Stories of Arda Home Page
About Us News Resources Login Become a member Help Search

Elf, Interrupted: Book One: Glorfindel Redux  by Fiondil 7 Review(s)
LarnerReviewed Chapter: 116 on 2/15/2008
Ah, yes--a midsummer wedding will be nice, even if is twelve years away. At least they've agreed on that! And love the side bets. And poor Eonwe and his blessed books of vows! He IS kept busy, isn't he? Hehehehehe!

Author Reply: Finrod and Amarië both know he's not yet ready for marriage so this gives them both the time they really need, whethr Almáriel realizes it or not. And I'm sure Eönwë is wishing Atar had given him a different purpose in life right about now. *grin*

obsidianjReviewed Chapter: 116 on 8/13/2007
Heh, heh, heh. They outsmarted Almariel. She should have been more precise *grin*. And I love Eonwe and his book of oaths. Seems like he has more and more work to do as the story unfolds...

Author Reply: Yes, Glorfindel and Sador obviously would have made great lawyers, able to find the loopholes. *grin* I almost feel sorry for Eönwë. I'm sure he's about ready to throw the book at Manwë and anyone else after he finishes recording Almáriel's tantrum. *lol*

MJReviewed Chapter: 116 on 8/12/2007
Okay, I needed a laugh, and the last paragraph provided it. One shudders to think what Almáriel said to perturb the seemingly imperturbable Eönwë! I daresay there are days he wishes some other servant of the Valar would give him a vacation from the Book of Oaths. ("Wait, wait, would you swear a little more slowly? I'm having trouble getting this all down...!" :)

Author Reply: I'm glad you found the chapter amusing. I certainly had fun writing it, especially the last part after Finrod announces that the wedding will take place 12 years from now. *grin*

Poor Eönwë! It's been a busy night for him, and Almáriel isn't making it easy for him, but I'm sure he's up to the task. *lol*

Nieriel RainaReviewed Chapter: 116 on 8/12/2007
Well, I read this when you posted it, but have had a sick kid so am behind in reviewing. I really enjoyed this chapter, especially the descriptions of the palace. Very nice! I want to visit! And I truly enjoyed Finrod pulling Amarie aside and Sador and Glorfindel standing guard. I assume that since Amarie isn't very happy with her mother over the whole ordeal, this is why she took pleasure in the joke? And I did appreciate those few moments of silence. *wink* I am curious as to Amarie's easy agreement to the 12 year wait. Of course, she has changed from that elleth who was so eager to marry no matter what and is more understanding of Finrod's need to grow and settle into his new life. As a woman though, I can imagine her chaffing at the bit some, no matter how much fun it is to pull one over on her mother like that. Too bad her mother wasn't a little less sober...

I think my favorite part were all the Valar showing up for the announcement and being as interested as everyone else! And I had no doubts Arafinwe knew his son well enough to win the bet. I love the friendly wagering throughout this story, though I am opposed to obsessive gambling. But this is just friendly fun and it adds great personality to the storyline.

A wonderful chapter, Fiondil. You never fail to give us wonderful chapters! I look forward to more, but have fun while you travel. I can be patient. *returns to most interesting book by Stephen Lawhead*

NiRi

Author Reply: Yes, perhaps they should have waited on the announcment until Almáriel was a little less sober, but it wouldn't have been as much fun *lol*

I think that 12 years for elves (even elven women!) is not considered too long. In fact, in their mindset, 12 years of the sun would have only been 1 Valian year and a bit. Both Finrod and Amarië well remember the time of the Two Trees and so I suspect that they still sometimes think in terms of Valian years, the way people might "think" in the English measuring system even though they now use the metric system for everyday things the way I do living in China.

I am opposed to obsessive gambling too but I think "friendly wagers" are acceptable and you notice that the wagers in this story are mere tokens, a silver coin, for instance (although Námo has his own unique forms of "payment" when he loses a bet), just to say "I won and you lost". When I was a teenager, we used to play penny-ante poker in my family and that was lots of fun. Later as an adult I didn't play with people because they wanted you to put in $20 to play. It wasn't winning the money that was important for me, it was just having fun playing the game. I think many people lose sight of that objective when they start making a game "serious" with high stakes. It just isn't fun.

Anyway, go back to your Steven Lawhead book and keep an eye out for new chapters.

Reviewed Chapter: 116 on 8/11/2007
I really like this chapter. It is very well done, but that's not a suprise! *clap-clap for a story well done* I do have some questions though Fiondil.

1~Is there going to be more of Lord Castamir?
2~Why did Amarie agree on the wedding to be 12 years from then?
3~Why does Finrod want it then too?
4~Is Lady Almariel going to be appearing again? It was funny when Eonwe and his Book of Oaths appeared.
5~Why is it so important for Finrod and Amarie to wed?
6~Is Amarie trying to prove she is a faithful elleth when she doesn't dance with any 'unattached' ellyn?

I do loved the last paragraph! I could imagine it so easily. From Ingwe ruefully giving money to his nephew all the way to the chaos of the ballroom.

The description you gave for the setting reminded me of a French castle. "...were panels of floor-to-ceiling mirrors reflecting tht light from the mithril-wrought candelabras that stood elf=high before each mirror." This sentence brought to mind the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, France.
*If I lived in the palace you have described I probably might never leave the house!*

Sorry about the 'million' questions!

Happy writing!

Author Reply: Some of your questions have no answers as yet and you will have to wait and see. Other questions, notably #6, should be obvious or at least easily answered with a little thought. In medieval cultures, a betrothed woman would only dance with her betroth and any male members of her family. For her to dance with an "unattached" male would have been considered scandalous.

The Elves liked the numbers six and twelve, and we know that they used a base-12 counting system, so it is logical to assume that either of those numbers would be used where we might use ten. Twelve seemed an appropriate number in this case and so that is what was decided.

The description of the ballroom is partly based on Versailles and partly based on the ballroom and throne room of Scholss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria.

KittyReviewed Chapter: 116 on 8/11/2007
Oh Fiondil, this chapter was so much fun!

When Ingwë talked about who would disrupt the ball first, I started grinning, because I knew, of course, about the ‚Midsummer’ matter, and wasn’t able to stop grinning through the whole chapter. I’d set my money on Finrod, too!

It appears Amarië wasn’t adverse to the whole trick, considering Glorfindel and Sador heard her giggling. Well, even if she has to wait a bit longer, they are elves, after all, so what are these few years for them? And she has to appreciate the deviousness of her intended. Though, of course, I can’t say the same of Almariel *evil grin*

Nice idea to have the Valar show up for the announcement – I am sure they even knew what Finrod was planning and were very amused themselves. And when Eönwe showed up to so publicly write down Almariel’s oaths I laughed so hard I nearl fell out of my chair. That was priceless!

Well, that was a New Year Ball the elves of Aman will remember for a very long time, no doubt! And the same goes for your readers. Thank you for this wonderful chapter! It truly made my day!

Author Reply: You're very welcome, Kitty. I'm glad you found this chapter so amusing, especially since you (and all the other readers) were in on the joke from the beginning, although I hope I surprised some people with the fact that Finrod and Amarië agreed to wait an additional 12 years. *grin* This was a fun chapter to write, especially Almáriel's reaction to the announcement and the Valar showing up to hear it. I know many readers were eagerly awaiting the Ball and wondering how it would turn out. Hopefully the wait was worth it.

utfrog98Reviewed Chapter: 116 on 8/11/2007
This series is delightful. Your ability to mix a serious story with both gentle and outrageous humor is notable.

Thank you so very much.

Author Reply: Thank you for reviewing and thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know how much you've been enjoying this story.

Return to Chapter List