The War of Wrath

[bunn]

Do any Tolkien fans have stern views about Dwarves and the War of Wrath?   Involved?  Not involved?  Innocent victims in the tragic ruins of Nogrod and Belegost?

(My Feanor story has got to the War of Wrath!  And somehow it is 27700 words and growing.   I am oscillating between 'this is so much fun!!!  Filling in all the details!!!'  (there appear to be almost zero canon details about the War of Wrath, and particularly about the Feanorians in it)  and 'what on earth am I doing???'  I am fairly sure there must be lots of other fanfic on this but I daren't read it yet or else I will become discouraged and never finish mine.    My roleplaying character Angruin is not in it, (except, possibly as a vague background figure). For some reason I feel vaguely embarrassed about including him as a named character.

Comments

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

Can I take a rain-check on that? I really would like to think about it for a moment. It's a great question.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Oh well, no rush. I think I've *probably* decided to add Dwarves to the War of Wrath, simply on the grounds that they will add to the general epicness, but if you do come up with some convincing reasoning against it, it will be interesting to work around.

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

My tendency would go in the direction of participation also, unless I find an actual reference to the contrary and none leaps to mind.

[hhimring]

It's difficult to have stern views on the War of Wrath, I think. Not only are there few details, but some of what is said is difficult to make sense of.
As far as the Dwarves go--the fractured relationship between the Dwarves and the Elves was evidently not patched up at the time, whatever conclusions are to be drawn from that.
Nogrod was greatly weakened and would probably not have been willing to fight alongside any Sindar or Green Elves at this point--it's less clear how they would have felt about Valinorean elves--especially if one were to assume there was a message from Aule for them.
The attitude of those of Belegost is even more uncertain, although their experience at the Nirnaeth may have put them off getting involved in a war on Morgoth again.

ETA: I think it might be possible to argue that what few details we have refer to the western front and the eastern front was under-reported.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I believe there are details of Tolkien canon that nobody has a stern view on, but 'the eastern front was under-reported' sounds like jam to me! I love under-reporting...

[anna-wing.livejournal.com]

I think the Dwarves were busy shoring up Belegost and Nogrod against the earthquakes, and sending their women and children off to Moria just in case of utter disaster. Any Orcs or Wolves or Morgoth-allied Men who came by were killed and disposed of (probably in the furnaces), but the Dwarves didn't go out looking for trouble.

A few young ones went to fight, after Eonwe swung by and said "Mahal needs you".

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I think the evacuation of Nogrod and Belegost happens immediately after the War of Wrath: I seem to remember when I was wrestling with Second Age timelines a while ago, being impressed by the Dwarves 45 year evacuation schedule which happens right at the start.

So I think I'm inclined to assume that the serious continent-bending mountaincrushing stuff happens right at the end, and that there was probably a prolonged period of conventional war first. It was 43 years of war, after all. There must have been stages...

( Also I am probably looking for excuses at this point to concentrate on other things and put off the end of the war. Maedhros, how could you?!)