Stories of Arda - Lord of the Rings Fan-Fiction Archive


	About Us News Resources Login Become a member Help Search

What's left behind by perelleth	77 Review(s)
Redheredh	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 9/12/2006
Late as is usual lately, but finally here… OK, so the rider was not Laeriniel. :( But, I still appreciate that you let her remain in Greenwood instead of making her leave the forest to follow her husband. I liked the irony of the opening scene. First one kind of longing and now another - even if it is not as stressful as the first kind. I also like that you then contrasted that peacefulness with violence, restrained as it was. And of course, you always make Laeriniel and her family entertaining when together. ;) Very nice getting Haldir to speak of Celeborn and his namesake while using their mutual connection of the mellyrn. ;) You bring in Tolkien-details so nicely. The memorial tree was touching. The ensuing discussions were very good and what an interesting gathering! A regular who's who of a family. I loved seeing the sea-bird's progeny carrying on in a continuing alliance with Ingil’s! Celeborn gazed at the Bird with wonder – ha! You came back to the point, though, in the last conversation. Sea-longing and love-longing. One or the other would draw the remaining elves West. Tricksy, Valar. Author Reply: You are most welcome, Redheredh, I know you are terribly busy, so take your time! Each of us has her own idea, I think, regarding the end of the elves of Middle-earth. Seeing Tolkien's sources, I suspect he tended towards most of the wood elves refusing to sail and so doomed to fade slowly, thus giving origin to our fairy tales and legends. In this tale, I wanted to find a plausible reason for a last "great" migration of wood elves, and I thought it all depended on the leadership of their King. I am not sure whether Laeriniel was right or rather stiubborn, not abandoning all for her husband, but that's how I pictured her: it took her time to understand her own heart and to brave the unknown. I'm glad you liked it, and most thankful for your words! ;-)

Jay of Lasgalen	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 9/11/2006
This was beautiful, sad and moving - so very melancholy. There were lots of lovely touches, from Thranduil's sorrow at finally admitting defeat and knowing he had to go, to deserted Imladris, and the wonderful Fairbairns. The final reunion was perfect :) Jay Author Reply: Thank-you,Jay! It was very entertaining to think how to move such a host across the western lands, and what things they would encounter. Imladris, the Old Forest, the Towers and the Fairbarns, the ruins of Mithlond...just to get distracted from the sorrow, :-) if Thranduil indeed sailed after all, it must have been a very difficult decision for him, I suspect. I'm glad that you liked it.

daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 9/10/2006
Lovely chapter, Perelleth. The reunion at the end was so satisfying. But as always, Thranduil rules. He's being driven back, but in the end, he takes matters into his own hands and surrenders his tie to the forest. What a gap that must have left. And the stronghold! I hadn't thought about what would happen to it. This was great. Author Reply: Thank-you, daw This tale was born because I had always wondered about the effect of Legolas' lot at the end of the War upon his people and, mostly, upon his father. I suppose that to Thranduil it must have been very difficult to admit that, after all, those who had sailed were right, and that midle earth did not belong to elves anymore. And that must have required great doses of leadership and personal strength. In the end that is what I wanted to explore. I'm tickled pink that you picked up the detail about the stronghold!;-) That's the kind of things that amuse me! I was wondering how it would turn out for archaelogists several centuries after that, and then came up with the conclusion that the "magic" would have kept water and roots from eating at it, but once the king is gone, it would all rot pretty quicky, until it resembled a common, primitive shelter.

Nilmandra	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 9/10/2006
Oh, what a lovely reunion! But first, I enjoyed the king and his counselor discussing things at the top of a tree! Very wood elfy. I like the way he gathered his people together and said it was time to go. The king would just know. I loved that you included the hobbits at the towers! How appropriate that they would be the guardians. And I love how you had Celeborn leave a missive with the guardians rather than somehow attempt to send the information to Thranduil.. shipbuilding plans! Celeborn, helpful and thinking of his brethern to the very end. The reunion was wonderful - I love the sense when Legolas and Laeriniel became one and whole again, but I tink what jolted me most wonderfully was the idea that Legoals was a grandfather! Of all the takes I have seen on the wood elves sailing, this is the best. Very wood elfy to the end. Author Reply: Thank-you, Nilmandra! As FP said, given the long timespan of this tale, we get to see Legolas and Laeriniel reunited twice. I liked that this time it was he who was strong and hale, and could return her the favour I'm glad it came out well in the end. I always wondered what would have moved Thranduil to finally set sail -if he indeed did, (I hope he did!) Four hundred years of thriving human neighbours would have been seriously felt in the forest. I thought there would be few births, since the resources would not be ensured (a nomadic population needs wide expanses just to avooid overuse, and they were competing with men) and temporary shortages, and all kind of warning signs, until the wise king would finally accept that his place was no longer in M-e. It was fun to picture their parade through M-e. The guardianship of the towers given to the hobbits is canon, and I thought Celeborn would have amused himsef leaving "clues" for his friend, as well as involving the hobbits in the last great elven migration! :-) Thank-you again for your kind support. This tale hasd been a serious pain to write!

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 9/10/2006
Thranduil is indeed a wise old Elf, to cast the decision to leave the forest in such a light. The Elves aren't defeated, they aren't giving up. They're going on to bigger and better things, seizing a chance to travel, see things, liberate the trees, and finally end up at home. It is a measure of the respect that his people have for him that they trust him so far. And, at least for Legolas and Laerîniel, their trust is most definitely rewarded. One of the advantages of the long timespan of this story is that you get to see Legolas reunited with his wife twice! Author Reply: Thank-you, FP Thranduil is indeed a wise old Elf he is indeed. And besides, he has the good fortune that his subjects too have eyes and ears and intellects of their own, so they have drawn the same conclusions by just listening to the ailing forest ! ;-) Some will remain, others will be glad to sail in company rather than on their own... and accepting defeat under that light makes it all easier for them all, I suspect.

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 9/9/2006
I am glad Celeborn is so encouraging! Even if time passes differently west of the sea, it must be a long wait - especially if you cannot be confident that your beloved will ever heed the call. Yet it's not the same. The elves are hanging on desperately there in Lasgalen and trying to pretend that it's still their forest - but it's not, not really. Time had moved on and they are part of the past. I hope Thranduil has clear enough sight to recognise that. I'm not counting on it, mind, but I do hope that he and his family will gather all those who will go and take them west. They need what Legolas has come to understand - and Celeborn has seen - that the west is home. Fingers crossed. Author Reply: Thank-you Bodkin! Celeborn the Wise was wise enough to pay a visit to his stubborn colleague and make clear that Thranduil was winning that match! You are right, all they can do there is wait and hope. The blessing of those lands, as I see it, would be that even in waiting there would be no despair but deep trust that all would turn out for the best, whatever the outcome, the blessed realm being, according to Tolkien, paradise to the elves. It is difficult for us, but then, as Tolkien wrote, we cannot write tales about elves, for we do not know them inwardly, so we just turn them into Men. Sigh. And we keep on trying, don't we? ;-)

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 9/6/2006
So it's down to a waiting game now. It is kind of too bad that the Straight Road is a one-way. All those Elves leave, and back home, it must look like they've just vanished, been swallowed up into the void. Of course, the ones who left realize that there really is a Blessed Realm out there, but they can't go back and reassure people of that. And thus you get people like Laeriniel, who holds onto the forest as the last thing she has left of Legolas, even though he himself is but a boat ride away. But if she can't be certain of that, then that's a whole nother ball game. Author Reply: is kind of too bad that the Straight Road is a one-way Or else, all elves would have deserted M-e long ago...;-) As I see it, sailing was a personal decision that came from within, deeper than a rational decision, and sea-longing was the prompt or expresion of a certain inner state. And the timing is so different for each person! Laerîniel thinks that Legolas somehow failed their forest, and that it is her duty to hold on to it for both of them, so she is refusing to see that Legolas was actually pointing the way, warning them that they were running out of their time. It will take her -them- some time to accept that... Thank-you!

Nilmandra	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 9/6/2006
I love that you worked the sea bird in! I like the descriptions of what it felt like when the elves finally passed on to the straight road.. i have loved the imagery Tolkien gave us in Frodo's dream that it is like a veil lifting and they have sudden new sight. Very nicely done, and this must give hope to Legolas that others will come for love, too. I cannot imagine that waiting, knowing that those still struggling, when there is not struggle worth staying for (in the sense of a job still to do, like destroy the ring), and yet they have not way to tell them. Somehow, this is a lesson one cannot learn from another's experience. I can't wait for Legolas to be reunited with his wife and father. Author Reply: Frodo's dream is such a good trick, isn't it? It happens so early in the tale, that I remember that I had to go back and re read it when I first realized what exactly he had dreamed about in Bombadil's house! Somehow, this is a lesson one cannot learn from another's experience. or else, all elves would have desertedd M-e long ago! ;-) Since Tolkien said that Eressëa was elven paradise, I assumed that, once they made the step of sailing, the act of will, they were granted true "paradise": relieved of their burdens, no longer wearied but renewed, not bereft of their experiences and memories, but able to understand them and see their place within the great music, and so not being hurt by them. There would be longing for those who were in Mandos or still in M-e, but a hopeful, patient longing. While, for those remaining, it would be a question of time and ability to accept their role and fate. An act of free will and hope in the end. I can't wait for Legolas to be reunited with his wife and father He, he. I think they will be sailing sometime this week end. I cannot honestly do anything else for this tale. Author Reply: Frodo's dream is such a good trick, isn't it? It happens so early in the tale, that I remember that I had to go back and re read it when I first realized what exactly he had dreamed about in Bombadil's house! Somehow, this is a lesson one cannot learn from another's experience. or else, all elves would have desertedd M-e long ago! ;-) Since Tolkien said that Eressëa was elven paradise, I assumed that, once they made the step of sailing, the act of will, they were granted true "paradise": relieved of their burdens, no longer wearied but renewed, not bereft of their experiences and memories, but able to understand them and see their place within the great music, and so not being hurt by them. There would be longing for those who were in Mandos or still in M-e, but a hopeful, patient longing. While, for those remaining, it would be a question of time and ability to accept their role and fate. An act of free will and hope in the end. I can't wait for Legolas to be reunited with his wife and father He, he. I think they will be sailing sometime this week end. I cannot honestly do anything else for this tale.

daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 9/6/2006
Nice picture of Legolas's longing, Perelleth. From a writerly point of view, the line that really caught my eye was this: “I am glad to see you too, Aunt; you need not thank me for saving your hide, surrounded or not,” the prince smiled. “Can you explain to us what are you doing this south and on your own?” he added pleasantly. “This is a good one,” he told Thalaûr, showing him one of the axes. I like the cross talk, the way he talks about two things at once. That's the way people really talk. Author Reply: Thank-you daw. It is really tiring, isn't it, finding out ways of conveying dialogue that are believable, and not too boring and all that. In this case I could picture the whole scene, so the conversation came out more natural...

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 8/28/2006
I suppose a century plus apart isn't much for elves ... but the division that caused it is sad. Legolas is suffering enough anyway! I'm glad Thranduil was able to help him - and that he was wise enough to let him take up this new challenge. But I do hope that Legolas's wife is drawn to join him in his journey west - he will need her very badly. Aragorn's farewell was - just like the man he was! Dignified and gracious. Prestolon recognised it for what it was instantly, too. Harder for Legolas though. And so elfy - to have the ship disappear without the men seeing it go. But all these separations are so hard! Author Reply: Hi Bodkin! good to have you back! I never thought that Legolas' lot at the end of the war was a particularly happy one. Leaving his forest and his family (whether he had a wife or not is not that relevant, I think, :-) spending a century in Ithilen seeing his mortal friends get old and die, and then leaving Middle-earth behind always seemed hard for a Wood elf to me. So, being how I am, I just tried to find sense... Aragorn's farewell was - just like the man he was! now that's a great compliment. I love how he keeps his dignity when he says his farewells to Arwen, and I suppose that with his friends it must have been very difficult as well. An old tree indeed. The poor harbourmaster did not want to trust his eyes! Thank-you Bodkin!

First Page | Previous Page | Next Page | Last Page

Return to Chapter List