Mimm: Denethor/Thorongil R

[alex_quine]

Title: Eagle of the Star
Pairing: Denethor/Thorongil
Rating: R
Warnings: AU
Words: 6,014
Disclaimer: This is fanfiction that borrows names/places from Tolkien’s Middle Earth. No money is made; this is just for fun.
A.N. Many thanks to Mimm, who provided the prompt ‘night, water, message’ and the pairing.

There was no moon, no starlight struggling to

Comments

[aprilkat]

Oh, my, this is fantastic on so many levels!

You not only give us the relationship between the two warriors, soon to affect the destiny of Middle-earth, but show us the wisdom and honour of the line of the Stewards. Within that, however, we see the seeds of Denethor's pride and weakness which could have become ultimate greatness were it not for his fall. The difference between how Ecthelion treats his son and Denethor treats his own is key, for instance.

Ecthelion's showing Thorongil the room with the banner and all the king's items was so moving and profound. Of course, we want to tell him not to let Denethor know about the palantir!

I love the way you write in such great detail - it allows the reader to feel part of the scene and to understand not only what is going through a character's head but how that is affected by the context and what implications may come from it. Wonderful.

[alex_quine]

I'm glad you enjoyed this. Many thanks for reading and for your kind feedback.
I've played with the sketchy information we have about that period of Aragorn's life and here is only the first of what could be a number of periods of service in Gondor.
I wanted to explore a relationship between two young men, both carrying expectation on their shoulders, each troubled by doubts but with different ways of facing their challenges...and I wanted a sense that things could have been different of being allowed to eavesdrop on the moments when choices were made that took the characters in one or other direction.
Anyway, I had fun with this (thanks to Mimm's prompt and the wise elves who selected this challenge) and I'm really happy the piece spoke to you too.

[talullahred]

This was a wonderful piece... the characters were complex and multilayered. Thorongil and Denethor showed the promise of what they could become... At some points I felt sorry for Denethor, but Thorogil's reflections on his willingness to take the burden have too much truth in them to be easily dismissed. Ecthelion was ambiguous at some points as a ruler must be but he was strong and wise... I have to say that I especially liked him.

I enjoyed this story very much.

[alex_quine]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the kind feedback. I hadn't thought of writing this pairing before but I enjoyed it (the usual plot wrestling aside). Ecthelion rather surprised me in that he became a more solid figure than I'd first planned and in the end I was undecided about whether he really knew Thorongil's identity or merely suspected it. If he 'knew' or believed he knew, then his favouring Thorongil over his own son might have had more at its base than ever Denethor knew. Knowing how it ended, it was a troubling relationship to explore, but I kept trying to hold onto the knowledge that there was only a small difference in age between the men and Denethor did steward Gondor well for many a year. Anyway, glad that you liked it.

[talullahred]

>>I was undecided about whether he really knew Thorongil's identity or merely suspected it.
Yes, this was an aspect of the story that I particularly liked, that we are left wondering...

>>Denethor did steward Gondor well for many a year.
Yes! One of the reasons I rarely read men fic is that almost always Denethor comes through in a very bad light, when what we know is that he was decent enough for a fairly large period. So this was a fresh take on him - sure he has his flaws but they are not overwhelming. We can see already how they will coalesce to bring forth the man he will become, though and that takes some cunning writing.

[half_elf_lost]

What a complete experience! It's a rich, full story, with your signature ability to share details that help immerse the reader completely into the plot. I'm there in that room as Ecthelion cuts the star from the banner and folds it into the Captain's hand.

And much of this is unexpected...at first it appears as if the focus will remain solely on Denethor and Gil, but then shifts to center on Ecthelion, his reaction to the pair, and his response to Gil's future.

Beautifully written, Alex.

[alex_quine]

Many thanks for reading it and for your kind feedback. I did enjoy working on it, although at first I worried about locking down a tone that would work with characters I didn't really know well at this point in their lives. Ecthelion emerged in the writing and because they're both still comparatively young and inexperienced men, I wanted some sense of the older generation handing on the burdens to the generation that will be forced into change, although none of them knows it. Glad that you liked it.

[littlemimm]

Oh. Just... wow. I'm pretty speechless right now, because this story? Beautiful! There's so much to it... the language is beautiful, as is the handling of detail, the characters are surprisingly complex, and the story itself is kind of melancholy, but I like melancholy so it's all good

[alex_quine]

Good! I'm so glad you liked it. I knew from your journal that you'd be away for a bit over the holidays, so I wasn't expecting any comment soon, but I'm glad you've come to it eventually and that it spoke to you. And I must thank you for the prompt and the pairing. At first it was a pretty scary assignment. This is the second challenge-type fic I've done and I'm still a bit phased by writing to someone else's prompts

[rubynye]

Wow, this is a complex and excellent story!

[alex_quine]

Thankyou for reading it and feeding back so kindly. I'm glad it spoke to you. I hadn't written this pairing before, which was a bit daunting, but I really enjoyed it once I got into it and the characters kept surprising me, so it was fun.