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Interrupted Journeys: Part 4 Journeys of Discovery by elliska	9 Review(s)
Jay Greenleaf Elf	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/14/2005
Hi mellon nin Long time no writing. Finally you managed to start your new story off 'starts cheering'. Ooh those elflings are naughty, if I did something wrong, I wouldn't go looking for more trouble. I was astounded by the way you use small objects to show the depth of Thranduil's history as well as his ancestory 'applaudes'. Well I'm looking forward to the next chapter and see what other mischief the elflings are going to get into. Till next time Author Reply: Hi! :-) Yes, I was out much longer than I intended and I am still going to be slow. Yuck! Yes, those little elfling are naughty things aren't they. Believe it or not, I did exactly what Legolas did once--I got sent to a room to wait for someone to 'come speak to me' and I went through my dad's trunk. It went much better for Legolas than it did for me. :-) I like playing with little family heirlooms. Elves have the potential for having tons of them given how old they are. We'll see more of that. Thanks for the reviews!

The Karenator	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/9/2005
What a pleasant surprise to come home from frolicking in the woods to find a new story. Just a lovely chapter. The kids are such...kids. I'd be chomping at the bit to get out of lessons on such a nice day too. Unfortunately they don't seem to have figured out that you have to have all your co-conspirators on the same page and to act quickly. They were right, of course, that their absence would indeed be noticed. Another minor glitch in the plan. I was as intrigued as Legolas as to what all the 'treasures' were in Thranduil's trunk. I'm looking forward to hearing about the items and how they relate to the history of his family and his people. I'm sure there will be some good tales to be told. I'm looking forward to reading more. Karen Author Reply: Frolicking in the woods! Now I am really jealous! :-) I spent last weekend editing training material for major computer company that I consult for on the side. I was inside all day long and only got a few minutes together to post because I had sworn to myself that I would do it last weekend. And you were 'frolicking in the woods' like a woodelf. Sigh I am so jealous. I laughed when I read the part about having all your co-conspirators together. Either that is the voice of personal experience or of a mother's experience. Either way, you are right, but that was very funny. I love connecting the rich history Tolkien wrote to personal things like this. We will definitely be hearing more about that stuff and more. Thanks so much for the review! I really appreciate them. (And by the way, will Daeron be making another appearance soon I hope? I have to ask every now and again because I just love him.)

daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/9/2005
Oh lovely. I just got back from visiting Karenator and found this new story. I don't blame the elflings a bit for wanting to go out into the spring. They're wood elves! And if you deliberately bore a kid, you better keep an eye on him! I look forward to hearing the stories. Author Reply: That sounds like fun! Yes, I remember when I wrote this part, I was wanting to get outside and enjoy myself but it was too hot, so I sympathized with them too. Actually, as busy as work has been recently, I am still sympathetic! :-) And if you deliberately bore a kid, you better keep an eye on him! Snort That is certainly too true! But it cracked me up. Thanks for the review, Daw. I really appreciate them. I am looking forward to being back at posting. I spent far more time away this time than I intended. :-)

perelleth	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/9/2005
I'm sorry I'm so late, but I've just moved some distance, and settling down is being more difficult than what I had anticipated, so I'm quite short of time and computer access and... terribly immersed in my job, but I finally managed to snatch some time today to try and catch up ! (I've just finished the previous story, during the flight! but I still owe you the review!:-) It was so fun to see the children interacting! Galithil is certainly what one would expect from a son of such parents. In fact, I'm still half expecting that soon you will disclose us Dolgailon's secret parentage? :-) Seriously, I loved the conversation between LEgolas and his Adar, the rebelliousness despite how much he respects his adar, and then the simple truth that stories are more interesting when recounted rather that explained.. Students tend to agree on that, no matter the age or the race... not me, anyway, I always loved History at school... I'm so glad you began a new story! now I can follow from the first chapter! This sounds promising! And I've decided to make up a list of who's who for my personal use! :-) Author Reply: Late? It took me 15 weeks from the last posting of Part Three until I started Part Four. Who do you think is later, me or you? :-) Moving stinks, especially when it's over a long distance. Having moved from the US to Spain several times, I sympathize. I hope all went well and settles down for you quickly. I burst out laughing when I read: I'm still half expecting that soon you will disclose us Dolgailon's secret parentage? That was hilarious! Poor Dolgailon. You will see him try to be a good influence on his younger brother to absolutely no avail. Galithil is full of energy (and trouble). I'm glad you liked the conversation between Legolas and Thranduil--I agree with everything you said. I also loved history, but my parents were really into my education. They knew what we were studying in school and made sure they did related stuff with me on the weekends (studying the American Revolution--we made a field trip to some museum; studying the Civil War--we went to a battle reenactment...and science experiments at home...I had great parents). So I firmly believe education is better experienced. And I've decided to make up a list of who's who for my personal use! I have one for mine--want me to send it to you? :-) It's funny you said that because I was just joking somewhere that I have lists of my favorite authors' OCs and I need one for my own as well (I discovered when I was editing at one point that the same guard died twice defending Thranduil's family--that's when I decided the list was absolutely essential). As for Part Three--I made a major change to it Sunday night. I added a whole chapter basically. I wonder if you saw that. I bet the people on the plane think you are working hard on business reports with all your papers. And you are reading fanfic. You have them fooled. :-) Thanks so much for the reviews! I really appreciate them. I hope everything goes well for you in your new place. :-)

Nilmandra	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/9/2005
I am glad you have begun a new story, so I can start reading from the ground floor, so to speak. I like your very curious elflings and the extended family you have given to Thranduil. It is nice to see him having a wife and Legolas a mother (since most of us seem to do her in quite early...) but also cousins and uncles. The elflings are naturally curious and I would be tired of a being a cave all winter too, no matter how nice the cave. I think I agree that lessons need to move outdoors on those days, and I love lessons learned through stories. It is also wonderful to see more history here - of Denethor and the remembrances that the Noldor and Laiquendi were friends, the fall of Menegroth and the participation at Dagorlad. The House of Oropher has a long and glorious history for Legolas and his cousins to learn. Learn outdoors, naturally! Author Reply: Hi Nilmandra! I am very glad to have finally begun posting this too. I waited much longer than I had intended. I see elflings, especially woodelf elflings, as pretty curious little things. (Of course, the moment I wrote that, I thought--I bet the Noldor were seriously curious too. So I guess I take that back--all elflings). I love writing about them. And honestly, I like to think that Thranduil at least started out with some family, albeit distant, with him in Mirkwood. Fighting the long defeat iin the forest would have been very difficult. I hope he had someone to share at least part of it with him, poor elf. I recall writing this part of the story when I had been trapped inside by summer heat for too long--I was very sympathetic with the elflings. And I love exploring the history of these families--the history Tolkien created is just so rich and thinking about how it affected individuals is so interesting to me. Thanks so much for the review! I really appreciate them. :-)

Brazgirl	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/8/2005
Ah Elliska! What a pleasure to read from you again! I was just wondering why were you taking so long to update. I so missed your stories! On the chapter now... I like the children discussion and I don't know why I am a little troubled with their curiosity. Because of Tulus, maybe. Hum. So Thranduil handles his elfling well. Legolas taking a look in ada's things was not very nice, though very children like. We all remember our younger selves doing that. I do! ;-) Those histories were so touching. Especially the one of the knife. Thranduil is indeed a fabulous story teller. But all elflings believe their fathers are heroes and the best story tellers ever. Legolas could not have been an exception. A very nice chapter, wonderful to read. Thank for sharing one more part of your story!!! Hugs, Author Reply: Hi Brazgirl! I am very glad to be back. It took much longer than I had planned for me to start posting this because work has been keeping me so busy--much, much more than usual. There's a saying in English--curiosity killed the cat. Curiosity is a good thing when it encourages us to learn but a bad thing if it leads us into trouble. I think it might do both for Legolas before he gets older. :-) But remember, even during the Quest, he is so curious about the Huorns (sp?) that he almost wanders off to go look at them. :-) I did exactly what Legolas did in this chapter and got into my father's trunk when I was little--he was furious with me. But Thranduil handled it well, with Lindomiel's help. These stories will be very light for a little while. I hope you keep enjoying them and thank you so much for the reviews. They make my day. :-)

Dot	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/8/2005
Ooh, naughty elflings – what fun! I love this little troop of elflings. They all have such different personalities too. I must say, I like Eirienil. She’s probably a bit too sensible to be much fun and is bossy too but I still quite like her. Besides, she was right ;-) Berior is adorable. He seems a happy little soul and a real wood-elf. Now Galithil is a wee trouble-maker. A bit different from big brother, eh?! Their discussion is hilarious. I was just chuckling at Galithil’s oh-so-serious “The Palace Guard is not informed of elflings’ study schedules, Eirienil” when I nearly choked at Berior’s belief that “He never comes out of the library. He certainly will not pursue us into the trees.” I can’t decide if it’s funnier to imagine them being chased through the trees by their tutor or that Berior seems to think that the elf genuinely doesn’t come out of the library. I thought you did a great job showing how torn Legolas is. He’s obviously fairly easily persuaded by his friends but it’s good to see that he does have a conscience and some sense of responsibility too. The little discussion about the parents was rather interesting – the elflings clearly have them all sussed out! I admit to feeling a tiny moment of glee when Thranduil appeared, though ;-) You write bored elfling very well too! Poor Legolas. What a temptation that trunk was. I probably would have done the same as a child too. I know, bad Dot. I was a little frustrated, though, at his lack of understanding of the significance of the contents. Alright, I was just curious about them and really wanted Legolas to stop tossing things aside! Still, his reactions were very realistic. He’s not quite old enough to be sentimental yet. I was so excited to see the diary! What I wouldn’t give to read that… Is it the same one that Ninglor sketched in? Thank heavens for Lindomiel and her ability to calm Thranduil. Although, I could completely understand if Thranduil lost his temper with his son. The elfling is sitting there in a pile of his prized possessions, reading his journal for crying out loud!! I did breathe a sigh of relief when Thranduil felt that hint of amusement as he saw himself in his errant son, though. That’s what mothers are for! "His expression betrayed that he had expected Legolas to choose the knife." rolls eyes Of course he picked the knife. I’m not sure what I would have picked. Probably the banner, I think. But the story of the knife is fascinating. It’s quite startling to think about all the battles it’s seen. I think the tradition of passing on weapons is extraordinarily moving. I remember being very touched by the story of the rings before Thranduil’s wedding too. Excellent idea to have people who have lived the history tell them about it. Especially as it’s not as though they have to sit state exams or anything. They more need to know the story of their people and learn their heritage and this way will surely have more meaning for them. I was glad Thranduil at least explained what the other items were. Otherwise I would have had to torment you with questions. Legolas isn’t the only one who needs to learn about curiosity ;-) I really liked the ending! I love seeing them all together, laughing and teasing. And yes, those elflings still have a few lessons to learn – I hope so anyway because I’m really enjoying watching them so far!! I’m so thrilled to see you back again, Elliska. I’m looking forward to more :-D Author Reply: I can’t decide if it’s funnier to imagine them being chased through the trees by their tutor or that Berior seems to think that the elf genuinely doesn’t come out of the library. LOL I wonder if I can work the image that conjured in my mind into one of these chapters. That's funny. I had fun with the opening of this chapter setting up their personalities a bit. I think I like Berior the most, myself. You have him exactly right. He is a perfect little wood elf and after losing his first son, that is exactly what Celonhael wants. But he is also the hardest for me to write, for some reason. Eirienil and Galithil are the easiest. I have fun with them. I did do exactly that with my father's trunk and he did not react as well as Thranduil (went through the roof, he did). I liked poor Legolas just too tempted to stay away from the trunk. Don't worry, you will hear more about all those items. And yes, I would love to get my hands on Thranduil's journals. It is exactly the one with Ninglor's sketch in it. Most of the stuff in that trunk (and there is more than you have yet seen) makes several appearances in this story. Snort Of course he'd pick the knife--he certainly isn't going to pick the lady's hair ribbons, is he? Not now. Later, he will. You will see. I do have a big soft spot for items that have passed from parents to children and on down through family history. I love that stuff and I tend to include it a lot. Especially as it’s not as though they have to sit state exams or anything. Do not even get me started on the issue of education vs passing state exams. I think Legolas and cousins will learn much more this way. If I ever had children, which I guess I won;t since I'm 40, I'd home school them. Hand-on, active learning for my children! I'm very, very glad to be back. I went much longer than I planned before I started posting this and I missed posting. Thank you so much for the review! I really love them. :-)

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/8/2005
Why do I feel that Galithil is going to be harder to train in responsibility and the duties of leadership than his brother? His cousin, on the other hand . . . Well, Legolas might need a few reminders along the way - and Eirienil will be happy to act as his conscience. And what splendid parents the elfling has - firm, considered, yet understanding. And their ideas of additions to lessons sound pretty good to me - somehow doing things is so much more fun than sitting and learning from books. Well. Some of the time anyway. And the elflings have learned - finish the work and you get to go outside and play. Try to skip it and the tedium lasts for ever. Thranduil reacted quite calmly to the investigation of his trunk of treasure, really. And to the reading of his journal. A good thing that Lindomiel was there, I suspect. I note Tulus's presence. I hope he develops sufficient devotion to the engaging elflings to help him to maintain his focus and avoid the ploys of the Evil One and her little coterie of criminally-minded elves. I'm sooooooo pleased to see this begin. And to enjoy some light-hearted elfling-raising mayhem. Delightful. Author Reply: Galithil is not going to be as easy to deal with as Dolgailon was--you are absolutely right about that. I like him though. He made me laugh a couple of places as I re-read these to try to put them in some order to post. :-) Thranduil reacted much more calmly than my dad did when he caught me going through his trunk as a child. I had all his army ribbons all over the floor and the knife he took off a enemy soldier that he captured and I was wearing his uniform jacket. I thought he was going to literally go through the roof ('course the knife was in my hand when he walked in and I was about 6). I think Legolas is very lucky Lindomiel was there. :-) Yes, Tulus and company will contribute a bit to this. My favorite chapter has that troupe of trouble makers in it--it's funny, not scary though. I am pleased to start posting again. I had really only intended to take a week between stories--it turned into 15. The entire summer semester. It was just so busy. Fall semester just started. I hope it is smoother. Thank you so much for the reviews. They really mean a lot. :-)

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/7/2005
I wish I could have escaped a lot of lessons when I was little. I think my problem was that I was a quick study, and was tremendously bored by the slow pace of grade school, especially reading. We had reading groups according to how well we could do, and I was alone in the highest one for a couple of years, and I hated being alone. Legolas should be glad he's not in public school, where there's no possibility of escape no matter how hard you try. History is always so much better when you're poking around through stuff. My grandmother has a lot of interesting photographs and objects, and I've always liked to poke around at them. Fortunately, she remembers what being a kid was like, and she always let me play with her things. There was this one enormous ivory-handled magnifying glass that I especially liked to play with, and she has declared that it will be part of my inheritance (although my little cousins like it, too). And she likes to tell all about the people in the photos -- Babushka and Uncle Vovo and her father and all them. She has one of Crown Prince Alexei Romanov of Russia in a little uniform. He's very handsome but very solemn, and she told me all about the boy in that photograph and what happened to him and to his family, which was how I learned about the Russian Revolution. And once I snuck up to the attic and poked around in boxes and found a typescript of a story that my aunt had written when she was a teenager about a girl in a mental hospital. I told my mom about it, and she looked kind of disturbed and said she didn't know that my aunt had ever written anything like that. I'm not sure I believe her, because I did find it at our house, after all. But Legolas is right -- learning things is much more fun when they're real and tangible. And Thranduil is a good father to realize this and cut him a little slack because of it. Author Reply: Yes, I was rather bored in school to for the same reasons. And to this day I have trouble being in work when it is pretty outside. We always joke that we're going to bring an extension cord and the computers out onto the lawn at the school where I work. Won't they be surprised one day when I do it! :-) The story about little Alexei and how you learned about him and his family is very cool (russian was my under grad major and I loved reading about the tzars). When I taught, the (much) older professors I worked with used to laugh a little at me for bringing in pictures and slides to class but I think the students like it. Same type of thing. I've said it before--I'd love to meet your family. This time, however, I read this at home (I can be taught) so that when I got to the part where you found a novel by your aunt about a girl in a mental hospital, I could giggle and not become a girl in a mental hospital. :-) Thanks for the review, FP. I do really appreciate them. :-)

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