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| Cities and Wilderness by Larner | 1 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 8/19/2025 |
| What a fascinating idea! Aragorn freed the captive spirits of the Forsworn who were cursed to haunt the Paths of the Dead, making it eminently plausible that he'd do the same at Deadmen's Dike. I love the symbolic use of the caddisfly, in part because of a scrap of knowledge I learned long ago, that caddisflies are an indicator of water quality. They cannot live in polluted waters. I find it lovely that the hobbits are here too, and that Merry once more wears a sword from Westernesse (since his own sword burned all away). I love that the Travellers arrive in the nick of time, rather like Pippin and Merry arriving at the Grey Havens just in time to farewell Frodo. I also love that Frodo seems to have coordinated this whole endeavour. Having found his healing in the West, he has not forgotten those left behind, even the lingering spirits who are still trapped in time and space. I have long wondered: Tom is the Firstborn, but who is Goldberry? (Yes, I know she is the Riverdaughter, but what River? And did she also walk Middle-earth before Men and Elves came into being?) Author Reply: We know that Aragorn freed the spirits from under the mountain, and I've written that on the first anniversary of the victory at the Black Gate he and Arwen waded into the Dead Marshes to free those whose bodies had been visible in their waters. So, it made sense of some sort that in time they might turn to those caught in the barrows of Tyrn Gorthad. The quote from Robert Frost and the second from A Midsummer Night's Dream led me to consider how the King and Queen might attempt to free the Wights, and how they might approach Tom Bombadil to gain permission for the attempt. (Bless Dreamflower for giving me those prompts!) I've had caddisflies in so many of my stories. I was fascinated with them from the time we left Tulsa to move to the Pacific Northwest when I was five, although my older brother terrified me with the larvae he'd broken out of their shells when I was younger. I'd not realized they must live in unpolluted water, but I'm not surprised. So many of the lay-byes we used as Dad went to get still another tire to put under his piano in our homemade moving van would have a small stream that drew me during that ten-day odyssey, and I loved watching the creatures down in the sand or gravel at the bottom of the waterway. And, considering how I'd imagined Frodo being as fascinated by the larvae as I'd been and had experimented to get them to make new shells with beads, glass, and so on, Frodo had to be involved in some way. So the tale grew. Tom was Oldest, the first to walk abroad in Middle Earth. I've always suspected that he was once in the service of the Hunter, and who fell in love with the wild lands of Middle-earth and stayed to guard them; I suspect that the Riverwoman was one in Ulmo's train who was granted guardianship of one of the rivers of the Shire--perhaps the Baranduin or the Withywindle, which ran into the larger river. Sulis, perhaps? (I loved my visit to Bath, which was called by the Roman settlers Aquae Sulis, Sulis being the name given by them for the demigoddess who was believed to guard the mineral spring that those who came there seeking healing honored.) Don't think I've answered your questions, but it's worth a thought. Author Reply: BTW--may I stop by briefly on Sunday evening? It's the Birthday of M on Monday. | |