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

From Wilderness to Cities White  by Larner 7 Review(s)
Raksha The DemonReviewed Chapter: 26 on 6/21/2014
An interesting gapfiller. It's fitting that Faramir, with Hurin's help, finds armor befitting Aragorn's size and station to go forth to Mordor from Minas Tirith. And of course, it's quite fitting that Aragorn wear Meneldil's armor. Loved it that Faramir mentioned he was the Steward now, implying that he was his own man and would not necessarily do as Denethor had done.

I'm in the minority in that I did not really approve of the movies' having Aragorn take on Boromir's vambraces, at least not after the Battle of the Pelennor - I think the vambraces should have been given to Boromir's heir, Faramir, or at least that Aragorn should have offered to give them to Faramir. But I understand that the notion was well-received by many fans.

Author Reply: Actually, the armor may have been worn by Meneldil for his coronation, but it was made for Elendil by the smiths of Imladris, as I tell in a different story, "Forging for Protection and Defense." Both were inspired by the fact that Aragorn wears Elendil's armor in the movie, at least in the coronation scene.

I understand how you feel about the vambraces, and perhaps Aragorn will surrender them to Boromir's brother now that he's king. But perhaps he needs to become aware of Faramir as much as Boromir's brother as he knows him as the first in Gondor to be healed by his hand and who recognized him AS King. Time tends to bring wisdom, after all. And I do believe that Faramir would wish to establish himself as his own man, not a reflection of his father, as you've noted.

Thanks so very much, and I am so glad you appreciated this story.

TeresaReviewed Chapter: 26 on 9/21/2012
I love these glimpses you share of Middle Earth! This one is very welcome, and it's lovely to see how Aragorn added Boromir's vambraces to Meneldil's armor. To me, it was a way of reflecting the Reunited Kingdom just as Aragorn did himself with his work for his people both north and south. It's also nice to think that Boromir would speak to Faramir at the coronation and watch the friendship grow between Faramir and Aragorn....... but I'll always wish that Boromir had survived that battle! (sniffle) Many thanks for sharing this! :)

Author Reply: I would think that Boromir would come to honor Aragorn greatly over the course of their journey south. As Faramir noted, as they never made it to Gondor, they never had the chance to become rivals as had happened between Thorongil and Denethor. But just as I believe that after the battle of the Pelennor Aragorn could not look upon the standard Arwen sent by Halbarad's hand without being reminded of his long-time friend and kinsman, so by the movie-verse wearing of Boromir's vambraces he kept Boromir's memory alive in his own heart and always sought to serve the people and land Boromir loved so greatly in his honor.

And it is too bad that Boromir didn't survive that battle, which makes the stories in which he did that much more enjoyable with the somewhat guilty pleasure of knowing we can, in a way, reverse his fortunes for him! Heh!

AntaneReviewed Chapter: 26 on 9/20/2012
An interesting background story. Love Faramir's words - that his father was no longer Steward and he was is and he wanted Aragorn to have the armor - and love also the honor given to Boromir and wearing part of his armor as well.

Namarie, God bless, Antane :)

Author Reply: The little business of Aragorn donning Boromir's vambraces as a memorial just after the falls take the funeral boat has always intrigued me when I watch FotR, and I felt it, too, should be worked into this story. And it is important that Faramir be himself as Aragorn's Steward rather than reverting to being the dutiful son of his father. The world has changed markedly in the past few weeks, and he must start the setting of new standards and independent thinking that will hallmark this new reign in Gondor.

CairistionaReviewed Chapter: 26 on 9/17/2012
It's been a while since I've had much time for reading fanfiction but I'm so glad I took time this morning to read this. What a lovely rendering of how Aragorn's armor might have been found and fitted to him. It couldn't have been an easy task, as tall as he was! I also greatly enjoyed seeing through Faramir's eyes Aragorn's approach to the city to claim the crown at last. That's one of my favorite moments in his life and you wrote the new perspective of the scene as well as any I've come across.

Author Reply: And I am so very glad that you appreciate it, Cairistiona. This is an expansion of a story I wrote a few months ago in which I tell of the forging of the armor of Elendil and the reforging of Narsil from the point of view of the Noldo smith who wrought the one and oversaw the second. They had no time to craft armor particularly for Aragorn in the few days between the victory on the Pelennor and the marching forth of the Army of the West, so they had to have scoured the armories for mail proper to his height. And whose better to wear than Elendil's own armor for the King Returned? And I had to also work in the vambraces Aragorn kept when they committed Boromir's body to Rauros.

Now and then I enjoy working a bit of movie-verse into my tales, when it doesn't counter book-verse too badly! Heh!

shireboundReviewed Chapter: 26 on 9/17/2012
What a marvelous gap filler, and such a perfect story for Linda's birthday.

Aragorn still was the one who caught the attention of all, whose face was marked with experience, wisdom, and authority. The White Tree shone upon his breast, beneath the green fire of the Elessar stone he also wore. The image he wore showed white blossoms, and suddenly Faramir knew that one day the living tree before the Citadel should do so as well.

I love that. It's so easy to visualize every part of this story.

Author Reply: Oh, I'm so glad that this detail in particular caught at your imagination. I so enjoyed writing it! And if Frodo remembered afterward that Aragorn seemed to shine at that moment with age, wisdom, and authority and his hands with healing, what must it have been that Faramir saw as the new King approached him?

Thank you so much!

Erulisse (one L)Reviewed Chapter: 26 on 9/17/2012
How delightful to see that you carried this story onward to a natural ending, and with your usual skill at evoking vivid scenes. I rejoyced to see the story notification in my Email this morning and reading it just placed my week in a wonderful aura.

- Erulisse (one L)

Author Reply: Oh, I'm so glad you enjoyed it so. And I found I had to expand a bit on "Forging for Protection and Defense." Thank you so, Erulisse!

UTfrogReviewed Chapter: 26 on 9/17/2012
Lovely story to start the week. Thank you.

Author Reply: I'm so very glad you enjoyed it, UTfrog! Thank you so!

Return to Chapter List