Larner
· 22 August 2005
· Chapter 26: Thain: Arrival
What a life to contemplate! No wonder Paladin chose to live on the farm. I would, too.
Author's reply
Definitely! Thinking back, I think the idea of a rigid, stratified society in the Great Holes (i.e. the influential families most closely associated with the original Fallohides) sprang from JRRT's description of the Great Smials, first talking about it in the same breath as Brandy Hall: many generations of relatives lived in (comparative) peace together in one ancestral and many-tunnelled mansion and then, more explicitly, through Pippin's eyes: ‘Yes, it is all very dim, and stuffy, in here,’ said Pippin. ‘It reminds me, somehow, of the old room in the Great Place of the Tooks away back in the Smials at Tuckborough: a huge place, where the furniture has never been moved or changed for generations. They say the Old Took lived in it year after year, while he and the room got older and shabbier together – and it has never been changed since he died, a century ago. And Old Gerontius was my great-great-grandfather: that puts it back a bit.
(And, yeah. Not my idea of fun.) Thanks!
Connie B.
· 22 August 2005
· Chapter 27: Thorn: Arrival
Hey, cool, an update to this one.
I'll be glad for bucca when he gets to go home. I want him to find everyone and everyone be okay. Unfortunately, my understanding of Shire history is a little vague at some points, so I don't remember how life was for them just after the king's demise. Maybe there is little information. Of course, that's why we have your story; to fill in the gaps the good Professor did not.:)
Thanks.
Connie B.
Author's reply
Thanks!
Updates have been few and far between, I'm afraid. It has been like pulling teeth to try to recreate this one, and fitting names to the princes of Rhovanion, which hadn't been done in the first draft, was a real "bear".
I certainly hope I'm doing the Professor's work justice with this gap-filler. Whew.
Bodkin
· 4 July 2005
· Chapter 26: Thain: Arrival
'If you slip your escort, it'll cost them a day of water rations at the very least.' DID YOU HEAR THAT, PIPPIN? If you didn't, perhaps Baragrim should shout it again - and rather louder.
I don't know! Just as Pippin was beginning to settle down and develop a bit of good hobbit sense, he get stuck with being a privileged, isolated, little heir of the Thain. This is not good.
'Lest he break the jesses before they're even tied.' Isum's got a pretty good grasp of what is going on - and Pippin is deserving of a good deal of pity here - and this cannot have helped his relationship with his father.
Good thing I know he turns out OK.
Author's reply
Ummm, I don't think Pippin was listening to the last bit. You're right, Barry ought to reiterate that last bit, while Pippin's still somewhat pliable, before all the spoiling, added to the resentment he already bears, turns his head.
I do like Isum; he's got his head on right, and he will remain an influence for good in Pippin's life, thankfully, being Headmaster at the Smials and thus in charge of all the young gentlehobbits' education.
Thanks!
Dreamflower
· 3 July 2005
· Chapter 26: Thain: Arrival
Oh, dear! Poor Pip! What an introduction to life at the Great Smials! No wonder he came to resent and resist it in later years, and no wonder Paladin had a hard time with him later! Sheesh!
A steady stream of invitations, huh? And which cousin will he invite first, I wonder?
Author's reply
Hmmm. If I were Pippin, I'd invite all of them, issue standing invitations, "come any time, stay as long as you want, eat as much as you want", that sort of thing...
Poor Pippin. Sometimes I want to re-write the older stuff, make Paladin less harsh, Pippin less spoilt. If only I didn't dislike re-writing so much! (And, of course, the reason I set it all up that way in the first place was to allow for lots of character development, which makes characters more interesting to me, anyhow.)
Thanks!
Connie B.
· 1 June 2005
· Chapter 25: Thorn: Of Wind and Wave
I still really like Bucca. He's learning so much about the world outside his homeland, but still is concerned with what may have happened to his family and all the other hobbits. I believe he is actually developing the skills and compassion he will need as a leader.
Thank for the update.
Connie B.
Author's reply
You're right, he is developing the skills, compassion, and outward-looking that he will need as a leader. And his experiences will continue to hone him and temper him for the requirements of the future.
Thanks!
Larner
· 29 May 2005
· Chapter 25: Thorn: Of Wind and Wave
Obviously the wailing of the gulls was indeed full of grief this time.
Author's reply
Yes it was. I've always thought of gulls' cries as plaintive, somehow.
Bodkin
· 29 May 2005
· Chapter 25: Thorn: Of Wind and Wave
Not good. Not good at all.
Living through peaceful times must be much more satisfying to your average hobbit. Although I suppose 'average hobbit' describes neither Bucca nor Pippin.
The end of one era (Ardevui) and the beginning of another (Elessar) - and the two of them acting as bookends.
I hope Bucca gets home safely to his family before too long.
Author's reply
Bookends. Ah. You have put your finger on one of the connectors between the two stories. Another more obvious connector is yet to come to light.
I read that hobbits went to the battle where the Witch King was overthrown, and so I suspect Bucca will be returning to his people, at least long enough to gather a group of archers, between the time Gondor arrives and the battle to re-take Fornost commences.
Thanks!
Bodkin
· 24 May 2005
· Chapter 24: Thain: Into the Future
And what say does Haral get in this? None, it would appear. Ferumbras isn't, by any chance, a bit overbearing, is he? I wouldn't think that Pippin is going to be too delighted about these changes in his life - especially as the Thain seems determined on some clean breaks.
H'mm. What next, I wonder?
Author's reply
Overbearing? Ferumbras?
...must get it from his mother, I suppose.
And next? Well, lessons, and larking about, but first... the arrival of Gondor at the Grey Havens, and the story moves forward, slow as a snail but just as persistant somehow.
Larner
· 23 May 2005
· Chapter 24: Thain: Into the Future
It must indeed seem quite abrupt--which, of course, it is. Here, twice so closely together Pippin has been uprooted and the course of his life reset. Only this time the love inherent in the decision is going to be far harder to discern.
Well written and thoughtful; and glad the Thain had taken thought to the needs of the Brockbanks.
Author's reply
Thanks!
Yes, there is love inherent in the decision. Very perceptive of you. It would be hard for Pippin to leave the free life of a shepherd after seven years, not to mention how very eccentric he might grow after years of wandering, which might make things rather more difficult when the Thainship descended upon him as was inevitable.
OTOH, he's rather eccentric anyhow. Such is life.
Dreamflower
· 23 May 2005
· Chapter 24: Thain: Into the Future
Poor Pip, Poor Merry and Poor Paladin! At least the Brockbanks will benefit, though I doubt it will at first make up for losing one they are fond of.
I am curious to see what comes of all this. We know that Paladin gains the Thainship himself a good few years before Pip comes of age. And that Pip takes off with Merry and Frodo without giving a lot of thought to his future duties. I am wondering how his next experiences feed into that.
You know, it doesn't seem to matter whose universe Ferumbras is in, he never seems to fare well. He's either hard and pushy (as you and I show) or he's sickly and completely under his mother's thumb, so that Paladin is actually already running things, or he's good natured but bumbling and ineffective. I've yet to read of a strong Ferumbras who was also good natured or a good natured Ferumbras who was also strong...
Curious. I wonder what it is about him?
Author's reply
Y'know, your comment about Pip taking off with Merry and Frodo without giving a lot of thought to his future duties... a lot of the plot development comes out of this idea. If he were heir to the Thain, being brought up to the responsibilities in a serious way, he ought to have reservations. But no, he goes off, apparently without much thought, more loyal to Frodo than to Tookland.
Why, I ask myself? Hopefully the way I've worked it out will seem like a logical progression.
As to Ferumbras, I'm afraid JRRT didn't give us much to work with. A figurehead, whose mother ran things. A tragic figure, who never married, again likely because of his overbearing mother. I don't think a good-natured, strong Ferumbras would have been Thain in name only while his mother lived. I've written him as good-natured and trying to minimize his mother's damage, while she was alive, and then after she died, finding he really didn't enjoy running things all that much. He'd really rather be fishing, you see.
Connie B.
· 23 May 2005
· Chapter 24: Thain: Into the Future
I am so glad to see this update.
The chapter, however, made me quite sad. Poor Pippin never did seem to get what he wanted. He always seemed to live his life at the whims of others.
It's been so long since I read any of this part of the story, I may have to go back to the last Thain chapter and reread it.
Thanks again for the update.
Connie B.
Author's reply
Well, Pippin is going to gratify a few whims of his own in upcoming chapter(s). And then he's going to go off with Frodo, which, once again, was by his choice and not because someone else made him do it.
When you think of it, returning to Tookland to become Thain was his choice; he could have turned it down. But he didn't, for he'd been trained in duty and honour. He wasn't going because anyone had told him to go, and once he got there he buckled down and took charge. So I hope you can take some comfort from that.
Grey Wonderer
· 23 May 2005
· Chapter 24: Thain: Into the Future
Poor Pippin. I did hope that he might get a few minutes alone with Merry when the Thain started back to the Brockbanks. This is so sad, but I did like the way Pippin stood up for the Brockbanks even if he was unable to do anything to help himself. It shows that the Thain hasn't managed to break his will yet.
Author's reply
True, he did stand up for the Brockbanks. It is part of his personality, to be looking out for others, or why would he have insisted on going with Frodo and Merry, or stabbed the troll that had Beregond in its claws? This is the attitude that makes him such a fine Thain, later on.
I honestly don't think Ferumbras is out to break Pippin's will, he just wants to make sure his successor(s) are better prepared than they would be otherwise. He's not getting any younger, after all. But he's been used to having his way all these years, and I don't think he really gives much thought to how others are affected. His providing a substitute for the Brockbanks' sake was probably good business and not just motivated by thoughtfulness. Shepherd Brockbank can scarcely contest the breaking of his contract with Paladin, after all, if he comes away with a competent, hard-working assistant...
*sigh* (Hated to do it.)
But perhaps the social whirl of the Great Smials isn't exactly the best classroom...
Thanks!
Inkling
· 16 May 2005
· Chapter 1: Thorn: They'd Not Heard of the King
What a terrific beginning, Lin! Some echoes of “Shire: Beginnings” (nice reference to the Lady), but already so very different from that one in style, structure, complexity... The shifts in time and place are very well done. In fact, everything is well done! The battlefield scene is gripping and intense. Why I am not surprised that the hobbits held their ground, even as the men groveled witless? And what an inspired thought to have Tokka, possibly an ancestor of Merry, shoot an arrow at the Witch King!
My reading of this tale will probably be a bit erratic, as I’m trying to do too many things at once right now, but you can bet I’ll be sticking with it!
Author's reply
Tokka, and Bucca his twin, are definitely ancestors of Merry, Pippin, and Frodo. Too bad for the Witch King that he didn't take better notice of these small, insignificant folk! (But good for the Shirefolk, and the long run.)
Very belated thanks, as I return to the beginning of the tale to check a few details before going on...
Hope this finds you well.
Hobbits are tough. And hobbits are curious. And hobbits are clear-sighted.
I like Bucca. And Cirdan. (And just how did Cirdan, as a member of a race without facial hair, manage to be bearded? I've long wondered.) And I like to see the way Cirdan manages to encourage everybody with his presence. Nothing to do with a certain red ring, by any chance?
Bucca's family must be certain that he is lost.
Author's reply
I have always wondered how he got his beard. Somehow my mental picture of elves has been coloured by reading your stories... Why do I get the impression that a bet was behind it all? He has a beard because he lost a wager?
Ummm. Or maybe he, being "more far-sighted than any other of the Wise" (or something like that), grew a beard on purpose in order to achieve some sort of rapport with the race of Dwarves, knowing that eventually an Elf and a Dwarf would have to learn to co-operate in order to accomplish some Greater Purpose.
Has anyone ever issued a "Bearded Elf" challenge?
Poor Bucca. He's worried that his family has been lost, and they are undoubtedly worrying the same about him. But it cannot be helped, at the moment.
Author Reply: p.s. the appendix implies that Cirdan gave Gandalf the red ring when the latter came to Middle-earth, but it doesn't say so outright. So I'm taking a small liberty here, suggesting that the passing off of the ring of encouragement has not yet happened.
Where is Gandalf when all this business is happening, I'd like to know? I haven't found any clue as to his whereabouts. It seems as if he was absent during this point in history.
Connie B.
· 29 April 2005
· Chapter 23: Thorn: Hobbity Questions
Nice to see this story updated again.
The more I read, the more I like Bucca. I can clearly see that certain hobbits have to be his decendants.
Thanks.
Connie B.
Author's reply
Yes. That "But..." must be an hereditary trait, don't you think?
Will keep on plugging away at this story as I have time. The schedule has been nearly impossible, the last couple of months, and really won't clear out until the end of June, when all the "end of the school year" events are finally all finished. Now if I can only avoid the temptation of filling up the summer schedule this year. Last year we were *way* too ambitious and we missed the "lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer" as a result of over-busyiness.
Thanks!
Beautifully written, Lindelea. I find I love Cirdan and Bucca as you picture them. They do each have questions to answer, for themselves and each other. Lovely imagery.
Author's reply
Thank you!
Your computer is broken? How I sympathise! I still post chapters just as soon as they are typed in, because of previous computer troubles. (Post, not "publish". It's a sort of "backup" in case I turn on the computer one morning and it no longer remembers the existence of a hard drive. The chapters get published after a bit of editing, usually.)
I hope that your computer gets well soon. Am hoping to have some reading time next week, as a matter of fact. What an amazing thing!
Larner
· 21 April 2005
· Chapter 99999: Author's Notes
I'll try to remain patient, but this is my favorite of all your stories, and I wish I could nominate it for an MEFA. I think it is marvelous!
Author's reply
Thanks!
We haven't abandoned the story, we're just re-working. Painfully.
But you can nominate for an MEFA if you like. They have a WIP category. (And who knows, if I manage to re-write the lost chapters, it might be finished in time to be nominated again as a finished work next year. Wouldn't *that* be a kick?)
Larner
· 21 April 2005
· Chapter 22: Thain: Explanations
First time I've found myself liking Ferumbras, I must say. Love this story, Lindelea.
Author's reply
Have you read "Pearl of Great Price"? That is where I came to know and like Ferumbras, poor, misunderstood hobbit that he was. He did the best he could, under the circumstances.
Thanks!
Bodkin
· 27 March 2005
· Chapter 22: Thain: Explanations
I should think he'd rather be a shepherd than a Thain-in-training. Or Merry's sidekick might be even better.
The ins and outs of Shire politics and inheritance are interesting.
Author's reply
Amen. Hope they're believable as well.
(Don't know if you read fanfic on occasion any more, but I thought I'd answer reviews, even the old ones, for old times' sake.)
This one chapter goes such a long way to explaining Pippin's feelings on becoming Thain. This one line here:
Pippin had the bewildered look of a wild bird as the cage door closes.
That was all so very sudden and so very sad. Pippin never had a chance. It is hardly any wonder that he fled to Buckland and to Merry as soon as he got the chance. I only hope that Pearl is able to speak to him in private and that Pippin gets a chance to talk to Merry soon.
Author's reply
Really very sad, and I hated to do it. Sometimes it is a pain to write, constrained by previous material. But re-writing would be much more difficult and time-consuming! (You're so brave.)
Connie B.
· 21 March 2005
· Chapter 22: Thain: Explanations
Talk about a bombshell. Poor Pippin, and poor Paladin.
One question. What was the deal with the birthday presents? It was Pippin's birthday, right? Shouldn't he have been giving presents and not getting them? I guess that was really three question, but on the same topic.:)
Glad to see an update to this story.
Connie B.
Author's reply
Owe you a word of thanks! I went to look up the passage in JRRT's letters about birthday presents, because he says, yes, it's a custom to give the birthday-child a present under certain constraints (the day before, or by noon of the birthday)--but then I ran across a part of the passage that I'd forgot! The presents are not displayed on a table, but given privately! So I need to re-write that bit.
There is some discussion of Merry's present to Pippin, and Frodo's, in a later chapter, so I need to ditch the table and re-do the giving of the presents somehow...
In any event, the next Bucca chapter is under the eye of my editor-friend at the moment, and we are trying to work out the outline to make sure the two parts end even with each other, as they originally did.
In the meantime, started a new story from Woodruff's viewpoint, and am still working on Rosemary's story.
But the Real Life writing is taking more time, so updates may be slow unless I can manage to keep getting up earlier than everyone else.
Poor Pip - to have his life changed so quickly. I felt sorry for the family. Paladin and Eglantine are facing a very different future than the one they imagined for themselves and their family.
Author's reply
Thanks. Hope this reads as plausible. I keep running up against the question, "but *why* can't Paladin simply renounce the sucession?" Whew, that's a sticky spot. Hoping that duty and tradition is enough to explain it.
Nice to hear from you! Are you writing these days?
Larner
· 2 February 2005
· Chapter 21: Thorn: Clarifications
I find myself loving it more and more, and caring deeply for Bucca and Aranarth.
Author's reply
Thank you!
We are feeling our way along, trying to re-create the outline. Funny how events meshed so well, before, but I cannot remember exactly *how* they meshed.
But we did manage to post the next Pippin chapter, and are working on the next Bucca chapter. And Gondor will come soon.
Bodkin
· 28 January 2005
· Chapter 21: Thorn: Clarifications
Well, at least he's not in the dungeons of Angmar. So I suppose it could be worse. But Tokka's not coming home. And neither is Marroc.
I'll bet Bucca's family is worried about him. They would have expected him to be back before now. (And doubtless he is worried about them.) It's not surprising that hobbits chose not to involve themselves much in the outside world after this experience. Unless they were Tooks, of course. Or a couple of part-Took Bagginses.
Poor Aranath seems to have lost hope rather - unsurprisingly. Thulion seems to be trying to bolster him up a bit, but he's not having much luck.
Author's reply
Too true about the missing hobbits. Drat.
Bucca's family are worried but they have troubles of their own, dodging soldiers and hiding as best they can in hollows of trees and such.
Good old Thulion.
Connie B.
· 28 January 2005
· Chapter 21: Thorn: Clarifications
Yay! You updated. I was starting to get concerned. I almost sent you a private email to see if you were all right.
This chapter is so sad, knowing the outcome. The prince is realistic, the captain is falsely optomistic and poor Bucca just wants his brother and the other hobbits back safe. How sad that no one gets what he wants in this one.
More soon, please.
Thanks.
Connie B.
Author's reply
Thanks! It is an incredibly busy week, and that's all. I posted a message at livejournal (lindelea1) to that effect but it is more difficult here at SoA short of posting a new chapter and putting a note in the story summary!
Well, the Captain gets a little of what he's anticipating... Gondor does come, at least.
I wonder what might have happened if Gondor had not come? Would Angmar have mustered to attack the Elves in Lindon, eventually? Would the Men of the North have retreated to Gondor? Would the Shire have been left defenceless, and been wiped out? (shudder)
Am glad Tolkien said that Gondor came. Better late than never.