F.A. 541-542: Eucatastrophe
F.A. 542:
Eärendil and Elwing come to Valinor; Eärendil goes ashore to petition the Valar, and she goes ashore for love of him, that their fates may not be sundered.
Eärendil comes to Tirion and finds it abandoned, as it is a time of festival and everyone is in Valimar or at Taniquetil; Eönwë, the herald of Manwë, greets him and brings him to Valimar, and he offers his petition for the Valar's aid of the Noldor and Sindar and Edain of Beleriand. The Valar grant his petition and prepare for war.
Then the Valar took counsel together, and they summoned Ulmo from the deeps of the sea; and Eärendil stood before their faces, and delilvered the errand of the Two Kindreds. Pardon he asked for the Noldor and pity for their great sorrows, and mercy upon Men and Elves and succour in their need. And his prayer was granted. (The Silmarillion, Chapter 24, "Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath")
The Valar judge that neither Eärendil nor Elwing should be penalized for coming to Valinor against the Doom of the Noldor and against the ban on mortal Men going there, since Eärendil came there for love of the peoples of Middle-earth and Elwing came there for love of Eärendil. They, and their descendents and any other descendents of marriages between Elves and Men that shall happen in future, are given the right to choose whether they wish to have the fate of Elves or of Men. Elwing chooses to be counted among the Elves, and for her sake Eärendil chooses likewise, though he is weary and would prefer mortality.
Varda sets Eärendil's ship Vingilot in the sky, and he passes over Middle-earth with the Silmaril on his brow as a star, the Evening Star. The people of Beleriand take this as a sign and call it Gil-Estel, the Star of High Hope. Maedhros and Maglor recognize it as the Silmaril; and Maglor is happy that it is beyond their reach, but now may be seen by many.
Family Trees
Optional Readings
If you want to read the parts of The Silmarillion covering the events described in this post, they are found in the following chapters:
Chapter 24, “Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath,” paragraphs 8-21 (from “Yet Eärendil saw now no hope left in the lands of Middle-earth…” to “…but Morgoth was filled with doubt.”).