OOC - Profile
[Character Name] Macalaurë Canafinwë - Or Maglor in Sindarin
[Canon] The Silmarillion
[Point Taken from Canon] After the Second Age ends, not too long after he throws the Silmaril into the ocean.
[Age] Very, very old.
[Gender] Male
[Sexual Orientation] Presumably Hetero; he might even be married for all we know.
[Eye Color] Grey
[Hair Color] Black
[Height] …Tall
[Other] Well, he’s an elf, so he’s gorgeous?
[Clothing] While he is generally depicted wearing robes, as befitting his status as the son of the King of the Noldor, likely he was wearing a simple tunic and breeches when wandering the sea, and therefore, that is what he’s wearing now.
[Background]
A long, long time ago, the Valar created Valinor and Middle-earth. Melkor, the enemy, shattered and destroyed as much of their efforts as he could, and eventually, his efforts were able to plunge Arda into darkness. In response, the Valar created the two trees, Telperion of silver light and Laurelin of gold. The trees brought light back to Arda and to Valinor, and Melkor retreated for a time.
This will be very significant in Maglor’s life.
The elves awoke, were brought to Valinor by Oromë, one of the Valar, and there they lived in peace.
Fast forward a few hundred years or so. Fëanor, son of the king of the Noldor, Finwë, married Nerdanel and they had seven sons: Maedhros, Maglor, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin, Amrod and Amras. Little is known about the Fëanorians’ childhood, but, likely, it was more or less similar to every elf’s-peaceful. Though certainly with a father like Fëanor, the most skilled in crafting ever seen, it was bound to be eventful. They lived in what was, more or less, harmony for a good period of time. At one point, Fëanor and Nerdanel became estranged, and they lived in separate places. All seven of his sons chose to stay with Fëanor. Aside from that strife, however, life was peaceful.
Fëanor, during this time, created the Silmarils, three gems of a beauty that would never be matched. They held the light and beauty of the two trees within them.
Then Melkor returned. Together with a gigantic spider names Ungoliant, he destroyed the two trees to the point where they could not be healed…without the Silmarils. But Fëanor hesitated, unwilling to give them up. While this was happening, Melkor was busy-he spread lies and whispers, raising suspicions in the elves against the Valar.
And then Melkor stole the Silmarils, killing Finwë, the King of the Valar, but, more importantly, Fëanor’s father. This was something Fëanor could not overlook, and viciously, he whipped the Noldor into a fury and convinced them to follow him, against the will of the Valar, to Middle-earth. Fëanor and his sons swore a terrible oath-one that none could break, by the name of Ilúvatar that they would hunt down any creature that would take the Silmarils. But to get there, they needed to cross the Sea, and to cross the Sea, they needed ships. The Teleri, the race of elves that most loved the Sea and were most skillful at building boats, refused to give them ships, for it was against the will of the Valar. Fëanor was furious. And he decided to just take them.
But the Teleri struggled to withstand them and, inevitably, swords were drawn and blood was spilled in Valinor for the first time. Many Teleri and many Noldor were slain, but the Noldor managed to take the ships and set sail.
This event, the event that caused Maglor to become a kinslayer, was one of the most impacting events in his life. His best work, the most famous lament ever written, is about this kinslaying. He worked on it from then on, and when it was finished, the Noldolantë (the fall of the Noldor) was considered one of the greatest works of Middle-earth.
After a long, terrible journey, they came to the border of Araman, a mountainous, frigid region. There, however, Mandos (the Keeper of the Houses of the Dead) stopped them and pronounced upon them the Doom of the Noldor. He told them that they would be forever barred from Valinor, that the wrath of the Valar would forever be on the House of Fëanor, and that '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 forever.’
Fëanor, however, merely strengthened his oath and continued. There was unrest in the forces he led, however, and, knowing this, when they came to Helcaraxë, the grinding ice, Fëanor took those loyal to him and took the ships, of which there were too few for all of the Noldor, leaving the others behind on the frigid, harsh Helcaraxë. When they reached the other side, and Maedhros asked who they would return with the ships, Fëanor laughed. And then he burned the ships, every single last one.
The Noldor, as they searched for Melkor, were ambushed by Orcs, but the Noldor were far more skilled and quickly victorious. They followed and hunted the Orcs to find Melkor. Fëanor, however, would not halt or be cautious, and he was surrounded by Melkor’s other defenses, Balrogs. He would have been killed, but his sons came just in time to drive away the Balrogs. It was too late, however, and Fëanor, before he perished, laid on his sons the task of avenging him.
Maedhros, in an attempt to do just that, pretended to treat with Melkor. He was ambushed, however, and taken prisoner, leaving Maglor in charge of the Noldor as the next eldest son, though he did not want the position. Maedhros, thankfully, was saved by Fingon, son of Fingolfin, Fëanor’s step-brother, and Fingon and Maedhros ruled the Noldor together.
Then, for a long time, the sons of Fëanor separated, each ruling a portion of Middle-earth with their people. Melkor, unable to defeat the elves, bided his time, and there was peace. Maglor spent his time near where the brother he was closest to, Maedhros, ruled.
Time passed. Much happened, but little concerning Maglor or his siblings. The Sindar, learning of the Noldor’s deeds, shunned them and outlawed Quenya, the language of Valinor and the Noldor. The conflict between Melkor and the elves continued. Many painful, devastating battles were fought, Balrogs and dragons and Orcs causing many deaths.
Alliances were drawn between elves and men in an attempt to survive against Melkor. The Fifth Battle, leading to the Nirnaeth Arnaediad (The Battle of Unnumbered Tears), occurred when Maedhros had gathered the best of his strength. When they fought, however, some of the men turned on the elves, and there were enormous casualties. But Maglor himself slew the leader of the treacherous men, scattering them, and the elves were able to retreat. The armies of Maedhros, however, were broken, and the elves had an immense distrust of men from then on.
More things, of course, happened, though they had little to do with Maglor-Beren and Lúthien, the tragedy of Túrin, and more.
To win Lúthien, Beren captured a Silmaril from Melkor’s crown. This was passed down to their son, Dior. But then, news reached the Fëanorians, and having no choice, they demanded the return of the Silmaril. Dior refused to give it up, and the seven sons drew together their forces and attacked. Celegorm, Caranthir, and Curufin, three of Maglor’s brothers, were slain for a worthless battle, for Elwing, Dior’s daughter, escaped with her husband, Eärendil, and the Silmaril.
Again, the sons of Fëanor attempted to take the Silmaril by sacking Sirion; Amrod and Amras were killed, and only Maedhros and Maglor were left alive. Eärendil and Elwing escaped across the Sea with the Silmaril, leaving behind in the process their young sons Elrond and Elros, for they could not take them. But Maglor would not allow Maedhros to hurt them, and he took care of the twins as best he could, as if they were his own children.
Eärendil, with the Silmaril, sailed the heavens after speaking on behalf of men and elves to the Valar. The Silmaril became Gil-Estel, the star of hope, and Maedhros and Maglor saw it and knew if for what it was. But Maglor said they should be glad that its glory could be seen by many while it was still safe from evil, and both knew that they would never be able to reach that Silmaril.
The Valar finally joined the war due to Eärendil’s efforts, and the Valar had soon overthrown Melkor. Then, wearily, Maglor and Maedhros went to demand the Silmarils from the Valar. Eönwë, Manwë’s herald and one of the Maiar, responded that the Silmarils would go to the West and that Maedhros and Maglor should await their judgment by the Valar. Maglor, tired of the pain and slaughter and feeling immensely guilty, wanted to submit to whatever punishment they would receive, but Maedhros refused. The two argued bitterly; Maglor even went so far as to say that it would be better that they fail in their oath and be cast into the Void than for their oath to hurt any more people.
But Maedhros was determined, and finally, wearily, Maglor yielded to his older brother. They snuck into the camp and stole the jewels, but all were woken in their attempt. Eönwë, however, would not allow the guards to kill Maedhros and Maglor, and the two escaped, each with a Silmaril. But the Silmarils burn the hands of those that are evil, and unable to bear the pain, Maedhros threw himself into a deep chasm with the Silmaril.
Maglor was also unable to bear the pain of the Silmaril, and he finally reached the Sea and threw it as far as he could into the Ocean. Then, the last of his family, he wandered the seashore, singing laments of his regrets.
[Personality]
The second eldest of the Fëanorians, Maglor is also the gentlest. He never possessed the fiery spirit of his father or the majority of his siblings, and his personality, instead, seems to have taken more after that of his mother, Nerdanel the Wise. He can often be very quiet (especially when he feels there is little that needs be said), and Maglor is very introverted and solitary. He does not need to speak with others; Maglor would be and always has been perfectly happy alone, secluded, composing his music.
However, with that said, Maglor has received more than enough solitude in his self-imposed purgatory, and as such, the idea of a secluded existence is no longer a happy one. Despite this, he still firmly believes that he deserves solitude as his punishment, and therefore he will not easily open up to people or join in to activities. Self-punishment is always harsher than outside punishment, and Maglor feels he deserves every painful step of his unending walk. He loathes the things he did for his father and his brothers, he loathes the fact that he was loyal enough to go, even when he knew he should not, but most of all he loathes himself for the sins he committed, for the pain and death he caused, for his cowardice, as he sees it, in not refusing his family.
Maglor, obviously, has a very low opinion of himself now, and punishment is the only way he could think of to attempt to make up for his crimes and, perhaps one day, purge the extreme guilt he feels. As it is, Maglor is stuck in a never-ending cycle-afraid that the Valar will not accept such a sinner in Valinor, but unable to stop the pain and lamentation and guilt for so long as he is in Middle-earth. Maglor is very aware of this; the result is a weariness, an almost tired helplessness in the majority of what he does, almost as if there is no point.
One thing that could, however, spark a reaction from him is his sole passion, music. His name, Macalaurë, means “forging gold”, a reference to his abilities. He is an artist; if the inspiration for a song comes to him, he will not hesitate to pick up a harp and begin to play. Sometimes, if he has a composition on his mind, he might seem rather absent-minded, as his mind will be more on his music than the conversation at hand. As it is, while he does not and will not boast, he has a great deal of confidence in his musical talents, and for very good reason. However, Maglor does not enjoy speaking about himself, and likely even less so after all that has happened and the guilt he feels. So while he will play, and likely gladly, for an audience, Maglor will not readily talk about his music. Perhaps due to his solitary nature, his self-imposed seclusion and his paranoia, created and bred through tears upon years of warfare, betrayal and conflict even within his own family, Maglor dislikes it when someone takes too deep an interest in him. Of course, there is also always the fear that, were they to learn of his past, he would be shunned again, and Maglor does not want to risk that pain. He already lives in a cycle of self-condemnation, and he fears more condemnation from those around him-hence, his solitude.
For academic purposes, however, Maglor understands collaboration; his father is Fëanor, after all, considered the greatest crafter that ever lived, and intelligence, collaboration, experimentation…such things were likely a part of Maglor’s life from his very early childhood. He himself is quite intelligent, perceptive and empathetic; one of Maglor’s greatest talents has always been to understand the emotions of those around him and manipulate them with his powerful voice. He does not, anymore. Maglor has seen what blind following does, and he would not want to stir such feelings in anyone. The fact remains, however, that he is very, very good at understanding people’s emotions and motives; music, after all, is emotive and intuitive, and Maglor has always been immensely skilled at manipulating emotions through his music.
Whatever pride Maglor once has (and as a Fëanorian, likely quite a lot) has been more or less forced out of him after all he has experienced and suffered through. Maglor has little pride in himself, in his family, or in his past actions, but he is still a Noldo, still an elf, still a Fëanorian. He will not let anyone walk over him; it goes against his upbringing and his very nature. But he sees little point, now, in rash anger or actions. Insults will be ignored, attempts to provoke overlooked, unless he has absolutely no other choice.
The driving factors of Maglor’s life are his guilt and his music. Little else matters to him at this point; thought at one time he was merciful, compassionate, paternal, such traits have been well-buried beneath what appears to be simply exhaustion.
He can be caring; he took care of Elrond and Elros because he cared about these children he had never seen before and, even more significantly, the children of the one keeping him from fulfilling his oath. But he took care of them anyway, as a father figure for these two orphans. Maglor is honestly a gentle, compassionate soul, forced into actions he never wanted to commit. He has a striking amount of common sense and pessimistic realism that taints everything he looks at and sees, and the result is a withdrawn, tired, solitary elf.
[Abilities]
Music. Maglor is considered either the best or the second best musician to ever live in Arda (there is a little contention whether Daeron of Doriath was better or not, as they never met to compare). He has an amazing singling voice and is immensely skilled with every instrument he has taken the time to learn. He composes music as well, an almost effortless, instinctive activity for the Fëanorian.
His voice is powerful, and he is known for that power. We are first introduced to Maglor by being told of his strong voice. Due to this, he has the ability to sway belief and manipulate people's feelings. It is rarely sureproof; consider him to have a silver tongue and a powerful voice all are willing to listen to, and nothing more. Still, when he chooses to use the full power of his voice, he can often sway those of even the strongest will.
Aside from music, he is an elf. He is agile, light-footed, with senses that are far better than any human’s could ever be. He is skilled with a sword, at least more skilled than the average human, but he never really wanted to learn swordplay, and he is not a stunning swordsman.
[Affection]
He’s very, very solitary. Truly, any character is going to have to work hard to get into his affections. With that said, if he is hugged he won’t…freak out, or anything. He will just be a little surprised. He used to live a normal life, after all.
[Fighting]
Go for it! Maglor likely won’t fight back. Unless he sees a point to fight or it’s for his survival, he will not fight. He’s rather skilled with a sword, and he’s very agile, since he’s an elf.
[Other Facts]
Maglor’s hands were horribly burned by the Silmaril. It is likely that he has some scarring from that, and some of his musical talents would have been diminished with the lack of a full range of movement in his hands.
He also speaks Quenya and Sindarin, along with Westron, of course. And he has far too many names. Maglor, Macalaurë, Canafinwë…