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The Acceptable Sacrifice by Larner	21 Review(s)
Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 10/22/2005
You know, it is so touching to see the future King of Arnor and Gondor serving the Hobbits himself and guarding their sleep! Poor Frodo, it must be very frustrating not to be able to eat properly, particularly for a Hobbit! Maybe I should lend Frodo my stomach and appetite for some days - I could do with some pounds less around my hips ;-( I loved this line: As for Sam--he will, I think appear to recover, but he’s certainly not innocent now and will never be able to convince himself from now on he’s nought but a gardener. How true! Another nice part was Aragorn's explanation why he had the guard at the tent and what otherwise would happen. Of course he is right, but about the image of soldiers stealing the underclothes of the Hobbits out of worship for them I had to laugh myself. Glad Frodo found it equally amusing! He needs such little moments of joy! Author Reply: Getting Frodo to laugh does much of the real healing--Pippin is right in that Frodo can't be allowed to forget that; and Aragorn himself has told Frodo he needs to do this. As for cutting off locks of hair or stealing underwear--I still hold human nature can't have changed that much over the centuries--hero worship loves personal items known to be intimately connected with the object of devotion, and those two things are certainly in demand now! Thanks so much for the comments, Kitty; you know how much they mean.

grumpy	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 10/22/2005
Poor Sam and Frodo, to have to thought that from now on someone might be after there hair or small clothes. Now to keep Frodo laughing. I am with Frodo, about the rice, not fond of it myself. Author Reply: I'm so glad so many appreciated this detail and Frodo laughing about it. It must seem a totally foreign idea to a Hobbit! As for rice--I can't tolerate it myself, unless it tastes nothing like rice! Rice Krispies and rice pudding and once in a LONG while Spanish Rice is about the only way I can eat the stuff.

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 10/21/2005
Aragorn seems to have very detailed and very modern medical knowledge here. He speaks of nerves and internal organs just like a doctor would. I suppose I can sort of see how he could gain that kind of knowledge, but the effect seems slightly out of place to me. Sam, on the other hand, continues to be spot on. Frodo is having a realistically hard time, and Aragorn is doing his best as a healer. The best thing he's doing is being honest with Frodo and treating him as an adult. I like that about him. And the bit with the relic-seekers is funny. Author Reply: I didn't want to speak of ulcers themselves, as in medieval times ulcers were unhealing sores, often found on limbs due to gout or excessive contact with items such as peg legs, bedsores, embedded material in wounds, and so on. So I chose to speak of "ulcerous sores in the stomach and bowels" of which Elrond might have become aware via autopsies or perhaps early surgery techniques--most likely autopsies; and I suspected whatever he had learned of the body would be passed on to Aragorn, who in my view of his training has been studying healing since early childhood. Nerves were a bit harder to decide on including in the story; but I know that phantom limb feeling must have been going on since the first person had his leg bitten off by a sabretooth tiger or whatever, and I couldn't resist putting in the references. (I've done a lot of personal study on sensory perception over the years--professional hazard, I guess.) Sorry about the jars, and I promise I'll try not to do too much of it. But the symptoms I write about are real ones, and many are ones I myself know due to my own tricky digestive tract. (I'm not quite a Mary Topper, but could become one if I tried, I suppose (for all you Thorne Smith fans out there--heh!).) Glad that Aragorn's caring and Sam's reactions and Frodo's frustration all seem to ring true in spite of the apparently modern medical awareness I put into the story.

Lily	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 10/21/2005
I cannot tell you how much I enjoy this story! You give such care to every single character it is a pleasure to read! One question I have, though: What does tithen nin mean? Author Reply: "Tithen nin" means roughly "my small one." You'll often see it in fanfic between Elves and Hobbits or Aragorn and Hobbits, particularly Frodo. Glad you feel I am truly giving every character careful care--I do try. Thanks so much for the response. It's wonderful to know my efforts are appreciated by so many.

Amy	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 10/21/2005
Sam taking Frodo's hand and telling him that it looked much better brought tears to my eyes. Frodo is so hard on himself. Author Reply: Sam, after all, saw the hand just after Gollum's attack and on the side of the volcano; and I think he'd be the first to appreciate just how nice it looked now compared to then. And those who are born with great amounts of personal responsibility do tend to be too hard on themselves. It's not an unusual occurance at all. That this chapter moved you so is an indication I wrote it as I intended to. Thank you for letting me know.

Linda Hoyland	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 10/21/2005
Another wonderful chapter!I liked the way Aragorn thought to stay with Frodo and Sam as the roof had to be covered. My late Mother used to tell me of a relative treated for TB in an open air ward.It was good advice about what not to eat,as I cannot eat peppers and my friend can't eat tomatoes. I love the way Aragorn cares about Frodo's feelingsand apares him embarassment.It seems the Hobbits are being treated like pop stars by some ! I'm delighted to hear you plan to write more about Faramir Author Reply: Well, it seems to me that human nature doesn't change much, and there would be those who became as obsessed with the heroes of Middle Earth. Imagine--you're an impressionable young guy who may have been spared that orc thrust ONLY because just as the orc started for you Frodo claimed the Ring and Sauron's attention was ripped away from the battle to the Mountain. Now you are SO close to the one whose actions saved your life, and all you want to do is take a peep.... (And I just MIGHT have been partially inspired by Buddy in "The Incredibles.) Several years ago now we had the chance to drive along Hadrian's wall, which has lived in my imagination ever since I discovered the works of Rosemary Sutcliff. I found an archaeological dig of a former fortress and was just looking to see if they were using the grid plan I had learned about in my own archaeology classes and if it was laid out as Sutcliff described, got caught and chased away. I still don't regret that peep, though. As for the open-air ward--first there's the description of Sam waking up in a bed, looking up, and realizing there are trees over him; so I had to figure out why he and Frodo were given such odd treatment; and then again I was influenced by Sutcliff, who told of being in such a ward when she was a girl. She had juvenile rhumetoid arthritis, and was hospitalized there in England in a facility where they didn't at the time have the money to build all the wards they needed. As for the diet--I experience frequent bouts of IBS and have a sliding hernia, and know all about how food that goes down well can come back suddenly because of too much acid or too strong of the active ingredients of onions, peppers, curry, and so on. There are even days when I cannot tolerate oranges, which can be very frustrating. Many of Frodo's digestive problems are written from very close appreciation of how they express themselves. Thanks for the response!

Armariel	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 10/21/2005
snerk stealing hobbit underwear! whoooooooooaaaaaaaaaa!!!! Almost envy Frodo here, I must confess wicked grin Author Reply: Yes, the idea of panty raids on Hobbits could be quite humorous; but think of those women who fought over Elvis's handkerchiefs, which he took to throwing out into the audience, or who would give almost anything to have something intimately connected with the object of their obsession. Now, I'll admit I wouldn't mind Viggo's underware, particularly if I got to .... I think I'd better let this one go, or it will be forcefully removed by the admins.

shirebound	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 10/21/2005
What a wonderful healer -- gentle, honest, skilled, and thorough. The hobbits (and all of them) couldn't be in better hands. Author Reply: Now that Aragorn is not just wearing the Elessar stone but in a position to properly wield its power, and is able to fully function as a healer, I suspect he'd be a superb one and indeed the one everyone would wish to have treat their wounds and illnesses. So glad you appreciate the way I depict him. Thanks so much for the comments--I truly appreciate it.

SlightlyTookish	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 10/21/2005
I really loved seeing Aragorn take care of and talk to Frodo here. The idea that Frodo and Sam wouldn't want to be closed inside a tent is an interesting one, and one that makes a lot of sense after what they experienced. Author Reply: In ROTK Frodo and Sam find themselves lying on beds below tree limbs, and so I wanted to explore WHY such an odd placement for beds for these two. Glad you appreciated it and the moments of caring between our favorite King and Hobbit. As Frodo had always been drawn to starlight in my version of his story, and as even Sam had found healing in the sight of the star above Mordor's veils, I thought perhaps this might be why their beds were open to the sky. Thanks so much for the response.

Baggins Babe	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 10/21/2005
I have been reading avidly, Larner, and meaning to review, but RL keeps getting in the way! :-)) Very interesting to read your insightful chapters on the after-effects of the Quest, and the privations of the journey. I've always felt that dragging our two hobbits off to a feast was a bit of a mistake. Interestingly, I was reading the book 'In the Heart of the Sea' - the story of the whaleship 'Essex' which was sunk by an enraged whale and the men who took to small boats drifted for weeks and were reduced to cannibalism in their efforts to survive. It duscussed the physical effects of starvation, including a study done during WW2, when groups of men consented to be fed a very reduced (but not a starvation) diet. The effects were physical and psychological - mood swings, irritability, fainting fits, and the weight loss continued for weeks, even after they were taken off such meagre fare. I found all this to be particularly fascinating in the light of your story. Sorry for the long ramble - it has been a very long week! Author Reply: After a visit to Dachau Concentration Camp with my children and husband when the two kids were thirteen, I became aware of such studies done both by the Allies and by the Nazis; and I began studying Holocaust survivor literature. In fact, much of the behavior and physical and emotional responses I describe is directly based on survivor stories. The body's whole metabolism is changed, all too often; and psychological responses could be dramatic. Certainly many told the tales of the mood swings, from euphoria to deep despair and back in seconds; the fear of not having food on hand; the terror of certain kinds of footsteps that during their times in the camp(s) indicated the approach of a particularly sadistic guard or the coming of the ones who did the selections, and so on. Many for years afterwards found themselves having to have a loaf of bread handy; others couldn't bear dark rooms, or needed to have their beds pushed against walls so as to have the assurance they were protected behind them. Frodo's own faint in Henneth Annun could have been partially induced by pre-starvation--already the Hobbits' rations had been dramatically reduced since the two of them left the rest of the company at Parth Galen, compounded by the terror of being discovered, the horrors of looking into the pools in the Dead Marshes followed by the total devastation before the Black Gate, then the fear of this new captivity just when things looked better and the final realization it is finally okay to properly react to all that has gone before. Just being in a safe place and being able to let the guard down finally, and the survivor can all too easily find himself going to pieces, a luxury he couldn't indulge in when he is having to be responsible for others and needs to keep aware or possibly perish. Glad you appreciated this, and that you also found validation for the experiences as I write them from real life. I'll have to check out info on this wreck myself, now. Sounds fascinating.

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