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The King's Commission  by Larner 7 Review(s)
Queen GaladrielReviewed Chapter: 26 on 3/24/2006
Oh, I'm so sorry they're leaving the Shire! These last many chapters have been lovely.

And Folco and Miriel are married at last! :) So that's how Pando got to Gondor.

Loved Ruvemir's meeting with Syclamen; I hoped he'd meet her, and the image of her held beneath his cloak and holding and caressing his hand as she often did Frodo's is very touching.

Poor Frodo, no one would blame him for shouting, and most definitely not Widow Rumble.

Ririon seems to have a decided talent for making people--your own characters and one reader, at any rate--laugh. I love Ruvemir's affectionate address of "son"--very heart warming.

So, Ruvemir finally knows how he's going to make the memorial. I'm happy for him. :) As it is, I'm still fussing over my own planned sculpture of Frodo, and i've about decided to make him sleeping, just to keep this little project from becoming so complicated it will get out of hand. I can't do an entire clay sculpture--the head and limbs will be of clay, and the body will be cloth, so there's little chance I'll be able to get the finished piece to stand up straight (when i do that, the heads always seem to wobble). Plus, well, let's just say I'm anything but good with paint, and eyes present a problem, especially if I want them to look like Frodo's. The purpose of all this is to say that your description of the face and hands are my lifelines now--I'm serious.

Glad Ruvemir got to read Sam's story as well! Yes, I've read it all in one sitting too, as well as stayed up all night reading it (well, I started late and got to bed about four o'clock in the morning). :)

God bless,
Galadriel

Author Reply: Yes, this is how Pando got to Gondor. I did a couple of errors here at first, making Sancho considerably older than he was, for according to the family trees he was born the same year as Pippin, so he, too, was eleven when ejected from seeking to bore holes in the walls of Bag End. Then I married him to Angelica Baggins. Well, we'll just have to pretend there were TWO Angelica Bagginses, one of whom received the mirror from her Uncle Frodo, and one of whom was young enough to be underage when she married Sancho. I did sort of fix up the problems with Sancho's age, you'll note. Heh!

Folco and Miriel make quite the couple, I think, and I do believe they will be happy together.

Cyclamen is just one who enjoys people and wants to see them happy, I think. Of course she'd be drawn to Ruvemir!

No, I don't blame Frodo for having become so frustrated in the woods of the Shire. Tony would find days when he couldn't even do what he'd done the preceding one, and it was so frustrating for him--again, I sort of projected that experience onto Frodo.

So glad you find yourself enjoying Riron, for I think he's a very nice young man who has long deserved the happiness of belonging to a family--and now he has one he loves and that loves him in return. I think you'll enjoy meeting his new grandfather when he returns to Gondor, too.

Sam is now letting out all the stops, even sharing his own story, which couldn't have been particularly easy. And you'll note he's already figuring out how to positively manipulate Will Whitfoot. And we already know that Ruvemir's fascinated with the story already, and so is going to devour Sam's tale as rapidly as he did Bilbo's and Frodo's. At least it's not as long!

Now. once you get your sculpture done, I want to see it. Make certain someone does a digital picture of it so you can send it to me, okay?

I'd like to do my own version of the memorial, you see.

ArmarielReviewed Chapter: 26 on 6/29/2005
Psssttt---I really think you do Sam's voice best:D

I'm glad Ruvemir is going to get to see Elise again soon.................

Author Reply: Oh, I am so glad you like my depiction of Sam's voice. It is always heartening to hear such things stated.

And, yes, Ruvemir is now on his way home, and soon will see his home. Hope you enjoy the wedding.

TopazTookReviewed Chapter: 26 on 1/21/2005
Oh, Folco's going to be a farmer. You have done such a nice job portraying that each character has a particular "gift" in skill or talent (not necessarily in handicrafts, as Rosie's seems to be in seeing others' needs) that I was wondering what his was. When you originally introduced him, he seemed to be a nice guy, but his special talent did not particularly stand out.

I really hope we get to see Strider's reaction to the statue!



Author Reply: You will, and to the tale of the circlet of honor.

FantasyFanReviewed Chapter: 26 on 1/21/2005
I was somewhat concerned about why Folco would leave the shire with Miriel, and live in Gondor, where things would be uncomfortable for both of them, until I realized that their children would not necessarily be hobbit-sized, but could very well reach the stature of Men (maybe short ones, but definitely taller than hobbits) if they were not mannikins. This would not do at all in the Shire, but would be accepted on a farm in Gondor.

The other thing that intrigued me is the final pose settled on for Frodo. It certainly has dignity, though with all of Ruvemir's knowledge of Frodo it will also have personality. But there are both the missing finger and the Ring. And that situation never existed - once Frodo's finger was gone, so was the Ring. I can understand, though, that he must be portrayed as the Ringbearer, as well as his sacrifice and wound being acknowledged. So it is a good compromise to portray him as Elf-friend, Ringbearer and Frodo of the Nine Fingers. In my mind I see him with some of the haggard look of Frodo in Mordor but also the clear-eyed intelligence of someone who took on the burden knowingly, and that he would be in the front of the grouping, with Sam nearest. I wonder, will the statues be life-sized or of heroic proportions? If so, how will scale be indicated?

Author Reply: Only slightly larger than normal Hobbit-size. It is a mannikin doing most of the carving, after all.

Yes, the Ring and Wound together are a contradiction of sorts, but it makes the sacrifices all four made more real to the viewer.

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 26 on 1/21/2005
If it was acceptable to Frodo's kin and friends Strider *will* like it just fine, of course! Excellent and vivid descriptions--I could see the little statues in my mind.

I'm glad Ririon will be making a good friend of Pando, and that Folco is going on to Gondor. The fact that they are kin of the Ringbearer and of Sir Peregrin and Sir Meriadoc will go a long way towards making acceptance easier for them.

I'm sorry to see them all leave the Shire, though. *sigh* It was such a lovely visit.

Author Reply: I agree. Thanks for the feedback.

MarionReviewed Chapter: 26 on 1/21/2005
You mean Folco *Boffin*, no doubt :-)
But why would Folco and Miriel decide to live in Gondor when Miriel was so uncomfortable in her own country that she never left her home and when she would fit (literally) better in the Shire than Folco would fit in between people who were twice his height. Folco must have friends and family a-plenty in the Shire. Miriel never left her father's farm for fear of being jeered at (no mention of friends here) She is painfully shy and ever since entering the Shire, she 'openend up'. Why, oh why do they leave for Gondor? I really don't get it...

Author Reply: It was the matter of children that worried me, and I think them, too.

Yes, I mean *Boffin*. Been sick for a couple days, and that typo got by me. Will fix it.

RadbooksReviewed Chapter: 26 on 1/20/2005
I just wanted to let you know how much I am still enjoying this story! I don't review after after chapter but I love each and every one of them. I'm was excited to see Miriel and Folco wed and going down to Gondor will be a big change for him. Also it will be interesting to have Pando (the hobbit lad) going to learn to be a sculpter as well. They have quite the little group going now! I'm looking forward to have them back in Gondor and seeing how Aragorn likes the statue and to see that all develop. Oh, I love how they honored Sam - that was wonderful! Thanks again for writing your story and for the quick updates!

Radbooks

Author Reply: Thanks for following the story, and for the feedback. Yes, quite the group indeed. Hope you enjoy meeting their escort.

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