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Seeds of Old Trees by Marnie	7 Review(s)
Kalima	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 1/31/2005
Ah, how satisfying. I am deeply saddened that Melian has told Celeborn his grandfather was tortured into orcdom, but I'm hoping some kind of justice for those taken and so cruelly treated will eventually come. (Maybe not in your story ...) I liked the scene where he meets his friend Calandil again, but i wanted at least a hug between them once it was clear how close they had been! (It's okay, I can handle it ...) I love your ability for witty speech. Thanks for the story. Every chapter makes me weep, makes me smile, you have the complexity I would hope would be there. You're right. If everything is just happily ever after, what's the fun in that? K Author Reply: Thanks! No, I felt so guilty for doing that to Elmo that I had to write 'All Hallows Day' afterwards to sort this problem out. This story just keeps generating spin-offs :) I agree that Celeborn should have hugged Calandil. I can only assume that it happened off camera because they were both too blokeish and embarrassed to do it while I was watching. This is a happily ever after story, but there are just a few trials to be struggled through before it gets there, because it would be very boring otherwise ;) I'm delighted that you're liking it nevertheless.

Sphinx	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 7/24/2004
An orc? An orc!!?!?!? You put Agatha Christie to shame. Cliffhanger skills are brilliant, Marnie. Remind me to bug you for more of Elladan in the future. ;) 'pologies for the delays - RL has been hectic. I love Elu in this. The way he comes out in his dressing gown, the way he talks, the way he always seems to be there. And...Calandil's back! That should be reason enough to celebrate. I've told you time and again how much I like him. But Galadriel should enter. Now. And then the fireworks shall begin. :) Author Reply: My cliffhangers have a tendancy to be like those ones in the old serials at the movies, where you'd end the film with him falling off the cliff and go 'OMG! what happens next!' and then next week go back only to find that he'd had his foot on a ledge all along :) No more Elladan in this one, I'm afraid. And sadly hardly any more Elu - as you know he's my second favourite elf ever :) Calandil insisted that I couldn't just leave him like that, since everyone else in the world was getting in the fic, and who am I to resist? I can indeed promise Galadriel next chapter, and Finarfin, and one or two other Noldor. But sadly, now the summer holidays have arrived and my children are at home all day long, the next chapter won't be until September. Many thanks for the review! Marnie :-)

Arquen	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 7/22/2004
Just ran across this story last night. This is wonderful! I don't think anyone can write Celeborn the way you do. And I try to immitate the way you write Elves, the way you make them Elves, instead of like some writers who make them seem like only glorified humans. I can't wait to see where this story goes. It is truly intriguing. Author Reply: Thanks Arquen! Particularly about thinking that my elves are elvish - I do try hard to remember they aren't human :) But don't imitate me! Any success I might have comes through the fact that I imitate Tolkien :) Check out the elvish scenes in The Hobbit for inspiration! Thanks again! Marnie :-)

npkedit	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 7/21/2004
I'm new to LOTR fic, but have always been a Celeborn fan and everyone I consulted told me I had to read your stuff. I have not been disappointed. Actually, I'm enthralled. The comparison of the Elu/Melian and Celeborn/Galadriel relationships is intriguing (and, I think, spot on). I liked Celeborn's initial anger at Melian--struck me as very realistic. And his insight into Melian's difficulties is wonderful--he really is one of the few Sindar elves who could appreciate her position. And that Elmo stunner at the end...very powerful. I, for one, am riveted and can't wait to see the next chapter. Author Reply: Many thanks for the review, npkedit :) It's always a delight to meet another Celeborn fan. I only started to write about him because I wanted to read about him and no one else seemed to be interested. Things have much improved since then - be sure to look up Bodkin, Nilmandra, Bejai, Sphinx, and JastaElf for great stories featuring Celeborn. Alternatively, visit my site, where I've been collecting good Celeborn stories, and you can find all of the above and more: http://www.elfringham.dsl.pipex.com/lotrfic/elfportraits.html A lot of the Third Age elves we meet seem modled on one or other aspect of Elu Thingol - Thranduil has his underground palace by a river, Elrond has his daughter problem, and Celeborn has a similar relationship with his wife :) What this means, I don't know :) But anyway, I'm sure you didn't expect a lecture in return! Many thanks again, Marnie :-)

Layangabi	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 7/21/2004
Hooray,hooray, a new chapter of Seeds. :-D What a delightful surprise Marnie. :) Even with, of course, the nasty shocks. >.< Good Lord. I never expected the Higher Powers to be so uppity about the union between an elf and a Maia. What's the matter with them? Good on Aule and Yavanna for cheering T&M on, in their own way, but what's up with the others? And Elmo...shudders. Perhaps we should have guessed when we were told he'd been "taken," but it's a nasty shock. (please tell me there are at least some people who just aren't going to let this slide. Celeborn among them.) You have succeeded, not only in making me feel sorry for, but horrible for Melian. Ouch. What would it have been like for her to welcome reembodied kinsmen one after the other, only for them to turn on her. I find it funny that Celeborn mentions Oropher more than once, and always for his famous temper, lack of tact, and their mutual antipathy. ;)Hehehehe...no, Oropher couldn't be tactful to save his life (why do I have a feeling Celeborn has a bit of nostalgia for this?). And on a sidenote, I really wanna know how, and why, in the name of Ea, the Sindar got ahold of that diamond-woven pink tunic. o.O ... (do they go cabaret occasionally?) Author Reply: Thanks for the review, Layangabi! To be frank, I don't think the Valar seem to be able to agree on anything, so there being some voices who didn't want to take the risk of allowing Elu and Melian to set such a precident, seems inevitable. Suppose it started happening all over the place. What chaos! No, Celeborn is not just going to let it slip about Elmo, though whether he succeeds in doing anything may be up to the Valar. Melian got off lightly, IMO. I would have been much nastier to her than he was :) I think you're right about Oropher - Celeborn's actually rather fond of him, though it's hard to tell under their mutual attitude problems. And the tunic... it was a gift. I'm sure it was a gift. Probably from Aegnor or Angrod, at some point when it was the height of fashion. Hm, but I could see elves really enjoying the cabaret... Thanks again!

Artemis	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 7/21/2004
Your story is far beyond splendid and moving... I am now going to wander away in a slight daze, speechless as an idiot. ^^ It is not often that I, chatterbox extraordinaire in real life, am struck twittering... >.< Excellent work. Author Reply: Many thanks for the review, Artemis! I'm glad you're liking it so far. It's all downhill from here though into (gah) romance and science fiction. So I hope the ending doesn't disappoint too much. Thanks again! Marnie :-)

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 7/21/2004
Immortality and being re-embodied make things terribly complicated, don't they? I love the way that you show that Melian suffers resentment at having abandoned Doriath, but that Celeborn has a better understanding of her position because of having been married to Galadriel. And I find it only reasonable that the Sindar remain suspicious - and that the natives have no comprehension of it. Also typical that a mourning Melian seems better than a happy one - and that some would rub their hands in glee over the division between Celeborn and Galadriel. The eagle is quite insightful - but he must complicate Elladan's life considerably. Do so agree with the 'faster travel, less time' suggestion. Horrible suggestion that Celeborn's grandfather would have become an orc - it makes the origins of orcs come a bit close to home. Brilliant. Author Reply: Immortality and being re-embodied make everything hideously complicated :) I keep catching myself and going 'oh no! What about so-and-so...he'll be back by now too, where does he fit in? I suppose it's my own fault for setting it in the near future, so that there's been time for just about everyone to return, but now I have far more obscure characters than I know what to do with - witness the fact that the dramatic denoument of this chapter turns on a character no-one's ever heard of ;) And I can't think of anything for the characters people actually like, to do. Aglarhir quite disturbed me with his Nazi suggestions about racial purity - I'm glad to see the back of him! Many thanks for the review. I think I must have missed a chapter or even two of yours; I'll go and check now. Marnie :-)

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