Comments on Neighbourly Relations

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Oh, great start. I'm looking forward to the rest. That last line: that it occurred to me that Russandol had not said that the Sindar were wrong in what they believed.

Maedhros is awesome here also. Loved this:

‘Well’, he said, with a strange kind of hesitation. ‘You are, after all, Findarato’s brother and Findarato is, without a doubt, the most civilized person I know.’

Filled with lots of hesitations and suspense which you handle really well.



Thank you so much, Oshun!

I'm glad you think the hesitations and suspense are handled well here. I'm afraid there seem to be even more hesitations in the second chapter!

And I'm delighted that that line about Findarato worked for you!

I'm not sure whether you noticed that I posted the second and third chapter to SWG right after I'd posted the first chapter. (On LJ, I've also posted the Epilogue today. I'm not archiving that yet anywhere, because I feel more than usually anxious about it.)

You ALWAYS make me cry. Every story of Maedhros so sad- that is inevitable  know because his is the most tragic story- more so than any of his brothers because he is so noble and never really does anyhting (in my humble opinion!) wrong. He is strong and unyielding and courageous in the face of all the tragedy of his House. I love how you write this.



Thank you very much, Ziggy! I am so glad that you liked Maedhros in this story!

He has a great deal of courage. It's a bit of a stretch to say he never really does anything wrong. Even at this stage, before  the beginning of the Bragollach, he has killed people and been responsible for the death of others. Of course, some of his choices were very difficult ones. But people are still dead because of him and he knows this. I try to write him as someone who cares.

Thank you very much! I'm glad you seem to think I succeeded with Aegnor and Angrod.

I was afraid I might have overdone it a little with that quill! At the most simple level, it is of course just something that Angrod and Maedhros have to hand in a given scene. But it can be taken as significant in a number of ways: some are strongly hinted at in the story itself, others perhaps less so.

Oh- I knoe really. But he is driven to it but unreasonable people, like Dior. You see how you have made me think!!! All laid squarely at your door I think. I know that later he does become completely dead in a way to feeling and just so foced on the SIlmarils - but to have lasted for so long and retain his humanity, to have troed to prevent the loss of the twins, to not kill Elrond and Elros and then finally, when the jewels are in the hands of the Valar, for them to deny him- is just so bloody. It FEELS that eh does not deserve that fate. It feels that eh has tried so hard to avoid it- and then succumbs but only when people deny him what really, in any sense of justice, should be returned. I can't help but see him as victim. Yeah- a bit biased, but how can you not?



I love him, too!

 

By the way, I think I saw Spiced Wine saying somewhere that you are planning a Maedhros novel?

Do let me know when you post the first chapter--or any other Silm fic! Especially if you're not posting it here--I tend to keep an eye on this archive anyway, but I watch AO3 and Faerie less closely.

Oh my goodness- I dont think I am good enough for that but I do weave him into something else- but a very much removed poiv. Maybe one day- I am just getting into the SIlm so really dont have enough knowledge to do it justice- I jus tplay around the edges with the light fluffy stuff.

Given how the children of Finarfin's gift of sight goes well beyond that of most other elves, it wouldn't surprise me if Finrod knew every detail about his brother's love right down to what kind of undergarments he imagined Andreth wearing.

You know, that actually brings up a thought I've had about a great majority of Tolkien fanficiton: there are surprisingly few stories where elves use their method of telepathy to have conversations, especially in the Silmarillion eras.

Aegnor's sentiment in this writing also brings up a thought: could an elf sunder his fate from his kindred and be tied to a mortal in death without them having plighted their trough (as Tokien always loved to say) in life? That would seem an interesting subject for exploration.



Ok! I guess Finrod could have got all those details out of Aegnor if he had questioned him closely, in person, Galadriel-style. It would make him a more reliable witness, to be sure, but on an emotional level I'm not sure that that really appeals to me more than if it was over-confident guesswork, as I read it. (Would telling Andreth all this not amount to a more serious breach of confidence, if he had acquired the knowledge that way?)

Tolkien developed his concept of osanwe fairly late in the legendarium, I believe. I may be wrong, but I think the ability to conduct real telepathic conversations first was introduced towards the end of the Lord of the Rings. Some of the Silm plot points really seem to depend on people not being in regular telepathic contact--apart from the occasional uncanniness. And even as later conceived, osanwe seems to have been limited in various ways--by distance, by interference from the Shadow, by individual talent and by the use of spoken language. I think some assume that Elrond and Galadriel are so strong in osanwe in LOTR because of their respective ties to Melian (which wouldn't explain Celeborn).

As for your question about Aegnor, it looks as if an elf could not himself sunder his fate from his kindred, whether he had pledged his troth to a mortal or no. The Peredhil could only do that because they had been empowered to do so. What Aegnor can decide for himself, apparently, is whether to follow the call to Mandos or tie himself to Dorthonion. If he wished to follow Andreth out of Arda, he would have to place his hope in Eru.

Thank you very much for reading and commenting!

Reading your stories is always such a treat.

When it comes to characterisation and dialog, few people can make these characters as vivid and as *alive* as you can. For any character-oriented Silmarillion geek, be they Maedhros/Fingon shipper or not, pretty much anything you write is a must-read.

What I also tend to admire is your effective style. You can flesh these people out with a few precise strokes, like a master calligrapher. That's an awesome skill to possess...:-)



Oh, I like that!

There is so little said and written about THIS two brothers.

The Athrabeth is in my opinion one of the most important chapters in the HoME, including the legends of men.

Another author, Finch, I think, has written a wonderful fic about it.

Yes, it is true, that Aegnor and Angrod spoke on behalf of their relatives at Thingol's court,  and this is seldom mentioned, and also, that they, being so near to Morgoth, always saw the danger, and kept on being wary, when other just looked at their prospering realms.

I was deeply touched by your description of Aegnor' s and Maedhros' relationship, all those things unsaid, but felt within.

This is only one of a lot of your stories, I read, till I discovered the Guild, but I could not leave this special one without review, though I prefer reading more than writing...

Thank you, Lia



Thank you very much for your review!

I'm glad you liked my description of Aegnor's relationship with Maedhros and that apparently you have enjoyed reading other of my stories, too.

There is not all that much written about Aegnor and a lot of what there is is about him and Andreth--which of course is hardly surprising.

Yes, I agree that the Atrabeth is a very interesting story!

 

 

Now, that I overlooked the other reviews,  and your answers, I would like to add something.

Yes, you are right, in the end of ĹotR, there is a passage, when Gandalf, Galadriel, Elrond etc did this special kind of talking.

Finrod did it, to understand the men, when he discovered them.

But I think, Galadriel' s gift, to read the *heart*, as it is called, is her own talent, and a little bit different.

And Finrod would never abuse his talents, to investigate his brothers affairs unwanted! He might have seen something, in his brothers eyes (remember, it is told, that by the look of an elves eye, another can tell, if he is free to love or already bound), and talked with him in his careful manner, and maybe guessed a lot, for his wisdom.

As for Aegnor following Andreth, a clear NO, because Tolkien made absolutely clear, that only the peredhel had the chance to decide. Only Luthien left the circles of the world, and only Tuor, as a match, was allowed to live with the Eldar. And Finrod says, that even in Mandos, Aegnor will remember Andreth.

The only other choice would to denie the challenge and become a houseless fea.

I must admit, that I also do not like this ideas so much, so in one of the few things, I wrote myself,absolutely AU, using Andreths story of men, I gave Andreth some hope, meeting Finrods daughter before her death, and the idea of singing together in the second chor.

I postulated some men , who were not seduced by Morgoth, and had the gift of death in the way, as it was meant to be, in the beginning: to choose the time, when they die and leave the world, and to know, when this time was.

Is this not, for example, mentioned, that Aragorn had the possibility to choose dead? Likewise Elros or Gilraen?

But I am no author; maybe another person could make a good story of this.

Second bye,

Lia



Thank you for your comment!

Yes, it is true that Finrod was able to communicate with the tribe of Beor--that has always seemed to me a bit different to me from the silent conversations between Elrond and Galadriel, but perhaps it isn't so very different.

Your AU story sounds interesting!