It was a really hard time for me... to be honest, it's difficult for me to draw full works, probably cause of a lack of knowledge and skills, I suppose, but I'm trying😪

Recently, I've been picking up a pencil less and less often and it seems like everything is falling out of my hands, but anyway…

• Okay, we're getting a short version of the Silmarillion. Very condensed. Whoever would read that without knowing for example what the Two Trees are must be so confused!
• Fëanor thought to restore the Silmarilli from Morgoth by force. As opposed to what!? They were recovered by force in the end, just not by Fëanor. This sounds way to judgamental.
• Interesting how it keeps saying they waged war against Thangorodrim, not Morgoth. Don't underestimate Sauron's part!
• In Elrond and Elors alone the line of the heroic chieftains of the Edain was preserved, and after the fall of Gil-Galad also the lineage of the high-elven kings. I guess we are talking about pretty specific chieftains here as I assume many of them had more than one child. Also isn't this ignoring Galadriel?
• Okay, so at the end of the first age the half elves were given the choice, and only then Elrond was given the grace to sail in the end. No answers about Elured and Elurin again, but something to think about.
• It specifically says again that Elronds children get the same choice. Why not Elros' children? In the context it sounds as if it was done this way mostly to make poor Elrond even more miserable.
• I hate how he keeps talking about "lesser" men.
• Elros was granted a lifespan many times that of lesser men, the other Numenoreans three times that of lesser men. That's nice, I always worried that the long lifespan came mostly from Elros' descendants spreading his genes exponentially, but apparently they didn't all die on him basically immediately, either. I still believe that 90% of the people in Numenor were descendants of Elros by the time it sank, though. It's either that or a lot of incest.
• From Numenor they could see the white tower on Tol Eressëa. Given that the earth is still flat at this point in time, the limit should be their eyesight, not the horizon, though, so I'm assuming they could also see the forbidding line of mountains once raised to defend the blessed land from Morgoth though. What a sight.
• Why does Tar Atanamir get the cognomen The Great? I need to pay attention if there's more information on him.
• The Numenoreans grew in wisdom and joy. Now thinking what "growing in joy" means. They laughed more? Probably just generally improved standards of living. They did start in a war in which they were "utterly defeated".
• Was Tar-Minastir the one who helped fight in Eregion? It only says that he sent a great force to help Gil-Galad, not what for.
• So they abandoned the eldarin tongue, meaning they spoke it regularly before, but there was a Numenorean tongue, too, different enough that I assume they spoke that every day. Was the Eldarin tongue used only in formal context? Or as a second language that people spoke when not at home?
• Interesting, Sauron's servants deserted him when they saw the splendour and might of Ar-Pharazon's army. I mean, they probably weren't very loyal to begin with, but what drove them now?
• "But great kings take what is their right." [Sauron] said
• Elendil and his people escaped with nine ships, seven palantiri and a baby tree. Nice. Though people that fit on nine ships? Absolutely everyone in Gondor must be a direct descendant of Elendil by the time of LOTR, come on.
• How did the population of nine ships in less than three lifetimes of men establish two enormous realms? Sauron's servants must have run away quite far.
• Sauron lost his body that "he had long walked in"! He fled as a spirit of hatred on a dark wind. He also couldn't look pretty anymore, and his power was only through terror from this point forward, which must have been hard, as before it was way more through deception and talking, like Saruman's.
• Mount Doom has an elvish name! Amon Amarth (Mount Doom). I did not know that.

• this is an exciting read because I feel I know little about Arnor, and find it's history as well as its borders interesting

• How interesting! Another elven dwelling in middle-earth of the later ages, and it sounds beautiful. It does go down to the Gulf of Lune and the Grey Havens where Cirdan dwells, but does not seem to belong to the same group. It is green, and it is quiet, despite Elves living there together with Dwarves. Of course they have their own niches - the Elves the trees and meadows, and Dwarves the mines and mountains, I assume - but they are still neighbours sharing space, and probably trading, maybe even being friends. There's probably not many Sindar there, but I wonder who else lives there. Green elves? Noldor? It must have been an interesting place.
• So one of the main reasons Arnor broke apart was the dissence about who would get Amon Sûl (weathertop). Because that's where the Palantir was. In other words: another realm breaks apart because people are arguing over jewellery - albeit this time very practical one - made by Fëanor.
• The witch king, already under the control of Sauron, was sent north by Sauron to establish a realm at the northern borders of Eriador (which are never clearly defined anyway), in the ettenmoors (moors are great for witchery) and on both sides of the mountains (conveniently including orcish realms) so that he can build up an evil force in the least nice lands and get men and orcs on his side. I wonder how many dragons, other then Smaug, where still alive, and if Sauron ever tried to deal with them directly?
• At this time Arnor was already officially split in three. I wonder if Gondor/Arnor is influenced by the east and west roman empire.
• Rivendell was besieged by the witch king of Angmar. Wasn't it also besieged sometime in the second age?
• During the wars with Angmar Rivendell was besieged; Cirdan and his people joined in the fight; weather top was razed but the palantir saved; the Stoors fled from where they were dwelling; and Eriador became unfriendly. Interesting times.
• The plague also raged in middle earth and killed a lot of people, including Hobbits.
• It seems the barrow down graves where made by men before they ever met elves! That is very ancient. Though the evils spirits only entered when Angmar spread its reach.
• Dunedain where driven over the Lune, but earlier that was a country where Men do not go. Is that referring to different times?

• The Lossoth live in igloos, they have sleds and ice skates! They live in different camps! They are said to be unfriendly, but I'm assuming that's just cultural differences. They did not value jewellery (well, that is some cultural differences to basically anyone else in Tolkien's world). They did help king Arvedui, though not willingly (because he wanted to pay them in jewellery). They believed the witch king could make frost and thaw at will. I wonder if they were right? I wonder if they were ever in contact with the elves of Lune? I wonder how different their culture and language were, as they lived there since before men met elves at all? They actually did manage to communicate with Arvedui, and I'd wager he didn't learn their language. They also helped him get to Cirdan's ship with sleds, and they gave great advice (that Arvedui ignored)
• Arvedui gave the Lossoth a ring that would basically be a favour. He stressed that it was not magical in the slightest. You can see he learned from history. Also, this was - it was said - actually the very same ring Finrod gave Barahir. No favor done for them is ever mentioned, though obviously the Dúnedain regained the ring.
• People much later actually learned about Arvedui's faith from the Lossoth, there must have been more communication then I thought.
• Two palantiri of the north vanished in the ice, one stayed with Cirdan until he took it with him west. Nice.
• The hobbits sent archers to help the king, though they never returned, and others helped in the battle when Angmar was overthrown.
• Another piece of jewellery that so far noone fought over: the scepter of Annúminas!
• Celebrian left for Valinor within one year of being captured, tortured and poisoned.
• Bandobras Took who fought off orcs from the shire!
• The main home of the Dunedain seems to have been at Lake Evendim, though mostly they were a wandering people. But they probably had more or less stable environments to raise children, give birth, take care of the elderly and sick? I have a lot of trouble imagining their lives.
• So the Dunedain were really proud that the line was unbroken from father to son. Sounds sexist to me. And after Númenór didn't care about the gender of their monarch, either!