ACT 2
5. Earwen goes to Alqualondë to talk her father Olwë. She gives an outsider/citizen of Tirion view of the events since the Darkening and of the death of their King. Olwë advises patience and trust in the Valar - who will surely do something about Melkor. He has been witness to the power of the Valar (in the War of the Powers). Olwë reminds us of the elvish view of death, and expresses that he does not personally fear death. The Teleri are much more chill than the Noldor in general, but especially now. Olwë more explicitly mentions his purpose in building a fleet of ships that can cross the ocean.
6. Fëanor sends his sons into Alqualondë. The Fëanorean host have stopped and set up some tents nearby (but not in sight of the harbor). Maedhros et al ask around for Olwë, to set up a meeting. Rather than being directed to the palace, they are directed to the harbor, where Olwë is seen doing something surprisingly mundane. (Fishing, helping out with the hanging of lamps, etc.) Maedhros is surprised - Olwë is not who he expected him to be. They agree to the meeting with Fëanor.
7. The Host of Fingolfin leaves Tirion. Someone expresses for the first time the fear that the Fëanoreans will leave them behind. Turgon keeps turning around to look back at the city of Tirion as they depart. Fingolfin chastises Turgon, saying that once you make a decision you have to stick with it and see it through. You can't keep looking back and be divided. The first expression of 'you can never go home.' Galadriel expresses a desire for realms of her own in Middle Earth.
8. Fëanor meets with Olwë in the palace of Alqualondë, with the full court gathered. The court of the Teleri is made up of master shipbuilders and ship captains, mostly. Earwen is there with her brothers, but Fëanor gives no indication that he sees her, and he does not address her in his greeting to Olwë. Fëanor brings some (but not all?) of his sons with him. Fëanor begins by inviting the Teleri to join in their endeavor - they are going back to Middle Earth to reclaim what is theirs (the silmarils) and to make Morgoth pay for the death of their king (Fëanor's father). The Teleri are sad to hear that the Noldor are leaving, and Olwë invites them to stay awhile longer, as they will be sorely missed. Fëanor is a bit thrown that his oratory, which has always swayed and persuaded people towards his viewpoint in the past, seems to have no affect on them. Fëanor emphasizes that he cannot stay or delay his mission in any way - it is imperative that he go immediately. He hopes that, if the Teleri will not join them, they will at least be willing to aid them by ferrying them across Belegaer? Olwë seems to consider this idea for a time, knowing that it is one of his purposes in having built the fleet of swanships in the first place. Olwë brings up the Valar, and asks what they think of the Noldor's mission to Middle Earth? Fëanor cannot help but reveal some of his scorn for the Valar, and the fact that while they have not forbidden him from leaving, they haven't exactly given their blessing, either. At this point, Olwë's entire court looks extremely skeptical of having anything to do with the Noldor. Olwë declines to aid the Noldor in their mission if it is not Valar-sanctioned. Fëanor brings up all that the Noldor have done for the Teleri, including building Alqualondë, and finally requests that if they will not take them to Middle Earth, can they not at the very least lend the Noldor their ships? The Teleri are scandalized by the suggestion, and reply by comparing the swanships to the silmarils - the works of their hands and precious to them...and not for others' use. The negotiations have broken down, and Fëanor storms out, furious.
ACT 3
9. The sons of Fëanor go to reconnoiter around the harbor, determining number of ships and whether or not they're manned. At this point, it is clear that they intend to steal the ships, since they do need them to reach Middle Earth. They (particularly Caranthir and Celegorm) express anger that the Teleri have insulted them and refused to help them, and have many disparaging things to say about their lack of courage and stinginess in refusing to help their own kin. They call them 'shoreland pipers' and don't think it takes much skill to sail a ship. They do not have anything unkind to say about the ships, though, unable to help but admire the craftsmanship. Curufin notices the strategic importance of the Arch at the entrance to the harbor, and points this out to Maedhros (who seems confused as to why his brother would bring that up). They meet some Teleri who are suspicious of the Fëanoreans' intentions, and then the Sons leave to report back to their father.
10. In the camp of the Fëanoreans, everyone is packing up and getting ready - putting on full armor. The force from Formenos is uniform; the Noldor of Tirion are more lightly armed and don't 'match.' Fëanor gives his people a speech to prepare them for taking the ships. He says that the Teleri have allied themselves with Morgoth by refusing to aid the Noldor. He also says that they are cowards, who will back down as soon as they see the might of the Noldor. His fiery oratory has a much stronger effect on his followers than it did on the Teleri of Olwë's court.
11a. The host of the Fëanoreans descend upon the harbor of the Teleri. Some ships are unmanned, and taken quickly (Fëanor is on one of these.) There are many Teleri on the quays, and they try to prevent the Noldor from reaching the ships. Some brawling breaks out, but it's weaponless fist fights at first. Some of the apparently unmanned ships had Teleri below decks, so there is fighting on the ships as well. The Noldor struggle greatly to get the ships underway. The Teleri retaliate by throwing Noldor in the water - but the heavy weight of the armor combined with the deep water of the harbor makes this a fatal action in some cases. The first Teleri to be run through with a sword was by Maedhros, reacting to someone attacking Maglor. Bloody, deadly fighting does not break out in all locations simultaneously, but the fighting quickly escalates to a massacre throughout the harbor.
11b. The host of Fingolfin comes upon the abandoned/hastily deconstructed Fëanorean camp. They don't know what has happened, but Fingolfin suspects an ambush from the Teleri. He gathers his fighting force (including Irimë and Galadriel and his sons), and leaves others (Anairë and Finarfin) behind with the baggage. Someone complains about Aredhel being lost again.
12. The death of Olwë. The Teleri have no armor and no swords but they are not weaponless. They have knives, harpoons, nets, grappling hooks, spears, bows and arrows, etc. Olwë sends some archers up onto the Arch, with the instruction not to let the ships leave the harbor. Earwen goes with them (she too is an archer). Olwë and his sons get into smaller boats to try to reboard the ships the Noldor have manned. Pirate fighting, with the Noldor repelling boarders. Olwë does not leave his rowboat, but shouts up to Fëanor, imploring him to put a stop to this madness. Fëanor answers him with a spear, and Olwë dies. Earwen, seeing the death of her father, gives the command for the archers to fire.
ACT 4
13. Celegorm's ship is overrun by Teleri boarders. Huan helps to chase them back off non-lethally. He is defending his master, and 'herding' the Teleri the same way we saw him herding the Noldor earlier. Some Noldor die from Teleri arrows (in the eye, throat, gaps in the armor), but for the most part armor works against these light hunting bows.
14. Fingolfin's host comes upon the scene in the harbor. He sees the Teleri shooting from the Arch and takes some of his force to put a stop to that (the rest go to the piers to back up the Noldor still fighting there). Maedhros leads a force to try to take the other side of the Arch. The archers turn on Fingolfin's (lightly armored) host. Irimë dies from an arrow. Fingolfin goes mad and charges into the archers with his sword. Earwen takes a swan dive off the Arch (striking a rock outcropping on the way down?). Galadriel, who was not involved in the fighting but nearby, drops her sword and shield and runs down to the base of the Arch, diving into the water to try to save her mother.
15. Maedhros and Fingolfin meet in the middle of the Arch. Maedhros is elated and covered in blood. Fingolfin is grieving and upset. Fëanor's ship escapes the harbor under the Arch, the first of the stolen fleet to leave Alqualondë. Fëanor on the deck of the ship looks up and meets Fingolfin's eyes on the Arch.
Coda: Finarfin arrives in the harbor, horrified by the carnage and bloodshed. There are dead bodies floating in the water (nearly all Teleri, but a few Noldor amongst them) and blood everywhere. Galadriel has found Earwen's dead body, and Finarfin is grieved to see that his wife has died. Anairë grieves the loss of her friend (and says she will remain in Valinor to wait for her?) Weeping of the Teleri in the relatively quiet aftermath of the battle. The last of the stolen ships leave the harbor.
