Comments on By Stars' Light

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I've been looking forward to your story for a while now, as you know. :) I am not disappointed! This was one of the best depictions of the kinslaying at Alqualonde that I've read: You capture so well not only the senselessness of it but the surrealism that Elves on both sides must have felt. I liked that you didn't heap blame solely on the Noldor or (worse) the Teleri, as some writers have a tendency to do, but showed it as the complex, heartrending conflict that it must have been.

Also, Finrod's parting from Amarie was excellent! Having seen this moment so often mired in melodrama, your brief and very poignant vision of it was a lovely contrast!

I am really looking forward to reading on. If I allow myself a chapter a night, that's two weeks to look forward to, right? ;)



What a kind way to be greeted to the archive :)

Since the battle for the ships drew me strongly when I was reading and considering the fic prompts, I am deeply pleased you found things to like in this chapter. Oshun and Keiliss had a lot to do with helping me write the fic. Oshun told me how the Noldor could not swim when the Teleri pushed them into the sea. I have Keiliss to thank for pointing out that the elves leaving Aman did not plan on their return being barred to them, which shed a lot of light on that scene with Amarie. The whole story was written among a long litter of helpful discussions.

I puzzled at length over the events Silm recounts in Aman, so your heart-warming compliments are all the more welcome. Thank you!

Piping up here at the half-way point:

The scene in which Calyaro tells his tale of the Noldor -- the Stars' Lament -- through his music is stunning.  Your cexcellent hoice of words and phrasing created sight and sound which took me to another plane (one of the reasons I enjoy fantasy).

Your story has everything that appeals to me in Silmarillion-flavored fiction: memorable characters (in particular a distinctive OC), fabulous details of culture and infrastructure, a realistic and gritty look at the Firstborn and the realities of the harsh environment they faced, and an excellent blend of description and dialog that sets a compelling pace.

And kudos to you for making me believe in a moon and a sun that are not so conventional in their orbits.  Not many authors can do that. :^) 

Onward... 

 



I keep looking at the words you’ve used and feeling warm and pleased. Thank you!

 

It’s lovely when a passage you secretly dared to hope had some life is picked out by a reader. Calyaro is not an extrovert, so I guess in music and song he expresses things he might not show at other times, and he’d been brewing that piece for years. I’m pretty delighted you speak so kindly of it.

 

I still feel like a cat in cat-nip that you found the story ingredients to your liking and that the style worked for you, but oh, the moon and the sun are a joke on me – it never once occurred to me to take any part of the Silm as myth for the purposes of a Silm story, and so I painstakingly took it literally. Pretty funny, in hindsight. I‘m glad I gave it a good shot, at least :)

From Finrod's heartbreaking farewell to Finarfin (which choked me up far more than you'd expect!) to the poignant final scene, this is excellently crafted!

 Of course, you already know that I'll *squee* about Finrod's practicality :D And look - he even sharpens his sword! Regularly!

Watching Finrod and his warrior minstrel work through their (very believable) difficulties will delight me every time I read it :D



I love the phrase you’ve used there, ‘warrior minstrel’ :) Thank you for enjoying the details as well as the relationship – it’s such a treat when someone picks up on some small specific, or mentions a scene. And yes, I imagine a warrior always looks after his weapon *g* (I love it when you *squee* *beams*) I feel delighted by these comments – I’m extremely touched and pleased you have enjoyed it in this way. Thank you so much!