Oropher and Ereinion:  A Last Discussion

Oropher looked sharply at Gil-Galad.  The Noldo King understood Oropher’s hesitations, how could he not.  Too much had been taken away from him by his Noldo kin.  Too much pain had been caused by the curse of the Noldor, the brilliance of the Silmarils was tainted with too much blood in Oropher’s memory.  Had not Finwë and others heeded the call to journey to Valar, things may have been different, and the Oath would have been a thing never to be born, but the light of the Silmarils proved tempting, and the exile of the Noldor, costly. 

Oropher’s father slain by the Naugrim in the Thousand Caves who were driven by greed and lust for the Great Jewels.  Oropher here was silent witness to the plunder of the great halls and the last stand of Mablung.  Oropher thought he would die as he lay wounded, a shard of the axe blade that dealt him his deadly blow painfully wedged in his chest, his last memory - the wild and wanton looks that possessed the Naugrim as they took the Nauglamír, where the Silmaril lay. But he did not die that day, and could not wreak vengeance upon Aulë’s children, and his King, Thingol whom he had witnessed become possessed by the Silmaril, was slain, and the light of Melian extinguished. (1)

But Oropher’s pain did not end there.  Oropher lost what was most dear to him when the sons of Fëanor possessed by their oath came to Doriath and committed the second- kin slaying.  Oropher’s wife was killed by the hands of Caranthir, as she tried to protect Nimloth from the onslaught of blind madness.  Oropher was rendered helpless by his wound for he was still recovering.  Another King he witnessed die, and in his arms his dearest wife passed, and there was naught he could do when Nimloth, his kin, and her children were taken to be never heard from again. (2)

“We will advance,” whispered a worn out Oropher, “under the banner of Greenwood.  Ereinion, you know this is the only way.”

Gil-Galad spoke strongly, frustration clearly leading his words, “You are your people’s king, and you must do as they wish.  This I understand, but I call it folly Oropher!”

“If this be our last stand, then so be it,” a grim Oropher responded.  “If blood be spilt it will be on my own account.  I will not see those I love die bidden by the actions, the words of those who were once exiled.”

Gil-Galad, wrought with other worries, cried out, “By the Valar, listen to your words!”

Oropher smiled, “By the Valar your kin heeded the call to go West, beheld the light of the two trees, and what good has come of it?  We continue to pay for those choices, do we not?  Whilst we battled Morgoth, the Valar chose not to interfere!  Those who returned and those who never left faced that darkness alone, and I still taste that bitterness in my mouth, Fingonion.”

Gil-Galad had had this argument with Oropher before, “But despite unwillingness you cannot forget the War of the Wrath.” (3)

“And all the lands we loved were covered in water, Beleriand was no more,” Oropher muttered.  “Thranduil did come to Lindon with you for a time, but I did not, I could not.  I know you suffered much Ereinion, but my eyes did not deceive me then.” (4)

Gil-Galad hung his head.  There was truth in Oropher’s words.  Gil-Galad knew this.  He was not unreasonable and he could understand the Silvan Elves refusal to fall under the command of the High Noldor King.  “Then do as you must Oropher, but as you leave, remember my words for they are not born of animosity, or arrogance.  They are born of concern, and believe me not if you care, but they are also born of great care and love.”

“My will is born of great care and love as well, and although some scorn these Silvan folk as dark and unlearned in the ways of the Wise, I see in them qualities that we Ereinion wish would have been present during our times of tragedy.  Their independence has divorced them from much of the grief we have witnessed.  They know these stories well, and if they die, they wish to die of their own command, not yours.  We share the same enemy, this is true, but we do not share the same leadership, and I am here as their leader.”

Gil-Galad wearily grasped Oropher’s shoulder, “Then let it be so, Oropher, for if death by your own command you wish, it is what I fear will befall you.”

“Then we shall meet in the Halls of Mandos- mellon,” and with a last embrace, Oropher left Gil-Galad’s tent. 

Gil-Galad watched as the first onslaught of mostly Silvan Elves fell upon the spears and swords of Sauron’s dark forces, and in his heart he felt an abrupt emptiness in the song of Ilúvatar, “Hiro e hîdh ab 'wanath” [Let him find peace after death]. (5)

The End

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A/N:  It is hard to reconcile the different writings of Tolkien concerning Thranduil and Oropher.  In the Unfinished Tales, Tolkien writes that Oropher was slain at the Battle of the Last Alliance.  “The Silvan Elves were hardy and valiant, but ill-equipped with armour or weapons in comparison with the Eldar of the West; also they were independent, and not disposed to place themselves under the supreme command of Gil-Galad” (p.217).  For this reason I write that although Oropher had many personal reasons to distrust the Noldor and their leaders, in acting the way he did, he was also following the will of his people, whether it was the wisest choice or not.  I reason that Oropher would be the kind of leader who would not want to impose his own Sindarin will upon his Silvan folks, which was also aided by his distaste for Noldo history.

References:

(1) The Dwarves had come to Menegroth and Thingol bade them to set the Silmaril in the Nauglamír, The Necklace of the Dwarves, which was brought to Thingol by Húrin, father of Túrin.  The dwarves became driven by their own lust for the Silmaril and slew Thingol, fleeing Doriath with the cursed jewel.  Upon finding out about this treachery, Elves pursued and in turn killed the Dwarves, but two of the Dwarves, or Naugrim, escaped.   The two Dwarves that escaped returned to their stronghold where they told that their kin were killed by Elves as ordered by Thingol who wanted to cheat them out of “their reward.”  Dwarves then descended on Menegroth which was no longer under the protection of Melian’s power and a battle ensued in which both Dwarves and Elves died, but the dwarves were victorious and took the Silmaril. In  The Silmarillion, chapter 22, “Of the Ruin of Doriath.”

(2) Upon finding out about this, Beren and other Elves went after the Dwarves, and killed the fleeing Dwarves, taking back the Silmaril which remained with Lúthien until her death.  It then passed to Dior, Thingol’s heir and grandson, and son of Beren and Lúthien, and upon finding out that Dior had the Silmaril, the sons of Fëanor sent word to Dior of their claim over the jewel.  Dior did not answer them and so the sons of Fëanor assaulted Doriath, where many of Fëanor’s sons were killed, along with Dior.  His wife Nimloth was taken and left to starve in the woods with her two children Eluréd and Elurín. In  The Silmarillion, chapter 22, “Of the Ruin of Doriath.”

It  Unfinished Tales, a version tells that Nimloth is kin to Celeborn, his niece precisely. I like the idea that Celeborn and Thranduil are kin; therefore in my reading of Tolkien, Thranduil is also kin to Nimloth.

(3) The War of the Wrath, or the Great Battle, was the battle that finally defeated Morgoth.  The Valar descended upon Morgoth and his minions, finally defeating him. The Silmarillion

(4) Appendix B of The Return of the King states that Thranduil dwelt for a time in Lindon, and then with other Sindar, went into the East to found new realms.

(5) Taken from “The Fellowship of Wordsmiths site.”  This is their translation on what Legolas says in TTT when he thinks Meriadoc and Pippin are dead.  I changed one word from hyn which means “they” to e which means him/he.