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Dead Elvish Writers  by Saelind 5 Review(s)
SnehaReviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/1/2014
That was beautiful! I never considered how dreadful it must have been to Aragorn's people that he did not marry for so long and had no heir. They all seemed in character. I could feel the remoteness and yet the depth in Arwen. Maybe you could do one with Halbarad thoughts and one with the fight between Aragorn and his grandfather?

Author Reply: Thank you so much! The question of Aragorn's perpetual bachelordom was only something that occurred to me recently, but once it did, I couldn't stop thinking about it. And I've definitely got some ideas for a story from Halbarad's perspective!

Linda HoylandReviewed Chapter: 1 on 12/30/2013
I liked this very much. It always grieves me that Aragorn's choice meant that Gilraen never saw her grandchildren. I often wonder how the two most important women in Aragorn's life regarded one another.

Author Reply: Thank you so much, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! The 'what-might-have-beens' of these situations always nag me so much...I like to think that after this encounter, each of them hold each other in a higher regard.

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 1 on 12/26/2013
A good deal of thought has been provoked this night in all three women. Love Arwen's final jab, though! Heh!

Author Reply: Thank you so much, Larner, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! And hee...I figured Arwen wouldn't be able to resist getting the last word! *g*

CanafinweReviewed Chapter: 1 on 12/22/2013
I was so excited to see that you had posted another story featuring Gilraen. That it features both Arwen and Ivorwen as well was an unlooked-for delight! Such a fascinating (and awkward!) encounter between these three extraordinary women. I do not doubt that Aragorn's reluctance to wed early and be about the crucial business of siring an heir must have been a source of tremendous dismay for his captains. 'In the span of twenty-eight months the line of Isildur was reduced to a two-year-old child': so very true, and so very frightening for a dwindling people.

Your portrayal of Ivorwen is wonderful: strong, willful, courageous, loyal and loving all at once. Her grandson has more than a small share of her mettle, it seems. It was a wonderful idea to loosen her tongue with a bit of the old Dorwinion: certainly she never would have been so forthright otherwise, and that forthrightness gave the conversation such a wonderful momentum.

You continue your lovely characterization of Gilraen here as well. She is indeed in an awkward position where Arwen is concerned, and that comes across beautifully. Yet she is also a wise and noble woman, queenly in her own quiet way, and that too you capture very well.

And Arwen! You have clearly put a great deal of thought into your approach to her, and I love it dearly. Her willingness to put her hand to household tasks, her duty to her people, the glimpses of her feelings about her brothers' quest for vengeance and the fading of her own folk, and her fierce dedication to her duty -- a woman worthy indeed of the love of the greatest Man born in an age. As a side note, I am thrilled to see I'm not the only one who includes 'tall' on her list of physical attributes. She is the granddaughter of Galadriel, after all!

On the whole, a wonderful tale and so very much appreciated. Thank you for sharing your gifts!

Author Reply: Oh my goodness, thank you so much! This entire fic was an exercise in supreme self-indulgence, so it makes me so happy to hear others enjoyed it as well. I've been thinking so much lately about Gilraen and Ivorwen's lives; that Arwen would eventually cross paths with them is a scenario I've been dying to write about for months, and around Mettare somehow seemed the perfect time. Having been witness myself to enough awkward conversations caused by the equivalent of Dorwinion, I figured even Elves and Dunedain are not exempt from such situations! ;)

I'm so glad you enjoyed the characterizations of all of them--they are each so extraordinary in their own way, and I hope I did them justice. Especially Arwen...I put a *lot* of thought into her before I dared even open a blank document to write. And I'm glad you liked the detail about Arwen being tall...I had the same thought about Galadriel running through my head when I put that in!

Thank you again for your kind words...they made my day!

MattReviewed Chapter: 1 on 12/21/2013
I agree with you that this relationship (or set of them) is underexplored in LOTR fanfic. You do a great job of it although at some levels the development of matters in your fic feels a little less "far along" than Hanafinwe's. You've done a great job, particularly with Ivorwen and I'd love to see you do some more work in this area, maybe looking at how the Dunadaen see this relationship. Thanks for your hard work on this fic.

Author Reply: Thank you so much!! I had a great time working on this, and do have a couple of quasi-sequels planned, one of them centered from Ivorwen's POV and dealing more with Dirhael's opinions and the viewpoint of the Dunedain. So hopefully that will get written soon!

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