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What's left behind by perelleth	77 Review(s)
Majoranka	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 12/28/2012
Thank you for this sad and beautiful tale. I have always wondered about the impact of Legolas' sea-longing on Mirkwood and his family, and your story is one of the strongest and most thoughful ones that I have ever read. Moreover, it was very refreshing to read about Legolas as a married elf with a family of his own. It added a whole new depth to the the story. Author Reply: Thank-you, Majoranka, it's a great surprise to see how stories are still out there and how readers are kind enough to stop by and say that you enjoyed, thanks! I've just returned to fanfic after a couple years, and it's a great encouragement. I'm particularly fond of this story, trying to see how the same things affect people diffferently and how we all react to suffering... Also, since I first read Lord of the Rings many many years ago for some reason I assumed that LEgolas had a family o his own, so when I started reading fanic and found that there were no stories in tha situation... kind of thought of giving my two cents, despite it not being the most popular backstory... So I'm really grateful for your time and words, and happy that this long story entertained you. Thanks.

Nieriel Raina	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 1/1/2007
I am utterly amazed at the thought and planning that went into this delightful and insightful story! I find the political side of Mirkwood a nightmare, but you have managed it so very well, I applaud you. I also am of the belief that Legolas could have been married, and this is the absolute best story I have read that captures that unusual perspective. I look forward to reading more! NiRi Author Reply: Thank-you for taking the time, NiRi, it is always very encouraging hearing from a finished story... above all one that took such great pains to write! ;-) I'm glad to hear that you share the possibility that Legolas could have been happily married. I always thought so, and since he is Elves are side characters in LOTR I wanted to take a look at the consequences of the arrival of the Age of Men upon the only elven realm that had survived without a Ring. The fate of LEgolas, and how it affected his people and family was what I wanted to explore, perhaps inspired by Bilbo's line " The Road goes ever on." ;-) I'd love to read your impressions and/or critiques on the story, but, above all, I hope that you have a good time reading it. Thanks again for dropping by. perelleth

Idhreniel	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 11/15/2006
I just love the interaction between father and son here... Lovely to see them both just talking and fishinhg, without the troubles they used to have! Author Reply: Thank-you Idhreniel, I'm glad that you liked the fishing day. One hopes that life in the Blessed Realm would be nice and easy for them, after all their troubles!

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 9/25/2006
I do think this is a gorgeous chapter. I love it that Thranduil is there for starters! And that he is so relaxed and at ease. Carting his son off for a day's fishing - and a type of fishing that is more for pleasure than food, too. Good of that fish to allow itself to be caught, so that he could sit back and put his feet up while Legolas paddles. And I just love his words of wisdom and trees and species memory. It's simply lovely - and such a revelation! It's so logical. And that Legolas's sea-longing should be the stimulus that brought the Wood-elves home. A very satisfying ending. And I hope they enjoy their retirement! So - what's next?? Author Reply: Thank-you Bodkin! As I told Daw in one reply, the story was actually about how Legolas' departure affected the only other canon character we know would have been deeply accepted, aka his father. SO the tale was, in a way, about Thranduil and his political and personal implications and reactions to the end of T.A. Either the bad Thranduil theory was right, and Legolas was only too eager to flee Lasgalen, or his departure must have caused some pain to those remaining. And so I wanted to find meaning in suffering, so it kind of came up as just another step in a greater story. I am glad that it made sense to you. I know you see it differently, but for myself, I have no trouble figuring the elves living peacefully for ever and ever in the Blessed Realm! So - what's next?? Heh! museless as I am, I'd better start working in "someones's" birthday story!

Redheredh	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 9/20/2006
What a satisfying ending. Something good can arise from adversity - one of Tolkien's best lessons. There is a price for everything, too. So, be thankful for every gift you receive... The story may have seemed too long to you, but sagas are a very legitimate form of literature, thankyouverymuch. :D Once you began to explain about how the trees remembered, I thought of the Fellowship in Hollin. :) I wonder now if Dwarves have the same kind of experience with stones. But then, along with the interesting philosophical discussion, you tell a plain old-fashioned fish story! I loved that. Legolas' youthful enthusiasm there at the end is delightful! Perhaps you need a respite after this tale. But, I sincerely hope that when you get back to work and back in the groove, that your muses poke you into a new endeavour. For I am selfish - I enjoy your stories so very much! Thanks for writing this one! Author Reply: Oh, thanks to you in a most special sense, since you've suffered it doubly! And you wre "forced" to go through a whole Legolas' tale! ;-) No, seriously, thanks to your kind support and help, Redheredh, I was totally insane to ask and you were truly helpful. I wonder now if Dwarves have the same kind of experience with stones. LOLOL! If a wood elf can hear the stones of Eregion, I suspect a dwarf would,too, in a certain sense. (Another tale that has been sleeping in my hard disk for a year or so deals with that! ;-) Something good can arise from adversity That is what I like in Tolkien, that, according to him, something good always comes out, even if you are not there to see it, or it takes a long time to show. It comforts me, and forces me to examine life under that light, and to hope that indeeed nonsense may have some sense some day in some way..;-) Thank-you again. I am really glad that you liked it.

Nilmandra	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 9/20/2006
You really worked in some big themese well here - that all good things cost something, and all those on the Quest sacrificed something, Legolas included. I liked the idea that his going ahead paved the way for others of their people to come, that he merely led the way. In that sense, he was still on the Quest, perhaps, for he helped lead Middle-earth where it needed to go, then helped lead his people where they needed to go. Thranduil had a hard time seeing that the time of Men had come, but being wise and experienced, once he accepts it, he really accepts it! No turning back, no regrets. I like that. Its as it should be. Author Reply: Thank-you, Nilmandra. As I told Daw, Bilbo's song "the road goes ever on" seemed the best explanation to me. It was not only the price, but the reward and the meaning of it all that was yet to come, so in a sense, Legolas' road did not end in Ithilien and after sailing, it seemed to me. I suspect that most of the elves in Greenwood simply remained and faded, but I certainly needed to have Thranduil beyond the sea... ;-) Thank-you again for following through.

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 9/19/2006
Yay! What a wonderful story. And I loved the ending. It kind of reminded me of the times when my grandfather would take me out on the Lieutenant River or Uncas Pond and teach me to fish and row a boat, back when he could still pretend I was a boy. It's such a warm, golden, glowing, relaxing image to see these two hard-working, put-upon Elves finally beginning to unwind and enjoy their freedom. And then Thranduil drops the bomb about the trees and their memories. Learning to listen that deeply to the trees sounds like a rewarding project that could take ages and ages. . . just the thing for Elves in Valinor looking for something to do with eternity. I really enjoyed reading this story. It was well written, and a lot of fun. Author Reply: Thank-you FP! It took so long to complete that you all deserve a medal! back when he could still pretend I was a boy You make me laugh always. It was almost the same with my grandfather, except that I pretended to be a boy! I have no problem picturing the elves contented with just living for ages and ages, and particularly Thranduil, ear-glued to a tree trying to hear the echoes of the Music! ;-) But while they tire of bliss, it was fun to share this respite with them and to grant them the knowledge of the meaning of their troubles! :-)

daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 9/19/2006
I was thinking all through this about Tolkien's theme of paying the price, which many of the Fellowship did. And then you gave me that second to the last paragraph in which Legolas thinks about the good that came from his sea-longing, and I had to think a little differently. Lovely, Perelleth. I don't think I want you to go back to work. I want you to write and chat with us forever. And yet I can see how your work informs what you write, so maybe you have to do it after all. Author Reply: Wow, thank-you daw! You´ve made my month! ;-) I wanted to explore the relationship of duty-price-reward-meaning for Legolas and Thranduil, because it was never too clear to me. And in the end, and given their long life-span, I thought that Bilbo's song "the road goes ever on" might be the key. The road was not ended for Legolas with going to Ithilien, there was some other purpose he still had to serve...and his reward was yet to come. In this case, Legolas -and Thranduil's- feelings and losses were both personal and political, in the sense of the responisblities they both held before each other and the realm. I needed for them both to find meaning in the price and the loss and their own decisions. Tolkien's fanfiction has helped me keep the distance with the nonsense that is my jobn, as well as providing me with endless entertainment and helped me discover a new world and wonderful friends, so I think I'll keep around as much as time allows... Thank-you again.

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 9/13/2006
I am so glad that Thranduil recognised that the time had come and that he was fighting against something beyond even his capabilities. The death of the old lord of Dorwinion must have been a sign! Giving the power back to the forest - such a simple action and yet so deep and moving! I like the way Mallereg got Laeriniel home for the decision - she really didn't want to give up, did she, even though she needed the reunion. Then the gradual packing up and leaving is right - painful though, choosing what to leave and what to take and the extended leave-taking with the forest and those who would not come. The provision of ship-building plans - courtesy of Celeborn and by the hands of a hobbit - was a delightful touch! And sailing must, in the end, have been something of a relief. Decisions made. Action taken. Lovely to see Legolas waiting impatiently for the ship to arrive - and his reunion with his wife. Which, I imagine, she will find healing in itself, let alone the peace that comes with having accepted at last their arrival 'home'. Author Reply: Thank-you Bodkin! I too was relieved to see Thranduil leaving.! Ten and eleven were a whole chapter, so Mallereg's little trick would have come out clearer for the reader, but it was so dense and packed that I was forced to split it in two...(my talent at editing being close to zero! ;-)) I gave them 30 years before moving up, time enough, maybe, for an elf to come to terms and to enjoy their favourite hauntings and say their goodbyes. As you say, once the decision is made, there is no hurry, just action, things that needed to be taken care fof and all. I enjoyed picturing their journey through the lands of the West, some of them had once crossed Eastwards. The building plans came up as a joke from Celeborn's part, but the Fairbarns were there from the beginning. We are told that they were given the Guardianship of the Towers, -and of the Red book- and I enjoyed having them in, another of those races bound to disappear. I loved the image of the Elven king and the old hobbit, sitting on a bench and sharing a jug of young wine.

Redheredh	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 9/12/2006
Heh! I so like Mallereg. ;) Although, he certainly took his time getting back for that long ago deceit! He is so lucky to already be well-acquainted with his soon-be-father-in-law. I think what I like most about the first part of this chapter was the thoughtful way you had them take their leave. No rushing or skipping whole blocks of time nor forcing the journey to be swift and done without a sensible plan. That was interesting having the Great Doors set up by dwarves, forever sealing off the caverns. And having the towers still inhabited by the hobbits. That idea was an especially well-done detail! I was quite impressed with how you used it. :D Not everyone picks up on stuff like that or handles a situation in so natural of a manner. That includes the feeling of moving on and yet having come full-circle. Another nicely played up aspect of this chapter. Their arrival in Aman was lovely. Very heart-felt through both Legolas and Laeriniel’s pov. Just how a long love story should end – happily ever after. Anxious to read an epilogue now to know that that is true. There is an epilogue planned, right? You left it a wip, after all. Author Reply: Although, he certainly took his time getting back for that long ago deceit! What are four hundred years for an elf? But a whisper, as Legolas says.. ;-) I enjoyed the logistics involved in this chapter, and figuring out about the changes in the lands which they had once crossed on the opposite direction. They were not in a hurry, once the decision was made, so they had time enough for preparations and planning. In the sketched backstory of Mirkwood for this tale, it was the Dwarves of Erebor ( long before the dragon came) who helped the elves carve their stronghold and the "magical" doors. They would build up the mechanism and, of course, then it would have been Thranduil to "set up" the scret password! The thing is that when Thranduil released his connection with the forest, the stones, too, would be unbound and so they would just come closed forever. A lost word and a lost world in a sense. Yes, there is an Eplilogue written and waiting that I have a moment to proof read it. I believe it will come out this week end. Thanks again, Redheredh!

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