Happy birthday fic for Heartofoshun: Creation, PG, Fëanor

[erfan_starled]

Title: Creation
Rating: PG
Character: FPGen, Fëanor
Summary: Fëanor at work.

Prompts: SWG B2MEM Day Fifteen "Do I dare disturb the universe?" Show a scene or experience in a character's life where she or he answers this question.
Oshun: Daring and possibly wicked; at the very least unorthodox, unexpected.Credits and influences: SWG for the B2MEM

Comments

[pandemonium_213]

This is truly lovely, erfan. Your lyrical prose captures the toil and excitement of Fëanor's invention. Love the imagery of the molten metals, the crucibles, and washing off the grit and sweat from his work. The description in the opening scene -- slamming the furnace door shut, the crust forming on the molten metal -- perfection!

And this...The consistency of warmed treacle, the trail of spiralling, sinking molten moonlight faded into the surface of the crucible’s pool, mesmerizing in its indifferent beauty?

Beautiful.

Now with regard to iron and mithril alloys, it probably wouldn't surprise you to know that morethmusing and I had a delightfully nerdsome discussion pertaining to these, prompted by Istyar Aulendil's request of Sámaril (cf. The Apprentice) to derive the equations for and draw the graph describing the eutectic point of an iron-mithril alloy.

We bantered about the valence state of electrons in mithril, made some assumptions and Moreth was off to the races. She actually calculated the equations and drew the graphs! They are buried on her LJ, but the Dark Muse is encouraging her to publish. ;^)

At any rate, we deduced an iron-mithril alloy would need to be formed under pressure to achieve the eutectic point she calculated. That's no ordinary forge. But given that Sauron apparently invented steam engines to power metal-hulled ships in Númenor (see The Lost Road), it's not much of a stretch for me to imagine him (as Annatar/Aulendil) coming up with valve systems to create pressure needed to make exotic alloys. I would fully expect my version (note: my interpretation, and not that of others] of Fëanor to be aware of the properties of iron-mithril (as Moreth and I see it), too.

With precedence from Tolkien himself, I have no qualms about dropping in technology from the 19th to very early 20th century into my vision of M-e. And there are some technologies, with a nod to Arthur C. Clarke, which are so mysterious to me that they may as well be "magic."

Well, that's so much nattering. Although one might quibble on and on in a most pedantic fashion about metallurgical techniques, DO NOT CHANGE A THING in this lovely piece. It works beautifully as is.

On a silly note, when I was immersed in setting up and running enzyme assays, I would stick a Post-It note on my back that said "Don't talk to me" to keep others from distracting me. So when Fëanor "raised his left hand, commanding both silence and stillness," I grinned. So much more imperious and commanding that a yellow Post-It note. :^D

ETA: The coda for the entire piece is striking -- he is making a sword, a weapon in Paradise, but uses sublime technology and feels the satisfaction of creation of a lethal device just as much as if he had created a bracelet or arm cuff out the alloy. So, an excellent nod to the double-edged sword of technology here. The Noldor's terrible jinn will soon be released from the Lamp of Knowledge (nods to the fellow wearing the pork pie hat in my icon; he knew about that).

[erfan_starled]

In no coherent order: One really is trying to get a feel for a highly clever, technically able society - these people are clever, live forever, love the arts and work metal and stone, live in large groups - that is still in balance with their surroundings. And for me that involves their metal refining methods. I've got Glorfindel about to visit Elrond's carefully managed works outside Imladris. Somewhere Tolkienishly out-of-sight and small-scale.

About metals, you leave me with Fëanor needing to invent a pressure furnace... *thinks* Clearly I tread well-trodden paths *g* - and yes, I did visit those discussions before, and they left me thinking about metal-making and Elves.

Fëanor with a post-it note?! Oh, yes! A parchment scrap, a piece of charcoal, a pin - *laughs* - not an image that is going to go away! "No, do not talk to me now, do you really want to upset me when I have melted metal in one hand and a four foot poker in the other?" LOL

About your comments on the story, thank you for doing them so rapidly, and in such quantity. I am still itching the beta scratch, but I have to take such generous compliments seriously.

Thank you very much indeed :)