Western Dawn by Thundera Tiger
Tay'dariel · 31 July 2005 · Chapter 1
you make me sad, and you made my heart ache. I earon yello enya van naa Valinor wo i Eldar ar cundo Legolas,nya melme rel. Nya maruwan na wo i Eldar en Valinor. Eldalie, tua amin nna Elvenesse.
Author's reply
Well, I have to admit that I'm blad I could touch you enough to make you sad, though I do apologize if you wanted to be happy instead! ;)
Estel_Mi_Olor · 29 July 2005 · Chapter 1
That was quite stirring. I especially loved how you never referred to Legolas by name. It lends more depth to his suffering, I believe. You illustrated the paradox between the east and west beautifully, especially the promise and sorrow that each holds. My favorite line: "With a whispered a word of thanks for the friends that have caused both his greatest joy and his greatest sorrow..." One doesn't usually associate friends with sorrow-and this makes Legolas's suffering all the more poignant. In short, a beautiful vignette. As always, though, I eagerly await updates on your longer work. Thanks and keep writing!
Author's reply
Many thanks! I probably had too much fun playing with contrasts in the vignette (with east and west being the most obvious) but I think it worked out in the end. As for not referring to Legolas by name, that was a decision made very early in the writing as I felt it seemed more...personal. Like we didn't need to know his name because we should have known it already. Once you tack on the title "elf" or "Legolas," he becomes a character rather than an experience, which is what I was more or less trying to convey. I'm glad you liked it. I wasn't sure about it myself.
perelleth · 22 July 2005 · Chapter 1
hat a wonderful rendition of a summer dawn! I can almost picture it! I liked the fact that morning would come to ithilien from the west, and its tricky meaning to a sea longing wounded elf! But LEgolas is a wise one, and his decision to take each day as it comes is very elfy indeed! Wonderful. May I take advantage of this little vignette to inquire about how Elfhelm is doing in that trap you led him into, and what's going on with Eomer's memory? ;-)
Author's reply
I'm very glad you liked the dawn. It's an idea that's been niggling at me for a while, actually, but it took a while for me to put it into words. I'm glad you thought it turned out all right. As for Elfhelm and Eomer, they're hanging tight. Eomer is lost in a blissful state of unconsciousness while Elfhelm is brushing up on his charms. They both agree that Eomer has the better part of the deal, but Elfhelm is never one to shy away from a challenge. We'll get to them soon, I promise!
Rose Sared · 21 July 2005 · Chapter 1
Yes, I really liked the picture of the shadowed mountains against the lightening sky. What a wonderful paradox Tolkein's elves are, bound to Middle-earth but called to the West, cursed or blessed to love and lose for as long as they stay, and then intelligent enough to contemplate remembering, for ever. Lovely writing much enjoyed. Thank you Rose
Author's reply
Thank you very much. I'm glad you liked all the contrasts. It's something that's always intrigued me about the elves, but since I had trouble putting that into words, I figured I'd let the surroundings do the talking for me. They were better at it than I. ;) Thank you very much again for the review!
Elenora · 20 July 2005 · Chapter 1
I meant to leave this review when your story first was posted...RL got in the way and I'm only now getting in here. I love these "vignettes" you write...they usually leave me in tears - at least the last couple have - but I love them! I think that must be a good indication of the quality of your writing, that it can make me feel so very melancholy and despondent for a "mythical" race, yet as with so many LotR fans, it is difficult not to think of the elves as real creatures. Thus, reading a story such as this is extremely poignant and bittersweet. Also having just come off an "extreme downer" from reading Cassia and Siobhan's final two stories in their "Mellon Chronicles," my mood was thoroughly primed for your story! *SOB!!* Though LotR (at least Peter Jackson's version) has officially come to an end, I sincerely hope you won't stop "adding" to the body of work out there - your insights into the intriguing character of "our elven prince" has been a joy and delight to read. I always know that, if I see your name tacked onto a posted story, even though it may make me cry, that story will still be good. It's a given! Thanks for all the thought and work you put into these stories and vignettes.
Author's reply
Hey Elenora, I'm glad you like these vignettes. I try to give most of them a somewhat upbeat tone, but there are a few that don't lend themselves to that. This one, for example, just didn't have an appropriate place for outright humor, so I had to settle for hope and imagery. It seems to have worked out all right. As for posting, I fully intend to keep writing. I was writing Tolkien fanfiction well before the movies came out, and the idea of it "ending" just seems strange to me. The movies were not the definition of Tolkien. Not for me, at least. In some ways they come close and I'll admit that they are enjoyable, but in the end, they just don't match up to the real thing. (I'll stop now before I run off on a rant about Gimli's characterization.) Anyway, many thanks for the review! Comments like yours always brighten my day, and I hope you continue to read!
pipinheart · 20 July 2005 · Chapter 1
This is very nice,and the scene is very vivid as Legolas heart is troubled,yet looking at the sunrise gives him at last a kind of peace. Love the internal muses...Very nice piece..Keep it up...
Author's reply
I'm glad the scene seemed vivid to you. I was trying to make a contrast with how very vague things seemed to Legolas for a while as he more or less went onto automatic pilot in climbing up the hill. The vividness of the morning sun was supposed to contrast with that as something he could latch onto, so I'm glad it came across correctly. Thanks for the review! I'll try to "keep it up."
Brenda G. · 19 July 2005 · Chapter 1
I LOVE THIS!!! THANKS FOR THIS TREASURE.
Author's reply
You're very welcome!
ziggy · 19 July 2005 · Chapter 1
This is beautiful. A mix of poignancy and yearning- (I really begin to think about how it must be.. it reminds me of the thing we call nostalgia, but not the faint sense of what we once had, but that powerful sense of loss we catch sometimes when we go back to where we grew up, or where we were once happy - and its all gone / changed.) and anticipation. This vignette will linger awhile for me.
Author's reply
Thank you so much for such a kind review. I like your idea of nostalgia. It's not something I was thinking about when writing, but I can see it. Except that for Legolas, this nostalgia is coming early because he knows he will look back on all of this and grieve. And that's a sharp loss for him. Thank you again! I like your interpretation.
TithenFeredir · 19 July 2005 · Chapter 1
What a beautifully vivid image you weave so delicately with your contrasting threads of light and dark, east and west, grief and solace, the jagged mountains and the sea. It the same feeling of profound stillness as the dawn you describe. "Then he will look east for the sun, and morning will rise not from tortured mountains but from the endless Sea. And at that moment, he will be free. ...But oh, the price for such freedom! For when the day comes that he may look east toward the dawn, he will also look east toward a land where beloved friends—brothers in all but blood—once lived." This bit seems to capture Legolas' dilemma, and it is heartbreaking. This is a gem, Thundera. Thanks for sharing. ~TF
Author's reply
I'm so glad you caught the contrasts. I had fun with those, even if they became difficult to write after a while. The thing that fascinates me most about Legolas and also Gimli is how they're both a walking a paradox. It's their strength as well as their weakness, and that's part of what I was trying to convey in this story. The dawn is both hope and despair for Legolas, especially toward the end of Aragorn's life. Many thanks for the review! I'm very glad that this story met with your approval!
daw the minstrel · 19 July 2005 · Chapter 1
Sea longing is one of those things that authors conceive of differently and have trouble conveying convincingly. This story feels right to me. The longing is a being called home, rather than a disease, but it's painful because it can't be answered yet. And what's lovely about this is how you convey that in the landscape. Very delicately done.
Author's reply
I'm glad you like the sea longing in this story. It's a tricky thing, and I suspect that I veer more toward that disease take than anything else. But maybe a balance between all the views can be found. Anyway, thanks for for the comments on the scenery, too. That was difficult because I wasn't sure how poetic I could be without descending into purple prose. Glad it worked for you! Thanks again!
harrowcat · 19 July 2005 · Chapter 1
Oh poor, poor Legolas. To give rejoice in and give thanks for the precious treasure of hearts given and friendships forged is a wonderful thing but to live knowing that all these must end and that change is so invevitable can be agony indeed. I am glad that you wrote this in the present tense as to live in the present is the only option if such a one as Legolas is not to fall into despair and fade. Great writing.
Author's reply
The idea behind the present tense was to convey that this is...well, a moment. Something immediate and inescapable, which theoretically leads to the assumption that Legolas faces this every day in much the same manner. But you're right in that this is also how Legolas needs to leave once he's gathered his strength. If he allows himself to turn either to the past or to the future, it becomes too much. Good observation, and thank you for the review!
Frodo3791 · 18 July 2005 · Chapter 1
Great imagery, first off. I marvel at your writing ability. Also, I'm not a big fan of present tense, but you really made it work for this. It was short but beautiful and tragic. Legolas continues to push the sea longing away, but somewhere he knows that he can't do it forever... I really liked how you used the surroundings to add to the bitterness and almost hopelessness of what Legolas is facing with his sea longing. I read very little fanfiction anymore, but I am always overjoyed when you write something because you really add another layer to Tolkien's world... and you're just really bloody talented. Thanks for the little one shot here. -Micah
Author's reply
Glad the present tense worked. I'm terrified of it, personally, because while it has the potential to be powerful, it also has the potential to feel incredibly wrong. I'm very relieved that you think it worked for this. As for the surroundings, I think that toward the end, almost everything started to remind Legolas of what he'd already given up and also of what he'd lose once he gave everything up. So even the dawn became this bittersweet beacon that he couldn't quite escape. Many thanks for both the review and the compliments. I'm flattered that you're still reading. That makes my day, and you've given me a rather heady ego boost. Thank you for that as well, though if you'd like to loan me a ladder, I think I should try to corral that floating ego of mine...
Dreamflower · 18 July 2005 · Chapter 1
Magnificent! It captures so perfectly Legolas's dilemma--he has granted his love and friendship to mortals, and will carry his grief for them all down through time. Yet still he will seek the strength to remain with them as long as they remain in Middle-earth...
Author's reply
...And thus he draws from the mortals both hope and despair. I really like that paradox, actually. It's one of the things that fascinates me about Legolas. Well, Legolas and Gimli both, actually. They're such a contrary pair in so many ways. Many thanks for the review!
French Pony · 18 July 2005 · Chapter 1
What a lovely description of a sunrise. I think the only one I've seen to compare would be by Laura Ingalls Wilder. And the western dawn seems a very appropriate metaphor for an Elf whose life has been made all crookedy by the people he's met and the trials he's endured during the War. None of the Fellowship escaped the War unscarred, and I think that Legolas's scars were mostly psychological, but they were still scars.
Author's reply
Yes, and it's my opinion that psychological scars can be the most dangerous kind in the long run. Especially if they're untreatable, which seems to be the case here. Glad you liked the description of sunrise. I wanted to give Legolas something nice to look at after creating such a gloomy picture, so it relieves me to know that it came off well. Thank you!
LOTR lover · 18 July 2005 · Chapter 1
Amazing! A *short* story by Thundera Tiger! ;) A beautiful and bittersweet one, too. Your description of sunlight touching the mountaintops and flowing down to light the city and the fields is gorgeous, and both poetic and realistic at once. I love seeing the mist over a river at sunrise. Poor Legolas! Hope and sorrow inextricably linked, an ongoing future filled with thoughts of the past. The lot of the Elves. Perhaps Men are fortunate after all.
Author's reply
Oh come now, I've written short stories before. :) Anyway, I'm very glad you liked the imagery. I had a bear of time making it sound the way I wanted to, and even in the final draft, I wondered if it was perhaps a bit too much. But then again, this is Legolas. He's going to veer a bit more toward the poetic than other characters might. And in the end, I think you're right. Men are probably much more fortunate.
meckinock · 18 July 2005 · Chapter 1
Wow. I'm kind of shell-shocked, like I've been beaten senseless with a priceless Ming vase. I don't think I've ever read such a beautiful description of agony before.
Author's reply
A priceless Ming vase!? I'd never beat anyone senseless with one of those! Imagine, using a priceless Ming vase as a blunt instrument... ;) Ming vases aside, I thank you very much for the sentiment, and I'm glad you caught the agony in the story. I was worried about that. Thanks again!