Tale of Tuor, Part 6: A New Beginning

Thus led by Tuor son of Huor the remnant of Gondolin passed over the mountains, and came down into the Vale of Sirion; and fleeing southward by weary and dangerous marches they came at length to Nan-tathren, the Land of Willows, for the power of Ulmo yet ran in the great river, and it was about them. There they rested a while, and were healed of their hurts and weariness; but their sorrow could not be healed. And they made a feast in memory of Gondolin and of the Elves that had perished there, the maidens, and the wives, and the warriors of the King; and for Glorfindel the beloved many were the songs they sang, under the willows of Nan-tathren in the waning of the year. There Tuor made a song for Eärendil his son, concerning the coming of Ulmo the Lord of Waters to the shores of Nevrast aforetime; and the sea-longing woke in his heart, and in his son's also. Therefore Idril and Tuor departed from Nan-tathren, and went southwards down the river to the sea; and they dwelt there by the mouths of Sirion, and joined their people to the company of Elwing Dior's daughter, that had fled thither but a little while before.
In those days Tuor felt old age creep upon him, and ever a longing for the deeps of the Sea grew stronger in his heart. Therefore he built a great ship, and he named it Eärrámë, which is Sea-Wing; and with Idril Celebrindal he set sail into the sunset and the West, and came no more into any tale or song. But in after days it was sung that Tuor alone of mortal Men was numbered among the elder race, and was joined with the Noldor, whom he loved; and his fate is sundered from the fate of Men.
Bright Eärendil was then lord of the people that dwelt nigh to Sirion's mouths; and he took to wife Elwing the fair, and she bore to him Elrond and Elros, who are called the Half-elven. Yet Eärendil could not rest, and his voyages about the shores of the Hither Lands eased not his unquiet. Two purposes grew in his heart, blended as one in longing for the wide Sea: he sought to sail thereon, seeking after Tuor and Idril who returned not; and he thought to find perhaps the last shore, and bring ere he died the message of Elves and Men to the Valar in the West, that should move their hearts to pity for the sorrows of Middle-earth.
Great was the sorrow of Eärendil and Elwing for the ruin of the havens of Sirion, and the captivity of their sons, and they feared that they would be slain. (...) Yet Eärendil saw now no hope left in the lands of Middle-earth, and he turned again in despair and came not home, but sought back once more to Valinor with Elwing at his side. The Silmarillion (chapters 23 and 24)

watercolor pencils, soft pastels

Sixth and final part of my set of illustrations for the story of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin (in the Silmarillion and the Unfinished Tales).
In this part we see in fact more of Tuor's son Eärendil than Tuor himself. The upper panel shows the refugees of Gondolin resting in Nan Tathren, with Tuor playing on his harp to Eärendil. The main scene shows the end of the story of Tuor and Idril, as far as Middle-earth is concerned: The ship Earrámë sails into sunset, while Eärendil watches from the shore. And the last panel is meant to mirror the very first in the series (upper panel of the firstt part), which showed Tuor's parents Huor and Rían. Here we see Eärendil with his wife Elwing aboard Vingilot, after her famous rescue from the Havens (if you want to know more, read Silmarillion ). And while the above-mentioned first scene was a sad one, with Huor departing to war where he would perish, this one is meant to be hopeful – Eärendil and Elwing are reunited and the Silmaril embodies hope for the Middle-earth itself.
As for the heraldic devices, it is quite obvious: Tuor and Idril again, in the upper left and lower right corner respectively, then Eärendil in the upper right and of course the silmarils in the lower left. I didn't have to invent anything like in the previous part, these are all canonical.


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If you like my Tolkien-related art, look at my related journal or gallery folder.
But you can find even more of my pictures on my website Angrenost.cz. It's in Czech, but you can still look at the gallery of illustrations. Enjoy!