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Interrupted Journeys: Part 2 Journeys Perforce by elliska	4 Review(s)
Jay of Lasgalen	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 10/7/2004
Ouch - poor Aradunnon! The leg would sounded nasty, but at least it was not life-threatening or poisoned. I liked Thranduil tending to his brother like that - it would be sensible that all warriors had at least a few 'first aid' skills. The smoke and the extinguishing of the fires is puzzling - what is going on here? Jay Author Reply: The smoke and extinguishing fires are puzzling, aren't they? :) That's exactly what Thranduil is saying to himself right now. I wanted to work in some way to show the "Sorcerer" refered to in the quote at the top so I played a bit with one of Sauron's favorite toys--fire. The idea of magic must be very frightening--it add more seriousness to the threat than simply orcs. You would think that people with seven years of battle experience would learn to stitch up a wound. I thought that would be a basic enough skill if it wasn't too complicated a wound. But I did look into it a little to make sure--don't ever ask a nurse anything about his/her profession unless you really want an answer. The lady I asked gave me the most disgusting, gruesome explanation of suturing. I could have gone my whole life without knowing any of those details! :) Anyway, thanks for the review!

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 10/7/2004
You had me worried about Aradunnon! I didn't think his injury would be too life-threatening - yet - but I'm glad he is not too bad. (He and Amoneth do need to get their relationship sorted out - petulant and whining - not a good combination, girl. Pin that elf down.) The business with fires - very ominous. I can sense the panic behind the eyes. It's just beginning to dawn on them that there is more to this than orcs, isn't it? Not only have there already been twice as many orcs as they thought, there's now magic involved that has nothing to do with Thranduil and the forest. It must be the downside to the bond between elves - to be sat at home in a tree and know that your beloved is in danger / pain / a state of worry etc and not be able to do a single thing about it. I suppose the advantage is that you would know they were unharmed when they were in battle - at least until the moment the blade / arrow struck home. I hope the hidden orc supply is dwindling - but I'm not holding my breath. This is very exciting. Author Reply: No, Aradunnon can't be too badly injured--he is needed for a while longer and besides, you don't know him well enough yet. The reader must know and love/hate the character before it is interesting to kill/injure them. :) <= Is that an evil grin? Yes, there was much more in Amon Lanc than they thought. One of the things that always interested me was how did Sauron just take over half of the largest forest in ME right under the nose of elves? He could have just sprung up one day but several references in UT and S say the shadow crept slowly over Mirkwood. That is interesting to me. How did the elves first discover it? How did they react? How could they--it is Sauron, even if he is weak? When did they really 'get it' and realize what it was they faced? Gandalf is the one that proved it to the world, but did the elves that lived right there understand more and sooner? It's one of those little things Tolkien left untold and it intrigues me. When I wrote this part of the overall story, I had a lot of trouble limiting myself and there is actually a lot more written than was edited to be posted. Since they originally thought it was a Necromancer, I wanted to throw a little magic in there somehow and I do think the most disconcerting thing in this situation for Thranduil must have been suspecting magic was involved. Orcs he can handle. Magic is an unknown. I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. The orc supply will dwindle. But not for another 2000 years or so. But, it will be in the background of the rest of this part of the story. I think we've established what Thranduil is facing, now I want to play with how he and those around him will face it. Thanks for the review!

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 10/6/2004
They certainly didn't know how great was their peril, did they? I love the horror-movie ending here. "I thought you put the fires out." "Really? I didn't know they had gone out." Cue scary music. "If you didn't, and I didn't, then . . . who did?" Dun dun dunnnn. The battle writing was nice and tense, and I liked having Thranduil order his little brother to rest afterwards while stitching up his leg. Aradunnon is clearly in no shape to be fighting much more, and while it is clearly in Thranduil's interest as King to keep his troop commander in decent shape, it's also well within his interests as a big brother to take care of baby brother. I remember when I was in high school, and my little sister got bitten by a dog, that my immediate instinct was to Make My Sister Better, which included shouting for the parental units, accompanying her to the hospital, and telling her jokes while she got her stitches. The protective instinct of a mother is the strongest in the world, but only slightly less strong is that of an older sibling. I liked the image of the women up in the tree. It's such a peaceful night where they are, but they know that somewhere out there, it isn't peaceful at all, and that just ruins it all for them. Author Reply: I smiled over the screenplay format here. 'Dun dun dunnnn.' :) No they didn't how great was their peril and they still don't really. They'll figure it out though. The presence of magic had to be the most disturbing thing. It is harder to manage and implies a much worse enemy than orcs. I do agree that the sibling bond is strong and precious. And I like to think of Thranduil with family. Aradunnon is an important person in Greenwood. He handles the day-to-day management of Thranduil's military and does a good job of it. But most importantly to Thranduil, Aradunnon is his brother. I almost cut the women in the tree and I did cut part of it. I thought the 'ooo the forest is ominous' thing was getting a bit heavy handed. My friend who reads this was saying, 'we get it already.' That's true. But like you said, its a little different there. It is peaceful, yet it isn't. Lindomiel is experiencing something for the first time that Dieneryn is too familiar with and it has to scare them both for very different reasons. I looked at Thranduil and Ardunnon's reactions to what they are seeing/feeling in the forest. I wanted to show Dieneryn's and Lindomiel's a little too. And Amoneth--she just doesn't get it. Well, the battles are over for now. Now its time to react to what they've learned and will continue learning.

daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 10/6/2004
That stuff about the smoke is very interesting. I liked the fact that Aradrunnon asked Thranduil if he had done it by magic. That suggests some things about Thranduil that aren't usually emphasized. And good for Lindomiel for standing up for her brother in law. Author Reply: Thanks Daw. Since most thought Sauron was a 'Necromancer' until Gandalf proved differently, I was trying to think of some way to begin creating that impression. Sauron was probably not strong enough yet at this point to do much but I thought he might be able work with fire since it was one of his 'specialties.' And it seems to me that the Hobbit makes the fact that Thranduil has some talent in that area fairly clear. The elves' magic has always interested me because it is subtle. So I decided to play with it a little. Thanks for the review!

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