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| To See A World by Nightwing | 14 Review(s) |
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| LKK | Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 11/13/2004 |
| A powerful chapter, Nightwing. You present such wonderful detail and yet the details never overwhelm the story or the sense of urgency you are creating. I hope now that the ranger and elf are safely within the warmth of the cabin, their recovery will be swift in coming. Author Reply: Hi, LKK! Thanks. Some rest and healing has been prescribed by the author. A big turkey feast too. Shhh, don't tell anyone... I know it's totally AU and off-canon, but I'm having a helicopter drop a Thanksgiving feast to them today. And some antibiotics too. | |
| lwarren | Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 11/8/2004 |
| Nightwing (such a cool name!), I just had to de-lurk and let you know how awesome this story is. I've been reading since the beginning, but didn't know how to review for the longest time (not at all computer-literate, no no no). Then I was going to wait until the end of the story and get it all out at once, but phooey to that notion! From the beginning, this story has been loaded with everything - action, character development, lovely language...it has it all! Not to mention the adjusting to blindness...ok, I won't mention it! I dearly love tho' your development of the relationship between Legolas and Aragorn...close, but not...you know!! :/ This story shows them the way I've always pictured them as best friends (from the life-saving to the mundane, every day things). It's great...I started rereading the whole thing again last week and just shook my head anew at the depth of the characterizations (not to mention all the other important little details that make it so rich!). I may have to go back and review chapter by chapter if I ever get the time away from school (where I am...I stayed late to get some work done...and decided this couldn't wait any longer). This chapter is no exception either...I almost lost it as Legolas was straining to open that trap, and when the blood started running...well...let's just say it wasn't a pretty sight! :-) *sigh* I gotta go...Wonderful chapter...I thank you for sharing your talent! linda (that kitty is terrific...and I totally understand her(?) need to be close to the elf...yes, I do! BTW, some of your little comments in your replies to reviews about the broom and you...too funny! LOL Where can I buy a broom?) Author Reply: Hello again. Sorry about leaving this review unanswered for so long. You actually did review me once before... way back with chapter 17, I think. Thanks so much for all the encourgement! I did have fun with the witch in the reviewer responses a while back. That almost turned into a story of its own! | |
| e_vrouw | Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 10/26/2004 |
| Hello Nightwing, This chapter was absolutely fantastic!! At the beginning you set a pretty fast pace but that is exactly the way it should be. I mean, Legolas needs to get Aragorn out of the cold as quickly as possible. Somehow you manage to convey Legolas' urgency very well. Aragorn's silence must be so frightening for Legolas. He's almost completely dependend on sound. I especially like the way Legolas handels Rhosgernroch this chapter. Singing to calm her. And the way he treats her when they reach the house was very well written. If I were in his shoes I would probably have forgotten all about her. I love the way he shows his gratitude towards her. Very believable for a wood-elf. :) I really like the fact that you write the same part of the story from both Legolas' and Aragorn's point of view. It really shows that you know what you're doing, if you can explain everyone's actions from their point of view. "Legolas cast his mind back to Mirkwood, and the healing rooms deep within his father's vast network of caves." I thought elves didn't like caves? Why would he admit to living in a cave? I thought it was always referred to as a 'stronghold' or 'palace'. Legolas completely forgets his own injuries when Aragorn's wellfare is at stake. The way he opens that trap with his own (bleeding) hands is a real tribute to how much he cares for Aragorn. I'll bet Aragorn will have a few words to say though, when he wakes up. Legolas hasn't been taking care of himself. Hope you can update again soon, e_vrouw Where's Tithlam? Or Aragorn's socks for that matter? :) You said Tithlam would probably have the whole house covered in socks when they returned and Legolas would be falling all over them. Now it seems Legolas' is making such a mess, he doesn't need Tithlam to do it for him. Author Reply: Hello e_vrouw! BTW, what does your name mean? Here are direct quotes from The Hobbit, on Thranduil's home: "In a great cave some miles within the edge of Mirkwood on its eastern side there lived at this time their greatest king. This great cave, from which countless smaller ones opened out on every side, wound far underground and had many passages and wide halls; but it was lighter and more wholesome than any goblin-dwelling, and neither so deep nor so dangerous. The king's cave was his palace, and the strong place of his treasure, and the fortress of his people against their enemies." So there you have it: a vast network of caves. I think elves "not liking caves" is more the stuff of fanon than canon. Tolkien did have Legolas say that he didn't want to go into Moria, but then hardly anyone else in the Fellowship wanted to either. And Gimli did express wonder at Legolas entering the Paths of the Dead before him, so perhaps it is true that elves shun underground places if they are dark and creepy. Tithlam is currently observing all from a corner. I gave some thought to giving her time in this chapter, but rejected it, as the tone is rather desperate at the moment. She'll be back. And yes, one must never forget the horse! | |
| OakWolf | Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 10/23/2004 |
| Wow,Nightwing you are amazing.Was fascinated by Legolas's trip home and Aragorn's view of the "gold vision" Having been afflicted by hypothermia I know what its like to wake up with your best friend wrapped aeound you.Good nay excellent job. Author Reply: Really? What were the circumstances? | |
| French Pony | Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 10/22/2004 |
| I can't remember whether or not I reviewed the last chapter, so I will say that I really liked it and hope that's not redundant. But I liked this one much better. I liked how you showed Legolas really working, both with and against his blindness. If Aragorn pulls through this (which he must, for then you'd only have one character left, and that wouldn't be much of a story), they will both have learned much about what a blind elf can and cannot do. Legolas is very lucky to have such a good seeing-eye horse. I especially liked the bits from Aragorn's cold-fogged point of view. It seemed very hazy and unreal, which of course is exactly how it would seem to a Ranger who nearly became a popsicle. (New! Ranger-pops! In your grocer's freezer!) He'd better hurry and get well, for whoever set the trap will be able to follow their trail, and I don't think that Legolas will be up to defending from an attack for a while. Even though he can shoot at a noisy, unintelligent/stationary source, his hands are all cut up, so even if he could see, he wouldn't be able to do much shooting. Next chapter, I suppose, is what my fencing friends and I like to laugh about when two sports-injured fencers face off -- the March of the Gimps. Author Reply: The March of the Gimps? Bwah! It was fun to write from the foggy ranger POV. I like that stuff, for some reason. Yep, they are not in good shape right now, but at least they are cozy for the moment. How's grad school going? | |
| SouthWind | Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 10/22/2004 |
| What a treat! Just before I logged off last night I checked Stories of Arda one last time and joy of all joys, another chapter of 'To See A World'! I copied it and took it home to savor. What wonderful angst! What could one want but more? I love your brave Rhosgernroch, overcoming her fear of the dead wolves to come to her friend. And the description of Legolas realizing what had befallen his friend -- "...felt his fear burn away under a hot torrent of anger." Very realistic and nicely put. I loved that Legolas realized he had only one chance to force the trap to release its grip and how he used his rage to help feed his gathering strength (and the whole bit about how he had to focus to prepare himself for the effort). Sigh, very nice. Aragorn seeing the wolves as grey spirits who cut him was a wonderfully creative wat to show how far he had slipped toward oblivion. Oh, and the mental image of your 'bright being' that leapt to his defense is definitely a keeper. That forcing the trap open reqired an extreme effort, even for the elf, also seems right on track. "Tendons in its neck stood out, the muscles around the jaw knotted and quivered..." what a wonderful, graphic, word painting. It is all I could have hoped for, even to Legolas cutting off Aragorn's wet, cold clothes (wet clothes are hard to get off even if one is not unconscious) and use of the age old method of warming a frozen body with another warm one - bare skin to bare skin was right on. It seems exactly the thing one of the friends would do for the other. I keep repeating myself, but wonderful, wonderful stuff! I will work on being patient for the next chapter. At least Legolas and Aragorn are finally in the warm safety of the cabin. PS - I also wanted to apologize for posting a review of your last chapter under another screen name. I just forgot what I had originally registered as. SouthWind and WindSinger are one and the same. Author Reply: Both are very cool names. In reading about hypothermia, it seems hallucinations and amnesia are both big problems as the condition progresses. So it just popped into my head to make the wolves appear as weird apparitions to Aragorn, and not have him able to recognise Legolas at first. I love the thought of them curled up together, but not in a slashy way. It just speaks volumes about love and commitment, sacrifice and friendship. Glad you approve. | |
| Thundera Tiger | Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 10/22/2004 |
| Look look! It's me again! And I'm even reviewing on time! Yes, the world is probably come to an end. But at least you can go out with a review! (That's probably not much consolation, but it's the best I can offer right now.) Anyway, this chapter was stunning, and it seems to me as though it would be a tricky thing to write. We know that Aragorn is caught in a trap because we've be treated to Aragorn's POV in previous chapters. But Legolas knows nothing about it, and that could challenge many authors who might make the mistake of letting Legolas know what the readers already know. I had no doubt that you would give Legolas the chance to discover the trap on his own because I've seen the way you write, but I still have to compliment you on it. You pulled it off quite well. The wolves have just left, and of course Legolas is going to assume that the blood comes from that, not from the trap around Aragorn's ankle. The idea that sound is what alerts him to the trap before touch is a very telling point. Legolas is not a healer and he's not going to be as thorough in his examination as Aragorn might have been under similar circumstances. And granted that Aragorn needs to get out of the cold, but an experienced healer would have checked his legs before lifting. Legolas doesn't, and I really like that small difference you bring out between the two of them. The preparation Legolas goes through as he readies himself to pull the trap apart was great, and once again you establish the fact that this is an elf, not a man. Good opening section! Next section! Very few writers I know of can pull off a convincing dream sequence. Ithilien and Etharei are on that list, and you've joined them. You manage to give us enough descriptions that we can recognize what Aragorn is seeing, but you also make it disorienting enough that we can experience the Ranger's confusion. Good balancing act between these two extremes. Not a lot of authors can do that. Oh, and kudos for a very convincing take on someone experiencing the final stages of hypothermia. Having been there myself, you've brought it all back to me and I could really feel Aragorn's disorientation and pain. Final section! Rhosgernroch's journey home was tense, and I felt every moment of it. The little details you add about her losing her step in the snow or shifting unexpectedly while Legolas cannot see to compensate made for a very complete scene, despite the fact that we were as blind as the elf in many respects. Once again, you bring out the fact that Legolas is not a healer, and I thank you for that. But you also remind us that Legolas has been around a while and despite the fact that he is not a healer, he has friends and companions who ARE. He has an idea of what to do, and Legolas's blind dash around the cabin to see to Aragorn's needs, light the fire, make sure the mare is cared for, was frantic and harrying. You have an absolute gift for shifting moods and playing up the pathos of a chapter for all it's worth. It's a wise elf who leaves well enough alone, especially when he can't see well enough to do anything about Aragorn's ankle. And the closing picture of Legolas trying to warm Aragorn with his own body and singing was so very elven and so very worrisome that I'm torn as to whether I love the ending for such a gorgeous picture or whether I don't like it because it's a cliff hanger and I want to know what happens next! Either way, you really ought to update soon. ;) Oh, and good choice to plug Lamiel's fic. I read it a couple weeks ago and am in love. Author Reply: Thank you once again. I love writing from the perspective of a blind elf, but man, it is a challenge. I have to imagine the situations as vividly as possible and put myself in his place while remembering that no understanding can come to him through visual means. I'm grateful that you noticed and commented on all the little details that surface when Legolas goes about making discoveries, because I do work hard on them. Happy also that you liked the hypothermia details. Aragorn is perhaps a bit more alert than most guys would be by now. I had originally started off planning to have the removal of the trap be from Legolas' POV. I didn't like how it was shaping up however, and so decided to see what would come if I switched to Aragorn's. Which means I had to wake the ranger up a bit. I thought having him grow more alert again might be plausible since he's a descendent of Numenor, made of stronger stuff than the common man. I've been reading about hypothermia (and blindness and trapping and medicinal herbs and gobs of other stuff. I'm becoming a mini-authority on all sorts of odd things as this story goes on!), as I want situations to be as realistic as possible, and that is why Legolas strips his clothing off and dives into bed to wrap his body around Aragorn. I wondered if my readers would howl in protest (or delight!) or get silly with wink-wink nudge-nudge stuff. I was counting on them to be mature about this, and they have not disappointed me. Yes, isn't Lamiel's story great? Did you read Dark Whispers? Delicious. Thanks so much for reviewing again, Thundera. | |
| sofia | Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 10/22/2004 |
| Great chapter. Its times like these when you would wish Legolas had his sight back. But because he doesn't, and hes freeing and healing Aragorn, that just makes Legolas so much more of a healer. I am going to check out 'This Present Darkness', actually, i'm going to end this review and go check it out right now. -sofia Author Reply: Ah, but he did very well without his sight, didn't he? And how did you like TPD? | |
| Wantanelf | Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 10/22/2004 |
| Another great chapter and so soon. I'm really enjoying this story and look forward to every update. Keep up the great work. By the way, you mentioned Lamiel's new story. I'm always looking for a great new read but can't find it. Where is it posted? Author Reply: She is posting it over at fanfiction.net | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 30 on 10/22/2004 |
| What a dramatic rescue! At least, I hope it's a rescue, although Aragorn is apparently not out of the woods yet. I was particularly struck by the section from his point of view. I wasn't expecting it and it was very powerful. I have to keep reminding myself that Legolas is blind because he reacts so well now to the various cues he gets from his other senses. I'm a little worried about what Aragorn will do for warm clothes when he recovers, now that Legolas cut his coat up. Author Reply: I wasn't expecting it either! When I sat down to work on that part, I fully intended it to be Legolas' POV. But it wasn't coming out the way I wanted it to, so I decided to see what would happen if I switched to Aragorn's. Which meant I had to wake him up a bit more. Wolf bites are good for startling people who are fading out. I was much more pleased with the hazy Aragorn perspective. The coat is a bit of a mess now, isn't it? And neither of them is going to be up for much sewing until their hands heal. | |