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The Heir Apparent by Mirkwoodmaiden	6 Review(s)
Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 5/27/2025
MM! Again, I have to say how I really love writing that generates a clear mental picture as I read! bent a somewhat grudging knee. So much meaning in so few words! I imagine you're good at writing drabbles, though I haven't gone to your author's page to look for any. (I'm busy reading this story, you see!) being of ice and fire – Gilraen seems well-suited for the demands that lie ahead. Poor lass. Is the ruined city Fornost or Annuminas? (I'm thinking Annuminas was on Lake Evendim and Fornost was some way to the East, but I don't have a map handy.) I'm glad to have this glimpse through Arathorn's and Gilraen's eyes. Coming up in my Thain story is a nightmare glimpse of Fornost after its capture by Angmar, I'm sorry to say. If these are the ruins of Annuminas, they fit well with what I've written in my Fourth Age stories, where I have Elessar and Arwen choose to build a new City and leave the ruins as a monument and warning against pride and falling under the influence of Shadow. And the city will be restored by this couple's son! (Though, sadly, neither of them will live to see that day. Still, isn't that the way life so often happens; people build towards a future they'll never see but nevertheless hope for.) The foreknowledge Gilraen's parents must bear is a heavy burden, but they bear it well. I wonder if Elladan has told Elrond? I love the customs and traditions you've woven into the wedding narrative. What a joyous occasion. (And are the circlets at the end what we see at Aragorn and Arwen's wedding? It has been too long since I've watched the films!) (((hugs))) Lin Author Reply: Lin! "Again, I have to say how I really love writing that generates a clear mental picture as I read! bent a somewhat grudging knee. So much meaning in so few words! I imagine you're good at writing drabbles, though I haven't gone to your author's page to look for any. (I'm busy reading this story, you see!)" Thanks! And yes I have Drabbles here, but please continue to read this story! I really am waiting to read what you think! About Annuminas and Fornost. As I was saying in my reply to "Elvellon" and elsewhere I had either mistaken Fornost for Annuminas but too much would have to be re-written to correct it. Reading more of ROTK it is written that the Rangers did go there while others thought it haunted. Bolstered by this I rewrote only a small part of "Owing the Past; Owing the Future" describing Arathorn's thoughts on the matter! Must dash to work!! Argh! Soon (well Next April!) I retire!!! More of my reply later today! (((hugs))) MM Author Reply: Lin! "(Though, sadly, neither of them will live to see that day. Still, isn't that the way life so often happens; people build towards a future they'll never see but nevertheless hope for.)" That is the perfect description of the Dunedain way of life. "The foreknowledge Gilraen's parents must bear is a heavy burden, but they bear it well. I wonder if Elladan has told Elrond?" It is a huge burden but it is after all what the Dunedain work towards. Gilraen will bear much of the cost. sigh weep I think during the course of the story Elladan does tell Elrond about Ivorwen's vision, but curiously he didn't tell me when he told his father! These elves, so mercurial! ;-)) About the wedding. I absolutely love creating customs and rituals for the different peoples of Middle Earth. The joining ceremony had to be of specific value to their people and radically different from before the sacking of Fornost and the kingdom of Arnor's society ripped to shreds. And the joining of the Chieftain's heir, that would require extra and it made perfect sense that Elrond be present. I don't remember if the Circlets are a Tolkien creation or mine. I know that the Ring of Barahir and the Scepter of Annuminas did eventually come to Imladris, but I may have made up the Circlets. I started this story in 2003. But yes!! We will say that yes, Aragorn and Arwen wear these Circlets at their wedding. I may have to write that as a stand-alone companion story or another chapter... Hmmm! Thanks again for writing! (((hugs))) MM

Nurayy	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/25/2021
Dear Mirkwoodmaiden, I hope you are well. So meaningful all this chapter. You make me love Gilraen and Arathorn very much and also their families, showing such insight. Loved the shared feelings at the sight of the city and what it means to them. I felt how it tied them together even more. They are getting to know and value each other more and more. The moment between father and daughter touched me particularly, Dirhael's tear... Usually so composed, and now... i could feel his emotions. And Ivorwen is so nervous... a loving, worrying mother who wants just the best for her child. Such beautiful images an relationships til now. Be well Author Reply: Nurayy! Thank you so much! I hope you are doing well, too! :-)) I have always have such a fascination with the Dunedain that I had to write this story. A people that survived a 1000 years (1976 TA was when Arthedain, the last of the three kingdoms of Arnor fell) with the vision and quest to assuage Isildur's error and to reinstate the Heir to the throne of Men intact. To have survived the destruction of their cities and their whole way of life and to live for the dream of restoration has always captivated me. I wanted to show what it meant to be an Heir of Isildur and how it drives Arathorn and how happy he was to see that it moved Gilraen as well. Also how Dirhael and Ivorwen are also driven by this legacy and how much they are willing to sacrifice for the good of their people. And yet they are loving parents who worry for their only daughter's happiness. The human side of what destiny costs a family. Many fanfic writers and Tolkien thinkers write that the Grey Company was the last of the Dunedain, but that couldn't be. No group of people could survive 1000 years, even those as long lived as the Dunedain without some form or way of life, If only to find wives of like mind and understanding and thereby have children to further their way of life. Which is why I loosely based their re-constructed way of life on the Chieftain/ Thane relationship of Saxon England. I really love this story and I am so glad you are reading it and enjoyed it! :-)) Be Stay, Mellon nin! ((hugs)) MM

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/9/2020
Now they are wed, and their happiness seems complete. Grief will come in its time, but for now there is the joy of the moment. Author Reply: Larner! Exactly! In these few chapters I wanted to give them as much of the happiness of a normal life as I could, blissful in their ignorance of what was to come. Before it is all shattered as it had to be. Thank you the re-reviewing! :-) MM

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 11/5/2005
One of my very favorite writers is Rosemary Sutcliff, whose historical novels mostly set in Roman Britain are so wonderfully evocative of the cultures of the past within Britain. (It was because of her my husband, brother, and I found ourselves one day walking atop Hadrian's wall, only to be buzzed by four RAF fighter jets practicing low altitude maneuvers--such an ironic moment, to be atop the symbol of the ancient might of the Roman Empire in Britain while just over us flew the symbor of the might of today!) The culture you've described is so similar to the types of cultures she shows in her books. And believe me--for me to compare you to her works is high praise. I thank you for this look at the culture that has slipped back in time, seeking to bring all back to a future that is keeping with that of its sister so far to the south. Author Reply: Larner! Thank you so much for the compliment! Baggins Babe was telling me what a good writer she is. I'll have to check out some of her books! Hadrian's wall and RAF fighter jets! Hmmmmm!! Definitely an interesting juxtaposition! I'm so glad that you are finding such enjoyment in the story! I lived in York for a year and it was beautiful! A very picturesque city surrounded by its medieval walls! Lovely! MM

Eruanneth_Luin	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 6/29/2005
Beautiful! Such a sensitive touch you have with not only the pre-joining, but also the deep significance and responsibility undertaken by Arathorn and Gilraen beyond the joining of houses and bodies. I truly loved the vows given and received.

daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 9/28/2003
It strikes me as I read this that the heirs of Isildur had been hoping for a better time for centuries and, while I am sure they still hoped, as the ceremonial words show, it may have seemed more like a wish that a real expectation. And yet, the restoration is near. Those circlets won't be for these two, but they will be for their son and Elrond's daughter. So the future is very near here as these three are gathered around the old wooden box, but it may seem to them to be as far as ever. Author Reply: Exactly. For them it has become a part of who they are. The wish for something better, but never knowing when and indeed if those circlets will ever be worn again. The words are meaningful and have power, but a power to define who they were. It is what gave them their identity, rather than being a call to arms. And yet as you say, Aragorn and Arwen will wear those circlets. Word and action married up. MM

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