Below you’ll find a tale from Numenor from an unknown Source. I wrote it across several months in 2020 but I don’t think it came from me. I believe it came from “the children” referred to by Malachi, speaking a tale to their fathers:

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord,  and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

The fathers, in this context, refers to the first Noldor elves at Cuivienen. They were born as men on Numenor in the late stages before its drowning and came up as King men under Pharazon. The fathers did this as a way to get around the ban against the Noldor returning to Valinor. They could not return until Finwe himself appeared to lead them back as a restored House. Growing impatient, they sought another way around the ban. Their hope was to save Numenor from destruction and lay claim to a little known promise about its inhabitants: that they actually could come to Valinor, as men, so long as they accepted Manwe as their Father as one complete body. If they had, the island would have been made vacant and presumably a new batch of just men would have been gathered there to see if they too could be redeemed as one body.

But the first host of Numenor was skeptical. Many reasoned that the risk was not worth the reward:

“For of fatherhood to Melko,” said they, “were our hearts first broken; and was he not once called Good as Manwe Blessed?”

Meaning, the first host of men were deceived by another Valar, Melkor, and in naming Him as their father, they were brought into darkness. It was apparently known that at one time, Melkor was also called “Good” and so the risk that Manwe too might be an unsafe bet led many to say no to the offer.

The Noldor Fathers surmised this promise, and thought they could be born on Numenor as men and convince the entire population to lay claim to the promise by accepting Manwe as Father.

If they had, they would have the right to go to Valinor and they would have the right to bring along their children from Eressea, Noldor ban notwithstanding. A bold plan.

Though good souls, their designs were twisted by Thu and they were thus compelled to horrific deeds in the assault of Eressea. This tale relays one of the ways Thu succeeded in binding the Fathers to him. I’ve heavily edited the original tale to make it more readable. I hope that doesn’t offend the Source, but it’s just not that accessible otherwise.

Our fathers plan was to go to Numenor bearing a hope-magic to look Westward to Valinor, filling, it was hoped, Numenorean hearts with a desire to seek Manwe as their Father. Should they lay claim to the promise, as one host of men they would be brought to Valinor, laid up as sheaves in a shed to Elrond as Proctor. This offer was free to any complete host of Numenor, excepting none, who from atop Meneltarma would call Manwe as Father, to be brought to Manwe-place, not as honored guests only but as inheritors of wheresoever place they name in that holy realm. Manwe-Varda withheld not even their own thrones in this offer, although to these none would ever seek if they knew aright what it entails to sit thereon. And none would ever retain if ever obtained in ignorance. A crushing weight! And a mere pittance compared to that of Eru’s, marvelous to behold, and shocking even to Manwe-Varda to see how great light He bears so lightly.

This lore of Numenor and its Magic Mountain spell of fathership to Manwe was never repealed, nor is it thought that it can be, for how can any hallowed thing once holy ever be not so? Or if not holy now, how can it remain forever unredeemed without liar-making of Eru or his Chosens? So should any group rightly ascend the holy mount and lay claim as one body to these promises, uttering spells of ancient fathering (though never everlasting except as both parties will) would even in your day trigger fulfillment of the promise. 

Hence was Numenor sunk and never even by Elostirion espied. But those lands must be raised, escarped just as the other half of Eressea, but only in remission of sins entire. And then shall they be Blessed islands neighborly twain, this time never again to be made not holy, but left as monuments to what could have been. For the original plan of the Valar was to use Numenor and Eressea as waypoints to shepherd the recalcitrant of Eru’s two houses to restoration — Atani made to Edain on Numenore; Refuser-dark elves made to wholesome light accepting on Eressea. And in this way these islands may yet be used perhaps. Eru or maybe Manwe-Varda, or some Other who knows the Music’s ending can perhaps say.

What is known is that the Fathers meant to trigger this promise in their efforts upon Numenor, hoping to better the showing in Valinor if they could succeed. And as all know, their goals were in a sense achieved, though much for the worse than the better.

When born upon the Isle, the Fathers were blessed overmuch, it is thought, physically and otherwise, and had no weakness as a natural force of humbling. In this they relied instead on their own substantial ability to humble themselves. Numenor lacked Lamanites to do the dirty work of humbling by force, and through this, an opening was found by Thu to appeal to pride and corrupt this otherwise force unstoppable into deeds unthinkable. 

In these days upon Numenor, the king’s fold were known to water at grounds meant for public use, like in Ammon-Lamanite lore. And at times men of Numenor stood to scatter the king’s flock. The Law dictated that any man with power to scatter, all men must obey and none could withstand his ordering of waterings for the day, whether done justly or no.

Pharazon had no Ammon figure from among the king men to stand forth and prevent the scattering of the king’s flocks in the days of Numenor’s decaying into decadence and shadow, for nothing so mundane as being champion of a watering hole could hold much sway over a king man in those days. Better, they thought, to dominate a maiden, or each other, than a hole for animals to drink. And so sexual exploits aplenty contributed to the king’s house’s reputation falling into disrepute among doers of good. 

Assholes in ass holes. Try not to imagine, but thus it was that eventually even the maidens found it hard to find “work”. This became another telltale sign of something amiss with but few of the king men. The Fathers failed to understand the attraction of man to man and could not consider it with anything other than “what the hell?!” For Numenor did not lack in women of untold beauty, and in those days, all too willing to make the rounds. These sex clubs became rather one-sided and so half in disgust and half in chuckling disbelief, the 27 Fathers set themselves apart, taking with them the final hopes of the women of the court. Quite a sausage fest! Thu even found it strayed further than he thought likely, but of course did nothing to check this behavior except to make sure king men duties did not go unperformed or unpunished if finding so. Still, this lack of interest in a perversion so easily embraced by other king men was not nothing, in Thu’s mind, and with misgivings he now viewed them as perhaps more than just some favored Edain born during the waning years of Numenor’s glory.

Finding they could not be drawn to engage in this way, Thu tempted them instead to seeing to the king’s flocks and to dismay any who would stand forth to order the day. For lately had one man come day after day to claim rights, and none other, whether of king household or no, was found to daunt him. And so as champions of the king’s house they stood forth, one day at a time, to overthrow the man and order waterings as they saw fit. In honor, the Fathers refused to stand against him more than one at a time, though among king men this honor was not often observed if avoidable. And day after day, each Father was thrown down. 

The man was of no lineage identified but merely understood to have place among them and so by right he was able to scatter or gather each day as he saw fit. Mostly he scattered, finding it a joyful sight to see the king’s servants put through extra paces. Thu then — seeing this humiliation as more than a man obtaining justified mastery but rather a threat to his influence and mastery over all upon that Isle — purposed more cunningly to end the man’s reign but also to corrupt further these 27, difficult to ensnare fully. 

And so he set a snare, saying that whosoever among them would in secret dishonorably confront the man by casting stumbling block, by magic conferred, would retain that magic and be Master of 27. But, said he, but one alone could claim this gift, and that it would be done before Thu with none other to see the grand secret. And so one by one were they called before Thu to account, from greatest to least, intending as one to decline the offer. But as each Father entered a mist was come up wherein he was shown the consequence of declining the gift — to be dominated by one lesser or greater to match each Father’s natural fear. And so each in turn claimed the Gift Giver’s gift, thinking he alone it had been granted. 

And so at next opportunity to stand forth as champion, all 27 claimed the right and with their magicks, as one they cast forth stumbling blocks wherein all did stumble, and all were Mastered Masters. And as one body, they ran and trod upon the man, disgraced in an act so abhorrent that even the hole-surfing king men were astonished, but at once also reverenced themselves in lifting up these 27 as Masters to lead them in mastery, causing all enemies to stumble before them. 

What to make of this? Not to bring shame to the Fathers, of course, for that mist of Thu was used to great effect upon many and none we know of in seriousness believe they could have withstood it amidst such swirling magicks upon that Isle. But instead we hope to make clear that some details of the past can be glossed over. Once a record is made, it can be improved to all’s liking. And the piano player can then play his tune, ap arno, a betterment of Be’s to make this world a merrier place.