do less evil in breaking it, since it's likely that the Everlasting Darkness is their lot either way. Logically it's the better thing to do, and face it, it's... better for other reasons, too. He is the only one of the brothers to really consider renouncing the Oath, and that definitely says something about his willingness to back down at times and compromise. In addition, he is shown as being caring and capable of kindness by his adoption of Elrond and Elros. It is said that love grew between them, and it is doubtful that love would have existed if he had been a poor caretaker and had been cruel to them. It is more likely that he was kind and taught them well, given that they both grow up surprisingly sane and capable.

However, that is not to say that he is all sunshine and softness. Maglor is as much a kinslayer as his brothers. He participated in all three Kinslayings, and even if he advised against it, in the end he still followed Maedhros and killed a few guards to get back the Silmarils. His hands are deeply stained with blood, and the fact that he is repentant for that doesn't really change that fact. It just makes him a little less terrible than if he were totally unrepentant. He has a heart, but he is not and should not be held guiltless. He is a warrior, and he has been through terrible wars, and if he needs to, he will not hesitate to kill. There was no place for mercy in fighting orcs or men who turned against them, and he slew many of both. Moreover, given what he has been through, it is likely that he has some serious PTSD going on - his deeds haunt him, as do his losses and the things he has witnessed. He is no longer entirely stable - he is somewhat jumpy, and he also is very pained. And often when people are in pain, they react to things badly, lashing out. He may very well do the same, falling back on pride and sarcasm to guard himself against others if they strike a nerve. He can be very dangerous if provoked, and though he is not sadistic and will not try to cause pain, he is a war veteran and is not above threats or fighting to get what he sees as necessary.

But... he is very tired and less interested in confrontation than in being reclusive and mourning and ... just... going on. He lives on, now, to remember those who have fallen and those he has wronged and see what is yet to come.


Abilities, Weaknesses and Power Limitations:

Abilities:

♫ MUSIC \o/ He is the second most magical / talented / famous elven musician / composer of all time! He has an enchantingly beautiful voice and very nimble fingers, good breath control, superb sense of rhythm, etc. He can definitely play harp and flute-type instruments, and he'd likely be able to pick up anything else he put his mind to musically.

As a further note, in Tolkien's world, words and music are very powerful, and can be somewhat magical. Given that Maglor is noted so highly among elven musicians, and given that other elves (such as Finrod) are spoken of as wielding power as music, it is not an unreasonable assumption that he can do the same - use his music to influence people, put them to sleep, create illusions, overpower people, encourage them, etc. Of course, he can also just use it to entertain or tell stories (that people can still understand even if they don't understand the specific words), but it still has the potential for use in a sort of -- magical way.

This can be limited to just illusions and a mild suggestive influence or something like that quite easily, if necessary. Or just really, really pretty, moving music! \o/

♫ COMBAT. Maglor has survived roughly five centuries of what has turned out to be a lot of brutal warfare - and is, in fact, the only one of his brothers and most of his cousins (besides Galadriel) to wind up relatively unscathed and, most importantly, not dead. This indicates that he is either extremely lucky or has become quite skilled in combat -- or both. Given his musical tendencies and the fact that the area of land he ruled over for a long time was mainly plains and the warriors under his command were mainly riders, I headcanon that he is fairly ambidextrous and generally wields two swords and no shield. He is also capable of wielding a spear, though it is not his preferred weapon, and bow and arrow both mounted and unmounted. He is referred to at one point as 'the swift', which can reasonably assumed to be a reference to his dexterity and/or speed. None of this is particularly supernatural, however, but rather that which comes from a) being an elf from Valinor which generally means being very strong and hardy and b) having, you know, been fighting on and off for hundreds of years.

Also, he's bound to be skilled with horses at this point. One of his younger brothers learned how to speak the languages of all beasts and birds, and I do not think it is unreasonable that Maglor, too, has learned some of that - nothing as extensive but enough that speaking with birds and horses and such is not difficult for him. Elves are an amazingly chatty species, ok. They talk to everything at some point or another. Including rocks. (That is canon - Legolas talks about things stones say in The Fellowship of the Ring, okay.)

There is, however, one supernatural element to make note of. Elves who have dwelt in the 'blessed lands' (aka Valinor) and thus spent a lot of time in the presence of various primarily unseen / spiritual beings are capable of seeing both the visible and the invisible world. They can see things like wraiths and themselves seem to glow rather brightly with the light of Valinor to said unseen things. That is... their souls are apparently pretty shiny - and they seem to have a light in their eyes that other elves lack. Aside from the faint metaphysical glow, however, it's not like this would really do anything here. .... Sauron might make faces at it, but whatever, man. He can totally deal.

♫ GENERAL BEING AN ELFNESS. Greater sight and hearing than ordinary humans, as well as being light of foot and fairly strong and so on. Also elves do not really need to sleep in the same way humans do. Instead, they tend to meditate or have sort of waking dreams either lying with their eyes open or while they're walking around during the day or they look at pretty things or just basically elves are weird ok. Presumably they can't do anything that requires much concentration while having a waking dream but instead could, say, take a waking nap while on a walk or something.

Oh and there is that whole immortality thing. Elves last as long as Arda lasts, and while their bodies can die (though that takes some doing as they're durable bastards, immune to diseases and able to withstand temperature extremes and lack of food and stuff pretty well; they can be poisoned, though, and they can die of wasting away due to grief and also things like throwing themselves into hot lava or drowning), their souls remain stuck on Arda until the end of days. Aren't they lucky? Of course, on a space ship an elf would still be freaking hard to kill, but I suppose we can presume that his soul would somehow olly back to Arda.

♫ TAKING CARE OF PEOPLE. With such experience in combat, undoubtedly he has pretty decent knowledge in tending to the injuries of his people. Moreover, he canonically has five younger brothers, eight younger (half) first cousins, at least one nephew and also took in and cared for Elrond and Elros when they were children. Consequently, he can be expected to know a good deal about looking after people (and horses, for that matter) both on an immediate personal scale and on a broader scale, given that he has also ruled over people.


WEAKNESSES:
* He is traumatized. We're talking serious PTSD here. I mean, he just watched his last remaining brother kill himself, not to mention like five centuries of warfare during which not only has he witnessed some pretty terrible things but he has also done some pretty terrible things.
* Pride. Although Maglor is a bit more willing to humble himself - especially now - than some of his brothers, he still has his pride.
* Stubbornness. He wouldn't be one of the Sons of Feanor if he didn't have an incredibly stubborn streak. This can be a strength but it's also a serious weakness when exploited properly.
* Willingness to murder if need be. Honestly, he has done some pretty awful killing and attacks. He doesn't like it, but he really doesn't have much of a moral highground, when you get down to it.
* Weariness. It's been a long, bitter war, and most of his family has died. Most of his people have died. The last years of it he, his older brother and the handful of followers they have left had mostly been constantly moving and constantly on guard. He's just... tired, now. He's done.
* Jumpy and slow to trust, now. As mentioned, he's spent years on guard, now - and he knows he is despised by a lot of people (and rightly so). Don't sneak up on him.
* Feeling incredibly guilty and sick at heart over the things he has done. To say he is self-loathing at this point is to understate.
* Loyalty to his brothers. He is absolutely loyal to his older brother and is intensely loyal to the rest of his brothers as well. Too bad they're all dead now, but it's definitely a weak point all the same -- especially his feelings with regards to Maedhros, his older brother.
* When more relaxed, he can get lost in his music. Mostly a neutral thing, but it is something that could be taken advantage of.
* Honestly, given how long he's spent looking after people, he might very well feel compelled to keep on looking after people whether he should or not.
* Also his sanity at this point is somewhat questionable. After all that he's gone through, he is likely on the more unstable end of things, especially while he's processing his grief over his brother and everything else.
* Although the nanobots and such will likely heal up his hands, burnt by the Silamril, quite a bit, they'll still continue to pain him as well. It's something he'll endure, but it's still there.

Inventory:
♫ two swords and several knives and/or daggers - the swords make a matched pair; they are quasi-magical but only really because they are elven-made. Here, that basically translates to them being fantastically durable and rust proof, really.
♫ a bow and a quiver of arrows - a somewhat compact bow, suitable for use on horse back and/or when engaged in being stealthy
♫ a small harp
♫ a Silmaril - a beautiful jewel that holds within it the pure mingled light of the Two Trees. It has further been hallowed so that those who have done great evil cannot touch it without being painfully burned, and even just its light can be blinding at times. It resonates with other light and really is just pretty much the most beautiful glowy thing you could imagine. If this needs to be nerfed in some way, it can just be a pretty glowing rock that 'reacts' to different light stimuli here minus its holy blessed power. Maglor is going to be super not happy to see it either way.

Appearance: \o/ Stereotypical Noldorin elf! I mean um, I'm not using a PB for him but am instead using fanart for him. Long black straightish hair, paler side of things, silvery grey eyes. Honestly, he is never physically described in canon, so this is all headcanon and reasonable conjecture based on how close relatives are described and that he isn't mentioned as being particularly unusual in appearance. Headcanoning his height as roughly 6'4"~6'6". Somewhere in there.

I may figure out a PB for him soon, and I will append this app when/if that happens!

ETA: I am using a mixture of art & a PB. The PB is Vinnie Woolston.

Age: Pretty Damn Old Though Not Quite As Damn Old As Some People On This Ship (... idk. Probably somewhere between 3 and 4 thousand years old? It's hard to know, what with having been born before the sun)

AU Clarification: N/A

S A M P L E S
Log Sample:

Maglor crouches at the edge of a pool in one of the rec centers and contemplates the chlorinated water.

The water here is strange, and Maglor is not certain what he thinks of it, yet. A week is not enough time for him to truly decide much of anything about this place - besides that he thinks he does not like it much. He has lived in cities before, and he has taken shelter in forts upon bare hilltops overlooking burned fields where nothing seems to grow. But that is different. In cities, a sky still wheels overhead, and the air carries with it a different feel. In cities, the air pressure and temperature often shift as the weather around them changes, but here nothing changes unless he moves to a different part of the ship. The air isn't exactly stale but there is a sameness to it, a lack of signals about the world around him that unsettles him.

Even in the oxygen garden, nothing is quite right. Not even the water. He cannot hear the Great Music in it, like he can in the ocean, and flowing through pipes and filters and constantly recirculating, it sounds and smells and feels just enough different to unsettled him, too, and he cannot take comfort in any fountains or gardens yet.

But the pools like this are altogether different. They reek of chemicals he knows the names of and has learned the structure of (the libraries here are positively fascinating to comb through) but still finds strange. However, his is almost better than the not-quite-right water elsewhere. It is very different and therefore somehow less unsettling, even if it tastes vile and leaves his skin smelling of the chemicals and his hair feeling dry. And it is silent. He can hear the faint hum of the filters circulating the water, but with no one currently swimming in the pool, it is nearly still, save for faint ripples across the surface from the drafts out of nearby hallways. But the water itself is silent, and he doesn't think that is such a bad thing.

It gives him room for his own songs, and after a time of staring into the water, he begins to hum to himself, a melody in tune with the filters and the thrum of the ship itself beneath his feet and all around. And for the first time since he arrived here, he closes his eyes and forgets the swords he still carries with him and relaxes.

Comms Sample:

video;

[ Tired grey eyes squint uncertainly at the device for a few moments before he seems certain it is on and functioning as it should be and settles back. But then, he hesitates and shifts restlessly as if unsure how to voice what is on his mind. Swallowing, Maglor glances sideways at something out of sight for a moment before looking back at the camera. He pushes a stray lock of dark hair out of his face. ]

I am told there is a garden to be found ... somewhere. But I -- I confess I cannot find my way.

[ A faint, wry smile flits across his lips. ]

I am more used to navigating by stars and the bright sun, but she is nowhere to be found here...