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Eärendil’s Tale by Bodkin	4 Review(s)
Redheredh	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 4/20/2005
I don't have elliska's excuse. I am just slow, reading and reviewing both. Was there anything about this chapter that was grand and perfect? I shall answer my own question since it was rhetorical anyway... No! I just want to somehow bronze this and keep it on the shelf. You embody the sentimental, but this was wonderfully educational too - and in a kind way. Excellent chapter. I loved having Gil-galad as the advocate for us ignorant readers. We all should be so suave in the presence of geniuses, geeky or not. I won't feel so bad around our tech-guys anymore. I remember I am a princess, eh I guess considering my age, that should queen. I enjoyed the birth of the children and the suspense that they went through as a result of not being experienced elven-parents. But, really did Earendil have to wait outside and pace? Granted, Elwing may have decided at first that he should never see her except at her best, but I feel sorry for him being shut out of the room. Maybe the ladies knew he would faint at that. Most of all I revel in the humanity of your characterizations. These people feel real and you make me care about them. Everyone has a destiny, but some will be farther reaching then others. These are icons of their culture which you make accessible to plain folk like me. Your realizing an interesting aspect about the ship's name is one of the rewarding things about Tolkien's works. Whether he intentionally or sub-consciously created the various facets of Arda, especially the names and languages, his genius is felt. His is a jewel of a universe. Keep this up and pretty soon you'll have not only have fans, but acolytes. ;) Author Reply: Thank you for reading - I was rather worried that this chapter was drowning in nautical terms (- and it's hard to explain some of them, when you're not exactly sure of the nuances!) But Cirdan insisted on talking technical. I think he wanted to convince everybody that he knew all about ships. Actually what I found most difficult was answering my own questions like - how big a ship can four or five people sail? How many sails could they manage? How long could they stay at sea before needing to make landfall? - and things like that. And Gil-galad just turned up. He knew there was an important role for him here! And I reckon that - as a trainee king living with a Shipwright - he might know a lot of the terms in a vague kind of way, but get confused when they're put in sentences together with other terms. But he's proud to be a non-specialist. I kept Earendil outside pacing because I really didn't want to go too far into the details of childbirth. And he and Elwing are both very young (in elven terms) and inexperienced. I doubt whether many elflings would have been born in Sirion with the survivors of Doriath and Gondolin just recovering and the dogs of war just about to arrive. And if elflings are uncommon, twins would be even more rare. They make up about 1 in 40 human births - but I would make them less frequent among elves. And the more I think about all these characters, the sorrier I feel for a lot of them. It's OK being a hero, I suppose, but all of them paid so much for their place in history. It was a last minute realisation about the ship's name - but it just made so much sense. And isn't it the complicated detail of the setting that makes it so much fun to play in this world!

elliska	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 4/20/2005
Sorry to be so slow with the review. It's been busy. I love the birth of Eärendil's ship and his children! All the nautical (sp?) stuff sounded really great. I know nothing about it--love it because my father did and because I love the sea but I don't know any of the terminology. If I tried to sail a boat it would promptly flip over and sink to the bottom of the sea. I'm with Gil-galad there (that was a great image--Gil-galad lazing about and teasing Cirdan and hiding from his advisors...loved it). But you could really feel Cirdan and Eärendil's excitement as they talked about the ship and I loved Cirdan's fatherly side, advising Eärendil to take care of Elwing. And you did a really great job with the children's birth! I was impressed because I find that really hard to write and get the right tone. Poor guy out there pacing his heart out and to get such a surprise. That was very well done!Great job! And you made the launching of Vingilot just as exciting. See? You were wrong,’ Gil-Galad stated triumphantly. ‘I am not pretending not to understand. I genuinely have no idea what you are talking about!’ That interchange was great. I loved Cirdan and Gil-galad's relationship in this! He had stripped off the trappings of rank before the sail had been untied, free to be himself in the company of his few trusted sailors, and stood, stripped to the waist, the sun gleaming on his pale skin and his black hair blowing round his face. Now that is a nice image. Not just because I am picturing him bare chested in the salty spray (although that doesn't hurt) but also because of the freedom it evokes. (Reminds me of a poem by the spanish romantic poet, Becquer, about pirates and freedom--love it). And I absolutely loved the reasoning for the name. That was wonderful! I just love these, Bodkin. Great job! Author Reply: Don't tell Elrond, but I'm not altogether sure which birth meant more to him! Quite possibly the delivery of Vingilot, I'm afraid. I have a stack of paper now that's full of nautical stuff. And Glossaries of Nautical Terms from the Eighteenth Century. And pictures of ships. And sails. All to try to find how big a boat could be sailed by four or five people. And to try to sound as if Cirdan and Earendil know what they're talking about. Now when it comes to giving birth, I have more experience! (Although not of twins, I'm delighted to report.) Gil-Galad wasn't supposed to be in it at all - but he just wanted to get away from his advisors and have a break. And it is rather pleasant to think of him knowing Elrond and Elros's father. In some ways, it must have been a relief for Earendil to get away from the expectations placed on the half-elven descendant of Finwe - mortal? lord of elves. Must have been a draw. (I've never read any Spanish poetry. Although I did read 'El Mejor Alcalde, El Rey' when I did Spanish. A long time ago.) And it was only as I was writing the last page that I realised that the 'wing' of Elwing and the 'ving' of Vingilot was really the same root. Which is stupid really as in 'Lost Tales' the ship is actually 'Wingelot'. (And that 'lot' and 'loth' were the same, too. But I don't think Earendil would have part-named the ship for Nimloth.) Thank you! (How's the long-necked waterfowl of sable plumage? And her bunch of coots?) Author Reply: Yes, coots are water birds here, too. Slightly smaller than ducks, with a white patch just above their beaks and disproportionately large legs and feet in an interesting shade of blue. Nowhere near as beautiful, superior or elegant as black swans. At least, not in the estimation of black swans!

lwarren	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 4/19/2005
I have to agree with Ereinion! What IS a spar and a clinker and a carvel and ...? (Of course, you could tell me and I'd still say "huh?") This chapter was a very interesting look at Earendil's obsession with the sea and how it affected his marriage. I know he'd received orders from Ulmo and all, but I still feel really sorry for Elwing (do you think Moses' wife felt that way when he left her to go to Egypt and free the Israelites from slavery? He, too, had received a Word and followed it to the exclusion of his family...) Earendil said she understood...don't know if I could have been so understanding...I think I like Glasiel's reaction better ! ;-) I was surprised that neither Elwing nor Earendil knew they were expecting twins...I suppose I just assumed they would have the same awareness/connection that other elves have with their unborn children...and that was not the case at all. Half-elven is a whole 'nother ballgame, it seems...never assume anything! :-/ An interesting chapter, Bodkin, with some new insights for me about Elrond's kin(just never thought of them that way - feel headache coming on! g). Still, I think I'll remain a landlubber like Ereinion! :-) linda Author Reply: Well - a spar is pole slung across the mast from which the sail is suspended. Clinker built is where the planks a ship is built from overlap and carvel is when they butt up to each other. The things you learn writing fanfiction! I've got files now on 'The History of the Cutter' and 'How to Sail' and pictures of rigging . . . I looked at it all and decided vague was better - except Cirdan insisted on being technical here and there. I think he wanted everyone to know that he is called the Shipwright for a reason! I feel for both Earendil and Elwing - they were still children to the elves, whichever timeline you look at. And he gets sent off on an impossible quest while she is abandoned, either alone or with two small babies. I'm definitely with Glasiel here - although if he hadn't gone, and she hadn't had Elrond and Elros and the sons of Feanor hadn't come and she hadn't chosen to leap into the sea . . . Celebrian's probably right. Things happen for a reason and, looking back, you wouldn't change even the bad, because good things came of it. Maybe. I think Elwing is probably more elfy than Earendil - she's the one who chose to be counted among the firstborn, but she's still not entirely elven and her connection to her unborn children is not as strong. And then again, she's young and inexperienced - and I don't think twins are common among elves. I think Ereinion wanted to come along and say ignorance of the sea is no bad thing. And I shall promptly and with relief forget all those bits about different rigs.

daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 4/19/2005
Ha! I've just finished reading a book about technology in the middle ages and it talked about all this ship stuff so I actually knew what some of the terms meant. I'm very proud of myself. :-) I'm afraid it's hard to say which birth pleased Earendil more -- his sons or his ship. Elwing must have been a strong, independent woman, but then I guess a lot of those elven women spent time on their own, Galadriel being the example that comes to mind. I enjoyed your portrayal of Gil-galad. He was funny and gallant. Author Reply: I have a wad of paper now, with titles like 'A History of the Cutter' and 'Nautical Terms of the Eighteenth Century'. And a picture I found of a schooner called the Mary Barrett, that sank in 1908 with four hands rescued, and a snippet from the 1881 census that shows that this 83 foot long vessel had a crew of five. I tried only to use bits I understood - and as few of them as I thought the Shipwright might bring in to conversation. I have a sneaking feeling Earendil was more excited by the ship. More nervous possibly about the arrival of his sons - which just shows he was missing out on the family's tendency to foresight. I'm with Glasiel - they were too young and he was away too much and he was just too selfish. But, on the other hand, they weren't immortal elves, Earendil had to take the message to the Valar, the Kinslayers were coming, and Elrond and Elros had to be born before the deluge. Galadriel is a prime example of a tough elven woman - but she was somewhat over thirty or so, which is all Elwing is when the sky falls in. The more I think about Elwing and Earendil, the harder their choices seem. I didn't know Gil-galad was planning to show up until he did. But I'm glad he came along. I'm happy he came over as funny and gallant.

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