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The Unquenchable Light by Virtuella	41 Review(s)
Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 20 on 3/23/2025
Yeah, regarding labeling entire nations "evil", I suppose that fits the "good vs evil" theme. But even JRRT opened the door to not all Men in different nations being evil in his exploration of Sam's thoughts in Ithilien: It was Sam’s first view of a battle of Men against Men, and he did not like it much. He was glad that he could not see the dead face. He wondered what the man’s name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home; and if he would not really rather have stayed there in peace – all in a flash of thought which was quickly driven from his mind. I took "what lies or threats had led him..." in the sense of what we call today disinformation, as in a malicious twisting of facts to manipulate people's thoughts and actions. I can definitely see Sauron and the Mouth of Sauron employing that tactic. Along similar lines, the Haradrim in my stories are a mix of noble-minded and evil-minded people, with strong and weak individuals in both categories. It takes all kinds to make a world. *** As to this chapter, my first thought was to hear some soldier in the back of my mind saying blearily to a comrade as the ships sail away, "...Man, those Elves sure know how to throw a party...!" Uh-oh. Here comes the ambassador. To quote a certain princess, "I thought I recognized your foul stench when I came aboard..." O-o-o-o-o-kay-y-y-y-y. Enter the Tree Women, stage left. (Did I ever mention how pleased I was that you brought them into this story?) Oh! So the Tree Women aren't simply very long-lived, like the Ents in Fangorn, but they've actually planted a colony of sorts and are thriving and growing. Oooo! "pale caterpillars": I'm guessing silkworms? Oh, the Tree Women have Trockenbeernauslese and Eiswein!!! Of course they do. I remember the taste, like golden sunshine. Someone told me that the best of it stayed in Germany and was not exported to the US, so I never bothered to buy it after we left Europe. Wish we were still there, these days. Aha! And the Tree Women (like my Eagles) differentiate between speaking folk and the other kind. (My Eagles are allowed to swoop up Orcs and "drop them on the rocks to break them" but are not allowed to eat them. They probably wouldn't be good to eat, anyhow.) “If you’ve treated them well,” she said, “they must love you and they will follow you.” Why do I suspect the horses won't follow them? our palace. As Buggs Bunny would say, "The noive!" I wonder if Tilar overestimated the support she'd get from others? The Krandi don't even have folding chairs? They sound unprepared for the marching life. "did not quite look right" Hmmm. But "shall we shoot it?" had me laughing, it sounded so much like the little boys I've known. I have to say, if you hadn't mentioned the Krâ being honorable and not evil, I'd be worried about the eight of them coming in out of the dark to meet in the tent. (Shades of Hemry's Dauntless, where the Syndics appear to slaughter all the Alliance leaders who come to parley...) Hahahahaha! Was Dorwinian Wine involved, I wonder? “I’m in a mood to die.” “Excellent.” Sledgehammer! Good name (even if it's not the name). My hobbits have a similar name: Weed Killer (Or "keed willer" if you already happen to have imbibed one over your limit.) Really gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "slaying the enemy"! ("killing your enemy with kindness", maybe?) Okay, I was kind of wary of these elves when Jarin encountered them (if I'm remembering right), but now I'm starting to like them. (Do I have to spell everything* out to you?* Sheesh, this turned out to be a long review. Apologies if you find such annoying. (I adore long reviews, for my part [especially on one of my own chapters, LOL], but I realize not everyone loves discussing Tolkien's creation as much as I do.)

Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 19 on 3/17/2025
So little lies make a rider heavier. No wonder the palantír was so difficult to transport! The people on the ships sound reluctant and misinformed. Has it ever occurred to them that their truth might have been twisted? Pallando's strategy sounds interesting. It obviously assumes the Krâ are not evil. The commander definitely sounds confused: he certainly also hadn’t expected this, whatever it was. They certainly were not prepared to meet a Hwenti onslaught. Party hearty? Make merry, not war? (I wonder what the Hwenti would think of being described as "the cavalry coming over the hill"?) Author Reply: Well, the Hwenti are unpredictable, but they do follow their own agenda, which is benign enough. [ It obviously assumes the Krâ are not evil.] For my taste, Tolkien is too ready to call entire nations, even entire species evil. I realise this kind of goes with the genre, but it still irks me. So no, they are not evil. Nor are they misinformed. Naïve, might be a better word. And things look quite different from their perspective.

Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 3/11/2025
I was going to just read and then try to gather my thoughts, but this was too good to pass up: They had chosen this out-of-the-way spot so that half Levare wouldn’t congregate around them and offer advice. It's so true!!! (I also love the description of the frosted landscape.) (I have to say, I had thought I was seeing some hints in earlier chapters, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions... I am so unfamiliar with Dwarves, I don't know how to "read" them yet. I can't tell when they're joking or serious or just being Dwarves!) Love the magnificent mustache. I wonder if he'd ever shave it off for any reason, and if his wife might not recognize him at first sight before he spoke and she recognized his voice? (Happened to me with one of my close relations after she dyed her hair a dramatically different color. LOL!) Awww. His wife made him put on mittens. I love how protective people are of him. "Don't tell Majani." (snork) I'm with Diri. I'm all for clandestine departures when on secret missions. I worry about the Enemy finding out... For some reason, "bail them out" struck me as jumping out of an airplane with a parachute rather than bailing out a leaky rowboat, and I had the sudden idle vision of a dragon-rider wearing a parachute pack. My brain does odd things now and then... And now, the procession with all the dragons and their riders has me thinking of All the Weyrs of Pern and the grand scheme to use the dragons, working together, to alter the orbit of the Red Star... The breath-taking processional is almost worth the risk of compromise. Almost. Waiting with bated breath to see Pallando's plan play out...

Leithian	Reviewed Chapter: 20 on 3/8/2025
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳?” 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘶𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘖𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳. “𝘐’𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳, 𝘖𝘭𝘢𝘯,” 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥? 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘞𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘥𝘰. 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵. 𝘈 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘒û𝘻 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯.” Oh no! “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘴,” 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘌𝘻𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘦𝘮𝘳𝘢, “𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘳â. “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦.” Hamujil is so brave to accept and I really hope he doesn't regret it... Let's hope that Ezen Kemra is a man of his word. The last part of the chapter, though, was pure gold. And somehow, that unnamed Hwenti elf has all the grace of a High-Elf. Take care Author Reply: Yes, Tilar is the traitor, though I tried to make readers think it was Miriel. ;-) Initially, I had intended for the plan to work out, but then it seemed to me that was too easy and it would be better if Hamujil had to put his life on the line after all. Oh dear, I didn't mean for the Hwenti man to come across like a high elf, he was supposed to be good-natured but flippant and condescending. I'm going to have to take a look at that.

Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 17 on 3/8/2025
Tiny crumbs of snow fell down in swift, straight lines around her like so many shooting stars. Nice. I've experienced such snow, as well as giant flakes floating down in eerie silence. The casual greetings immediately followed by the fervent embrace was sweet. Hmmm. "loyalties tested" and "one passenger" sounds... troubling, somehow. Hamûjil's humility shows his quality, I think (rather like Sam's description of Faramir); he seems to elicit respect and honour from almost all those around him, if I'm reading the scene correctly. Why else indeed. Um. Is this supposed to make me uneasy? So the chain is made from priceless mithril? (Is the flute, too? Probably not, considering how rare the metal is.) Sigh. I used to spend many happy hours in the corner of one coffee house or another. (Long-handled coffee pot. Like Turkish coffee? I may be remembering wrong.) Oh dear. The gossip is distressing. And, of course, it brings the plan to the attention of malevolent ears, I should think. A strong light source. Hmmm. Something comes to mind... Author Reply: I only meant Jarin can take either Hamujil or Diri. Do you feel I have overly idealised Hamujil? [Why else indeed. Um. Is this supposed to make me uneasy?] No, not uneasy. I have been wondering - there is something going on in the background, which my beta picked up straight away some chapters back, though I tried to make it subtle. Seems that so far I have managed to sneak it past your sharp eyes! ;-) Why else would Diri have come to Levare? Just the chain! Yes, I was thinking of Turkish coffee pots. Turkish, along with Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Persian, is one of the cultures I have blended for the Kuzar culture. Thanks for you comments; it's so nice toengage with a reader about the story!

Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 16 on 3/4/2025
So the traitor was in the room with us last night. That's a really distressing thought. Oh my. She pulled out the big guns, it sounds like. The nuclear option? Jarin's back! (And I think I may have an idea of what Diri's suggesting...) Author Reply: Yes, I want the reader to be a little creeped out by that! ;-)

Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 2/24/2025
Thank you for explaining about the white peacock! That helps. Now I don't have to go back and read earlier chapters but can press on and go forward... Poor Margig, I was wondering how he was coping with his daughter's prolonged absence. I like that he goes ahead and makes the festive cakes, remembering Jarin as he works. Hmmm. Wan is wary of elves, is he? Uh-oh. Elves. Most of these elves seem rather silly – which could be dangerous. I'm glad that Lossë seems friendly. Let's hope it lasts. After they meet the one who chides the "children" for always wanting to save their lands, I feel sorry for these elves. What makes them different? indeed! But I have to wonder if the Hwenti would actually be able to defend themselves if a battle arose. They seem awfully jaded and hollow. Is this what fading looks like? Miriel sounds wiser than Tilar. I love the description of the winter solstice celebration. But oh no! Vani's statue is smashed and the darkness cannot be dissipated, it seems! Author Reply: I think these elves, lacking purpose and guidance, would go a little insane over the millennia. "Rudderless" is the word I have in mind.

Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 2/22/2025
O good, you're adding to the story! I know that feeling of looking in the same places three and four times all too well. Not for young princes, though, just for things I mislay absent-mindedly. However, this doesn't look like a case of absent-mindedness. I suppose they might be able to find the palantír to find him. But maybe not. She held her lantern high – it made no difference to the search but it just seemed the thing to do. One of those unconscious gestures that you don't think about as you're doing it (but adds an extra note of reality to the scene). Oh! Is the peacock that hasn't settled yet and is thus sounding a piercing call unsettled because the boy is there? (I'm confused. He ran away and hid in the aviary and fell asleep?) I got lost at the mention of "Vani" and the pale shape. (Mentioned earlier in the story, perhaps? I may have to go back and look.) Interesting invention. I find myself wondering if it might be used to confuse/deceive an enemy force (peacefully and non-violently)? The seekers' methodology is fascinating. The administration of the poison is subtle and fiendishly clever and, thus, quite disturbing. Diri's comment about the dragons is interesting, considering his invention. Hmmm. I wonder what will happen in the morning... Author Reply: Vani is an albino peacock who lives in the palace gardens. He is mentioned a few times earlier in the tory, and Hamujil gives Majani a porcellain figurine of him in the chapter "Lanterns". You are supposed to be confused; I wanted to leave it ambivalent what actually happened. Thanks for commenting!

Leithian	Reviewed Chapter: 19 on 2/22/2025
Thanks for another amazing chapter. I like the little touches you've given e.g. Jarin being heavier for Wan after telling a lie and the Steppe life of the Krâ. The citizens of Mil Nahara singing their 'national anthem' reminds me of that scene in Casablanca. BTW what is Hwenti? Is it a name for the elves? The commander that was worried about being poisoned should've remembered that if the Elves wanted to kill him they would've done so without him ever knowing lol. I don't know about your story, but if the Krâ are based on steppe tribes, they would be pretty warlike I think. There are always occasional skirmishes over flocks, water Wells, and grazing pastures. So I'd disagree with Pallando, but plz tell me if I'm wrong about the Krâ in your story. Waiting eagerly to see Hamujil's plan in action. Till then Author Reply: I never really sat my reader down and spelled it out; the information is dotted across the story: There are two distinct groups of Kra. The steppe tribes, which are warlike as you say, are the ones that turn up in the original book as the "Easterlings." We don't really encounter them in this story apart from a few glimpses. The settled Kra, however, are - though ethnically the same - culturally and economically different; they are an agricultural society. They are the Kra that the Kuzeen interact with. I hope this clarifies things! "Hwenti" is a word I found on some Tolkien website as a term for the surviving Cuivenen avari elves. If you squint, you can see that the word is related to the word "Quenya." I am using in interchangeably with "elves." Thanks for commenting!

Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 2/18/2025
You're welcome. I seem to process a story better when I respond to the things that jump out at me. (And I know that the same benefit comes to me through reviews on the stories I'm writing; reviewers' impressions often help me see the characters or other elements of a story more clearly. So for me, reviews are the whipped cream on top of the sundae, both as a reader and an author.) The clash of cultures is fascinating. This is a gorgeously crafted description: Diri thrust the poker into the embers. Sparks sprayed up for a moment and lit his face, the brows pulled together over his deep brown eyes. How long does it take to craft a flute? It depends... I would like some food, though not pomegranate at this time, ha. Wonderful sense of humor. And I'm very glad for Alatar's powers of healing. Bananas! (I think?) The discussion of the images they saw is interesting, though the palantír sounds like more of a hindrance than a help. And they admit to deliberately cultivating a peaceful culture, and are faced with what to do to keep that joyful, life-affirming culture safe in the face of a growing threat. Quite the conundrum. And the disquieting hints seem to have come to fruition! The son is missing... Author Reply: yes, bananas. I think you have stumbled on my little running joke in this story. ;-) Thanks for commenting!

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