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Elf Academy 3: The Enemy Within by Fiondil	16 Review(s)
Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 44 on 6/24/2014
The Elves are beginning to get a better understanding what the SCA is, and why it would help their cause. Good point about surviving in case the worst happens, too. They at least have an idea what to do, which can't be said from most of the population nowadays. It may never be necessary, of course, though, when I look at our world as it is now, you never know. You know, I like Anastasia and her humour. She does a fine job, too. They all did, actually, and I am glad the group from Wiseman enjoyed themselves. They all needed some chance to just relax and have fun after everything that happened. And it was a great show what can be done in such a group, beside the fighting. Author Reply: There was a series of books years ago by Diane Paxson and I can't remember their names and I never read them all, but the premise of it was that some sort of cataclysm or apocalypse occurred that destroyed our civilization and the people who survived and thrived were Scadians who were able to resurrect older technologies, and I think S. M. Sterling has done something similar in her books, so I think it could be possible that something like it would happen if the worst did occur and we were no longer able to utilize our present technologies. At any rate, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and the Scadians, especially Anastasia. Thanks for letting me know, Kitty. I appreciate it.

Kevana	Reviewed Chapter: 44 on 6/2/2014
Ahhh, I didn't think about Alex's past with "pretending" - but it makes sense (and is a fantastic way for you to carry through the character development from EAII). Ron makes a really good point about how people cling to the past as if it was some kind of Golden Age. When people start doing that, I always remember that wonderful quote circa 450 B.C. - possibly (mis)attributed to Socrates - about children being rude to their elders and society being terrible. 2000+ years and not much has changed. LOL @ Stacy's reaction to finding out about the Elves! Nope, not in Kansas anymore! It must have been fun seeing the Elves all dressed up, and the cloved lemon sounds like mobile mistletoe. Thank you for including it, now I know to watch out if I ever happen to see one pop up and/or if I ever go on Jeopardy. grin It reminds me of how Shakespeare's plays were pop culture back in his day, and full of dirty jokes that most people don't get because of the language/slang differences. Now we know where your encyclopedic knowledge of all of the feasting stuff and armor comes from! It's incredibly impressive how much time and effort goes into SCA. No doubt the folks in Wiseman are going to have to work hard to get theirs up and running. Curious to see what name they decide on for their group! Lots of awesome info in this chapter. Thanks for the update! -Kevana Author Reply: Hi Kevana. Alex certainly still has issues, some of which will be explored later in this story and perhaps in Elf Academy 4. I never really thought of the cloved lemon being a sort of mobile mistletoe, but now that you mention it, that's essentially what it is. I wouldn't say my knowledge of medieval feasting and armor is encyclopedic, but I do draw on previous experience and I have plenty of online (and otherwise) sources to use when checking for accuracy. And you can invest quite a bit of time in the SCA if you so desire, though not everyone does and the level of involvement is a personal choice. Some prefer to be minimally involved and others go whole hog and the rest are somewhere in the middle. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reviewing. It's appreciated.

obsidianj	Reviewed Chapter: 44 on 6/1/2014
That was a fun feast. Finrod didn't forget how to act kingly after the first surprise. I found it interesting that Alex was fearing to lose himself again when assuming another persona. It is understandable considering his past, but it also shows that he is still grappling with everything that has happened. Now to get back to Wiseman and set up their own SCA group. Author Reply: It was a fun feast, wasn't it, obsidianj? Once he got over his initial surprise, Finrod rose to the occasion in all his kingly splendor, even if he was wearing blue jeans and a hand-me-down houppelande. grin Alex certainly has issues, but I think eventually he'll see that creating a persona for 'fun' is not the same as creating one for 'work', so to speak. So, I think eventually he'll join up, if only because Derek and Zach and his other friends that he's made in Wiseman have. We'll see how things go when they all get back to Wiseman. Thanks for reviewing. I appreciate it very much.

FV_Whisper	Reviewed Chapter: 44 on 6/1/2014
So a feast, and it was nice to see everyone relaxing for a change. A lot of them really needed that. Love the cloved lemon most of all. Here we still have a drink called 'bishop's wine' which is drank on New years eve and one of the ingredients is a clover lemon. I actually think it's pretty close to german gluhwein and the tradition around it too, but having never tasted it myself, cab't say for sure. My dad once messed up preparing it: instead of cleansing the lemon, he peeled it, to great the outrage of his mother (the kind that could give Finrod's mother-in-law a run for her money, to give you an idea). So he used the cloves to 'dress up' the lemon to put the peels back in place again. So cloved lemons always crack me up! “Sorry, my lord, I gave up older men along with my dolls,” Oops, Glorfindel! snickers Poor Daeron (I've really come to like this guy over the course of EA). It's not easy when Finrod goes al kingly and Glorfindel goes along with him. Now back to Wiseman again, and things have been too quiet lately, so something is just bound to happen again... Author Reply: They really did need it, FV_Whisper, especially Glorfindel and possibly Vorondur. I've had gluwein, though I don't remember there being a cloved lemon in it. At any rate, it is a fun tradition, though I'm not sure if it's done all that much these days of abstinence and all, especially when there are children running about asking why mommy is kissing someone who isn't daddy. LOL! Ah, you're the first to comment on Anastasia's quip about dolls and older men. Thank you. I thought that was so funny the way she managed to put him in his place so sweetly. And Daeron is only half in earnest here. He knows his own worth, but he was never on elven lord, just Elu Thingol's chief minstrel, so even according him the title 'Lord' is more a courtesy than a reality. Still, I'm sure he gets tired of being (slightly) ignored. And yes, back to Wiseman we go and we'll see what happens when they finally get back. Thanks for reviewing. I appreciate it very much.

Laer	Reviewed Chapter: 44 on 5/31/2014
I love the idea of the group doing this. Too bad they didn't have time to do it all. Including the children. Now as for the cloved lemon what an idea! I am sure the reason they did not approach the elves is due to their two elves. They might know it would be a bad thing for the elves and that they take even kissing to a higher level of priorities. Or it could be as the story said. They were too shy ;) LOL Author Reply: Hi Laer. I think those who were there did a good job of at least showing the Elves the possibilities and that's basically what Dan and Roy were aiming for. Once they get their own group going and perhaps attending events in Fairbanks, they'll get the whole shebang, but for now, this is a good intro. I suspect it was a shyness, more than anything, that kept the cloved lemon away, since it was Gwyn who warn them about to watch out for it, so he must have assumed that they were fair game. Well, they've seen it in action, so they can institute it in their own events. grin Thanks for reviewing. It's greatly appreciated.

Sunny	Reviewed Chapter: 44 on 5/31/2014
And a good time was had by all! :-D Hm. So Alex is reluctant to join up, for fear of "losing himself". I do hope he will change his mind, but if he decides to make his "SCA alter ego" abit sketchy, that might be easy to understand. It wouldn't surprise me if it will be mainly the chance to play around with the sharp and pointy things that is the main attractant to the SCA or Alex anyway. Heh. I've been taking up a new, really old kind of skill myself - I've bought a drop spindle (and roving, of course) and learned how to take my garment making one step closer to the sheep. Spinning the single on the drop spindle isn't hard, nor is plying it afterwards. Getting a thin and consistent thread is harder, though, and will take practice. :-) A bit of wickedness for you, Fiondil, another take on Medieval feasting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNQ3EEYRnTc (Horrible Histories is absolutely hilarious, and a potential huge time sink!) Author Reply: Yes, a good time was had by all. I think eventually Alex will come around. Right now he's being cautious and he's still trying to regroup so he may not jump right in but I suspect that once he sees people fighting with the sharp, pointy things, he'll want to play. grin And there are a lot of people in the SCA with "sketchy" personae, not even concentrating on one particular time period but having fun being Roman one day and Tudor the next, so to speak, so maybe Alex will go that route. I've seen any number of people spinning on a drop spindle in the SCA and elsewhere. Good luck with it. I'm sure once you get used to it, you'll do just fine. Thanks for the link. It is very wicked. And thanks for your review. It's much appreciated.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 44 on 5/30/2014
I'd not heard of the cloved lemon, but I think I could appreciate it! Heh! Sounds like a fun evening, and a good intro to the SCA. Author Reply: Cloved lemons were popular when I was first in the SCA. Haven't seen them lately, which is a pity. Anyway, I think they all had fun. Thanks for reviewing, Larner. It's appreciated it.

Tari	Reviewed Chapter: 44 on 5/30/2014
The events of this chapter are not that far fetched. It would do us all good to know how to survive without modern conveniences. You just never know what might happen. Author Reply: That's true, Tari, and I try to present things as realistically as possible. Thanks for leaving a review. It's appreciated.

Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 44 on 5/30/2014
Lovely! I always wanted to know more about the SCA but never took the time to investigate. Had I known that children could be involved I might have tried harder! We ended up interpreting the 1840s instead of the 1480s (or whatever medieval date -- sounds like a wide range!), as it turned out. I had been wondering about training people in swordfighting for the great battle -- and in this chapter I think I begin to understand. Author Reply: Hi Lindelea. When I first joined the SCA back in the 80s it was rare to have whole families with kids involved mainly because it seems most groups consisted of college students, but of course, those students get married and they have kids and naturally they include them in their fun. These days, it's very common to see entire families with little ones attending events and such. The SCA has become (rightly) a family affair. I'm glad this chapter helped you to understand the logic of training people in swordfighting. Thanks for reviewing. I appreciate it.

Eruherdiriel	Reviewed Chapter: 44 on 5/30/2014
You were right, the two sequels were interesting. I enjoy the banter between the various sets of brothers and qwadors. ~Eruherdiriel Author Reply: And now it looks as if you're all caught up. grin. I'm glad you've been enjoying this series, Eruherdiriel. Thanks for letting me know. I appreciate it.

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