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The Acceptable Sacrifice by Larner	14 Review(s)
storyfish	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 9/7/2006
Oh, this was one of my favorite chapters yet! I loved the dancing, from Aragorn's embarrassment at asking Eowyn to dance (I'm sure they both had her former infatuation with him on their minds) to Frodo's dance and then his cousins' concern for him after--absolutely terrific characterizations and fun to read too. I'm definitely intrigued that we're getting all this from Wasnior's (an outsider's!) perspective, though I'm a little worried and suspicious of him still, since his motives are mysterious. But now, time to read on--! Author Reply: Yes, we're getting this one from the point of view of one from a nation historically antagonistic to Elendil's heirs and for too long aligned with Mordor. But it's fun to imagine just how a complete newcomer to the game with only the mildest appreciation for the players and affiliations is going to react to Hobbits seated at the King's side. And the fact that Aragorn's never (in my view of him) been particularly keen on dancing is another reason for his embarrassment, although you're right that the mutual awareness of lingering concerns for Eowyn's former infatuation plays a part. But it would be almost required of the King to first partner the woman with the greatest rank present for the first dance, particularly those associated with visiting royalty, so there wouldn't be much choice for either of them. Protocol can be so very restricting on those who find themselves in its meshes!

Inkling	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 3/7/2006
Don’t know if I’m intended to, but I find myself rather liking Wasnior…he certainly provides an interesting POV. I’m impressed with how well informed he is about the Dúnedain…far more than, say, Galador, who seemed clueless about Aragorn’s longevity. He obviously subscribes to the theory of “know thine enemy.” And love how you captured the character of each member of the embassy through how they ate. Author Reply: Interesting you find you actually like Wasnior, as many find him slimy. He does know his job, and being perhaps descended from the Black Numenorians would have more direct knowledge of the nature of the Dunedain, and probably was part of the intelligence network for Sauron, undoubtedly giving him a better idea of what was known about the Northern Dunedain and the line of the chieftains than perhaps the average Gondorian. And am so glad you appreciated the different members of the group and how each showed himself at the coronation feast.

Grey Wonderer	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 11/21/2005
Now even more folks have turned up with questions about the hobbits. It must be a bit like being on display at all times for them. Everyone would naturally be curious and have so many questions, but the staring had to be dreadful for them at times. I think it would have been like famous people out and about in public today. Everyone would want to know them or to see them. Author Reply: I think it would be exactly like that, GW; plus these folk of Umbar, once they realize the Hobbits are close to the King's heart, are going to want to see if they can exploit that situation to the benefit of themselves, of course.

Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 11/9/2005
Very interesting to see the coronation feast and its attendants through the eyes of Lord Wasnior, who knows very little about all what had happened in the last weeks! I suppose he will be a bit disconcerted to discover the one he thinks to be Cúrunir is Mithrandir and the supposed Theodred is Éomer. And all of this on top of elves, dwarves and hobbits! It is surely not what Wasnior had expected for his mission. He seems to have very odd companions, considering his opinion of their table manners. I wonder why he brought them there in the first place, but of course he couldn’t know they would end up at a feast so short after their arrival. Angrapain somehow sounds as a brother to Landrion. I truly wonder if this visit will be uneventful. looks suspicious at the Umbarians About Frodo’s dance with Éowyn I had mixed feelings. On the one hand it was so good to see him happy and dance again, and with the Lady of Rohan besides, but on the other hand it was sad he wasn’t able to last through the whole dance. Poor Frodo, it must have been very frustrating. Author Reply: I doubt Wasnior himself chose these himself. Which were chosen by other lords and which pushed themselves into the embassy for their own purposes is yet unclear; certainly Landrion pushed himself into the first embassy while Ruvemir was ill. No one is fully clear as to the results of the battles, I think, except the victorious parties. The Umbarians are trying to learn what has happened, for at the end Sauron was too intent on the approach of the army to his gates to share news with the sponsors of his armies of Men. Now they will learn; but it seemed logical they would be completely out of their reckoning as to who the key players are now, for it's unlikely they have had clear intelligence for some weeks. Angrapain might not be a brother to Landrion, but it does sound as if he shares affinities with Varondil, doesn't it? And those may lead him into trouble in the future. And Frodo is realizing his stamina has been more deeply affected than he'd expected, I think. Yes, a joy to see him in a moment of sheer pleasure; a grief to see him flag.

Radbooks	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 11/9/2005
Very interesting chapter to see this from the point of view of Wasnior. I was surprised that he didn't realize that the King had returned to Gondor, though of course communications systems then are not what they are today! :) And that they didn't know that Eomer is the king of Rohan. You can just see Wasnior trying to figure everything out... who the hobbits are and why the king dotes on them. Probably trying to figure out how he can use that to his advantage. I didn't like the thought of the one Umbarian being a spy and then I realized that Aragorn would see right through any attempt at spying anyway... he's suspcious of all of them already. :) I'm still trying to figure out what they are doing there. I'm sure it was mentioned in one of your other stories - Pippin mentioned it to Ruvemir I think - but I can't remember. Well, I suppose that's a good thing... it will be a surprise for me! :) It still makes me chuckle that the king is not a very good dancer... but it's nice that he's not good at everything! :) Author Reply: No, communication is not what it was, and particularly in the light of the last two months when between them Saruman and Sauron have tried to lay any and all resistance low, only to be brought down themselves. Once Saruman lost the Palantir of Orthanc Sauron lost a good conduit for information on how the free world was faring, and once he was uncertain all of his allies would become uncertain as well. Then to have the month of peace after the fall when messages are going west and north but nowhere else must have driven all in the other lands crazy; and I doubt that Aragorn would have willingly allowed those of the Haradrim who went back to their own lands clearly tell what had happened to those of Umbar as they passed. He might even have used the ships of Umbar to take Haradrim for repatriation home by sea. So, Wasnior is sent to find out what happened to his fleet and why the words from spies have dried up, and whatever other business Umbar might have been sponsoring on their own behalf, and finds the world turned upside down. And, no, no one is good at EVERYTHING; let Frodo have his few independent glories.

grumpy	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 11/9/2005
Great chapter, as seen throu the eyes of Wasnior. His first sight of the new king, and his trying to figure out what the hobbits are. Also his thoughts on his own peoples dining habits. Love it that Aragorn in not quite a dancer and that Frodo had such a good time at it. Author Reply: Wasnior is going to have lots of chances from now on to wonde about this new King and his court; and is going to insist on more of a say on those who accompany him in the future, also. This won't exactly be his last time seeing Hobbits, but the first time must have been a real mind boggler. And that Aragorn isn't as good a dancer as Frodo--well, NO ONE can be best at everything. That and his telling punch are Frodo's own personal claims to fame.

Baggins Babe	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 11/9/2005
My goodness, it's our old friend Wasnior! Great device, to see the feast through his eyes, and at such a large table he would have been somewhat isolated, since one can hardly shout too far along the table. He was clearly restricted to those immediately around him. I loved the sense of disorientation, particularly that caused when he found out that Gondor had a King again. Now he's surrounded by people he didn't know existed - even races he didn't know about. He has such a lot of new knowledge to assimilate, not least the interesting fact that the White Wizard is NOT Saruman. It will be interesting to see that revelation when it comes. Poignant to see Frodo dancing and enjoying himself but unable to sustain it. The others are only now beginning to realise the extent of his wounding. Aragorn's continued care and concern for Frodo, even in the middle of his own Coronation feast, was touching. And I really hope Angrapain and the others don't even consider hobbitnapping! Very worrying to learn that Angrapain has habits distasteful to his fellow Umbarians............... Author Reply: Yes, here the new King and Wasnior meet for the first (but not the last) time, which is definitely not necessarily to Wasnior's liking. The world has changed, and he's going to have to learn the new rules and players and piece designations. And he and his party have been purposely isolated where they are interacting during the meal basically with those who are (rightly) must suspicious of them, then trying to learn more about the King by watching him lead the first dance. And for a few moments Frodo is free to be himself, dancing and excelling at it while delighting in it, wishing only to prolong it as he can--only to realize he hasn't the stamina to finish even a single dance. And they are beginning to see just how badly hurt he's been by his experiences over the last year, and grieving for it. As for Angrapain, I suspect we all know someone like him, someond so given to self-indulgence at the expense of others we hate him/her in spite of the ties we OUGHT to have with him. And we shall see to what he comes....

Linda Hoyland	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 11/9/2005
I loved your idea of showing the banquet through the ideas of an outsider.Poor Frodo,yearning to dance but too frail to do much and finally something Aragorn does not excell at,though I'm sure he'll learn ! Many thanks for your kind reviews of my story.Did you notice the religious symbolism in chapter 23 ?Your comments are much appreciated. Author Reply: Yes, here is one activity at which Frodo does excel, and yet he cannot last out a full dance as yet--and perhaps never again. He is terribly frustrated, of course, and others are beginning to grieve for him as well. That and his infamous sucker punch are two of his claims to fame not even Aragorn can equal, I think. And, yes, I caught the bread and wine, and the prayers for the noble heart. And I still think the trick with the onion is excellent.

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 11/8/2005
And once again you demonstrate your strength in showing a fresh POV. Wasnior is delightfully ignorant of so much that has happened. He's clueless about hobbits--there's so much there for him to learn and observe. I felt so bad for Pippin--his joy at seeing Frodo dance being shattered like that. It's going to be so hard for the cousins to deal with Frodo not recovering. Wasnior's companions are interesting. This Beslor is very observant--how quickly he picked up on Faramir/Eowyn. I wonder about this Angrapain, though. He has habits unsavory even to his fellow countryman? Could he be one who perhaps had taken a lesser ring, or some other form of power from Sauron? And I hope you will have Gandalf converse with Wasnior--especially since the latter is under the impression that the former is Saruman. Should prove amusing, to Gandalf at least, LOL! Author Reply: Poor Wasnior has only a hint of knowledge of what's happening, and still has no idea what to do about it. He is finding that he no longer knows the pieces in play on the board--they're no longer black and white--we have a number of pieces from other chess sets completely, and he's still trying to figure out which are knights and which bishops, I suspect. And then in the midst are these odd little ones dressed as princes but who look like they ought to be pawns. And accepting that Frodo is not well and isn't going to become well soon is going to tear the other three apart. And Pippin, as the youngest, is going to take the realization that Frodo was too badly hurt very hard, I suspect. Beslor is recognizing that there is something between Eowyn and Faramir, yet Wasnior still wonders if she's married her cousin. During the meal they were deliberately held somewhat isolated, and he's probably feeling a bit too uncertain to try to sound out all these royals who sat about him, while he's not likely to try speaking to Elves or Dwarves. Angrapain may turn out to be a handicap to the Umbarians, but time will tell whether or not this is true. The conversation between Gandalf and Wasnior may come, but I doubt it will come tonight, although they will begin learning identities soon.

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 11/8/2005
Your choice to show this scene entirely from Wasnior's perspective was a good one. It allowed you to indulge in a good deal of description, and you do have a happy talent for that. I could see everything going on -- who was in the hall, what they were wearing, what they were eating -- in brilliant detail. I think, though, that the scene could have used a little more interaction between Wasnior and everyone else. A feast is very much a social event, and Wasnior didn't appear to be socializing with anyone, merely observing. That's not very polite of him, and it placed the reader at a certain distance, not really letting us into the scene. You also use the passive voice quite a lot, which puts us at an even further remove. I did enjoy watching the dancing, though. You seem to have a very clear idea of what Renaissance-era court dance looks like, and I was very glad to see that they were not doing couples dancing, but rather set dancing. That's the kind of little detail I like to see in a good story. Author Reply: Sorry about the isolation of Wasnior--I was purposely isolating him among those he'd feel too intimidated to speak with easily at the first. He will be talking more, until his party is escorted out of the Hall, of course. Am very glad you appreciated the fact I was showing set dancing rather than couples dancing. Not a great deal of dancing throughout history has been individual couples dancing until the last few centuries--usually it has been circle dancing either with little distinction between men and women or strictly sexually segregated or with the men and women in separate concentric circles; or it has been partner line dancing with specific sets of movements; or it has been exhibition dancing such as Morris dancing. The Husbandmen's Dance of "The Ties of Family" is the last type. I figured that in Gondor they would probably do more of the linear set dancing, while in Arnor they'd probably do a mixture, with more tribal kinds of dancing predominant; while in the Shire it's probably a good mix of various kinds, probably including more circular dances in which partners are exchanged. And thank you very much for the constructive criticism. I truly appreciate it.

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