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A New Reckoning by Dreamflower	9 Review(s)
KathyG	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 5/25/2019
I hope you have no objections to receiving a review after all this time! =) I've read the other reviews to this chapter, and they certainly provide us all with much food for thought (as the chapter itself does! =)). Among other things, a very valid point was made about Frodo not being the only one to suffer after the Quest, especially during anniversaries. And Gryffinjack made a good point about Sam also having borne the Ring. He not only carried it until he had rescued Frodo (and wore it part of that time), he actually carried it throughout that time right on the edge of the very area where it would be at its strongest! He had to have suffered his own effects from that, if not right away. Kate's Aunty has written a wonderful post-Quest story about that very issue: "Concerning Sam." I know you've read that story, Dreamflower, as have I, but there may be other readers of this story who haven't.

Claudia	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/27/2007
Be prepared to be spammed by me, lol! Okay, I adore how you've set this up. It would never have occurred to me that Merry, too, might get anniversary illnesses! Makes total sense. Poor thing! Author Reply: I like being spammed, don't worry! It just seemed to me that his reaction to contact with the W-k might have had a similar effect to that of Frodo, though not as severe. I'm glad you think it makes sense.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/27/2006
And so the folk of Brandy Hall begin to become aware of the horrors faced by the four Travellers. Lovely! Author Reply: Yes, Saradoc's been told, of course, but he's about to find out that there was a good deal more than he knew.

Gryffinjack	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 12/29/2005
This story grabbed hold and pulled me in right from the beginning. It's always great to see Berilac again, but I was wondering where Merry was and why Saradoc was thinking of how Merry had been in danger of dying just a week prior. What a shock for Saradoc, Esmeralda (you need to fix the spelling throughout this chapter), and Pearl to find Merry and Pippin looking so ghastly. Although the books concentrate on Frodo's anniversary illnesses from his encounters with the Ring and his overall declining spirits, it would have been impossible for Sam, Merry, and Pippin to have gone through what they did without also having similar experiences. After all, not only did Sam spend so much time with Frodo in the Black Lands, but he also had his encounter with Shelob and most importantly of all, was a Ringbearer for a while and thus was exposed to Sauron himself. Pippin also had endured Sauron himself forcing his way into his mind via the palantir. Not only that, but he also had his near death with the troll, the entire episode with Denethor, his fears about Merry and Frodo, and his and Merry's siege by the Orcs to contend with. In fact, the only one of the four Hobbits not to have Sauron forcing his way into his mind was Merry. But Merry had encountered the Black Breath thrice, including when he helped to kill the Witch King, plus the siege by the Orcs, and fearing for the lives of Frodo and Pippin. Plus, they all had Weathertop and seeing Frodo disappear and coming back injured and on the brink of becoming a Ringwraith. So, all in all, this was a very important thing that you showed. Merry would be more ill like Frodo due to his exposure to the Black Breath, but Pippin would be suffering more from nightmares, like Frodo and Sam, due to his exposure to Sauron. How like Merry to immediately start worrying about Frodo. And how like both Merry and Pippin to immediately take action about those worries and head straight away to their dear older cousin with his belongings in tow. The mood in this chapter was quite disturbing and therefore excellent. It's just what was needed to tell of the horrors that Merry and Pippin will face the rest of their lives. Author Reply: So, all in all, this was a very important thing that you showed. Merry would be more ill like Frodo due to his exposure to the Black Breath, but Pippin would be suffering more from nightmares, like Frodo and Sam, due to his exposure to Sauron. I'm so glad that you saw the reasons for the differences. Merry and Frodo both had exposure to the Black Breath and the W-K, Frodo being wounded by the Morgul blade, and Merry being wounded by the backlash of stabbing the creature. So their illnesses would reflect that similarity of experience. And then of course, Frodo's own springtime illness was from Shelob's poison. But the terrors and nightmares from the Ring induced exposure to Sauron would be reflected by Pippin's exposure through the palantir. And of course you mention all the other traumas they experienced. Sam's worst trauma, of course, was Shelob, and thinking Frodo dead. And as you say, exposure, however briefly, to the malice of the Ring. That we see no mention of their trauma in the book is to my mind actually evidence of it, because one of the symptoms of PTSD is the reluctance to talk about the traumas that cause it. So it's rather a catch 22. It is like Merry. The first thing on his mind is going to be "how did Frodo fare?" Author Reply: Oh, and I fixed the "Esmerelda"s. Again. I thought I fixed them a few weeks ago when I put in a chapter title, but I guess I forgot to hit edit. facepalm

Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/4/2005
What a promising beginning! Once I got past the initial irritation (sorry about that last non-review) I was able to pick up from the context what date you were illustrating. I have long speculated that if Frodo had echoes of the Black Breath from Weathertop, then surely Merry must have, as well. It seems perfectly plausible to me. And that poor Pippin had not slept the previous week, from his own memories. It makes sense that the Palantir might leave echoes of its own; after all, contact with the Dark Lord must be more intense than with one of his Ringwraiths. Though JRRT did not write of such a thing, he didn't rule it out by what he wrote, either. It is so interesting to see the possibilities written out. I love all the little details you put in a piece that add to the "realness" for the reader, from the uprights on which the lanterns hung, at the Ferry landing, to the wrapped hot bricks warming Merry's arm. I am being pulled away, yes, interrupted once again, and this one will be a long interruption, I think, perhaps even until tomorrow. So all I shall say in closing is that I'm glad the next chapter is already there for the reading, and I don't have to wait for it to be posted! All I have to wait for is the time to read it! Author Reply: It seemed very plausible to me, as well. I could not imagine that the younger hobbits were not traumatized as well. Of course, Frodo's was the worst, but he was not the only one to suffer. I'm glad you like the details as well. I sometimes think I get carried away with them. I understand interruptions. I got interrupted in the middle of this reply, LOL! but since the insurance people finally showed up, I won't complain.

Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/4/2005
It had been a Mersday, the fifteenth of Rethe. You know, it drives me nuts. I'm sorry to be so blunt. I can't keep these things in my head, so whenever I run across this sort of thing I have to go look it up, and it's another interruption when it is all I can do to read to the end of a chapter. I think I've learned "Highday" which was Friday or Saturday, right, and considered the free day of the week? But I'm not completely sure. I could well be wrong. Whenever I use the term in a story, I look it up. And promptly forget it again. And that's after two years of fanfic. The old memory cells just aren't what they used to be. And since this is a shared workspace I can't just tape crib notes to the filing cabinet. Would you consider footnoting, when you use one of these Tolkienesque terms? Even an asterisk (or no asterisk, but just a note) with a translation at the bottom of the page, as so many of the Elvish-using authors do, would be greatly appreciated. I promise to write a proper review of this chapter, if I'm not pulled away, when I get to the bottom of the page. Author Reply: As you may have noted, I'm in the gradual process of cleaning this story up as I post it to another archive. (I still have a few "Esmereldas" floating around for one thing) So I think your idea is a good one. Perhaps put in an Author's Note or something? The problem with putting Shire "equivalents" on the days of the week is that they are not exactly equivalent. "Sterday" as you can tell from the sound of the word is Saturday, yet it is not the seventh day of the week, but the first. Sunday and Monday are the same words as ours, but Sunday is more like Monday in function. "Highday" rhymes with Friday, which is the day before Saturday, but in the Shire that's the last day of the week, and it functions as a sort of weekly half-holiday, more like Saturday. And because hobbits are not religious, they really don't have a day that is exactly equal to our Sunday. Months are a bit easier, in that Halimath=September, but again there are a few subtle differences. Remembering these differences is why I use the Shire terms instead of modern ones. Otherwise, for example, I might confuse someone if I were to say that the Ents began the Entmoot on February 30. Anyone not familiar with the differences is going to go "say what?"

PIppinfan1988	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/24/2005
Poor Saradoc! The worries of a parent. And eons ago when I first read through LOTR, I couldn't help but think that Merry and Pippin were a bit on the ignored side when it came to the "annual" sickness. After all, did they not also face-off with evil? The Black Breath of the Witch-King for Merry and Evil Incarnate (Sauron) for Pippin--and facing death for the love of his friends--of the Shire? I knew my two beloved hobbits were slighted, and I am so glad that you addressed it! I feel a tad vindicated. ;-) Pippinfan Author Reply: I don't think it began to occur to me until I began to write, and started to examine the relationships of the cousins and Sam in depth. The hints, though are all there between the lines: the two of them living away from their families, even though they'd been gone so long, even though Pip was still not of age; Merry's obsession with herbs; and most telling of all--like Frodo and like Sam, the two of them chose to end their days away from the Shire and their families--a certain sign that they still had issues to deal with. Of course, the Red Book was taken from what we learned from Frodo, and a little bit from Sam. Frodo did his best to minimize his illnesses, writing of them in a detached offhand way, and trying to make it seem like they weren't all that bad. I am sure he attempted to keep the troubles from his cousins--and they would have done the same, trying not to let them know how bad things were for him. So I don't think that they were slighted so much as that there just wasn't the information there. And even if Frodo had known how bad things were, he would have respected their privacy. And equally of course, we have a lovely little gap of nearly two years that we can fill in with those things the way we think they might have played out. Like you, I know that they must have had their brushes with the anniversary illnesses, most especially Merry, due to his multiple exposure to the Black Breath. I deal with this some more in a couple of my other fics.

Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/7/2004
Ah, yes, the anniversary of Merry's encounter with Shadow. It seems plausible that if Frodo has an anniversary after being wounded by the Witch King, Merry would as well... Nicely done, and I like the way you mesh it in with Pippin's own "echoes". Of course the first thing Merry would think of was Frodo, and not himself. Very sensible! Author Reply: Oh thank you. I thought it was only reasonable myself. 8-) And, yep, that's our Merry.

Bluegrass Elf	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/22/2004
Please write more!

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