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In the High King's Secret Service  by Fiondil 8 Review(s)
LarnerReviewed Chapter: 6 on 7/28/2013
He is seeing more of the family dynamics here, and how Indis intends that the Noldor not fully repudiate the Vanyar for leaving Tirion to found their own city and realm. Interesting looks at Findis and Intarion.

Author Reply: Very true, Lasrner. I'm glad you like this look at Findis and Intarion. Thanks for taking the time to read and review. I appreciate it.

KevanaReviewed Chapter: 6 on 7/27/2013
It must have looked strange to the others present to see Fëanor come down on Valandur that way, especially the people not privy to the undercurrent of what passed between them. All the ranking officials there and he calls out a little-known scholar?

Oh, I like Findis. And Indis too, of course! Valandur's observations about the two of them are very enlightening. And baby Nolofinwë! Awww. Haha, no, sharing is not the family's strong suit, is it! They needed a better Elven kindergarten.


Thanks for the update, Fiondil! Take care! :)


A little lagniappe - I have always had trouble mentally envisioning what a large structure made of mithril might look like, until I saw this gate. New headcanon accepted.

Author Reply: Cool lagniappe, Kevana! We wants! LOL!

I suppose it was strange for those looking on and not understanding what had happened previously, but I suspect Fëanáro was known for being... odd at times. *grin*

I'm glad you like Findis and Indis. I know some readers didn't care for how I portrayed Indis in my "Bound in Darkness" story, but that comes much later and after a lot of heartache on her part with all the dysfunctional familial tensions that arose over time between her children and Fëanáro. And I think you're right that they need a better Elven kindergarten.

Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I very much appreciate it.

obsidianjReviewed Chapter: 6 on 7/27/2013
Interesting beginning of the negotiations. Luckily, we have Varandur to help us get to the bottom of all the niceties and undercurrents swirling in the room. I have a hard time keeping all the names straight. Not being very familiar with Feanor and his family, it all blends together. Feanor sticks out because of his immature behavior. Someone needs to get some sense into him, but I think it is a lost cause going by the history of what is to follow ;-)

Author Reply: Hi obsidian. I know the names are confusing at times. Even I've been known to mix them up much to my betas' despair *grin*. Just to help out, here's a quick and dirty guide:

Finwë is king of the Noldor. He originally married Míriel, who is Fëanáro's mother. She "died". Finwë then married Indis, sister of Ingwë, the High King of all the Elves in Aman. They eventually had five children of whom Findis is the oldest and Nolofinwë, who will someday be known as Fingolgin, is the next oldest. A second daughter will follow and then Arafinwë (Finarfin) will be born, followed by a third daughter. This is all canon.

Ingwë is both the King of the Vanyar and the High King over all the kings in Eldamar (Aman). In my universe he is married to Elindis and they have 3 children. Besides his sister, Indis, Ingwë also has a brother, Ingoldo. Only Indis is canon. I made up Ingoldo, his wife, Tinwetariel, and their son, Indation, for story purposes.

Feel free to copy this out for your own reference.

Thanks for commenting. It's much appreciated.

FadesintothewestReviewed Chapter: 6 on 7/27/2013
Btw I am so happy to see Findis be developed. We never hear from her or Indis for this matter much, but it seems Indis has been maneuvering in the background for quite some time now. Fëanáro, well he needs to be roughed up a little bit. I am enjoying reading the developing tensions, politics at play through Valandur's eyes.

Author Reply: I'm glad you are enjoying Findis. Most readers don't know she is canon because she and her sisters never made it into the published Silmarillion and we only know of them through the Histories, and there is nothing about them except their names. We don't even know what their ultimate fates were, except the middle sister went to Middle-earth with her brothers. At any rate, I've had fun developing Findis more fully.

Fëanáro, on the other hand, is a lost cause.

Thanks for leaving a review. I very much appreciate it.

LaerReviewed Chapter: 6 on 7/27/2013
Valandur's observations will be the best part of this trade negotiations. He is seeing a lot more than the key people are. Couple this with him being able to blend in with the "locals" and these trade agreements might stand a chance. Without it someone is going to get set up some where.

Intarion seems to be a very smart kid but then so does Findis. Perhaps the grownups should allow the younglings to run the whole thing. it will go much smoother and both sides would benefit from it all. :)

Author Reply: Hi Laer. Yeah, negotiations are boring, but hopefully Valandur's observations won't be and in the next chapter we'll see how his observations land him in trouble. And you might be right about the trade negotiations going smoother if Intarion were leading the Vanyarin delegation instead of Ingoldo, but then there wouldn't be much of a story if he did, would there? *grin*

Thanks for reviewing. I really appreciate it.

SunnyReviewed Chapter: 6 on 7/26/2013
Loved the way Findis introduced her baby brother - but Fëanáro _also_ hasn't yet learned the meaning of the word _share_ and and he isn't part of the negotiations only because he adamantly refused to.

The dynamics in the Noldorin court you hint at around the negotiations are interesting, Fiondil. The way I gather things are at this sime, is that Finwë couldn't care less about how they goes, Indis is the person who really want the negotiations and Findis - even on such a short acquaintance I suspect she has hidden depths.

Author Reply: Hi Sunny. No, Fëanáro never does learn the meaning of the word "share", much the pity.

I am glad you find my description of the dynamics in the Noldorin court interesting, and your analysis of Finwë abd Findis is spot on. As for Findis... hidden depths indeed.

Thanks for reviwing. It's much appreciated.

CairistionaReviewed Chapter: 6 on 7/26/2013
I have learned to keep both Encyclopedia of Arda and your character list from "In Darkness Bound" over at SWG open while reading this story. There's a lot of names bouncing around the room. :) To be honest, I was a little afraid that once the meetings got underway, I'd find the story too dry, but Valandur's observations of all that may be lurking under the surface is fascinating, and of course, Feänor the Eternally Irked always adds a little pepper to the sauce. And we see Baby Doesn't-Know-How-To-Share-Yet Fingolfin! (Erm, I think it's Fingolfin... *consults character list* Whew. Yes, Nolofinwe=Fingolfin...) What a cute little moment that was. And thank you for letting the reading of the law and customs happen "offstage". That was a clever way to include it without including it, if that makes sense.

Author Reply: They are handy to have, aren't they? *grin* I promise that we will not be spending the entire story in the negotiation room. Other things will happen to bring Valandur and others out so it shouldn't be too boring for readers. That being said, I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter and Valandur's observations. And yes, it does make sense. I do that often when I don't want to get bogged down on details. Thanks for leaving a comment, Cairistiona. I very much appreciate it.

UTfrogReviewed Chapter: 6 on 7/26/2013
Love the innocent flirting. Also like that Ingarian and Valandur are getting to know each other. Still totally confused with all the names. Thank you.

Author Reply: Hi UTfrog. You could always create your own character list to keep track of people. I know other readers do so. And I think you mean Intarion. I agree that the names can be confusing and Tolkien didn't do us any favors with so many close-sounding names among the Elves. At any rate I'm glad you enjoyd the chapter. Thanks for leaving a review. It's greatly appreciated.

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