Reviews (67)

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It would be difficult to deal with that kind of abandonment, really. And he had always been the one to go off and do things, while she was always there at home waiting for them all to come back. Plus, as a male, he may have been less aware of some of the more subtle aspects of life as a female. And there had to be some reason why they didn't write. Considering they didn't. A song did seem an elfy way of sending reassurance, whilst allowing real communication to lapse. Next chapter: how to get through 960 years in one go. H'mm. Author Reply: 940. ish.

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Gilmith is a) female and b) more elven than Galador. And, as a female in a very militaristic society, she has a better idea than her brother of how Mithrellas's place in that world is very dependent on her role as Imrazor's wife. To outlive him would, I think, put her in a difficult situation and might be harmful to her family - and she wouldn't want that. Imrazor, too, could see that she would be better off leaving while he was still relatively hale rather than waiting until he entered true old age. He was probably surprised, in some ways, that she stayed as long as she did. It would be strange to go back to the life you used to live - but the place brings about the behaviour sometimes - witness how oddly some people conduct themselves when they go back to their parents' home and revert to the teenage. Mithril circlets and songs - just seemed the kind of messages that might arrive from beyond the 'death' of their division. And become heirlooms. I wonder if the song is still sung - with no idea of its origin or the meaning behind it? Thank you for reading. More soon.

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Mothers are there for sons, not the other way round! He probably hadn't even really considered her point of view - and Imrazor might have been too hurt (and man-like) to want to talk about his own pain. The twins were clearly not less elven in most ways, but they probably had some slightly less elven characteristics - actually, given the lives they lived, feeling the cold would be a terrible nuisance. Living in an elven world, too, any differences would be a disadvantage: feeling the cold, needing more sleep, not being as strong in childhood and so on - but for Galador and Gilmith their elements of elven inheritance would make them stronger.

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Galador was probably feeling he was angry and resentful on his father's behalf, whereas he was really feeling like an abandoned kid. Anger is so often used as a cover for other emotions. He would have expected his mother always to be there for him - and now she wasn't. I don't know quite how much he would have been told about all the arrangements that had been made. His father might well just have moped back to their home in the woods and just assumed that his son would understand. Imrazor had a much better grasp of why Mithrellas had to leave before his own death. He really didn't want his last years to shadow their love. Lothlorien would be a good place to heal - its aura of unreality would help detach her from mortal worries, but I think it was good for her to say goodbye, too. Well - letter writing. What else could they do in the days before the telephone! And no television to distract them!

Author's reply

Yes, definite Galadriel references there. I can't remember exactly what she said, but it was fairly similar, at least as far as the feeling and the sensing are concerned. But it amused me when it flowed off the fingers. Don't you think that even full-elven children would be bound to squabble? Even in the peace of Imladris. It's just one of the ways kids test each other and establish themselves. And I think in some ways Galador has a point - if you are different, it can be even more important to appear to follow the conventions of the society you live in. On the other hand, I'm not terribly keen on the 'women sitting at home and embroidering while men get out and do things' type of society - but that appears to have been the society it was. I think Nimrodel and Amroth are existing in Mithrellas's mind as a huge object lesson. I wonder if she would have been as able to tolerate the monotony and the duty of her role, if she hadn't had them there as a big shining example of what happens when you over-indulge in self-gratification at the expense of duty. More soon.

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Impossible choice to make. I've got Shakespeare's Seven Ages of Man speech in my head - Imrazor has lived through the fifth age; the justice and is entering the sixth age; the lean and slipper'd pantaloon. (I'm repeating myself in reviews here!) Adrahil entered second childhood - the seventh age - in his last months and I think Imrazor would be desperately anxious for Mithrellas not to be around if that was going to happen to him. Also, females existing primarily to produce heirs, Mithrellas's difference didn't matter much while Imrazor was around to protect her, but after he died she would be more vulnerable to the prejudice of idiots like Doriel. Her children have grown, Gilmith is off somewhere out of reach producing heirs for some other House of Gondor - it is a shame she couldn't stay and see her grandchildren grow up (although since Tolkien didn't name her grandson, it would have required imagination), but she would have been out of place - looking half the age of her daughter-in-law. Going is probably the more difficult choice - and yet probably the better one. She will always yearn for her family, even in Valinor - but there are others whose loved ones may never return from the Halls of Mandos. (Perhaps she can set up a support group with Nerdanel!) Perhaps the healing she needs is understanding. Dunno. Not planning on going that far!

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And readjustment to life among elves would have been difficult, too. She would have a completely different concept of time - for a while, at least. And having been the Lady of a Principality, with all the responsibilities that entails, then going back to live as a Silvan Elf would have been a problem. Very autumnal - days drawing in, sixth age of man, the 'lean and slipper'd pantaloon'.

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No - romance usually stops at the pretty bit. Since she did (apparently) disappear while Imrazor was alive, I thought maybe if Adrahil's last months brought him to 'second childishness' it might make both of them want her to take that option. And then, I felt the political situation might mean that she needed to go - many men would have felt uncomfortable around elves and acceptance of her might well have declined. Imrazor may well have preferred to send her away while his power still protected her. An impossible situation for them both.

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It would be interesting on both sides for them to meet - and Imrahil's family are too detached in years for it to be too painful. Galador and Gilmith are as remote to them as Imrazor and Mithrellas herself. The worst thing about the deaths would be that Men and Elves have different destinations - so once parted in this life, Mithrellas would be divided from them until the end of days. Worth it? I don't know - but these things seem to be fated. Thank you for reading. More soon.

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Thank you. I think the relationship would be complicated in many ways - especially when you bring ruling into it as well. It can't have been easy for a Silvan Elf to take on the role of the Lady of extensive estates - I should think that for everything that was the same, there must have been ten things that were different. Having children who are not elflings must have been very difficult - they would have grown at completely different rates as well as needing to learn to fulfil roles that didn't come naturally to her. More soon!

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Their story is inevitably going to end sadly - there is no way out of that. She loves Imrazor and the children - but they are Men and she remains an Elf. She was bound to have some difficulty coming to terms with the differences as the children grew - probably Imrazor does, too, as they have definitely inherited some traits from their mother. And their love story only has to pack about eighty years into a couple of chapters. The chapter after that is attempting to shoehorn a millennium into even less space. That's proving quite challenging!

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I feel there may also have been political implications - unless she did as Arwen and left just after the funeral. As the wife of Imrazor she had a role - but an eternally youthful elf could end up with cries of 'witch' aimed at her. And Aragorn had the choice of giving up his life before he began to fall apart with antiquity. If Imrazor began to show any signs of mental decline, it would be very difficult for Mithrellas to endure. I think it would probably seem wiser to both of them for her to go before he died - but it is one of those situations where they are choosing the lesser evil. Arwen was in a different situation - she had taken the choice of Luthien and she was going to die. It may well be that her life force was consequently much more closely tied to Aragorn's life, and that his death did signal the beginning of her end. Mithrellas doesn't have that option - she remains elvenkind. Whether she fades and goes to the Halls of Mandos or endures her loss, she and Imrazor will not be reunited. Thank you for reading - and having such interesting thoughts!

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Marriage can be hard enough anyway, without marrying a different species! It was probably just as well she married into the ruling family - I can imagine an elven stare would come in very useful at times. Mithrellas seems to have learned a lot from observing Nimrodel and Amroth - I think, if anything, she would probably have gone to the other extreme to avoid driving Imrazor into forgetting his responsibilities, but at least as an elf she wouldn't be too worried about him being away for a year or two. When you're a couple of thousand or so, a year can't seem much. I think she is really enjoying this opportunity to talk about the past. Glad you are enjoying it. More soon.

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H'mm. Blond horse lords - they could definitely be considered a plus point. The differences between men and elves - I can't help but feel that Elrond had a better grasp of why it wasn't a good thing to fall into a relationship than most. The trouble is that lovers are never thinking with their intellect and they are then left to deal with the fallout. Mithrellas knew she wouldn't die a mortal death and Arwen knew she would. I wonder which is worse? To be left behind - or to step into the unknown? The anticipation or Arwen's fate might well seem worse, but the endurance of Mithrellas's could be more harsh. Dunno. Thought for the day.

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Celebrian would probably be the only person available with experience that would be in any way relevant, though. And if anybody dated back far enough to remember Elrond the elfling, they might have some valuable input. Although I wonder about the dash of Maiar blook in Elrond's line. How would that have altered the mix? There might be (and probably were) other half-elven children, but they were possibly the products of more short-term relationships and, as such, not talked about much. (And more likely to have human mother / elven father?) Isn't it funny how much a couple of weeks mattered when somebody else's child took to its feet. We had a great Health Visitor who would shrug and say 'no-one ever starts school in nappies'. If only all Health Visitors were like her. And then there's the competition over whose child is on which reading book. I suppose it carries on in a way - who has passed the driving test / what degree / how important a job . . .

Author's reply

Thank you - I am glad this is working for you. It would be very scary marrying an elf if you dissolved into a puddle every time they looked at you! I think Aragorn must have been deeply grateful for years of training in Imladris - not only so that he could use his version of the stare on all the irritating people to appear in his court, but also so that he could stand up to Arwen in her less amiable moments. I hope the whole thing continues to pull together. More soon!

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Thank you very much. I am rather keen on your stories too! New chapter = one of those 'oh good' moments! I rather thought an overdose of Amroth and the lovely Nimrodel would be enough to make anyone appreciated honest, hard-working, selfless, responsible leadership. And they could afford to take some time for Mithrellas to adjust to the world of men, because the lovely N and A were lost in 1981 and Galador wasn't born until 2004, so unless she spent a very long time lost in the forest, Mithrellas and Imrazor were likely to have known each other a while before they married.

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History does tend to overlook some matters - and the lost can be sanitized in memory. Mithrellas loved Nimrodel, even if she could see her faults better than Nimrodel herself - I think she would sing of their love and tragedy and forget the selfishness. I think they must feel like her grandchildren. Even though she knows there have been a score of generations, she didn't know any of them and looking at Imrahil and his children might be a bit like being the Gran making a trip of a lifetime to meet the family on the other side of the world for the first and probably only time. I'm glad you are enjoying the story. More soon!

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I felt that over-exposure to Nimrodel and Amroth would intensify anyone's idea of Duty, Honour and Responsibility. They are certainly an example of How Not To Rule. Yes, the provision of the right 'keepers' must be a universal problem among the families of the powerful. Grendil seems able to satisfy both sides. And the song would be a way of dealing with the emotion - though to seem romantic it must have diplomatically overlooked some matters!

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Thank you very much. It's main difficulty, I'm finding is trying to jump about ten years in a paragraph, while referring to momentous events that aren't really relevant to the main thread. More soon.

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Well, if they can protect Frodo and Sam from Sauron's forces, they should manage to hide Mithrellas from a bunch of amateurs. Her solitary journey must have been very lonely and frightening - although the trees would have sustained her. Imrazor's sudden arrival - well, he had to find her, didn't he? It says so in the Book!

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I think she might have found it hard to survive winter - she wasn't equipped for it - but a Wood Elf ought to be able to survive in the summer. The attack would have made her frightened to ask anyone for help though. Poor Imrahil - it's not as if Rohan is just round the corner. And it's hard being left behind.

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I think a Wood Elf must be at a certain advantage when she is hiding in the woods - although it is just as well it was summer. I see her as looking rather like Copenhagen's Little Mermaid as she sat next to the pool brushing her hair. Her clothes did quite well to last throughout the summer - she must have been pretty ragged by the time Imrazor found her. It is just as well he was a rather dishy and well-meaning descendant of Numenor! More soon. Thank you for reading.

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I found this quite difficult because she was on her own - which meant there was no possibility of conversation. At least as a Wood Elf she would be able to hide in the woods and they would help her find food and shelter. The first part needed to be scary enough to prevent her from seeking aid - and to keep her isolated until she came within range of Imrazor. Yes, an elven blade must concentrate the mind wonderfully. Thank you.

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Thank you. It's hard to imagine a ruler SO obsessed with his beloved that he would walk off and leave them - especially at a point when all sorts of dangers were emerging. And Amroth was a warrior. He just also appeared to be a doormat. Yes, history is written by the winners - but if you look at the different points of view among the victors, you might think you were learning about completely different incidents. Maybe a prolonged sojourn in the care of Namo will instil some consideration in Nimrodel and some backbone in Amroth. (In a rather more attractive and elven way, Amroth and Nimrodel make me think of Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson. He couldn't continue with his responsibilities without the 'support of the woman he loved' either. And he was facing the upsurge of Nazism in continental Europe, much like a Balrog in Moria. It's pretty much impossible to feel any respect either of them, too.)