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A Creature of Fire by daw the minstrel	39 Review(s)
LiljeConvallaria	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 12/26/2018
...of course I could not visit my favorite LOTR author without reading my favorite story. (Why yes I DO love torturing myself) Trying very much nOT TO CRY because I would have a hard time explaining to my father why his grown up adult daughter is crying!! If there was a sad movie on I could pretend I was crying because if that....buuuut I don’t think watching blitz chess would cause these kinds of tears. 🙄 Author Reply: Thanks, Lilje. Nothing like a good cry to make you feel better!

Annariel	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 9/3/2007
OMG you are evil!! Poor Legolas, my beloved prince!!! cries disconsolately Marvelous your description of the Dale's devastation greetings Mirkwood Minstrel Author Reply: I'd never seen a fanfic that described the destruction of Dale so this was interesting to write. I pictured it as being like a firebombing, a really terrifying event. And when I read Tolkien's descriptions of it, you can see how awful it must have been. Legolas was just devastated. Poor guy.

tigerlily713	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/14/2005
You write anguish well. How sad. I eagerly await the next chapter. i wonder how Thranduil will react having never met Tuilinn. Will he understand or will he underestimate Legolas's bond with her? Author Reply: Thank you. I appreciate the comment especially because anguish turns out to be harder to write than I'd realized. I found I was treading a fine line, worried about either being too restrained or going overboard. Thranduil is in for a shock. As a matter of fact, Legolas's whole family (except Sinnarn) is. Who is this maiden??? I've been out of town and did a lot of writing on the planes, so I should have the next chapter later today, I hope, or if not, then tomorrow.

Ithildin	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/12/2005
Daw, I must say that for me, this story has had more emotional impact than any fiction I have read in a long time. I have spent more time thinking about what might happen, what did happen and how it is affecting the characters than I would like to admit… lol! ;) A gripping story and another well written chapter. Kudos! Legolas’ stunned reaction to Tuilinn’s death seems very believable. In his current dazed condition he may not yet be fully past his need for simple, straightforward tasks to help keep his mind focused on things in the physical world. Beliond was wonderful in this chapter and I’m sure the trend will continue. I do hope Eilian will come. He and Legolas are close – and big brother has helped Legolas through grief before. Eilian can comfort Legolas by just ‘being there’ for him. But, when their naneth died they shared the same loss – not so this time. And then there is that irrational, selfish facet of grieving that can sometimes make it a trifle difficult for one to be comforted by someone who clearly still has what one just lost… Not that one cannot rise above it to see the sincerity of the sympathy offered and respond appropriately; but it can still get in the way – even if only on a subconscious level. There really is something to the concept of ‘I KNOW what you are feeling because I have stood where you stand.’ Some advice is easier to accept from someone who as ‘been there’ than from someone who has not, no matter how loving and sympathetic they are. And if Legolas puts up even a ghost of a (subtle and temporary) wall between himself and Eilian, would Galeas notice? Hmm, did Beliond or any of the others see that well-intentioned shove just before Legolas’ world crashed in? A guilt trip would further complicate the complicated-enough grieving process, and it might take them a while to figure out what’s going on with him… I hope that someday Legolas will meet Tuilinn again in the Undying Lands, but though we know that he eventually decides to sail to Tol Eressëa – he does not yet know that is going to happen. In the book, though he knew of the sea-longing before he went to Pelargir, I think he was still surprised when it hit him. He either didn’t expect to encounter it there (the port was a good ways inland) or else he simply didn’t expect it to have such a powerful pull on his heart. He certainly missed the meaning of Galadriel’s warning. Either way, this story fits in well with his (rather hasty!) decision to (eventually!) follow his heart and sail, even though he did not seem to think any of his family/people would go with him. As inscrutable as love-at-first-sight may be in real life, it is a something of a fixture in mythology and fairy tales – and in ME. LACE does indeed have its faults, but it also contains many valuable insights into Eldarin culture that are not contradicted elsewhere. That ‘the Eldar do not err lightly in such choice’ seems on pretty solid footing to me. My miniscule two cents… Okay, enough of my rambling, I’m taking up valuable time you should spend writing the next chapter! Eagerly awaiting more (and hoping it won’t so adversely affect your mood this time!) Ithildin ( Author Reply:* Wow. I wonder if the fact that I stayed in Legolas's POV gave this more impact, particularly given the love theme. I'm struggling with the next chapter. I keep writing paragraphs and then deleting them. And it would be so much easier if I could just get outside Legolas's head and have someone else see him. Oh well. I have to go on a trip for work from tomorrow through Friday, and maybe I can write on the plane. There's not much else to do there and I have to take 3 each way. I wondered about the shove thing too. Reacting to it was among my many write/delete actions yesterday! I decided that Legolas would be an experienced enough warrior to know that it wasn't his fault, but even as I type this, I'm thinking about the death of the young warrior at the start of this story and how he sort of blamed himself for that. See this is exactly why I have not quite 3 pages written! And I had thought that Legolas would eventually assume he's see her again someday, but I suppose it's true that he could decide to stay in the woods. He was pretty firmly anchored there. He's a wood-elf, after all. To me, what LACE says is that elves seem to recognize one another. That's why I think love at first sight is possible for them. And then they do the sensible thing and get engaged for a time. Unless they're Eilian. :-)

Ithilien	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/11/2005
Heh, I was snooping around over here and decided to leave my review on this site. As usual, you are too quick to update, daw. Not that anyone is complaining. Alas, Tuilinn is dead. I read Lamiel's prior reviews and am happy to say I am not quite THAT hostile toward this female character, though I do have to agree with her on Legolas feeling he was in LOVE. I guess I'm unromantic; I just don't believe in love at first sight. Attraction at first sight, absolutely, but love, no. That animal magnetism certainly makes it easier to fall in love though, and if one is willing to bend a bit, I'm certain love can quickly follow. But love immediately I think is impossible. You have to do a little discovery to realize if the other is completely compatible to you. Anyhow, it is my hope that Legolas will see the difference. He knew very little about Tuilinn to judge it love. I think they needed a little longer before they seized upon an engagement. I think he's in a bit of shock right now and that is why his feelings are so chaotic. I think he is going to mourn a bit his dreams of what they might have had together. That's what happens when relationships end. But in the end, I think he is going to see that his memories of what they shared together are very few, and what he was clinging to was thoughts of what could happen, not what did happen. I call that infatuation, and being in love with love. In the grand scheme of his life, she was a very brief moment. Perhaps when she is released from Mandos he can spend some time getting to know her better. And then maybe they will decide to be paired. Maybe. If they are really in love. But being an elf with time so much his, this quick flight to love seemed a bit un-elflike to me. I suppose one could argue LACE. but I really have a hard time with that document as the timetables laid within it seem way too human to me be considered factual for eternal beings. I could also point out example after example of elves that do not comply with those 'laws'. Gee, am I overstating myself much here? Anyhow, what I liked best about this chapter was not Tuilinn's death, but the courage Legolas found to console and aid Galelas. I guess aid is the wrong way of putting it, for he is the commander and would help his people no matter what. But still, he tried to free the elf when he was also seriously wounded (not to mention heartbroken), and he tended his injuries, and he offered him words of praise that he realized were heartfelt, and that was a rather moving thing for him to do. I don't think it's really going to fix everything that is bothersome between them, but it helps a little that Legolas was willing to tell the other something that might actually make Galelas feel of worth. That seems to be Galelas' biggest problem, I think -- he doesn't have much self-esteem and he hates Legolas because he obviously does. Maybe Legolas will realize this too, once he gets past his false-love issues with Tuilinn. I'd like to see this story really become one where he and Galelas come to an understanding, and Legolas becomes a little more wary of giving his heart quite so readily. Then again, claiming love would certainly help fend off the ongoing pressure of all those family matchmakers. If he has already found his mate and he just has to wait for her to be released from Mandos, then maybe they will stop badgering him about finding someone now. Yep, I bet that's what you're up to. Trying to fend off the busybodies. There will be more chapters, won't there daw? Now that Tuilinn has lived her short part in the story, I think I could do better about giving less critical reviews. There's a dragon to deal with after all, and as I said before, I love dragons. Heck, I've been so caught up in this mock romance I haven't even had a chance to go on and on about how I love the dragon's portrayal. Legolas will be tackling that little problem, won't he? More soon (like I need to ask). Author Reply: I really was thinking that Legolas and Tuilinn were in love. I don't believe in love at first sight for humans but I do for elves, for some reason. However, if Legolas had gotten to the point of going to Thranduil about this "engagement," I think he probably would have reacted as you did and tried to slow things down. That year of engagement would NOT have been shortened at all, and LACE actually says "at least" a year. So maybe you and Thranduil could have worked together on this one! This story had its start in a plot bunny that Jasta provided, suggesting that Legolas and Galelas be in some crisis together and have to rely on one another so that they learn a little more about one another and let go of a little of their mutual resentment. Like you, I think that Legolas was valiant in setting aside his own anguish to try to help Galelas. That couldn't have been easy. And I think that Galelas's need and Beliond's nagging were the two things that kept Legolas in the real world. Since this dragon is Smaug, no one is going to deal with it with any finality for a while. Eventually, Bilbo and the dwarves will come along but that's 170 some years down the road yet. So it's curtains for "the merry bells of Dale" for the time being. :-(

Ana	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/11/2005
And here I was, thinking she will be ok. Even after reading the previous chapter, which was, btw brilliant and left me speechless, just because I was there with them, I was still sure they'll be ok. All of them. I even took it so far that I ignored completely the last paragraph of the previous chapter. And now she’s dead. Poor, poor Legolas. At least, Beliond is there. I’m sure he’ll take care of him. I think Galelas is wrong about his family not being there. The warriors are his family now, right? They’ll never “replace” the real family, but they are so much better than Galelas’ “original” family. ~Ana Author Reply: Oh, Ana, what a good idea about Galelas. I may have to steal it! That's exactly the way things look to him, I think. Beliond was an anchor for Legolas when he wanted to let his fea quest after Tuilinn's. Beliond is NOT going to allow any of that nonsense, thank you very much.

esamen	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/11/2005
He stared at her, and the sounds of stones being moved faded from his consciousness, and his world narrowed to her. In his mind, he began to play over again scenes of what had been between them and scenes of what he had hoped their life together would be. He saw her playing with the children in the settlement, struggling to keep her curls from her face, turning her face up toward him and drawing near to kiss him, with wonder in her eyes. He saw his father bending to kiss her brow and welcome her to the family. He felt her in his arms, in his bed. He felt her warmth and saw her looking at him with joy in her face and their own child in her arms. Oh, daw. Oh, how sad. But still, how beautiful. What a sweet and bitter ride this story is. This paragraph is just a marvel of the writer's craft. I like what you are doing with Galelas. Maybe he and Legolas will come to some agreement after all. I think that grief does sometimes help us rise above our petty quarrels with each other. Beliond sees everything, doesn't he? He is very good at what he does. Thranduil chose well in him . . . This is a marvelous story and I love the solid foundation of canon beneath it. The constant tension of the situation in Middle earth provides a great framework for wherever your imagination takes you. All the details about Dale and the rock slide are fantastic foils for the human drama involved. I wish that this story would go on for several more chapters! You aren't going to end too soon, are you? I hope you keep it going for a while so we can see all the vibrations and consequences of Legolas's lost love . . . it's such a special moment in your long account of his life. Thanks, and I'm out of town at a conference for a week so I will catch up when I can, esamen Author Reply: Thank you, Esamen. And may I say that having read what you're writing, I am doubly flattered at your praise. I was really depressed after writing this chapter and the next one is slow going too, I'm afraid. Being in the head of a stunned, grieving lover is not a ton of fun. One of the things I've learned in writing fanfiction is how interesting it is to try to work to canon. People often think it's either a restriction or a crutch -- it limits you or helps you to such an extent that your imagination is crippled. But I don't find it so. I find that figuring out ways to incorporate it requires me to do things differently than I otherwise would, which for me means I have to be more imaginative than I otherwise would be. And it has to be done delicately so you don't hit people over the head with it and it feels normal and real inside this world. You and my beta think alike. She says I'm NOT going to hurry through the end of this. She is my Beliond and I do what I'm told. I'll be out of town from Wednesday through Friday, without even computer access much less internet access, to I don't think there's going to be an update for a while anyway. Have fun at your conference.

caz-baz	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/11/2005
reading your stories is like reading a really good book you just dont want to put down but you have too. My father ripped his ear the other week playing rugby he had to have 14 stitches and he still insists he's young enough to play. I'm no sucker for pain so i dont think i'd make a very good warrior. I'm also not very good with dead things either - i had to carry the rabbit my dog killed home the other day after taking her on a walk and i tied it's legs with string without touching it, but i bumped into the next door farmer on the way back i dont know what he thought of me. but anyway i really just came onto check if you'd posted anymore i think i'm addicted to your stories. Author Reply: Thank you, Caz. I thought about handling the dead as I was writing that last chapter. I think we're far more insulated from dead things than the elves wold have been. We buy our meat usually, and send our dead loved ones to an undertaker. But Elves hunted and cared for their own dead, and warriors in particular would have seen death. I have a really busy week at work, including a trip without internet access from Wednesday through Friday, so I won't be posting until next weekend I'm afraid.

Elena Tiriel	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/10/2005
You know, I think that if Legolas had followed Tuilinn's spirit to the Halls of Mandos, Beliond would show up on its front doorstep, bawl Námo out, and haul Legolas home by the ear. If Legolas was very lucky, Beliond might be kind enough to choose the uninjured ear. I've been away from fan fiction for a whole month due to RL, and now, after reading this story, I'm a quivering heap of emotionality. Powerful writing, Daw. - Barbara Author Reply: You made me laugh with that picture of Beliond, Barbara. And I needed that after depressing the wits out of myself by writing the chapter! I think Beliond nearly did haul Legolas back from wherever he was trying to follow Tuilinn to. He wasn't going to let his charge get out of his grip, thank goodness. RL is on my back this week, so the next chapter will be a little slower in coming. But summer is on the way. Yay, yay, a thousand times yay!

ScarlettPendragon	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/10/2005
OMG DAW, Have you made it your mission in life to reduce me to tears with every story you write?! ;>) Fantastic, fantastic story, as usual!! You make it seem so effortless, as though Legolas is dictating his life story to you in bits and pieces!! Your creativity and imagination leave me in awe!! I know I've missed commenting on a couple of your stories from January - March, but RL has been... well, Real!! LOL However RL seems to be back on track (crosses fingers), so I hope to comment more consistently!! In this story I love how you've created a "real" reason for Legolas not to be wed when the Fellowship sets off on their quest - his heart is broken!! I cannot WAIT to see how his family will react - I'm sure Thranduil will be able to offer Legolas some perspective on losing his love and the importance of going on even after a tragedy of these proportions! I imagine that Legolas' state of mind and heart will be uppermost in Thranduil's thoughts when he learns that Legolas has joined the Fellowship in their seemingly impossible mission to take The One Ring to Mordor!! (pokes plot bunny towards DAW's ankles) This truly is an amazing story, and I'm looking forward to future chapters, even as I type through a mist of tears!! Scarlett Author Reply: Holy cow, Scarlett! You reappear with a very nice review. I know what you mean about RL. This is a terrible time of the year for me. I have to be out of town (without computer access) for most of the week, so the next chapter is not going to come along very quickly. This story is indeed supposed to offer a reason for Legolas to still be single during the quest. And I've had that plot bunny sent my way before! Maybe someday it will bite. Actually, if I do any quest story, the one I'm thinking of would cut back and forth between events with the Fellowship and events at home, where a whole lot was popping. They can be thinking about one another. But right now, I have to go and bury myself in Legolas's very depressed psyche. I think I need a slug or two of Dorwinion first.

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