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More Dangerous and Less Wise  by daw the minstrel 18 Review(s)
Red Squirrel Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 7/5/2013
I think calling Beliond "nana" is a funny yet endearing nickname. Legolas, though as annoyed as he may feel at Beliond at times, is lucky that his keeper takes his job so seriously. But then as you said Beliond is held accountable directly to the king.

I liked seeing Thranduil here with some youthful insecuritiess. The woodelves seem so carefree. I think by this time Thranduil had been scarred by Doriath and his adar is Oropher after all. I love Oropher. I love that he seemed to be so stubborn yet charming and also rash at times. But he still must have been a pretty nice fellow...Silvan elves did make this Sindar their king and really seemed to accept and love him and his son.

The hornet nest was funny...not for the 3 Elves of course. But Thranduil cutting off the dwarf's beard is even funnier...the things we do in youth! LOL

I will have to read that "Woodelves" story! It sounds really good!

Author Reply: It's just amazing to me that Oropher walked into this forest full of Silvan elves and they made him their king. He must have been incredibly charismatic.

It was hard for me to imagine Thranduil as a young guy because I usually show him as so self assured. So this was fun to do.

The KarenatorReviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/25/2008
"...and I assume he told you the same thing about Maltanaur, only just now, I am Maltanaur."

"Like spit you are."

"He has admirable patience. Patience is not my best quality. "


My favorite lines. What a great...uh, discussion. Beliond doesn't seem too ruffled by this new charge's belligerence, but New Charge seems a little annoyed. Eilian will have a new appreciation for Legolas's woes and a new appreciation for Maltanaur when he finally returns Beliond.

I felt bad for the trio of troublemakers when they met the mad hornets. I guess this is the incident where the phrase, "Mad as a wet hornet' was born, huh? Only these mad hornets climbed out of the river and didn't go right back to their nest as they should have.

Let me add this line. I knew when I read it, there was another side to this story. I love it. "I think the pain of the stings confused Maltanaur," Beliond said. "That was why he needed me to lead him to the river."

Really enjoyed this chapter. Looking forward to the next.



Author Reply: When I put Beliond and Eilian together, I expected more fireworks, but they surprised me by discovering how much alike they were rather than how much they annoyed one another. Of course, they didn't have to stand one another for very long. I suspect things would have gone down hill.

Thanks for the review, Karen.

elliskaReviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/24/2008
Hehehe! Beliond and Eilian don't disappoint. That was hilarious!

"What's more, Lord Oropher didn't mean it." Something about this just killed me. I can so see that happening.

Oh, and what the dwarves did! That is going to require revenge! Beliond's POV is really a hoot in telling this story.

Author Reply: I love Oropher. He seems so charismatic to me. He walks into the forest full of Wood-elves and they make him king. How likely is that?

Beliond's POV is always fun to write because he's about a million times less inhibited than I am. I found that stuff about how cold the Silverlode is in FOTR. When the Fellowship enters Lothlorien, one of the guards tells them not to step in the water because it's so cold. Beliond is worried about its effects on his equipment. :-)

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/23/2008
An interesting find and a fascinating tale of Dwarves and Elves and their misunderstandings! Heh! Now to hear the next part of the tale.

Author Reply: Glad you're enjoying it, Larner. I don't write humor very often so this was fun to do.

BodkinReviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/21/2008
I love seeing Eilian coping with Nana Beliond. Thranduil clearly knows his sons well enough to understand which one can deal with Beliond long-term!

My toes curled at the sound of Voice of Wisdom Beliond -

They should wait until full dark to cross that open area, he thought.

"We are not crossing that area until it is dark," Beliond said.


And then there was Patience is not my best quality. I love Beliond - I do - but I couldn't live with the elf. Or near him. Or in any situation where I was obliged to co-operate with him.

It will undoubtedly be good for all four of Thranduil's little family here to have the chance to get to know each other better - and, if it leads to us learning more of Thranduil's less stellar moments, it will be good for us, too!

Beliond as a young warrior kept in line by the ferocious-seeming Captain Laegcened is fun. As is the schoolyard rivalry - with added weapons - of the three elves and the dwarves. A rivalry that the dwarves currently seem to be winning! I'm not surprised Eilian was in hysterics.


Author Reply: Long term, Eilian and Beliond would have killed one another. At the moment, they're surprising me by doing pretty well. Personally, I never could have stood Beliond. He's good hearted enough. He's just impossibly bossy.

The Dwarves need to enjoy their advantage while it lasts. :-)

Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/21/2008
First chapter was OK, but when you get to the point of telling the story about Thranduil, the way you switch back and forth from one time to another left me a little confused. It was hard to follow. It'd be a more enjoyable read if you just wrote one story or the other without trying to flip back and forth between two stories.

Author Reply: Oh I suspect you're right! I'm juggling a lot here and it can be a challenge both for me and for readers.

Thanks for letting me know your reaction.

DotReviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/20/2008
Well. Beliond just goes right ahead and does whatever he wants, doesn’t he?!

Legolas was completely to blame for that. Heh. And Eilian’s eagerness to go while Maltanaur was injured had nothing to do with it! Still, he should put Legolas to work anyway. That’s what baby brothers are for.

Eilian and Beliond work well together. I suppose any seasoned warriors would but still, I like the way they fall into a pattern immediately. I guess it helps that Eilian is used to someone watching over him and Beliond is used to doing the watching :-)

To Mordor with his overbearing older brother anyway. Oh come on now, Eilian. Don’t make me cross.

I’m laughing at Eilian calling Beliond annoying and wondering how Legolas puts up with him – he’d want to be careful or Beliond will decide to teach him a lesson! Oh well, for now he seems happy to tempt Eilian by dangling bits of information about Thranduil and Maltanaur in front of him. Yay, a story!

Poor Thranduil. He clearly hasn’t a hope in trying to be careful and obedient around Beliond and Maltanaur. Though I suspect he’s a lot easier to persuade to mischief than Ithilden is. You know, when I got to "I am not at all sure this is wise" I yelped with happiness. I’ve so missed your Thranduil!

All three Dwarves were snorting like bulls, although, to be fair, perhaps that was their usual way of breathing. LOL! Good old Beliond. His disappointment at not being allowed use his sword was hilarious too.

Oh! No-one does imperious and bored like Thranduil. If I was one of the Dwarves I’d be legging it out of there now.

"The one who didn't even have the nerve to join in the sword play earlier." Uh-oh.

"What's more, Lord Oropher didn't mean it." LOLOL!! Too right, Beliond.

Hornets swarmed out of the ruined nest, and since there wasn't always justice in Middle-earth, they came after the closest targets. Whaaat??? Well, that’s not fair! Oh, and the image of Thranduil running off with the other two behind him and them all jumping into the freezing river – I’m still laughing here. And Thranduil and his “muffled shrieks” had me in hysterics! I bet they’re sorry they ever set foot in Lorien.

Ok, I want to know what happened the poor Dwarves in the present-day story.

And what Maltanaur’s crack-brained idea was.

And if Beliond’s version was really the way it happened because I suspect Maltanaur might have a different view.

And if Thranduil really managed to behave that sensibly around those two ;-)


Author Reply: You know, it's funny, but once I had Eilian and Beliond together, it seemed to me they wouldn't clash as much as I originally thought they would. Not in the short term, anyway. They turned out to be oddly alike.

Young Thranduil is really interesting to write. I want his personality to come through but he's not in charge and he has a--um, impulsive perhaps is the word, father. Yet he chose to hang out with Wood-elves and make them his people. You're probably right that he's more persuadable than Ithilden. But then, as I say, he had a different father.

The stuff about the Silverlode being extremely cold comes straight from FOTR. One of Galadriel's people warns the Fellowship not to set foot in it because it's so cold. I had a lot of trouble figuring what Lorien would be like this far in the past. One source I read said that Galadriel brought mallorn trees to the woods there so I couldn't even use them.

I have the next chapter drafted. It's just waiting for Nilmandra to be well enough to beta read.

Thanks for the review, Dot. As always, you're the best.

IdhrenielReviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/18/2008
Oh no, one of my two favorite elves together??? I love the chapter, especially Thranduil.. almost shy!

Author Reply: Thanks, Idhreniel. I think of Thranduil as reserved until he's struck dumb by meeting his wife. My beta, Nilmandra, wrote a story about their meeting as a present to me. It's called "First Celebrations" and is on this site.

Really, I think of him as a lot like Ithilden, and we know what a smooth talker he's not!

lwarrenReviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/16/2008
Hmmm, had an afterthought! *g* (Would Beliond characterize that as a brain fart?) Overcautious, careful...it would seem the specter of Ithilden-to-come is present in this story after all. He's an awful lot like his father in his younger days (and older), isn't he?
linda



Author Reply: I've always thought Thranduil and Ithilden were a lot alike, though Ithilden had his mother to balance things off too (and she tried, really she did). The thing is, Thranduil has a temper but he's also shrewd and likely to strategize about consequences. Wood-elves are a little more impulsive, I think. Oropher fit right in!

lwarrenReviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/16/2008
Ah, Nana Beliond. I can't imagine one with Eilian's personality coping well with that elf breathing down his neck! And Beliond's statement that he's not one to practice patience...what an understatement!! I remember the incident with the dwarves vaguely; plan to go back and refresh my memory. But I love Beliond's story and I'm certain Maltanaur's rendition will shed a whole new perspective on the incident. Poor repressed Thranduil - so they took him under their wings did they? How...kind. LOL Great chapter, daw - am somewhat on pins about the dragon, tho'. :-)

linda

Author Reply: Thanks, Linda. I've just started working on Maltanaur's continuation of the story, and yes, it turns out he has a different perspective. :-)

The dragon stuff is coming, but not for a while. It's trickier than I thought it would be to integrate all this stuff. But that's why it's fun.

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