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Fire and Shadow  by daw the minstrel 16 Review(s)
LKKReviewed Chapter: 5 on 1/24/2004
Well! That was just plain MEAN of you, daw! To end with a cliffhanger like that. Cruel, mean authoress. We hatess her, my preciousss. We hatesss her!

Um, sorry about that. This was a fascinating chapter. I found Amdir's view of responsibility to be almost irresponsible. I'm surprised he made it through warrior's training, to be honest. I don't remember Turgon being quite as bad as his younger brother in terms of how he perceived his duties and responsibilities.

However, Amdir does have one point correct, I suspect. If Legolas is as good a scout as Amdir believes (and he probably is) than Eilian should use his warrior talents. I know it must be difficult for Eilian to do that, but he of all people should understand, I would think. Of course, it's not my younger brother I'm sending into danger, so what do I know?

Now, as for that chapter ending .... I'm guessing that someone discovered Amdir and Sinnarn's absence. Legolas, perhaps? More guessing, Legolas went to look for them. If he went alone without alerting others that could explain why he may receive disciplinary action. Of course, Legolas' absence would be noticed by his keeper and the rest of the camp which would bring them to the cave as well. So? Am I close?

Good chapter, daw. Despite the mean ending. ;-)

LKK

Author Reply: See, I thought by this point everyone would know what had happened anyway! I think maybe because I do? ;-) But you are awfully close on the ending, I have to admit.

Amdir is so bad! Sweet but bad. But he admires Legolas and he has a clearer view of him that Eilian does in some ways, I think.

AlyReviewed Chapter: 5 on 1/24/2004
AHHH!!!! To leave it like that is just cruel! I need to know what's going on in Legolas' head NOW! *LOL*

Someone really needs to take Amdir and beat some sense into that kid, AND his parents. Did they not learn anything from loosing Turgon? You would think that loosing a child because of his rebeliousness and laxidazical attitude towards authority would have made them look at their parenting styles. Especially if/when you start seeing the same signs in your other child.

Oh well, wouldn't be the story with out him. ;)

Author Reply: We will hear Legolas's story in the next chapter, which is well started. It had to be congruent with this one so I mostly drafted them together. But I need to let readers catch up too. ;-)

Amdir and Turgon are much alike, sweet and totally irresponsible. They would be good Wood-elves in times of peace (let's dance in the woods, tra-la) and are a disaster in times of trouble. And they are both very useful for authors!

The KarenatorReviewed Chapter: 5 on 1/24/2004
Whoa! Professor Swift Nerd,

I did not even get to review the last chapter! However, I'm not complaining. What a nice surprise to get the notice of a new chapter. And such a good one.

Amdir really is a newer version of Turgon, isn't he? Despite his undisciplined behavor, he seems to have the same affectionate and kind qualites that made it hard to stay mad at Turgon. And Sinnarn is facing many of the same problems with Amdir that Legolas faced with Turgon...bad judgment with a smile on his face is only one of them.

The honeymoon is certainly over for Legolas serving under Eilian. It looks like Legolas will alter his opinion of Eilian before Eilian alters his opinion of Legolas. Things are a bit tense.

The thieving drawf was unexpected. No matter how much animosity there may be between the Elves and the dwarves, it's hard not to sympathize with parents trying to protect their young. It was certainly an eye opener for the two young guys. However, this new view of the dwarves will carry a high price.

Now that Legolas has all the pieces of the puzzle, it looks like the memory is more than he bargained for. Not the child, Daw! It's a rule that if you kill off children or pets then you are automatically a villian. We don't want to have to tar and feather you! Not you! I suppose this means I'll have to wait until you and Legolas get around to telling us what happened...and good reason to hope that you will still be Professor Swift Nerd. :>)

GOOD chapter. Just how long do you think it'll take you to get up chapter six? :>) Karen

Author Reply: Amdir is a charming problem. If I were Ithilden, I'd be making sure that he and Sinnarn do not get assigned together again. And yet, you can see they would miss one another. It must get lonely being away from home, and a friend is important.

Good observation about Legolas and Eilian. Yes, the honeymoon is over. We'll see if the two of them manage to work things out.

The dwarf needed a weapon to defend his family. That seems to me to be a good excuse.

As for the horror that Legolas remembers, well, it needed to be horrible to justify all this buildup. I'm sorry. :-(

Tapetum LucidumReviewed Chapter: 5 on 1/24/2004
That was great! You did leave us with a little cliffie but it wasn't too painful. Amdir sounds a lot like Turgon. He is still in denial that he did anything wrong. I would think being re-assigned is a pretty strong disciplinary method for the elves and he isn't even phased. I knew Legolas was trying to look out for the wild elfling. It is too big a job for anyone - even Beliond, Maltanaur and Nithron combined. Legolas is getting a little too good at pumping his fellow warriors for info.

Spying? Elves of the Woodland Realm? Never! Sounds like Eilian is treating Galelas the way he should treat Legolas. You know younger brother is going to get annoyed very soon. Waiting back at camp can only be tolerated for so long. It must have been disconcerting for the elves to come upon evidence of a forest fire and not know the cause. That must not happen very often.

Legolas thinks the world of Eilian and he has been very patient serving under him so far. I guess he is at the end of his rope and Beliond knows this. I was glad his keeper kept him from speaking out of turn, at least for a little while. We have seen his Thranduilish temper flare before and it is not pretty when it is unleashed. Amdir is a lot of fun! He loves to cook and have a good time. He tries to avoid the menial tasks as much as possible and what could be wrong with a quick swim in a waterfall?

I was glad to find out that they didn't sneak off in search of trouble. One event kind of stumbled into the next. I loved Amdir's dwarven expletives! They were very clever. Using the dwarf to lure them away from the waterfall was clever, then to make them look ridiculous for their show of force was good for them.

Judging from Legolas' panicked reaction, there is a lot more to the story (I hope!)
Great one!
Tapetum



Author Reply: You are nice and patient. I seem to have roused a few of my readers. That's good, I guess. They don't know where I live, after all.

Eilian is coaxing Galelas along and it must be making Legolas crazy. He's about had it with Eilian's keeping him at camp. Maybe it would be best if he gets transfered anyway.

Amdir is not so bad as a person or friend, but man is he a pain as a warrior. Of course, for all I know, he can kick Orcs from here to Dol Guldur.

I think there will be three more chapters after this one. The next one is the one with the information and then there will need to be some unwinding. Glad you're enjoying it.

nanethReviewed Chapter: 5 on 1/24/2004
Daw, I swear that you have developed an evil streak that I don't remember being quite so severe in your other stories. You seem to have a rampant case of the dreaded "evil cliffhanger" syndrome! You give us just enough information to make reaching the end of the chapter even more torture to your poor readers.

That was well done. I can't wait for more!

Author Reply: I'm glad you were tortured, I guess. ;-)

This whole story is one big cliffhanger. I hadn't realized that when I started. But in the next chapter, we get Legolas's returning memory and then there's only the sorting out of consequences. I think 3 chapters after this and that's all.

NilmandraReviewed Chapter: 5 on 1/24/2004
The Eilian-Legolas scene, where Amdir is noting that Eilian is not using Legolas's skills reminds me of when Ithilden went to the Southern Patrol and found Eilian behaving recklessly and sent him home. The captain, it was Todith, I believe, was looking forward to Eilian getting past that part of his grief, and Ithilden sort of refused to see Eilian's gifts at all. History repeats itself - now Eilian is in Ithilden's position and must learn to see Legolas as a warrior and not just his little brother!

Author Reply: You know, I thought of that too! But hey, if a scene works well once, maybe it will work again.

Thank you for all your help on this. I think 6 will be better for your suggestions.

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