Silmarillion Writers' Guild

Tolkien's legendarium, with its roots in medieval Europe, displays all the royal drama of history: arguments over succession, regicide, kidnapping, and secret kings dashing back at the heroic last minute to rise to greatness. (Yeah you, Aragorn!) Amidst this royal rumble are kings and queens simply doing the job they were born to do. The annals of Middle-earth are filled with rulers who improved (even saved!) their people's lives, turned their realms into a disaster zone, or—most commonly—simply disappeared into the pages of history.

This month, we challenge you to create a fanwork about a king or queen in the legendarium, whether dramatic or dull, brilliant or disastrous, renowned or forgotten. Below, you will find a list of kings and queens listed in the indices of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings. Note that this list is not exhaustive, and you are welcome to create fanworks about kings and queens not listed. In some cases, it may be questionable whether a character counts as a king or queen, and if you decide they do, we trust your judgment. Fanworks about kings and queens who are textual ghosts or original characters are welcome as well. Finally, remember that the "Silmarillion" is much more than just the First Age. If you're not sure if a Third Age idea would fit on our site, our FAQ on "Silmworks" is here.

Because this challenge falls during Akallabêth in August, there will be a special stamp for anyone who creates a fanwork set during the Second Age.

Thanks go to Zdenka for this month's lovely banner and stamps!

In order to receive a stamp for your fanwork, your response must be posted to the archive on or before 15 September 2024. For complete challenge guidelines, see the Challenges page on our website.

You can find the list of kings and queens for this challenge and fanworks created for the Kings & Queens challenge here.