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| Brotherhood by Bodkin | 270 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Redheredh | Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 4/28/2007 |
| His first bad accident! Little Estel learns a painful lesson - and so do some others of the family. "A learning experience" just like Elrond concludes. Even for him. ;) "Elrond's intrepid warrior son took a wary step back and the woman's hand turned to curl into a practised-looking fist." Ha! That was priceless! Go, Gilraen! You know Elrond didn't want you inside while he worked because actually you make *him* too nervous! But, on the other hand, I feel so sad for her. Elladan may have bourn a longer list of good-byes, but he had (and will have) many more chances to share some good times with those friends and comrades, who must sadly depart. Gilraen had only a short time to share with the one she loved most, and has a fast shortening time to share with the most important person in her life. They teach and guide and watch over, but in the end must let go. They can sympathize with eachother over that burden. We can see that they both understand what it takes to be part of something bigger than themselves, to be part of a greater whole. And that they have what it takes. Good chapter. Again. Author Reply: Oh yes. Gilraen is now accustomed to the presence of elves and treats them as people. And very annoying people at times, too. Her position is unenviable. Most people can hope for better for their children - she knew she was raising her only child to fight in the wild against an enemy she could not conceive of him beating, to produce an heir if he could, and to die, if he was very lucky, in his bed rather than on the point of some dirty orc-blade. And there was nothing she could do about it. In fact, instead of keeping him in her sight and safe, his future survival depended on her being willing to send him out to learn lessons like this and get battered and bruised on the training field. Elladan does understand how Gilraen feels - but not at the personal level. He will never, in all likelihood, have to send his own son out to face an uncertain future, and, until you are a parent confronted with that, I don't think you quite understand the difference. I like how the twins switch from being Estel's brothers to being Gilraen's. Because they are, after all, grown-ups! Thank you! | |
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 4/28/2007 |
| Elladan's speech to Gilraen, about all the boys he's seen grow up and then go out to fight a hopeless battle, is chilling, and credible. And it's obvious he loved Arathorn. It must be very difficult indeed for the Elves of Imladris, to watch, and hear of, the boys they train and send back into danger, growing older and dying, or being wounded and/or killed. Author Reply: It must have been so hard on Elrond and his sons, to keep touching these brief lives and watch them flare and fade. Especially those that ended abruptly in a pool of blood. Mostly, they would have had to keep a little detachment, I think. But some of those boys would have come closer than others. Arathorn was a friend, I think. But only Estel came close enough to be a brother. I wouldn't want to be an elf. That immortality (and not just immortality, but eternal youth) sounds glorious, but it's not. Some would become less because of it: detached, remote, uncaring - and others, like Elrond's family, would suffer from the constant sandpapering away of emotional bonds they had formed with non-elves. Tough - to know how much it will hurt, yet offer love and care anyway. | |
| Jay of Lasgalen | Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 4/28/2007 |
| Oh, poor Estel! It seems typical of him to apologise for spoiling the day. I liked Elladan's comment: 'Adar never let Naneth come back in until after he had finished the splint.’ The 'never' speaks volumes for the amount of practise Elrond has had! His later comments about watching and loving over and over are desperately sad. How many chldren like Estel have they watched grow - and then seen them die like Arathorn? Jay Author Reply: Estel is - despite his brothers - a typical only child brought up by elders, I think. Very responsible and anxious to please. I think the twins need to bring out a bit more of the rebel. He'll need strength of will to counter the challenges he will face. And yes - Elrond has had plenty of practice in dealing with childhood accidents brought on by excessive enthusiasm over common sense. Estel worked his way into the twins' hearts by being so young and so open, I think. I'm sure they did their best to remain emotionally uninvolved with the long series of young chieftains they knew. Elves would remain distant if they could - if only for self-protection. But some must have got in under the fence - and I think Arathorn might have been more than just an acquaintance and more of a friend. Not a brother, though. Only Estel became a brother. | |
| French Pony | Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 4/28/2007 |
| Oh, poor little Estel. Just one of the hazards of growing up in Imladris, I suppose. And I'd guess that not a few little Elves have fallen from trees like that, though they were probably younger and less coordinated when it happened to them. I think if I were Elrond, I'd have let Gilraen in. She's probably more worried being kept outside than if she could see what was going on and be reassured by it. Author Reply: Ever since there have been trees to climb, children of all species will have fallen from them. Except Entlings, possible. I reckon Aragorn must constantly have been stretching his abilities as far as they would go in an attempt to be as elf-like as possible. And still felt inadequate - at least until he was able to compare his physical prowess with that of the average Dunadan. At which point he might well have felt socially and emotionally inadequate when it came to dealing with humans. I suppose Elrond would rather Gilraen were able to take on the nurturing once the blood and mess has been cleared up. Maybe Celebrian didn't have too strong a stomach for that ... he'll probably learn over the years to let Gilraen do it her way. | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 4/28/2007 |
| I recognize the feeling Gilraen voices, although of course she knows her son will be in dangerous situations and I could hope mine would evade them. The news that he's like his father can't be entirely comforting. It's a good thing wise adults are around to help Aragorn learn from his mistakes. Still, poor Nana. Author Reply: Gilraen has examples all around her of just how dangerous her son's life will be. You couldn't blame her, really, if she wanted to wrap him in a safe cocoon and keep him close as long as she could. Except, of course, that would be counter-productive in the long run, since teaching him to endure hardship and danger probably offers him his best chance of surviving it. Definitely poor Nana. | |
| ellie | Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 4/28/2007 |
| Poor Estel and poor momma! I can understand her point of viewing all of this and it is most painful to see the sorrow of Elladan - and the mortality of mortals to elven eyes. Nicely told! Author Reply: I do think Gilraen must have found it extra-difficult to let Estel out of her sight! She's in Imladris to protect him and his propensity for getting into trouble probably started early. Her point of view is so much more specific than Elladan's, too. Her child. While, however much they loved Estel, the boy is one of a long line of heirs of Isildure to the elves. Tough. To try desperately to keep him safe - and yet know that, once raised, you have to dump him in the snakepit. | |
| grumpy | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 4/9/2007 |
| Goodness the twins got there just in time. Estel was becoming much to adultish. To resist being taken away from a day of classes, is just not right for a child. Author Reply: Yes, Estel definitely needs the fun the twins will offer him - or he would have grown up to be far too sober and duty-driven. He needs, too, to get into trouble a bit and learn to deal with disapproval - and the twins are just perfect to lead him astray. He'll learn more away from those classes than in them! | |
| French Pony | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 4/6/2007 |
| Slowly, their lives begin to converge. As Estel learns how to be a grownup, the twins can enjoy learning how to be kids again. Author Reply: I think the twins have a lot to be grateful for in the presence of Estel - he helps them learn to be young again. (Eldarion should be grateful. I'm sure he had great fun playing with his uncles...) Estel is growing up far too quickly. But that would, I think, happen in a household of adults who are all determined to bring him up to be the pride of his house. A very good thing he had the twins to offer him some heedless fun! | |
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 4/3/2007 |
Lovely and very credible scene of young Estel lying in the grass, concentrating on moving his toy armies around, with an instinctive comprehension of strategy - we can see both the child and the future Thorongil and Aragorn. And I loved his having toy wolves - the Elves of Rivendell must have built up a nice collection of wooden soldiers and monsters to train Heirs of Isildur with over the years. Author Reply: I can just see Estel having a natural talent for strategy - and a very responsible attitude to education and training! His mother would insist he was obedient, I think - and his tutors would be wise enough to make his learning interesting. While his brothers would make it fun. (And doubtless help him get into enough trouble that he would be able to deal with that, too!) I wonder if his toy wolves were in proportion to his warriors ... probably. They were doubtless made by someone with an eye for detail! And kept in good repair over generations. Thank you, Raksha. | |
| Redheredh | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 4/3/2007 |
| This was good chapter. But then actually, they all are! The thing that caught my interest was Estel being a better student of battle theory then his brothers were at his relative age. Maybe, that's was encouraging to Erestor and garnered some extra effort on his part to teach a natural-born leader like Estel. :) And, I like the idea that it was indeed Glorfindel and Erestor that undertook such lessons because Elrond was no longer in the warrior trade... and might never have been comfortable laboring in that framework. It might be possible that young Estel has a more balanced view of conflict than Elrond's sons got from their father - and mother. You really do make family dynamics intriguing as well as entertaining. Author Reply: Thank you, Redheredh! Note the blush ... I think Estel would be more serious about learning than the twins. They each had the other one to lead them both astray - and a much longer childhood to pick up all the learning they needed. I reckon being educated by elves would ensure that Estel learnt twice as much as would be expected in the same amount of time! And being the only kid - with a destiny at that - in Imladris would have compounded it! Elrond has a lot to do - and I suspect would include the teaching of healing in his remit, passing other elements on to those best suited to it. Family dynamics are fascinating. It's so easy just to go for the 'brothers' bit - but E2 are 3000 year old warriors, while Estel is the only child in a household of very wise and experienced elves. It must have been an odd situation in many ways - and risked raising one very confused Dunadan. Thank goodness for a tough Gilraen - and a pair of Elrondionnath who could do young very well. | |