Clarity of Vision, Chapter 32/32

[mithen]

Title: Clarity of Vision, Chapter 32/32
Relationship: Thorin/Bilbo
Characters: Bilbo Baggins, Thorin, Kili, Fili, Balin, Dwalin, Dís
Fandom: Hobbit
Warnings/Spoilers: None
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1700
Story Summary: In a Middle-Earth where Erebor never fell, a shadow remains in the heart of the Lonely Mountain. Bilbo Baggins finds himself drawn

Comments

Part 2!

[starsandsea]

They add that King Thorin kissed him farewell, and all the people of the Lonely Mountain cheered "until the very rocks seemed to cry out."

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

The Red Book does not record if he wept as he turned his face at last to the west; nor do the Annals tell us if the King of Erebor returned to his quarters in silence and spoke to no one for hours, gazing into the fire and thinking long on things he locked in the chambers of his heart and shared with none.

Ahhhhhhh! Oh, oh, I love how you structured these last paragraphs with the Red Book and the Annals... *flails quietly*

But then, these events marked the end of but the first of their journeys together, and by no means the greatest or most difficult; but of those later travels in the lands beyond Dorwinion and the Sea of Rhûn, and their effects on the world of Middle Earth, much has been written elsewhere. Yet for many years an uneasy peace ruled the land, and the might of the dwarves of Erebor grew, and trade flourished between the Shire and the Lonely Mountain; even as a dark power marshaled its forces in the east and prepared to reach forth its hand to reclaim what was its own.

And then that, AHHHHHHHHH! *rolls around* I am so, so looking forward to 'Clarity of Purpose' and the letter fic! But the end of this was so lovely and bittersweet...

*hugs you* Thank you so, so much for writing this story and sharing it with us, I'm so looking forward to going back and re-reading it all again - many times, I am sure! :D

Re: Part 2!

[mithen]

Oh, oh, I love how you structured these last paragraphs with the Red Book and the Annals... *flails quietly*

I wasn't sure it would work! But I couldn't resist, somehow...just that hint that Bilbo is still going to go on to write chunks of the Red Book (and Ori writes a lot of the Annals!) Tolkien's style seems especially apt for bittersweetness (I've been re-reading the tale of Aragorn and Arwen in the Appendices, and my God, that formal language only seems to make the pain more transcendent...)

I'm enjoying the letter fic so much! It's been a long time since I've written something like that and there's a fun challenge to it--especially since we only see the letters FROM Erebor and not the letters TO! :)

Thank you so, so much for all your wonderful comments--and your support and fun discussions in email as well, they've always been so helpful and inspiring!