Lady_Roisin
· 23 September 2008
· Chapter 4: Elrond's Daughter
I could not help but smile when I read your latest chapter. Poor Estel is entirely infatuated, and I loved how you illustrated the beginnings of the relationship. I loved the touch of the new shirt. I also feel very much for Gilraen. How very hard it must have been to watch her son leave. You did a beautiful job illustrating the emotion and depth.
I'm enjoying this story a great deal.
Author's reply
Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm glad you are enjoying this. Yes, Estel must have been quite beside himself at times; no wonder he had to leave.
Absolutely delightful! I can just imagine Aragorn's reaction to Arwen... she is so amazing, must be the most amazing, beautiful woman he had ever seen. And, indeed, I think Arwen is falling for him even in his youth. How adorable.
I enjoyed this greatly, and cannot wait to see Aragorn meet his grandfather again.
Author's reply
I'm so glad you enjoyed this. Yes, poor Aragorn, growing up without ever having seen a girl his own age, Arwen must have been quite a sight for him to behold!
Raksha The Demon
· 23 September 2008
· Chapter 4: Elrond's Daughter
A seriocomic chapter, well-written - Aragorn is so very young to be falling for a nearly 3000-year-old beauty, isn't he. It will be easier for him when he has some wisdom gleaned from life experience, at least just a little.
I like that Arwen is trying to be friendly and kind; Tolkien wrote her as a compassionate figure; and I would imagine that Aragorn is not the first of her father's Dunedain fosterlings to profess undying love for her.
Author's reply
Thank you so much for your review. Ah the confidence of youth! You have to admire his nerve for trying.
You can just imagine Arwen rolling her eyes and thinking 'oh no, not another one' can't you ?
Estelcontar
· 23 September 2008
· Chapter 4: Elrond's Daughter
This is among my favourite stories of yours. You've given us a very vivid portrait of how Aragorn must have felt on the eve of his departure: a bit insecure by having dared to look so high; a bit guilty because he was already wise enough to know what his happiness would mean to Elrond; fearful but elated because he finally had a purpose in life, and ever hopeful as we expect Aragorn to be.
And as usual you've done justice to Gilraen. It's so like her to wish for her son to lead a normal life, free of danger, but to bow to his destiny and bear her burden of fear and anxiety silently. A very strong woman indeed.
Aragorn's reaction to Arwen's presence is very moving and and perceptively written too, I think
Author's reply
Thank you so much for your review. You have summarised Aragorn's feelings perfectly here.
Gilraen is so often overlooked, I did want to include her fears, if only briefly as this must have been so hard her her.
I'm so pleased your enjoyed this tale.
Linda Hoyland
· 23 September 2008
· Chapter 4: Elrond's Daughter
The idea of Arwen making a shirt for Aragorn is lovely.I've aways believed she felt something too when she met him as the text says she changed afterwards.A lovely chapter.
Author's reply
Thank you, I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Yes, I always felt that spark was there from the beginning for Arwen too.
Elflingimp
· 23 September 2008
· Chapter 4: Elrond's Daughter
Just wanted to stop in to tell you I loved this chapter with Arwen and Estel, it was very sweet. Sorry I haven't been reviewing lately RL has gotten in the way. Hugs The Imp
Author's reply
RL can be such a pain can't it? LOL
I'm so glad you enjoyed this and thank you for taking the time to let me know. I hope things ease up a bit for you soon. Hugs back.
daw the minstrel
· 23 September 2008
· Chapter 4: Elrond's Daughter
This is a nice portrayal of the private moments in between the ones Tolkien told us about. It really is hard to know how Arwen felt early on because Elrond is right that Aragorn must have looked astonishingly young to her. And yet, maybe not. The deathlessness of elves makes it hard to calibrate how they felt about adults. If you're 2000 years old, does a 500 year old cousin look like a child or is an adult an adult? And if an adult is an adult, then Aragorn came early to manhood, as Tolkien tells us. Lovely scenes anyway. My heart goes out to Gilraen.
Author's reply
Thank you so much for your thoughts on this. I based Arwen's feelings here on the fact that in the years after her meeting with Aragorn, we are told she became more grave and her laughter was seldom heard. This, together with the fact she seemed, even at their first meeting, to have some foresight about her fate, suggested to me she had been affected by Aragorn, at least to some degree, right from the start.
As to how mortals appear to someone thousands of years old, well that's a good point! As Arwen was nearly 3,000 years old, did it make a lot of difference if Aragorn was 20 or 49? Either way, he was still so much younger than her but he probably seemed very young at twenty and yet seemed, to her, mature at 49. Fortunately we weren't left in any doubt about how Arwen looked to Aragorn though!
I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Virtuella
· 19 September 2008
· Chapter 3: Son of Arathorn
"He was, however, filthy."
That made me giggle. ;-)
"With a twinge of guilt, Elrond realised they had all deceived him, no matter how well intentioned they had been." Oh, very good point!
Another very good gapfiller. I like the way you close with Gilraen's perspective
Author's reply
Well I did think that after 6 months in the wild, he would be in urgent need of some hot water!
It didn't feel right to me to play up Elrond's guilt beyond a 'twinge' or to make Estel angry over the deception. Elrond did what he had to and Estel would have trusted his judgement totally.
Many thanks for your review; I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Ainu Laire
· 18 September 2008
· Chapter 3: Son of Arathorn
Wonderful, absolutely wonderful. I cannot wait to read more, you have captured all of their personalities perfectly.
Author's reply
Oh Laire, I'm thrilled that you are enjoying this; thank you so much.
Cairistiona
· 17 September 2008
· Chapter 3: Son of Arathorn
As often as I've read this, it still gives me an ache in the throat when Elrond tells Estel he is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You write it so evocatively, it becomes easy to feel every emotion that Estel ... Aragorn ... is dealing with. And something that had escaped my notice before but made me smile this time: that the twins left Aragorn only the dregs of the wine. Typical big brother behavior!
Author's reply
Thank you so much, as always. This was a really big day in Aragorn's life and it must have been quite a roller-coaster emotionally for him too. And yes, that's big brothers for you! In fact, I'm only just noticed, reading through the later chapters again, how often I have the elves of Rivendell, as well as Aragorn, drinking wine. I'm not sure they're actually meant to be permanently tipsy!
Lady_Roisin
· 16 September 2008
· Chapter 3: Son of Arathorn
I thouroughly enjoyed the latest chapters. What a great story.
Author's reply
I'm so pleased you are enjoying this story and thank you very much for letting me know.
Estelcontar
· 16 September 2008
· Chapter 3: Son of Arathorn
A most perceptive vignette, and very, very faithful to book cannon as always.
The conflict Aragorn must have felt between the exhilaration of finally being a man and a full fledged warrior, and the tragedy of death is perfectly illustrated here. Aragorn did not turn into the warrior he was because he gloried in violence and mayhem, but because the role was forced on him. So, I do believe he never really loved war. He fought because he had to. So, he must indeed have felt very conflicted when he first faced the reality of war and death.
The way his mood swings from doubt to elation on being told about his inheritance sounds very truthful too.
Author's reply
By experiencing so much in 'Great Deeds', I did give him rather a lot to cope with here, didn't I? As you so rightly say, being a warrior was something he had to do and so his first encounter with death would have troubled him greatly.
I'm sure hearing of his inheritance was a shock at first, but we know that by the following evening he was singing happily under the silver birches so it didn't take him very long to come to terms with the news.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it and thank you for the review.
daw the minstrel
· 16 September 2008
· Chapter 3: Son of Arathorn
I was really struck here by how different all this looks from a human rather than an elven perspective. Elrond was there when Isildur cut the ring from Sauron's hand. He's known every single heir. My canonical knowledge isn't good enough to say, but for all I know, it's possible he knew Barahir (thought probably not). But to Aragorn, this is ancient history.
And yet there's a part of the history that matters greatly to Aragorn. On a personal level, knowing who his father was must be comforting, particularly given his misapprenhensions. But on a larger level, his identity gives him his role in life. And good for him for immediately thinking about his duty to the Dunedain. Elrond was right in judging him ready to know who he was.
Author's reply
You are so right, daw. Aragorn would have learnt all about the history of his ancestors without realizing his own connection to it all. That discovery of his place in such a long line of legendary heroes must have been quite a shock in itself. No, Elrond wouldn't have known Barahir, but he did know Elendil who was himself a master of lore and, no doubt, when he arrived in M-e, he brought with him all the records and accounts of his own line of ancestors which linked him to Elros and so completed the picture.
And I'm sure having a name for his own father must have been both thrilling and daunting for Estel, and ,as, you say, it gave him a role and a purpose in life.
Many thanks indeed for your review.
Linda Hoyland
· 15 September 2008
· Chapter 2: Great Deeds
I loved these glimpses of young Aragorn as warrior and Healer, his meetings with his grandfather and Halbarad.You capture well how difficult it must have been for Aragorn to get used to his own kind and to the horrors of battle.
Very well written.
Author's reply
Thank you so much, Linda; I'm thrilled you enjoyed it. This must have been a very exciting and yet also very scary time for young Estel that required some fast growing up on his part.
elliska
· 13 September 2008
· Chapter 2: Great Deeds
Wow, I am really impressed at how well you captured such a broad phrase (as the one you quoted to set this scene) in one chapter. The events you chose to portray were perfect to show Estel's readiness and what he still learned. I loved the characters you chose to include and how. And the transitions between events (very hard to handle showing the passage of an entire winter in one chapter) were very smoothly done. I am only mildly a fan of Aragorn (elves are my favorite read), but I will definitely be following this story. Incredibly well done!
Author's reply
Thank you so much elliska for your review. I'm so pleased you enjoyed this chapter. You are quite right, although 'Great Deeds' presents a very blank canvas, there was a lot that I felt needed to be said and it was very difficult to fit everything in. I was very afraid the whole thing would become too ungainly, so your kind words are much appreciated.
And there will be a few elves popping up now and then!
jgmsccc
· 10 September 2008
· Chapter 2: Great Deeds
I really enjoyed this. You have included so much information: history of the land and the people, the feelings of the men and the elves who knew of Aragorn and what Aragorn must be going through. I can't wait for more.
Author's reply
I'm thrilled you enjoyed it and thank you for the review. As this story is complete [give or take all the frantic rewrites] I'm planning on posting a chapter every Tuesday.
Virtuella
· 10 September 2008
· Chapter 2: Great Deeds
This could easily have been just an unconnected recounting of events, but you have managed to weave in a number of interesting themes about Estel's coming fo age. His first encounter with his grandfather, with his friend to be and with death are all quite impressive. Nice touch also the Rangers' view of their future - of course they didn't know that a single decisive action would defeat Sauron.
Author's reply
Thank you very much for your comments. You have brought up exactly what I was trying to do here. I was very aware when I read this chapter through again that it did require quite a bit of patience and I did consider chopping out chunks to make it more manageable. I'm so pleased you thought it worked. Maybe though, it would be fun, one day, to turn this into a multi-chapter story and flesh out properly Halbarad's teasing and Estel's first steps towards feeling more like a Man
Estelcontar
· 9 September 2008
· Chapter 2: Great Deeds
I've already told you a couple of times how much I enjoyed this story, but it bears repeating. You have given us a great portrayal of how Aragorn must have felt when he first came into contact with the reality of violence and death. The reality is so different from the idealizations one makes of strife. You've also shown us how fast one has to mature when faced with the sad realities of life, as Aragorn was here.
A very thoughtful piece indeed.
Author's reply
Thank you so much, as always; I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm sure Estel, when he was young, would have been shielded from many of the harsh realities of the life he was expected to lead and so it must have been a brutal shock when he was confronted by some of them. He did indeed have to grow up quickly.
daw the minstrel
· 9 September 2008
· Chapter 2: Great Deeds
I like the sense of history and geography in this. You really place the story well in Tolkien's world. I'm also struck by the way that leaders in Tolkien's world were expected to lead from the front. Their job was to keep their people safe and they seldom did it by sitting at home, so Estel has to learn to do this, probably even more than most people do. Still it's hard.
Author's reply
Thank you so much daw for your review. I imagine Estel learned all about Eriador and the history of his people in the school room so it must have been very exciting for him to get out there an see all those places.
And you are absolutely right about leaders in Middle-earth; the significant exception being Sauron.
Virtuella
· 4 September 2008
· Chapter 1: Hope
I enjoyed this gentle, sensitive tale. Gilraen's feelings and reactions seemed very convincing to me, and the whole story fits very naturally with what little Tolkien told us about this stage of Aragorn's life.
Author's reply
Thank you very much, I'm so glad you enjoyed it. As with so much of Aragorn's life, this is one of those stories I wish Tolkien had written. He gave us so little to go on.
Lady_Roisin
· 4 September 2008
· Chapter 1: Hope
You've done a really great job. Your descriptions and dialogue were both very good. I could actually picture Aragorn as a child being so enthralled by a young foal. I could vry easily imagine it was very hard for Gilraen to leave her home. Keep up the good work, and I look forward to reading more chapters. :-)
Author's reply
Thank you very much for your review and your kind words. I'm so pleased you enjoyed it. I wanted to include a brief glimpse of Aragorn's life before everything changed and I felt he would be completely fascinated by a new foal.
I hope you enjoy the next chapter!
daw the minstrel
· 3 September 2008
· Chapter 1: Hope
The characterization of Gilraen is really well done here. We know so little about her, but you've extrapolated nicely from what we do know about the Dunedain. I can see her fitting into that culture as a young but fully adult woman who's grieving but acting wisely in her concern for her child. And Elrond's family treats her with the respect she deserves, not just for who she is but for the kind of person she is.
Author's reply
Thank you so much, I'm glad you liked it. I think you have summarized Gilraen's situation perfectly here. It's such a shame we are told so little about the Dunedain as, by the end of the Third Age, they have become such a paradox. On the one hand, they are have all that sophisticated Numenorean culture behind them and yet, by the time we first meet Aragorn, they have become these despised nomads. Quite how Gilraen fits into all that is very difficult to say.
Linda Hoyland
· 2 September 2008
· Chapter 1: Hope
I'm delighted to see this excellent story being posted here. I love your Gilraen. I only hope young Aragorn gets horses at Rivendell too.
Author's reply
Well I'm absolutely delighted to have you as a reader and thank you so much for all your encouraging comments.
I'm sure there will be no shortage of horses for Aragorn to ride in Rivendell. At least I certainly hope not!
Estelcontar
· 2 September 2008
· Chapter 1: Hope
I'm so glad you've started posting these vignettes here.
As I told you once, I liked Hope very, very much. I think it's a very thoughful and poignant tale, in which you've managed to give us a very perceptive glimpse of what Gilraen must have felt when she was suddenly confronted by the loss of Arathorn, and by the need to protect Aragorn.
Her grief, and her strenght felt very real, as did her love for Aragorn.
Author's reply
Hi Estelcontar, I'm glad you enjoyed this. And I so appreciate all your support and encouragement.
I'm sure anyone who has ever lost someone can identify very easily with Gilraen and to have her life turned up side down as well, had to have been terribly difficult for her. I certainly see her as a strong woman who made huge sacrifices for her child.
Elflingimp
· 2 September 2008
· Chapter 1: Hope
That was very well written and I enjoyed it immensly(I know I didn't spell that right) I have never read your stories before, have you written anything else? I loved this and will wait for more! Hugs The Imp
Author's reply
Hello Imp! Hugs back!
I'm thrilled you enjoyed this chapter. This story is my only complete one to date. I've been sitting on most of it for years but now I'm finally posting here, I'll put up a chapter a week.
Thank you for the kind review.