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Brethren  by Ecthelion of the fountain 1 Review(s)
LindeleaReviewed Chapter: 5 on 5/23/2025
“Lord Éomer—have you heard? Gríma the leech has returned.”
Ew. Not a promising beginning. And where has he been these past two years? I have an uneasy feeling.

But Éothain sounds like a valuable asset.

astride her grey steed, clad as a Rider and wearing a helm in a vain attempt at disguise—yet unmistakable Hmmm. How is she going to manage to fool people as Dernhelm? It sounds like she needs to work a bit more on the art of disguise.

and now your sister, grown into one who will surely outshine all her peers. Truer words were never spoken.

Théodred's musings at the end of the chapter brought to mind, oddly enough, Beth from Little Women who did not talk about her dreams and ambitions as her sisters did and later mused to her sister Jo that maybe she was always fated to die at home with her parents rather than marrying or making her way in the world. Perhaps Théodred's lack of interest has something to do with his fate, even though he does not know it? (Don't mind me and my ramblings; it's late, and I'm almost too tired to see straight, much less think straight.)

Author Reply: “And where has he been these past two years? I have an uneasy feeling.” – Yes, that’s exactly the question I intended readers to ask. Where was he? Whom did he meet? How did he spend his time? Ultimately, it points to his falling under Saruman’s influence—but that part won’t be narrated here, since Éomer and Théodred themselves wouldn’t have known.

“How is she going to manage to fool people as Dernhelm?” – That’s actually told in my earlier story, Steelsheen, where the same events are told from Éowyn’s perspective. :)

“Perhaps Théodred’s lack of interest has something to do with his fate, even though he does not know it?” – That’s a really interesting thought! In my stories, he’s come to believe it had something to do with an encounter he once had with Elves in his youth (a tale to be told in Dark Horse), but I think your suggestion makes a lot of sense too—as a mix of foreboding and unnamed longing. I’ll definitely keep that in mind if I write more Théodred-centric stories!

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