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| Faramir's Verse by losselen | 4 Review(s) |
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| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/5/2024 |
| for though the King drew me back from the darkness, it was you who drew me back from the fire Wonderful turn of phrase! But I learned bits from Beregond even as I rested in the Houses of Healing, ere he rode away with the host. He was reluctant to tell me, but I’m afraid I pressed him. And though he told me not much, I pieced more together in the days after, from talking with Master Meriadoc, and knowing that Beregond went in parole from his station as one that had defied his commander. And so I made my guesses and asked no more. Something lay between him and my father, though I knew not yet what. Oh! How I adore mentions of Beregond in stories. His fate was my gateway to writing fanfic. I can clearly picture Beregond's reluctance, Faramir's pressing him, and the sobering thought of Beregond going to the Black Gate in parole as one who had defied his commander. I came some time to Fen Hollen and saw not the porter there. I saw then that the Rath Dínen was in disarray, and the House of the Stewards burnt, its dome fallen. I learned there was turmoil in the Hallows which took the porter’s life, though what enemy assailed it, none would say. This description brings back Beregond's desperate choice so clearly, along with the terrible events that he and Gandalf and Pippin witnessed. Stuff of nightmares. And that the pyre was also for me. And now we come to the crux of the matter. When the Shadow pressed and our peril increased, yet so did his pride, as if annealed to a steel hard yet brittle. Such an insightful description! (and of course we know what anyone who tried to use that particular Stone of Seeing afterward saw...) Gandalf's the Enemy twists even love to his own ends - I hadn't thought of that before, at least not in just those words. Well stated. Faramir's ponderings about honoring his father beautifully show his capacity for deep thinking and careful consideration. for your dreams were dark and full of flames brings back that scene in the Houses of Healing so powerfully. (The description of the House of Stewards is gorgeously evocative. And, for some reason, the spectre of Notre Dame stirs at the back of my memory. I think I heard they're making progress on that restoration.) Thorongil! (I feel the need to seek out fanfiction about Aragorn's past exploits... Can you recommend any?) Faramir's completion of the song is perfect. I had forgotten that the East Wind had been left (for Gimli, as the Dwarf supposed, but ultimately fulfilled by Boromir's beloved brother). And the story ends in hope, which is, again, perfect. Author Reply: thanks! beregond is such a great character. tolkien makes great and repeated uses of these secondary characters to 'refract greatness': that which is great cannot be seen through a text except by how those around them feel about them. i think the notre dame pictures must have entered my conception of the scene, too. it's the way that a place that was very dark is now filled with light. but the light is dusty, and it's lighting things which haven't seen the sun in centuries (millennia for gondor). re: thorongil. there are quite a lot of thorongil stories out there, but i like this one a lot: 'where the stars are strange' by dwimordene. i mainly cracked open ttt and found that both aragorn and legolas sang about an 'i' who waited in minas tirith-- that's obvious faramir, you know! so in fact, all the verses are faramir's verses. thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts! | |
| Periantari | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/29/2024 |
| What a gorgeous gap-filler. I loved so many moments in this and i myself feel like this is a most necessary gap-filler in which my recent fic also addressed some of the themes in here. “Alas, that here lies all my kin. My mother long departed. Boromir overthrown by lust for the Ring. Denethor slain by his own hand. Beneath the broken House of the Stewards I have now collected the latest legacy for the House of Húrin, of shame and grief. And yet, so be it, for what has passed can now but be. And the House will be mended, with new folk and new hands, and that which was broken can sometimes be made better.” I thought there was so much to recover from for Faramir. Glad that he had these insightful conversations with Aragorn and Gandalf. This fic brought tears to my eyes for it is so thoughtful and you really have the characters' voices done well. Thank you! Author Reply: thank you! this IS a most necessary gap-filler, and every time i read LotR i think about the funeral of denethor and the fate of the House of the Stewards. that it was missing in the text is i think interesting as well. not even in the appendix, where it could have been fitted in, even just as a note. but at the same time, i'm glad that, faramir's character is left to exist in this state of tension by the text, since the hobbit POV characters basically leaves his sphere of intimacy by the time of coronation and reconstruction, it kind of heightens his actions and the tension of his relationship w his father. and it's probably why he's so beloved, because that tension is never resolved fully. anyway, thanks for reading! | |
| UTfrog | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/28/2024 |
| Outstanding. You so well captured a difficult situation. Thank you. Author Reply: thank you for reading and leaving the note :) | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/27/2024 |
| What a marvelous gap filler. Well done! I especially appreciate the ending, which restores hope to all. the land about them seemed an emerald rolling sea, and the City a white ship risen out of the endless tide of time, and at its prow a lamp had lit, and sable pennants in the gleaming mithril of the King streamed out into gathering darkness. Author Reply: thank you! that was one of the first sentence to be written. :) | |