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They Did Not Take Root In That Land by perelleth	9 Review(s)
elliska	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 3/18/2007
Oh and I forgot to put in: loved the references to the Old Forest and the goings on there. Author Reply: Thank-you! THere must have been so much going on at that time, as the shadow slowly spread! Actaully this story was born out of my re reading of LOTR; when Bombadil speaks of the Old Forest and the darknes that crept there!

elliska	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 3/18/2007
I am most glad to see that the position as official thorn on the King and his chief counsellor’s side has been filled by someone so talented. Snort! The incident with the lost guard was great. It certainly shows the distrust the Silvan feel clearly. But that last conversation and what is really going to going on in the ceremony is very intriguing and making me very happy that I get to read this without waiting for updates! ;-) Again, wonderful dialogue and wonderful Oropher. Author Reply: I found out that showing the court in LIndon through the eyes of two outsiders proved an entertainig source of misunderstandings. The SIlvan are distrustful by nature, and none there is even aware of their nistrust, which I find hilarious! And I confess that I enjoyed a lot writing Oorpher again.

Nilmandra	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 12/23/2006
You always write such great conflict, and there is plenty of it here. Oropher's guards are a hoot, and the general reaction to Glorfindel as well. So much tension, so many things assumed and probably incorrectly at that. I am as curious for the event and to learn what bedlinens have to do with it as anyone. And Glorfindel shining... well, yeah, I am way enjoying that. :D Author Reply: THank-you Nilmandra! so many things assumed and probably incorrectly at that You are right. We all have to make assumptions daily, but then we must be ready to confront those with facts...and change our mind when we are proven wrong. Everybody here ispurusing the same goal, but individual interstes are at time conflicting with the general one because of certain lack of communication.

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 12/20/2006
You have a very delicate hand with high comedy and farce. This chapter is wonderfully witty, but still crackles with the tension that Oropher brings with him wherever he goes. All caught up now! Author Reply: Oh, that's a huge compliment! That is exactly what I am trying to show... thank-you very much! ;-) All caught up now! Hope it was not too painful...;-)

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 12/19/2006
I'm not sure that the inhabitants of Lindon wouldn't wave Glorfindel off happily on a protracted visit to Oropher's realm. They don't seem entirely sure what to do with him. And I'm not sure he's entirely sure what to do with himself, either. (Although the female inhabitants seem to have some ideas ...) And I have the teensiest suspicion that Oropher is charging down entirely the wrong path. I love his ferociously attentive guard - who is really feeling rather out of his depth and looking to his lord for protection from the dangers of a stone building with extensive - and unexplored - corridors. And poor Maentêw! Do we find out how his leg came to be so badly broken? He could do with having Oropher approach him a little more conciliatorily and actually spend some time in conversation! (He might well find that you discover more if you are not constantly challenging those in conversation with you.) I look forward to finding what the dawn brings. And whether Oropher manages to find his bed. I do love the intricacy of all this. Author Reply: Thnk-you Bodkin. Glorfindel is trying to find his pace there, as a newcomer, and the court is also trying to adapt to that strange presence. But they will fit, eventaully, I have no doubt. And I had fun picturing Oropher's guards, Silvan and Nandor, at a stone house in a city. I think they are doing splendidly, for Elves who had not left their forest before and were sent to cross middl-earth.. ;-) And yes, we will get to know more about what happened to Maentêw.

Redheredh	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 12/18/2006
After all we know that Celeborn knew them...but had forgotten them! Huh? Now, this is the second time I have heard you say that... Please don't let there be a third! The elf remembered the ents. Boromir and Aragorn knew about them too from legends about Fangorn Forest. It was the hobbits (and therefore also the reader) that did not know exactly what was being alluding to. But, when Celeborn reminded them of the peril of that wood and Aragorn says nothing (thus avoiding sounding foolish), Boromir claimed to be a formidable adventurer (just because he made it to Rivendell) and considers those tales of little consequence. ['Then, I need say no more,' said Celeborn. 'But... ] you are an idiot for disregarding what the wise learned the hard way and never quite forgot. 'Course he said it more courteously than that. (Galadriel had already gotten on his case about how to treat their guests no matter how irritated he might feel) Although, Aragorn obviously listened to his advice. Nonetheless, Celeborn had to be miffed at Boromir to cut off the conversation like that. Also, both Aragorn and Legolas knew what ents were when Gandalf used that word during their reunion. [I thought they were only a memory of ancient days...] [Yet even among us they are only a memory.] Still, they did not know just who Treebeard himself was. Treebeard calls Lothlorien queer and perilous too. When he parts with C&G at Orthanc, Celeborn calls him Eldest. Beside acknowledging Fangorn to the oldest Ent, that epithet is used specifically for Tom Bombadil and Telperion, which make it even more respectful. And I think someone had to have gotten the Tree Sheperds positioned to intercept the dwarves as they fled before Beren and Dior. Perhaps the Lord of Eriador who lived on the other side of Mount Dolmed? So, I really do not think Celeborn forgot about Fangorn or the Ents. We just were not told about them outright for dramatic reasons. Author Reply: Sorry! sorry! ducks and hides. I fear I was following Barbol's opinion that the world has changed much and Celeborn was left behind his forest... You are right, and it was inconsiderate on my part! ;-) Thank-you again.

meckinock	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 12/18/2006
This is all so densely layered with clever lines that I keep re-reading it to catch the bits that I missed the first time. Oropher continues to be spendidly kingly, and I especially enjoyed Glorfindel's over-zealous laundry maids and Erestor's accusations of inconsiderate blazing. Enormously enjoyable. Your command of language and humor is wonderful. Author Reply: Thank-you, meckinock. Dense is the word, I fear! :-) I keep trying to smooth it and making it easier, but I am not very good at editing and simplifying, it seems. Poor GLorfindel is trying to find his place in Middle-earth, which he no doubt finds disconcerting and fascinating, after all his previous experiences.

Redheredh	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 12/17/2006
I laughed through this whole chapter! Oropher rolled his eyes. Exactly! I remember reading that bit about the Numenoreans cutting down trees in Ennor, taking over the lands they worked. No doubt the lumber being used for ships, but also shipped back home as building material and fuel, I'm sure. This resource would be a valuable commodity for their island, similar to oil in this century perhaps. Unless they were also hunting whales... great nations always seem to have a hearty appetites... Ah but, I now venture to guess the ceremony you are leading up is not one of such gaiety as a betrothal. Rather a departure, and the ellyn are just trying to make it easier on the one leaving by showing they can get along without her. Poor Gil-galad... sigh another embarrassment for poor Oropher too... Again, I believe there are fewer open secrets in Ennor than you. The Onodrim being one of them. Though I really like references to the Old Forest as such and the effect the returning shadow is having on it. I would have reserved that until the progress of the Witchking of Angmar, though; when men are encroaching into those forests, elves would have left them alone. Am I right in saying that we both assume Bombadil did not take up residence until long after the invasion of Eriador in the coming War? One last remark about one of the footnotes - whether or not a prince actually does the work himself, he will be credited with the construction. Especially if he is as philanthropic and as enthusiastic about architecture as Finrod. But then, Prince Albert did build the Crystal Palace, did he not. ;) I liked this clever chapter quite alot. Author Reply: Thank-you, Redheredh, and very alert reader that you are! ;-) Although I suspect that Oropher is very difficult to embarass. It is not his fault, after all, if they talked openly, he would not have to figure up things! I do not think that there are many secrets in Ennor. Just things not widely spoken of. The ents would be known to the Elves of Ossiriand, and I had Oropher staying in Ossiriand after the fall of Doriath in another tale, so I suppose that he would have met them there. After all we know that Celeborn knew them...but had forgotten them! Regarding the Old Forest, I am assuming that at tis time it stretched even wider than it was in the times of the Witch King of Angmar, and there were many scattered human communities around Nenuial and to the east which were "friendly" to the elves. THe evil things in the Old Forest were not linked to Sauron, if we trust Bombadil, and as Tolkien says in one of the letters, the ancient tings that lived in the Old forest reacted against misuse and abuse of the trees. Now, the numenoreans had been cutting trees unrestrictedly for seven hundred years now, so I figured that in a time of gathering darkness the "rotten" spirits living there could very well expresss their malcontent, without the need to await for the Withc King.. ;-) I do not know about Bombadil...nor intend to deal with him! ;-) but I have no trouble seeing him living in the same area for long! After all, we can well assume that once these lands to the east were little inhabited and the forest lands stretched wide and dense!. And regarding the footnote... I use "architect" in that sense: the one who plans, directs, oversees and even takes up tools to give some touches to the works. They built things, these guys, and after all, they had to pass the time somehow, didn't they? ;-) Thank youv ery much for your time, Redheredh, and apologies for this long winded reply!! Re-checking details is always a pleasure, thanks!

daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 12/16/2006
I do like Oropher and his guards. Their suspicion of Gil-galad and his court and their refusal to admit they're lost are both amusing. So what is this ceremony? Author Reply: Thak-you, Daw. This Oropher has grown in me. Suspicious and self-opinionated as he is, now he finds himself with an even more suspicious guard, so he has to keep the balance. I think he has grown up as well...

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