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And Then There Were None by Estel_Mi_Olor	5 Review(s)
mystarlight	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 8/26/2018
I am so enthralled by welcome Elves gave to their king. Thranduil in his wrath is intimidating! Love the moment when his sons pledged him their loyalty once again. Rochiron as a second commander of the army is awesome idea. He is so modest that he even dared think about it.

obsidianj	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 2/1/2015
And so it begins. Thranduil is back and can take over again. I think his subjects are glad. His sons are no substitute as of yet.

Fiondil	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 5/15/2013
The king is back home and Mirkwood readies for war, though they have no idea of the war that is soon to be upon them. Rather ironic. Good to see Rochiron so honored. The ellon richly deserves the promotion. And Biblo's thieving is having an adverse effect on the citizens of Mirkwood, it seems. grin Looking forward to more. Author Reply: Thank you for reviewing, Fiondil! I see you like irony, since you point it out every time I sneak it in there ; ) And yes, in a somewhat darkly ironic way, the elves have absolutely no idea what is about to go down. I kind of like the theme of the carpet getting pulled out from under them, so to speak, since I feel like that would be part of the reality of living in a forest blighted by the Enemy. You can't possibly guess what's coming next. Rochiron does seem to be taking over the story a little bit...but I'm glad people seem to like him. I wanted to tell the war council from another character's perspective (not Thranduil's or Legolas's) and Rochiron just seemed appropriate. And yes, Bilbo is really causing a ruckus. His greatest act of burglary is going to be revealed shortly ; )

rikwen	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 5/14/2013
I had seen your story listed several times as I log onto the site, but I have always resisted starting something in progress until this past weekend. I started reading your story off and on for several days and have finally caught up with the tale. And what a tale you have woven. I like the way you have incorporated the spread of Sauron through a mental perspective as well as the physical of attacking orcs and spiders and dying trees. Legolas' thought of how the darkness was attacking his fea and the fighting between the brothers and later on between the elves on the archery field all seem to emphasize the fear and distrust that is being used to divide and conquer the elves without having to do battle. And your battle scenes are well described. There is a lot of tension, with the type of wishing that the elves could be in all places at all times and see what is coming up behind them. I am also enjoying your Thranduilian family structure and how they are interacting with one another and how Legolas is seen within this structure. Tolkien wrote him as a young and merry elf, but he had to have seen a lot of fighting and survival in his home in Mirkwood. I am now going to be checking here constantly looking for new chapters and trying not to be too impatient waiting. This story is definitely worth marking for rereading at a later time. Author Reply: Thank you for reading and reviewing rikwen! I completely understand your hesitation about beginning stories in progress, since I too hate it when authors don't update consistently and the reader is left hanging. I raise my hand guiltily since I am in the process of doing just that... No, seriously though I have 2 chapters left to post (I think) of this current story (there WILL be a sequel). But thank you for sticking with the story. I always found Mirkwood one of the more fascinating places in Middle Earth and I always wanted to read more about it in The Hobbit. It seemed so telling to me that the entire forest was renamed and what a great word: mirk. It means darkness and gloom and, to me, "gloom" has so many psychological connotations that I was quite excited to weave that into my story. I'm glad you liked the battle scenes, since I was always wary of making them confusing. And yes, that is exactly what I wanted to convey: gee, wouldn't it be great if the elves could be everywhere at once. As for the family structure, I'm glad it's working for you (and others). I admit, I didn't put too much thought into why I decided Legolas needed to be the youngest of 5 siblings, but it works. Now we come to the last point, which I have put a lot of thought into. You are absolutely right: in the LotR, Legolas is quite a young and merry elf. Almost carefree, one might think at first glance. So why is he so quiet, so doom and gloom in my story? Well, you are definitely right to point out that living in Mirkwood is no picnic and I strongly believe that would have had severe repercussions on those elves. So, in my mind, once Legolas is out in the great outside world, he lightens up a bit. Also, once Sauron abandons Dol Guldur, I am assuming that life was a little less bleak (only slightly). Finally, I like to put Legolas in perspective with the other members of the Fellowship. He is merry to his companions, perhaps because he is foreign to them, perhaps because he is happy to be outside his dark forest; perhaps because he is in good company that leaves him happy. Sorry didn't mean to write such a long reply, but the long and short of this idea is that I have also noticed it and will try to write his character as canon as possible . Thank you again! -EMO

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 5/14/2013
Well, it's about time they faced the Enemy straight on, of course! I can appreciate why all are excited and even pleased by the thought of fighting outright at last! I only grieve that the horses and guards outside the forest have disappeared, and hope that their fate is learned for the sake of the families now bereft. Author Reply: Thanks for the review Larner, and for always keeping such a close eye to detail. You are in fact the only person who asked about the missing guards. I won't reveal their fate yet, but that will be coming soon! I imagine the whole "let's go face the Enemy" attitude in this chapter is a relief to everybody. Sort of the way I imagine one finally swatting away at a fly that's been buzzing in your ear for hours (a very inane comparison). Hope to be wrapping this up for you soon!

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