Through the Eyes of Maia and Wizard by Larner
Virtuella · 7 April 2012 · Chapter 1: Gandalf, the Instigator of Mad Careers
Oh, how wonderful, a whole collcetion of Gandalf stories! I like this, with the glimpses of characters like Gimli and Bill Ferny and the foreshadowing.
Author's reply
I'm so glad you appreciated this one and the collection. I hope to add more to the collection in time.
Tari · 2 April 2012 · Chapter 13: Yuletide Cheer
Never cross a Baggins as Boromir is now learning. Mushrooms are excellent. I even like them raw in a garden salad. Boromir shoud have given them a try. Fried apples! I never heard of frying apples. Have you every tried them?
Author's reply
Boromir has learned a good deal, but has a lot more to learn about Bagginses and their passions as well as their ability to avenge insults to themselves and their favorite dishes! Heh! Yes, I've had apple slices dipped in cinnamon and sugar and fried in a light oil--properly done, they are nice enough.
Sunny · 1 April 2012 · Chapter 15: Invitation to Comfort
It would definitely be interesting to see Nerdanel meeting with frodo, especially since frodo is quite a notable artist himself. Also it would bee nice to Nerdanel meeting her "grandson". Hint, hint. ;-) Btw, Nenya was the ring of water, and vilya was the ring of air.
Author's reply
And I may well write these meetings, Sunny. Certainly Nerdanel and Frodo should find a good deal to appreciate in one another's company. As for the great rings--well, I've yet to see canon indications of the element for each other than Narya, which we know was the ring of fire. As Elrond's home was in a valley known for the Loudwater and waterfalls, it seemed very likely that Elrond would surround himself with the element with which his ring would have the most harmony. And the Galadrim chose to live high in the air, so thus Vilya has always spoken to me of that element. Maybe I'm wrong, but then I suppose I will choose to pursue this possible AU.
Agape4Gondor · 1 April 2012 · Chapter 15: Invitation to Comfort
Oh - this is a great chapter. I do so hope there is more! Wow.
Author's reply
Thank you, Agape. And I suspect this one will be embroidered upon--certainly there's been interest!
Agape4Gondor · 1 April 2012 · Chapter 14: Toasts
“May all of US know the joy of the day!” Thanks for sharing these delightful and wise little pieces.
Author's reply
And enjoy them we do! Thank you so!
Soledad · 1 April 2012 · Chapter 15: Invitation to Comfort
Oh, this was lovely! Poor Nerdanel!
Author's reply
Thank you so, Soledad! She is bereft, but has much strength, and deserves such comfort as is offered her, I've always felt!
aiwendiel · 30 March 2012 · Chapter 13: Yuletide Cheer
Oh just lovely! I particularly enjoyed the gifts, perfectly chosen for each of the givers. And leave it to Boromir to aggravate a Hobbit about such a sacred topic: food, and particularly mushrooms! He has no idea what thin ice he's walking on. Another wonderful chapter!
Author's reply
I can't imagine that the Hobbits wouldn't give some thought to gifts as Yule approached--what to give that will be light and appreciated upon the road? As for Boromir--well, he's learning, and the hard way this time. Thank you!
eiluj · 29 March 2012 · Chapter 13: Yuletide Cheer
“Actually, it is much further south of the Shire than it is east of it" -- That always amazes me. Oh yes, Aragorn knows first-hand that Boromir is likely to want new laces shortly! We are having summer this March, but it suddenly feels like winter.
Author's reply
Distances in Middle Earth are often difficult to fathom, I've found. And it was fun to have yet another son of Westernesse run afoul of the Scoundrel of Buckland! Heh! Our crocuses came up and have faced hail, some snow, and rain, but have suffered their worst harm from driving winds that come and go. The pups don't know if they'll find the weather calm and sunny or cold, wet, and blowy between the time they go out the door and the time they come in again!
Agape4Gondor · 27 March 2012 · Chapter 12: Murmurs of Encouragement
Oh my. I'm wiping tears from my eyes. What a glorious image that brings to heart and mind. How wise of Pippin to bring flowers - I never would have thought of it. The loss of Pip`s final years of childhood... Rosie `hearing` Sam`s return. Beautiful. The whole story beautifully written as always.
Author's reply
Thank you so. How better to speak to a gardener than to call upon memories evoked by the scent of flowers, I thought. I'm so glad you feel it worked so well. Thank you!
Tari · 26 March 2012 · Chapter 11: Born Again
Wow! I never ceased to be amazed by the quality of comtributions from the members of SOA. This is awesome.
Author's reply
Thank you so, Tari! I am honored!
Teresa · 22 March 2012 · Chapter 11: Born Again
Shakes head....Namo should have realized that if Gandalf did return to Valinor early like that it would be because of that kind of situation: he'd always be willing to throw himself on the sword (or the Balrog) to protect others!Many thanks for writing this, and I also enjoyed the nod to one of my other favorite worlds..... Narnia! :)
Author's reply
But of course such a form of early return ought to have been foreseen! I had to think carefully to catch the comparison with Narnia, for that wasn't precisely planned, until at last I remembered Eustace and Jill being blown to safety from the top of the cliff. I was thinking of one version of Namo's job, which was to provide the grey ships that would carry the spirits of mortals onward from his halls to the proper place for mortals to end up, so I tried to imagine how that journey might be perceived by the departing fea and keep it in line with both JRRT's imagery and what we know of the death process from research carried out with individuals who've had near-death experiences, and this was what came up. After all, Lewis and Tolkien were close friends, and no matter how Tolkien disliked the Narnia series, they both were steeped in much the same mysticism and imagery. And part of what is said to Tolkien, of course, is straight out of another book both were very familiar with. (GRINNING>) Author Reply: I meant, what is said to Gandalf. Gads!
Fiondil · 22 March 2012 · Chapter 11: Born Again
Ooh boy! This was awesome, Larner, and that's about all I can say coherently at this point. *grin*
Author's reply
Oh, dear--it left you speechless? I must have done it rightly, then! Thanks!
Soledad, not logged in · 18 March 2012 · Chapter 9: White Ladies
I was always impressed with Gandalf's compassion and understanding for Éowyn, considering how women in Tolkien's books are usually treated. And the comparison with Aredhel is interesting.
Author's reply
Gandalf appears to have compassion for everyone, so I'm certain he would have foreseen how hurt she would be when Aragorn came her way while heading for the Paths of the Dead. And when Tolkien imagined two White Ladies, it appeared to beg for comparison! Thanks so!
Linda Hoyland · 17 March 2012 · Chapter 8: Realizations of Vision
I loved this, just beautiful!
Author's reply
I'm so very glad you do, Linda. How strange it must have been to see Aragorn clad in ancient Elven armor, standing by Elrond and his daughter, that night in the Hall of Fire!
galathil · 17 March 2012 · Chapter 9: White Ladies
The comparison between the two White Ladies is very intersting.I am loving the drables.LOL Galathil
Author's reply
Thank you so very much! How at times Gandalf must have found such comparisons and contrasts springing to mind as he found himself meeting and comparing those dwelling within Middle Earth to those he'd known when he dwelt in Aman as the Maia Olorin. (Technically this isn't a drabble, which is usually a hundred words or some multiple of a hundred words long, by the way, but I appreciate the praise, of course. I've certainly written my share of drabbles, ficlets, and short stories as well as novellas and novels and even a couple of epics over the last few years!)
harrowcat · 16 March 2012 · Chapter 10: A Wordless Encounter
Very cleverly done Larner. I love the line that the hobbits come to encourage justice.
Author's reply
I'm not certain why this one insisted on being presented in this manner, but it did! Thanks so very much, Harrowcat!
Teresa · 14 March 2012 · Chapter 8: Realizations of Vision
I always loved Frodo's reactions at the feast and in the Hall of Fire that night! This was another lovely glimpse into the depth of understanding Gandalf could see forming between Frodo and Aragorn, and how that understanding would strengthen the entire Fellowship on their journey and afterwards. With every story and vignette you write you add to my love of Middle Earth! Thank you! :)
Author's reply
I found it satisfying to push that night just a bit further, and to explore just why Frodo might have been convinced he saw Aragorn in Elven armor, standing beside Elrond and Arwen. Thank you so!
eiluj · 13 March 2012 · Chapter 7: The Blessing of the Brew
Oh my! Isn't it just like Butterbur to discourse on tea blends while the fate of Middle-earth hangs in the balance! "That letter was important! I told you at the time! Who knows what mischief might come of it having been delayed?" -- Oh my! again -- and where to begin? Just the slight matter of Frodo's injury on Weathertop, with all that portended for his future. Difficult weeks filled with worry, exhaustion, and a totally inadequate amount of food. But if the letter had been sent, the hobbits wouldn't have had their Barrow-blades.... Nob ... gave wary glances first at his employer and then at Gandalf, nodded toward the food, and retreated for the door, saying, “I’ll leave the two of you to it, shall I?” He then scurried out the door and closed it firmly behind him. -- A wise hobbit.
Author's reply
How well you have caught it, eiluj! And it's so true that there would have been little chance of them coming by the Barrow-blades had they left earlier and not gone by way of the Old Forest. As for Nob--he certainly has a good sense of self-preservation, doesn't he? (Grin!) Glad you enjoyed it!
Agape4Gondor · 12 March 2012 · Chapter 7: The Blessing of the Brew
Ha ha ha! I'd love to see Barliman with Ioreth!
Author's reply
Oh, I do agree, Agape! The two of them can both chatter on, can't they? heh!
Agape4Gondor · 12 March 2012 · Chapter 6: The Unlikely Shiriff
"a farmer who’s had a half or two too many into going home to bed before he becomes too much of an embarrassment by becoming maudlin and repetitive" Giggles - I loved that this was thought to be almost as bad as breaking up te common room! Nicely written. Lotho was no good. Glad he didn't get the Shiriff's position, but we all know what happened down the road!
Author's reply
My husband twice considered buying a tavern, which in the end he reconsidered, thank Heaven. I'm not certain which is harder to put up with, the maudlin drunk or the belligerent one. Both are very hard for me to bear, particularly as I don't tend to drink more than an ounce or two of wine at a time anyway. And I just can't imagine Lotho would have been good Shiriff material to begin with; yet the minute he was pretty certain he could get away with it he appointed himself "Chief Shiriff" and put Will Whitfoot into the Lockholes, effectively making himself the tyrant of the Shire until Sharkey arrived and put an end to him. So, I have found myself imagining that he had wanted to be a Shiriff earlier and had been rebuffed, so he decided to make himself one anyway.
Agape4Gondor · 12 March 2012 · Chapter 1: Gandalf, the Instigator of Mad Careers
This was such fun to see. The germination of Bilbo Baggins' adventure. Hooray!
Author's reply
It's a bit different from the Master's own intended tale, but it was fun to imagine, and explained what might have happened to that harp and the viols, at least. Thanks so!
Agape4Gondor · 12 March 2012 · Chapter 3: Denethor's Choice
This was so incredibly heart-breaking, as a fan of Denethor, to read. The truth seemed to flow from it and the realization that Denethor might have known what he was doing all along.... I was blown away and wept. Thank you for sharing it.
Author's reply
Oh, I do know how well you love Lord Denethor, and I do like to think that somewhere inside him he did realize just how disasterous it could be had he tried remaining should the battle be won and Aragorn came to claim the Winged Crown and the Throne at last. I'm so glad you appreciate this, Agape.
6336 · 12 March 2012 · Chapter 6: The Unlikely Shiriff
Some how I don't think the idea of being a Sheriff was Lotho's, I have the feeling the idea came from a certain Mr. White! Huggs, Lynda
Author's reply
Perhaps, although I doubt Lotho's able to discuss it at this point. Heh! Thanks so, Lynda!
Teresa · 12 March 2012 · Chapter 6: The Unlikely Shiriff
Sighs......and how right Gandalf's premonition was! But of course none of the Hobbits could even dream that Lotho would do such terrible things to the Shire and its inhabitants out of jealousy and envy. I've always wondered if Sauruman went to a hobbit that was a distant connection of Gandalf's close friends deliberetly. It can't have been merly chance that someone who had a major feud with Frodo and Bilbo became Sauruman's agent. I can see Sauruman fanning Lotho's envy and subtly directing his actions to become the"Chief". And Lotho, poor fool, had know idea that he'd made such a terrible bargin until Saruman's troops and then he himself moved openly against Lotho. Many thanks for an intriguing vignette! :)
Author's reply
I very much suspect that you have the right of it, Teresa. No, Lotho had no idea of just how bad a bargain he'd made until he found himself a prisoner within Bag End, and found Wormtongue's knife at his own throat one night. And thank you for the feedback!
Tari · 9 March 2012 · Chapter 5: The Final Reckoning Approaches
So that's where Gandalf made his fireworks. And why not? Anything is possibel in Tolkiens' world. (P.S. I have been unable to click onto "Shirrings" because I keep getting a URL problem prompt.
Author's reply
Yes, that's at least one of the places where I suspect Gandalf made his fireworks. I'd think that a Dwarf would be glad to learn secrets from Gandalf in the making of such things and the possible uses of blasting powders. As for Stirring Rings, you have to go to the main page for Stories of Arda and click into the story there. Messages sent to you indicate a dummy chapter I have to add and then delete in order to make the story rise to the top of the list each time I edit one of the chapters and reveal it, which I'm doing once a week. This is a story I'm reworking, you see, and in order not to lose all of the read counts and comments from its first release I hid the chapters as they were first written and am editing and publishing them anew. Once I get through all of the chapters that were published before, then the notices will reference the new chapters as they are posted.