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Elf Academy 3: The Enemy Within by Fiondil	18 Review(s)
Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 56 on 11/8/2014
sigh I really don't like it how much that poem influenced Alex negatively. While he probably still has to go over it again in order to heal properly, that was not how it should have happened. And the reaction is too strong for my liking, too. I can only hope he'll get over it one of these days at least far enough that he won't react so badly any more. Good idea to get another Reborn there who can relate better to the one thing upsetting Alex the most. Brethil did a good job in getting Alex to finally come out of his shock and talk a bit, and it is true that he needs to go over his dying in the Tarn with someone. I understand that at first, he just needed time, but by now, this unresolved issue is causing too much harm. He can't just bottle it up forever. I'm glad the Elves are there for him whenever he needs them. Author Reply: The Reborn have "been there, done that and bought the T-shirt" as the saying goes, so they are in the best position to help Alex through this. Brethil had the right attitude toward it and that helped a lot. Alex does need to talk about it now or he can't move forward toward healing. Thanks for the review, Kitty. It's much appreciated.

Kevana	Reviewed Chapter: 56 on 7/15/2014
I feel silly I didn't see the connection between the three poems sooner! Thanks for having Val point that out, haha. Leave it to him to pick up on it faster than anybody else. Sheesh, sometimes the Alien Overlords' idea of help is to teach you to fly by throwing you off a cliff. At least it's effective? And maybe not so grim as all that, if I'm recalling the Frost poem correctly. It's so different in tone to the other two. Hopeful, or at least adventurous, or so I always thought. Up for interpretation I guess! Aw, Alex. :( This makes me want to strap on some scuba gear and go have a Talk with Grendel-of-Winterdark. Grr! I have a feeling that tarn is one of those weird, desolate locations where a lot of bad things have quietly happened over the years. That's the kind of place that gets locals telling ghost stories. I don't think that rock fall was accidental, the one keeping people from being able to get to it easily. I do love that you're showing some of the characters who haven't gotten much of a chance to shine before. Death on the menu! giggle Okay, Esther, time to put Death by Chocolate on the menu. Name it the Nate Special. Love this chapter, awful to see Alex so upset but how can you not be upset by something like that? Looking forward to seeing what the other Reborn do with him. Thanks for the update! -Kevana Author Reply: Hi Kevana. Unless you've actually read the poems together, it's hard to make any real connection between them. I was familiar with the Frost poem as well as with Beowulf, but I had to wade through a lot of Shakespeare's sonnets before I found this particular one, which just about fit the bill and even shows some foreshadowing where Alex is concerned which we will see eventually. I do try to highlight the lesser characters every once in a while because they do deserve consideration and I was happy enough to do so with Brethorn here and in the next chapter with the other Reborn besides Glorfindel and Finrod. The Nate Special... snort Thanks for reviewing. I very much appreciate it.

obsidianj	Reviewed Chapter: 56 on 7/14/2014
Alex going into shock is no good. Luckily there are Reborn around that understand what it means to die. So, Alex can get the support he needs. Loved the questionable humor of the Lord of Mandos. Author Reply: No good at all, obsidianj, but he's in good hands and the Reborn will help. I think Brethorn's easy attitude toward Námo helped steady Alex a bit, but then, the Reborn have a different sense of what the Lord of Mandos is all about than the Once-Born. Thanks for leaving a review. It's much appreciated.

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 56 on 7/14/2014
Oh my! Poor Alex again! He's definitely coming in for the lion's share of h/c in this story so far. (Though I do love how you spread the hurt around; Finrod, Glorfindel and others have also had their share of hurt!) Since Finrod's unavailable, I'm very glad that there are other Reborn around to give Alex comfort. He needs them very badly. Author Reply: Yeah, Alex needs lots of comfort here, but luckily he has a whole crew of Reborn who've been where he is to offer him that comfort. And I like spreading the hurt (and the comfort) around. After all, why should just one of my characters have all the fun. grin Thanks for commenting, Dreamflower. It's appreciated.

MikoNoNyte	Reviewed Chapter: 56 on 7/12/2014
I often wonder, in reading Alex's reaction to his death or near death, how much of that is him and how much of it is responding or reacting to whatever got its hooks into him when he went under. I've had the misfortune or fortune, take your pick, to croak off three times. I DO remember it and never had such a response; then again, perhaps no longer fearing death or the so-called "after life" might be the reaction. laughs I was so happy to see Brethorn again! A happy, care-free and manic Reborn if ever there was one (yes, I laughed loud and long over his antics in Valmar! and can just imagine letting him loose in Wiseman. Heavens! In the previous chapter you quoted from Beowulf. Oddly enough I had been thinking of getting that edition; I've been inordinately fond of Gummere's but this one! meeps! This one has SOUL! Thanks for the recce! And of course I had to dig out my moth eaten copy of Frost. My how time flies! It's been since high school back in the mumbles 60's that I read that. Was never my favorite poet, preferred Wordsworth and Poe for some odd reason, but now I've got him sitting at my tea table grinning at me. :) Gee, thanks. Anyway, regarding the situation in EA3, methinks someone is manipulating things; if not his teacher then someone else. Wouldn't put it past an interfering Maia to "help things along" but will reserve judgment until you put up the reveal. Once again I'm loving your Alex. Meeting him in EA2 right now and wishing I could smack him a few times for stupidity. LOL And the Lord of Mandos, a proud and dark Death God if there ever was one, haunting a diner just cracked me up. Botton line, Fiondil, you RAWK! haha Have a great week. See you Monday. leaves cookies and tea on the table for sharsies Author Reply: Hi MikoNoNyte. That's a good question, one that probably can never be easily answered by anyone, not Alex or any of the Elves or even Námo. It may be a combination of both. I like Brethorn a lot and he was fun to write, especially when he was in Valmar for the first All-Aman Council. And I felt it was time to highlight some of the other characters and let them shine a bit. We'll see him and the other Reborn in the next chapter as well. I like Heaney's translation and I'm interested in comparing his with Tolkien's when I can get around to doing so. My mom was into Frost, so I became pretty familiar with his poetry, and "Stopping by Woods" is one of my favorites, I think because of the melancholy tone of it. And you're probably right about someone manipulating things to help things along. Whether anyone will actually own up to that manipulation remains to be seen. I'm glad you like Alex. In EA2 he shows up pretty clueless and all, but he sort of grows on you. grin And Námo cracks me up no matter where he is. Thanks for the review (and the tea and cookies). I appreciate it very much.

Laer	Reviewed Chapter: 56 on 7/12/2014
Yikes. Winterdark Tarn needs to be drained and sealed up with some methril. Or am I over reacting? Glad they have a few of the reborn around to chat with Alex and I am glad it isn't always just our two favorite reborns. Besides this will let the others know they are more than just a pretty face or some eye candy background for a computer...not that I would be hanging out with a camera and taking pictures or anything....but well, I think they need some milk and maybe some eggs. No worries. I'll go for them. ;) Author Reply: I'm sure the Elves would love to drain the tarn, Laer, but it's obviously not going to happen. And I felt it time to highlight some of the other characters that we don't really see much of. The next chapter will have all the reborn there talking to Alex and helping him to come to terms with what happened to him. Thanks for reviewing. I appreciate it.

Sunny	Reviewed Chapter: 56 on 7/12/2014
Way to go, Fiondil! I see you already have people sneakily exploring poetry from reading this! I did not read that sonnet before you put up this chapter, but now I did look it up. And I am quite familiar with the Frost poem. As a matter of fact, I read it first because it was quoted in a short story by David Weber a number of years ago, and I immediately loved it. (In case you wonder which one, it's _Miles To Go_ in _Bolo!_, set in Keith Laumer's Bolo universe.) Of course, I liked the lessons on Poetry in school as well (I may have been among the few who did) and I even read the stuff voluntarily!) (If you want to explore some Norwegian poetry, you might check out _We Own the Forests_ by Hans Børli on Amazon - I think you would like it!) But back to the chapter - I guess someone may have prodded the instructor a bit when it was time to pick out the pieces of poetry to be explored. I will not be surprised if this will start shaking things loose in Alex' mind. Hopefully he won't go completely off the rails! I guess it's a good thing he has moved into Edhellond for now, and that Valandur has decided to stick around in the daytime. Hopefully the talk with the Reborn will be helpful to Alex. So Valandur has had his own run-ins with Námo? Sounds like there are some stories waiting to be told there! Author Reply: Hi Sunny. Well, I had to actually search through Shakespeare's sonnets to find this particular one that I felt suited the storyline as I'm not all that familiar with the Bard's sonnets except the more popular ones. At any rate, I hope other readers do check out these poems if they are not familiar with them just to see what has Val and Ron worried over them We'll see how Alex does once he's had a chance to speak with the Reborn. There are LOTS of stories waiting to be told, but whether they ever will be is problematic. Val's run-ins with Námo... I have no real idea about that but I can imagine over the long ages that Val, being Val, had run-ins with ALL the Valar and not a few of the Maiar, to boot. LOL! He's that kind of Elf. Thanks for leaving a comment. It's much appreciated.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 56 on 7/11/2014
So, someone has inspired the professor to choose those three poems, all of which are about choices, all highly symbolic, all a bit dark, even the Frost. Again, who and why? Author Reply: I have no idea who may have inspired the professor to use those particular poems for the assignment, Larner, but it's pretty clear that the purpose was possibly to get Alex to deal with what he doesn't want to deal with, mainly the fact that he died, however briefly. There may be other reasons but that has to be the primary one, and it apparently worked considering what Alex's reaction to the Beowulf poem was. And you are right about the underlying themes of choice that they all share. Thanks for reviewing. I appreciate it very much.

FV_Whisper	Reviewed Chapter: 56 on 7/11/2014
O, and I forgot about the poems. It's quite intriguing how there seems to be a connection between those three, that can only be no good! Author Reply: I had to search long and hard to find these three poems as I did want there to be a connection between them. Actually, I knew I wanted to include the description of Grendel's mere as being similar to Winterdark Tarn, and I am already very familiar with Frost, but the Shakespearean sonnet was one I had to research, slogging through any number of them before I found this particular one. And no, the connection between them does not point to anything good where Alex is concerned, but how this plays out remains to be seen. Hopefully, readers will recall these 3 poems when that event occurs.

FV_Whisper	Reviewed Chapter: 56 on 7/11/2014
Well, it seems things have calmed down a bit in my life, so I have finally some time for reviewing (nothing too bad though and some things even quite good. Although, if you happen to spot Yavanna around, tell her I could really use some help with the garden) Ah, those pesky Reborns, they always seem to get caught up in things one way or the other. Alex is in quite a bit of a state, so it's a good thing Ron came up with the idea to ask one of the Reborns to come over and help out, they're the closest to what Alex has been through. I like it how this time, it's one of the other Reborns who gets some time to shine, instead of the two all too well known Reborn troublemakers. And speaking of one of those two, I'm really wondering now if Nick had ever second thoughts about hiring Finrod by now. grin even in his current state, Alex is not willing to let an elleth undress him. Oh, and I like how practical and understanding Holly is all the time here, I guess Alex is not an every day client for Ron, and I think that's a good thing either. Brethorn is handling things really well here. “Ah, well, Lord Námo is known for his questionable sense of humor.” grins Indeed he is. I guess that is one of the rings that makes Námo such an interesting character. "Death seems to be on the menu." lol! It seems from this all his encounters with Nate haven't been helping much to Alex fragile mental state, even apart from everything else that happened during those encounters. Added to that, I think it doesn't help with Alex how he, unlike the Reborns, has never and the chance to see that other, much more gentler side of Námo. So I guess Alex is in for a talk with the Reborn club now? That should be fun. Author Reply: Hi FV_Whisper. The Reborn should be able to help Alex out as we will see in the next chapter. I'm wondering about that with Nick as well. Poor guy. That's what happens when you hire a former king. He's always being interrupted by circumstance requiring his kingly presence. And you're right about Alex's encounters with Námo have not been gentle so with everything else going on around him, it's no wonder he's freaking out right about now. Thanks for reviewing. I greatly appreciate it.

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