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Divers Drabbles II  by Raksha The Demon 128 Review(s)
NimlothReviewed Chapter: 3 on 11/6/2006
Hi Raksha!

These were great. To be perfectly honest, I'd imagined something even nastier and more terrifying with Aragorn being caught alone in the wild by the Nazgul, but your idea is much more likely. I love number two--especially the last sentence, "Forever is a long time." I don't know why, but it makes me feel as though sometime in the far distant eternity, Beregond will come back...

As for the third one--pirates! hee!

Cheers! Will we be having a few more?

Author Reply: Thanx for reading and reviewing, Nimloth.

Well, I didn't think Aragorn had been captured by the Nazgul, but I could see him attacked and only escaping by the seat of his pants, and being scared out of his very strong mind.

I do think Beregond might return to the White City. Not sure if I'll write it up though.

Yes, there will be a few more. It's an open-ended compilation. Might take awhile, though. I have to wait on a darned finicky muse. I'm pleased that you're interested in more ficlets; and will certainly try to oblige, if you don't mind waiting.

KhorazīrReviewed Chapter: 3 on 11/6/2006
These are so funny. I can so see Faramir and his brother and Faramir's own kids play pirates. Actually, I had read the second of these drabbles somewhere else, and I didn't realise it was written by you. I escpecially like the idea of Faramir's children taking their father "prisoner" -- it's great to see him play with his little ones.

Author Reply: I'm glad you enjoyed these linked ficlets. Hmm, the only place I'd posted Pirate Jewel prior to posting it here was at my livejournal.

I had a lot of fun writing the pieces. Little Miriel turned out to be quite a character!

Thanx for the review!

KhorazīrReviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/6/2006
I like this a lot -- I have always wondered how Beregond would take being banished from MT. After all, the City was his home. Leaving it must have been difficult for him (despite his new office), and for his family as well. I think you described his troubled feelings excellently.

Author Reply: We don't know that much about Beregond's antecedants; it's implied that they came from the mountains; but I assumed that he was born and raised in Minas Tirith, he has great pride in the White City and its lords.

Thanx for reading and reviewing, Khorazir!

SurgicalSteelReviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/30/2006
Very nicely done - You capture quite well why Aragorn would still be in horror of the Ringwraiths even several decades later. He must have been absolutely petrified - and his reaction, while understandable, is one that a warrior would naturally be ashamed of.

Author Reply: But still, even petrified, Aragorn was able to think (if somewhat less coherently than usual) and pursue a defensive course. His instincts and training saved him, and those instincts were testament to his essential toughness. Most men might have just collapsed in terror.

Author Reply: Whoops, forgot to thank you for reading and reviewing, which, as always, I appreciate.

BranwynReviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/29/2006
In FOTR, Aragorn speaks with dread of the Nazgul, as if he has faced them before, and this gapfiller draws the details of his harrowing first encounter with them.

There is a scene in FOTR where Strider tells the hobbits, "It would take more than a few weeks, or months, or years of wandering in the wild to make you look like Strider..And you would die first, unless you are made of sterner stuff than you look to be." Raksha gives us a glimpse of young Aragorn when he is first being tempered by the dangers and hardships of life in the wild. His shame at his loss of control is understandable, though what happened was a perfectly normal reaction to a life-threatening situation (ask anyone who has ever worked in an ER...). It is reassuring to know that he has a loyal and understanding friend in Halbarad, someone to watch his back.

An intriguing gapfiller!





Author Reply: I'm sure that young Aragorn kept control of all aspects of his responses in most tense and dangerous situations, but a surprise assault by three Nazgul is way out of the realm of usual perils, even for Middle-earth. I wanted to explore how Aragorn felt when under attack by beings able to freeze brave men with their ghastly cries alone. I think he did pretty well. Strangely, I think it was easier, despite the higher stakes and greater odds, for Aragorn to face the five who charged at Weathertop - he would have felt fiercer fighting to defend the helpless hobbits, and at least he had warning, and earlier experience, to fortify him.

Thanx much for the review!

Linda HoylandReviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/29/2006
I think this is one of your best pieces yet and you capture the sense,menace of fear and horror brilliantly, I shuddered as I read this.
I feel certain too that Aragorn must have had personal experience of the wraiths.It makes his courage in LOTR all the greater.

Author Reply: For a man as tough as Aragorn to still show some fear at the memory, it must have been a whopper of an encounter; so I thought he had to have known sheer terror, and for more than a minute or two. 'Twas a bit scary to write, too; the fear of being set upon at night, isolated, by evil creepy things, is universal. (too bad Aragorn couldn't have gone about with a pack of wolfhounds; but that would defeat the purpose of being a very quiet and stealthy Ranger)

I'm so glad you liked the vignette. At least Aragorn and Halbarad got to rest up chez Elrond after the ordeal. Thanx for reviewing!

RadbooksReviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/29/2006
Very well done, Raksha! What a wonderful gap-filler. It makes his courage later all the more remarkable when you realize that he had encountered them before. You captured his terror very well - I'm so glad that Halbarad was there to rescue him. :)

Author Reply: I was struck by that passage in FOTR, his acknowledgement that the Nazgul are darned scary and the implication that he'd had a terrifying rendezvous with them at some point in his life. It had to have been a ghastly experience to make grim ol' Strider evince the memory of fear. And yes, he'd obviously grown tougher as well as older since then, tough enough to take on five of the nasties on a dark hill in defense of the scared hobbits. I think the fact that he knew of the Nazgul's presence, knew they were hunting Frodo, might have made it easier for Aragorn to face them, he had time to mentally prepare himself; and he was fighting to defend the others, which might have fired him up even more, still, he was very brave.

Thanx for reviewing; Radbooks; I'm glad you liked the tale.

NestaReviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/29/2006
This is a brilliant response to the passage you quoted, which has always puzzled me: why was Aragorn in Bree so affected by the thought of meeting the Ringwraiths?

It's a bit of a shock to see an Aragorn so (shamefully?) affected, but it makes an interesting contrast with the coldly confident and apparently fearless man we meet in LoTR. If anything, it makes the latter more impressive.

What were the Ringwraiths up to at the time, by the way?

Author Reply: Thanx much for reading and reviewing, Nesta, especially since I know that Longshanks here is not your favorite Dunadan.

I don't think Aragorn did too badly against the wraiths - though badly frightened, he acted purposefully, and did not dissolve into gibbering terror, which is what I would expect of a still young man of his training and character. I think anyone would have been affected by those three horrors crashing one's lonely campsite on a Northern hill, and Aragorn at least held onto his sanity.

What were the Ringwraiths up to? Tolkien didn't give us specifics, I assume they were hunting Dunedain, or scouting for Elves. Or maybe they were allergic to all the dust that must have infested Dol Guldur, and went out for some fresh night air...

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