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Interrupted Journeys: Part 3 Journeys Begin by elliska	8 Review(s)
Jay Greenleaf Elf	Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 5/23/2005
Hi may I just say once again how much I love this entire story. I'm so glad that you don't stop writing like some fanfics too, ugh it irritates me. I've always carry this belief that I was taught by my uncle: once you start something finish it and finish it thoroughly. I truly appreciate the effort you put in DESPITE your busy schedule. Ha, I noticed that the Black Swan has made an appearance. I knew that that couldn't have been the end of her, thats why I asked about her. I must admit that I wasn't all that surprised, I mean, if you think about it, why was someone only targeting the queen and not the king? Its obvious, one word, JEALOUSY. I'm not acting all brainy its just my way of putting the pieces together, its always been a habit of mine in all mysteries. My other point is that it is better to target the king that the queen, what would you get in targeting the queen? A single king. But I must admit as well is you really done a good job in brining to light the Black Swan, not straight forward, like for instance Thranduil could have said,"I suspect that the person might be Marti". So lame, don't you think. And then you didn't make it a whole complicated issue. Once again I say poor, poor Tulus. I mean, the poor guy is missing his son who is miles away then he is suspected by Aradunnon for dealing with the Easterlings. But I think that Thranduil is smarter than condemning a guy who may possibly be innocenct. You see, I see Thranduil as trying to see every situation through each one's perspective, that he will not punish anyody who everyone else thinks he's guilty. He is a fair king (in my point of view :D). And the plot is beginning to unfold. Wow, this must be like my longest review ever. Can you do me a favor? Can you send for me a sympathetic hug to Tulus, big cuddles to the tots, and a kiss to Thranduil and Aradunnon (just don't tell their wives, or I'll be toast ;D) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this review and the way I see this story. Later days. J.G.E. Author Reply: Hi JGE. I did enjoy the review. I would have enjoyed it more if I could have read it after posting the next chapter, but I just can't work out this one place and I decided that I just couldn't force it to happen last night so I worked on my homework for the drawing class I'm taking instead--a little different creativity might help. I hope. :-) But I agree with your uncle--we finish what we start. LOL. Yeah. "I suspect it might be Marti" right out of the blue would have been a bit awkward, I agree. I think in the very end, when everything about the Black Swan is revealed, you will see that jealousy does indeed play a role. And I hope you enjoy mysteries because there is a lot to the Black Swan. Her motivations are complex. I like playing with that kind of stuff. Indeed poor Tulus. I think you will say that again in later parts too. I agree that Thranduil is smart. He would have all his facts straight. Thanks for the encouragement. :-)

Brazgirl	Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 5/23/2005
Hi Elliska! I read the chapter a few days ago but only now I was able to leave you a proper review. Marti?!!! I knew it! I knew it! Wow, Thranduil must be worried now his brother is looking for someone familiar and he doesn't know! The conversation between the king's brother and Tulus was very nice. He is as smart as his brother! ;-) By the way, Legolas waiting for ada was lovely. I hope to read more of your Journeys soon!!! Author Reply: Hi Brazgirl! I know exactly what you mean about time--as I write this I am should be working on a few paragraphs in the next chapter that I just can't get the way I want them (I have to change them since I decided not to kill Amoneth). I wanted to have that finished yesterday and I just can't get it. Yes, it's Marti and now Thranduil knows too. He is not a happy person at all. In the next chapter he talks to Tulus himself and is even less happy after what he hears there. I'm glad you liked the conversation with Tulus and Aradunnon and poor little Legolas staying awake for his ada. He's such a sweet little thing I bet it was as important to Thranduil as it was to Legolas that he was able to say goodnight to him. I hope you are reading more soon too--like the last chapter of this part by the end of this day! Stupid few little paragraphs. Here is where I think it would have been easier to kill Amoneth. Thank you so much for the reviews. I really love them.

The Karenator	Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 5/22/2005
I'm sorry I've fallen so far behind on reviews! But I loved this chapter! Aradunnon's interrogation of Tulus was very well done. This line is such a good point: I was a warrior in this forest long before your family ever knew it existed. I served lord Oropher faithfully for millennia. I can't help but wonder if everyone was always on the same page as the king. There had to be times when people disagreed and saw the Sindar as being interlopers. I suppose this is a bone I would have liked to pick with Tolkien. It's not so much that I mind that Oropher was made king, but I sort of think it's very dismissive of the Silvan to think that they'd just automatically recognized 'their betters' and elected the first Sinda who came along king. In my world, Oropher would have had to prove himself. Of course, Tolkien might have thought that too, but just never got around to delving into the Silvan's of Mirkwood to pinpoint how he thought they'd react. All this to say that I really like the way you've set this up. Not everyone is happy in Mudville. For Tulus to find out that his nephew died protecting the queen was quite a shocker for him. I bet that really made him feel terrible. He might not be the brains behind the scheme to dethrone the king, but he's played his part. He strikes me as guy who got caught up in the Wicked Witch's scheme and doesn't know how to get out. I was glad to see that Dieneryn had her thinking cap on. She made the name connection pretty fast, but then she's had more exposure to the Noldo than Thranduil and her experiences paid off. I bet Thranduil nearly had a heart attack when he realized that Marti had resurfaced. She's trouble with a big 'T' and always has been. I can't wait to see her get caught. The evil wrench.... Sweet little Legolas forcing himself to stay awake until Ada was in for the night was just too nice. I'm surprised the little guy could keep his eyes open long enough to say much more than 'Ada!'. But he hung in there. I bet he didn't last long when Ada started telling him a 'proper story'. There's nothing sweeter than a freshly bathed elfling in his jammies...a drowsy one ready to sleep, that is. I think I saw where this part of your story is about to come to an end. I hope you're ready to begin the next installment. This story has been such a delight to follow. I'm always impressed with what a fine job you do with intrigue and the family relationships. I'm looking forward to the next chapter. I'll try to not be too depressed when this one ends. I can always look forward to the next part. Wonderful chapter, Elliska. Karen Author Reply: I am the Queen of following behind recently, Karen, so don't even give it a thought. :-) I am taking a break right now from editing for probably the thousandth time 2 pages of the last chapter of this thing that I just can't get the way I want it since Amoneth didn't die. Sad, but true. I'm glad you like the interrogation of Tulus. I definitely agree with you that Silvan didn't just turn over their forest to Oropher like a bunch of bumps on logs. In the First/Second Age story that I'm trying to get finished by the end of the summer Oropher definitely doesn't just waltz right in. He doesn't even want to. And I do think that, like in any society, there would have been a few differing opinions about that situation, especially when times got tough and people's tempers caused them to go looking to place some blame. And nasty people like our Black Swan just love that type of thing. But yeah, Tulus got dealt a few eye-openers, as Sam might say. My notes about him say that he is a basically honorable person. But life is not destined to be easy for him even now that he's 'fessed up. He will still face some tough choices in future parts of this. It's a good thing Dieneryn figured it out. They still could figure more. Engwe should have and we have seen why. But he hasn't yet. He will get it. Just not quite soon enough. Poor Legolas. My dad used to work late often and I used to just kill myself staying up until he got home. So I can sympathize with the poor little guy. :-) Yeap this is almost it for this story though. Once I get about 2 paragraphs of the last full chapter ironed out (tried to finished it yesterday but I just wasn't satisfied with it), I will post it and then I've only got the epilogue which is completely done. As for part four, I haven't got a clue which part I'll post next. I've got some fluffy, fun little Legolas stuff that I could post or I have the next part that actually advances the plot of the overall story. Haven't decided what to do yet. I'm glad you liked it and I appreciate the reviews so much. :-)

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 5/20/2005
I was going to review this much earlier, but the computer pooped out on me, so here I am at a later time. Tulus grows more pathetic by the second. It looks like Aradunnon realized his pathetic-ness, and that will probably encourage the Powers That Be to go a little easier on Tulus. Because, really, everything he did, he did in good faith, wishing only the best life for himself and the kid. He just had the misjudgement to pick the wrong side. He'll pay for that error, but I'm sure he can make it up a little by telling Thranduil what he needs to know. Thranduil might want to take another look at his own behavior. It's hardly becoming to punish Glilavan for Tulus's sins, after all. And that sort of thing isn't endearing him to the faction that wants him out. Manadhien is Marti the Black Swan. Raise your hands if you're surprised. . . no hands. It's been how many years and she's still after Lindomiel? Hardly surprising, considering that she's of the Noldor, the tribe that was famous for holding grudges over the centuries to disastrous effect. One wonders if she's even thought what she might do with herself after she's humiliated Thranduil and Lindomiel to her satisfaction. She must have figured out that she'll never have Thranduil's affection. Hey! That could be a way to get at her. Have Thranduil suddenly turn around and entice her with the offer of a roll in the sheets -- everything she's ever wanted -- and then strike while she's just standing there, open-mouthed and befuddled. . . After all that, Thranduil is still able to have a cuddle with his family. He's a good Elf, that one is. Author Reply: Hi French Pony. I hope you are enjoying summer break (and that you have one). And don't even talk to me about technology. I hate it. Tulus is rather pathetic in a sad sort of way. I think both Thranduil and Aradunnon have enough pity in them to see that if Tulus chooses to behave properly, which for now I think he will mostly do (don't you love how firm that statement was?). Tulus has definitely made a misjudgment. No doubt there. And you are absolutely correct about Thranduil looking at his own behavior--you will see that in the next chapter. What?! You're not surprised?! I'm crushed. :-) LOL. But Thranduil is suprised. From his perspective, Marti's been gone for almost two millennia and she was just a spurned elleth. A nasty problem at the time but one that seemed trivial in the broad scheme of things. But in reality, she was neither. She hasn't been gone, as we already knew. And she is not a spurned elleth. Well, she is, but that is the very tip of the iceburg. And Marti knows exactly what she plans to do once she eliminates Thranduil. You will see that. There is a great deal more to see about Marti's motivations. I shudder at the thought of poor Thranduil baiting Marti, particularly in that way. That would require him being in the same room with her and right now I don't think that would be healthy. :-) I think Thranduil needed a cuddle with his family after learning the Black Swan has crawled out of his past and a group of elves is plotting against him. Poor guy. He is a good elf. Thank you so much for the review. I love them. :)

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 5/20/2005
How do I love this? Let me count the ways Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May . . . Hang on. Forget the second line. I so don't want Tulus to be a baddie any more - I have a hankering for him to make it back into the fold. Only it seems too easy. Just seeing him in his cottage - sighing and stepping away from his weapons; his clear pleasure at having Gilbert safe; his stubborn refusal to pollute his principles with yucky Easterners; his horror at the thought of attacking elves - and even worse, ellyth and little elflings; his genuine distress at the death of his nephew and former fellow-warrior. I hope he is able to be key in seeking out the evil namechanger of the wood - and that he gets away with turning against her. The Black Swan is good at flying away from danger though, isn't she? Like in Cats - whenever anything happens Macavity isn't there. The BS shares his talent. It's a good thing Dieneryn is there - the chaps would still be scratching their heads and saying 'an elleth?' in bemused tones. Whereas she's in there - even managing to fit in another dig at Thranduil's poor language skills. And she managed to wipe the sneer from Engwe's face, which must be very gratifying. I suspect the BS will continue to evade them for a while yet, though. Unfortunately. I'd like to have her spinning thread from stinging nettles and weaving it into shirts. A different swan tale but hey, I just fancy seeing her hurt. I do like all the debate about what you do with elves who won't follow the rules of society. (I found it hard to decide what to do with baddies who don't conveniently get themselves killed.) Once you've established a reasoned non-violent society of rather civilised beings - what can they do? No torture or execution - and prison - to an immortal being? What kind of sentences could you have? 5 millennia? The only real alternative is - let's bundle them up in cloaks, drop them a mickey finn and put them on a one-way ticket to the Blessed Realm and let the Valar sort them out. I can't see Thranduil opting for the (except perhaps for the BS), so it'll have to be the counselling route. And community service. I adored sleepy little Legolas forcing himself to stay awake to see his adar - until it transpired that he was making his eyes stay open because he was afraid that he had lost Thranduil, like Galithil's adar - gone off to who knows where. Poor little mite - he's really suffering separation trauma and fear of the nasties. It's hardly surprising. And poor Galithil. I don't think Thranduil is going to be able to double Lindomiel's guard without her noticing something. He might not want to tell, but I think he might just crack under pressure. Just one more chapter and an epilogue? It's not enough. I hope Part Four is ready to go. Author Reply: Hi again. Tulus is really a very sad character in this story. In the next chapter, it is his interview with Thranduil that I will show and I will leave you to analyze what he says to the king versus what you have seen it implied he has has participated in. You can determine his level of honesty/sincerity for yourself. I will say this--my notes for him say that at a basic level, he is an honorable elf. But he is definitely appearing in other parts of the story. The Black Swan is very good at skating danger. She leaves a wake of destruction in her path and doesn't blink an eye. Unfortunately Tulus and Gilbert are smack dab in the middle of that wake. She will survive to scheme another day. Poor Thranduil. Dieneryn figuring out that Marti and Manadhien might be the same person is one of those off hand comments that you made in a previous review that sent me looking to make sure more chapters of this weren't visible than I thought. :) I do enjoy poking at Thranduil's bad language skills (former language teacher here). I portray him as not entirely enthralled with foreign cultures so to go along with that I doubt he would have loved languages. Besides that, I doubt he would have ever heard Quenya spoken, so he would not recognize the significance of the name. I figured only Oropher's generation had any hope of recognizing much of that language. Engwe should have--he even states why he should have in that same interchange and we have seen why he should have figured out who Marti is by now. But he hasn't. He will. Today, Dieneryn came through. I completely agree with your comment about Elven punishments and I know you've had cause to think about this. I admired the High King's management of the baddies in Far Horizons--I thought you did a great job with that. But you are right. I can't see execution or physical punishments amongst Elves. And I laughed at what you said about imprisonment. Spot on. How is a 20 year sentence going to impress an elf? And I think they'd go mad being imprisoned and that would be worse than execution. Thranduil, after he governed his temper and thought rationally, would recognize that exiling the elves would do no good for two reasons--it would make other sympathizers bitter and it would put the baddies at large where they could plot more trouble. I see him as smarter than that. I like the idea of elves taking a long term attitude and working to rebuild a society after a crime has been committed rather than a short term, punitive (sp?) one. That said, it is Legolas that eventually has to judge our Black Swan and by that time, he is tempted by Turgon of Gondolin's solution. Tempted only, but tempted. Poor little Legolas and Galithil. It would be rotten to have a king or anyone like that as a father, I think. And Thranduil isn't feeling any better here. I don't think they'd all go back to their happy little lives right away, but Legolas is a naturally happy little elf so as long as he can keep track of ada and nana, right now that's all he needs. Lindomiel already has her suspicions. She is the one person in the realm that Thranduil just isn't going to hide much from. Part Four...I haven't even decided which part to post for that yet, something fluffy or something that serves character and plot development. At this point in the story, I wrote a lot of stuff just for fun. I need to sit down and spend an hour or two thinking about it and I need to do that soon. Thank you so much for the review, Bodkin. I really appreciate them. :-)

Jay Greenleaf Elf	Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 5/20/2005
'Tis that a update before mine eyes? Doth mine eyes deceiveth me? He he he :D. Poor, poor Tulus, I just can't help feeling sorry for the guy. I loved that moment between Thranduil and Legolas. I always love such moments. Ugh and Engwe always have to be critical about the decisions that Thranduil makes, I mean come on give the poor guy a break. The wait, I must say, has definitely proven to be worth it. Have you seen KOH yet? It is a great movie, you can see that Orli has been pumping some iron. I will send you an E-mail as soon as possible, you must just be a wee bit patient. Anyway c ya, L.G.E Author Reply: Yes, it is an update--miracle, that. Isn't it? :-) Poor Tulus indeed. He is a very sad character in this as you will continue to see. You will feel sorrier for him. And Engwe! Sometimes when I write him I think to myself, why does Thranduil put up with this guy? But Engwe is his father's brother and I think Thranduil would recognize the value of surrounding himself with people that would offer differing opinions. 'Course Engwe could do that in a more restrained manner and it wouldn't hurt anything...:-) I'm glad you liked the end with Legolas. Poor little guy. His world is still a little upset and he is struggling to figure it out. Thanks so uch for the review. :-) PS--Yes, I have seen KOH. I was hesitant because I heard it was graphic and I am not fond of graphic violence, but I studied the Crusades and taught courses on them so I couldn't resist. The violence was not too bad. I actually have another online friend who I am long over due to email about this same topic. Drop me a line on it in email whenever you get a chance and we can talk about it. I did enjoy the movie--historically it takes a good deal of license with the Third Crusade (I assume that is what is was supposed to be based on) but not so much that I couldn't enjoy the movie. But it also did a realistic job of battle tactics (mostly--some anachronisms) and I really liked that.

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 5/20/2005
Brilliant. I hope The Redemption of Tulus is underway. I'll get back to you when I have TIME! Author Reply: :-) Time? Not familiar with the word myself... :-) Thank you for the quick review. :) Tulus will play a major part in the next chapter and you will see it all. But I see you did leave another review, so I will leave my elaboration until then.

daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 5/20/2005
Tulus noted Colloth scanning the room, his eyes falling briefly on the knife on the hearth and Tulus’s sword and bow by the door. With a quiet sigh, Tulus moved away from both objects. -- That's a lovely little detail. And I have to say that if Aradunnon questioned me, I'd probably babble everything I know. What a wise king Thranduil is. He tries to repair his community rather than concentrating on vengeance and punishment. Loved the way you reminded us that speaking Quenya was more or less forbidden! Author Reply: Hi Daw :-) Thanks for the review. I'm glad you liked that detail. It's funny because it was a last minute add as I rewrote part of this to split the chapter. I liked it because I can see the guards doing that sort of thing. It would be their job. But also, I can see Tulus noticing Colloth doing it because he recognizes the duty, since it was once his own. It would be a strange feeling for Tulus to be on the other end of it. And it shows the position Tulus has put himself in. When I wrote this whole thing, I had to spend a lot of time thinking about how Elves and Men are going to react to crime--and High Treason is a pretty serious crime. I figured Men would probably not react much differently in Middle Earth than they did in Medieval Europe. I toned Fengel's reaction back some, but he did hang his conspirators (better than drawing and quartering). But Elves were a trick. Despite the king of Gondolin's reaction to Eol, there is no way I'm going to buy into Elves calmly sentencing Elves to death as a general law. I think they would tend towards more long term solutions rather than punitive measures. And besides, exiled angry people are just free to cause more trouble and I don't know how you'd impison an elf until the end of Arda. I'm sure Thranduil is madder than hell and I wouldn't have wanted to be Hallion when Aradunnon sent his report--I bet Hallion spent a good while calming Thranduil's temper. Aradunnon, not being a fool, probably decided to send a report, rather than make one in person with the conspirators in tow in order to give his brother time to cool down. :-) But when all is said and done, I believe Thranduil would do what is best for Mirkwood. And probably go vent his frustration on some archery targets afterward. :-) And I love the language thing, being a former Foreign Langauge teacher. My husband thinks that part of the Silm is stupid and I can understand that. Forbidding someone to speak their language doesn't seem like much in response to the kinslaying in Alqualonde (sp?) but it really would be. Language is very personal and a major part of one's culture. And these are Elves--the quendi, the speakers. Language is important to them. I think it would have been a loss the Noldor would have felt. I always found that judgment interesting. And although I didn't take much time to work with it here, Marti is Noldorin (imagine most people have got that by now so I doubt that was a spoiler) and that is going to be an issue. Thranduil is going to piece together a lot of little clues about her and this was one of them. It was necessary to clear up the names I've been playing with until now. Thanks again for the review, Daw. I really appreciate them. :-)

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