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| History Lessons: The Third Age by Nilmandra | 19 Review(s) |
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| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 5/24/2006 |
| One of the easiest ways to know unwarranted guilt, to find your mother has been captured and wounded on your watch. Has to be among the worst things these can imagine. Excellent use of description. Author Reply: This was a horrid chapter to write. The burden of leadership means taking such deaths and injuries to heart, even if no real fault exists. All are fallible. Ack, I was glad to get this past me. | |
| Rose Sared | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 8/16/2005 |
| This half of the chapter was so powerful I could hardly read it. Well done for writing the hard stuff - you are an inspiration. Rose Author Reply: This half of the chapter was so powerful I could hardly read it. I know it sounds rather sick to say it, but I am glad for that! I hoped to make it graphic enough that we saw the true horror of what happened and why the twins were so affected, yet not so graphic that it was unreadable either. Thank you again! | |
| Karri | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 7/26/2005 |
| Very intense chapter, Nilm. You set us up well with the interaction between Elrond and Celebrian at the start. We get a nice taste of just how much was destroyed when the orcs took her. And then, pow! -- angst, angst, and more angst. It was really wonderful to see the cavalry arrive in the form of Celeborn. He gets lost in the shadow of Galadriel in far too many story. Author Reply: Angst was kind of the theme this chapter, wasn't it? No one is more glad than me that this part is over! | |
| Eruanneth_Luin | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 7/23/2005 |
| Though we so long for elvish health and longevity would we likewise wish to bear for endless centuries the memories of loss and grief endured by the elves of Middle-Earth, remembered each with perfect clarity? Such joyful married bliss shared by Elrond and Celebrían, passionate and exclusive even after the passing of ages. It is good to think on this last fond memory in light of the coming heartbreak. Glorfindel when taking Elrond down by sheer force must have wondered momentarily if the One Ring had been recovered, altering his duty to this ring-bearer from protection to releasing him to the Halls of Mandos to spare him from servitude to Sauron. And for all the ‘follies’ of Erestor and Glorfindel, it was to Erestor he entrusted the guardianship in his absence. Oh my stars, you were so right! This is a dreadfully grim chapter. So much anger, despair and anguish resulting from a simple journey. No wonder the elves dwelt in protected realms. Now I am off to read part two. Author Reply: This was dreadfully grim, wasn't it? I am glad Elrond has that last night of lovemaking to remember, but I think he must also have guilt for not acting on his foresight. It can hardly be considered a gift most of the time. I can only imagine what was going through the Golden One's mind as he saw Elrond in that state. He is a rather forceful elf when he wants to be though! No matter what is before him - an errant elfling, a hysterical elf lord, or the Nazgul, he takes it on head first! | |
| runnerbeast | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 7/21/2005 |
| Oh this is so heart wrenchingly wonderful. You wrote the grief and pain Elrond experienced through his and Celebrian's bond while Celebrian was being attacked just beautifully. I mean it was horrifically great. Does that make sense? And my heart just goes out now to Elrohir... and Elladan especially, now experiencing the guilt over this. Oh what will happen next... and then "poof" the next half of the chapter appeared. yay! Great wonderful writing! Author Reply: The subject matter is terrible, but I am glad you liked how it was written. I didn't want to be too graphic, yet I did want the horror of the events on all of them to be seen, so that their behaviors became understandable. Unfortunately, things don't let up much for a while :( | |
| TithenFeredir | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 7/21/2005 |
| Wow, what an amazing chapter. You certainly pulled no punches and the effect was very powerful. To begin it with Elrond and Celebrian's lovemaking the night before her departure made it even more jarring when he was assailed by her distress. I think you portrayed their connection and his reaction extremely well. I also like the way Glorfindel took charge and enlisted Erestor to manage things in Imladris. There was such a feeling of urgency to that scene. When at last we find Celebrian her situation is just sickening. You didn't soft sell the brutality of the orcs and it heightened the horror of the scene so much. The terrible anguish of the twins was just as affecting as Elrond's but in a different way. I think you did a marvelous job of showing the magnitude of this event for everyone involved. The way you wrote this it all seemed very immediate and real. I was transported; it was truly gut-wrenching. Wow. Just...wow. ~TF Author Reply: As horrible as it is to say it, I am glad people felt they were there and felt the horror too. It is awful. I am going to post the second half right away, just so when can all finish it and get past it. :( Thanks for you comments - I think when we understand the horror, it gives us more insight into how people react to it. | |
| meckinock | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 7/21/2005 |
| Wow. I know this one took a lot out of you, but it was worth it. Very powerful. I loved the beginning; getting to see Elrond and Gandalf working together to call down the flood was really a thrill. And I liked Elrond's knowledge that someone was coming with an evil wound. It was a nice segue into the attack on Celebrian. The love scene with Elrond and Celebrian was almost too hard to read, knowing what was about to happen and what they were about to lose. Elrond's reaction to Celebrian's distress was agonizing to watch, but I loved take-charge Glorfindel and good soldier Erestor. I liked the way E2 supported each other. Their frantic gathering of arrows in anticipation of going after the orcs was a nice touch; they know that they'll need them. The horror of hearing their mother screaming was, well, horrible, and it spiked the tense of tension and urgency to an unbearable level. I was so relieved when Celeborn showed up, even though it was terrible for him to see what had been done to his daughter. I don't know if I can bear to read any more, but on the other hand I can't wait to... Author Reply: I know what you mean - its like a train wreck, how can you not look? I am posting the other half right away because I need it done with. Its a strange reaction, I know, but I feel like I can't look seriously at the next chapter until this one is all out there. Oh, and my toes bow down in worship to you....I'll email you. | |
| Nikara | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 7/21/2005 |
| Wow. What a chapter. You really capture the thoughts and voice of the characters. I can't wait til the next section! Author Reply: Thanks, Nikara! Tonight or tomorrow. :) | |
| perelleth | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 7/21/2005 |
| Mmm, reading won over laundry and now I'm wondering whether I packed the machine properly... as I was busy mulling over this chapter.:-) It is very well done, and I'm very interested in your choices, since this is a situation canon deals with in one or two lines... I had never considered that the twins were with the escort, nor that Celeborn would be waiting for them at the Pass, but everything seemed perfectly in place to me, and the fact that the twins were there only adds more pain and suffering to their wandering and revenge- seeking lives after that. I dread to think how Elladan's going to cope with guilt.. The ambush and the battle were vividly detailed, as well as the deaths of the guards. Wasn't Garthon the one who was with Elladan, Elrohir and Glorfindel in the trip to Mithlond in HLII? Celeborn was superb here! go you! I shudder to think how much that cost him! It is funny to wonder what Tolkien thought of ELrond, considering that he turned back to rewrite the Silm when he finished writing LOTR, and seeing what a pivotal role Elrond had been given in the unfolding of the events of the third age, after so much sacrifice, bereavement and struggle. Such a decisive character and so little told about him. The perfect mix, I believe, for now he is coming alive thanks to your skill! Author Reply: I think there were a variety of factors that led me to conclude that the twins were part of the escort - one is that it seemed likely that some family would go with her. The second is that that line says they 'pursued and rescued' her...to me pursuit means you're present, vs them somehow getting word and then going out to search for her. The last is that I couldn't bear for Celebrian to be with for longer than hours - and if they were not part of the escort it might be weeks she was being tormented. I just couldn't do it. :( Elrond is fascinating to me for exactly the reasons you point out. Tolkien never speaks much about Elrond, except to point out his roles in the stories. But when you add it all up and consider this character was described by Tolkien as 'kind as summer'(among other things) I just can't help but think how he could survive all the pain and loss he did and still be described so. He had to be an extraordinary person, truly refined gold and humble. But then, I could go on and on about Elrond, so I'll stop :>) | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 7/21/2005 |
| Oh Nilmandra, this must have been agonizingly difficult to write! What a dreadful, dark time for all of Imladris, and now Elrond must work on Frodo with these memories assailing him. I really like the way you equated both the Nazgul and the Ring as "evil cloaked". And oh my goodness, this was amazing: Glorfindel grasped his hand, and then placed Erestor’s hand over it, ensuring that Erestor felt the invisible ring. “This is of great benefit to Imladris, and right now to Celebrían. It must not fall into the hands of the enemy, nor Elrond while he bears it – at any cost. You bear my duty in my absence.” Author Reply: This chapter is why I went two months with out posting! It was awful...and yet I had to write the ending of HLIII too, so that I could see Celebrian whole and well again...and then know I had to get from point A to point B, somehow. | |