Silivren Tinu
· 24 November 2009
· Chapter 13: King of Men
I think Aragorn's humbleness and midesty are two of the traits I like most about him. *g* He must have looked so stunning in those garments! Accepting that Arwen needed to bind herself to a mortal can't have been easy for Galadriel, but I believe she of all people would have had the wisdom and foresight necessary to understand that Aragorn really needed the hope and strength only Arwen's love would be able to give him. This was a beautiful chapter! :)
Author's reply
Thank you so much, Almut. I couldn't agree with you more, both about Aragorn and Galadriel. In one way it was a huge sacrifice that she made, and yet, in another, she knew the days of the Eldar were coming to an end and, through Aragorn and Arwen, they would at least leave something of their legacy in Middle-earth.
Silivren Tinu
· 12 November 2009
· Chapter 12: The Spy
Poor Aragorn! He more than deserves to go home... or at least, go to a friendlier place with lots of green, growing things where no one tries to kill him for a while. I loved how you described the contrast between the desert and the place Aragorn woke up in. I'm glad there were some good, friendly people even in that hostile land. I think at that point in his life, Aragorn really needs a rest.
Author's reply
This was definitely the point to send him on his way home and into the arms of his beloved, don't you think! Thank you so much for reviewing.
Silivren Tinu
· 12 November 2009
· Chapter 11: Flight of the Eagle
I can't imagine how hard it must have been for Aragorn to be forced to leave Gondor again and leave friends and a place that was beginning to feel like home behind once again. Knowing that his path would lead him towards Mordor can't have made it any easier.
//In his heart he felt as much for those left lying on the quayside as he did his own injured men. Killing orcs was one thing, but these were soldiers, no different from his, save that they had been deceived by the Dark Lord and had come under his sway.//
I loved that - I just can't imagine Aragorn not being sickened by war, especially when his foes were men and not creatures of the Dark Lord.
I can't help feeling sorry for Ecthelion. I wish he would have learned the truth some day. I don't mind that Aragorn's departure made Denethor feel uncertain and confused, though. *g*
Author's reply
Thank you so much, Almut for your review. I'm glad you liked that line. War was, after all, a necessity of Aragorn, not a career of choice. And after making a good life for himself, where he was loved and honoured, it must have been so hard to simply walk away and leave it all behind. And yes, Thorongil's leaving was very hard on Ecthelion. I bet he very much regretted that, though probably he was less worried about Denethor!
Silivren Tinu
· 10 November 2009
· Chapter 10: The Ring of Barahir
I have to admit I have never before given any thought to the possibility that Denethor might have guessed at or discovered Thorongil's true identity. It's an intruiging thought! This chapter made me warm up to Denethor a bit. His concern for Thorongil, even after he found out about Thorongil's true identity, speaks for him. Still, I believe knowing about Thorongil's identity will only make him cling to power even more, now that he is aware he might lose it anytime. That must have been a very hard blow for someone as ambitious as Denethor!
Author's reply
I think you're right, Denethor is going to make life very hard for his father's favourite from now on. I don't think Denethor was a cruel man by any means and, in different circumstances, I suspect he and Thorongil might have been friends. In a way he was very much a victim of the situation created by Sauron. He just didn't handle it as well as he might. I'm glad you warmed to him a bit here.
Silivren Tinu
· 9 November 2009
· Chapter 9: The Rival
I really like how you subtly show the difference between Denethor and Thorongil in the last two chapters without ever being obvious about it. It's really hard not to like Thorongil, and it's equally hard to like Denethor. Somehow, Denethor just does not seem to be able to be selfless, or to place the welfare of others above his own, though I think he tries (occasionally). As noble as he is, it's really not easy to warm up to him and his attempts to pry into Aragorn's private matters do not endear him to me. ;-) A great chapter, and a very interesting glimpse into Denethor's mind! :)
Author's reply
Thank you so much! Denethor is a very complex character and he undeniably has his strengths, but I agree with you, he is hard to like. On the other hand, Aragorn oozes charisma which of course further distances him from Denethor. It was interesting to put those two men in the same room together and see what happened. I'm so glad you enjoyed the result!
Silivren Tinu
· 8 November 2009
· Chapter 8: The Servant of the Steward
I loved how you described the moment when Aragorn set eyes on Minas Tirith for the first time! I can't imagine what that moment must have meant for him, or how nervous he must have been upon the prospect of entering that city. Aragorn and Denethor are certainly not off to a good start but then, I didn't expect anything else. ;-) It's quite impossible to imagine such an ambitious and proud man as Denethor to be happy about the arrival of someone as skilled and intelligent as Aragorn. I really liked the ending of this chapter and Aragorn's realization that fighting and defeating the evil spreading from Mordor was the only thing that really mattered (I wish Denethor had been able to understand that, too!).
Author's reply
Oh thank you! That is it exactly. Denethor could not put his own position to one side in that way and therein lies the difference between them. Also I'm so glad you enjoyed that first glimpse of Minas Tirith. I did hope it would be a bit special. There were drawbacks to writing Aragorn's story in one-shot chapters and one of those was condensing the time for Denethor to start being suspicious of the newcomer. I suspect he welcomed Thorongil at first but it was fun to have them get off on the wrong foot right from the outset.
Thank you so much for your review.
Silivren Tinu
· 8 November 2009
· Chapter 7: The Horseman
Poor Aragorn! I don't think that was the kind of adventure he expected to find when he set out with Gandalf for Rohan. *g* I'm glad he was able to help that mare and so get into Thengel's good graces. Caring for one of the Mearas is quite a promotion from what he did at first. ;-) I've always wondered how he came to hold the position he finally did in Rohan, and how difficult it must have been for him at first to gain respect and recognition. I love that Aragorn was humble enough to accept the employment he was offered at first - his humility really makes him a quite unusual and lovable king. :)
Author's reply
Thank you so much, Almut. This chapter was a challenge as we have nothing much to go on in canon at this stage in Aragorn's life. It must though have his first experience of hiding his true identity and I felt that surely would have been very challenging at first, especially in a foreign country where he couldn't speak the language.
Yes, this was certainly a lesson in humility. We wouldn't have him any other way though, would we!
Silivren Tinu
· 6 November 2009
· Chapter 6: The Wizard's Pupil
I loved the idea that Elrond might have asked Gandalf to have an eye on Aragorn and help him - it's always so nice to see how much Aragorn truly means to Elrond. :) I greatly enjoyed reading about the first meeting between Aragorn and Gandalf! I've always loved Aragorn-Gandalf friendship, but it's hard to find any stories featuring the two of them, so this chapter was a special treat for me (and I'm already looking forward to the next one :D). I really like your Gandalf, btw. :)
Author's reply
I so agree with you about Gandalf stories. He was a hugely important figure in Aragorn's life and yet he is featured so rarely. I can quite imagine Elrond and Gandalf sitting down and had a discussion about Aragorn, can't you!
I'm so delighted you enjoyed this chapter as it was a favourite of mine to write.
[BTW I'm really immpressed with how you're cracking through this story!]
Silivren Tinu
· 6 November 2009
· Chapter 5: Chieftain of the Dunedain
I loved the moment when Halbarad swore fealty to Aragorn! Methinks Aragorn will really need some time to get used to being chieftain. ;-) I'm glad they gave him such a warm welcome. It must be so hard to feel at home among the Dunedain after having lived in Rivendell for so long. I liked how you described his feelings and thoughts upon seeing his parents' home. I think Aragorn is beginning to understand for the first time what being the chieftain of the Dunedain means and the enormity of the task set in front of him.
Author's reply
It must have been quite a cultural shock to go from the comfort of Rivendell to live the hard life of the Dunedain and yet I'm certain that the love his people felt for him would have sustained him through any difficulties.
Halbarad is such fun to right! Thank you so much for your review.
This chapter really made me wonder what might have happened if Arwen had not reciprocated Aragorn's feelings at all. I think that hope he had of winning her heart one day must have helped to sustain him through all those years of hardship - without it, things would have been bleak indeed. I loved that moment at the end when she smiled at him the way she did. ;-)
Author's reply
That's a very good question. Arwen was a very late addition to LOTR and yet there is a good case for arguing that she was actually a pivotal character.
I'm glad you liked that moment. I had to give the poor boy something to hold on to!
Silivren Tinu
· 5 November 2009
· Chapter 3: Son of Arathorn
That must have been such a wonderful day for Gilraen! I enjoyed your version of how Estel might have reacted to being told about his true name and heritage. I like the idea that he didn't feel any loss or betrayal, but was simply able to accept and even embrace the news about his father and his heritage. It must be so great for Gilraen to finally be able to tell her son all about his father! :)
Author's reply
I'm so glad you enjoyed this version of Estel finding out about his heritage. Like all this story, I based this interpretation firmly in canon. We know that the day after he learned who he was, Estel was singing, with 'his heart high within him' and we are told that he had 'rejoiced' in his new title. With this in mind, I can't see any grounds to view him as having been upset or angry. Yes, poor Gilraen; having to hide Arathorn from her son for so long must have been very hard for her.
Thank you so much for your review and for reading.
Silivren Tinu
· 4 November 2009
· Chapter 2: Great Deeds
I always love reading about the first meeting between Halbarad and Aragorn! :) I liked how you described Estel's reaction to the rangers - after living among elves for so long, the Dunedain must have seemed very strange to him. Encountering the trolls must have been terrifying. I don't think Aragorn will ever think of fighting as fun again after going through that experience. *hugs him* I enjoyed seeing how Estel's confidence in his skills grew throughout this chapter and I liked that you have shown his healing skills to already be obvious when he was still a young man. :)
Author's reply
Thank you so much for your review, Almut. I'm sorry this was such a long chapter but there was so much I wanted to include and Estel realising that life in the wild wasn't all fun around the camnpfire was one of them. I'm glad you enjoyed his first meeting with Halbarad. There must have been a few surprises on both sides, I think!
Silivren Tinu
· 4 November 2009
· Chapter 1: Hope
Poor Gilraen! Losing Arathorn must have been a terrible blow for her, and having to leave her home and her people behind can't have made it easier. I think it shows how much she loved Aragorn, though, that she even agreed to change his name to keep him safe. I can't even imagine how hard that must have been for her, and how alone she must have felt in Rivendell at first. I really liked getting the chance to see the events following Arathorn's death through her eyes! :)
Author's reply
Thank you! It was fascinating trying to picture at this through Gilraen's eyes. I think it's often easy to forget how young and unworldly she was. Going to Rivendell so soon after losing her husband must have felt like the end of the world.
That's a really beautiful beginning, Inzilbeth! I especially loved the moment when Eärendil appeared over the far horizon. It's a really heartwarming thought that he might have acknowledged his distant descendant in such a way. :)
Almut
P.S. I've finally arrived at your story while making my way through the heap of to-review MEFA stories, so you're going to hear from me more often from now on!
Author's reply
Oh Almut, I'm delighted and honoured that you're reading my story. I do hope you enjoy it and I very much look forward to hearing from you. I'm glad you liked the opening chapter. I wanted to include at least a nod to Aragorn's distant ancestor as I felt it rather underpinned the fact that he would have his own great journey to make in time.
Thank you so much for your review.
Liz
Mirach
· 16 September 2009
· Chapter 999: 'The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen'
Throughout the chapter, I felt like a king, and you was Barahir, the scribe that recorded the tale of the greatest of Men in this Age of the world, yet of a Man very dear to me. You have accomplished everything that the king would ever expect. You have written a story that touched me deeply. I’m sure that you know well the feeling when you come to the last page of the Lord of the Rings, and close the book. Something great has ended, but it remains in your thoughts, and you can still feel the salty breeze of the West Havens upon your skin. I feel just like that now, after coming to the end of your story. Through your words, Aragorn lived in my mind, and it was a beautiful feeling. Words have great power, and you are very skilled with them. Beneath them I could feel the love to Aragorn that we both share: it is a strange love, isn’t it? He belongs to Arwen, and Arwen belongs to him, and it is right, very right. And yet we love him, just like all that has come to know him, with loyalty, and a secret wish to be as noble and selfless as him. He even isn’t real, but that doesn’t matter… Thank you, Inzilbeth! I felt honored that I could read your tale.
Author's reply
Ah, Mirach, it has been an absolute pleasure to share this story with you and I feel very honoured that you feel I have written something worthy of our great hero. To do justice to his extraordinary story and to fill in the gaps faithfully was my hope and I'm so thankfully that you feel I've achieved that.
As you have rightly guessed, this tale was very much written from the heart and I'm so pleased that I was able to touch something in yours in the telling of it. Thank you so much for reading and for all your lovely reviews.
Mirach
· 16 September 2009
· Chapter 40: The Gift of Men
When I read the scene of Aragorn’s death in the appendices for the first time, I wished I wouldn’t read it. I wanted Aragorn to remain the same as at the end of the book in my thoughts. It was long ago, and I think I’m wiser now. Death is the fate of Men, and Aragorn has to die, as every one of us will have to. But it is his death that makes his life truly fulfilled – the free choice to not cling on this life, but embrace that what is behind it. As much as I didn’t want to read that scene again in that time, now I have even written the thoughts of Aragorn’s leavetaking as you have seen, and I know that it takes courage to write about the death of your beloved character. Did you cry when writing it? Oh, I shed so many tears, but it were good tears, cleansing. A story of life is not complete without death. And without that scene, your story wouldn’t be complete, either.
Author's reply
Yes, I did cry while writing this! Thank you for your kind words about this scene, even though my version is not as good as yours. I still can't read about his death in the Appendices without filling up. But yes, it is meant to be a joyous moment, not a sad one, and one that was very close to Tolkien's own heart. By the manner of his death, Aragorn finally reveals his true nature; a man as near perfect as it is possible for mortal man to be and we should all be grateful for having had the opportunity of meeting a man such as he.
Mirach
· 16 September 2009
· Chapter 39: The King of Arnor
Sing and be glad, all ye children of the West,
for your King shall come again,
and he shall dwell among you
all the days of your life.
What a feeling of fulfillment! Joy mixed with reverence, and sadness for those who can’t see this day – Gilraen and Halbarad… And with the fulfillment of Ivorwen’s foresight, the circle closes.
Sing all ye people!
Yes, and thank you for the lesson on the heirlooms of the both kingdoms! =)
Author's reply
Oh I'm so thrilled you enjoyed this as I LOVED writing it! Yes, the king has come home at last and what a joy it must have been for his people. The eagle's song says it prefectly.
I wanted to include something about all Aragorn's heirlooms in the story somewhere and Eldarion eventually provided the solution!
Mirach
· 15 September 2009
· Chapter 38: Star of the Dunedain
„Aragorn knew well the importance of doing things properly in the Shire“ *shakes head* Hobbits… What a sight it must have been for them! I don’t think that anyone would connect Strider with High King Elessar. And yet no gowns and jewels can change his heart…
Author's reply
And yet no gowns and jewels can change his heart…
Exactly my thoughts too! I so wish Tolkien had given us this episode in full.
Mirach
· 15 September 2009
· Chapter 37: The King of Gondor
It feels so good, to read about happy times. But if there wouldn’t be darkness before them, they wouldn’t shine so brightly now. After the chapter when Sauron fell, I wanted some rest for Aragorn. It is not the same chapter, but it makes for it more then adequately. And it is a wonderful idea that the daughters are twins – the third generation of them! And you (or Aragorn) have chosen their names very well.
Author's reply
I'm so glad you enjoyed this chapter and approved of the twins. I firmly believe Aragorn deserved the fairytale 'happy ever after' ending so it was a great pleasure to grant him it!
Mirach
· 15 September 2009
· Chapter 36: Elrond
Ah, I’m crying again… And is in not only the sadness – it is sadness blended with beauty that makes me cry…
Author's reply
Oh I really must stop making you cry. *Hands over box of tissues*!
I must admit I became quite emotional myself when writing this.
Mirach
· 14 September 2009
· Chapter 35: The White Tree
Very, very beautiful! The White Tree is one of my favorite characters too, if it can be called so =). But back to Aragorn: after this chapter I could sigh contentedly, and say: “Finally!”
Author's reply
I can't tell you what a joy is was to finally write the 'finally'! Thank you so much, I'm thrilled you liked this chapter.
Mirach
· 14 September 2009
· Chapter 34: The Hands of the King
I’m very fond on dream-like sequences where the inner battles become real, and you have written this one very well. The beginning of the chapter is also very powerful, with the very mood of that exact moment of Sauron’s fall. I only missed some rest for Aragorn himself in the end – he certainly deserves it!
Author's reply
He most certainly does and I hope he managed to get some too! I'm so relieved you liked this as I feel very out of my depth writing something like this [give me solid earth and fresh air any day!]
Mirach
· 14 September 2009
· Chapter 33: Halbarad
I don’t know what to say… I’m moved to tears.
Author's reply
I'm glad!
Mirach
· 13 September 2009
· Chapter 32: The Black Ships
“Estel, if we have to sit on you and pin you to the ground for the rest of the night, you are not taking a turn on watch. Is that understood?”That was an interesting proposition from the big brother Elladan *g*
But the quote in the beginning of the chapter… There is so much behind that one sentence, and you told it everything, and crowned it all with the last touching scene with Elladan and Elrohir. Again, a story of itself in this single chapter!
I seriously wonder where the man is getting his energy from. When it seems that he can’t have any reserves left, he just goes on. I just regret that he didn’t embrace Halbarad when he had the chance. It may be the last chance…
Author's reply
Yes, I so agree, what Aragorn achieved here was truly staggering. He had barely rested ever since the breaking of the fellowship at Parth Galen and then had to face one seemingly insurmountable challenge after another. He's not our hero for nothing LOL! This was a complicated chapter to write [lots of cross referencing the Tale of Years with Legolas's account] and, as you say, it could have been a whole story in itself.
I'm so pleased you liked it.
Mirach
· 13 September 2009
· Chapter 31: Isildur's Heir
“If my men hold fast, their mounts will too. My men will hold fast, if I do.“ In a few words you just expressed everything…
I like to imagine Arwen, sitting at a window in Rivendell, working on the banner – and thinking in Aragorn, on the moment when he will raise it. And right beside that image is a picture of Aragorn, looking at the banner and thinking of Arwen. But, enough words, may I show you? http://mirachravaia.deviantart.com/art/The-Standard-of-Gondor-118734197
Author's reply
Ah, that is lovely, thank you for sharing! Yes, I so agree, how could he not think of Arwen at that moment! I'm so glad you enjoyed this chapter.