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| Eärendil’s Tale by Bodkin | 7 Review(s) |
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| Lilandriel | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 1/3/2007 |
| I just had to review. this chapter was so powerful, so totally awesome. i cried. twice! at the end there when Earendil tells that Arwen now blows kises to the Star of High Hope with her son in her arms, as her father did with her an Age before, and to know that there would be no reunion... it was heartbreaking. And the two mothers sharing such a terrible grief. you create such incredible, powerful images. not only have i cried, i've laughed, and at unexpected times too! the halls of the Valar... how do you describe something that is beyond description? beyond the scope of mortal words and comprehension? you've done it beautifully that Elwing and Earendil found peace and healing among Olwes' people, and then Celebrian countless years later- a testimony to not only the unchangingness of the Elves, but of the eternal compassion and kindness of the Teleri. you know, you've written it in such a way that it makes me so angry with the Valar? it's not their intent, but they seem so cold and indifferent at times. that bit where Earendil contemplates that the Valar withheld their aid because they were waiting for an apology!? so many who have suffered and died beneath the shadow of a fallen Vala? (singular; Vala? not sure) grr! what a fantastic piece of emotive work. there is so much i want to say. i don't have the words for it all. it's superb. utterly stunning. you don't write professionally, do you? if not, you should really consider taking it up. all the way through, this story has been consistently brilliant. i don't want it to end!! xx Author Reply: Thank you so much, Lilandriel! I am deeply flattered to have made such an impression on you - I shall certainly have to save your review so that I can reread it when I'm feeling inadequate. The division between Arwen and Elrond is such a sad part of the story - even victory brings sacrifice and no happy ending is without tragedy. I like to think that reunion will come - finally, at Arda's ending - and that Elrond will be able to make up for lost time, but that's just because I can't bear to think of Arwen being separated for ever from her family. I'm delighted that you enjoyed the parts with the Valar - it is hard enough to picture Aman, and the halls of the Valar and the Valar themselves - well. Probably only possible through the reaction of anyone confronting them. And I don't blame Earendil for being a little ... bitter. The Valar let Morgoth run free in Middle-earth and didn't seem too keen to take the responsibility. Probably more to it than that, I know, but when you are the half-elf torn from your family to provide the bridge, a little resentment is understandable! I love writing - but I never did it for anybody's pleasure but my own until I discovered SoA and fanfiction. I really enjoy the personal contact with readers - it's a great community! Thank you again. I'm sorry the story has to finish! | |
| lwarren | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 6/4/2005 |
| What a wonderful chapter! I've just looked at the clock and it's 1:00 in the morning! No wonder I'm cross-eyed! I just wanted to say this was great and I will review it in more detail in the morning (er...later this morning!) LOL linda Author Reply: It kept you interested until 1 am! Yay! Have a good night's sleep. | |
| Redheredh | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 5/30/2005 |
..."Valinor is not what you expect," Elwing said softely. "It is not an end, but a beginning. Your existence stops and shifts and begins again." "But there is no going back."... Not after the ban anyway nor later after the world was reshaped. Still, sounds alot like being 'reborn'. Maybe 'healing' is not so diffrent. With the 'beings that needed no halls', you made me think of how Yaweh appeared to the Chosen People. In a form that they could understand yet be sheilded from His absolute awe. Shadows on the wall of a primative creature's mental cave, only hinting at their true shapes within the blinding Light. Then, there is that moment Earendil hands over the jewel to Yavanna and apologizes for Beren and Luthien not getting the other two. What a hobbit moment! 'Course, this Lady is not like that other one. Thank goodness. But, once again the elemental power is recognized and there is an acknowledgement that the moral judgment on how to use it resides the hands of sentient beings with motives of their own. Time does flow differently in different places and circumstance - especially for the Valar and Eldar as compared to Men - and you have used that very well in this entire tale. The benevolance of the Valar was well done too. Earendil's and Elwing's humble obedience is virtuous instead of being manipulated under false pretenses of concern about the fate of Arda or from a simple arrogance as the greatest beings in Arda. It has been interesting to see Earendil sanctified by the Simaril's light. Changed in spirit, but not changed in heart. You make me think he would have always been a good, dedicated person essentially like Voronwe or Finrod. And never like Turgon or Fingolfin. Like Frodo and Faramir, not Boromir or Denethor. The ending reminded me that this is Memorial Day and of all the families whose tradition of service over their genereations have burdened them with the loss of their beloved children. Author Reply: Thank you. You make it sound as if I was being clever when I put various things together rather than just feeling it! Because, really, it's quite tricky putting some of the more epic ideas into the hands of real people. Why would the Valar choose to make a half-elf/half-man into a star? And the Silmarillion isn't too specific on a lot of answers. The Valar are benevolent on a universal scale, I think, but not perhaps too concerned about individuals - except, every now and then, when one comes to their attention. But you know what they say about whom the gods love . . . I thought there might be another two chapters, but I think now that it might only be one. Maybe an epilogue, but I'm not sure. But the next chapter feels sort of like a conclusion to the main story. I'm glad you liked the chapter! Author Reply: There's never any going back. Whatever. All the 'You can't pass over the same bridge twice' stuff. You're not the same person when you revisit the past - and neither is the place you want to go. I'll stop before I depress myself further. | |
| elliska | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 5/28/2005 |
| I know this sound less powerful since I say it every chapter, but I sincerely mean it--this is absolutely wonderful. The way you describe the Valar in this (and your description in general) is pure poetry of which I am truly jealous. Some favorite lines: I could not believe that it would do my cause any good if I were to fall on my face before them and gibber incoherently. for the humour of it. ‘I felt like a sparrow confronted by eagles. Outranked, outmatched, outshone, outdone.’ What a perfect simile. I loved it. They were – he hesitated – the halls of beings that needed no halls. Simple and so powerful. I loved the portrayal of Eärendil making his plea--the way you showed his emotions was wonderful. That was it--loved that--too true and well done. And of course I loved seeing him turn over the Simaril. He had to, I think, and I liked how you made it happen. And, though I am hard pressed to name a favorite part, it might be Elwing's description of her time with the Teleri. I like the idea of her telling Olwe about his brother (the good parts, especially). I'm happy to know that he got to hear it and I liked the idea that they found healing there and later Celebrian did. How pathetic is it that I cried at the part where they chose their fates and learned that their sons were still alive to be offered the choice too? I loved the description of Vingilot and Eärendil initially thinking it would not be as satisfying as the open sea and Elwing thinking it more beautiful than the sun and moon. But of course the part I liked the best was the vision of Elrond with his sons, watching it each night and Eärendil watching them back. Needless to say, I cried again when I read that Arwen looks at Eärendil with Eldarion. That is too tragic, as you showed, because there is no hope of a reunion there. If anything shows the difficulty of the choice--the fact that it is not a gift but a doom--it is that image. So sad. But hopeful too. At least Arwen and her children do have that connection. Really well done, Bodkin! I love this story! Author Reply: I am so glad you are continuing to enjoy it. It is fun doing the jigsaw here of putting in the bits from the Silmarillion and teasing them apart to add more from Earendil and Elwing. Tricky on occasion. (Did you know just how far Elwing gets put away from Alqualonde and the inhabited portions of Valinor?) I think Earendil had to be willing to surrender the Silmaril - because only in sacrifice could he get to bear it. He saw himself as a custodian of something that belonged to all. The complete opposite of Feanor, really. And who better to give it to than the Valar? Seeing Elwing with the Teleri made me happy. I'm not terribly happy with her fate in the Silmarillion really. Sounds romantic, but I think it's cruel. I would much rather she had been able to spend her time with her kin - I reckon it would have helped the Teleri as much as it would her. Elrond and his children watching Earendil as he watched them is romantic, too, but not as good as being there with them. Better than nothing, though - as is watching Arwen. No. No hope of reunion while Arda lasts. But they will be together beyond the end of days. Two more chapters, probably. I hope they work for you, too. | |
| Elena Tiriel | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 5/28/2005 |
| I am truly enjoying this story, Bodkin. I like how you work out how the characters must be feeling and thinking - like Eärendil being willing to give up the Silmaril - when Tolkien just didn't give us much information on their interior life. - Barbara Author Reply: I am glad you like it! I thought - what is the difference between Earendil and Feanor when it comes to the Silmaril - and decided that the willingness to sacrifice something for the greater good had to be a major part of the difference between them. (Whereas Feanor was willing to sacrifice the greater good for a thing.) Also that the connection between Earendil and the Silmaril he had borne might have been an element in the Valar's decision as to what to do with him. I am enjoying writing this, but I think it's close to its end now. Perhaps two more chapters. | |
| Elvenesse | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 5/28/2005 |
| I'd never thought of that before; but I like the idea of Elwing and Celebrian being together, mourning the children they may never see again. The same of Elrond and Eärendil - father and son both losing a child to mortality. *ouch* I very much like the way you portray the Valar: great and powerful, but definitely not human. I have real trouble with them - I hate the way they abandon Men, and Middle-earth, and the exiles. I suppose the way they measure time is to the elves as the elves' measurement of time is to men. So maybe it is simply that those three Ages are almost nothing to them. I like the idea that Eärendil can see Arwen and the line of Kings to come. Author Reply: It's one of the really good side-effects of writing this - suddenly something just hits you and a whole new layer appears. Elwing and Earendil can't really be parents to Elrond - he's x thousand years old now and doesn't need a nana and ada, but they share a bond that no-one else does (with a sort of Melian-the-Maia exception). That in itself must make them close. The Valar are difficult - they have a touch of classical god about them, although they are rather less brattish - and I can't relate much to the way they just let Morgoth get on with it, so I think they have to be working on a different plane. Able to focus intently for a century on a single bloom, but not able to see how a bitter winter can affect mortal creatures. Caring, but in a distant kind of way. I wanted there to be some point to Earendil sailing Vingilot across the sky - although again, it seems a bit of a Valar-ish good plan for the War of Wrath followed by a 'what do you mean, he has been doing it without a break for over two ages? What is an age to an elf?' If Earendil is not to expire from the sheer boredom of it, I thought he had to be able to see something of what was happening - and I like him being able to see his granddaughter. Thank you for commenting. | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 5/28/2005 |
| It's interesting to see the parallel between the Silmarils and the Ring of Power, both of which apparently took hold in the bearer's heart and became hard to surrender. Lovely moment at the end between the two mothers whose children are lost to them. The Valar look both kind and unfathomable, maybe even capricious by human standards, but then, I guess that's too bad for us. Author Reply: Maybe it's the old 'all power corrupts' bit. I had to think that Earendil was willing to surrender it - because only then would he be able to bear it through the pathless void. And then, the effect of the Silmaril on him has to have changed him - made him more suitable for a Higher Destiny stuff. In the Blessed Realm, only Celebrian, Elwing and Melian - perhaps they should get to know each other - have children lost to mortality. And only Celebrian and Elwing know what it is to wait long centuries in the hope of reunion with other children. It's an understanding that should bring them close. The Valar are working on a whole other agenda, I think, and a completely different timescale. Even compared to elves. Have a good break. | |