Clarity of Purpose Appendix III: Of Denethor and Theoden

[mithen]

Title: Of Denethor and Theoden
Chapter Summary: On the first meeting, lives, and last days of the king of Rohan and the son of the last Steward of Gondor.
Relationship/Characters: Denethor, Theoden
Fandom: Hobbit/Lord of the Rings.
Warnings/Spoilers: Canon-typical character death
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1500
Summary: Excerpts from the Red Book of

Comments

[shirebound]

An epic friendship indeed. May all men of great hearts be remembered and honored.

[mithen]

Aw, that is a fitting epitaph indeed. Thank you!

[navaan]

Oh, such a wonderful addition to this AU history of middle earth- I so loved all the interaction between them and this was a little piece of gold to find today. :)

[mithen]

I'm glad I could give you a bit of a treat! I wrote this ages and ages ago when I was just starting the series, to get a feel for what their relationship was, so it was a real pleasure to finally be able to post it. Thank you!

[zolac_no_miko]

This makes me happy. :)

[mithen]

Awww, thanks! It made me very happy to write--giving them both happier lives without them even knowing it, I felt like a fairy godmother.

[ilovetobefree]

But Théoden burst into laughter. "Nay, you jest," he said, pointing to the black stallion. "For surely no lord of Minas Tirith would ride such a spavined nag as that!"
Ouch

For he had thought Denethor a weak man for his slender build, yet he fought in a style Théoden had never seen: graceful and lithe and utterly controlled, like light dancing on water or snowflakes swirling in the wind. Orcs fell before him like grass before a scythe, and his blade gleamed scarlet in the morning sun.
I like this.

So the Rohirrim and the Gondorians parted that day, but it was a cold parting, and neither Denethor nor Théoden was inclined to think kindly of the other from that day.

*sigh*

And once the Ring was destroyed and King Elessar crowned, they found that their hearts had changed; and though they yet quarreled constantly, somehow they had grown close as brothers, and were loath to grow distant once more. So Théoden came often to Denethor's new city in Pelargir, and helped him to rebuild it, and grew close in affection to his wife, Finduilas

[mithen]

I really enjoyed writing Denethor fighting! He never gets a chance in the movies, of course, but supposedly he was a great fighter...

It's so hard to write their deaths, even in this distanced form! Giving them a happier life helps, but...

Thank you so much for your comment! *hugs*

[starsandsea]

But Théoden burst into laughter. "Nay, you jest," he said, pointing to the black stallion. "For surely no lord of Minas Tirith would ride such a spavined nag as that!"

Then Denethor--for it was he indeed--was stung to the quick, for he was proud of the stallion he had chosen himself to be his mount. "How dare you speak so to the son of the Steward of Gondor!" he said in a rage.

"Truly?" Théoden said in amazement. "Why, I have heard the men of Gondor are no judge of horses, but I thought it an exaggeration. Yet it is as they say, if you cannot see that it is practically cow-hocked. But how could you fail to notice its trappy stride, its tragically short pasterns? Even the most horse-blind of Rohan would reject this horse." In fact he was so surprised that this man was blind to the faults in his steed that he barely realized he spoke rudely, but Denethor was a proud man and each word pierced him like a poisoned dart.

Oh, these two! It's so great to see their first meeting!

Then did Théoden leap forward and parry that blow, and the

[mithen]

Imagining Theoden as just a young teen was--wow, it was really weird! But satisfying. :)

akdlglskfjkfjsf!!! Just-! Denethor and Finduilas and Boromir and Faramir visiting Rohan so often! And guarding Theoden's heart against despair... *wibbles a lot*

I confess the image of Theoden raising those three kids on his own is so much a part of him to me that I couldn't quite bring myself to save his wife--but I felt badly about it!

And yeah, "full circle" was a big part of the theme here, I'm really glad it worked! I wish so much they could have been friends in canon, given a happier world...