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Guiding Light by Dot	12 Review(s)
lwarren	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/2/2006
Well, Dot, better late than never, I guess and I apologize for the lateness of this review. This is such a lovely story with so many little things that caught my eye and drew me back to reread again and again. The wall hanging was beautiful - a group of vibrant, strong trees...standing protectively over a sapling (and made by Thranduil's queen in the last weeks of her pregnancy to distract her from her discomfort as a gift for him!) You did an excellent job of describing Thranduil's state of mind after his return from the south - the advance of Shadow in his forest is really weighing heavily on him Turion - now I love this eldest son of the King! (Hope we'll be seeing more of him soon!) A writer, too! It was so sad to see him kneeling on the floor, still dressed in his dirty travel clothes, lost in the past and grieving for something he feels he must give up as he helps his father fight the evil threatening their home! sniff That was heartbreaking - and Thranduil's thoughts about what his son is sacrificing were, too, especially when he asks himself if Turion will ever be able to lose himself in his dreams and writing again. The search for Legolas is TENSE, Dot - you can feel Thranduil's panic, especially given where he has just come from. The search, the spider fight (ICK!)(Go Thranduil!), and finally discovering his wayward son in the cave by the stream! It's not any wonder that the King's great relief turned to anger! A typical parental reaction g! I'm glad Turion was there to turn their Ada's mind to the reason Legolas snuck off. The carved ornament showing the trees in Thranduil's wall hanging was the absolute perfect gift for his begetting day - and coming from his Greenleaf, I'm sure made it all the more a precious reminder of exactly why he would fight to free his forest home of the evil in it. A wonderful story, Dot! And a belated happy birthday to daw! linda Author Reply: Hi Linda! Thank you so much for the review :-) You’ve put a huge smile on my face with your kind words and the way you’ve picked out what you liked. I’m so pleased you think that Thranduil’s feelings come across. How terrible it must have been to see the Shadow return again – and to know that he had to ask his son to help him in the fight and give up some of the things he loved, even though that son is willing. I’m kind of fond of Turion myself so I’ll have to see if I can make him appear in another story ;-) And thank you for your comments about the search for Legolas. I hadn’t really written anything like that before so I’m delighted that you felt it was tense. I’m so glad you enjoyed this. Thank you for such a lovely review!

perelleth	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/24/2006
I'm sorry I'm so terribly late in this Dot! IT is beautiful! What a lovely story, and strange that one can say so with a tale that beings with a king just come out from his bath to find tht his eldest son's is sadly burying his hopes for a future of pece of rewarding dedication to art and contemplation, to the teryfying news that his youngest is missing... So it was all too clear why Turion should be ready to wait for other times to resume his literary pursuits in a world that had suddenly returned to be a dangerous place, and where his duty as a prince was to put the defence of the realm before everything. "Legolas is not a little child", he told himself. "But he is my child," a voice niggled at him>/i> How true! the cotraditcion made me smile, despite the tension of the moment! And the tenderness of the trees bending over the sapling was so sweet! A very moving piece, Dot, from beginning to end! Author Reply: Hey there, perelleth! Thank you so much for the review. I’m so pleased that you enjoyed it. I felt bad for Túrion but like you say, it’s a dangerous world and his duty must come first. I think Thranduil regrets the sacrifice his son has to make but knows that he needs him and knows that Túrion wants to do this. You made me smile by picking out the line about Legolas being his child! Yeah, I think a father’s heart was not going to be happy until he was found. And I’m glad you liked the image of the trees. I thought it might be elfy! :-)

The Karenator	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/23/2006
Thranduil deftly braided his damp hair and ran his hands over it, Wait! The bath is over? Are you sure? Shouldn't we go back to the beginning just to be sure? Drat! Well, then...Dot, this is beautiful. had gifted him with it on the birth of their first son. It called to him now, the group of vibrant, strong trees, bathed in gentle sunlight, standing protectively over a sapling. Not only is this like Daw's picture on her Lj, but it's such a lovely sentiment--mature trees bending over a sapling--for a mother awaiting the birth of her child. This is such a wonderful image. I really liked Tûrion. He's a great character. You did such a nice job with him; he was fully alive in just a few lines. I was especially touched by this line: A third bundle, tied together just as lovingly with a ribbon, showed that even when Tûrion had stopped bringing his work to his proud parents, he still wrote. Oh, I love this line: Would the soft smile that spoke of the magic of places only Tûrion had been ever again grace his handsome face? '...the magic of places only Tûrion had ever been...' Beautiful. Just the right amount of magic. Legolas's gift was terribly sweet. A gift made by the hands of a child is always the best. I could go on and on, Dot, about the things I liked in this story. Instead, I think I'll just put in an order for more stories. Be sure to include Tûrion. :>) A grand gift to us all. Thanks to you for writing it and to Daw for having a birthday. Author Reply: LOL! Yes, the bath is over! I considered starting it with him in it but I’m not sure I’d have ever got him out of it. Or got him dressed anyway… Oh, you wouldn’t have minded that? I’m glad you liked the image on the hanging. No secret what inspired that! I admit I quite liked the idea of the child being loved and protected. You did such a nice job with him; he was fully alive in just a few lines. Oh, thank you so much! That’s a lovely compliment. I wasn’t sure, because I hadn’t introduced him before so I didn’t know if he’d make much of an impression. I don’t think I’ve ever read about elves writing stories and they always seem to be reading poetry or history but I figured, why not? So that became Tûrion’s passion. I’m very pleased you liked him. Legolas really was just being sweet. He’s a good kid, just a wee bit clueless! But he made Adar happy in the end. Thank you so much for such a lovely, thoughtful review. You made my day by picking out parts you liked and letting me know why. I have such a huge grin on my face right now! :-)

Idhreniel	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/22/2006
What a lovely story!!! I love it. Author Reply: Thank you so much! I'm thrilled you liked it :-)

meckinock	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/22/2006
What thoughtful boys! Their ada must have raised them right. Turion is a darling, and he and Legolas both gave Thranduil gifts from their hearts and their talents, which of course are the best kind. How could he possibly be anything but filled with joy and pride at his sons? Author Reply: You’re right – Legolas wasn’t the only son to give a great gift to his father. I’m very fond of Tûrion myself so I’m delighted that you like him! It must hurt Thranduil to see him set aside things he loves but he probably does feel huge pride in him. And in poor Legolas who just wanted to cheer his father up and had no clue of the trouble he caused. Thanks for the review :-)

elliska	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/22/2006
Catching up...This was great Dot! I loved Turion. I think we should see more of him (hint, hint). And the hanging/carving were perfect gifts! Poor Legolas, he's so sweet here. It would be impossible to stay angry at someone whose intentions were so good. After all, if he was born during the Peace, he did not know the dangers that had returned. Great story. Author Reply: Thank you so much, Elliska! I’m really so glad you liked Tûrion. He was shy about making an appearance, though, so I’ll have to see if he’ll be willing to make another! The hanging sort of originated from daw’s lj icon :-) Legolas really did have the best of intentions – he just knew his father seemed sad and he wanted to cheer him up. I felt a bit sorry for his tutor, though!

Gwynhyffar	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/21/2006
Wonderful story, Dot. That seems typical of an adolescent to go off completely oblivious to anything else. His heart was in the right place though. :) Author Reply: Thanks, Gwynhyffar! I think Legolas really had no clue what was going on around him (males! adolescents!) – but yeah, he had all the right intentions and was focused on something he thought would please his father. And he ended up helping more than he knew :-)

Nilmandra	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/21/2006
A wonderful story, Dot! And bless those of you with patience to wait for the actual day. :D I like your Turion, the wide eyed dreamer who loves words more than swords, yet like so many others before and after him must put aside his own desires for duty and responsiblity. LOL, and for someone squicked by my spider, your descriptions are pretty disgusting too! I like seeing the elvenking joining right into the battle like this. And then Legolas. Yes, he disobeyed, but for such a good reason. His innocence could have cost him dearly, but I think the elves will forgive a child who wished only to please in this way. Lovely story for daw, who also loves words more than many other things! Author Reply: Patience? Oh yeah, that was it. It had nothing to do with not being ready ;-) I’m really delighted that you liked Tûrion. I’ve known his story for a good while and it occurred to me that in his passion for writing he might make a good present for daw. For all that he wanted to dedicate himself to the fight to rid the forest of evil, it had to hurt him to set that part of his life aside. I re-read your story earlier because I need to review it and your little spider is far more unsettling! Really, he is! And I kind of liked seeing Thranduil jump right in to the action too :D Legolas genuinely wanted to something nice for his father. He was being a typically thoughtless adolescent in how he went about it but it came from the heart. It must be hard, actually, to protect childhood innocence in Mirkwood because that innocence could lead someone into very real danger :-/ Thank you for such a lovely review! I’m so glad you liked it.

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/21/2006
Legolas is pitch-perfect as a clueless adolescent boy here. Playing hooky, causing a search, and I bet he didn't even notice the spider battle. And all for good intentions. He's at that age where everything must be done Just So, even making secret presents. If he'd told his tutors where he was going, they'd surely have arranged for him to have the extra time, but that present had to be a secret. So single-minded, so dense, and so loving. Adolescent male all over. I like the brother, too. He strikes me as a guy who's suddenly being forced to grow up and put his childhood away faster than he really wants to. I bet he writes fanfiction about the cats of Queen Beruthiel that he doesn't want Thranduil to see. . . Author Reply: Heh. Poor Legolas. But yeah, he really had no idea what was going on around him and still managed to end up helping anyway – even if it wasn’t in quite the way he intended. You’re so right that he could have just told someone what he was doing. But he’s male and he’s an adolescent – he has his own logic! I’m so glad you like Tûrion. His father needs him and he wants to do everything he can, but it must hurt both of them for him to have to set aside things he loves. I bet he writes fanfiction about the cats of Queen Beruthiel that he doesn't want Thranduil to see. . . ROTFL!! This had me chuckling away to myself for the afternoon! Thanks for the review, FP :-)

daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/21/2006
Dot-- This was wonderful! the group of vibrant, strong trees, bathed in gentle sunlight, standing protectively over a sapling Oh! Now that sounds familiar! :-) I have to admit the description of Turion and his stories touched me. As you know, I've taken some bruises and am a little uncertain about writing these days, so I sympathized with the poor writer. And I sympathized with Thranduil too. How could something have happened to him in the few moments between his father’s arms and his tutor’s care? That's a great line! I love how they all assume Legolas has just blown off the tutor and gone to do what he wanted. It speaks such volumes about his opinions of his lessons, just as the fact that he 'deigned' to be hugged says a lot about his age in very few words. I was also amused by Thranduil's recognition of the dangerous interminability of the "I am not a child" line of discussion. Fortunately, wise adar that he is, he cut it off by telling the kid he'd scared him. Thranduil dashed through the branches, the trees laying a dizzying green path before him What a vivid description! I'm not good with heights and if I had to race through the branches that's probably what I'd feel. It sounds like one of those scenes you see in movies where a camera zooms through the branches. Ick! Spiders. Spiders with twitchy, spindly legs! Ick! And they really bring home the danger Legolas could be in, even if he is just blowing his tutor off. But maybe it was worth it to see warrior Thranduil in action. :-) So Legolas wants to give his father a present to help ease his sadness. A present of his own making. Geez I love my friends who can make gifts like this one with these lovely characters. Thank you, Dot. It's 6am and my day is off to a great start. daw Author Reply: Happy birthday! I hope your day continues to go well :-) Now that sounds familiar! Hehehe. What can I say?! I’m glad you were moved by Tûrion. I’ve written little bits about him before that never got posted so I’ve known about his love of writing stories for a while - and when I was wondering what to give you, I thought it was time for him to make an appearance! Spiders are icky, full stop. I tried not to dwell on them too much! See, I was going to start it with Thranduil actually in the bath but I’d probably never have got much further so I decided a glimpse of warrior!Thranduil might suffice for a Thranduil fangirl on her special day;-) Ooh, daw, you made me feel so good by picking out lines you liked! I’m still grinning. And I’m just thrilled you enjoyed this. Thank you so much for such a wonderful review :-)

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