Mysteries of the Story
Various issues come up in the story of Tal-Elmar. It remains unclear where the town of Agar is situated. Christopher Tolkien assumes that it is placed in the Mouths of Anduin or Langstrand area. The author himself mentiones in a short note the estuary of Isen or Morthond. Isen is more or less ruled out, due to following assumptions on the Fell Folk's origin.
Also the time is not specified. Christopher Tolkien believes that it takes place before the Downfall of Númenor. The author himself doesn't seem certain about the timeframe, either. According to a short note it either takes place right at them time when Sauron is in Númenor or before, but it is not clear how long before.
The origin and identity of the "Fell Folk of the East" remains cryptical as well. Regarding where the story possibly takes place, the Fell Folk presumably belongs to the fraction of the Faithful. The haven of Pelargir, which lies east of the possible places, was founded in S.A. 2350. At the time the story might take place, many of the Faithful were perhaps already fleeing from the supression on Númenor to Pelargir and from there would colonize the lands that later became a part of Gondor and thus ran into conflict with the natives.
It is unknown too, which language the Númenóreans are actually using. They assuredly greeted Tal-Elmar in Sindarin, perceiving him at first as being one of the Eldar. If they belonged to the Faithful (according to one of the mariners they still have contact with the Elves) they might have continued interrogating him in Sindarin (supported by a short note), but also Adûnaic, so it is uncertain which language Tal-Elmar is able to understand. In any case he either knows Sindarin or Adûnaic, possibly a language his grandmother Elmar spoke though this also remains vague. If this is indeed the case, Tal-Elmar's grandmother has to be of Númenórean descend. But why then do the people of Agar not recognize that the Fell Folk and the "Go-hilleg" are the same people?
The "Cruels of the North" which are mentioned only once and with whom the Númenóreans are allied are possibly the Elves. Also the Drúedain might be mentioned as the "wild men of the woods" who inhabited the lands before the people of Agar drove them away. Oberiko (talk) 19:12, 4 August 2024 (UTC)
- I have been toying with doing what you just did for a while now since the page before your edit had a lot of speculation.Dour1234 (talk) 20:47, 4 August 2024 (UTC)