Reviews (1,409)

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Frodo is saved this time by a quiet approach and the incongruity of the idea of Pippin as either a prince or as his lover. His own sense of the absurd win the day this time, as well as his appreciation that this pervert has no understanding of folks unlike himself at all. Glad you appreciated the humor in this one.

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You will learn more about Angrapain's motivations and what he'd hoped to accomplish soon--but he has no idea how to deal with Hobbits, I fear. But I think you will shortly feel a deep kinship with Gimli. As for what is going to happen with these, I hope you find it appropriate.

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Yes, I tried a mixture of moods in this one; but I felt we needed to appreciate Aragorn's intentions for his new land and his often devious sense of humor. Do something nice, but do it in such a way it's GOING to have an impact on everyone else and it forces them to look outside their expectations. And when the odd Hobbit stops in every generation or so to take a look at HIS or HER property and how it's doing, it's going to cause folks to stop and do a double or triple take there. Am so glad this got folks laughing, particularly after the last chapter. Read it to one of my clients on Sunday, and she just loved it thoroughly.

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Glad you enjoyed the irony of the situation. But Angrapain is not easily deterred, unfortunately.

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Yes, any lands settled on Firiel would indeed constitute her dowry, but they do not appear to have been accessed during her life, and so passed to her son and his heirs in turn. Until fairly recently in history land was the greatest sign of wealth, until a growing middle class led to possession of money as being considered a more common such indicator. The lands held gave the landholder wealth through crops grown on them, rents collected from them, natural resources available from them, the craftsmanship of the people who lived on them and who were under obligation to the landholder, and so on. As for Frodo and Sam needing warning, they had it in knowing the nature of Pippin's injuries--but again, intellectual knowledge isn't the same as seeing the physical evidence of the inuries. For someone who's never seen the effects of a major injury such as a hip which has been forcibly put out of joint, seeing the greenish healing bruises can be a shock--I know those who saw my ankle after I pulled all the ligaments in my foot and ankle, leading to the breaking of a toe, were shocked at the colors once the cast was off and they could see what the whole lower leg and foot actually looked like. Massage is very useful in helping with spasming, and yes, Frodo is responsive. And I agree--the folk of Minas Tirith and others throughout the realm when the King is in the area are going to be extraordinarily fortunate to have him around when they grow ill or are injured. Thanks so much for the long review!

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I pulled all the ligaments in my ankle and foot, and the bruises were still somewhat discernible two months after the injury, so I suspect Pippin's were discernible about seven weeks after he was hurt as well. Frodo has to realize that in Pippin's case the bruises may have been spectacular, yet in the end he was less seriously injured, particularly considering long-term implications of those injuries. The worst injuries in Frodo, both physical and spiritual, have left fewer physical signs. Glad you like Sam's description of Wasnior. And Sam has always been far smarter than he liked to believe. He sees the significance of the fact that no matter what happens, there are some who will lay claims for injuries no matter what happens or who's at fault. Of course, Frodo is already independently wealthy in my view of the Shire, and he intends Sam will follow him in that capacity in Tolkien's view of the Shire as well. It's just that they both need to realize they have resources now outside as well as inside the Shire from now on. I like to think that Aragorn would have exactly this kind of sense of humor--one which is devious and yet still has positive outcomes to the jokes devised. Thanks so for the feedback.

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Point taken and I will seek to fix it, probably on Thursday. And I did mean grief rather the the pure despair that Denethor displayed. I also had felt that Aragorn ought to have had some form of wealth to draw upon once he became King, as what you say is true--there isn't much in tangible wealth obvious among the northern Dunedain. That Firiel would have been gifted with lands as part of her dowry made sense; but that she and her husband's heirs would not have great chance to draw on the wealth of those lands or the profits from them for many generations made sense; and over time the rents accrued could become quite sizable. As in Lesser Ring I had Aragorn try his hand at trading in Harad, I wanted to add to that idea that he proved, in many ways, to be a sound businessman by indicating he used at least some of his ancestry's funds to add to his venture and made a profit on it, and then tried to help provide for the final showdown with Mordor by supporting the growth of the number of weaponsmiths in Gondor in the two cities where in the end they would be most tactically viable. Thanks for the correction. I appreciate it.

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You mean Priscilla Tolkien and I are related, maybe? (Grinning!) And you KNOW how I feel about Aragorn. I just like to see him a more rounded wonderful, you know! And the group comfort there--they needed that as much as we appreciate it. Thanks for the feedback, Armariel.

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Yes, the tenderness is there amongst the other details; all realizing just how deeply Pippin was injured, and yet all feel it wasn't as bad as what Frodo had been through; the gentleness as all share their caring. And Sam, through it all, hoping practical things like a warm drink in the belly will help to drive away tension and the coldness of the fear fought. Thanks so much.

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This has been rewritten and re-edited about eight times since I wrote it over a week ago, and finally I felt I had it right. And so glad you enjoyed the laughs as well as the heart-felt moments. I doubt Aragorn regretted his upbringing, but he must have felt the conflicts with his instincts as a healer from time to time. But so glad that you enjoyed both sides of this chapter, the caring expressed and the deviousness, the idea of the economics of the realm of Gondor compared with the pleasure of just seeing Frodo relaxing for a moment, the concern for Pippin and the following pride expressed, and the final laughter, with the breeze in Faralion's wind chimes, sweeping away the day's melancholy. And thank so much for letting me know I can make you laugh as well as weep.

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Yes, Aragorn would make use of two of the most discerning folk he's ever met, I think, and I love to think of him with Frodo and Sam in tow, the lords come to swear their loyalty uncertain what to think of these two small ones by the King's side. As for the banking, I doubt there would have been usury in Tolkien's Middle Earth, so not a great deal of chance to earn money via interest on loans and such; but with a situation where there were often absent landowners and such there would be a need for those who would keep track of incoming rents and income, and to see that taxes were paid properly and so on. In the case where no one had taken anything from the income for a long time, I suspect there would over time accrue quite a good deal of money which would need to be reinvested from time to time. Perhaps I should have called them estate managers or something, but bankers is a term we would recognize now; and in my Middle Earth's Shire there is a system of bankers of discretion who do much the same, serving as middlemen for those wishing to invest in the efforts of others for a share, and occasionally dispensing financial gifts or gifts of real property anonymously in one way or another. There were bankers in the Middle Ages, and part of the reason Philip of France decided to have the Templars named sorcerors and black magicians was to relieve himself of his financial debts incurred by loans he'd taken advantage of from time to time from their coffers. Many would also borrow from Jewish lenders who did practice usury, and to get out of those debts it was not uncommon to do what Philip did with the Templars and name them kidnappers of Christian children and so on. It could be a dangerous business in the Middle Ages, being a banker. You'll see I describe those in Minas Tirith as only the receivers and keepers of funds, payors of debts and taxes, and overseers of management agents and not much else. I suspect every civilization has done much the same; and here with a civilization which is three thousand years in its current site and with an additional three thousand years in Numenor, there was plenty of chance to develop banking in one form or another. As for the free schools, I've always seen Frodo wishing to do this for the Shire so that more working-class Hobbits might follow Sam in upward mobility; Tolkien after all did place this land more in a eighteenth-to-nineteenth century mode than the rest of Middle Earth, complete with mantel clocks, after all! But am glad you appreciate that Sam is Sam equally with Aragorn as with the other Hobbits and his beloved Master; and Frodo and Aragorn do need to appreciate one another for more mundane reasons than Ringbearer-King roles. And the ability of Sam and Frodo both to be discerning must have been treasured by Aragorn. Thanks for bearing with my aberrations, and hope they don't bother you too much!

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Yes, Sam must have been embarrassed about that from time to time for years, and Frodo and Aragorn must have laughed at it frequently. Yes, a rather hobbity chapter, and deliberately so after the last one. But the idea of plaguing Gondor with Hobbits has been going through my head lately, and this just sort of slipped into place.

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Yes, the calling for Faramir to show Halargil he was forgiven for what he'd done was done as much for Frodo as for the dying guardsman. It may take time for Frodo to fully appreciate the significance of this toward himself, but the lesson is there in a part of his mind, waiting for his emotional understanding to catch up with his intellectual understanding. I rejoice you found it moving.

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This is a different Avrieth than the Northern Dunedain lady who ends up caring for Arwen's children after Elise marries Ruvemir (or at least I think she is), but glad you remembered the name! Heh! Yes, Pippin deserves the praise for doing well in his new post, and he deserves to hear it now and then. Frodo has begun showing himself able to help people, to comfort them and inspire them with the hope he often can't find for himself; and am glad he was there for the young maidservant. As for blaming Denethor--you'd do better to blame Sauron--Sauron finally managed to bring Denethor to his knees in despair to horribly destructive levels. No, Denethor was not a particularly nice man at the end of his life, but the dignity and dedication to his people were still discernible to Pippin when he swore fealty to him.

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Thank you for the evaluation. I wrote basing the symptoms on the stroke my own mother had when she was still quite young. I had to have been nineteen or twenty, and I was born just before her twenty-fifth birthday, so she must have been only forty-five, now I think on it. An accident caused it, when a blood clot from her arm broke loose and hit the brain. Long, complicated story. It's taken a long time to appreciate what causes strokes, but their effects have been documented long enough. That this man lasted as long as he did speaks of the expertise of those who worked in the Houses of Healing; but that he didn't get immediate physical therapy speaks of their lack of appreciation that some connections within the brain can be maintained and even possibly restored as long as the body is kept busy and the muscles stimulated. That I managed to evoke precisely the mood I'd been aiming for I find reassuring, and I'm glad you appreciated it. The next chapter, which is up now, does touch on its effects on at least Frodo and Aragorn, but Aragorn wants to give Frodo much to think on this night to help draw him from brooding. Hope it gives you a chuckle or two.

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Thank you for the kind words; and the number who found parallels to their own experiences has been startling--I certainly have been able to tie it to my own life and the decision to allow the doctors to not resucitate my mother after the last devastating stroke she experienced. Frodo has learned, at the same time he still clings to his own guilt emotionally. The intellectual mind and emotional minds don't always move at the same speed after all. And I think that Faramir would do precisely this, recognizing how Sauron's will at the end not only brought his father's great will crashing down, but how close he came also to dying of despair before the King in hope called him back.

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Oh, Frodo is most discerning, after all, and is more responsive to barely perceived details than many others, I suspect--undoubtedly moreso than he yet realizes. And letting one go who is ready is difficult, but often necessary. As for Sam--how often he is the healing after the struggle. It's part of his function as the part of the hope he embodies, I think.

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Sorry I didn't post yesterday, but Monday mornings after my three nights of working are often times I only wish to crash for hours, and that's what I did yesterday. I, too, am glad Sam was there for the three of them who'd attended on Halargil, and am equally proud of Pippin, as is Frodo as you'll see as you read today's chapter. Hope this doesn't also make you late for work! Heh!

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Frodo is still learning that his presence is healing in and of itself, and Aragorn asks him formally to continue assisting him in today's chapter. I'd often wondered what happened to the ones who answered Denethor's call for torches, how once the Shadow was lifted they'd feel about their blind obedience. This was what came out. And Frodo sees acted out reality about forgiveness and self-forgiveness that has relevance to himself and that hopefully in time he will accept for himself emotionally as well as physically. I am proud this chapter moved so many so well.

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I am pleased this chapter has obviously moved as many as it did. Thank you so much for letting me know how much it affected you.

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I'd often wondered what had become of the men who came with the torches once they realized Denethor was bent on self-destruction as well as the murder of his son. I wondered what they'd feel after it was all over, the spell of Sauron's despair was dispelled by a south wind and the arrival of one wearing the Elessar stone, carrying the Sword Reforged, and displaying the tokens of Elendil. And this is what came out. And I, too, am glad Aragorn let this one go with dignity and awareness of forgiveness and the love and respect of those who were with him. So, I was the first this time, eh? As soon as PMMail downloaded the alert I was on it.

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Thank you, Grumpy. Death is a part of life, and a necessary part at that. For Halargil to be fully ready to embrace what comes next, he needed to be at peace with what he is leaving, which means also realizing that he is no more to blame for what happened than Denethor himself, and that the influence of Sauron was breeding despair all too efficiently under the gloom of Mordor. When something I've written evokes such a definite emotional response, I know I must have done something right. Thanks!

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Yes, sent for by the King to aid Halargil to make the decision not out of guilt, but out of recognition that it was now simply his time. So glad you appreciated it, Armariel. Thanks so for the response.

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Yes, Frodo needed to see this, and to realize how much good his deeds have brought to all. And Aragorn is indeed the Elessar, the one who brings new growth and renewal to the world, whose healing hands not only can aid folk to renewed life, but to an easier passage to the new life as well. Yes, a good king indeed, restoring the spiritual soundness of the realm. Thank you so much for your comments, French Pony.

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Yes, Frodo needed to see this, and in time will accept it holds true for himself. And I am so glad that you feel this was well fleshed out--it's easy, I found in the rewrites of this chapter, either to give too much detail or to skim through it too much. Thanks so very much for the lovely feedback.