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They Did Not Take Root In That Land  by perelleth 7 Review(s)
AiwenReviewed Chapter: 6 on 9/7/2008
I am enjoying this story. There are too few stories out there about the second age, and you are capturing the tragedy of the situation rather well.

Author Reply: Thank-you for letting me know that you are enjoying, Aiwen. This is my favourite chapter in this story. Hope you enjoy the rest as well.

French PonyReviewed Chapter: 6 on 3/19/2007
Now that my work is done, I'm catching up on stories. Nice reward, huh?

There seems to be a lot of treading on toes going on here, and not just literally from Oropher. All these Elves seem to be tiptoeing around herds of elephants in every room in this palace, and they deal with it by needling each other. I was happy to see Glorfindel and Ereinion having an open, honest conversation at the end of the chapter. Someone definitely needed that, out of this whole large cast.

Author Reply: TIptoeing around herds of elephants, that is a good way of describing it, LOL! I suppose that seeing herds of your people sailing away to tother lands safer than yours would od nothing to boost the self esteem of a ruler... so every sailing might be a sad event for all involved I suspect. And needling provides a comofrtable excuse for releasing frustration, I find.

Hope you enjoyed your break, FP! :-)

BodkinReviewed Chapter: 6 on 3/17/2007
I love the greater understanding that has developed between Glorfindel and Gil-galad - even if Glorfindel's foresight is really sad. Poor Gil-galad. He did his best, always, to be the most honorable and wise king his house could provide, but it sounds as if there was an element of despair deep within him that he could never succeed. To know that he was mistaken about the reasons behind Glorfindel's appearance was doubtless a reassurance.

The - er - competition? between the different groups ... well. Not surprising. And I daresay they enjoyed themselves - as long as no group trounced the others too overwhelmingly. And Idhren ought to have enough sense to know that you can't make everything go as you wish - much better for Bronadel to reach the sea in safety than disappear so that his family don't know what became of him.

I love the ... model? And Oropher is the perfect person to work on Doriath - and he'll love it if only he can get over his instinctive suspicion that everyone is out to get him. While it will do a lot to boost his relationship with all those working on the project.

And knowing that Annatar was Sauron might really be a good reason for keeping an indignant Finrod in Aman. It is not a Good Thing. But I am very glad to know that Gil-galad's kin are proud of him - and it's just a shame that he doesn't really realise how well he is doing.

Delightful, perelleth. Thoroughly enjoyed this!

Author Reply: THank-you Bodkin. Fighting a long defeat seems to be a constant in TOlkien, and to these elves it might be clear at this point that theirs was a hopeless fight, yet one they had to fight nonetheless, so no wonder that they would feel less than useful from time to time. Fortunately, Gil-galad's friends know how to lift his spirits and GLorffindel has finally found a way to ease the king's... suspicions towards himself. Things will get better, before they get worse.

RedheredhReviewed Chapter: 6 on 3/16/2007
The sea was calm as far as elven sight reached in that silvery night. There were a few passing shreds of mist, hurrying in the darkness towards early morning appointments and barely dimming the glorious light of the stars and the almost full moon. Tilion and Eärendil seemed deep in conversation, surely watching over the white ship as it took the Straight Road, Glorfindel thought as he stood in the long terrace, enthralled by the deep stillness that shrouded that night of partings. That was lovely...

Oropher's back to doing his thing, I see. ;) Which was fun!

Enjoyed the references to Pengolodh. :D

Glorfindel got interesting as his personal motivations were explained.

But, the last part with Gil-galad and Glorfindel... wow...
Every bit was excellent, every detail savory. Brilliant plot points. Nice conflict/conversation between them. I especially like Annatar casting a subtle dark spell over Gil-galad - and Gil-galad not being stopped by it. The young king's fears were so rational, yet steeped in emotion. That might have made them very damaging, if this had been another, more selfish, elf. Very tough investigation they are embarking upon. Maybe spies would be of help. Chilling conclusion by Glorfindel, though. Goodness, he must realize he is in the same boat. And if the Valar know about Sauron and foresee destruction - has not Sauron figured out the odds are in his favor too?

That ending pushed this chapter from the good category into the great.


Author Reply: Thank-you, Redheredh!

The idea of a reborn sailing back to Middle earth is so strange that it was worth exploring, and I finally decided that he was an experiment, for the Valar much as for Glorfindel himself. I pictured a very optimistic elf, and one so in love with Middle earth that he would be eager to go back and fight again, even after his sojourn in the halls. And it made me think why Finrod would not, since he so loved Men and middle earth.. so I made that coneection. Facing twice the same enemy, whom he was not appointed to defeat would have been a bit to much in the Valar's mind... LOL.

I am so glad that you are wnjoying this convoluted tale! The plot lines are not unravelling as smoothly as I wished them, so I am very reassured by your support. Oropher keeps growing on me, though, as I write on!

erunyauveReviewed Chapter: 6 on 3/16/2007
Can I squee a little at a new chapter?

>>Was that unfulfilled longing somehow embedded deep within himself, only awaiting the right moment to awake, he wondered in trepidation not for the first time?

A rather sad foreshadowing of Legolas' sea-longing. I like the idea, however, that elves descended from those who turned back before the Misty Mountains had less interest in the sea from the outset.

>>"Meeting my cousin Idril was one of the greatest joys of my life," he recalled in a warm voice.

::g:: I adore Idril and Tuor, so of course, I think all elves should have felt likewise (well, except Maeglin).

>>"It was difficult for a child to understand why he had to apologize every time a word in his own tongue slipped in conversation,"

That's such an interesting idea, and very logical. The sons of Feanor, of course, wouldn't have seen any reason to speak Sindarin among themselves, they being the reason for the ban, and I can't see that the rest of the Noldor - especially Fingon, being a friend to Maedhros - dropping Quenya altogether. And yet it would be very confusing for a small child, who wouldn't understand the politics of it all.

>>We both know that you were sent to protect your king’s line, I can well understand that

Oh, I wasn't expecting that! But it certainly fits.

>>The Valar knew.

Oh, they must have known, and considering that, just as in the case of Morgoth getting loose, it was their own fault, one would think that they would have done more - on behalf of Men, at least, if not for the Elves who were supposed to leave Middle-earth.

>>a foe that had been beyond the power of the best of them to defeat

Well, Luthien did, but to be fair, she used what she had inherited from her mother to do it.

Author Reply: You are most welcome, and your squees as well! I apologize that it takes me so long to update! yet I am so glad that you are still following and enjoying!

I am most curious about sea longing an dhow it affected elves... Probably Oropher could not know that one day a grandson of his would sail west, but it was intersting to play with the idea of what it mean tto him...

REgarding Quenya, I had not thought of what you are pointing ourt, which is a very intersting idea as well. I rather meant that Ereinion, being rtaised since wuite young in the HAvens, would have been more pressed not to speak in Quenya, being among Teleri and the son of a kinslayer, so I think his early years there would have been difficult.. ;-)

Thank you very much for your kind words.

elliskaReviewed Chapter: 6 on 3/15/2007
Oh my gosh, I have missed this entirely! How did that happen? I read this last chapter and I was thinking, this is not familar, I don't remember any of this, so I scanned the other chapters and realized I have missed a whole story. Well, good in a way because now I have something new to read! :-)

And all this Oropher. How could I have missed this? I love him here. But I must say, the character I was most impressed with in this last chapter was Glorfindel. From Memories tasted differently in Middle-earth in the beginning, to the end, his character is wonderful.

I will have to get caught up on this tomorrow and leave more reviews. Fun!!

Author Reply: LOLOL! You are welcome, elliska, I too love to find a story that I have skipped, so I get to read it as one! Glad that you enjoyed!
I was thinking that Glorfindel's arrival must have been a disturbance, no matter the date of his arrival, being such a unique case and all, although in this chapter he is being less obnoxious an dmore supporting, in his friends pov, at least! :-)

daw the minstrelReviewed Chapter: 6 on 3/15/2007
Glorfindel's final insight is chilling here, Perelleth. For me, one of the joys of fanfiction is that we know people's fate, so we read the stories in light of that and it adds depth. But for Glorfindel, foresight about Gil-galad's fate is just too sad.

I've always loved that poem that Sam speak in FOTR, the one about Gil-galad being an elven king who fell in Mordor, where the shadows are.

Author Reply: I also love that poem, it sounds so sad, that it always made me curious about the backstory of the elven king...

Knowing the ending makes things more meaningful, doesn't it?

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