I love the way you portray Gilraen.It is good to see her as strong,as I feel she must have been and a protective and loving mother. At least we know Aragorn will not be arrow fodder for Orcs.
Author's reply
Oh yes - I do love a strong Gilraen. Determined, protective, loving - and self-sacrificing in the way that mothers are when it's a matter of your child and the world. I hope her foresight suggested to her that Aragorn would make it all the way - but fear it didn't, or she might have striven to survive to see it happen. The gathering storm clouds must have made her dread his eventual fate.
Larner
· 1 May 2007
· Chapter 14: Hurt
We can't forever protect them; and a wonderful reminder to Gilraen that they have had to do this more times than she can imagine. So many have they seen go where they won't be able to follow unti tne End of Days.
And a suitable consequence for the Elf who did what the child of Men could not before him. Heh!
Educational indeed.
Author's reply
They have had to do it before - but I think this time will be harder on them. Estel has crept beneath the barriers they keep between themselves and men and become a brother. Losing him will be ... tough. And, of course, Gilraen is Estel's mother. He might be the only heir of Isildur she will lose to duty and time and battle (well, second, if you count Arathorn) but he is hers in a way that the twins won't understand until they get to the Blessed Realm and have children of their own.
They all need to make the most of this time while Estel is small. For he is the only one who does not realise how short a respite this will be.
grumpy
· 29 April 2007
· Chapter 14: Hurt
Estel, as all little boys, have ways of puting gray hairs on thier mother's head. Has to be tough on the twins to see the men they know and love go off and die. Love how Estel wanted to have everything alright with his mother and Elladan.
Author's reply
Oh yes. Estel is a very normal little boy in many ways! Maybe a bit more serious than most, because he's an only child with his nearest age-mate being his mother. And all his other carers can multiply her age by a thousand (at least).
The twins, I should think, tried not to get too close to most of the heirs of Isildur. But some - like Arathorn - became closer to them ... and Estel, of course, has made it all the way through their barriers. But it's tougher on Gilraen, really, to raise this son in safety and know the sort of world he has to take on as an adult.
meckinock
· 29 April 2007
· Chapter 14: Hurt
I imagine the first time a kid gets seriously hurt is always terrifying for a parent, but how much more so for Gilraen who knows that this incident is literally child's play compared to what he'll face once he's out on his own, and far from her and Elrond. Elladan is very good with her here.
Author's reply
And she can't protect him and hold him back - and keep reminding him that last time he was in the woods with the twins, he got hurt. Estel has to develop these skills - and learning through play with his elven brothers is the best way to get him started. And she knows he will be hurt again - and that magic kisses won't salve many of his injuries and Elrond won't always be there to apply the bandages. It's probably these future echoes - and the knowledge of what happened to Arathorn - that are getting her so worked up.
Elladan likes to seem light-minded ... but it's an act. He is as wise and caring as a 3000 year old son of Elrond would be expected to be. And Estel has worked his way through the barriers to touch the twins' hearts.
harrowcat
· 29 April 2007
· Chapter 14: Hurt
The Twins as mothers is an interesting thought but it is so right and my heart twisted for all of them.
But I also wonder whether Estel decided to follow an experienced half-elf who had already gone across that slippery fallen tree!
Author's reply
Probably! Estel is still small enough to imitate anything the twins do - and they are unpractised enough to feel that he should be able to tell when he shouldn't. (They'll learn!)
It is tough. Estel has to acquire survival skills - and part of learning how far he can go will be getting hurt when he stretches too far. But I wouldn't want to be Gilraen, yearning to protect her only child, but knowing she cannot stop him growing up and away from her.
The loss is more personal for her. The twins' care for the line of Dunedain has, until Estel, been a little more detached, I think. But Estel has broken through that barrier.
Redheredh
· 28 April 2007
· Chapter 14: Hurt
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's 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
· 28 April 2007
· Chapter 14: Hurt
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's 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
· 28 April 2007
· Chapter 14: Hurt
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's 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
· 28 April 2007
· Chapter 14: Hurt
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's 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
· 28 April 2007
· Chapter 14: Hurt
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's 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
· 28 April 2007
· Chapter 14: Hurt
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's 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
· 9 April 2007
· Chapter 13: Learning
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's 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
· 6 April 2007
· Chapter 13: Learning
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's 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
· 3 April 2007
· Chapter 13: Learning
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's 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
· 3 April 2007
· Chapter 13: Learning
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's 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.
Beruthiels Cat
· 3 April 2007
· Chapter 13: Learning
This is wonderful, Bodkin! I love the relationship between these three, and the twins "plotting" is so much fun. Getting to shrug off their responsibilities for awhile and just be with little brother is a great insight into their personalities...very thoughtful of them, and much needed by the little guy.
BC
Author's reply
Thank you, BC. The relationship between the twins and their 'little brother' is very appealing! I think they needed his innocence and affection just as much as he needed their sense of fun and ability to - er - find their inner elfling. They had fun together - with a bit of gentle education added in. Just to keep the adults happy!
perelleth
· 2 April 2007
· Chapter 13: Learning
I was missing these! I love the thrid person pov of many of these which allow you to show while telling what other people see of the child who will grow up to be king.
And the twins´bantering is always so refreshing, they being so different yet so well attuned! I loved Elladan´s cheeky suggestions and Elrohir´s more thoughtful approach to proper behaviour before a child who is growing up and might learn certain tricks to his advantage!
A lovely chapter again!
Author's reply
I did think, originally, about keeping Estel out of them altogether - but I'm glad I didn't. On the other hand, I do like him being peripheral to the action, while central to everybody's thoughts. (And it avoids being too cute!)
The twins are quite different - Elrohir is more thoughtful, while Elladan is better at direct action. And probably naughtier! But I think Estel needs to be led astray sometimes. As an only child in Imladris, he could have grown up a bit of a prig. And only children often don't realise they are being guided because everyone is so subtle about it - Estel needed to learn to accept the consequences for the odd bit of disobedience, I think, if he was going to cope with the outside world.
Thank you, perelleth. I'm glad you liked it.
Agape4Gondor
· 2 April 2007
· Chapter 13: Learning
Nice chapter - especially loved Aragorn's growing 'sense' of tactics... Glad the 'boys' are taking him out to play though!
Author's reply
I reckon Aragorn has a natural feel for tactics - and a natural talent for warrior skills that stands him in good stead among the elves. He might not recognise it until he knows men to whom he can compare himself, though. I think Elladan and Elrohir need some playtime here - and entertaining (and educating) Estel offers them the perfect opportunity!
Agape4Gondor
· 2 April 2007
· Chapter 12: Difference
I can't believe I did not leave a comment about this chapter when first I read it - I re-read preparing for the next - and again, was awed by the beauty of Gilraen's arguments and the wisdom that she had.
Incredible discourse!
Author's reply
Thank you! I do think that it must have been hard for Estel to see himself as a man - and that the adjustment was probably very hard for him. Gilraen was his only contact with a world he didn't know - and then she couldn't talk about most of it! Hers is a very womanly, maternal (and unfashionable) role - and yet absolutely critical in making Aragorn the man he was.
harrowcat
· 2 April 2007
· Chapter 13: Learning
Ooh, can I play hookey and spend a day in the woods with these three too? Please....can I?
Author's reply
You shall go to the ball!
If you can figure out a way of getting to the woods of Imladris, that is! (Perhaps you could play the princess and be rescued by E3... I'm sure you wouldn't mind?)
elliska
· 2 April 2007
· Chapter 13: Learning
I absolutely love these. The poor twins must find it difficult watching this child that they have grown to love so much grow up--and do so so quickly from the elven pov. But I loved little Estel's strategy and particularly his attention to his wounded wooden soldiers. The hands of the King, indeed! And I was glad to see the twins take him off to play--everyone needs more play! :-)
But this needed to come with a warning: ‘Which should not take long,’ he murmured provocatively and ducked expertly to avoid his brother’s retaliation.
Tea is not good for laptops!
Great chapter!
Author's reply
Tea is definitely not good for laptops! Those twins - they insist on teasing each other regardless of the safety of electronic equipment!
So hard to watch Estel rush through his childhood, knowing what he will face. And their experience is so long that they know far more than ordinary adult brothers would. So many generations of Dunedain chieftains come and gone - but this one was special to them.
I reckon Estel would display natural strategic talent - and has absorbed enough from his Ada to turn his mind to healing his injured warriors - but he needs to play. (And so do the twins - I'll bet those who care for them were just as glad to see them laughing with Estel as they were to have the child enjoying himself with his big brothers.)
Larner
· 2 April 2007
· Chapter 13: Learning
They seek their inner elflings, eh? It does sound as if young Estel has inherited a natural sense of what he will need to think of once he reaches his true task. How wonderful, and yet disturbingly sad as well, as the twins note.
I doubt they'll face much resistance from the powers that be--Erestor, Iorvas, or Gilraen.
Author's reply
I think Estel must have had remarkable talent to learn so much so swiftly - even though he was man rather than elf, he absorbed all the skills they could teach him. The twins have taken this child to their hearts - they would know far better than most what he would face and, I suspect, wish that they could protect him - while knowing that they couldn't.
I reckon everybody will co-operate happily in letting the twins and Estel play - they need the release as much as he does.
Linda Hoyland
· 2 April 2007
· Chapter 13: Learning
Both delightful and thought provoking.I especially liked the glimpses of Aragorn's future greatness.
Author's reply
Thank you! Aragorn definitely had talent - and Imladris was probably a brilliant place to nurture it. I'm sure he and the twins had a tremendous day playing - and learning - in the woods. And I suspect the twins relearned how to let go what they couldn't change and enjoy the moment, while Estel learned some interesting tips on trailing elves through the trees.
wimsey
· 2 April 2007
· Chapter 13: Learning
Inner elfling, priceless!
Author's reply
The twins can only benefit from seeking their inner elfling! (Whether Elrond will be so sure it's a good thing ...)
Thank you!
Jay of Lasgalen
· 2 April 2007
· Chapter 13: Learning
As always, I love the way you write the banter between the twins. They're together, but different, and I like the way Elladan analyses Estel's play. The child is a natural strategist!
Loved Elrohir's parting words: ‘while Elladan teaches you everything he knows about tracking.’ He raised an eyebrow at Elladan as Estel scooped his toys into his kilted-up tunic and headed hastily for the house. ‘Which should not take long,’ he murmured provocatively and ducked expertly to avoid his brother’s retaliation.
Jay
Author's reply
The twins just have to torment each other! It's a way of challenging the general tragedy of life! Elladan is intrigued by Estel's natural instincts - while Elrohir would rather, I think, maintain his innocence and keep him a child as long as possible.
Laughter - is a way of confronting sorrow. Take Spike Milligan's take on WW2 ... The twins need to seem light-hearted - but I reckon it takes several centuries in the Blessed Realm before they release the tension that keeps them quite so apparently frivolous.