Stories of Arda - Lord of the Rings Fan-Fiction Archive


	About Us News Resources Login Become a member Help Search

A Yearling Shoot by Peredhil lover	5 Review(s)
Lady_Roisin	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 9/2/2008
I can't wait to read the next chapter! :-) Author Reply: Thanks so much for reviewing! I’m pleased to know that you are enjoying the story so far.

RS	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 8/19/2008
Welcome Back! I missed you! I hope everything is smooth sailing for you from now on. Wow! I found it fascinating how you equated the water with the events that are transpiring or about to transpire. The wheels are set in motion and nothing will stop what is destined...just like the creek will run its course "nothing held it back". "..in the shadows, the water was so crystal clear". And Elrohir realizes this more than anything...not to mention Elrond! I love your characterization of Elladan. He is the easy going brother that neutralizes Elrohir's somber moods. Two brothers that look so much alike but yet so totally different! And what a shocker! Gilraen? I just ache for her. This well prepares the reader on why Gilraen feels the way she does when she discovers Aragorn's love for Arwen. Her feelings mirrors that of her son's. So heartbreaking! This was beautiful and so poetic! Can't wait for the next update! Hope all is well. Author Reply: Thanks so much for reviewing RS! It is nice to know that I have a couple of loyal readers who enjoy my writing and are following this story even after an absence of six months. Thanks also for your concern. I do hope that I will find more time to write soon, as well as the motivation to do so. Thanks too for your kind words about my writing. I’m really pleased to know that you enjoyed the chapter. One thing, though, I do believe that you got the twins’ names mixed up there, unless, of course, you really do think that Elladan is the easy going brother while Elrohir is the sombre one, in which case my writing may not be as clear or effective as I hope it is! :p Thank you again for sticking with me, and being a loyal reviewer. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. peredhil lover

Laikwâlassê	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 8/19/2008
I love your stories so much and this one ist just another wonderful one. At first I also found it quite odd that Gilraen confessed her love for Elrond. On the other hand how longer I think about it the more I must agree with you. I´ve always pictured her as someone who would never get along with the elven society, but she and Elrond after all raised a child together. To master her days she had no other chance as to fit in and so her feelings developed. Albeit I think she had not made her life much better. She must have always known that her love would never be returned the way she desired. Anyway just good written. Please more. Author Reply: Thank you so much for reviewing! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate knowing that my readers are enjoying my work. I did expect some reaction to the turn of events in this chapter. I hope, though, that I have managed to remain true to the characters and do them justice. I agree with you that Gilraen in my mind would never feel “at home” in elven society, and I hope that she made it clear toward the end of this chapter that she does not. But, as you say, she had to spend twenty or so years there, and she had to find a way to adapt, at least somewhat. I see her friendship with Elrohir as quite natural, and, though I know some might disagree, her feelings for Elrond. And yes, she is well aware the feelings will never be returned, at least to the degree that she might hope for, and that this has not made her life much better. But, as she bemoans, elves do seem to have the power to turn sensible women into utter fools. ;) Thanks again for reviewing and sharing you thoughts on the chapter with me. I appreciate it very much. peredhil lover

inzilbeth	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 8/18/2008
I have read all your stories on this site and loved them all. Your style of writing is quite superb and a joy in itself. As a canon junkie, I must admit, the concept of Gilraen falling for Elrond is too AU for my personal taste, but that won't stop me from waiting for the next chapter! Author Reply: Thanks, so much, inzilbeth, for reviewing and letting me know that you have enjoyed my stories. I really appreciate it. However, I find that I must respectfully disagree with your assertion that Gilraen developing romantic feelings for Elrond is AU in any way. I, too, try to stick closely to canon, and the thought never even crossed my mind that I need label this as AU. I will admit that it is a different interpretation than what many are accustomed to. I have read many fanfictions that present Gilraen as still mourning the death of her husband eighteen years after the fact, and I wanted to present an alternative point of view, but I do not see how it steps out of the bounds of Tolkien’s canon. That is the fun of writing LoTR fanfiction IMO, for Tolkien left so many things open to interpretation that one may continue to explore a multitude of possibilities without ever stepping out of the bound of Tolkien’s canon at all. The fact of the matter is that we know so very little about Gilraen from what Tolkien wrote. We know that she married Arathorn at the very young age (by Dúnedain standards) of twenty two, that two years later she bore him a son, and two years after that, Arathorn was killed by orcs. Thus, we know that at the young age of twenty-six, Gilraen and her son were brought to Imladris, where she lived for over eighteen years. We know that she told her son that: “it is not fit that mortal should wed with the Elf-kin,” and I wonder at that if, perhaps, she learned this lesson the hard way. A few years later, we know that Gilraen “took leave of Elrond and returned to her own people in Eriador, and lived alone,” until she died at the relatively young age of one hundred. And of course, we are left with the very haunting last words that Tolkien records her speaking: “I gave Hope to the Dúnedain, I have kept no hope for myself.” It seems quite apparent to me that Gilraen was a rather tragic character, but no where in canon does it assert that Gilraen, after having been married to Arathorn for four years, spent the next seventy-four pining over her long-dead husband. In fact, I would say that seems highly unlikely. Here, I am exploring, at least a little, what it means to be mortal. Enduring the death of our loved ones is part of the human condition, and we have to learn not only how to cope with that, but how to move on, if we are to survive ourselves. Personally, I find it believable that a human woman who was widowed so young and spent so much time around such beautiful and perfect beings as elves would develop such feelings towards them. And remember, she and Elrond basically raised Aragorn together. It would seem quite natural that she would transfer her feelings from Arathorn to Elrond over the years. Well, that was a lengthy explanation of my thoughts on the mater, wasn’t it? ;) Clearly I have given this a lot of thought! I do hope you continue to enjoy the story though. This matter will not come into it much more at all, except perhaps to lend a little more weight and insight into her conversation with Aragorn which is coming up in the next chapter. Thanks again so much for reviewing! I really do appreciate it. peredhil lover

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 8/17/2008
The awareness that Gilraen has come to love his father almost as a husband and has suffered that such love must remain unrequited must have been a deep shock. And his own awareness that change comes is almost as hard to bear, it seems. He has come to love her as a sister; and he sees she has become brittle. I can understand just why the day seems less joyful now. Author Reply: Thanks so much, Larner, for reviewing!

Return to Chapter List