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In Darkness Bound by Fiondil	13 Review(s)
Imhiriel	Reviewed Chapter: 79 on 7/7/2013
Wow. The Valar certainly chose a fine moment to do a complete u-turn in how they deal with the Elves! Prior to this, it was always, "we don't interfere, unless the Peace of Valinor is breached. Or unless we are actively asked for help." Now, both have happended and suddenly crickets. Or, not merely crickets, but rather a brutal dismissal of their most loyal subjects. "Wayward elf", indeed. I suppose in principle I understand their PoV, and they are right that with all that is happening, they have other concerns. But at least a little forewarning might have been nice. "Sorry, elves, from now on you're on your own. So plan accordingly." Might have saved time and the trip up the mountain, and given them time to think about other plans. Now they've run against a wall and have to start from a completely new game board. I see from your responses that the next chapter will present the Valar's PoV. I'm curious how that will change how I see it, because at the moment, I'm rather fuming at them ;-). And I worry about Ingwion. That's the second or third time that he had to scream to let out his emotions, and I feel the cracks are starting to show. Author Reply: Hi Imhiriel. It does seem rather harsh the way the Valar are treating Ingwion, but it's really for his own good. He's too used to having them solve all his problems for him and it's time he and the other Elves grew up a bit, take responsibility for their own destinies. Still, Ingwion is near the breaking point, which is why Olórin has been set to watch over him. thanks for reading and reviewing. It's much appreciated.

Tari	Reviewed Chapter: 79 on 6/30/2011
Ingwion had a real shock; the Vala would not help him. I fear it will a little time for him to pull himself together and make plans to find everyone. I'm sure his Adar is with the othrs by now, at least I hope they are. How difficult it had to be for the Valar to withold aid, but I understand why they couldn't. Will Ingwion ever understand, I wonder? Author Reply: Yes, he did get a great shock, Tari, and we will see how that affects him later on. As for Ingwë, we'll have to wait and see. And hopefully Ingwion will eventually come to terms with the Valar withholding aid, but it will not happen overnight. Thanks for reading and reviewing. I really appreciate it.

Serindë	Reviewed Chapter: 79 on 6/6/2011
You were not kidding, the things are going worse and worse. This is worse than the kinslaying. One can understand that the Valar after the Noldor fiasco do not want to be mixed in another royal family feud. When they tried to sort the Noldor all they managed was an exodus of the majority of the Noldorin population and additionally as a bonus they got the first kinslaing. The first obligation of a physician is not to cause harm, so they decide the next time to do exactly nothing.. They have also other priorities – how to bring back the light and what to do about Melkor. So the first things first. Moreover if they allowed the kinslaying to happen, can they be seen meddling in Vanyars affairs? To say no is one thing, to say it in the fashion they managed is completely different matter. So we know now what happened in the large hall. My assumption based on EI was, that Ingwion arrived with a half-baked plan and during its implementation his brother was killed. So he later lives in seclusion with all the guilt and he is angry at the Valar. His brother is still in Mandos and all the slain Teler are being reborn, only his brother not. And the Valar do not want/cannot call Ingil to the life since Ingwion has been living in the past and expects to step into the same river twice. I was wrong. The event was even worse. If there is one thing worse than death, it is betrayal. Dante reserved his deepest hell for Judas and other traitors. Does not Feanaro attack Teler because he feels betrayed? He counts on Olwë’s support for the sake of friendship between Olwë and Finwe. Although he would like to have the Teleri ships, he is willing to accept simple know-how. He is absolutely sure that he will get the help he needs. But Olwë flatly rejects him, he does not like him, and I suppose, he does not want to give him nor ships neither the precious wood. So instead giving wood to Feanaro, Olwë uses later wood for pyres. So Ingwion if betrayed by his uncle, no surprise here. He is betrayed by Finrod, who abandons him and now by the Valar. He has been in the state of shock from the loss of the light, now his father is missing, his mother and twin brother taken hostage, additionally his brother was knocked senseless. He is absolutely clueless, what to do, he has not been prepared by his cosseted life for that particular challenge. So in the hour the greatest need he seeks the help of the Valar and he not only gets nothing, but he is told that the Valar are not interested in a fate of a "wayward elf". It must to be the worse day of his life. He is a haryon. He visits Manwe’s residence with his father quite regularly, he was repeatedly told that the Valar love him, that they love the Children very much, that they are very precious, he was given presents...only now to be told that his father a mere “wayward elf”, somebody absolutely unimportant, dispensable. Manwe is not willing to spare one single Maia to help him and shortly after the meeting his brother is killed. I can imagine that Ingwion put the blame on the Valar, not on his uncle. All the words about love were pretence. Ingoldo was able to try to usurp power, because at the critical moment Ingwe was not home (Was Ingoldo influenced by Feanaro? He would like the change, it is sure). He went obediently to Tirion at request of the Valar, the same the Valar, who would not be late willing to sent one single Maia to help his loyal vassal. The first duty of a liege lord is the duty to protect his vassals. Ingwe have fulfil his part of the bargain by serving well, now when the time has come and the Valar are asked to fulfil their part of the bargain, they refuse to honour their obligation. This is the worst breach of contract imaginable. One can understand that the Valar are not the best mood. Feanaro was allowed to reach Tirion and to take the crown, they did not stop him, tried to prevent confrontation and to give him some time to come to his senses. The next moment he is marching with practically all Noldor away without even saying good bye or thank you for everything. The Valar are clueless what is happening and why. They are mot able to see the whole situation from the elf’s point of view. What other options Feanaro has, being Feanaro? He was willing to go to exile in the time when his father was and stayed unquestionably Noldoran. But the situation is different now, his father is gone, Feanaro is the king, but if he stays at Foremost, it will be his not so beloved half brother who will rule and his own kingship will be under threat. He wants vengeance and the Valar seemingly do nothing. He knows that Melkor is one of the Valar, but can he imagine how powerful he is? I doubt it. The others follow. They have returned after years of exile, their houses are rotten, better to pull them down and replace them. If they must start once more from the scratch after another fifty years, better to start at another place immediately. Many of the young would like to see the land of their forefathers, Valinor is so tiny. They do not necessarily rebel against the Valar, but they also do not ask leave. Do not ask and your plea will not be rejected. Additionally how many elfs know how hard the Valar laboured for their benefit? And the horror of kinslaying must be a terrible shock. But still to turn their anger at a poor Ingwion in this way. "A wayward elf". Tell the word Sweden and my first association is the looting of Prague by Swedes of 1648. How many yeni does Ingwion hear "a wayward elf" every time a word Vala is mentioned? I have feeling that without kinslayning and the following doom another group of elfs would be marching under Ingwion out of Valinor very soon. How they managed to get him set a foot at Ilmarin once more? Dragged by his father, I suppose. And why the hell Námo supposed that he can win the bet? His friend Glorify is missing, Valars answers are nebulous, and so he smells a rat. And he is right, Glorify is beaten senseless. Does Námo count on his instilled good manners or what? Ingwion is definitely a very gentle soul and very gratuitous. "An apprenticeship? I should be your apprentice? Are you insane? You cannot be trusted to take a care of a hamster properly" would be probably Glorfi's response. Author Reply: Hello, Serindë. I think your review is almost as long as the chapter, itself. LOL! And I really appreciate you taking the time to set out your thoughts and share them with the rest of us. Much of what you say is true, from a certain point of view (to quote a different character in a completely different universe) and hopefully if you read on to the next chapter some of your concerns may be addressed, though you may not necessarily care for the answers (most of my reviewers don't seem to). At any rate, from "Elf, Interrupted" we know that there was some kind of reconciliation between Ingwion and the Valar, and we will see in subsequent chapters what happens to him and how he copes. And everyone is speculating on how and when Ingalaurë dies, and all I can say is: wait and see. Again, thanks for taking the time to read and then leave a most thoughtful and interesting review. Your comments are greatly appreciated.

obsidianj	Reviewed Chapter: 79 on 6/5/2011
You were not kidding when you said it would get worse before it would get better. That was a cruel blow for Ingwion. I don't think that was quite fair of the Valar. So far the Valar were always there for them and now they just send him away, although, in his mind, he didn't do anything wrong. All because of Feanor. Now Ingwion has to grow up. He can't rely on other to make the decisions and tell him what to do. Author Reply: Hi obsidianj. Yes, it is a cruel blow, but as you say, it's time for Ingwion (and the other Elves) to grow up and start making his own decisions without expecting the Valar to step in and make things easy for him, which was probably the case prior to the Darkening. Thanks for reading and reviewing. I really appreciate it.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 79 on 6/4/2011
And how cruel this abandonment seems! Poor Ingwion! And all of them are now in shock. Author Reply: It is very cruel but not all is as it seems (certainly not with the Valar involved). And the shocks will just keep coming. Anyone who thought the Elves who remained behind in Aman after Fëanáro and the Noldor left had an easy time of it, will be disabused of that notion when they read this story. grin Thanks for taking the time to read and review. I appreciate it very much.

Aiwen	Reviewed Chapter: 79 on 6/4/2011
Ouch. I can understand the Valar's point of view here, but Ingwion's later anger at them makes entirely too much sense. Wild swings of foreign policy like this leaves everyone feeling betrayed. Author Reply: Hi Aiwen. Yes, we can see the beginnings of Ingwion's anger towards the Valar here and his sense of betrayal will only deepen when his brother dies. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

ellie	Reviewed Chapter: 79 on 6/3/2011
The Valar try so hard yet they have so much to learn about the Children, don't they? And they do have a lot going on what with the kinslaying and all (who among them ever would have guessed that such a thing could possibly take place?). I pity those who made it out, but I especially pity Valandur. He is trying to so hard to serve his king and has a better grasp of the direness of the situation then anyone and (I'm sure in his mind anyway) he failed. Valandur still needs his own story, ya know. Author Reply: Hi ellie. Yes, the Valar are trying hard, but that is not to say that they 'get it'. And I will take your suggestion about Valandur needing a story of his own very seriously. You know what's already on my plate, but as soon as certain things get done, perhaps I'll be able to come up with something. It would be fun to explore this particular character the way I did with Laurendil. Thanks for taking the time to read and review. I really appreciate you doing so.

Fantasia	Reviewed Chapter: 79 on 6/3/2011
Wow, I know all the reasons behind the Valars' decision, but it is so cruel. They have all this elves completely unprepared to act in those circunstances, so naive, and they are expecting them to act alone. I don't think that it is the right approach, they are paying for the Noldors mistakes. I don't think that the Valar will be very popular for a while. No, I do't think that is right waht are they doing, all extremes are bad. Author Reply: Hi Fantasia. Yes, it does seem a bit cruel. We'll see in the next chapter the Valar's POV on this situation and perhaps their actions will seem less cruel. You'll have to wait until Monday to decide. Thanks for reading and reviewing. I appreciate it very much.

6336	Reviewed Chapter: 79 on 6/3/2011
Well that was a slap in the face to Ingwion and no mistake! Actually I can see the Valars point of view in all this, they meddled(sp?) in the Elves buisiness when they banished Feanaro, not that it did any good, just made a stubborn Ellon even moreso and look at the result, a mass exedus of the Noldor and the deaths of many of the Teleri and now they are being asked to meddle once again. They are afraid of what will happen, if they do help will this mean that more of the Elves will pack up and follow Feanaro or do something else just as extreme? No thankyou, this is your mess, you clean it up! As a side note, as it looks as if Ingwion is about to go off the deep end, just how much mental instability is common among the Elves? You have Feanaro, who everyone knows is a loaf short of a picnic, you will eventually have Elves fading after the loss of a loved one and I think giving up like that is a form of mental illness, you have Vorondils Nana who is so angry with his uncle that she coerces his brother into marrying her and you also have Ingwion's own breakdown after the death of his brother. Another of Melkor's little gifts? Just some Sunday morning musings!:<) Huggs, Lynda Author Reply: Hi Lynda. Yes, a real slap in the face and it will have reprecusions. I'm glad you at least understand where the Valar are coming from even if you don't necessary agree with it. They're in a "damned-if-they-do-and-damned-if-they-don't" situation and they're still feeling their way. This is new territory for everyone. As for the mental stability of the Elves... I think the loss of light is affecting them in ways they haven't recognized. That would certainly be true of the younger Elves who have known anything but the light of the Trees. And certainly, it's possible that Melkor's influence can be felt here as well. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Shemyaza	Reviewed Chapter: 79 on 6/3/2011
I do realise that there is a method in your madness and I do agree that the Elves need to stand on their own two feet, but the timing of this tough love the Valar are meting out sucks. I am not sure how another Vanyarin Elf beating Ingalaure over the noggin and the physical act of imprisoning other Elves is any better than the sack of Alqualonde and the actions taken by Feanor. I would have thought that the Valar would have at least assisted as far as Ingwe's kidnap is concerned. The problem is that the Valar have no idea of shades of grey. The perceive that they made a mistake with Feanor and the Noldor, so all of a sudden they stop doing anything at all. Let's hope that whatever lesson they are trying to teach the Eldar gets through to them better than any other lesson they have imparted so far and that they don't try to throw the baby out with the bathwater! Author Reply: Well, of course, the difference between hitting someone over the noggin and what happened at Alqualondë is that there people died. No one in Vanyamar has died... yet. Ingwë's kidnapping will be addressed in the next chapter. And the reasoning for what the Valar are doing will also be addressed in the next chapter. Keep in mind that I don't necessarily condone their actions (or inactions); I merely record them. grin And tough love always sucks, no matter when or where. Thanks for still reviewing, Shemyaza. I must have pushed the right (or wrong) button with this chapter. grin

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