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Ten Thousand Years Will Not Suffice  by Agape4Gondor 2 Review(s)
LarnerReviewed Chapter: 16 on 7/9/2010
Alas--what started in joy ends now in grief and suspicion, as two thought faithful prove to be spies and saboteurs. At least Thorongil has the ear of Ecthelion and is able to persuade him. Now, to see Denethor recover from this new wound.

Author Reply: Denethor long had a distrust of those not of Gondor who served in Ecthelion's army. This only exacerbated it. And then Thorongil... and Ecthelion's growing dependence upon the man....

Denethor is torn in two....

French PonyReviewed Chapter: 16 on 3/17/2006
Ooh, lots of things going on here! Denethor has been bit by the love bug in pretty much the same way that anything else happens to him. He seems to be a very ardent, intense, and reserved lover. And he's also so besotted that he starts metting mixaphors. The idea of eyes being as gray as star sapphires could only have been thought of by one thoroughly in love.

I have to say, Ecthelion's reaction to all of this seems a little weird. It's almost as if he's more interested in spiting Denethor than in who Denethor actually marries. His first choice of whatsherface, the one Denethor doesn't like, seems to be something he pulled out of thin air, just the first noble lady who crossed his mind. Hild, his second choice, is even more bizarre. Gondor and Rohan don't actually need to strengthen their alliance if Thengel is still married to Morwen. There's no real reason for Denethor not to marry Finduilas -- indeed, he's old enough by now that Ecthelion should probably be getting down on his knees and giving thanks that Denethor is getting married at all -- except for Ecthelion's increasingly strange habit of opposing anything Denethor wants to do, simply because the idea comes from Denethor.

You can see that this is the sort of person that Denethor will eventually grow into, but it'll be interesting to see how it actually happens, how he comes to be so much like the father he despises.

And of course, Ecthelion will listen to Thorongil saying the exact things that Denethor says, when he won't listen to them coming from Denethor. Way to improve morale among the soldiers of Gondor there.

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