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At Hope's Edge - The Appendices by Cairistiona	11 Review(s)
Lexilooper	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 1/7/2026
It is always different, with each person, each realm of darkness that I have to fight my way through to pull the wounded and dying fëa from death’s grasp. Most are murky places of darkness, unformed and unshaped yet filled with terror and loneliness. And what detail I can discern is a corruption of the fea’s experience, a twisted perversion of what life had been. Joyful memories become nightmare; terrible memories turn to horror beyond words. Aksjdjd if joyful memories are turned to nightmare, what horror already terrible memories would become, indeed. Each plain being filled with a terrible corruption of that soul’s experience, targeted to hurt them most,, In His wisdom, Ilúvatar has given me the ability to fight through such places, to sense where the wounded soul is lying and bring him – or her – back, but it is always difficult, always taxing, always dangerous. <3333 thank Ilúvatar for that gift. But it is indeed painful for Elrond <3 And never more so than now. Oooh This time I stood before a river, its waters black and oily and foul. I walked along its edge and felt its deadness and knew that this was water that had never given their fealty to the great Vala of the waters. Ulmo had never touched these currents, and even Ossë in his wildness in the sea would find no joy in stirring water such as this. It was a lifeless stream, without song or light dancing on its sluggish waves. Skajdjdj yessss exactly as Aragorn perceived, a water that has never heard the Musiccccc (also I just reread Ainulindalë last night só I am remembering the waters clearly, and how they echo most closely the Music. Water that never have been touched by it would be foul indeed.) Surely Estel is not caught in that, I thought in dismay. Aksjdkdfk dismay I stood for a while, watching, listening ... and seeing and hearing nothing. I finally turned my back on the water, certain that if Estel were somehow trapped in it I would have sensed him, and walked on. Good <3 but he was in it before he escaped Trees, misshapen and frightening even beyond the ruined forest of Fangorn loomed over my head, and their roots twisted and moved like snakes beneath the rocky ground. Several times I nearly tripped as a treacherous root shot to the surface and then disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. It was a horrid sight, that unnatural coiling and winding of them, for although I had seen trees move, like the slow movements of Ents who had become tree-like over the years, or even the peevish shifting of Old Man Willow’s roots, this was different. Skajdj the comparisons, and this being much more foul and evil and full of malice than those other dark and frightening forests This was wholly evil, and my mind shied from thinking of just what Estel must have lived through for the darkness of the Black Breath to have created this foul place. Aksjdjdkskdkd if each place is twisted from a person’s experience…for Aragorn’s plain to be so much more sharp and clear in its horror than others he must indeed have experienced many horrors first <:(( I spied a break in the trees and what looked like a meadow, lit with whatever passed for sunshine in this place, and I ran toward it as fast as I could, but I suddenly fell as several roots rose from the ground to wrap themselves around my ankle. I struggled, crying out in fearful rage as I jerked my ankle sharply, but even as I freed my ankle, a root wrapped itself around my arm. I pulled it off with my free hand and scrambled to my feet before any more of the wicked things could twine themselves around me. I glanced upward, but running through the branches of such a malignant forest would be no better. Nay, that would be to throw myself straight into its clutches. Besides, I was no wood elf, and it had been so long since I had run through the tree tops that attempting it now would be worse than dangerous. So I ran across the treacherous ground, and eventually I reached the edge of the wood. Awww he is still an elf though and it’s cute to picture that once upon a time he would run through the tree-branches <3 "Estel!" I called as I broke stumbling away from the trees at last, but there was no answer. I glanced back the way I had come. The trees had closed behind me and all trace of the river was gone. The sky was a uniform gray. Had this been a natural place I would have thought from the lowering sky that it might snow. Hmm interesting But this was no natural place. I shivered and looked around the dim meadow, which had only seemed sunlit when I was in the darkness beneath the trees. But the sky was open above and there was, if not a freshness, then a lessening of the fetid atmosphere of the forest behind me. No natural place indeed. But I’m grateful at least the atmosphere is a little lighter here Where could Estel be? I called and called, but no answer came back to me. Mmm it is harder to find him than I imagined, no wonder he needed to follow his signs I saw a glimpse of movement and turned my head. A stag leaped between boulders. I frowned. I had never before seen deer when searching through these wretched places. But then each victim’s nightmare is its own, and signs came in many forms. I knew how much Estel loved to hunt, so, taking it for a sign, I followed the stag, and found myself climbing. Up and up I went, pulling myself from rock ledge to rock ledge. Now and then my hand knocked loose a rock and sent it falling, but although it bounced against other rocks and sent them tumbling, they made no sound whatsoever. Hmmm interesting a stag And that hes never seen such a thing in one of these places And nothing making any sound "Estel!" I cried, and my call seemed swallowed by the air around me. I somehow sensed, deep in my spirit, that this was wrong, that Estel would not be found up among these high cliffs. I had to get back down. I cursed the traitorous stag for leading up such a dangerously false trail, but as I turned to go, my eye caught another movement. A bird, circling overhead. I watched it as it approached and saw it was an eagle. I pressed myself against the rocks, for who knew if eagles were friend or foe in this place. Hmm continued sound muffling Wrong wrong Ah there’s the eagle!! One of his signs! Even though Elrond is not yet sure It let out a raucous, bugling cry that made me jump, so loud it seemed in the silence around me. It looked at me with an eye more fierce than any eagle of Middle-earth, then flew off toward a valley to my right. Beyond the valley was blackness and smoke and a red glow that seemed to be an echo of the fires of Mt. Doom on Arda. Somehow I knew that if Estel had crossed that valley and passed into the smoke, he would be beyond my call. Ooh good thing he collapsed before he could go any further? The fierceness the fires of Mt Doom I looked up again, searching the sky. Just before the grey sky met black, I spied a small break in the clouds. And in the sky far above the clouds I glimpsed something that sent my heart soaring. A star. AWWW the way although for Aragorn it vanishes too quickly for hope, Elrond’s heart soars <333 An eagle ... a star ... Estel had traveled the far corners of Arda using those tokens as his identity. This could be no mere coincidence. My son was in the valley. OOOOH and I love this because like, Estel didn’t consciously choose those to appear but they did Also, yesss as Captain Thorongillll cool My son <33 I whispered a prayer of thanks and climbed as fast as I could back down the treacherous cliffs, marking the location of the hidden valley as I went. By the time I reached the bottom, I had spied a faint path wending its way through the murky shadows. My feet seemed hardly to touch the ground, so fast did I run. My heart pounded in my chest; my lungs started to burn, but I did not slow down. I was so close ... Skakdj picturing Elrond FLYING across the path ...and then the trail ended in the blank face of another soaring rock wall. "No!" I screamed, and beat my fists against the unyielding stone. I felt like weeping. I ran as far as I could to the left and then the right but there was no way through, and the wall seemed as smooth as glass, no handholds, no cracks ... no way up. SKAJDJDJDJDJ ELROND SCREAMING NO <333 Perhaps Aragorn hears distantly I don’t know if it is too far I bent over, my hands on my knees as I drew in deep breaths. The air felt ... wrong, somehow. It was too thin, yet dragging it into my lungs started to choke me as if I were trying to breathe in water. I backed away from the wall, up the hill and I could breathe again. Aksjdjd is this what Aragorn’s breathing, this poison?? Too thin and yet choking LIKE BREATHING WATER dang But where to go? "Estel!" I shouted. "Estel, can you hear me? You must come to me!" Silence was my only answer. Aaaaaaaskkddkskkdkdsks He cantttttt I started to run again, knowing that I could not keep up such a pace much longer but so afraid that if I did not find him soon, all would be lost. My hair worked free of the braids that held it back and fell into my sweating face. I shoved it back but it kept falling in my eyes and I finally had to stop. I roughly jerked it back and tied it into a knot, ignoring the temptation to yank it out by the handful. Yesss having to stop because hair problems is so real. And his immense impatience at its refusal to cooperate,,, As I was doing that, my eyes did not rest but looked every direction for a way into the valley. I could still see the eagle, but he was far away and moving fast. The star still shone, but seemed dimmer than it had been. "Estel!" I screamed. "Listen for my voice! Answer me if you can!" Skajdjdj again Elrond just. Screaming. Fear was now my constant companion. SKAJD THIS I ran, retracing my steps until I could actually see the valley again, and this time I stood and studied every inch of the land between me and that far green land. I saw the deceptively alluring trail and ignored it and looked for the harder way, OOOOOH WISE WISE WISE the way that looked impossible ... the path that echoed the long and hard road that marked so much of Estel’s life. But that path seemed absolutely hidden. YESSS OKAY IT WOULD NOT BE AN EASY PATH FOR ESTEL’S LIFE HAS NONE, THAT IS TRUE looking for the seemingly impossible way for that is the right one <3 My eye could make out no opening, no break in the seamless wall of rock. I fell to my knees, my eyes filling with tears. <:((((( And then I found it. It was a gap, probably no wider than the length of my forearm, and had I not dropped to my knees, I would never have seen it. It was the only possible way through the impenetrable stone fortress that seemed to guard the valley. YAY YAY YAY finally finding the answer on his knees, when his hope is nearly gone, how beautifully symbolic <3 I started running again. My legs felt heavy, but I forced myself onward. Fear is a great motivator, and I was terrified that all my fumbling would cost Estel his life. Skajdj being in enough fear that he can overcome the obstacles of his own body Noooooo if it did he would never ever forgive himself I reached the gap at last and saw it was narrower than I thought. It almost looked too narrow to squeeze through, but I turned sideways and eased into it. Rough stone pressed my back and my chest, but I pushed myself with arms and legs and inched my way into the passage. I glanced over my head ... the rock walls loomed so closely together that it might as well have been a cave I was traversing. I just prayed it would not get any narrower. Eeeeep that would be so intensely claustrophobic if he was not so intensely focused on reaching Aragorn as fast as possible It did not. YAY I reached the opposite end at last and stepped into the open, drenched in sweat and shaking with relief, for I had never held any great love for tight places. Oooh claustrophobic Elrond now canon yesss Drenched in sweat shaking with relief ahhh "Estel!" I called, desperately searching the sere landscape in front of me. It had looked green from a distance, but that had been an illusion, another lie. This valley was filled with dead clumps of grass, jagged boulders and dangerous vents in the ground through which boiled steam and a sulphurous smoke, the same noxious fume I had sensed in my initial search of Estel’s mind. Skajsjd the amount of things here that are illusions, promising some sort of relief from the death and despair but then being worse than any area yet seen, so goodddd Yess the same initial fume It was a lifeless place, and it reeked of despair, and somewhere in this dreadful place my son was trapped. Skajdj <:( "Estel!" I cried. My voice was growing hoarse. I was weakening far too fast. I had used up too much energy chasing down the false trail. I moved forward but tripped and went to my hands and knees. "Elbereth Gilthoniel, give me strength ... please ... you must help me find my son." Akskdfkdksjsss noooo used up in a pointless chase Weakening quickly Please Elbereth. Please look down on this horrid place of Aragorn’s mind in mercy. I struggled to my feet. "Estel! Can you hear me?" Nothing. I looked at the sky and saw the star nearly overhead, barely visible, so dim had it grown. There was no sign of the eagle. I let my gaze travel downward, studying the far horizon. Stunted trees stretched grasping bare limbs toward the sky, and on one of them perched the eagle. Yessssss I love love that even though Aragorn immediately lost sight Elrond can still see them is still following But ALSO the star is growing dim, so dim, with Aragorn’s feä,,, I stumbled toward the tree, crying out Estel’s name, and for the longest time it seemed like I was running in place, never moving forward, never reaching the place where surely I would find Estel. But finally the eagle took flight, almost as though he knew I was coming at last. As I approached, I saw dark shapes below the tree... a dark-haired man crumpled on the ground, and another standing over him. Even as I watched, the standing man threw something to the side. Skajdjfjsj CRUMPLED is the perfect whumpy word Also I assume it is extremely unusual for there to be another person in here? Since most peoples’ scapes are so vague there’s not much room for specific figures from the twisted versions of their lives to emerge? "Estel!" I cried, my voice breaking. ELRONDS VOICE BREAKING The man on the ground did not move, but the standing man turned and looked toward me. I saw that it was not Estel as I thought, but Halbarad. But that made no sense. Halbarad could not be in this place ...and not with such a look of hatred glaring from his eyes. I glanced at the ground, where he had thrown something, and saw a gleam of steel. Narsil! I frowned. Had he taken the shards of Narsil from my son? Why would he treat them with such contempt? skajdjfjsjsjsjss Elrond’s utter confusion, why would Halbarad?? Being doing any of this?? SEEING THE COMPLETE HATRED which Aragorn has been battered with in each nightmare, and cannot explain, Also the “why would he treat them with such contempt?” Again Elrond’s utter bewilderment at Halbarad’s completely uncharacteristic behavior makes me happy, not quite sure why. Maybe because he’s seeing exactly what Aragorn has been seeing. Or because it confirms how out of character this is. Or Elrond still underestimating how horrible and twisted Aragorn’s nightmares can be under the Black Breath, despite all his experience with it this is still beyond his imagination, and obviously he hasn’t fully caught on yet if he’s so confused about Halbarad’s behavior I stared at Halbarad and it came to me. This was more of the Dark One’s foul trickery. I drew my sword. "Be gone, servant of darkness!" I cried. "Leave him be!" SKAJDJ GOOD JOB HE HAS REALIZED a voice confident and strong, whether he feels it or no The false image of Halbarad wavered, shifted into its true form, that of an orc, then dissolved into smoke and blew away. I sheathed my sword slowly, fearing that such evil might come back in another form, but nothing moved and no one approached. Then I dared looked more closely at the man on the ground. It was Estel. He lay with his back to me but there was no mistaking. I wanted ... no I needed, in the worst way, to run to him, to take him in my arms and hold him and assure myself he lived, but I could not. Estel had to come to me. I walked as close as I dared and dropped to my knees, a few feet from him. "Estel!" Skajdjfjsjsjs the laying with his back to Elrond is wonderful needed in the worst way aksjdjdks <:((( BUT HE COULD NOT Estel has to come Has to find the strength somehow Elrond cannot hold him yet <:( He did not move, but I could hear his breathing, a harsh, rasping sound that smote my heart and checked my own breath. "Come to me, Estel!" I cried. Oh Valar, help him to come to me, please... SKAJSJDJSJSJSJDJSKS A HARSH RASPING SOUND SMOTE HIS HEART can hear clearly the harsh breathing even turned away He moved, then, finally, a listless shifting of his arms ... and it was then I saw the chains that bound his wrists and his ankles. He turned his head and opened his eyes and he seemed not to see me. Skaksjdjdjsjsjdsjsj SEEING THE CHAINS YES YES I FORGOT ABOUT THE CHAINS ah yes the moments of incomprehension "Estel!" He blinked. "Adar?" he whispered. "Yes, Estel. It is your adar. I’m here. I have come to take you home." Skajdjfjsjsj <:(((( <333333 he has comeeeee And he knows not how radiant and powerful he is in his exhaustion. In his extensive efforts spending all his strength for love his power shines brilliantly and Aragorn sees, even if Elrond does not feel particularly shiny right now A mixture of love and fear and joy and fatigue on his face: Aragorn think, Halbarad and all your friends in your nightmares have been twisted to hate you. Elrond would not look this way if he were a servant of the enemy, I think. He is cunning but I don’t know if he could create such a sincere illusion of love and sacrifice. "Home?" He looked confused. "No ... it is a trick. I will not tell ... not tell you ... who I am ... cannot make me ..." Skajdjfjd the confused delirium and darkness "Estel," I implored. "Listen to my voice! It truly is me. You must trust me!" He shut his eyes. "No!" he moaned, a long drawn-out sound so full of pain and bewilderment that my heart felt crushed. "It is a trick... I will not listen!" He curled into a ball, burying his head in his arms. SKAAAJSJDJFFJ drawn-out and full of pain and BEWILDERMENT His mind is so overwhelmed and struggling Elrond’s heart crushed <:(( THE CURLING INTO A BALL AND HIDING HIS FACE AAAAAAH I felt like burying my own face in my hands. I had never come up against anything as difficult as this. Skajd yessss indeed he has not Fatigue wrapped itself around my mind, deadening my wits. "Think!" I told myself fiercely. What could I say to him that could convince him that I was real, that whatever illusion he was trapped in was nothing more than a lie as black and vile as Morgoth himself? The answer came to me. "Estel, a few moments ago you woke from this, briefly. You looked at me and told me that Sauron knew who you were." As black and vile as Morgoth SAKDJ VILE INDEED THANK YOU ELBERETH for the answer I held my breath and for a moment it looked as though he would ignore me, but then he stirred, a shudder more than anything, but he did not answer nor look at me. Skajdjfjd the stillness and then the shudderrrr Desperately, I continued. "There is more, Estel, things that I would know but Sauron and his minions would not. If you search your mind you will know to them to be true and know that I am true. Halbarad was injured. You brought him to Rivendell. You waited all day beneath the old willow tree, worrying over him, as I worked to remove the shards of the arrow from near his spine and lung. And you were so concerned for his well-being that you ignored your own wound, the splinter wound on your left arm. It has become inflamed, and is giving you fever." Yessss yes yes yes I paused, hoping, but still he did not move. "I followed the eagle, and then the star. You saw them both, from a distance; yea, even followed the eagle yourself to this tree. They are your tokens, my son, and they drew me to you. Just now I saw Halbarad, or the being that was pretending to be Halbarad, swing the chains and hit you. But the chains did not wound you; you were already wounded when you came to Rivendell." Indeed, please listen Aragorn, please trust <3 Finally, he stirred, and rolled over enough to look at me. The confusion and terror in his eyes smote my heart. "At Bracken’s Ferry," he whispered, his voice holding only a faint, rasping echo of its normal vigor. "How do you know? I did not tell you..." SKAJDJF again Aragorn’s suffering smiting Elrond’s heart <33 THE CONFUSION AND TERROR IN HIS EYES ONLY A FAINT RASPING ECHO OF HIS NORMAL VIGOR "No, but I can see the wound on your arm, and no chain did such damage. Splintered wood, still embedded and festering. Erestor has cleaned it, though, and that was the pain you thought came from those chains." I smiled, as gently as I could. "Come, my son, let me take you home and then you can tell me everything." the gentleness was indeed successful <33 LET ME TAKE YOU HOME <333 He stared at me, seeming to take the measure of my very soul with his piercing, suspicious gaze. Then he looked around at the deadness surrounding us. I could almost see his thoughts as he weighed everything I had told him against the voice of his own heart, and then to my indescribable relief, he stretched out a trembling hand. "Ada, is it really you?" he has learned the soul-searching gaze of an elf :))) wait NO WONDER his glare is so piercing, he grew up with ELROND for goodness sake Skajdjdj a trembling hand I put my hand out and he reached forward and touched my fingers, and then let out a joyful cry as he nearly threw himself into my arms. "Ada!" I folded him into my embrace, my heart singing as joyful a song as surely Arda had ever heard, and as I drew him close, the chains fell and a sweet wind laden with the aroma of athelas swept away the toxic fumes. The valley seemed to melt around us. I buried my face in Estel’s hair and wept .... SKAJDJFJ love love love the keeping the same words like “folded him into my embrace”, aksjdfj the immediate absolute turnaround of suddenly his heart is SINGING AS JOYFUL A SONG AS SURELY ARDA HAD EVER HEARD <333 OH THE JOY, and Elrond weeping, weeping <33 .... and when I lifted my face, we were in Estel’s room, and he was stirring in my arms. "Ada," he croaked. <33333 "Give him water!" I cried, and Erestor hurried forward with a cup. He held up Estel’s head as I held it to his lips with a hand that was shaking so hard that I spilled some of it down his chest. He seemed not to notice as he drank greedily. Lol I mean he sort of noticed but certainly did not care YESSS his hand shaking so hard Elrond’s hand. Shaking. Hard enough to spill water. "Slow down, Estel," I said, laughing as I pulled the cup back. Erestor eased Estel’s head back to the pillow and he lay staring at me as if he still could not quite believe it was me and that he was back safe in his bed. In his home. "Welcome back," I said, and laid a kiss on his forehead. "What ..." The look of confusion on his face was almost comical. "How did..." "Shhh. Save your questions, my son," I said. "You were in a far country, and an evil one, but now you are back home and you will recover." I carefully kept my glance away from his arm. Valar, let him be fine. I smiled inwardly. That word again. He shifted uneasily on the bed, wincing as the movement jostled his arm. "Your arm was deeply infected," I said. "It will trouble you for some time, I fear, but it will heal." Let my words not be a lie... He shut his eyes as he nodded. Pain drew deep lines of suffering on his face and he looked... old. Already gray hair shone here and there among the black strands and it seemed in that moment I became fully aware, viscerally aware, that someday I would lose this son of mine to death. SKJSJFJFJF NO NO NO NO SUDDENLY SOBBING That no matter how many times I or some other healer fought to keep him alive, death would inevitably steal him from me, either in battle or on that day when in the fullness of years he finally willingly gave back his life to Ilúvatar. The room seemed to fade for a moment, and instead of seeing Estel as he was before me, I saw him lying in great splendor and beauty, somehow young and full of years both, with a crown upon his head as he slept. But it was not sleep but death that I saw on his brow, and such pain filled my heart that I had to bite my lip to keep from crying out. I would sail long before that moment, I knew, but what of my daughter? What of Arwen? The bitterness of parting would be hers to bear alone. I shut my eyes tightly against the unbearable sorrow of it. SKAJDJFJDKDKD I WILL WEEP, WEEP, WEEP <:(((( To keep from crying out What of Arwen <:( Also the little recognition that although it pains him he has also fully accepted what will come to pass: they will marry <3 SQUEEZING HIS EYES SHUT Valar, where do I hide this pain? Where can I put it so that I can do what you have set before me to do during my time in Middle-earth? How do I not shrink from this grief and seek out the shelter of the West, to not abandon my duty to remain here, to see this age finished and the Age of Man come to its fullness? Oh my gosh the painnnnn the immense grief and sorrow is so heavy upon him So THIS is what he’s thinking of when Aragorn catches the sorrow in his faceeee Help me, Valar, for the end of Arda will be so very long a time to wait to see my children again. AKDJFS <:( indeed it is, but thank you for the reminder and assurance that at the end of Arda he will see his children again. For sometimes it is unclear to me whether they will meet again even then. And this gives me so much hope to imagine that at last, at last, though it may seem immeasurably long, they will indeed meet again. And what a joyful reunion that will be. Okay that TWO of his children will be lost to him in death is so utterly devastating <:( I opened my eyes, and the answer came gently as my eyes rested on Estel. He was looking at me, those eyes of his – eyes as grey and bright as the sky at dawn’s first touch – boring into mine with an intensity I had only seen in one other man, his ancestor Elendil. "Adar?" he said softly. SKAJDJFJSJDJDJ COMPARING ARAGORN TO ELENDIL IS MY VERY FAVORITE THING BECAUSE ELENDIL IS SO VERY COOL AND IT CONFIRMS ARAGORN IS TOO <3 His grey eyes <333 I also love that Elrond indeed remembers and has looked into both those pairs of eyes, and can accurately compare <3 I laid a hand against his cheek. The warmth of his skin anchored me again to the present. To this instant in time, and it was enough. My son was alive now, and that was all that mattered. The future and its sorrows faded back into the recesses of my mind, and I smiled. Awwwwww the warmth of his skinnnn now not a reason to flinch but to be glad for his life. Thank you for this fading of the sorrow <3 "Worry not," I said. "I am not troubled. Not any more." SKAJDJF <333 so he isn’t lying quite so much as Aragorn thought. Ahhhhhhh I want MORE of seeing Elrond watch Aragorn’s continued suffering and fever. Even though it is unnecessary. Just fun. But THANK YOU so much for these two beautiful chapters it completed a part of the story I didn’t really realize was missing <333

MikoNoNyte	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 2/3/2013
These two outtakes were intense. Seeing Elrond's point of view - his attempts to keep his emotions in check and get the job done. He's not the Rock we all think he is! But his journey into Aragorn's soul - or whatever we're calling it - I think I remarked in the story itself -what the hell is inside Aragorn to make his inner world like this - and it's amusing to see Elrond taking the same thought. The hard hard life of his son, delineated with his careful inspection for wounds made me pause more than once, thinking just how difficult a path Aragorn did in fact have (beyond the silly adventures we fans like to write). And that Elrond, essentially in undressing his son, is seeing just how difficult it has been! His judgment of his son vis-a-vis Arwen suddenly gets pushed aside and rightfully so. But again to that inner world and Elrond's view of it: thank you! Not just for letting we readers see it from Elrond's eyes, but to see it fade and become the world it should be before bringing Aragorn back. Oh, and you let me know if my "I'm talking to you directly" reviews annoy or bother. It's my style but I can be much more critical; it's just not fun that way. :) Author Reply: You're not at all annoying me with your chatty reviews! I thank you for them! I'm also very grateful that you're enjoying these old stories of mine (of which At Hope's Edge definitely is... my thoughts on Aragorn have become more refined since those days). "But again to that inner world and Elrond's view of it: thank you! Not just for letting we readers see it from Elrond's eyes, but to see it fade and become the world it should be before bringing Aragorn back." You're very welcome! I wrote this mostly as an exercise in writing Elrond and in getting that healing scene sorted out in my mind, then decided readers might enjoy reading it. I'm always interested in exploring those ways in which Elrond and Aragorn could come together rather than the ways in which they stand apart, and that thinking drove how I wrote the two of them. I like the idea of Elrond having an epiphany (or at least having the seeds planted for an epiphany) at some time between their initial falling out and the war of the Ring that his foster son is more than worthy of his daughter, even if he still wouldn't have allowed her to marry any Secondborn short of the King himself. And I kind of think that Aragorn likely carried a lot of really dark memomies--how could he not--but that under normal circumstances, he did not let them unduly trouble him. The Black Breath, however, stripped him of the strength he needed to keep those nightmares in check. It was fun (for me, not for him!) to explore that "what if" scenario.

Ellynn	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 8/25/2010
Wonderful. Perfect. Author Reply: Thank you!

Linda Hoyland	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 5/25/2009
A very vivid glimpse of the shadow world that Aragorn was trapped in .I liked the way you explained the false Halbarad. Author Reply: Thank you, Linda! I'm glad you liked seeing that world from another's viewpoint. I think the false Halbarad was both a figment brought on by the Nazgul's evil and also something that sprung from Aragorn's own fears that he will let everyone down. I think any person who highly values doing the right thing and being responsible has those feelings... not doubt like the LOTR movies showed but just fear and doubt that he might not be up to the challenge because of his own shortcomings. And I think Aragorn likely hates to think he might let people down... so his brain, jacked up and screwed up as it was because of fatigue and injury and Black Breath, conjured up a worst-case scenario of what his own dearest friend might do if he did. It was hard to get all that into the story without belaboring the point, though. LOL But thank you for your review and glad you liked this! :)

Lily Baggins	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 5/19/2009
I'm enjoying seeing how Elrond covers his true emotions and thoughts when Aragorn is aware, in order to spare Aragorn any worry or pain. But inside, Elrond is very worried---about Aragorn's health, his future, his very soul . . . Words cannot convey how much I adore reading these details---as I said earlier, I never tire of them. I'm just so glad you decided to share these with us! Author Reply: Thank you, Lily! I'm glad you enjoyed the Elrond chapters. I have always imagined one of the hardest things a doctor has to is hide their emotions when dealing with patients who have become as close as loved ones, or indeed who are loved ones. The mental strength necessary to do that, for the good of the patient, must be enormous. Elrond has had centuries to perfect that, but then he's also never really had a foster son who was a son in every sense of the word like Estel is. Very hard moments for Elrond! Thanks again for the review!

Silivren Tinu	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 5/16/2009
The dark inner place Aragorn was trapped in was just as creepy and sinister seen through Elrond's eyes as it was through Aragorn's, if not more. shivers I'm sorry to repeat myself, but... poor Elrond! His fear to be too late and fail in saving his son was so intense that it almost made me worry, though I knew already how this would end. ;-) Still, it is nice to see Elrond worry so much about Aragorn and fear so much for him. It's far too easy from his description in the books (and need I mention the movies? :P) to see him as the bad guy or something close to it, but I far prefer to see him as a loving father who was brought into an impossible situation and trapped between his love for his son and his love for his daughter. I loved how you showed this conflict at the end of this chapter and also solved it, at least for one moment in time. :) Almut Author Reply: Thanks, Almut! I'm glad you liked this glimpse of Elrond and his own thoughts and fears... he really wasn't presented as a fully rounded character in Tolkien so it's interesting to play with him, see how he might think and act and feel. I wish Tolkien had given us more about Elrond, but at least we can explore him via fanfic! Like you, I like to think of him as a very compassionate and loving person... both toward his family and the free folk of Arda in general. I think he must have felt a real calling to make the choice of the Firstborn, so he could do what he could down through the ages to defeat Sauron. It's so interesting to me to think about Elros and Elrond and how instrumental they were in the history of Middle-earth. Anyway, I'm rambling... I'm very glad you liked this and thank you for the review!

Estelcontar	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 5/15/2009
You did a great job of portraying Aragorn's suffering, and the effect it had in Elrond. I'm glad Aragorn is in now on the road that leads to healing. Author Reply: Thanks, Estelcontar! It always is a relief to get Aragorn to that place where finally he's on the mend, isn't it? I'm glad you liked seeing it from Elrond's POV. Thanks for the review!

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 5/15/2009
A horrible vision of Aragorn's own private hell, to which the Nazgul's touch brought him. And there is pain, yes; but a hope he cannot yet imagine. Lovely! Author Reply: Thank you, Larner... that's a perfect summation of it all, isn't it? It really was a hellish place, and yet Elrond brought hope into it. The Nazgul are just beastly, aren't they? Thank you for the review!

Fantasia	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 5/15/2009
Hi, sorry for this late review and I want to clarify that it will be very poor one, but I'm so incredible busy. I'm glad that you are back, I'm reading, loving this story, it is good to see what happened to him from another POV. Well, everybody over there has a tendency to take the world in their shoulders, to many people feeling guilty...communication and love that is what they need and of course, it will help if Aragorn can get healthy Thank you Author Reply: Thank you, Fantasia, and that was not a poor review! :) Sorry you've been so busy but thank you for taking time out to read this. I'm glad you enjoyed it! I think it's true that Aragorn takes after Elrond in the "weight of the world on his shoulders" area, doesn't he? Thanks again for the review and hope life gets a bit less busy for you!

Laikwalâssê	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 5/15/2009
lovely-intense-heartbreaking-simply incredible. From Elrond´s POV it´s even more stunning than before. As a Elrond fan I´m so delighted you posted this additional chapters. Just wonderful writing. Thank you so much. Lai. Author Reply: Thanks, Lai... I'm glad I wrote Elrond to your satisfaction! I think Elrond deserves to have more stories written about him. :) Thanks for the review!

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