Reviews (427)

Author's reply

Thanks Agape. Thengel will have to call upon ever resource of wisdom he has to deal with the traitors. In spite of the adversity he has suffered, he has been able to remain true to himmself. I don't think I could get away with killing off Wídfara; too many readers adore him, as do I. *lol* Gilhael and Aragorn, while they have naturally sided with Thengel in this bit of anarchy, they are outsiders so they can deal with healing those who may or may not have been traitors more easily than the Rohirrim. And since Thengel has ordered that they be treated fairly, the Dúnedain have no problems making sure that they are. I'm glad you like the title and the quote. It was just serpendipity that I happen to stumble across that particular passage just when I needed it. *grin*

Author's reply

Thanks, Lynda. When I read that passage from the Elegies, I just knew I had to incorporate the image of the 'pearls of grief' into the story. And considering who first spoke these words to Gilhael, they are especially poignant, I think.

Author's reply

Hi Rhyselle. I'm glad you think this is one of the best of the latest chapters posted. I've tried hard to make even 'walk-ons' be as three-dimensional as possible and I'm happy to know that in your estimation I've succeeded. Thanks for letting me know. I know how terribly busy you are with your work at this moment, so I really appreciate you taking the time to leave this review. And since we're coming to the end of the story there will be further tying up plot thresds in future chapters.

Author's reply

Thanks Arwen. I'm glad you liked this chapter. Neither Thengel nor Denethor know of Aragorn's true identity here so they don't realize the import of his words to Thengel. The next two chapters will cover the trials of the traitors and we will see to what extent Thengel shows mercy to them.

Author's reply

It is an interesting contrast between the two characters, isn't it, and not one that I consciously had in my mind when I wrote it, but certainly there are parallels. I'm glad you pointed it out, Larner. Very perceptive. We won't get to the trials immediately (there's a chapter in between) but we will learn something more about the Umbari soon enough.

Author's reply

Thanks, Agape. I'm glad you liked Denethor in this chapter. He is, after all, the son of the Steward and a warrior. He's used to galvanizing warriors and terrifying enemies; it's in his 'job description'. *grin*

Author's reply

Yes, he's finally where he belongs, though there is still much for him to do. I figured having the Horn of the Mark make an appearance at this critical juncture was apropos. *grin* Glad you enjoyed the chapter, Lynda. Thanks for letting me know.

Author's reply

Thanks, Arwen. I'm glad you liked this chapter. More to come.

Author's reply

With some of the men of Edoras who had been forced to do the traitors' bidding, turning against them, Thengel's chances of winning is much improved. Unfortunately, the people of Harad have been too long under Sauron's shadow and the guard was lost long ago.

Author's reply

Hi Shoshi. Well, I'm glad that this review went through okay. If you're still having problems you could contact Nilmandra about it or send me a PM with your thoughts on the chapters. Anyway, I'm happy to hear that you are still enjoying this story and thank you for your kind words about my storytelling and my linguistic abilities. I appreciate them very much. I find that many times when I read about battles or individual fights in fantasy stories I end up skimming over most of the description because the action is lost on me. All I want to know is who's left standing at the end and get on with the story. *lol* So, my own battle scenes are not very detailed (I leave that up to the readers to fill it in from all the fantasy movies they've seen) and concentrate on the the emotions certain characers feel at the time. As an armchair Sumerologist myself, I wanted a name that was distinctly NOT based on the Sindarin culture of Gondor and I didn't want to follow Larner's ur-Egyptian culture that she created for Harad in her own stories, such as "Lesser Rings", so I went slightly more east for the character's name. I always liked Tammuz/Dumuzi myself, which is why I chose it for the hapless Haradi. *grin* The Umbari, of course, was a different matter. As the descendent of the Black Númenóreans, he would have spoken Adúnaic and so his name is based on that language. There's not much more to tell of this story, but hopefully you will find the ending satisfactory. Thanks again for your encouragement and support. I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

Author's reply

We'll see what happens to Aragorn and Thengel (and everyone else) in the next chapter. I'm glad that you are still enjoying the tale, Arwen. Thanks for letting me know.

Author's reply

Thanks, Agape. I'm very pleased that you enjoyed this chapter so much. More to come. *grin*

Author's reply

Hi Arwen. I know what you mean. It took me a while to figure out how to *respond* to reviews. *lol* Anyway, I'm glad you figured it out and I am even more glad that you are enjoying this story. I'm also happy that you liked the different POVs. I felt it only fair to let the readers know what was happening elsewhere in Edoras as Thengel fights to regain his throne. Sorry to leave it at a cliffhanger, but between the network being upgraded and my having to go to London for most of next week, I figured it would be easier to just wait until I got back to update with a new chapter. Thanks for letting me know how much you've been enjoying this story. I really appreciate it and look forward to more reviews from you in the future.

Author's reply

That's true, Larner. The enemy will have to rely on their own powers now. I think that will be Thorongil's first order of business: take out the Umbari. We'll see what happens in the next chapter.

Author's reply

Sorry, Agape. I didn't intentionally plan to leave this on a cliffhanger, but as it turns out, we got a notice saying the local network would be down for about a week while they upgrade it and it just happens to coincide with me going to London with Nina while she consults with her London doctors about upcoming treatments. Even in London, I'm not sure I'll have easy access to the internet so I figured I wouldn't worry about posting new chapters until I got back to Germany. By then our network should be up and running again. Anyway, I'm glad you liked this chapter, even if it does end with you hanging by your nonexistent nails. *grin* When I first started writing this story I had decided that the POV would remain Aragorn's throughout so that the reader only knew what he knew. The only time I deviated from that was when Wídfara almost died. However, when I came to this chapter, I decided that it would be unfair to the readers to only know what Aragorn knows at this point and having to wait until someone told him what else was going on. So, the next few chapters while the battle for Edoras wages on, you will get various viewpoints. Thanks for your review. I appreciate it.

Author's reply

Hi, Sunny. Yes, the Umbari are up to their old tricks and in league with the Haradri as well. Whether Saruman had anything to do with it we will have to wait and see. Certainly, I think he might have engineered certain meetings between people even if he didn't have direct dealings with anyone. Since the last meeting of the White Council occured 3-4 years before, he can hide in Isengard and not have to deal with people like Elrond or Galadriel who might sense a wrongness about him that didn't exist before. At any rate, the machinations of the traitors will be revealed in due course. As for Wídfara... never fear! he'll soon be in good hands. He's out of the fight but he'll recover eventually. I wouldn't dare kill him off, he is an elf-friend, after all. *grin*

Author's reply

Thanks, Agape. I'm glad you found this chapter tense and exciting, short though it was. Don't worry about Wídfara. He may be down but he's not out. Aragorn would never forgive me if I killed him off. *lol*

Author's reply

It may be that others brought in the Umbari, Larner. Éolind might have objected to that help, which is why she was eliminated, but we won't know for sure until the end (and maybe not even then! *grin*). But yes, I'm sure the Umbari saw this as an opportunity to seize power so as to isolate Gondor completely. Of course, we know this did not happen, but the thought that it could have does still liw in the realm of possibility, given the geo-political realities of the late Third Age with Sauron again on the rise.

Author's reply

Thanks, Barbara. I'm delighted that you liked the wraith-bane chant and the riddles and Wídfara's role in the chapter. There are other sites beside the one I give here that have the Exeter Book riddles but this one was the first I found and therefore the one I used for both the translations and the solutions. I'm glad that it will be of use to you in your own writing.

Author's reply

I'm sorry you feel that way. I'm even sorrier that you don't have the curtesy to leave a signed review, and I wonder what you're afraid of. Normally, it has been my practice to delete anonymous reviews without bothering to answer them since generally anonymous reviews are heavy on negative cricticism, and that's okay, but they offer no real constructive cricticism that I can use to make my writing better. I have decided to keep this one up as I wished to answer it and let others read it. As for my writing... I cannot nor do I try to please everyone. I simply write as I feel the need to with as much care and love and passion for my craft as I can muster. Being human, I know that sometimes I miss the mark, but I hope that overall my writing is enjoyable to others. While I admit that "Stirrings" has never been my favorite story to write (I'm more interested in First Age elves than Third Age humans and this one was more or less written by request), I have always approached it with as much respect as I've approached my other stories. Had I decided I didn't want to finish writing it, for whatever reason, I would have removed it from the site with apologies to anyone who was reading it. I've always hated writers who start a story but never finish it and just leave it on the site. And with regards to writing out of a sense of duty... in a way that is what every writer does. They write out of a sense of duty to their craft and to their readers. There are times when that sense of duty is the only thing that keeps a writer (or anyone in any type of work for that matter) going, for you can't have a fun time all the time and sometimes you just have to plug away at whatever work you are doing. You should know this even from your own experiences of everyday life. Joy may be diminished but it's always there or else you would simply stop doing whatever you were doing, especially something that's a hobby as this is for me. If people find my writing boring or uninteresting or whatever, they really have two choices, as I see it: they can either stop reading and go elsewhere (and not bother to leave an anonymous review such as yours, the purpose of which apparently is only to make me feel bad about myself) or they can offer me constructive criticism and encouragement, letting me know that while I may have missed the mark in this instance, they still value me as a writer and want to see me become better at my craft. I hope what I have said here will help you in the future when you feel the need to leave a comment on someone's story. Negative criticism is fine so long as it is followed by concrete constructive criticism, otherwise, it's useless to the writer.

Author's reply

Thanks for the links, Sunny. I've always been interested in the Northern mythos but they were never as readily available in translation as the Greek and Roman myths. And you are correct about enjoyment. Some stories never go out of style.

Author's reply

Hi, Ainu Laire. I'm so glad you think this chapter awesome. Riddles are an ancient tradition and the Anglo-Saxons were well know for them, having recorded hundreds of them. Since the Rohirrim are loosely based on their culture it just seemed logical that riddles would play an important role in the lives of the people of Rohan as well and certainly Wídfara put them to good use. *grin* Aragorn and Denethor's budding friendship here is very poignant, of course, because we know how it ends so badly. It indeed would have been a legendary friendship if jealousy had not gotten in the way. At any rate, I really have no plans to continue this story to Gondor. I know there are others who would like to write about Aragorn's time there, but I have no real interest in it. I suspect that Gilhael will accompany Aragorn to Gondor to watch his back. We will actually meet the person responsible for summoning the wraith in the next chapter. Thanks for your review. I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know how much you are enjoying the story.

Author's reply

Thanks, Agape. I'm glad you liked this chapter and the riddles. I can never figure them out myself but I enjoy their complexities and metaphorical language.

Author's reply

Hi Linda. I'm glad you like Denethor here. I don't think Denethor is actually suspicious of Aragorn, or considers him a rival, since Aragorn is in Rohan at this time and there's no indication that he would eventually go on to Gondor. I think many readers are projecting what they know will happen in the future rather than what is happening now. For now they are merely acquaintances and comrades-in-arms with the common goal of helping Thengel regain his throne. And Wídfara is always ready to defend his swordbrother against all comers. *grin*

Author's reply

I read the "Riddle-Master of Hed" trilogy ages ago when it first was published. I'm familiar with the Eddas though I've not read them even in translation. I really wasn't happy with the wight myself, but just couldn't seem to figure out how to make it creepier. You would think after writing Melkor in "Wars of the Valar" (now there's creepy for you!) I would have that down, but I guess I'm not into evil ghosts all that much. *grin* I think for me the focus was on Wídfara acting as a distraction with the riddles, as you say, followed by the Dúnedain fighting it on a different level. Anyway, I'll have to work on it, but I'm not all that much of a horror fan myself.