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Fiondil's Tapestry by Fiondil	10 Review(s)
Malice2	Reviewed Chapter: 53 on 5/4/2011
At times, I can't help but pity (and wonder about) Aulë... First his chief Maia becomes the most infamous and probably more dangerous of the fallen Maiar. Then Aulë gets close to the Noldor, among them Fëanor, and they leave Aman, Fëanor becoming a heartless murderer on his way. And then the Maia he sends to help Middle Earth in the 3rd Age is the one failing his mission the more drastically... turning into what he was supposed to combat. Unlucky, much? Or is he a bad judge of characters? ;-) Author Reply: Hello Malice2. You really have to very sorry for the poor Vala, don't you? He probably started thinking he was cursed or something. Hopefully the othe Valar were very sympathetic and didn't get on his case too much. grin Thanks for taking the time to read and review. I appreciate it very much.

obsidianj	Reviewed Chapter: 53 on 1/9/2011
Oh, I really like this. Saruman is so devious. If the others wouldn't have implicitly trusted him, they might have seen through his arguments. Author Reply: I'm glad you enjoyed this, obsidianj. I appreciate you letting me know. Thank you.

Elflingimp	Reviewed Chapter: 53 on 2/27/2009
Wow! I really got into reading that!, I only wish it was continued, you wrote it so well Hugs The Imp Author Reply: Thanks Elflingimp. I'm so glad you enjoyed this. Hugs back.

Sitara	Reviewed Chapter: 53 on 2/27/2009
I believe I know what would be the perfect punishment for Saruman. "evil chuckle" No, not to get on the bad side of Morgoth and Sauron and to be forced to spend an eternity in the pleasant company of both of them. Just to be employed for my country's government and having to rack his brains because of their irrational whims. "rubbing hands". And if he deemed as fools and simpletons his own kin and the wisest Firstborn dwelling on Middle-Earth, I wonder what would he thought having to deal with these particular Mortals?....Poor Saruman. Not even he does deserve such a torture.LOL Sorry, Fiondil. It seems that my brain finally broke down. Now, back to the matter, reading your story, I felt again sorry for Aule. First Sauron, now Saruman. Indeed, Saruman's ill deeds weren't such as Sauron's but this was only because he didn't had the innate levels of power Sauron possessed. The Ring of Sauron is his chance to surpass his condition and his obsession with gaining power (borrowed power, not his own) is clearly shown by his appraisal of the Elven lords, all of it referred mainly to the fact whether they possessed or not a Ring of Power. He lies and uses his own kin only to reach his goals, cold-blooded and never showing a trace of remorse. Not even at the end..Such an irony for the fallen Ainu: to be thwarted and ultimately brought down by some creatures whose existence he had never acknowledged until Gollum spoke Bilbo's name in the dungeons of Barad-dur. Saruman were given his chances to repent. We know this from the LOTR books. He could have returned to Aman, to face the Ring of Doom, no doubt, but he would have had a chance, as both Melkor and Sauron had to make the same choice. They didn't wanted it. "covers eyes" A view from within Saruman's mind are you offering us this week, Fiondil, and its impact is very strong. And very, very sorrwful.... Now, if you don't mind, may I indulge myself a little? "smiles sweetly" Speaking about Rings...According to what we know, Galadriel came to rely (heavily if not completely) for the defence of the realm she ruled and desired so much to achieve, on Nenya, the Ring of Adamant. Well, that would be fine with me...with the condition that said Ring to be shaped as...an eight-rayed star, for an instance. "rolling on the ground and howling with hysterical laughter" Sorry. "straightenig and dusting herself off" I just couldn't resist. Author Reply: I've always felt sorry for Aulë, too, having two of his own Maiar betray him and the Valar. He must have wondered if there was something wrong with him that this would happen, not just once, but twice. Many people think Radagast failed as well, but I never saw that to be true. I think his task was to help heal the hurts to the land (as Yavanna did ages earlier) once the threat of Sauron was eliminated. I suspect that eventually he, too, took ship, but later in the fourth age. As for Galadriel... grin She bore the Ring of Adamant, true, but the literal translation of _Nenya_ is "watery one", and according to Tolkien in "Unfinished Tales", the ring affected her adversely by awakening within her the Sea-longing, which she then had to fight for an age and a half. That she held out as long as she did simply because of her hatred for Sauron and a wish to see him finally defeated is a testament of her strength of character which one can only admire.

Sunny	Reviewed Chapter: 53 on 2/27/2009
Quite a portrait this, one painted all in different shades of disdain and contempt. And I suppose Curunír even still thinks of himself as wise. Such a delusion! Aesop said, “The smaller the mind, the greater the conceit.” And by now Curunír’s conceit is great indeed. The greatest of them being that he thinks others are mere distorted mirror images of himself. Radagast and Gandalf he calls fools. And they are of his own order, which means that they are his equals – though he, being the White, is the head of their order. The Elves – despite their being “mere” mirroanwi, there are those he just can’t ignore. They are just too powerful – in more than one way – and some, I expect, Curunír regards as being dangerous. To himself and his own plans, that is. And by now that may be the only way he measures other people. He certainly hasn’t bothered to _really_ get to know any of them. It got the impression that there were only three Elves he had any real respect for. Two of those Elves wear Rings of power. The third was the Balrog-slayer. As for Men – those seem to be a mere army of chess pieces for him. Except for those he might designate as tools. And – perhaps – a few who might be considered somewhat dangerous – which means they should be eliminated. And Hobbits wouldn’t be on his radar screen at all! Author Reply: You're right, Sunny. Saruman was nothing if not delusional, and right to the bitter end, too. His contempt for others, even those of his own kind, shows a fundamental weakness of character that does not allow for the possibility that others are his equals and perhaps his superiors. I don't think he had respect for anybody, not even the two Elves who were ringbearers. And he certainly has no respect for Glorfindel, considering his memory of him as a 'troublesome Reborn'. And Men, of course, are either pawns or fodder, but either way, expendable. Hobbits only became of interest to him because of his jealousy of Gandalf and the Grey Wizard's love of the Halflings. And again, they were seen merely as potential slaves rather than Children of Eru.

Ces	Reviewed Chapter: 53 on 2/27/2009
Curunir's assumption that Celeborn and Erestor are basically meaningless is so arrogant and so wrong. And he has Glorfindel pegged wrong too, doesn't he? Batting zero there white wizard! I'm glad you had Legolas there and asking questions. Sometimes obvious questions are overlooked but need to be asked. He could have been so much, yet his jealousy and arrogance became his downfall. He fully deserved what he got in the end. It's always interesting to see things from other perspectives, even from the 'baddies.' In this case you nailed it perfectly. We get to see the Council from the eyes of someone who thinks everyone else there is so far beneath him that he will have no problem manipulating things the way he wants. Too bad he didn't use all that intelligence for good. Ces Author Reply: Hi, Ces. I'm glad that you think I nailed Saruman's character perfectly. I suppose having dealt with Melkor in "Wars of the Valar", Saruman is penny-ante stuff, but I was still worried that I hadn't captured his sliminess very well. I'm glad to see that I did. I think Saruman had a very bad habit of overlooking the obvious and considered many to be beneath him. His take on Celeborn, Erestor and Glorfindel show that he had too high opinion of himself where others were concerned. And the way he dismisses Legolas, not just from his mind but from his calculations, shows how truly blind he is, since we know that Legolas would eventually be part of the 'team' that brings him and Sauron down.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 53 on 2/27/2009
Ah, indeed all too likely a chance! Time to interfere and find the Ring, and here Saruman is doing his best to stonewall everyone. But not all believe that that it is gone indeed. Well done! Author Reply: Thank you, Larner. Of course, all the stonewalling in the world doesn't change the fact that the Ring has already by found, simply not recognized for what it is. It will be another 65 years before Frodo seeks to leave the Shire with the Ring and all that follows from that.

Kaylee	Reviewed Chapter: 53 on 2/27/2009
Curunir gets a chance to speak up, hm? Not sure that I like his perspective on things. Alas for Curunir, that he followed Aulendil into folly. He could have been worthy of being the White, had he put his pride and arrogance aside, but that isn't how it happened. His disdain for the others...his dismissal of Erestor and Celeborn makes my blood boil. Galadriel...well, I will at least agree with Thranduil that the daughter of Arafinwe has pride issues of her own to set aside, however I do like Galadriel very much even so. And that doesn't excuse the relatively young King of Mirkwood from being prideful, either! But back to Curunir... His dismissal of Men and their allies will, in time, be his own downfall, of course. And his dismissal of Olorin is a grave mistake, as is his sneering at Radagast. Radagast may be 'simple' and may have 'failed', but who except a follower of Yavanna would forge such close kinship with the birds and trees of the forests? In his own way, I think he did his best to complete his missions. I like Radagast. nod His labeling of Glorfi as a "troublesome Reborn" may not have been far off the mark THEN, but Glorfindel of Gondolin has become Glorfindel of Imladris and taken up the place it is his duty and honor to have. He is a Lord again, powerful and wise, NOT to be discounted in any way, shape or form. Nor should Erestor or any of the others be. Elrond was right to tell Curunir off about disparaging Elros' line. I just wonder what sort of welcome home Curunir received, in the end...or rather than a summons to the Mahanaxar, was he given a one-way ticket to the Void as soon as he was out of Mandos? Or given the fallen Vala's old cell? Alas that the mighty have fallen. He could have been so much more, had he not permitted himself to be seduced. And so, much as I dislike Curunir, I weep for him. ~Kaylee Author Reply: Hi, Kaylee. Well, most arrogant people are very dismissive of those whom they feel are less than they in some regard, never taking into account that the 'weaknesses' they see in others are actually their strengths. That was Saruman's problem. His arrogance and his jealousy got the better of him and he failed to see what was happening right in front of him. Disparaging others blinded him to certain truths about himself, as well. A careful reading of Saruman's death seems to indicate that whatever judgment was made was made right there as his fëa rose from his body and a cold wind blew out of the West, bending it away until it dissolved into nothing. I don't think Saruman was granted the privilege of a visit to Mandos or the Ring of Doom; the Valar probably didn't want to have to disinfect the place afterwards. grin And as much as we may despise Saruman, it is good to weep for what he could have been and should have been had he stayed true to Eru and the Valar.

Radbooks	Reviewed Chapter: 53 on 2/27/2009
A most enjoyable read on a Friday morning! It was fun seeing this whole thing from Curunir's view since we don't often read anything from his POV - not that I would particularly want to read that too often. :) Nicely done! Author Reply: Thanks, Radbooks. I'm glad you enjoyed this even if it was from Saruman's POV. I hope it don't have to write more of him myself: the guy creeps me out. grin

Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 53 on 2/27/2009
You know, Fiondil, that chapter left me wanting desperately to kick Saruman somewhere where it really hurts :/ His dismissive manner against people like Galadriel, Celeborn or Erestor made my blood boiling. They all are so much more worthy than Saruman! You caught him very well, IMHO, outwards playing the all-knowing wise and inwards an arrogant bastard who believed himself to be faaar above everyone else. One can really see how his downfall started! If by ‘the weak’ Mithrandir meant Men, then he was more a fool than Curunír had originally given him credit for. Ha, and who was the fool in the end? evil grin With that opinion of Men, it's no wonder he underestimated the Hobbits as much as Sauron did. Not to mention that he forgot that the Ents have a will of their own. Author Reply: Oh Kitty, thanks. I'm so glad you thought I had captured Saruman so well. I was rather reluctant at first to write this story, but the Muse was insistent. I thought it would be interesting to describe this last meeting of the White Council from Saruman's POV since his was the ruling voice. And in the end, for all his machinations and deceptions, it all came to naught. He was already too late. I suspect that the Valar may have had something to do with that, making sure that the Ring stayed hidden (but not where everyone thought it was) long enough for the right person (Bilbo Baggins) to come along.

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