Reviews (176)

Author's reply

Thanks Larner. One of my favorite themes of LOTR is that nothing of good can be accomplished alone, that we need each other. I hope I captured some of that within this story.

Author's reply

Will Elrond foster him at Rivendell? Hmmm. Well, it's my understanding that children aren't fostered until they're 8, at the youngest, more like 10 and up. So we've got a bit more time to play with before it becomes a serious question. I feels sorry for Nienelen, it's been a long time since she's seen her husband. Yeah, so do I, even though I'm the one writing it that way. :P

Author's reply

And at last we have an inkling as to why Aragorn changed the form of his son's name. Interesting, and interesting also that Edainion is willing to fight for his house's honor. Yes, I have a feeling Aragorn thought the fortunes of his House was taking a decidedly sharp turn in a different direction when he married Nienelen. Thanks!

Author's reply

May they both know comfort in knowing the other is praying for a safe and soon return of him to their home. I can see Aragorn hanging out someplace holed up, resting for the night, and just rubbing his fingers along the hair bracelet to remind himself of what he's doing this for. Thanks Larner. :)

Author's reply

Thanks Larner! Rivers and creaks feature heavily in my growing up years, so I had a lot of sense memories to draw on; the feel of mossy rocks beneath your feet, riding the push of the current, and the little fish that cluster in shallow water and nip at your legs. I always loved the dragonflies and how they skim along the water. That, and birdsong from the riverbanks always seemed to sound so distinctly different. I can only imagine the rivers would define a lot of the life for the Dúnedain of the Angle.

Author's reply

So Nienelen is not pure Dunedain, but part Haradrim? Or were her distant ancestors Black Numenorean? Both and all. Here's the history I've given this universe: From the bits and pieces of the background I've dropped in the story here and there, I'm positing that the Black Numenoreans and people of Harad native to the Umbar region mixed in all the ways that an occupying culture mixes with one that is occupied. When things got bad on Numenor, things also got bad in Umbar, and there was an uprising among the people there - an alliance of the Numenorean Faithful, members of the household of the future Lord of the Nazgul while he was still alive, and the folk of the city. It did not go well. Well, it did at first, and there was much celebration after the Lord was assassinated by members of his household and they gained the upper hand. But it didn't last, because unbeknownst to them, the Lord was in possession of one of the rings of power. So, he came back, unexpectedly, and things got bloody. After many losses, the remainder fled.... and traveled as far north as they could get before deciding that any further north was too cold to support what they knew how to survive. The brutality with which the uprising was put down is one of the reasons I gave this universe that you hear very little of rebellion against Sauron out of Umbar and Harad. The clans then settled in the hills along the northern borders of Eriador not long before Elendil and The Faithful of Numenor fled to Middle-earth and settled there, too. There was both tension and a bond of similar values and trauma - so the northern clans fell into a relationship with The Faithful of Numenor somewhere between kin and allies. That's been the status for about 6,000 years, so you can imagine there's been a bit of cultural exchange and intermarriage. You can imagine, then, that the return of the Witch-king of Angmar to the north of Eriador was a thing of the northern clans' nightmares. And here he is again, poised on a third confrontation with them. Nienelen is a descendent of both lines of The Faithful. Those of Umbar - who are primarily biracial - a mix of Harad and Numenor - through her mother. And an offshoot of some king of Arthedain at some point through her father's side. I hope Aragorn comes home soon. Yeah, I think Nienelen hopes so, too. Thanks Raksha!

Author's reply

Yep. He's either still searching for Gollum somewhere around the bounds of Mordor or has found him and high-tailing it for Mirkwood and Thranduil.

Author's reply

Yeah, Aragorn is positioned as a healer of a lot of things in LOTR, not just the physical injuries, but the spiritual ones, as well, not to mention the repair of the faults of his forebears and healing of the divisions between his people. Someone on my tumblr feed referred to him as the King of Broken Things, and I think that is so apt.

Author's reply

Yeah, that dip was just a tad unintentional... and scared the cr*p out of Aragorn, himself.

Author's reply

Yes, quite the little family unit we've got growing here. I'm a sucker for dads and little kids, so I couldn't resist writing Daddy!Aragorn. :)

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Yes! Very perceptive. It will play a role later.

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Thanks Raksha! Gandalf is such a delight to write. I think he definitely would. He'll have the chance, given that Aragorn is soon to find Gollum and bring him to Mirkwood, where poor Gandalf will have to "endure much speech" with him.

Author's reply

Thanks Larner! These chapters were a lot of fun to write. I got to write a tipsy Aragorn! That was fun.

Author's reply

At last, the first child is kindled, and he may know relief that his line will continue. Yes, Aragorn has sacrificed quite a bit for it. But it must hurt, knowing for certain whose love her husband would have preferred. Yeah, I imagine it would. There's a lot of hard compromises being made all around. Thanks Larner! I'm glad to see you're still reading.

Author's reply

Thanks Larner! I wanted to give a view of Aragorn's potential as a statesman here.

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Yeah, that would not be good. They're going to need each other.

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Such beautiful chapters. Though it's rather sad that Aragorn has to leave again... Thanks Blueberry! Yeah, if there are any chapters I reread for fun, it's these ones. And yes, very sad for everyone involved that Aragorn has to leave yet again. And, you're right. Good memory. They didn't get nearly so close in the first draft- even all the way through to the end. It's one of the substantial revisions that I made during the second draft stage. That whole last third of the chapter on the riverbank didn't exist in the first version.

Author's reply

It's good that Aragorn and Nienelen are finally communicating; and are finally acting more like husband and wife than master and servant. Yep, that was a lonnng road getting there. I hope that one day they will use each other's names freely, at least when they're alone. And that Nienelen will come to think of Edainion as her son, not just "my lord's son"; she's his mother, not his governess. Hmmm.... they say to give your readers what they want, just not in the way they want it. :D So, hold onto those thoughts. Edainion is already quite a character; I hope he doesn't die... Oh, good. I'm glad his character is coming across. I think it's a challenge to write child characters that have their own little personality. Thanks Raksha!

Author's reply

A sweet chapter. I love seeing Aragorn and Nienelen interact with their young son. Thanks, Raksha! But why does Nienelen continually refer to her child as "my lord's son"? Very good question and nicely observed. I think I was heavily influenced by the way Tolkien framed Aragorn and Arwen's family. He names Eldarion and specifies his characteristics as important to Aragorn's decision(s), and has him specifically say goodbye to him, but frames their daughters as unnamed and as "her daughters." So, I took that differential treatment and ran with it, framing Edainion as part of Aragorn's world in a way Nienelen and "her daugthers" would not be.

Author's reply

Nienelen certainly has a right to know about the woman her husband loved (and still has feelings for). Yeah, problem remains Aragorn's grief, guilt, and honor are still barriers to him ever revealing it. We'll see. :) But good news for her and Aragorn at last! Hopefully the child will be born healthy and not get killed off; there needs to be another Heir of Isildur. lol You may have said something similar when we reached this point during the first draft. IIRC, it was something along the lines of "please don't kill off the kid." You may have also, at some point, stated that he really needed a dog. :)) I would like to know what went wrong between Aragorn and Arwen in this AU... Did you see the "Fidelity" time stamp? That'll have the answer to some of your questions there. I've got more in the works.

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XD Yep, he's been hiding parts of himself, keeping them tucked away. She'll use whatever is at her disposal to get him to surrender them. Thanks for reading and commenting, Larner!

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Yes, indeed, and requires hard work to obtain!

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Most interesting that she has figured out where the Rangers are focused at the moment. Yes! All the clues were there, she just didn't think it would be a good idea to step into a sphere that wouldn't traditionally welcome her. It seems to generally take ticking her off enough that she loses some of that tight control over herself. And he is pleased she is so capable of appreciating what is happening, although she doesn't know why. Yep, he would be pretty desperate for help I would think. Thanks for reading, Larner. You really made a heroic effort to catch up! And thanks for your thoughtful comments, too, of course.

Author's reply

Aragorn is pleased, I think, to find how capable she is proving I would he would be. He was attracted to an elf-maiden who was many many years his senior and of a very powerful line of the Eldar. I'd imagine that he'd be very thoughtful and careful with someone who couldn't match him, but he'd be absolutely delighted if she could.

Author's reply

But he needed to be reminded that he has the need to take part in the building of the hope he would have her provide. His one failing, I would judge. Yes, I agree, though I think he is still in the process of morning Arwen.