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The Seeds of Time  by daw the minstrel 19 Review(s)
Red Squirrel Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 7/2/2013
I was delighted to see Nana rescue the elflings! I laughed so hard at Turgon "swim hard, friend Eilian!" LOL so cute and funny! As a preschool teacher I get a couple "Turgons" every year...they make my school year very colorful...but I wouldn't want it any other way! I really enjoyed these elflings...adorable!

Author Reply: Thanks, Red Squirrel. It made me happy when it occurred to me to send Nana instead of one of the boys to act as hero. I love Turgon. He's an author's blessing because he thinks up wild stuff to do.

If you're a preschool teacher, I am in awe of you. Letting a bunch of little kids outnumber me would scare me silly.

daw

LindeleaReviewed Chapter: 7 on 7/22/2007
I came looking for more stories about Turgon after reading Bodkin's latest, and stumbled on this. Wonderful! Believable characters, tightly written, heart-stopping action, calming resolution, and leaving one wanting more.

Author Reply: Glad you liked it, Lindelea. These characters are dear to me, so I'm always happy when someone appreciates them.

daw

pipinheartReviewed Chapter: 7 on 6/5/2007
This is nice...

Legolas's naneth rescued them. You get the feeling she was a little adventurous in her youth as well.

It's a good picture of them as a family.

Lovely job...

Author Reply: I agree about Naneth. I think she understands Eilian because she was like him. And poor little Legolas, snuggling with his parents, totally unaware that Nana isn't going to be around too much longer.

meckinockReviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/29/2007
Sorry this is so late, daw. Mental coherence issues on my part. I loved this chapter for showing us Lorellin's immense courage and her love for Legolas. I have really enjoyed seeing her in sharp focus instead of filtered through the lens of her family's memories, and it has only made her impending loss seem more unbearable for them. It's just agonizing to see the lengths to which she'll go to protect her son, and yet soon a great hurt will come on him that she won't be able to mend. I will always come. Ouch. So it was nice to see her as the hero, and as the nana cuddling her chick in her nest. And yay for bleeding Eilian, and Cook, too.

Author Reply: Thank you, Meckinock. You didn't have to do this, you know. :-)

Lorellin came alive for me in this story in a way she hadn't before, and I too enjoyed learning about her. But then I really could see how much they all lost. Part of Thranduil seems to disappear with her, and Legolas in particular is left adrift. But also the whole family dynamic is different when she's around.

Agape4GondorReviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/14/2007
Wow! I'm shuddering myself and would most apprecite lying down next to the three and receiving comfort from them.

Excellent chapter - I had no idea where you were going with the rescue - but it was marvelous.

Eilian figuring out how to alert those in the palace was splendid, creative, wonderful!

And Lorellin rescuing them! Wow...

And that Legolas was brave and obedient enough - and trusting - to wait upon those he loved.

Ah! Sits back and relaxes in joy!

Author Reply: Thanks, Agape. I got all excited when I decided Lorellin should be the one to go to the little ones' rescue. I'm having a grand time getting to know her and show (not just tell) that she and Eilian are a lot alike.

obsidianjReviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/12/2007
That was a nice twist. I didn't expect Legolas' mother to mount the rescue. Now I know where Eilian got his penchant for dangerous situations. Poor Thranduil! But at least the little ones are safe now.

Author Reply: Legolas's mother surprised me a little too when I realized she was the one who had to go after the boys. I've often written that Eilian was like her and this was a good chance to show that rather than just tell it.

White WolfReviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/7/2007
Heroes, indeed. It's easy to see where Eilian gets his willingness to defy danger. When it comes to saving her child, Lorellin is just as determined to do whatever it takes, no matter how dangerous. More lovely detail.

I see you finally found something that silenced Turgon.

The scene with Thranduil, Lorellin and Legolas was very sweet and tended to bring out a big sigh and a smile from the reader; it did for me. :o)

Author Reply: Lorellin was going in after her baby and the menfolk would get out of the way if they knew what was good for them. Turgon amuses me, but he's still a little kid who needs his nana sometimes. Actually, he probably needs her more than he gets her.

Legolas is very snug at the end. Too bad his world will soon be shattered. Not in this story though.

French PonyReviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/6/2007
Eilian and Lorellin really are two of a kind, aren't they? They both have that momma-bear quality about them. Even though Eilian knew the interior of the cave, and Lorellin didn't, nothing could stop a momma from being the one to go in after the kids in a greased kayak.

Actually, the boat you described sounds like it would be a relatively pleasant ride under good conditions.

Author Reply: Thanks, FP. I'm checking my email at my inlaws in NJ.

I've written before that I thought Eilian and Lorellin were alike, and I was glad to have a chance to show rather than just tell it.

A kayak was indeed what I was picturing in my head. I figure elves could probably manage boats well. Legolas eventually wound up building one, after all.

DotReviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/5/2007
Heroes indeed. Lorellin rocks!

I love the voices of the three elflings. They’re so distinct. And yet you can still see the friendship that’s taking root there.

Eilian’s journey back was incredible. Showing his thoughts like that worked so well. I particularly like how he uses his senses to feel for the forest and get his bearings. And it was just as tense as the last chapter too! I was beginning to fear he’d have to come up with a new plan. Not to mention cringing for his poor numb self. And that part with him banging on the door with his feet was nerve-wracking. What a hero he is! He just keeps going too, doing what he needed. I thought it was interesting that his mother found him calmer than he had been all along. He’s needed now and is completely focused and knows he’s helping. Not to mention how dangerous it all is!

Wow, I wouldn’t want to be the one trying to stop Lorellin once she’s made up her mind to do something! Not only is she a mother protecting her child but we get to see the headstrong, obstinate and daring side of her too. Reminds me of someone… ;-) The menfolk certainly seem to realise that they’d be better off not coming between her and her baby anyway. It also sounds like Lorellin was a bit of a Celuwen when she was younger!

She would see them when she brought the little ones out at the water gate. I like that. There’s just no room for doubt here – this will work.

I was so relieved when she spotted Legolas and then it turned out she wasn’t safely there after all. You have my nerves in shreds, daw. But she gets there in the end. And she’s so good with them. I laughed at her taking Legolas first even though she knows that she probably shouldn’t. Though something tells me even Thranduil himself might have struggled with self-control at that point :-)

The most adorable part of the entire thing was Legolas telling her about his skinned knee so she’d make it better. LOL.

"Annael should go next." Turgon's face was solemn. "Sometimes he is afraid." That Turgon is just such a loyal, selfless little person. Among many other traits… I’m loving him in this story.

Safe! Oh thank the Valar! I can breathe again.

I loved the part where Lorellin tells Eilian to stop doing stupid things. I imagine those are words that will come back to him in years to come when he starts to regain a bit of sense. But in the meantime they both know what that pull of excitement and restless impatience is like.

I smiled my way through the last part, even knowing what’s to come for this precious family group. I can feel Thranduil’s relief and his protectiveness that’s as fierce as Lorellin’s. But for now Legolas is secure in his cocoon of love. He doesn’t need to hear the worry in Thranduil’s voice. Or the foreboding music in the background… I just love the image of them all curled up in a heap like that.

I’m looking forward to the tying of threads!


Author Reply: I'm glad the part with Eilian seemed tense because, seriously, I can never tell. I tried to draw it out a little and milk it for what it was worth.

Lorellin's been interesting to write about. Her flaws come out in a way that they don't when it's her sons remembering her. But she loved her family and, as much as any of the warriors in her family, she'd have died to defend them. It's just too bad she died for her own rashness instead. They lost a lot.

Turgon is so much fun. He needed to be someone Legolas would form a strong attachment to, and Turgon's own needs for friends and his creativity and daring seemed to me to be qualities that would attract other kids.

Poor Legolas. Poor Thranduil. Life without Nana is hard.

perellethReviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/5/2007
Delicious tale with Mummy to the rescue! That was a nice point, while Eilian and Thranduil waited anxiously! But the part with eilian swimming in the dangerous current was superb, I cold feel his cold and exhaustion and worry... to end up with ooks's surprised reaction.. that was a nice use of that piece of canon, by the way, the river going underneath the strnghold and the trap used later by BIlbo and the dwarces... Lovely.

I think that yu managed to bring Lorellin to the ight here, her relationship with Eilian and their likeness and how she managed to temper and also to redirect part of Thranduil's stern manner... They really really lost a worldwhen they lost her. But a good thing to see her so alive!

Author Reply: I loved using the underground river. It struck me as a wasted canon element because I don't think I've seen other stories using it.

Lorellin has been fascinating to write. Her sons tend to remember her through rose-colored glasses, although Thranduil sometimes admits her death left him angry as well as devastated. But when I started writing about her, she came through as someone with flaws and strengths, who was totally devoted to her family.

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