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| What's left behind by perelleth | 6 Review(s) |
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| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 8/28/2006 |
| I suppose a century plus apart isn't much for elves ... but the division that caused it is sad. Legolas is suffering enough anyway! I'm glad Thranduil was able to help him - and that he was wise enough to let him take up this new challenge. But I do hope that Legolas's wife is drawn to join him in his journey west - he will need her very badly. Aragorn's farewell was - just like the man he was! Dignified and gracious. Prestolon recognised it for what it was instantly, too. Harder for Legolas though. And so elfy - to have the ship disappear without the men seeing it go. But all these separations are so hard! Author Reply: Hi Bodkin! good to have you back! I never thought that Legolas' lot at the end of the war was a particularly happy one. Leaving his forest and his family (whether he had a wife or not is not that relevant, I think, :-) spending a century in Ithilen seeing his mortal friends get old and die, and then leaving Middle-earth behind always seemed hard for a Wood elf to me. So, being how I am, I just tried to find sense... Aragorn's farewell was - just like the man he was! now that's a great compliment. I love how he keeps his dignity when he says his farewells to Arwen, and I suppose that with his friends it must have been very difficult as well. An old tree indeed. The poor harbourmaster did not want to trust his eyes! Thank-you Bodkin! | |
| Redheredh | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 8/20/2006 |
| Oh my, that was good. A wonderful chapter in all its parts! I liked the opening very much for recalling the family story-telling tradition from your other fic. Thranduil's shrewd management of matters showed how noble and he truly wise he is. Love and honor do go hand-in-hand. He would not decide for Legolas, but free him to follow his own path. And keep the realm on an even keel all the same. No matter what his own sorrows be. I am happy you eased Borgalas' spirit. And that you set poor Mallereg's up for future torment at the hands of Lendiell. ;) I am not surprised that Laeriniel stayed behind, though. Their scene, realizing the loss they had already suffered, was so poignant. "mono-chord drumming" was such an apt comparison. I really like that paragraph. Prostolon's visit was a great vehicle for that transitional moment in time. I loved what he had to say to Legolas and reveal to the reader by his presence. But, Aragorn's farewell was so lovely and sad as well. I could easily believe he would handle his farewells like this. Changing to a outside pov for the last segment was perfect. The melancholy we always feel at the disappearance of the elves could more easily be shared by the bewildered observations of other mortals. "...unmatchable grace." I do hope that was Laeriniel! I choose to believe it was. Lovely conclusion - with an epilogue to follow? Author Reply: Thank-you, :-) That the forest song would be enhanced through a couple's bond suddenly sounded a good idea to me, so the sea-longing would mean an actual loss for the one remaining, and would also hopefully act as a minor but constant encouragement to take ship some day... I find all that stuff about the sea-longing very interesting, and it came out even clearer when Prestolon explains how he felt after his wife left: deprived of his senses, like a secondborn, and oh so enraged. Those remaining must have felt deserted by their couples, who in turn were just guilty of answering a compulsion. Very, very hard for the Elves, I think, despite the promise of reunion! I'm glad that you liked Aragorn's farewells. The advantages of being able to choose his timing, so he was free to give away some of his precious time to his friends. A chapter and an epilogue, and we are there! ;-) Many many thanks again | |
| elliska | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 8/20/2006 |
| This was areally great chapter, Perelleth. Everyone's emotions came through so strongly. I loved Thranduil, of course. And I loved the scenes in Ithilien. Aragorn's farewell to Legolas was very well done. My favorite part was how you portrayed Legolas's departure through the eyes of the harbourmaster. And the last line of this was so sad. Author Reply: Thank-you, elliska! Thranduil is coping á la grande isn't he? *Managing* the situation, poor father. But I am glad that you noted the scene with the harbourmaster. It came out quite unexpectedly, and I really liked seeing the departure of the elves from the pov of the seamen. Despite Arwen, and Legolas' presence in Ithilien, one cannot help wondering what elves were to the people of Gondor 120 years after the war of the ring, and what would they become in a few more years, nothing more that a memory or a legend. | |
| Nilmandra | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 8/19/2006 |
| This was a beautiful chapter, Perelleth, proving you do weariness and grief and 'ending well' as well as you do conflict. Thranduil's releasing his son was poignant, but more telling of this road of the sea-longing was that Legolas took the step to Ithilien alone. His wife was not ready, and yet he could not stay. It was really a first step towards the west. And go Thranduil! He made Legolas's going into a victory for them all, which is the sign of a true leader. The way Aragorn came to say his farewells was well done, and fitting. He would not want his friends to see him dead, but to preserve a memory of him leaving of his own accord, aged yes, but still King. I am very curious to know what the letters say.. and to know who sailed. That the elves left with the end of Aragorn's reign is very fitting, I think. Author Reply: Thank-you! You know that Legolas' fate never seemed a happy ending to me, so the point of this ridiculously long tale in the end was just pondering how his sea-longing may have affected those around him. Tolkien says that Lorien was soon silent and deserted after Galadriel's departure, but that the elves of Lasgalen lived on happily for many years... I think that Aragorn must have been aware of how painful it would have been for his Legolas as all their friends died of old age, so a private moment between the two of them seemed appropriate to me, seen that he actually could choose his timing. | |
| French Pony | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 8/18/2006 |
| Thranduil has made the only decision he possibly can make. In the end, no matter what duties Legolas may have to his family and his people, he's still Thranduil's son, and Thranduil cannot make a decision that would hurt his child as much as refusing him permission to emigrate would do. But I like that Legolas's wife doesn't go with him. It shows the sacrifices that they both had to make. Though they seem to have more or less come to terms with their separation, it can't be easy for either of them. But they are Elves, and any separation like that is temporary. That must be a great comfort, and it must make it easier for both of them to go off and do what they must do. Author Reply: Thank-you, FP. It always seemed to me that Legolas' lot at the end of the war was not an entirely happy one. So, somehow it meant that history had not come to an end with the arival of the new age, and that there must have been pain and sacrifice behind his decision, for he was not an outcast, solitary elf. So yes, there is an inevitability here that Thrnaduil understands and does not shy from, much as LEgolas' wife, and which I believe means that, as Bilbo said, the road goes ever on, and the tale was not wholly ended with the fall of Sauron... | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 8/18/2006 |
| What a mixture of hope and pain, loss and gain. People make their choices and then regret what they had to leave behind. This was lovely, Perelleth. As always, Thranduil shone: With the shrewdness that had seen him through countless trials in his long life, Thranduil had turned loss into gain, sorrow into promise, desertion into duty and despair into hope Author Reply: Poor Thranduil! He surely foresaw a comfortable new age, and events contradicted him, but he would not let show. This sea-longing thing seems like death in many ways: it hits unexpectedly, has to be faced on one's own, and there is nothing but hope for those remaining... Thank you, daw, this story is oozing so painfully slowly that reviews are doubly appreciated! | |