Stories of Arda - Lord of the Rings Fan-Fiction Archive


	About Us News Resources Login Become a member Help Search

Shire: Beginnings by Lindelea	3 Review(s)
PSW	Reviewed Chapter: 16 on 2/7/2025
Oh no!! I hope Pick can either sneak out or convince the Eagles he’s not food… This was an utterly lovely chapter - poignant and sad and yet full of hope for the travelers. I’ll miss Thorn. What forest was that they crossed, BTW? Or, was it just random trees? I couldn’t quite place on a map where they were - though I also was not looking in the right timeframe either. And why in the world are those orcs so persistent? Sigh … I have to go to bed now … Enjoying this! Author Reply: The pine forest? Probably a random stand of trees. I don't remember if they were fir trees, reflecting Gandalf and the Dwarves and the Burglar taking refuge from goblins and wolves, or if the trees were just "there" and didn't constitute a large enough forest to have a name and marking on a map. It may be possible that the Enemy has some inkling of Hobbits' part in the song and is driving His servants to stamp them out. That possibility becomes more apparent when they reach one of the realms of Men on the other side of the mountains. (Another possibility is just too disturbing to contemplate.) I'm glad you enjoyed this story! Author Reply: p.s. I was also sad to say good-bye to Thorn.

Inkling	Reviewed Chapter: 16 on 2/7/2005
Hi Lin, here are my random musings on Chapters 11-16: "And if there are no more sips in the cup for me, who am I to complain? All I can do is make the best use of the time I have, Beech." Very moving, Thorn’s humble fatalism…and a nice twist on Gandalf’s words to Frodo. Just read your chronological and geographical notes…thank you, very useful. BTW also looked up the birth of Elrond’s sons: 130 T.A. So they were about 900 years old at the time of your story…still wet behind the ears, for Elves! ;) A question: Where are all these orcs coming from? So the hobbits’ woodcraft seems better than the Elves’…interesting and a bit surprising, though I must remember that these are not, after all, Wood Elves…perhaps the High Elves of Rivendell are, relatively speaking, “city folk”? “It is time for us to assume the cloak of adulthood.” This was such a touching moment, as the hobbits weep knowing they must leave the Lady behind at last. Well either Gran-dad’s confused or I am…at the end of chapter 12 it says “It took them more than a day to reach the open fields leading to the ford, what with the need for caution.” Then chapter 13 opens with “After ten days of travel the wandering hobbits came to the edge of the wood, looking out over a grassy plain that sloped downwards towards a distant sparkle—the River!” Can both these statements be true? “brother in love” is a beautiful phrase… C. 16 – Oh, this is heartbreaking…Thorn reminds me a little of Frodo, so brave and noble, and with the gift of foresight that Frodo reveals in his speech at the end of LOTR. I was afraid we were going to lost Thorn sooner, but I know this is it. And Another has spoken to him! Who, I wonder? You know, somehow I thought we hadn’t seen the last of Pick…mistaken for a rabbit, eh? So Bilbo wasn’t the first, hehe… Author Reply: Where did all the orcs come from? Well, the Tale of Years says that 100 years before the Fallohides migrated, a shadow fell on Greenwood (which became Mirkwood, and 50 years later, the Wise discovered an evil power had made a stronghold at Dol Guldur. While Orcs increased in the Misty Mountains some time later, the goblins that harried the Fallohides probably served the Lord of Dol Guldur. Huh, I didn't notice the discrepancy between chapters 12 and 13. I will have to take a look at that. I suspect that the Other who spoke to him was one of the Valar, not Mandos, not Yavanna, but possibly Oromë (as the hunter of the Enemy) or Lórien (the master of visions and dreams).

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 16 on 10/1/2004
Oh my, I'm sorry to see that we will lose Thorn, but very glad to see that Pick is all right! Eagles? Ancestors of Gwaihir? Of course they won't eat him once they realize he is a person, and not just an animal--I hope! Author Reply: Oh yes, these are the ancestors of the eagles who rescued Gandalf and Thorin and the Dwarves and the Burglar! (Their speech patterns are based on how the eagles in The Hobbit spoke.)

Return to Chapter List