No Man's Child - Chapter 36
‘That is the road to the vales of Tumladen and Lossarnach, and the mountain-villages, and then on to Lebennin,’ said Beregond. ‘There go the last of the wains that bear away to refuge the aged, the children, and the women that must go with them. They must all be gone from the Gate and the road clear for a league before noon: that was the order. It
( Read more... )
Ah. okay
he sounds terribly bewildered, and the clinging to his mama just makes me want to snuggle him. But so cute with the "maybe if I say please, we'll get to go home".
Yeah, poor bud. That good ole magical thinking in the very young.
And see, here I was thinking of dysentery being the problem in a camp like this.
That could be next. ;o)
"We need not worry for that. The sickness takes at least a score of days to settle in the lungs and do its work. We will have been burned out or put to the sword well before that."
AhahahahahahahaHA. Nothin' like gallows humour.
Good! I'm glad that comes across as funny. The humor is so dark, I was wondering just how successful it would be.
Bachor and the other men have perfectly valid worries, and it does show how desperate they are to hold on to what they have, when they're willing to sneak out of the fortress to tend to their livelihood. It's also interesting that Bachor seems to consider not telling Nienelen what's going on, and then does. Either he thinks highly of her ability to persuade Aragorn to see their side of things, or he's very comfortable with her. Or perhaps he thinks he can browbeat her into speaking to Aragorn. Interesting, any way. However, I'm not sure what good Bachor thinks it'll do, since Aragorn isn't currently there, is he?
Hmmm... I think this might point out some unintentional ambiguity on my part. The decision he wants Nienelen to make as a representative of the House is what to do about the men sneaking off. But, he'd like Nienelen to talk to Aragorn about the long-term safety needs of the Angle if they happen to survive the current crisis. I'll have to see what I can do to be more specific about that distinction.
Ok, I like the head of steam he's working up here, but um...you might consider restructuring the "when our lord's father fell" part. Because it makes it sound like Bachor's asking where Aragorn was when Arathorn fell.
Ah.. okay, yep yep.
I do very, very much like the bitterness and resentment here. shocking, I know In most fic, Aragorn in particular seems to get a pass on people being resentful towards him and of him (always excepting Boromir), and it kind of gets my nerves. Of course there were people who didn't like him very much, or that got angry with him and stayed angry! And honestly, this is exactly the type of grudge I would completely expect someone to hold against his Chieftan - that the protectors weren't able to protect everyone. I mean, of course the Rangers can't protect everyone, but that's no comfort when your loved ones get carried off into the night, is it?
Not at all.
You know, the more I researched the events of LOTR and what was happening in the North, the more it became apparent to me that the good of all ME was being purchased with the sacrifice of the peoples of the North. I like that parallel between Arnor and Gondor and its leaders. Both Aragorn and Denethor are strong and far-seeing men, but Aragorn has his wider vision and Denethor is more focused on the well-being of Gondor over all. It really calls to question what was the nature of their responsibility to their own people, and what was their responsibility to ME at large.
I think that Aragorn took the longer and wider view, but the cost must have been terrible. I just had to give *some*one in the Angle that voice of the people upon whose backs the burden of purchasing the peace of the 4th age was placed.
btw: does this chapter help flesh out Bachor more? Or are there niggling areas unaddressed about him?
Thanks EL!
Reply
Leave a comment