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| In the High King's Secret Service by Fiondil | 12 Review(s) |
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| Fadesintothewest | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/10/2013 |
| Looking forward to the story of young Valandur. His vantage point will certainly be interesting. Love his dissertation title, very appropriate! So young Valandur is an ethnographer of sorts eh, a man after my own heart! Author Reply: Hi Fades. I tend think of Valandur as a sociolinguist, but I suppose ethnographer is as good a description as any. Hope you enjoy the story as it progresses. Thanks for reading and reviewing. It's much appreciated. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/8/2013 |
| A most interesting development for the young (relatively speaking) ellon. And he can already see the difference between Ingwe and his far lesser brother. Love the description as washed-out compared to the Ingaran. Am looking forward to seeing how he manages to outwit his Lord's brother! Author Reply: Assuming Valandur needs to outwit Ingoldo or anyone else. We'll have to see. I'm sure there will be a clash or two between them before the end. Thanks for reading and reviewing, Larner. I appreciate it very much. | |
| Laer | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/8/2013 |
| Secrets can never be a good thing. Here is hoping he don't need a body guard before this meeting is over with. Author Reply: Some secrets need to be kept, though, Laer. We'll see how it goes as Valandur joins the rest of the delegation and they head for Tirion. Thanks for reviewi9ng. I quite appreciate it. | |
| Lady Edlyn | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/8/2013 |
| Nice beginning, meldonya. I loved the title of Valandur's thesis and his response to finding out that Ingwë had read it. As usual your descriptions are wonderful and I found Valandur's thoughts about how later elves would look at those who were born in Endorë, much less those who remembered Cuiviénen intriguing. I'm certainly looking forward to the next installment! Edlyn Author Reply: Hi Edlyn. I stole the title of Val's thesis from a real-world article. I thought it was a cool topic and something that might have been plausible given the various levels of interaction between Elves, Maiar and Valar. I'm glad you like my descriptions and val's thoughts about how future generations of Elves might view the older generation(s) is something that I think would naturally occur and might even explain the restlessness of the Noldor to some degree. At any rate, I hope you enjoy the rest of this story. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. It's much appreciated. | |
| Siiw | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/8/2013 |
| Seemed to *be aware of* everything. I should stop reading and posting in half sleep. Author Reply: Okay, that makes a bit more sense. LOL! Thanks for the correction. | |
| Siiw | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/8/2013 |
| It is good to see these people again! :D The concept of face, does Valandur mean literal faces, or the expression 'losing face'? I would also have liked to read that thesis. And the palace sounds truly beautiful! I always got the impression through the other stories that both Valandur and Ingwe wanted to know everything, and seemed to know everything far earlier than most people had expected. I can see this in them even now. They must have had some very interesting private conversations through the ages. Does the colour of Elven hair lighten with age? Ingwe has pale golden hair in EI. :P Author Reply: Hi Siiw. The concept of face is a sociolinguistic one having to do (in part) with saving/losing face. And I should have rechecked EI for Ingwë's description *grin*. I think, however, since this is from Valandur POV, with the two brothers side-by-side, Ingwë seems brighter and more golden than Ingoldo even if his hair is a pale gold. Or, perhaps, as you say, his hair lightens as he grows older. We know that in the third stage of elven existence, male Elves are able to grow a beard, so maybe lightening of the hair is another trait. Take your pick. *grin* Thanks for your comments. I hope you continue to enjoy this story. | |
| 6336 | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/8/2013 |
| Ah, I see Ingoldo is being his usual sweet and adorable self. As soon as I realized he was involved I knew we were in for a wild ride! Poor Valandur, mixing it up with Ingoldo is not good. One of these days you will have to tell us about how Ingwe got picked and not Ingoldo to be High King! (As if you need more Plot Bunnies!) Hope you had quiet and peace full weekend, I was slaving at the Salt Mines, oops, Mall of Doom again! Huggs, Lynda (Who is waiting impatiently for Friday!) Author Reply: Hi Lynda. Yeah, Ingoldo's a piece of work, but what else is new? Dealing with Ingoldo won't be easy and we'll see how Valandur handles things with the prince. I think in one of my stories (Elf, Interrupted possibly) Oromë explains how he did not trust Ingoldo, that he followed the promptings of his heart in choose Ingwë, and of course, that prompting came from Eru. Thanks for reviewing. I appreciate it. Hugs back. (And I doubt you're the only one waiting impatiently for Friday. *grin*) | |
| someone | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/8/2013 |
| An interesting glance into a "normal" life among the elves. The idea of someone having to write a thesis before graduating is so ordinary that it took me by surprise *grin*. Good, even the elves can't avoid that! Valandur might not have accepted the job of a spy at once, but if he's being schooled gradually for it... Is Ingwë just being clever or is he really not looking for a spymaster at that time? I'm looking forward to this intelligent (future) spy's impressions of Valinor and its politics! Author Reply: I tried to show how Elves lived on a daily basis at this time and I hope I succeeded. And I think Ingwë is testing Valandur at this point to see how he does before bringing him fully into his household. Thanks for leaving a comment, someone. I really appreciate it and I hope you continue to enjoy the story. | |
| Cairistiona | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/8/2013 |
| I can see why Valandur is a beloved OC... I like him already and I've only read one full chapter and a prologue about him. I chuckled a little at how, upon getting the summons, one of his concerns was whether he'd be back on time to teach his class. A true teacher at heart! And his reaction when Ingwë revealed that he'd read his thesis was priceless. I imagine I'd have the same gasping reaction if I found out Prof. Tolkien somehow read my fics. (Actually, I'd be so mortified that I'd most likely change my name and flee from all known civilization....) I love how you describe the time-keeping by the light of the trees. It's a small detail but is perfect for reminding the reader of the setting. Looking forward to more! Author Reply: HI Cairistiona. I was surprised that so many people really considered Valandur one of their favorite OCs. I mean, I LIKE him, but then I created him so I guess that doesn't count (of course, I've also created Ingoldo whom I DON'T like, so whatever). Anyhoo... I'm glad you like the time-keeping detail. It's an easy one to miss because we're so used to day and night and all in our own world, we forget that in Aman before the death of the Trees they lived in perpetual light and telling time would have been completely different for them. Glad you're looking forward to more of the story. Thanks for letting me know. I really appreciate it. | |
| Kevana | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/8/2013 |
| Elven sociology? I love it. And Ingwë's wise in his selection of person for this task. So the High King read Valandur's thesis. I can imagine the scholarly pride, mingled with momentary abject terror. The topic is priceless too. It's amazing how Ingoldo and Ingwë are so incredibly different despite being brothers. It's lovely to see the Tree-based timekeeping. I quite like that invention. Sundials without the sun. A disturbingly geeky part of me wonders what the color temperatures would have been. Ten gazillion Kelvin and seven gazillion Kelvin? LOL. It does make me wonder how Valandur came to think he "failed" at such an assignment. We will see! I stumbled on the most incredible word today and just had to share it. It's Welsh and it's the closest word I've ever seen to describe the Elves' "sea-longing." With your language experience you likely already know it but, wow. hiraeth, (n) Thank you for a fantastic chapter! Take care and beware the frumious bandersnatches this week. -Kevana Author Reply: Elven sociolinguistics, actually, which was my concentration in college (the sociolinguistics, not the elven part LOL!). Glad you like the thesis topic. I borrowed it from an article in real-world linguistics. As for the timekeeping, I was hard pressed to come up with ways to show time in a land where it's perpetual day with only a cooling of the light but not a complete absence of it. I had to constantly make sure I didn't use words like "night" and other time words that would not have been applicable, only "hour", "day" and "week" because Tolkien gives us these. I love the Welsh. I have studied the language a little bit but had never come across this particular word. Thanks for sharing it with me and everyone else. One has to wonder if the Professor was aware of the word and its meaning since he based Sindarin on Medieval Welsh. Thanks for an enthusiastic review. And I will certainly look out for frumious bandersnatches. *grin* | |