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Elf, Interrupted: Book Two: Glorfindel's Quest by Fiondil	7 Review(s)
Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 102 on 3/21/2010
Elwing talking about her murdered family reminded me again who exactly her brothers are. I wonder if there's any hope Elured and Elurin will be released while Glorfindel is still there and he is reunited with these two along with Elwing? Anyway, what Elwing said about chosing not to surrender the Silmaril and abandon her sons sounds logical. It must have been harder later on when she realised she would not see at least Elros again. While I can understand that Eärendil doesn't like to be stared at and feels better where they are living now, I still hope Glorfindel can convince them to come to Finrod's wedding, regardless of if he himself stays that long or not. "A Maia never eavesdrops," he protested with a supercilious sniff, "but it’s not our fault if you Children are loud in your thoughts and voices." lol That's a way to put it, of course ... "You do not have to cause trouble to be trouble, Glorfindel," Mánatamir said with a grin. "You just have to be." While that is true, I still feel sorry for Glorfindel. It's not his fault that his mere presence is always setting off unexpected and often unwanted reactions, even if he is doing nothing at all! I can see how his presence and quest have given these elflings the idea to seek Eärendil, too, but it was really not his fault this time. His restlessness is another reason why I feel a bit sorry for Glorfindel. He had hoped to find his answers by finding Eärendil, and realising it's only part of it can't be too easy for him. I just hope he will have a good time there despite it all. Oh well, I guess his sword-brothers will keep him entertained. Glad to know Manveru is so protective of him :D Author Reply: I don't think Elwing's brothers are ready to be released yet. I have the feeling though that they'll be Reborn during the time Glorfindel is in Middle-earth and they'll be waiting for him when he returns to Aman. I'm sure Glorfindel will be very persuasive and convince Eärendil and Elwing to come with him. It's high time they stopped hiding anyway, IMO. Part of Glorfindel's restlessness, I think, stems from not knowing where he fits in and not feeling particularly useful to anyone. I think when he returns to Middle-earth he will find his 'calling' and be content. In the meantime, it's a good thing the Maiar are around to keep him amused. grin Thanks for reviewing, Kitty. I appreciate your thoughts.

Sitara	Reviewed Chapter: 102 on 3/15/2010
Indeed. How we shall travel the Road…a very appropriate choice for asserting a true quest’s meaning, the quote from “The Christian Century”. Very enlightening, from my point of view, as was the comparison between those elflings’ endeavor and Glorfindel’s quest, although personally I would say that every adventure is bound to play a certain part in building one’s character. But…well, I suppose the Maiar would have better knowledge than myself. “grin”. Elwing…”bracing herself”. Well, speaking about common sense, at least I should take into account the fact that she and her deeds are hardly relevant for this story’s purpose and adequately curb my tongue. Speaking about canon, Elwing has never done anything to earn at least an ounce of my sympathy and I’m afraid that her “the-blame-lies-with-anyone-else-but-me” attitude earns her nothing more than my deepest contempt. Also, I shall take into account the fact that as long as Arda stands she’ll be never reunited with her entire family and that she has more than a Age to stay awake in the middle of the night and to try to convince herself that “there was trully no choice”. I really should pity her but in my opinion she‘s making herself a very less-than-worthy of mercy kind of person, so to speak. I mean, personally I have always found much more easier to pity the woman caught in adultery rather than the ones preparing to throw stones at her. That and her attempt to heap up her personal responsibility on Maedhros’ shoulders as if he hadn’t enough of his own to deal with never fails to make me see red. Or crimson. “grin” Let’s try for some rational comments. Firstly, I shall do her the courtesy to assume that she genuinely believed the truth of her statements. I shall discard at once any thought implying the fact that she had “edited” a bit the enfolding of those events and, since the history is and always will be written by the winning or (in this case) by the living side, she merely “adjusted” a bit the facts. I’m saying this because in my mind the term “murder” would make me believe that, without the slightest warning, those wretched Fëanorians had sneaked in the palace in the middle of the night and gutted her entire family in their sleep, said family being completely helpless, without any means to defend itself . If I’m not mistaken, it wasn’t quite like that. Also, speaking about the destruction of Doriath, for getting the bigger picture, I should think about some dwarfish army and about a certain former Queen’s actions….for the sake of accuracy. Oh well. Details. But again, I won’t follow this line of reasoning. All right. “To have given them the Silmaril would have dishonored their memory, and more” . I’m going to tackle this reason only , because it was also given in canon. Firstly, I shall briefly notice that, from a certain point of view, this particular reason would have worked for both sides, not only for one of them. Secondly, I’d say that righting your family’s mistakes doesn’t mean that you have dishonored their memory. Remember, Melian herself had advised Thingol to give them back the Silmaril. However, the root of this problem lies somewhere else. With the claims laid on that Silmaril. If (IF “wolfish grin”) the House of Fëanáro had indeed lost the ownership of the Silmarils, this couldn’t have possibly the meaning that those Stones were now free of (legitimate) owner and on the market. They weren’t meant to simply become the property of other Elves. To simply and impudently “grin” put in, stealing from the thief doesn’t make you the rightful owner. “lol” To finally end my rants, I’d say that, if Elwing (or Thingol or Dior or Luthien) had cast the Silmaril into a pond, they would have had my sympathy. By keeping and wearing it , they have done exactly what Morgoth did: they claimed something that will never belong to them. By doing so, they dragged their people into a war not for freedom, for survival and any other noble cause but for a jewel. Now am I supposed to condemn the Fëanorians for throwing away theirs and their followers lives for a stupid bauble and to praise/indulgently excuse Elwing and her people for wasting theirs and their children's lives for the same bauble? And…one’s choices can kill as good as swords do, in my opinion. There is mercy, indeed, but there should be also accountability, in my opinion. For all of them. On the bright side...the next chapters seems to look delightful enough to eat. "grinning widely" Author Reply: We're never going to agree on this, Sitara, so I think it's best to agree to disagree and leave it at that. grin I will point out one thing, which may or may not have escaped your notice: at the time of Doriath's destruction, Elwing was only a baby. Assumingly, Dior entrusted her and the Nauglamir to a devoted retainer to see them both safely out of Doriath. So, everything Elwing knows about her family and the Silmaril is what she's been told by others. And what she was no doubt told as she was growing up and listening to the tales about Doriath and her family was: at all cost, keep the Silmaril away from the Fëanorians. She is, therefore, a product of her upbringing. You may despise her and hold her in contempt for her decisions and deny her any mercy or forgiveness, and that is your preogative, but you cannot blame her for what she believes to be true and act accordingly, no more than you can blame anyone in our world who honestly believes something to be true and acts accordingly even if you wished they had done otherwise. I truly wonder how many of us, under similar circumstances, would act any differently than Elwing did, given what she believed were her options and having only seconds to act on those beliefs? And since you're the one who brought up the woman caught in adultery impudent grin remember Jesus' words: "Let he who is without sin...."

Tari	Reviewed Chapter: 102 on 3/8/2010
The thought of having ones mind read is very disconcerting indeed. That would be the end of all privacy and with it, freedom. Who in their right mind would want that? It will be interesting to see where Glorfindel’s quest takes him next. Spending time will Elwing and Eärendil is a good idea; wasn’t that the reason for his leave taking in the first place? Author Reply: Tolkien states that even the Valar cannot actually read another person's mind unless invited to do so. They are, however, very good guessers and knowledgable about the psychological dynamics of the Children, especially the Elves with whom they most interact. I'm sure spending time with Eärendil and Elwing will do Glorfindel a world of good, give him some time to regroup and rethink and just reorganize. He's been running on empty for some time now though he would deny it.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 102 on 3/7/2010
We know he is somehow drawn back to Middle Earth and Elrond's side. It will be interesting to see precisely how. But I, too, wonder why he still can't see the star in the sky. Author Reply: How Glorfindel finds his way back to Middle-earth will be revealed before the end of this story, never fear. And perhaps Mánatamir's explanation that there is no need to see the star because he's already seen the Silmaril is enough for now. I think eventually he will be able to see it. It's just a question of when and under what circumstances.

ellie	Reviewed Chapter: 102 on 3/5/2010
"You do not have to cause trouble to be trouble, Glorfindel," Mánatamir said with a grin. "You just have to be." LOL!!!!! This sooo sums up Glorfindel in these ELF stories. Oh my! I feel so sorry for this poor ellon. No matter what he does, it just goes all crazy. Poor Glorfy. Poor poor Glorfy. I wonder if the restlessness he feel is the call to return to Middle-earth to complete unfinished business. Loved the comment about the maiar looking forward to pummeling Glorfy into the dirt. I bet him fighting with the maiar will awe and inspire those who are there to learn fighting. Can't wait for more. More story that is not necessarily more pummeling of Glorfindel. Good thing elrond is a healer for Glorfy's sake... Author Reply: I feel sorry for Glorfy too, poor ellon. He's so well-meaning and big-hearted and things just seem to happen to him without his even trying. I'm sure some of the restlessness he feels is the sense that he has unfinished business but the feeling is so unconscious at this point that he doesn't recognize it for what it is. Eventually, of course, he will realize its import and that will make it easier for him to accept the Valar's mandate. I am sure that that is why the Maiar have been waiting for Glorfindel to show up at Aewellond, so that he can show the other elven warriors what they can aspire to in terms of fighting ability.

6336	Reviewed Chapter: 102 on 3/5/2010
Well they did say he would only find some of his answers when he found Earendil! Time to settle down for a while, put down a few roots and rest, you havn't stopped running since you were Re-born it seems to me. Still waiting for him to realise who Elwings brothers are. She was right, as heart breaking as it must have been to leave her babes, to give the Feanorians the Silmaril would have betrayed the memory of her family and all they went throughto keep it from them. Darn Oath! More please, Lynda Author Reply: Probably one of the reasons the Valar allowed Glorfindel to find Aewellond was so he could stop running and settle down a bit. I'm sure Elwing's brothers will come up in conversation at some point and we'll see how he reacts to that and what he tells Elwing (if anything) about them. And while many might condemn Elwing for choosing a piece of jewelry over her own children, to have done otherwise would have brought greater disaster upon the Elves and Edain in Beleriand: Eärendil would never have been able to find his way to Valinor and plead for help from the Valar and Morgoth would have eventually won the day.

Sunny	Reviewed Chapter: 102 on 3/5/2010
I think those curious children seeking Aewellond are going to learn the true meaning of _adventure_: _Somebody else_ in deep s..., ahem, trouble, somewhere far away both in space and time ;-) And Glorfindel is feeling rather put upon about being "blamed" for being the adventurers' inspiration. Although that is evidently a side effect of Glorfindel visiting Alqualondë - and his welcome there is a sign that the rift between the Noldor and the Teleri is healing. You _are_ going to write about Finrod's wedding, I hope, and about the surprise guests Glorfindel is planning to bring Author Reply: Indeed, I think you are correct, Sunny, and it will be a long time before they decide to go on another one. grin Poor Glorfindel gets blamed for everything even when he's being good, but something good did come out of his visiting Alqualondë and that's the important thing. I do plan to write about Finrod's wedding, but whether within the context of "Elf, Interrupted" or as a separate, though related, story (the way "The Findaráto Diaries" is a separate but related story) remains to be seen.

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