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Sons of Fellowship by Conquistadora	34 Review(s)
Elena Zovatto	Reviewed Chapter: 39 on 2/11/2008
There are not words to tell you just how much I enjoyed this story. Great characterizations, well written, and raising a very high bar for quality - I LOVE your representation of Thraduil, and his relationship with Legolas. I find myself checking the site to see if you've added any other stories, perhaps something along the lines of Thranduil travelling to Ithilien to visit with Legolas, and stopping off in Rohan along the way to meet Eomer. Of course, he could also take the opportunity to visit with Gimli at the same time, or the two of them could head for Ithilien together. Looks innocent as she tries to send plot bunny in author's way Well done indeed!

Adrianne	Reviewed Chapter: 39 on 4/12/2007
Oh my, where to begin. Since I found this story already completed I have read and read and read, stopping only long enough to leave a review on Chapter 12 and now again at the end. The End. How immensely sad. I wish that it would continue, continue on to tell of Gimli coming to Eryn Lasgalen to 'make a great din in Thranduil's cellar', of Legolas returning to Ithilian and on and on. But alas, it was only meant to go this far. So let me see if I can sum up the last 28 chapters, or at least what I loved about them. It was heart rending to read of Legolas and Gimli returning to the devastation of the Greenwood. I knew of course that there had been great destruction and fire, but this is the first time that I had considered how awful it would have been. My heart ached for Legolas and for all of his people. And when Legolas comes to the ruin of the tree where he was born and finds the obelisk set by Thranduil as a memorial to Oropher, and Legolas rights it with only his brute strength, I cried. So beautifully written, and a nice tribute to Oropher in its own right. I love the little meet up that Legolas and Gimli had with Radagast. It was a simple but effective touch. And I found this bit of scripturally inspired wisdom given by the Wizard to our Prince quite profound - "The Power who rules this vast realm of Eä shall never demand the impossible of you, Legolas," he said. "He does, however, require the difficult. Not a leaf falls without His knowledge, and do not think He does not know what has befallen the greenwood. How much more of value in His eyes then are you, one of His Firstborn? This is appointed your sacrifice, your burden to bear. After all you have endured already, do not prove yourself unequal His confidence." Perfect. Thranduil. What can I say? I have fallen in love with the Elvenking all over again. Tall, magnificent, powerful, honorable, equitable. A King to lead his people through centuries of hideous darkness and oppression. A loving father. And you gave him green eyes! Wonderful! I also found his love of pets that were a bit on the wild side quite fascinating, falcons and wolfhounds, none of which was quite a match for Thranduil's rather untamed spirit. The descriptions of Gimli's first impressions of the King were excellently done. I especially liked this: "This Elf would not fell you with mythical powers or magic rings; rather he would strap you outright with his own two hands." Well said! Sort of an Elf's Elf, I suppose. And I liked this initial reaction of Thranduil's to Gimli: "But what in the holy name of the Valar was he to make of a Dwarf who stood unabashedly before him, protected in his own son's shadow and harboring only that mistrust that expects a less-than-hospitable welcome, clad in elvish garb with the unmistakable light of the Faithful in his eyes?" 'Light of the Faithful', that made me smile on Gimli's behalf. I liked also the glimpses that you gave us of the King's long departed Queen. The ache that still fills Thranduil's (as well as Legolas')heart because of her absense is all the more eloquently expressed for being touched upon only in brief. When it came to the part where Legolas must confirm to his father that he has heard the call of the sea, I almost couldn't go on. I had to take a deep breath, before I proceeded. And again, I read it through tearful eyes. The whole encounter was so heartbreaking. So much of what Thranduil said to Legolas I could quote, but I chose this: “I owe everything in the world to you,” he protested. “No, you do not,” Thranduil returned. “I have only done as every father ought, and the part of life I gave you is not mine to possess. What of your mother? Twice she gave you to me; I cannot hold you from her forever.” This is the true love of a parent, recognizing that their role in their children's lives is to love, teach and prepare them for their own course. And the fact that Thranduil thinks of Legolas' mother as well, in a time when his own heart is aching, makes it all the better. Okay, this is getting far longer than I anticipated so I'll do a quick run through of other things I loved: Legolas taking Gimli to the Ladies' Vale and there twining a garland of yellow roses in tribute to his mother and his own 'begetting day'. I like that you have Legolas conceived and born in the fall. A nice reference to Elven biology, by the way. Frolicking at the river with the horses. Thranduil afraid of snakes! I laughed out loud. This next is one of my absolute favorite moments in the whole story, the sweet, gentle, interaction between Legolas and the young daughter of Bard. It made me ache for Legolas. As Bard said, what a father he would make. Bittersweet, indeed. As for all that happened at Erebor, my oh my. I was glad to see that Thorin was able to accept Legolas and that eventually Gimli's mother Kali grew to like the Elf. I especially liked it when she came of her own accord to Legolas' chamber and took him on a little tour under the mountain. And her defending Legolas to the point of physical violence, was great. Obviously Legolas was touched. I also enjoyed the moments in the forge when Legolas lent his artistry to help Floi and as always he does it with courtesy and understanding: "The same way any of us do anything, my friend,” Legolas smiled. “Instruction, observation, trial and error, years of experience. Hard lines have their own purposes, but you must tread softly if you would imitate what has life of its own. See.” With seeming effortlessness, he brought out another shapely sprig of leaves, letting only the very tip of the charcoal brush the paper. The result was a beautiful conception of a jeweled masterpiece. “Do you think you could make that into something worthy of the lady?” he asked with a venturesome glint in his eye." I liked the introduction of Scatha and Legolas' compassion towards the creature. I have to give credit to Legolas too for withstanding so much bad feeling from everyone as well as the horrible claustraphobia he was experiencing. His feeling of panic at dinner the second night was palpable. Then of course that horrible incident in the forge when all hell breaks loose, Legolas and Scatha are injured, and it appears that all that Legolas and Gimli had worked to build was about to tumble to ruin. I actually heaved a sigh of frustration. Oh my. I felt so bad for Gimli. It must have shamed him badly to have his own people behave so abominably. Thank goodness the bond between Legolas and Gimli is so strong. Legolas was gracious in realizing that perhaps the time was not yet right. Of course, as many have already pointed out the closing line of the whole story was priceless. A bit of humor to counter balance, (a little anyway) this first failed attempt of Legolas and Gimli to build the bridge between Erebor and the Greenwood. As with all good stories, Coriel, finishing 'I Return' is like saying goodbye to a dear friend. The nice thing is that you can revisit as many times as you like. I will be revisiting this wonderful friend often and in the mean time I will go on to hopefully find new friends in the form of other stories you have written. One last thing. I really, really loved this: "Thranduil sighed discontentedly, his great shoulders slackening a bit as though his resistance had been stricken its death blow. It had been many, many years since Legolas had last given him fawn eyes. He was still so very like his mother when he did that." 'Fawn eyes'. Wonderful! Adrianne PS: I read through some other reviews of this chapter and was quite aghast at the reply made by Darkness Lady. I wonder if she realizes that if she were ever to meet an Elf, she would undoubtedly be severely chastened for her deplorable lack of manners and properly shunned by any and all of decent upbringing. She seems a little addled to me, or more likely a victim of adolescence.

valjean	Reviewed Chapter: 39 on 4/23/2006
Wonderful! Magnificent! Fantastic! Brilliant! In all honesty the best LOTR fic that I've read yet. You have a very fluid way of writing, its beautiful to read. I have only one plot question, and could stem from my lack of in-depth knowledge of the works of LOTR (I've only read The Hobbit and LOTR trilogy). Precisely when was Thranduil injured? If it as during the battle for Mirkwood, how did he heal in time to join up with Celeborn and Galadriel? And if was during the battle at Dul Goldar (I don't think I spelled that correctly), how was he lucid enough to stop Galadriel from blessing the ground and tainting it with curse of the Exiles? Author Reply: Thanks! I do try. If I remember correctly from the timeline, there was time enough for Thranduil to generally get back on his feet by virtue of being elven between winning his battle and meeting Celeborn, though he would probably still be rather beat up. And I imagine he was generally lucid throughout, but very sore. ;)

Elflingimp	Reviewed Chapter: 39 on 10/27/2005
Well I read the whole thing and this is what I have to say That was a really good story from beginning to end I salute you! Author Reply: Thank you! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. ;)

lwarren	Reviewed Chapter: 39 on 10/12/2004
Your pardon, Coriel, I know I have already reviewed, but I was catching up on newer reviews (you really can get some excellent insights from people when they review, and this is one of my favorite stories) for I Return when I read that garbage by Darkness "whatever-her-name-was". I just had to comment...what a load of....words completely fail me (at least the printable ones!) I hope you ignored that tripe and will erase, eradicate, obliterate...you get the idea...it soon! linda Author Reply: Right. It will be going soon, just as soon as I let her make a fool of herself to a few more reader/reviewers first. ;)

EomerofEastfold	Reviewed Chapter: 39 on 9/1/2004
Hey, way to tell Darkness Lady, Coriel! Gosh, that was an absentminded and pathetic attempt at even a bad review, wasn't it? To **** with her and her dilusions. I know, I know, shame on me for reading reviews and not the story. I'll get to it one of these days, I swear. But, upon seeing 18 reviews at the end, I had to take a peek at them. Eomer of Eastfold, who wishes his stories could get 18 reviews. Author Reply: Thanks! Hey, no problem. ^_^ I've actually been meaning to have a peek at something of yours too, after hearing Chigger talk about them so much. (If we had Internet access in the dorm it would be easier to get some reading in.) I think Rohan would seem wonderfully straightforward after Plato and Socrates. ;)

lily	Reviewed Chapter: 39 on 8/17/2004
I hope your not reffering to Legolas as a gay elf who would talk like some kind of madman who is a swot.He is so cute you could mistake his cutness for that of a puppy!I think I have portrayed my wonderful opinion on Legolas and I hope you make him a lot less a swot in future stories. Yours sincerly Darkness lady Ruler of Mordor(apart from that jerk Sauron) P.S. Thranduil is such a jerk! His wife(or lover)wouldn't up and leave him for no reason!!!! P.P.S. I have just realised that she left MY! cute darling Legolas for his poor ,possibly drunken madman,father to look after.I see your point.Do not bother bothering me again.I have to accept Legolas's proposal to me and so have wedding plans to consider.Bye Author Reply: Excuse me? I don't think you have portrayed much of anything in this poor excuse for a review, save a wonderful aptitude for wasting my time. Even now I'm not sure I can make sense of your inadequately-expressed position, but I gather it is not complimentary. I must say that "swot" was not included in my vocabulary to this point, but I did go to the trouble to look it up and still don't see how you assign the term to my Legolas (if you are indeed using it correctly). I do not intend to change my characterization of Thranduil's son one whit, especially not on your behalf, nor do I understand just what seeming faults you are up in arms about. Not that I particularly care. That you include "or lover" in parentheses makes it evident you know very little about Elves in general, "Darkness lady". And so far as I am concerned, there are several good reasons that would necessitate Thranduil's supposed separation from his wife, NONE of which involve abuse or estrangement of any kind. Don't smear the Elves with vices of your own imagining. Hey, who's bothering who here? If you can't scrape up anything more constructive or coherent to say, I would recommend that you refrain from bothering any author with a pathetic and insulting review of this stripe, deserving of no more than a virtual garbage can. If you do not mind, I will be removing this thoughtless blot from my page once I give anyone who cares to look an ample chance to read my reply. Coriel P.S. I do hope you are no older than I am, because if you are, you have some serious issues, my friend. I would hope an adult would be capable of better than this. Grow up someday, will you?

mistry89	Reviewed Chapter: 39 on 8/3/2004
Am very late in reading the last few chapters, but am no less an ardent admirer of this story. Thank you very much for this very beliveable "after the lights went out" adventure. You finished it beautifully without locking doors or snipping the tied ends. I am a fan of the incidental moments and expressions of character that so make a story breathe ..... Gimli and bathing, eating habits, looking-glasses, hairiness, and how the least likeable traits of dwarves and elves are truly those of humanity. I've been a fangirl of Thranduil's since I read The Hobbit at 8, and I've enjoyed your portrayal of him -and the idea of him being able to outwait, if not outwit, Gloin seems so fitting :). I don't feel too sorry for Legolas, despite injury (physical and social), temporary relocation underground, and apparent failure in his (own) mission. He bore up well, and if he revealed a few more emotions to the company, at least Kali and Gimli are on side ...... oh, I commiserate on the kiss, however! Thanks again. Author Reply: Thanks. ;) It was that reality I was aiming for, and life doesn't always provide ideal endings. But this particular problem can wait a few years more before they tackle it again. I think I'll be a fangirl of Thranduil's for the rest of my life. Wish I had more time to work on his story! Thanks for reading. :D

lwarren	Reviewed Chapter: 39 on 7/23/2004
SIGH!!!! What an ending! Legolas gets a kiss from Kali, and gives one in return! :-0 I'm glad Scatha gets a new home in the Wood, and that Legolas turned down the load of treasure Thorin would have sent as an apology (even if Thranduil will probably have a fit about that!) Your closing statements about the three kindreds living together in the new age, before they all faded and the world changed was a terrific way to end this journey of the elf and dwarf. But of course, the Valar forbid that any of the others ever learn that Legolas kissed a dwarf! vbg That's right, sniff, leave us laughing sniff,sniff! I hope your school year is a successful and rewarding one, and I'll be looking forward to WWYO (which I see you have updated YAY! and I must go review RIGHT NOW!) linda Author Reply: I had the ending in mind for a long time before I perfected it, and so I just wrote it as it happened. Sometimes they surprise even me. :) I'm currently recharging my mind in anticipation of the upcoming school year. I really wasn't surprised to learn "curriculum" was Latin for a race course. I need to get that homework finished and listen to some loud music. Or I could just watch Spider-Man again. Brain candy. ;)

Firnsarnien	Reviewed Chapter: 39 on 7/18/2004
Wow! What an end! Though it didn't end quite like I wanted it to, it was very satisfying none the less. Bittersweet in a way despite the fact that Gimli's mother was one of the few that welcomed Legolas from the heart. I'm glad at least, Gimli and Legolas had that. I am still a bit miffed and saddened at Gloin's stubbornness and disregard of Legolas. He should have been there to say goodbye along side his wife. But, perhaps as Gimli's mother said, in a few years time he will remember his manners. I sure hope so! And I'm also glad to see Scatha going home with Legolas. I'm sure that little creature will be much happier with the Elves and their trees than stuck in a dark, dank cave wearing collars and bracelets and ridiculous clothes! LOL Well, at last, this wonderful story has come to an end. I'm truly saddened by that fact. So, I can only hope you give us another one soon, preferably on that continues on where this one left off. Of course though, I will take anything you care to give us! :) Can't wait for the next one and thanks for the ride! :) It was fun! Author Reply: Sometimes you never know how these things will end. Gloin did prove more difficult than I had intended, but that happens when you have character muses with a will of their own. ;)

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