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Stirrings of Shadow by Fiondil	9 Review(s)
Tari	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 5/13/2009
This was a bit gruesome indeed. It's good thing it's only a tale. Or is it? Author Reply: Well, the Rohirrim think it's true, and so I suppose that's what counts. But the author's note does say that it the events in the story probably did not happen as remembered and was told to explain why Fengel was not like his ancestors, being the antithesis of what a King of Rohan was supposed to be.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 4/11/2007
A horrid folk legend to have risen. And I find myself wondering if there might be elves lingering about that dale. If any might find them, it is Thorongil. Author Reply: As to that, you'll need to read the next chapter!

SurgicalSteel	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 4/8/2007
That was a suitably gruesome tale, indeed! Author Reply: I'm glad you liked it, though. grin

Calenlass	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 4/6/2007
That was an interesting tale--quite a bit a superstition seems to exist in Rohan. But I l like the way it fits into canon. :-) ~Calenlass Author Reply: I do try to stay within canon even when I have to "make things up". grin Rohan is a less sophisticated culture than that of Gondor or even of the Northern Dúnedain, so it stands to reason they would have some superstitions, as we call would call them, that might not exist in Minas Tirith. Thengel's long sojourn in Gondor, I think, will help begin the process of bringing the Rohirrim forward culture-wise, a process that continues with Théoden and then with Éomer.

Edlyn	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 4/6/2007
Greetings! Another lovely chapter, my friend. I was held enthralled through the telling of the tale, just as Aragorn was, and was just as appalled as he at the actions of its protagonist. Human beings have a deep need for explanations, don't they? So much so that we'll modify events in our minds to have them explain things we don't understand. No, I'm not going to get started on a hobby-horse here, though my memories of cultural anthropology class are sticking their heads up inquisitively and are more than ready to give their two cents on the phenomenom. But that is something for another time. The tale of Grimhild (and what a perfectly appropriate name, given her supposed actions) reminded me of reading both "Beowulf" and Michael Crichton's "Eaters of the Dead" and the film "The 13th Warrior" which was based upon it, what with the bone woman, the "magic" and curse, and so forth. But still it is a tale that of Middle-Earth. I look forward to seeing the next chapter and finally meeting Thengel's mother. She sounds...interesting. May you live blessed, Edlyn Author Reply: I have, of course, read "Beowulf" and I saw (and liked) "The 13th Warrior", though I don't think I consciously was thinking of either when I wrote this chapter. The story was really based on all the original dark fairy tales that the Brothers Grimm collected but were eventually sugarcoated for the nursery. The original version of "Cinderella" is really quite horrific. And I wanted to try my hand at producing a folk tale that was clearly from Middle-earth rather than a transplanted tale from our own time and place. Hopefully, I succeeded. I suppose my own memories of cultural anthropology class helped shape this chapter as well. grin

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 4/6/2007
I wonder if there is any truth to the tale. Aragorn might well be more prepared than most to give it some credit - being rather more closely acquainted with fell elf-lords - but it is true that legends develop to fit political circumstances. I wonder what QE the QM is up to. No good, I daresay. She seems a rather Eleanor of Aquitaine-ish Queen Mother - not one to trust any further than you could throw her. Interesting dynamics in Aldburg - pretty well everyone is spying on pretty well everyone else. And I like the Martin Luther King-esque hopes for future harmony between different peoples. Author Reply: As to the truth or untruth of the tale... who can rightly say? My beta-mom pointed out that the elf-lord's speech sounded suspiciously similar to Lord Námo's when he spoke the doom against Fëanor at the time he was exiled. Some racial memory passed down among the Edain from their Noldorin overlords? Who knows. And of course legends always develop to fit political (and social) circumstances. Éolind is a rather Eleanor of Aquitain-ish QM, isn't she? I hadn't thought of her in quite that light. Thank you for pointing that out to me. More grist for the creative mill. grin And of course, the Martin Luther King-esque hopes for future harmony do play out in the end, though sixty-odd years must pass before that begins to happen. Sadly neither Thengel nor Théoden live to see it.

Linda Hoyland	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 4/5/2007
A chilling and gripping chapter, Grimhild, is a good choice of name for the wicked Queen. Author Reply: One of those "Grimm" fairy tales that never made it into "The Purple Fairy Book". lol I think names should fit the character (or is it the other way around?)

obsidianj	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 4/5/2007
That was a cruel tale even if it was not true the way it was told. But elements of it were true. I'm curious as how the elflord came into the story and if there really was an elflord who it might have been. If Aragorn is so much taller than anyone else, he will stick out even more than just with his hair color. I guess he has to hide his doings in plain sight. Author Reply: Most of the original "Grimm" fairy tales were very cruel, but were watered down for the nursery until the stories got sugarcoated. You should read the original "Cinderella" — talk about chilling! Aragorn can't hide his height, of course, so he has to "hide" in other ways.

Rhyselle	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 4/5/2007
Ohhh, very creepy story, even if it is not true. I like how you point out Aragorn's height--as a direct descendant of the Numenorean kings, he would be taller than almost anyone else... although the films rather masked that fact. This was an interesting chapter, and I'm looking forward to seeing just what is going on in regards to Thengel's mother--you know, when I typed that, my brain said "Grendel's mother" shudder And I haven't read Beowulf for about two years... I guess it what the scary story that triggered that! Well done! Author Reply: Grimhild's Tale is a nod towards all the old English folk tales and fairy tales (the real ones that Tolkien talks about, not the sugarcoated-fit-only-for-the-nursery-types) that always have an element of creepiness to them. The sort of tale we love to tell (and listen to) around a campfire. Beowulf is probably the oldest of such tales extent in any form of the English language.

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