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Elf, Interrupted: Book One: Glorfindel Redux by Fiondil	6 Review(s)
hawkeye	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 9/7/2014
He's finally back! You did a really good job of describing what it must feel like to be reborn. It's like growing up without actually having to get bigger while doing it. I did feel for Glorfindel quite often in this chapter, especially when his memories didn't keep pace with his physical coordination. Olórin was wonderful too. His patience and non judgmental ways will go a long way to helping his charges get back on their feet (literally) again. Some of these traits are probably natural to him, but I also wonder how much of this he learned from Nienna. I also like how you have him moving around. While technically he's Lord Manwë's maia, we see him here working with Lord Námo. In fact, he's been there even before Glorfindel was reborn. This adds a lot to his character, I think, and really to the character of other maiar as well. As eternal beings, it makes sense that they are able to, and actually do do, many things. Glorfindel's reaction to the tree was priceless. He reminded me of Celeborn here, which makes me wonder what all he learned from his time in Middle Earth. Tree communing is something I usually associate with Sindar elves. Seeing stars for the first time (again) would be an awe inspiring experience. Fortunately he has a good maia to take care of him ;) Anyway, thank you for another fun chapter, Fiondil! Author Reply: Hi hawkeye. I'm glad you thought I did I good job of describing what it must feel like to be reborn. I imagined it somewhat like what some stroke victims go through, trying to re-establish connections between their brain and having control of their extremities and such. Olórin seems to spend a lot of time with other Valar, Námo, Irmo and Nienna, especially. Even his name is more attuned toward Irmo, but Manwë apparently has his first allegiance. At any rate, he has learned patience and compassion from these three Valar which held him in good stead when being incarnated as a Wizard an age later. I think all the Elves have the ability to commune with the trees, but I suspect that Wood Elves make it into an art form. And the stars are awe inspiring no matter how many times one sees them. Thanks for reviewing. I appreciate it.

Celeth	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 3/15/2013
Glorfindel as a baby - if only in mind and fea. This chapter was fun. And I always liked Gandalf/Mithrandir/Olorin, in all his roles. Making a special request to be Glorfindel's caregiver endears him even more to me. If there's one thing I really envy in the Elves (and fervently wish it can be true for mortals like us too), its their ability to communicate with nature, especially the trees, animals and the stars. I wish I could talk to them and hear them talk to me too. Author Reply: Olórn is a good match for Glorfindel, and while at this time, the Maia has yet to assume his Mithrandir/Gandalf persona, his personality is still evident in his no-nonsense tone. And I'm with you about having the ability to communicate with nature, especially trees, like the Elves, Celeth. But I think if we simply took the time to still ourselves in mind and body and simply listen with our souls, we might just be able to hear the trees speak. Anyway, thanks for reviewing. I appreciate it very much.

Kaylee	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 7/26/2008
Meldonya, I loved the image of Glorfi sleeping in the tree. grins hugely Just a wonderful picture in my mind. That and the shooting stars at the end. I loved it, I loved it! I did feel sorry for Glorfi here, though: At some point he woke to the sensation of warm wetness flowing down his legs and wondered what it might mean. The sound of Olórin making a tsking sound and then the feel of a warm wet cloth on his lower extremities as the Maia wiped him clean brought him to full consciousness and he realized what he had done. Tears of shame came unbidden and he tried to apologize, but his mortification was too great and all he could do was try to curl himself into a ball to hide his shame. huggles Glorfi I'm glad Olorin was there for him! Even if Glorfi isn't his only charge. ~Kaylee Author Reply: I'm sure Glorfindel was not the first Reborn to suffer this particular embarrassment and I'm sure he wasn't the last. There is a great deal of relearning invovled in being Reborn. Luckily because they are adults and not infants the relearnng comes more quickly the second time around. grin

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 2/12/2008
And once more he learns to reawaken, in preparation for the time he will be able to truly live once more. Author Reply: This time he awakens for real and must learn yet again what it means to be incarnate. It will not be easy but it is a necessary part of the whole process of dying and being re-embodied.

Edlyn	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 3/13/2007
Mellon-nin, I truly liked the way you wrote this chapter. I could feel everything along with Glorfindel. In my opinion it takes great skill with word-smithing to immediately bring your reader into a state of compassion (as "shared feeling" or "shared emotion") and empathy with the character. Many times I will read descriptions in fics detailing things that happen to a character and I feel more like a rubber-necker gazing with that guilty vouyeristic delight at an ugly auto accident (this is unfortunately more common than not in "hurt/comfort" fics, which is why I always make sure to praise those authors who manage to avoid thetendency). Since I am a scuba diver and spend time (not enough, in my opinion!) underwater, essentially weightless, I could easily imagine the sensations that Glorfindel was feeling. The feeling I get when I ascend and break the surface of the water and gravity is once more in effect must be close to what Glorfindel felt when he first awoke. The description of how his body was reacting reminded me of waking up from anesthesia after surgery. I remember opening my eyes and being blinded by the lights in the recovery room and my body and brain not being able work together at all. Then I fell right back to sleep and woke up later with things working again. Were you thinking of something similiar when you were putting that part of the chapter together? Oh, there have been times I wish I could look back and remember certain events in my past without the overwhelming emotions that are attached to them. Perhaps in time I will be able to, as it seems that some of them are not as vivid as they used to be. It occurs to me that gaining perspective is something that is a necessary part of every healing, whether physical or mental. Yes, it is more than reasonable that being Reborn one would have to learn to do everything all over again, including being aware of bodily functions. But of course, that doesn't stop Glorfindel from getting embarrassed by the fact. Olórin's sympathy and straighforwardness about the situation was exactly what our Reborn elfling needed. Oh, the description of Glorfindel's first sight of the garden brought back another memory to me. I was born with vision problems and when I was finally old enough my mother drove me to the doctor to get corrective lenses. I don't remember the inside of the doctor's office when he first put them on me (my mother used to tease me about yanking the glasses off my face and throwing them across the room when the doctor first set them on my nose, though I don't remember doing so) but I do remember sitting in the front seat of the car on the drive home with my nose pressed against the window completely amazed by what I was finally able to see and asking my mother "What's that? What's that?". I sometimes find I still occasionally dream of that car ride and in it I still feel the awed surprise that things had sharp edges and were full of detail I was not able to see before. Thank you for bringing that memory to the forefront of my mind again with Glorfindel's discovery of the garden. The fact it was a maple tree that he chose to climb made me smile. The one tree I truly loved climbing as a child was the large red maple in my grandparents' back yard. It wasn't the only tree there as they had several fruit trees, a lovely magnolia, and an oak as well, but it was the only one that grew in such a way that a four year old little girl could scramble up into its branches easily. I spent hours in that tree, climbing it regardless of season or weather. It was a truly magical tree as far as I was concerned and maple trees have been my favorite trees ever since; so much so that when I first got a computer and started to use the internet I decided to use "2maples" as my screen name, honoring the tree that taught me to climb and the one in the front yeard of the first house I ever bought. Right now I am looking to purchase a maple bonsai for my new apartment so I can have my favourite tree nearby. Now I've read this chapter I'll be able to look at it and imagine Glorfindel sleeping in its branches. Hmmmm. It looks like the experience of being re-embodied initially consists of a lot of sensory overload and the attendant emotional response. Thank goodness for the Maiar attendants! I finished this chapter with a smile on my face wishing I could have seen the shooting star and meteors along with Glorfindel. Thank you mellon-nin. May you live blessed, Edlyn Author Reply: I've undergone several surgeries (four in the last 30 years) and while I was not consciously thinking of them when I wrote this chapter, certainly the sensations I experienced coming out of the anesthesia are very similar to what you describe and are very similar to what Glorfindel experiences: the bright lights (and loud noises), the uncoordination between brain and body, the slipping back and forth from sleep to consciousness with no idea of how much time has passed from one awakening to another. It's all there and Glorfindel experiences it in its totality. While I have to wear glasses, and have since I was seven, it was hearing that was a problem for me. I was born with only about 45% hearing and I had to wear a hearing aid and even then everything sounded as if I were underwater. It wasn't until I was almost 30 before medical technology advanced enough for me to undergo corrective surgery on my left ear (since then I've also had surgery done on my right ear and I now have nearly 80% hearing). I remember my mother driving me home and I was mesmerized by the fact that I could hear the music on the radio even though I knew the volume was turned down very low. And the sounds that came to me from outside were so overwhelming as to almost be painful, yet incredibly wondrous nonetheless. The first time I heard thunder I didn't recognize it. I thought the people upstairs were moving furniture. I had to ask my mother what the sound was. I had only ever heard the "CLAP" at the end, I had never heard all the rumbling that occurred before or after. Even now, thunder is one of my favorite sounds. And the first time a fly bzzzed past me, I was so startled I actually gasped. I had to dredge up memories of cartoons of flies saying "bzzz" to recognize what had happened. So, I certainly have experienced my own version of "seeing for the first time" which I was able to incorporate into the story.

Aglarendis	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 12/14/2006
You know Fiondil, you really need to stop taking sneak peaks inside my head! Glorfindel's process of awakening and getting used to his world is extremely similar to what I, too, picture it to be. And yes, I loved Nilmandra's descriptions of this same event as well. They're excellent inspirations, both of them. Olorin is precious with Glorfindel! It's cute the way he half chides and teases, yet always encourages him. This is the way he was with the halflings and the rest of the fellowship, when it was possible, that is. His experiences with the tree and the stars were very elvish. They show the innocence of the child he is still, with the beginnings of an echo of the adult he once was, and which he will be again. I see from the title of the next chapter that all does not remain peaceful in Glorfindel's world. Now what possible trouble could one very sweet, innocent, newly-rehoused elf get into here? Author Reply: Although I didn't know it at the time, it was reading Nilmandra's story of Glorfindel's re-embodiment that was the initial inspiration for this entire story. And how many sweet, innocent children do you know who don't get into trouble of some kind or another? grin

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