Under Strange Stars is a Tolkien's Legendarium series and fanfiction by Idrils_Scribe
, notable for its thoughtful exploration of elven cultures and the relationships between them.
Barely a long-year after the Last Alliance all is not well in Imladris. Elrond's household has been dealt a crippling blow: a very young Elrohir has disappeared. After decades of false leads he is found in the Far South of Middle-Earth. Can Glorfindel rescue the House of Earendil once more? His task is not an easy one: Elrohir has no memory of who he was, and little interest in leaving his people's fight against the Black Númenóreans of Umbar ...
There are currently eight works in the unfinished series, as well as a sequel series, Gathering Dawn. All of Idrils_Scribe's works are set in the same universe; thus, there are a number of miscellaneous fics associated with the story that don't technically belong to the series. This page lists tropes for all of Idrils_Scribe's works.
Can be read on AO3.
The trope page is still under construction; if you've read the fic, please add more content!
This work contains examples of the following tropes:
- Adaptation Expansion: The first story in particular significantly expands on the Haradrim, whose culture and history are largely glossed over in Tolkien's canon, and depicts them as fiercely monotheistic Eru-worshippers engaged in a long and bitter guerrilla war against the decadent, Morgoth-worshipping nobility of Umbar.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: The story depicts the Haradrim as one to medieval Arabs, portraying them nomadic, camel-riding desert warriors and fiercely devoted to their monotheistic faith in Eru.
- Friend to All Living Things: Elrohir. Elladan notes that his brother is a great lover of all good beasts, and he collects furry friends like there's no tomorrow — especially in his early days at Rivendell, when he's so uncomfortable around elves that he prefers the company of animals.
- Foregone Conclusion: Since Elrohir features briefly in The Lord of the Rings, we know he'll make it back north to Elladan eventually. We just don't know how.
- Human Sacrifice: The aristocracy of Umbar engages in a particularly brutal form of this against escaped slaves, traitors, and captured Haradrim warriors, who are chained down to altars of Morgoth and painfully dismembered over several days.
- Loyal Animal Companion: Elrohir loves anything on four legs, so he collects these wherever he goes. Ot the camel is the original, and after all the horrors of the desert war, only his parting with Ot brings him to tears. After he travels north, there's Rochael and Suletal. Exaggerated when he learns their languages.
- Original Character: A number, such as Ardil, Hamalan, and Laerwen. They're all fleshed-out characters with their own thoughts and motivations. Humorously, the fic is also tagged "OCC/Original Camel Character" for Ot.
- Speaks Fluent Animal: A number of the elves, especially the Sindar and Silvan ones, speak to animals as easily as to other people. Elrohir finds this bizarre and alarming at first, but his love of anything furred or feathered quickly overcomes it.
- Twin Telepathy: All elves have telepathic ability, and strong bonds exist within Elvish families, but twins are even more close. While Elrohir and Elladan don't share a language initially, they can still communicate without difficulty because of their twin bond.
- Twins Are Special: Elladan and Elrohir have a very strong bond. Even from leagues away, they can sense each other's feelings, tell if their brother is in danger, etc. In fact, their connection was so strong as children that their parents feared they'd become one person in two bodies. To avoid this, they decided to send Elrohir to live with his grandparents in Lorien for a year, but the party was attacked on the road and Elrohir was kidnapped, kicking off the events of the story.
