heget | The Pride of the Vanyar (Reply)

The banners of the Vanyar are white and pure; the banners of Ingwë King are unmarked, unblemished, untouched.

The banners of Ingwë Vanya are the surface of his body when the blood of his fallen foe was washed away, and he stood with skin unbroken by his enemy’s weapon.

When the elves go laughing into battle against the orcs, singing loudly tra-la-laly and smiling bright, they learned this from the Vanyar, who with the spirit of golden-haired Tulkas delighted in the feeling of chasing down their foes, in mocking their enemies, the untouchable-ness of their strength, the arrogant tilt of their heads.

Eventually, Yavanna and Oromë beg, can something be done about the Vanyar’s tradition of a young man’s rite of passage to hunt a lion. The great cats of Valinor are suffering, and it seems quite unfair.

When Melkor lying first came to Valmar, said he had come to fix his wrongs, to make good his promises to the Valar to advise and teach, no Vanyar was interested to hear his words. What wisdom could be found in one so soundly defeated, so weak as to be cast down and wrestled to the dirt? A defeated foe had no right to brag of his skills, nor any glory to offer a listener.