“When Sauron learned of the repentance and revolt of Celebrimbor his disguise fell and his wrath was revealed; and gathering a great force he moved over Calenardhon (Rohan) to the invasion of Eriador in the year 1695. When news of this reached Gil-galad he sent out a force under Elrond Half-elven; but Elrond had far to go, and Sauron turned north and made at once for Eregion. The scouts and vanguard of Sauron’s host were already approaching when Celeborn made a sortie and drove them back; but though he was able to join his force to that of Elrond they could not return to Eregion, for Sauron’s host was far greater than theirs, great enough both to hold them off and closely to invest Eregion. At last the attackers broke into Eregion with ruin and devastation, and captured the chief object of Sauron’s assault, the House of the Mirdain, where were their smithies and their treasures. Celebrimbor, desperate, himself with stood Sauron on the steps of the great door of the Mirdain; but he was grappled and taken captive, and the House was ransacked. There Sauron took the Nine Rings and other lesser works of the Mirdain; but the Seven and the Three he could not find. Then Celebrimbor was put to torment, and Sauron learned from him where the Seven were bestowed. This Celebrimbor revealed, because neither the Seven nor the Nine did he value as he valued the Three; the Seven and the Nine were made with Sauron’s aid, whereas the Three were made by Celebrimbor alone, with a different power and purpose.“

– J.R.R. Tolkien, Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle Earth

Celebrimbor did not give up the Three. In this, at least, he can hold some comfort, can retain some semblance of pride. He may have been deceived, but he did not succumb. Not in the end, at least. But there is no escaping his shame. Not even the Halls of Rest could heal the ache of that wound, self-inflicted despite his steadfast attempts not to repeat the mistakes of his forebearers. Then again, he was one of the Noldor, the last scion of Feanor. Perhaps he was doomed from the start. Perhaps after his death he should have lingered, condemenned himself to an eternity of drifting guilt. But Celebrimbor did not. In what he still cannot decide was a moment of cowardice or bravery, he heeded the Call.

“Each fea was imperishable within the life of Arda, and that its fate was to
inhabit Arda to its end. Those fea, therefore, that in the marring of Arda suffered unnaturally a divorce from their hrondor [> hroar] remained still in Arda and in Time. But in this state they were open to the direct instruction and command
of the Valar. As soon as they were disbodied they were summoned to leave the places of their life and death and go to the ‘Halls of Waiting’: Mandos, in the realm of the Valar. If they obeyed this summons different opportunities lay before them.(32) The length of time that they dwelt in Waiting was partly at the will of Namo the Judge, lord of Mandos, partly at their own will. The happiest fortune, they deemed, was
after the Waiting to be re-born, for so the evil and grief that they had suffered in the curtailment of their natural course might be redressed.”

— J.R.R. Tolkien, Morgoth’s Ring

Celebrimbor was a proud elf, once. Now he carries shame. No amount of rest would ever restore that, No amount of strolling through the cavernous halls of Mandos, formless eyes roving across the tapestries of Varie, searching for meaning. No, likely he would have to walk straight into the Void to find his pride once more, and even then, Sauron would walk with him. At least in thought.

“For there was, for all the fea of the Dead, a time of Waiting, in which, howsoever they had died, they were corrected, instructed, strengthened, or comforted, according to their needs or deserts. If they would consent to this. But the fea in its nakedness is obdurate, and remains long in the bondage of its memory and old purposes (especially if these were evil). Those who were healed could be re-born, if they desired it: none are re-born or sent back into life unwilling. The others
remained, by desire or command, fear unbodied, and they could only observe the unfolding of the Tale of Arda from afar, having no effect therein. For it was a doom of Mandos that only those who took up life again might operate in Arda, or commune with the fear of the Living, even with those that had once been dear
to them.”

— J.R.R. Tolkien, Morgoth’s Ring

Celebrimbor has been returned to life. He is not his grandfather, doomed to reside within Namo’s halls until the Dagor Dagorath shakes the earth and the world is remade through the Second Music. Upon his death he heeded the call of Mandos, and now according to his kind, he has been re-embodied, through the grace of the Valar even allowed to return to the shores of Middle Earth. Perhaps he can refind himself here, even if a part of him still wishes that Celebrimbor, son of Curifin, son of Feanor, had died back in the wreckage of his city, along with the Gwaith-i-Mirdain, along with his hopes and dreams, forever to stay buried under the rubble he may as well have brought down himself.

He arrives at the Grey Havens, passing swiftly through to Celondim. The elves of Middle Earth have continued to diminish, but there is something about seeing the once-familiar landscape rise around him in stoic collums and craggly rock-faces, something that twists his heart and wrenches his spirit, almost as if his fea was once again trying to separate from his hroa.

Celebrimbor does not want to be remembered. So he forgoes his Sindarin name, insisting instead on the Quenya, “Telperinquar.” The older elves will see through it in an instant – if they don’t recognize him by face first, that is – but that is no matter. The older elves are precisely the ones he wishes to avoid, and few men in Middle Earth will have knowledge enough of the elven tongues to parse through the barely concealed riddle.

His braids and clasps he chooses to forgoe as well, allowing his hair to fall loose at his side. Anything to distnce himself from the elf he once was.

A new hroa. A new start.

One last hail towards Aman. One last bow. Then he is off.

He leaves Celdonim at sunset, headed for Cardolan. His work on Middle Earth is nowhere near from finished, but if he is to start anew, he must first visit where things ended.

Outfit: 
Shoulders: Medium Nadhin Shoulders (steel blue)
Back: Swift Wool Cloak of the Dwarf-Holds (steel blue) -- I know. I've been using this one for EVERYTHING. I just really like it. 
Chest: Alliance of the Third Age Hauberk (steel blue)
Hands: The Bowmaster's Gloves (steel blue)
Feet: Threadbare Boots of the Dunland Healer (steel blue)

Yay! Second lore-inspired character. And yes, he I know he’s usiing the same hairstyle as Mairon, but I really like it and lets be honest hair choices in this game for male characters are um…lacking. I do like the braided one I used in the earlier screenshots though, and that one will probably be making a reappearance at some point. I’m also kind of peeved that the outfit he’s waring in the Doom of Caras Gelebren skirmish isn’t available in game. It’s REALLY nice armor.

Steed: 
Head: Flowing Silver Head-Piece (default)
Body: Rune-Keeper's Caparison (default)
Tail: Tide-Breaker's Tail
Saddle: Rune-Keeper's Saddle
Gear: Lore-Master's Gear

So it took a long time picking a class. Race and background were fairly straightforward – High elf from Nargothrond, as that was where he dwelled for a long while before coming to Eregion and establishing the Gwaith-i-Mirdain. But class gave me pause. I know in the character creater it says the class of runekeeper was inspired by Celebrimbor, and when it comes to knowledge of ancient lore and the workings of the world, I buy that. But when it comes to fighting style? Not so much. Part of that comes down to runekeeper being a “magic” class, and speaking lorewise, there are VERY few users of magic in LOTR. I definitely have other RKs that I love to play, and it made sense to me when making my Sauron-inspired character to give him the use of magic, but as for the elves, I just don’t see them lore-wise fighting without weapons. Elves have greater spiritual power than men, hobbits, and dwarves, and some of the older elves have even more inherent power, like Elrond and Galadriel and Glorfindel. But still, these elves don’t simply weild magic to fight like the Istari or the Ainur do. Plus, Celebrimbor is a descendent of Feanor, one of the Noldor, who fought in battles throughout the First and Second Ages. Even the in-game instance with him shows him fighting with a shield and a hammer. So I just couldn’t justify giving him a class that didn’t use a melee weapon. Nor did I think that Loremaster would be a good fit, as the main weapon is a staff. Honestly I would love LOTRO to consider adding some kind of class that mixes blades with magic, but magic is already such a weird topic when it comes to LOTR that I do appreciate them trying to keep those classes more minimal.

In the end (and with the help of World Chat — thank you in this instance for being constructive!) I decided on champion. I’ve played a bunch of champs before, so I wasn’t super thrilled at not being able to explore new class dynamics, but I thought it was the best fit. This way he can wield a bow (like any good elf lol), a sword, and an offhand weapon – like a hammer. This choice was definitely somewhat inspired by Celebrimbor’s portrayal in the Shadow of Mordor franchise, which, although straying substantially from plot points in lore, does actually do a lot to honor the legendarium.

Also I’ve been sleeping on this hauberk. I’ve had it for literal years, but since I didn’t have a male elf toon that was a heavy armor class, I just never thought to use it. Big miss on my part.

Next up: Swanfleet!