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Interrupted Journeys: Part 1 New Journeys  by elliska 3 Review(s)
daw the minstrelReviewed Chapter: 13 on 8/31/2004
Oh joy. I've been out of town and now I get to come back to two chapters.

I was happy to see this change of venue to Mirkwood. I like Thranduil being on his home ground and I'm enjoying meeting his family and hangers on. Limmiel and Amglaur both said some interesting things to Dieneryn though. Limmiel said she was 'buried' in the woods and Amglaur said Oropher 'dragged' her off to Eryn Galen. That was a clever way to show how rustic Mirkwood looks to them.

The speculations on the effects of the age difference between Thranduil and Lindomiel were also interesting. I've often wondered about that. If she's just over 100, she is very young. And she's taking on not only a complicated, experience male, but also a queen's role. That could be hard.

Aradunnon sounds like a charming scamp and Marti made me want to slap her.

Author Reply: Welcome back from your trip, Daw. It is always good to be home and I remember what those lovely academic trips were like. I don't miss them.

I like having Thranduil in Mirkwood too. It is part of him and he is part of it. I was very amused that you caught both Limmiel and Amglaur's comments. You put things like that in a story as a side note (throw away lines) and you wonder if anyone picks it up. Doesn't matter because it's not major but it's so neat when people do.

And the age thing--that's why I laughed when you commented on it way back in the beginning because this was coming (I had actually cut some of it but this thing is in flux until the moment it gets posted). I think it would have a big impact in many ways that Thranduil will notice as we go along. It is a very big role to step into at such a young age.

Aradunnon is a good brother for Thranduil. A lighter influence that he needs, I think.

Marti needs a good slap.

Thanks for the review. I love reviews. It is just so interesting to see what others see.

Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 8/31/2004
I normally read in lurkdom but I have been enjoying this and since no one else has reviewed this chap, I will...

I have enjoyed this story so far. I think it is interesting to see Thranduil as a new king dealing with the other Tolkien characters on that level for the first time. And although I'm not big on romances for these characters, this one isn't bad--at least it does not have elves acting like stars of the types of movies my mother would not like me watching. The character of Marti worries me though. I would hate to see this turn into a 'jealous lover' thing.

I like the story though and I'm glad you're back to updating it.

Author Reply: I can't blame you for living in lurkdom. The only time I'm not too lazy to login is when I need to upload a chapter. But I do appreciate the reviews very much. I'm glad you've enjoyed the story and yes, I personally agree with you: The plot bunny that got this whole mess going for me was "I wonder what the beginning of the TA was like with all new rulers." So I am having fun exploring Thranduil in a bunch of new and not always comfortable situations. No, you won't see elves as I portray engaging in behavior typical of that seen in a brothal full of mortals. The elves' wills master their bodies and physical union equals the joining of fear so I don't see casual sex as plausible. Harmless trysts-sure, but full blown casual sex doesn't fit in my view of Tolkien.

As for Marti--she is going to be a jealous elleth and I will grant you that is a little trite in romances but it has purpose and there is cannonical reason behind why she acts this way. It will be dribbled out to you as this story goes along and is revealed fully in the third to last chapter (not of New Journeys but of the whole series). She will be featured in other portions of the overall series--three more times very prominently that I can think of off the top of my head and a few more times in a very minor way.

As for the romance, I am not a major fan of them myself but--we know Thranduil does get married at some point. Given the history that Thranduil has in my little version of him (that he was 40 when Dior was killed, saw the kinslayings, War of the Wrath, moved with his father to Greenwood,would have been at least troubled by the wars between elves and Sauron in the SA and fought in the Last Alliance) I think that it is unlikely he found time to marry before the TA. So I thought, while poor Thranduil is negotiating his new role with Elrond, Cirdan and Amroth...while he is negotiating his new role with his advisors in Greenwood...what if he also was trying to figure out something as major as courtship and marriage. I guess I am really being very mean to him. But peace is finally upon his people. Maybe now he would find love--after all marriage is the natural course of their lives according to LaCE.

It also says in LaCE that, "Love was not always returned; and more than one might desire one other for spouse." I am playing with that a little. And I am looking at it in two ways--Dieneryn and Amglaur were in that situation and the fact that they both married and had respectable children shows that it can be handled. Marti's position is going to turn out a little different.

But the point is--the whole romance thing is just one more situation Thranduil must figure out and I am trying to do it as cannonically as possible while still developing a character that will play a big role later.

I hope you continue to enjoy!

Author Reply: Also, as far as the romance goes, it is kind of interesting to try to think about how such a thing would work amongst elves. What would courtship involve for them. They are immortal (to the extent that their fea is tied to Arda), so they don't have to get married to carry on their family line or have kids to support them in old age and infirmary. They are not driven by sexual desires (not that they don't like sex, just that they aren't controled by such urges).

LaCE says, "And the beginning of marriage is in the affinity of the fear, and in the love arising therefrom. And this love includes in it, from its first awakening, the desire for marriage, and is therefore like to but not in all ways the same as other motions of live and friendship, even those between Elves of male and female nature who do not have this inclination. It is therefore true to say that, though achieved by and in the body, marriage proceeds from the fea and resides ultimately in its will."

So I'm curious what does that look like when it comes right down to it? How do elves recognize this 'affinity of the fear?

I'm trying to play with that a little.

French PonyReviewed Chapter: 13 on 8/31/2004
They must have an absolutely enormous space hidden in Mirkwood for such an amazing party. Let's see. . . they had a full dinner and dance, and that alone takes a pretty large ballroom to manage. I went to a ball like that at a Marriott hotel once. It had about two hundred guests, and I think the hotel used their biggest ballroom to accommodate all the dancers and a few chaperones. And then you've apparently added a rodeo to that; any game played on horseback requires a large arena, and this one seems to be connected at least to the dining area, if not to the dancing area. One thing is for sure: The Silvan Elves of Mirkwood do not mess around as far as fun is concerned. Amglaur may rest assured that Lindomiel will not lack for entertainment when (and we all know it's a when) she moves to Mirkwood permanently.

There was something very -- well, if I'd read more Jane Austen than just Pride and Prejudice, I'd say Jane Austen-y, but I haven't, so I'll just say Regency-comedy-of-manners-y about this whole bit. No matter what anyone is doing -- dancing, shooting at targets or just conversation -- it's all part of this big, complex social game, and people are just scoring points right and left. It was especially amusing watching Dieneryn and Amglaur. She was winning right up till the end, when he sprang the bit about his daughter and her son on her, and it had just gone completely over her head. I'd say that one ended in a draw.

Aradunnon is an interesting sort of a guy. Definitely Prince Andrew to Thranduil's Chuck. Or, more properly, Princess Margaret to Thranduil's Queen Elizabeth. It must be an interesting position, to be the younger sibling of the monarch. You're the most natural subject the monarch's got, but you've also got teasing privileges that no one else in the realm can claim. And you're the second most eligible partner in the realm, which is why it is in your interest to get Big Sib married and happy as fast as possible so you can be the most eligible partner.

And here comes old Marti. She was the very forward lady way back about the second chapter, yes? The Black Swan has come to the ball. Thranduil was so uncomfortable with her, you'd think she would have noticed. She seems way too intelligent for that. And that leads me to suspect that her intentions are not nearly as pure as the driven snow. She should just drop the game and do her thirty-two fouettés right now.

Author Reply: French Pony, I absolutely love your reviews. You have something to say that makes me think and you say it so well!

I imagine Oropher/Thranduil's capital city as having something of a clearing/courtyard where the elves could enjoy some merrymaking, yes I do. :) I think the silvan elves were quite good at merrymaking. I like archery and I am fairly decent at shooting on horseback. The game I described in this chapter is a native american indian game--it is played with spears or with bows. It doesn't take too much room. About 50 feet. And it is hard. I can get two arrows anywhere into the target. And I used to organize two nationally attended literature conferences (and their associated social events) every year so I am all too familiar with the planning a such festivities. It is horrible! Especially finding space.

Yes, poor Dieneryn. She didn't see that coming at all and she truly could not understand why Amglaur would dredge up three thousand year old rivalries. I had fun surprising her a little. It actually just ocurred to me when I was reading this review that this chapter was the first one you see Dieneryn in. I am well acquainted with her so that didn't click with me until just now. I will have to go reread this chapter and see what I think about her initial characterization.

And Aradunnon--I almost fell out of my chair seeing the comparison to the British Royal Family (although comparing Thranduil to Charles is nearly enough to make me ill. Thranduil is quite a bit more pleasing to the eye in my mind than HRH Charles). Aradunnon is actually modeled after a royal that I met once--I know him fairly well. I will not mention the country he was from but his father wanted him to learn better english so he sent him to college in the US in a small private school where I used to teach. The kid was a prince. He was also a horror. Honorable, honest, hardworking when the time came but otherwise just a cut up. He had so much fun in the US where he wasn't under his father's eye. And he did mention to me that it was very difficult to be the youngest son of a royal--all the responsibility and pressures with very little of the benefits. Aradunnon is a good person. He's just very merry. He hasn't seen everything the older sindarin elves have and I think his parents and Thranduil would have indulged his high spirits, happy to see them. You will also see he is very loyal to his brother and Eryn Galen and a good warrior and leader. (I love your comment about desiring to become the most eligible person--that is too funny. I wonder if elves would be subject to such things. I supposed they might.).

Finally--old Marti. Yes, she is the forward elleth from way back. She does notice how uncomfortable Thranduil is and she is very intelligent. She just doesn't see his lack of interest as an obstacle. It is Thranduil who should recognize that such behavior is a very scary thing amongst elves. It is a bad sign. Marti is not balanced. Right now she is not balanced but relatively inexperienced. Elves have a long time to gain experience and this story is set in TA 144. Of course we know she will have no success now. But Marti will be back later.

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