Argh! How can it be that even as I know how this story will go and how it will end, I'm still biting my nails at every twist and turn through the tunnels of Menegroth?
You are making me like Dior quite a lot too. I'm amazed how much characterisation you manage to portray in these actionfilled scenes.
I'm enjoying this a lot - thank you for sharing it!
No, thank *you* for taking the time to comment! I'm always a bit nervous about this story, because I normally manage to avoid writing direct violence and/or extremely depressing things, so it's wonderful to hear you're enjoying it and that the characterisation didn't get lost along the way. And I'm very glad you like Dior, because he's my own current favourite and he really doesn't get enough attention. So again, thank you!
I hope you don't mind my continuing the review-talk about the Sindar here. It's getting too interesting to drop it :)
OK there was the first battle of Beleriand, which they more or less won, but before that I think there would have been maybe minor scrapes and skirmishes, and after that most of them remained safe behind Melian's Girdle until the first sack of Doriath (which of course they lost).That, and the fact that they developed a whole lot different tactics against the orcs (incomparable to the Noldor as far as strategy goes, were the very important reason why they remained hidden. Of course, the wardens, one could say, but how many of them guarded the borders, and they were assigned to... well, guarding the borders, weren't they? Sure, there was Mablung. But he died on the threshold down there
( ... )
I haven't really sat down and thought about how much those safe behind the Girdle would have had to deal with Orcs before, I admit; possibly I'm downgrading the amount of contact there would have been there. How much does a warden creeping through the shadows of Melian's Girdle need to really worry about Orcs or other enemies?My guess is: heavily, but not frequently. Before the establishing the Girdle, well, they were simply vulnerable, untli they were well armed and in a great number of trained warriors, therefore ready to -- as you said partially -- win the battle
( ... )
Ah, now that all makes sense. The other thing I hadn't thought about was how much the inhabitants of Doriath wanted or needed to pass the Girdle, except of course for the odd exceptional adventure like the big Noldorin gathering in the early days, or Nirnaeth Arnoediad, or the Turin episode.
I'm slightly handicapped here because I don't like the tale of Turin Turambar, so I'm not particularly well-informed about that episode or indeed that part of the world. Also while most of my more serious stories link back somehow to the fall of Doriath, I'm not dealing with Doriath or the Sindar in any particularly coherent or systematic way, so I tend to pick up different aspects at different times. And that means I have gaps in my canon-knowledge, depending on what's relevant to any given story.
Anyway - Sindar and axes in Brethil? Time for me to go reread Turin... :D
Dior really shines in this chapter; which is heart-rending; because we know that he's not going to survive; ditto his wife and probably both his sons. I hope you will cover how Elwing escapes with the Silmaril.
I've so enjoyed this story; and I envy you your grasp of strategy and tactics.
Well, I never was a Celegorm fan; and here, Dior shows he is not only a fine swordsman, but has great self-control, which is to be praised, considering that Celegorm is old-as-the-light-of-the-Two-Trees and Dior was born yesterday in Elven terms.
I like to think that maybe some kindly Avari found Elured and Elurin and saved them, and that the twins stayed out of Elf wars and politics thereafter. If they were very young, they might not have known who their parents were.
I don't think any of the Feanorions were very good at keeping a cool head in this sort of situation, or they might not have ended up in such a mess so very often. And I'd like to think the children survived as well, but I tend to be more pessimistic. :'(
Oh well. I hope the rest of the story doesn't disappoint you!
Stone leaves trembled in the flickering torchlight. That small detail lets everyone know about the weight of the battle; a great touch!
Here and there gleamed jewels that caught the flame like watching eyes. This part made me shiver while reading due to the atmosphere it helps in getting under your skin while you read.
until they were fighting beneath an archway twined with wild roses. What I’ve liked throughout this thus far is how, like the quote I’ve just given, you interweave the beauty of the palace into the grim and harsh realities of the battle facing the Noldor.
laughing among the trees on Tol Galen and teaching a child to fight with willow stems. I remember reading this ...
And now I’ve come to the end of this part of the story - wow! I was so caught up in this, wondering who was fighting - the part with the Noldo and the Sinda who was Erestor. Know as I may how this will go (and it’s been a long while since I’ve read the Silmarillion), my breath was caught and so caught up in it was I that, for a moment, that knowledge
( ... )
This section, for me, is probably the most important part of the whole story -- because Erestor's life is the thread that links all my Silmarillion stories, in one way or another, and this is such an important stage of his development for me. I'm so glad it made an impression!
//This part made me shiver while reading due to the atmosphere it helps in getting under your skin while you read.//
Oh wonderful! I wanted to set the scene for the poor murdered stone thrust just down the line. And it was fun, in a horrible way, to set up the contrast between the beautiful surroundings and the fighting.
//I remember reading this ...//
Yes, some of the drabbles are bites out of bigger stories.
Yes, some of the drabbles are bites out of bigger stories. Phew! I thought I'd either read it or was imagining reading it due to how clearly I could picture everything while reading!
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You are making me like Dior quite a lot too. I'm amazed how much characterisation you manage to portray in these actionfilled scenes.
I'm enjoying this a lot - thank you for sharing it!
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OK there was the first battle of Beleriand, which they more or less won, but before that I think there would have been maybe minor scrapes and skirmishes, and after that most of them remained safe behind Melian's Girdle until the first sack of Doriath (which of course they lost).That, and the fact that they developed a whole lot different tactics against the orcs (incomparable to the Noldor as far as strategy goes, were the very important reason why they remained hidden. Of course, the wardens, one could say, but how many of them guarded the borders, and they were assigned to... well, guarding the borders, weren't they? Sure, there was Mablung. But he died on the threshold down there ( ... )
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I'm slightly handicapped here because I don't like the tale of Turin Turambar, so I'm not particularly well-informed about that episode or indeed that part of the world. Also while most of my more serious stories link back somehow to the fall of Doriath, I'm not dealing with Doriath or the Sindar in any particularly coherent or systematic way, so I tend to pick up different aspects at different times. And that means I have gaps in my canon-knowledge, depending on what's relevant to any given story.
Anyway - Sindar and axes in Brethil? Time for me to go reread Turin... :D
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I've so enjoyed this story; and I envy you your grasp of strategy and tactics.
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I like to think that maybe some kindly Avari found Elured and Elurin and saved them, and that the twins stayed out of Elf wars and politics thereafter. If they were very young, they might not have known who their parents were.
Awaiting the conclusion with racing heart...
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Oh well. I hope the rest of the story doesn't disappoint you!
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That small detail lets everyone know about the weight of the battle; a great touch!
Here and there gleamed jewels that caught the flame like watching eyes.
This part made me shiver while reading due to the atmosphere it helps in getting under your skin while you read.
until they were fighting beneath an archway twined with wild roses.
What I’ve liked throughout this thus far is how, like the quote I’ve just given, you interweave the beauty of the palace into the grim and harsh realities of the battle facing the Noldor.
laughing among the trees on Tol Galen and teaching a child to fight with willow stems.
I remember reading this ...
And now I’ve come to the end of this part of the story - wow! I was so caught up in this, wondering who was fighting - the part with the Noldo and the Sinda who was Erestor. Know as I may how this will go (and it’s been a long while since I’ve read the Silmarillion), my breath was caught and so caught up in it was I that, for a moment, that knowledge ( ... )
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//This part made me shiver while reading due to the atmosphere it helps in getting under your skin while you read.//
Oh wonderful! I wanted to set the scene for the poor murdered stone thrust just down the line. And it was fun, in a horrible way, to set up the contrast between the beautiful surroundings and the fighting.
//I remember reading this ...//
Yes, some of the drabbles are bites out of bigger stories.
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Phew! I thought I'd either read it or was imagining reading it due to how clearly I could picture everything while reading!
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