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| Stirrings of Shadow by Fiondil | 11 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Tari | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 5/19/2009 |
| Elves to the rescue. I'll bet that was a sight to behold considering they had never seen Elves before. I'll bet there was a serious change of opinions where those fair beings were concerned. Author Reply: I'm sure there was, Tari, at least among some of the Rohirrim, especially the younger ones like Wídfara, who would be more open-minded than their elders. | |
| obsidianj | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/25/2007 |
| Wow! Elves in the Golden Hall. Although not unheard off, I got the impression that in Thengel's time, elves pretty much were consigned to fairy tales. And now they come on their own. Thengel's daughter was lucky. I loved Aragorn's explanation for his elven name. He thinks quick on his feet ;-). Author Reply: Certainly by the time Théoden becomes king elves are once again consigned to the Rohirric nurseries, but the presence of the elves here is due solely because of Aragorn (you really can't have one without the other, now can you? *grin*), otherwise they would have had no reason to be there at all, so yes, Théodfrid was very, very lucky in that regard. >> I loved Aragorn's explanation for his elven name. He thinks quick on his feet. As my beta-mom wrote in her comments to this chapter: "Good save". | |
| Elena Tiriel | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/21/2007 |
| Ah, thank you so much Fiondil! I have a much better understanding of Wídfara's honor now. Thank you for such a thorough, detailed answer -- I appreciate the time you took to give it! - Barbara Author Reply: No problem. If you had a question about it, no doubt others might as well, so I was answering not just for you but for other readers. Glad my answer satisfied. | |
| Elena Tiriel | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/21/2007 |
| And my guess for what Thorongil said in Quenya is something like a rude variation of "Show-off!".... :-D Author Reply: Oh no, even ruder than that! Very, very rude. *lol* | |
| Elena Tiriel | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/21/2007 |
| Hi Fiondil, Hmmm, Orcs crossing the Wold to the White Mountains? and appearing to be heading toward a goal? That is troubling! Surely the nasty Queen Mama hasn't gotten that deep into dark doo-doo, to use technical jargon...? And it made me a little nervous that Thorongil and Wídfara were taking narrow back ways to Aldburg.... and even more nervous later with the thick fog around Thengel's party. I kept worrying about an Orc attack... But you'd never write anything that we'd expect, would you? ;-D Poor Wídfara! He's out of his element with this strange Dúnadan chap with his mysterious background and mythological friends, but he knows now for certain that Thorongil is someone to respect.... In my drabble series, I'm having Eorl dismiss Galadriel -- aka the Sorceress of Dwimordene -- as a children's tale, until he is personally set straight by her grandsons... kinda embarrassing for him, actually, so I am enjoying Wídfara's unease.... More Elves! Or, the same Elves once again.... I like! Especially protecting the dear royal kiddies... But I sooo wasn't expecting them to appear in Meduseld! Okay... I'm all wide-eyed and waiting to see what happens next.... - Barbara P.S. If you get a chance, would you say a little more about what a thane is? is it something like a minor lordling, or a servant, or a King's guard, or....? It sounds like it was an unexpected honor for Wídfara, but I can't quite figure out what manner of honor... Sorry, but I know absolutely nothing about Anglo Saxon customs. Author Reply: My version of Rohirric society is somewhat different from the Anglo-Saxon society on which it is based (for one thing, there aren't any slaves). In early Anglo-Saxon society, a thegn was simply a man who was more than a freeman (ceorl) but not a noble (ealdorman). He was a thegn by virtue of the fact that he was granted land by the king in exchange for providing military service to the king. At some point this particular "class" became hereditary and you had a separate warrior class within the society that consisted of freeman and nobles, the latter usually comprising the king's council or witan. Since there was no standing army, the king's personal troop of household retainers were thegns. They were not a permament group, however. Instead, the members of the king's household retainers rotated throughout the year (usually for a 3-month period). In Rohirric society, as I envision it, while every thegn is a warrior, not every warrior within an éored is a thegn. Promotion to thegnscip is dependent upon the king granting the warrior land in exchange for military service. Wídfara's family owns its ownn steading, but his father is not a noble, but a freeman. Wídfara is a younger son and so would not inherit the steading. Being granted lands of his own raises his standing within Rohirric society. As a thegn he automatically becomes a member of Thengel's personal troop of household retainers or the 'cyninges éored'. He is thus permitted to stand with the other thegns as part of Thengel's Great Council which consists of thegns (active warriors) and witan (retired warriors and nobles). See the description of Thengel's court in Chapter 1). Wídfara's promotion to the thegnscip would not be considered unheard of, but given his relative youth, such a promotion would have been deemed unusual. Wídfara would normally not have thought of being granted thegnscip status for at least another ten or fifteen years when he would be a proven seasoned warrior instead of a youth barely tried. I hope this explanation helps somewhat. While I follow Tolkien's lead in giving the Rohirrim an Anglo-Saxon flavor, I don't feel obligated (no more than Tolkien himself) to depict Rohirric society along strict Anglo-Saxon lines, so I may not always treat Anglo-Saxon terms in quite the same way as they would be treated if speaking about some aspect of Anglo-Saxon society. In the meantime, I'm glad you are enjoying this story to date. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/20/2007 |
| Okay, you have my curiosity going big time. What did he say in Quenya to get Thandir so jolly? The coming of the Elves was quite a surprise to all, and loved the explanation of his Elven name. What a reason to give! Oh, this child of Men has become quite to warrior himself. Author Reply: If you really want to know what got the elves so jolly send me an email and I'll tell you, but I'm not putting it on a public forum, no way, not even untranslated! *lol* As my beta-reader said about Aragorn's explanation of "Estel", "Good save, Thorongil". And Aragorn is indeed becoming quite the warrior himself as we will probably see in subsequent chapters. | |
| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/19/2007 |
| What a gripping chapter.You caught me completely by surprise.I love all the twists in this tale ! Author Reply: Thanks, Linda. I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter and that I was able to surprise you. | |
| Idril Celebrindal | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/19/2007 |
| Wonderful chapter and from the other reviews I see that you will not be telling us the one word in Quenya, so naughty of you! :-) I like Thandir and his response to why he is hear is just perfect for how I envision his character to be. Keep it coming! Idril Author Reply: Well, part of the fun of *not* telling everything is it allows the reader to fill in the blanks. If anyone *really* wants to know what he said, you can always contact me via private email. Please include picture ID with DOB. *lol* Thandir's response to Aragorn's question is typical of elves who do not live by the same rules as mortals and who respond to circumstances differently and (for mortals) in unexpected ways. | |
| Shoshana_Rose | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/19/2007 |
| Wow! Great chapter. Good job of getting us back to Edoras and moving the plot (and the *plot*) along swiftly. I will truly enjoy hearing Thandir's explanation of how the elves arived like Deus ex Machina in order to save the day yet *again*. And I'd also like to know what Thorongil said to Thandir in Qenya. I can't wait for next week. Cheers! Author Reply: Everyone wants to know what Aragorn said in Quenya! You'll have to use your imagination as I'm not about to translate it here. *grin* Regardless, I'm glad you liked this chapter and are looking forward to more. | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/19/2007 |
| Those elves! They just love turning up at critical moments! Still - how better than to get on a king's good side than to rescue his daughter from a knife at her throat. And a pretty good thing that Aragorn was alert. Unfortunately, it might be difficult to track this one back to Eohild. Assassins don't generally carry a note from mother on them for anyone to find. Still - the rebels are getting rather too self-confident, so they will probably mire themselves in something unavoidable sooner or later. Author Reply: Yes, elves are a handy bunch aren't they? *grin* Conspirators usually have a blind side to them. They are just arrogant enough to think everyone else is stupid and just stupid enough to believe in their own arrogance. Makes for a dangerous combination because they are capable of anything and there's no way of knowing when or where they will strike. Still, like most non-professional criminals, they're bound to make a fatal mistake. | |