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Fire and Shadow by daw the minstrel	25 Review(s)
Jebb	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 1/26/2004
This was so much more than I expected so tragic and sad poor Legolas to have that memory suddenly returned like that Thank good ness for Adar who as always despite his anger is there giving love and support when needed it is the little things that I love so much the bit where Legolas realises that Thrnaduil is going to stand for no prevarication and when he recognises how much he needs his father's love and strength this is outstanding thank you Author Reply: Yeah, there was a reason Legolas suppressed what happened. It was truly terrible. And Thranduil is going to continue to be there for his youngest while Legolas works through his grief. Thank you for your kind words, Jebb.

Fadesintothewest	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 1/26/2004
Interesting, Legolas in this case acted in a way which I imagine Eilian might of acted at his age. In fact, I imagine Eilian would have been much more bold and as a result more hurt from his actions. Thankfully, Legolas has retained his memory, and it made me love Legolas all the more, his deep feeling of care concerning the Dwarves and them as a family. I was saddened by their death but also touched by Beliond's struffle to save them. Amdir is certainly a carbon copy of his brother is he not, and the paternal instincts that Legolas has towards him are touching. Legolas also has some of the seriousness of responsibility that Ithilden shoulders, and some of the spirit and fire of Eilian, but Legolas has a caring that runs deep. It is great to see Legolas becoming his own character, not in the shadow of his brothers. I cannot wait until he shows Eilian up. I love Eilian but I think Legolas needs to take a stand to him to prove his worth. Well not just to Eilian but to his entire family. Being the youngest is hindering Legolas and by hindering him Thranduil and company are loosing an asset to the defense of their realm. I hope they begin to see how truly special Legolas is, well not that they don't but I think they just might be really afraid of his potential. Author Reply: I think that Legolas has some of both his brothers in him. And when you come down to it, he didn't behave badly at all. His guilt was over the fact that he couldn't save the dwarves, not over anything he did as a warrior. I'm not sure that Legolas will show Eilian up, but the two of them do need to reach some sort of understanding. Eilian is wrong in how he is handling Legolas as a warrior. He can't help himself. He has cared for the "brat" for far too long.

Camp6311	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 1/26/2004
Oh, that was horrible, poor Legolas, even though I half suspected what was going to happen, it was still awful to read about (let alone watch). I'm going to have nightmares tonight after reading this. Legolas proved himself once again though, making the decisions he had to make despite any consequences to himself. Still wondering how Ithilden's story will tie into this, and if it will bring any comfort to Legolas. And I don't see any way you can tie all this up with just two more chapters. Author Reply: He did do well, didn't he? I was depressed last night after posting because then I knew the bad stuff had finally happened and I couldn't change it. The rest of Ithilden's story is in the next chapter. And then I need some wrap up with Beliond and Eilian. Poor Legolas. :-(

Molly	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 1/25/2004
I'm another dragon fan, although not so much Tolkien's dragons, who are all evil. One of my favorite movies is "The Flight of Dragons," based on the book "The Dragon and the George" (which actually rips off a lot of elements from Lord of the Rings). The scene in this chapter with the dragon stirred me so much I had to pull out the movie and watch it. The opening lines of the movie remind me a lot of the situation at the end of LOTR with the Elves. The narrator says, "There was a time between the waning age of enchantment and the dawning age of logic when dragons flew the skys, free and unencumbered." Sorry for the tangent. I was excited to see another update so soon; thank you for not leaving us in suspense too long. I'm eager to see Eilian come home, especially because of his last words to his brother. He told Legolas they wouldn't speak of the matter again, and if a rock had struck Legolas in the wrong place, they might not have spoken of anything ever again! That has to be eating at him, and I hope he's also realized he's doing the exact thing to Legolas that he hated Ithilden doing to him years ago. He's got the best archer in the realm in his patrol and he's not utilizing Legolas's talents, which is a waste. I think all of Thranduil's family (keepers included!) need a reunion to re-establish bonds and reassure themselves everyone is all right. Author Reply: That's a beautiful line about the dragons. Eilian is due for a leave and will be home soon. He and Legolas need to work some things out, and he is undoubtedly worried about the "brat." He's doted on Legolas for years now, and nothing is going to change that!

erunyauve	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 1/25/2004
I want some of that healing draught, too! I felt a bit like Legolas - I wanted to know, and now I'm sorry I do. A very powerful chapter - I could easily sympathize with Legolas' guilt. Poor elf! I would imagine that Eilian isn't feeling so good right now, either. Even if his brother and nephew were disobeying orders, it has to have shaken him to send one back injured in spirit and body and the other in disgrace. Author Reply: I have to admit I'm a little depressed myself tonight and I think it's because the dwarves died. I knew they were going to, but now they did. Eilian needs a leave. As I recall, he was due one when he got this special assignment. I think he has to collect soon. He's needed at home and he needs to be there.

ANA	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 1/25/2004
Whew, what a chapter! Though I suspected this was what had happened, the chapter was nevertheless gripping. My heart goes out to Legolas. Poor guy! No wonder he was suppressing his memory, albeit unconsciously. It's one thing to kill orcs, but to see a family of dwarves being burned to death before your very eyes would be traumatizing , to say the least. Even a more experienced and time-worn warrior would have trouble dealing with this. His ever protective family will have quite a job before it to help him rid of the undeserving guilt. I know I must be repeating myself, but what a wonderfully exciting story! Author Reply: Thank you, ANA. I was pretty horrified by what happened to the dwarves myself, and I wrote the chapter! And Legolas found himself the most experienced warrior around in a terrible situation. Poor guy. He will really need his family's help, as you say.

Nilmandra	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 1/25/2004
I have been living vicariously through reading all your other reviews that I almost forgot to leave one of my own :D. This rush of memory was well done. Legolas needed to be free of draughts that clouded his mind and some appropriate prompting of the events, and it all came back in a rush. Very hard on him, but since he had not said he could not remember, there isn't much the healers or family could do to prevent it. You can bet Belowen is going to give him a good once over though. The trust between Beliond and Legolas is obvious in the way that Beliond can shove Legolas around :D. And Eilian is wrong, but someone else needs to point that out to him. After all, someone reviews the decisions of the captains. Legolas cannot take responsibility for the actions of the dwarves, who indeed would have been safer in the cave, or the direction the dragon took, or the irresponsibility of his nephew and Amdir. But you know how happy I am that he took responsibility for his own decisions and called on the patrol. Otherwise, he might indeed find himself reassigned to the Home Guard for a good long time, with Amdir on one side and Sinnarn on the other :P What a trio to be gaurding the entrance to the palace! I do hope Beliond is healing well. Not only did he see the dwarves burn alive, he had to watch the one he is responsible for nearly get crushed and buried under rock. Not a good day for the keeper. Author Reply: Your suggestions really helped with this chapter. I can't thank you enough. I'm not sure what anyone could have done to help Legolas deal with these memories until now. But I think his family will be doing their best to comfort him and help him see things in a more balanced way. He really could not have done anything that would have changed things. He saw a horrible event, but he could not have stopped it.

Lyllyn	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 1/25/2004
I'm still reading eagerly and always disappointed that there isn't more. And you write such wonderful stories so fast! Very gripping! Is this why Legolas may be more predisposed than some to get along with Gimli? Author Reply: Thank you, Lyllyn. I think that Legolas grew up in a part of ME where men, dwarves, and elves lived in close contact. That had to be rare and I think it had to affect him.

Tapetum Lucidum	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 1/25/2004
Blinks really hard. Another update? Yeah! Poor Amdir! They leave him alone with Legolas for a little while and the prince suffers from some bizarre attack. He must have completely panicked. He was in enough trouble without killing Thranduil's youngest. The king's heart must have been in his throat when he walked in. At least Legolas could gasp out a few words to prevent the group from panicking completely. I hope he doesn't have to see those guards again any time soon. The truth comes out. Thranduil is right - he could have put himself and his fellow warriors in danger. I don't think he would have really returned to the patrol without his memory intact. I am glad the two of them could talk about it. You are never too old to need your Ada. I knew that temper was smoldering. He even threw Galelas in Eilian's face. I think he hit a nerve. Good job with that little confrontation. Beliond is a smart one and did the right thing dragging the elf off to the stream to soak his handsome head. I am glad he was at least planning on making peace with his hero, I mean his brother. Until he noticed the absense of the wayward warriors. Those two are more trouble than he and Turgon ever were. His little internal battle about signaling the others was excellent. I was glad the Warrior won over the Uncle. The section on trying to figure out exactly what the dragon was was very entertaining. It is nice to know that even the immortal don't quite know what is going on all the time. The section in the cave when he looked at the younger elves and knew they expected him to lead was great. I think I asked you earlier how he ended up in that situation and you explained it well. Watching the baby and mother burn must have completely devastated the young warrior. He did lead them into the situation and it is normal to feel guilty. Those are feelings that his entire family had had to deal with at one time or another and I hope they help him through this. His giving in to his father at the end of the chapter shows just how defeated he feels. Legolas never give in to the healers - not in anyone's stories. It was an excellent way to drive that home. I can't wait for Eilian and Legolas' confrontation. Eilian is mad over what happened but must feel extremely guilty that their last words were harsh ones. He must have known that Legolas was right - he was trying hard to protect him and Sinnarn. In doing so they ended up in worse danger. I am sure he is not too happy about that. At least they know what has stirred up the dwarves! ;-P Author Reply: Yay, Tapetum. This was the hundredth review of this story at SoA. Thank you! I doubt very much if Legolas would ever have gotten as far as a patrol. For one thing, once he was back on his feet, Ithilden would expect him to report on the dwarves and dragons. That would have been a little awkward! I liked being able to show how Beliond and Legolas's relationship has changed. Legolas trusts Beliond and Beliond feels no need to take sides in the fight. All he has to do it make sure that Legolas doesn't get himself in trouble. A good, pratical, warrior's attitude, I think. When I looked up dragons in Tolkien, it looked to me as if they had not been around for a while so that even the senior warriors would not have seen them. To Legolas, they would be the stuff of legend I think. Of course, Smaug eventually arrives in the wood elves' back yard. And poor Legolas, winding up as the most senior warrior when he knew he didn't have a clue! Eilian will be home soon. He was due a leave and had to give it up to lead this special mission, so he can collect now.

Dot	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 1/25/2004
Oh God, daw, that’s horrifying. No wonder he repressed it. I don’t even know where to start with this chapter – it was just so gripping, and so vivid. Thranduil’s reaction was written brilliantly. His reactions as a father take over his shock and he sends for the healer, but can read Legolas well enough to know that he should give him a chance to explain why he is refusing a healer’s help. He’s so utterly stunned by Legolas’ admission. I suppose in a way it must be difficult for him to come to terms with the fact that even he, as Legolas’ father, hadn’t realised this. His anger is so believable and completely understandable. As much as I can see why Legolas wanted to try to remember on his own, and was afraid that he would be kept from going back on patrol, he really should have known better than to keep this from everyone. Of course, it sounds so logical when Thranduil says it but while he was lost in his own thoughts, Legolas probably couldn’t really judge properly the repercussions if he kept his problem to himself. Such a touching picture of Legolas gripping Thranduil’s arm, as though to hold onto reality as he allowed himself to face what had happened. It’s good to see what actually happened between Legolas and Eilian, having already seen it from Amdir’s point of view. I do think that Eilian seems to be using his position as captain to avoid unwelcome questions from his younger brother, though. Where would Legolas be without Beliond?! Probably sent home for arguing with Eilian…. I love the way Legolas tries to work out what happened as he attempts to find Sinnarn and Amdir. It’s so amazingly detailed. Then that moment when he realises that their foe is a dragon was... I knew it was a dragon and still my jaw dropped! I really felt for Legolas during these scenes. He is in a new and terrifying situation and it’s enthralling to watch him battle his rising hysteria and ignore any self doubts. It honestly seems to me that he did the best he could possibly do in such an unpredictable situation. He thought he was trying to protect a family. He could never have known what would happen. Yeah, maybe he should have waited for the rest of the elves but the dragon knew the dwarves were there anyway and would still have been hovering – it just might have attacked the elves instead. That horrible, sickening moment when the mother and child go up in flames and the father cries out…it’s too awful to even contemplate. You handled it really well, daw. It’s just one terrible moment when all else stops. I completely see why no one would discuss it. No one should ever have to witness something like that. In a way I was glad to see Legolas weeping so hard. After going through what he did, it’s exactly what he needs. sigh And if ever there was proof for Thranduil and his sons that they can’t shelter Legolas and Sinnarn from the evil of this world, I guess this is it. “You can call the healer now, Adar. He can give me whatever drugs he likes.” I feel so bad for Legolas, that he has to begin to deal with this. Thranduil will never let him block out what happened with medicines. I’m really interested to see what happens now! Great chapter, daw. I wish I could have written a more coherent review but I think I’m still a little in shock!:) Author Reply: I was horrified and I wrote it. Legolas's revelation must have been shocking for Thranduil, although he certainly knew that something was wrong, given the nightmares that Legolas was having. And so his reactin is complex: he's the one who supports this young elf as well as the one who tries to teach him right from wrong. And it quickly become clear to him that the real need is for support. Eilian is wrong in his treatment of Legolas, but it's not Legolas's place to tell him. He'll figure it out. I felt bad for Legolas suddenly thrust into the role of the most senior warrior present with a dragon breathing down their necks. He knew he didn't know what to do and he still had to be the one to decide. And you're right: no sleeping draught forthcoming. The healer and Adar both know that Legolas needs to come to terms with what happened. Your review was wonderfully coherent. Thank you for it.

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