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| Stirrings of Shadow by Fiondil | 6 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 4/6/2007 |
| Poor Aragorn, thinking he was praising the Mearas; and, by such a minor slip, insulting them! He's very, very lucky that Thengel is a just man as well as fluent in Westron. I stand in awe of your linguistic abilities, to be able to credibly present the consequences of a slight error in an archaic language - Tolkien would be proud! Author Reply: It took me some time to find two words in Old English that looked and even sounded alike but had completely opposite meanings, especially two words that could conceivably be used to describe the Mearas. Thank you for the compliment. I am by no means an expert in Old English though I do enjoy playing with it. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 3/17/2007 |
| A most awful and to be expected understanding. Aragorn is trying, at least, which is more than Grimbold tried to do. I rejoice he learned better over the years. Author Reply: Yes, I think we can all rejoice that Aragorn learned better over the years. And I think you meant "misunderstanding". | |
| Calenlass Greenleaf | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 3/15/2007 |
| Sorry about that. A glitch made my computer close my browser. Poor Thorongil. Translations problems...*g* I myself learned Chinese for a number of years (15), and still, I mess up when speaking a long, fat sentence with complicated words. So I can sympathize with Aragorn. :-) At least I never got hit by anyone... This is a wonderful and interesting story. I look forward to more, my friend. Author Reply: Well, I've only been learning Chinese for a few months so you're ahead of me there. *grin* Still, anyone who's had to learn another language should understand Aragorn's plight even if they've never been beaten up because of it. Glad you are enjoying the story so far. | |
| obsidianj | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 3/15/2007 |
| Very nice story. Aragorn is my favorite character and reading something about his travels is great. I love the idea that he travels with a companion and not completely alone. I could so feel with him about his gaffe in Rohirric. I was in his position when I moved to the US, luckily not with such severe consequences. But when you say something and everyone around you gives you this funny look... He made an easy target for Grimbold who obviously doesn't like foreigners and especially not foreigners who bedazzle everyone else with their prowess. I think Aragorn's stunt in the last chapter didn't endear him to everyone. Isn't he a bit free with his back story? Throwing around names of elven princes and lords, especially since I got the impression from the books that the Rohirrim were not too friendly inclined toward elves. But maybe that was different during Thengel's time. And wouldn't that make it more difficult to hide his real identity? Author Reply: Sometimes the best way to hide something is in plain sight. Aragorn has obviously decided not to hide his "elven" heritage, but has disguised it as best he can. However, he is young enough to be a little freer with it than he probably should be. Among the Rohirrim, that would not be a problem. By the time Aragorn is ready to move on to Minas Tirith and take service with Ecthelion, however, he probably will have learned to hide his abilities a bit more and to downplay his elvish upbringing somewhat. Among the Rohirrim, there would be little knowledge of "Isildur's Heir" or the history of the Northern Kingdom, so I think Aragorn's true identity is safe for now. *grin* Even Thengel probabaly would not make the connection in spite of having lived in Gondor for so long. | |
| SurgicalSteel | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 3/15/2007 |
| Nicely done again. Subtle changes in pronunciation really can make a huge difference, can't they? Classic one that happened to several med students in my class when we rotated through obstetrics: the Spanish words for 'push' and 'whore' are only different by one letter. So they thought they were telling a woman in labor to push... Very nicely done! Author Reply: Yes, it's fun learning new languages and discovering all the pitfalls for the unwary. I have to be careful to whom I say the English word "muffin" here in China because it sounds remarkably like the Chinese word for "horsesh*t". My middle-school kids thought it was hysterical when I used the word in a sentence. And thanks. I'm glad you are enjoying the story. | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 3/15/2007 |
| Well - Grimbold was certainly looking for an excuse to be offended and attack Aragorn. But Thengel's response is remarkably intelligent! Making the punishment fit the crime. And - in some ways - it's not a bad thing for Aragorn to be forced to take a back seat for a bit. He really doesn't want to be Mr Totally Perfect - not if he wants to earn himself any kind of liking! (And Thengel might do well to insist that Aragorn learns much better Rohirric before he rides with the eored. And it'll give him something to do while he heals!) Author Reply: Well, you'll find out in the next chapter just what Aragorn's punishment will be for insulting the Mearas the way he did, however inadvertent it was. I think you'll find it both amusing and appropriate for our itrepid hero. *lol* | |