"Luthien was the daughter of the Sindar Grey-elf king, Thingol and Melian the Maia. She was born during the Ages of Starlight and was considered the most beautiful maiden of any race ever born. In the year 465 of the First Age of the Sun, she met the mortal Edain hero Beren, and the couple fell in love. King Thingol did not approve and set Beren an impossible task: the Quest of the Silmaril. Despite many perils, Luthien also embarked on this quest. With Huan, the Hound of the Valar, she overcame Sauron on the Isle of Werewolves, and freed Beren from its dungeons. She then went on with Beren to Angband, where she cast spells of enchantment which allowed Beren to cut a Silmaril from Morgoth's iron crown. Although the quest was achieved in the end, it cost Beren his life. Luthien was filled with such remorse, she faded and died. However, when she stood before Mandos, Lord of the Dead, she sang a song of such sadness that in pity he granted the couple a second mortal life. United at last with Beren, Luthien soon gave birth to Dior, their only child. The two lovers lived quietly for another forty years in Ossiriand, before they were granted their second and final death."

~Information taken from "Tolkien: The Illustrated Encyclopedia" by David Day.



At long last, the final piece for my long-running Ladies of Arda portfolio project. This is number 23 and completes the set, which includes a whole bunch of gorgous ladies playing the roles of memorable characters from J.R.R. Tolkien's universe. I have been running this for a little over a year now, and I'm glad to have seen so many people jump at the chance to be included. ^u^

Well, it should come as no surprise that I chose Luthien as my page in the porfolio, since she is after all who my own fursona is named after. :) I wanted to wait until the very end to complete my own piece because I knew otherwise I'd be wanting to re-do it constantly to reflect my current style. As it is, you will probably see quite a few style changes from one piece to the next. I've depicted her here holding a Silmaril, passing as a ghost through a forest in wintertime. The birds in the corners are Nightingales, as "Tinuviel" means Nightingale in elvish and Luthien is often associated with these creatures.

For a complete listing of links to all the images, you can visit this journal: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/1980006/

I still have a few more steps to take before I'm ready to print the books and hand these over to their owners, but I will keep everyone involved informed of the progress as I go. :)

Luthien Tinuviel is © J.R.R. Tolkien
Artwork and Luthien Nightwolf are © myself