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Elf, Interrupted: Book One: Glorfindel Redux by Fiondil	5 Review(s)
hawkeye	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 9/11/2014
"The last time Glorfindel had seen Lord Manwë had been within the circle of the Máhanaxar and he had not been smiling then." I shivered reading that. As someone who succumbs to embarrassment easily, I'm not sure if I'd ever be able to face any of the Valar after that with equanimity. Glorfindel seems to pull it together well though. In that sense, he really is growing, which is wonderful and sad at the same time. It did seem a little sad that he didn't get to say goodbye to Olórin before he left, though the horse probably made up for that (sorry Olórin?) Hmm, I do wonder though if we might be seeing this horse later? I really hope so :D So Manwë came to see Glorfindel. Interesting how he keeps checking in. I'm guessing this isn't usual for all reborn, but perhaps it is. The Valar really seem to enjoy the elves, so it stands to reason that they would want to be involved where they could, or at least watching. Sometimes I find it quite hard to predict with Tolkien when the Valar will actually show up and when they will let things play out. Regardless I really like how you portrayed Manwë's joy. I think that, more than many things, is a reflection of Ilúvatar who takes pleasure in creation and the Children. Thanks for another lovely chapter. Hope you are enjoying your summer! Author Reply: Hi Hawkeye. The reason for Manwë's interest in Glorfindel will become clear later on in the story, though that reason will not be revealed immediately. And it is unusual for any of the Valar to check up on the Reborn who are still technically in Námo's care. Glorfindel, as we will see is a special case (of course grin). Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reviewing. I appreciate it.

Kaylee	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 7/26/2008
Ah, and now Glorfi is moving on from Mandos' gardens to Lorien at last. I'm glad that Manwe is smiling here when he wasn't before. I think Glorfi needed to see Manwe as not a completely forbidding figure...after all as Atar's vice-gerent in Arda grins he loves all Eru's children (and stepchildren, though almost none come to Aman). Ah, Asfaloth. Hmm, I wonder when Asfaloth will be reunited with Glorfindel? And now Glorfi comes to the maze...and it's time to choose his path. hugs Glorfi It's also almost time for me to head to bed, as it's 11 PM, but I'm not going to until I've gotten through the tenth chapter. :) ~Kaylee!!! enjoying this reread too much to stop now Author Reply: Glorfi doesn't know it and he may never be told, but he is as much Manwe's apprentice as Finrod is the Feanturi or Ingwion is Namo's. As with anybody on the brink of adulthood... Glorfi has to start making choices for himself and this maze is the first lesson in this important step towards maturity.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 2/12/2008
Pansies? But violets might reflect her nature the more! And now he returns closer to independence at last. Alfaloth, huh? Okay---- Author Reply: Well, pansies in this case with the meaning of "heartsease" I think is more appropriate even for the Elder King, who is definitely NOT a "her" LOL. And I thought it would be interesting to give a backstory to why he has a white horse named Asfaloth in ME. grin

Nieriel Raina	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 5/22/2007
I am still greatly enjoying this story. The descriptions of the Valar and Glorfindel are just greatly amusing, yet sobering. Glorfindel has long been my favorite character, and this story is just reemphasizing that to me. One thing I must complain about however is the note referring to white horses being called grey. I've worked with horses all my life, and there is a distinct difference between a white horse and a grey one. Maybe I'm being overly picky, if so, forgive me. True white horses are called white, not grey. A grey has some black or other color hairs mixed in its coat. Grey horses turn lighter and lighter every year, eventually becoming white or almost white by the time they reach 20. Grey horses are born a dark color and once they shed their foal-coat they start having more and more white hairs mixed in with the dark until they appear grey, or eventually white. A true white horse has no other color hairs mixed in with it, but is pure white. White horses are born solid white and stay white. So if your Asfaloth is a true white horse, he would not be called a grey. I've always thought elven horses were pure white. Tolkien calls the Asfaloth in FotR a white horse. grin I do love your description of Asfaloth in this chapter. NiRi Author Reply: Thanks for your review. I'm glad you're still enjoying the story. Tolkien refers to Shadowfax as a grey and according to my sources the term is used to indicate a white horse. But you're probably right. I don't think it really matters if Asfaloth is pure white or not. The horse Glorfindel rides in LOTR is described as white but not necessarily pure white and no, not all elven horses are pure white, at least I wouldn't think so. Rather boring if EVERY elf had a pure white horse to ride. grin

Edlyn	Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 3/14/2007
Here I am again, mellon-nin, and this time I hope my review won't be longer than the chapter. It was good to see Glorfindel relaxed and doing better with the gardening. Perhaps part of the problem before was that he was simply trying too hard because he knew he didn't have the aptitude for the job. Now that he's relaxed and not trying so hard it's easier to do things right. I've noticed that the clothing the Valar wear when they choose to embody themselves seems to reflect their state of mind and the reasons they are there. Lord Manwë's robe reminds me of a fascinating bolt of fabric of shot silk that had been over-dyed so that depending on how light struck the folds, the colours appreared to shift through an entire range of greens and purples that I saw several years ago. I couldn't afford to get even a yard of the stuff (it cost nearly $80.00 a yard) and every time I went into the store I'd go and visit the bolt and drool over it (at least until the store either sent it back to the manufacturer or someone finally bought it). The Elder King's choice of heartsease for his wreath definitely displayed that he was present in a different capacity than he'd been in the circle of the Máhanaxar. The softness of the outfit was certainly more reassuring than the stern rigidity of his appearance during Glorfindel's judgment. I can just see Glorfindel's expression after Lord Manwë tells him that is good that he's remembered his judgment. I'm surprised he doesn't have a bruise on his jaw from it hitting the ground! Glorfindel's view that his judgment was a form of humiliation instead of instruction is certainly understandable. Humans at least, tend to think in that way. And I can't see why elves would be the same way. Our elf is thinking as being not children means being a grown up or at least, an adult. However, I think Lord Manwë is specifically referring to him (and the other elves) as eternally being Children of Eru, a distinction that Glorfindel isn't capable of making at this point. He simply hasn't yet grown up enough to be ableto look past the more common meaning of the word 'children'. I certainly can understand Glorfindel's fear of leaving Mandos. As much as he longs to be reunited with Finrod he doesn't want to leave a place where's he feels safe and comfortable, where he has learned the rules for living. When I received orders to go to Italy in 1986 I suffered panic attacks for weeks. I couldn't understand it as Italy was one of the countries I really wanted to see and to live in and I been stationed much further away from my family at other assignments before. I was learning Italian so I could talk to the local nationals, it was a totally irrational fear, but real nonetheless. The panic attacks stopped after I talked to a sergeant who just had returned from the base I was going to, thank goodness! Oh, and I would give anything to be able to ride Asfaloth! I laughed myself silly at Glorfindel's "How do you know I won’t just ride off with this fine beast to some remote area of Aman, never to be seen again?" because I would have said the same thing! I love riding, and horses in general, and I constantly joke with my twin that I have a need to fulfill my "inner-Rohirrim" on a regular basis. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who says thank you to the horse I've ridden. Such good manners our elfling has! A wonderful transistion chapter, mellon-nin. May you lived Blessed. Edlyn Author Reply: I think that even with things we're not good at, if we don't try too hard and just relax and enjoy the experience for what it can offer us, we tend to do much better. Glorfindel was trying too hard, afraid that if he didn't succeed at gardening (the only "job" he coud visualize at that point) he wouldn't have any other "occupation" once he left Mandos. Of course, events would prove him wrong but he can't see that yet. When I first contemplated switching careers to teach English as a Foreign Language, I initially thought of looking for work in the Czech Republic, as I wanted to return to my favorite city of Prague. However, I began to realize that I would be trading one safe place for another, because I've been to Europe several times and knew what to expect there. I decided, therefore, that I didn't want "safe", otherwise I might as well just stay home (also, at the time, I had just turned 50 and was suffering from a "Baggins-at-50-complex" and wanted an Adventure! grin). And so I chose China as my first posting, which is about as "unsafe" (emotionally) as I could get, never having been to the Far East and knowing I would be going to a country where English is still rare, especially here in Manzhouli where Russian is spoken as frequently as Chinese and there are only 5 native English speakers in the entire city (that I know of). Now, I know it was the right choice, but up until the plane landed in Beijing I had serious doubts that I was making the right choice at all. I thought it would be fun to give a backstory as to why Glorfindel rides a horse named Asfaloth when the hobbits meet him for the first time, and hint that every horse he has ever had in Middle-earth is a grey in memory of the original Asfaloth.

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