The Tempered Steel by Lyra

The frequent depiction of Maglor as weak and indecisive, and of the other brothers Feanorian as overly nasty and ambitious (in the sense of \"Oh, let\'s not save Maedhros, because with Maglor we have a leader who\'s easily manipulated) were part of the reason why this story was originally written - I don\'t like those readings either, and I\'m glad that \"my\" Maglor comes across as someone who, even in such difficult situations, is perfectly capable of holding his own. :) Thank you!

Thank you so much! I'm glad it works for you. That harp is such a headache.

My fondness for Maedhros/Fingon notwithstanding, I suspect Thangorodrim is just not the right place for romance ;) Thank you for your kind words!

It really was difficult - the book is so bloody vague about everything that it's hard to figure out how to make it work in a somewhat more detailed (and, if at all possible, at least vaguely realistic) way! Thank you for letting me know that my version works for you. :)

Thank you for such a lovely and extensive review! ^^ I'm afraid it'll take a while yet until one gets to feel a bit better for Nelyo (but at least he will get to smile eventually! Yes, I'm breaking all the rules!)... I'm so glad that you enjoyed the read so far and I'm very excited that some of the more 'unusual' ideas work for you! Personally I'm not exactly a fan of most portrayals of the brothers Fëanorion, particularly the "three bad boys", and I'm probably weirding out a lot of people by attempting to keep even Caranthir likeable. Your saying that this is actually a plus for you made me smile like whoa. Like you, I'm also firmly on the Fëanorian side of things so I'm not particularly fond of Nolofinwë, and in fact I was slightly worried that I had portrayed him too negatively for most tastes in this story. It's a relief to hear that you actually found him more likeable than usual! And of course I'm thrilled to hear that you bought Findekáno's anger (and grief). So... yeah! Thank you for letting me know! :)

"Quick" is relative - I posted the last chapter before this one back in June, so it's been two full months!

Let me thank you again for your extensive review! First, it's a bit of a relief to hear that you don't mind the lack of... um... more detailed gore as far as Angband is concerned. When I started writing this story (2006), I hadn't read all that many "Maedhros in Angband" stories in the first place, and those I had read (IIRC) either didn't deal with the torture aspect at all or had very little. Back then I kind of meant to rectify that, because I just didn't think it realistic that Morgoth would be happy with just saying "Hah, gotcha" and then hanging Maedhros on the mountain and more or less forgetting about him, although that's the only part that's mentioned in the published Silm.
Afterwards - in the past few years - stories that focused on the torture aspect in really brutal, squicky, gory detail became fashionable (or I only then discovered them), and I was torn between "Oh shit, I'm much too harmless, must make it worse" and "But I don't want to!". In fact, that is part of why it took me so long to bring myself to publish this story: Because I just couldn't decide what parts to elaborate on and what to leave "as is"...
Anyway. So it's nice to know that you think it is just right. ;)

It's also nice that you continue not to hate "my" Nolofinwë despite his behaviour in this chapter. It's funny, I'm used to seeing him portrayed as this pure, perfect kind of person, so I was rather nervous that my version might come across too negatively when I was just trying to make him, you know, a normal human(...oid) being with flaws and strengths.
Personally I don't think Nolo would keep Nelyo hostage, though. In the Silm, we aren't even told just where Findekáno takes him. I first came across the idea that he first came to Nolofinwë's camp rather than that of his brothers in the artwork of Jenny Dolfen, but I figured that it made a lot of sense that Findekáno's impulse would be to take him "home". Besides, after dealing with the aftermath of the Ice, I suspect the healers at Nolofinwë's camp are rather more experienced than those on the other side of the lake! But at any rate, in theory Findo might as well have brought Nelyo to his brothers at once. Either way, I think his state is pitiful enough that Nolofinwë's cautions are justified (Nelyo will protest them on his own soon enough!), although it certainly isn't nice to keep the Brothers Fëanorion from visiting.

Finally, don't worry about writing so much. I love getting long reviews. They allow me to ramble at length about what I was/am/might be thinking. :D

And I did it again! *shifty look* You think I should attach an alarm bell to the story or something? ;)

I'm afraid you'll come to dislike Nolo (and his people) a bit more yet - but that is intentional. They're not meant to be extremely understanding - after all, they've gone through a bit of a hard time themselves, and though they've had the advantage of being able to deal with the trauma more or less collectively whereas Maitimo has to deal with it all by his onesies, I don't think they realise that. (I don't think even Maitimo himself realises that it's perfectly ok to be a wee bit traumatised after his experiences...)

There will also be a lot of long, hard recovery and bitterness and all that good stuff - occasionally I despair of this story because the only things that happen in Part Two seem to be healing, lying around, moping, arguing and angsting. You'll probably grow bored soon. >_>

You're very welcome, at any rate - and thank you so much for continuing to comment! ^^

Oh no! I've had that happen as well, but fortunately some application of the "back" key enabled me to copy (and later paste) the review I'd lost. It's so annoying when you wrote something long and thoughtful and suddenly it's gone...

Anyway, I'm nonetheless delighted to hear from you again (and so soon), moreover as you flatter me so much. As for the ranting, well, there is supposed to be a bit of a clash between the two factions (and their readings of the situation) so taking sides (and talking about it, even when "childish" or "repetitive") is very much encouraged. ;) To be fair to Fingolfin's people, I think many of them do not actually understand the concept of 'torture' so they cannot really begin to understand what Maedhros went through (that's how pure they are...! yeah right).

I tend to be puzzled by fics that mention something along the lines of "Maedhros never smiled again after Thangorodrim". Oh sure, it sounds suitably epic, but... really? really? He returns from hell to (relative) happiness and never once manages to smile? In 500+ years? Come on!
So adding some hope (and even, on occasion, cheer) to the whole angst-laden business was one of my aims, and I'm glad that the balance works for you. :) Also delighted to hear that you don't find the dialogue too archaic.

And... yeah. More recovery, more dialogue, and more angst (and, hopefully, hope) forthcoming. No longer behind your back though? ;)
As usual, thank you!

No worries, there will be more of all that indeed - more than anyone wants, probably! Thank you for the encouragement though :)

Urgh, getting up at four sucks... poor you!

I do not actually have much of an opinion on which twin survived (they are a sort of blank in my head, I must admit) - I just chose for the name, really (as in, "last" remains "last", and "small" must go >_>). I'm glad you continue to like my Fëanorians, who are a pain to write, especially when they're all talking at once (so many people! eep!).

I'm afraid Angrod's appearances will be as rare and brief as those of Turgon and Galadriel, poor fellow - he may get to glower a bit here and snark a bit there and maybe in the end he'll even manage to smile, but he won't get to play a major role. :( Sorry. I might smuggle a bit on him playing chess with Caranthir or something into the third part (which I should start writing by now, I suspect), as a shout-out so to say, if you want? ;)

Here I'll have to be all arrogant and say "Of COURSE they moved into the settlement the Fëanorians left behind! Pride and hurt feelings are all very well, but when you've just arrived after a hard journey and there's a perfectly nice empty settlement standing around, you can't afford to be all 'ewww! Fëanorian cooties!'" ;) Yes, I definitely agree that they'd recycle the old Fëanorian camp.

As always, thank you for your long comment ^^

And I loved your review - thank you so much! Naturally I feel tickled whenever people tell me that they love my writing, and even more tickled when they take the time to let me know in detail what they enjoyed (or even what they didn't enjoy, for that matter). I'm so glad that the characters work for you! And thank you for picking up on little things like the naïvety of the Nolofinwëans because that's indeed what I wanted to convey - they're not actually unsympathetic, they just don't understand - can't, in fact, because they cannot actually comprehend Angband. >_> But yes, they are somewhat exasperating! It's going to get better, though. Eventually.

I really feel like I should write a long reply to your lovely long review, but I'm afraid I'll just keep on repeating myself, so I'll just say - Thank you so much for your detailed feedback! :)

Yay! Thank you so much.

It's kind of tricky to make the (kind of sparse, and indeed rather tragic) "canon" information work in a (well, semi-)realistic context, and I took some liberties on either side, I'm afraid. I'm glad that the mixture nonetheless seems to work!

And aww, thank you! *blushes*

Thank you very much! Glad you're enjoying it, especially since you just returned to the fandom and I wouldn't have wanted you to regret the decision ;)

I'm also glad that you like the characterisations. With such well-known characters, it's always tricky to please people as probably everyone has a fixed image in their head. As for the Nolofinwëans, I think only few of them have actually seen the extent of Nelyo's injuries - it was dark when he arrived, and aside from Nolofinwë, Findekáno and the healers, no one has cared to take an overly close look. So mostly they're aware that he is injured, but not just how badly; nor have most of them grasped the idea that someone went and inflicted those injuries on him on purpose. So they're comfortably going on to think "Yes, all right, he got hurt, well the Ice was no picnic either, now can he stop crying and eating our food?". Which is perhaps not nice, but not quite so intentionally mean. ;) As for Artanis, I absolutely see what you mean. I do think she's meant to be seen as fairly proud and unrepentant in the First Age, though - otherwise she'd surely have returned to Valinor after the War of Wrath instead of staying in Middle-earth for 6000+ years, surely a long time even by Elvish standards. Those 6000+ years should also serve to explain her character in LotR - she has mellowed with age, I assume (and she's born her fair share of burdens and responsibilities as well, by then)! I don't see the "wisdom" part in her refusal to hand over a strand of hair either, although I can understand it and it certainly shows her strength of mind. I suppose everything else is just the narrator's bias - both Tolkien and Pengoloð are unlikely to take the Fëanorian's side...

I think the reasons Macalaurë gives against rescuing Nelyo in Chapter 1.II are perfectly sound, to be honest (and as you could see, even his brothers and Nolofinwë eventually agreed!). Findekáno managed to prove him wrong, yes, but the odds of that were (as Nelyo keeps saying) so extremely low that it would hardly have been wise to plan on it. Under the circumstances, Macalaurë did everything right. Sending an army against Angband was out of the question anyway, and he could not have sent any one individual in good conscience, knowing that he'd very likely sent that person to a gruesome death (or to share Nelyo's fate). He could - like Findekáno - have gone himself, but imagine the situation: The Fëanorians have just lost their leader - Fëanáro - and pretty much immediately after their new leader - Nelyo. Losing Finwë was tough; losing Fëanáro, on whose drive they'd probably entirely depended at that time, was tougher; losing Nelyo was beginning to look like nothing would ever be all right again. Now if Macalaurë had run off on a very likely suicidal mission, do you think they'd ever have been able to recover from that? I don't. That'd have been the death blow. So Macalaurë did the only right thing, which must have been extremely hard, but he did it anyway. Findekáno can accuse him of heartlessness all that he wants, but he's wrong.
Besides, narrative necessity demands that it is Findekáno of the semi-hostile group who rescues Nelyo after a long time and by pure chance. Everything else would be unsatisfying. ;)

But now I've rambled on for long enough! Sorry about that, and thank you for your review!

Yes, this storyline naturally offers a lot of angst potential. Although I have tried not to have the characters wallow in angst too much, there simply are a lot of issues that need to be resolved or at least discussed...

Don't feel bad! You've left so many lovely reviews already.
As usual, I'm tickled that things work for you, and that you notice and enjoy the little details. I'm afraid I can't answer your question yet; initially this was planned to go as far as the Mereth Aderthad, but by now I think that would drag things out too much, and it definitely won't go on that long. I'm not certain just where this story is going to end, though. It might be as soon as Maedhros has yielded the crown to Fingolfin, or perhaps it'll make it to the Dagor Aglareb after all. As I have not yet written anything for Part III, I have no idea! (I'll look for a spot to smuggle more Angrod in, though. If the story turns out to last until the Aglareb, Angrod will clearly get to play a more important role anyway...)

Phew, glad that Maglor's sense of responsibility suffices to explain his refusal! I think Findekáno (or my version of him, at any rate ;)), if he hasn't by now come to terms with the "abandonment", will understand it at the latest when the crown - and thus, the full load of responsibility not only for himself and his family, but for all of the Noldor - comes to him. Though that is definitely beyond the scope of this story! To myself, I justify Moryo's reputation of harshness and quick temper like this: He doesn't understand (and, accordingly apply) linguistic flouts, that is, all the polite little hedges and circumscriptions others use to make their utterances less blunt. So of course he comes across as rather harsh, particularly among the Noldor, who surely enjoy to clothe their firm opinions in nice words and only speak bluntly when they're absolutely furious with someone. Moryo just thinks he's being more honest than all those bloody sweet-talkers. ;) Tyelko's and Cáno's "tension", I think, still mostly stems from Cáno's refusal to try and save Maitimo. Tyelko was, after all, one of those who insisted on attacking Angband for Maitimo's sake (which would clearly have been stupid), but eventually accepted that rescuing Nelyo was impossible. Now that Findekáno has proved that it was not impossible, he is probably angry with himself because he didn't go off on his own (which he could have done more easily than Cáno). And because he does not like introspection and self-reproach, he projects his anger with himself onto poor Cáno... Your point about the oranges is valid, though of course if we apply the ruler of reality to the Silmarillion, plants - particularly the fruit-bearing sort - are a huge problem anyway. Unfortunately I do not actually know much about palæobiology and related disciplines, but I would assume that in a world left in complete darkness for millennia or decamillennia (from the destruction of the Lamps of Arda until the first rising of Moon and Sun), complex plant and animal life would be pretty rare, or otherwise (if we assume that everything as we know it existed during the Spring of Arda, and managed to hang on in the darkness afterwards) extremely different from what we know today, and also extremely different from what the Elves would've known in Valinor. Very strictly speaking, oranges are no more unlikely (or likely) than apples, blackberries, or even spinach. ;) The Fëanorians, after the burning of the Ships, would've faced an environment no less hostile (and no less cold, come to think of it) than the Helcaraxë; the only advantage they have over the Fingolfinians is that they may have taken more provisions from Aman. Once those provisions ran out... I suppose they could have a fun time finding out which ferns and lichens are edible. Alternatively, they could work out ways to make their familiar crops grow. While greenhouses are relatively recent in human history, they're not actually so complicated that someone like Curufinwë couldn't come up with the concept. Might as well use his brains for something useful... The seismic activity around Angband (mountains erupting in fire, earthquakes, etc.) additionally makes for various interesting scenarios concerning the use of geothermal energy. They grow peppers in Iceland and oranges in Northern Japan; why not, then, in Beleriand? When not taking realism quite so far (but then, who draws the line, and where? ;)), that is, when we assume that the climatical and biological circumstances on our fictional pre-historic Northern continent were roughly like those in modern Northern Skandinavia, we can still assume that it would be possible to have oranges. They naturally wouldn't be indigenous, and wouldn't grow wild (or rather, might grow wild but likely wouldn't bear fruit, or if they bore fruit it would be small, sour and bitter compared to "our" oranges), but a crafty people like that of the Noldor would surely be capable of finding ways to cultivate them. See note on greenhouses above. Besides, if we believe the "flat world" cosmology, our real-world experiences are of little use anyway. ;) In short, anyway, I'd trust the Noldor to manage growing oranges, if they absolutely want them (and who wouldn't? ;)). But of course, you're free to disagree!

Thank you, I'm so glad you like it!

Glad you like him! I do think he (like the other Fëanorians, really) cares for his brothers (and, due to the circumstances, particularly Nelyo) - he just has his own way of showing it ;) I don't think Nelyo will ever fully disclose what happened; the brothers will have to do with allusions and the occasional disturbing remark. But I agree that Moryo could probably handle it best, if he did talk...

Yay!

I think the differences between the Fëanorians and the Fingolfinians are vital, and I'm thrilled that you noticed them, even the less obvious bits! I definitely agree that there's a lot of admiration and hero-worship going on among the Fëanorians. And yes, no doubt those among the Fingolfinians who've seen the extent of Maedhros' injuries do feel pity. In general, though, the Fingolfinians are more used to the sight of wounds (as no doubt the Helcaraxë crossing led to a variety of injuries, from frostbite and -burns to broken or crushed limbs) than the Fëanorians, so where the Fëanorians are horrified, the Fingolfinians are somewhat more hard-boiled. (If they stopped to think about how Maedhros came to have those injuries, as in, not by accident but by someone going out of their way to cause him pain, they'd likewise be horrified, though!)

Yay, the reunion scene worked ^^ I think Varnacanyo has spent a lot of time pondering "what if"s, in which his presence invariably would have saved Maedhros, so now he is feeling almost as guilty as Maglor.

Yes, Maedhros is quite good at shocking his brothers, and he doesn't even mean to. It'll take a lot of time until everyone involved has learned to handle the situation... I'm afraid Nelyo won't ever confide in anyone fully, concerning the past; the others - even Moryo - will have to do with allusions - and unintentionally shocking remarks, of course...

Thank you for taking the time to write such a long review! I love hearing what works (or what doesn't work) for my readers. ^^

I believe throwing up under any circumstances is rather miserable... though Nelyo no doubt wins the 'most miserable' prize. ;)

You're absolutely right about the healers. I have to admit that I no longer precisely recall why I did that (I wrote these chapters two years ago and only dig them out for edits and posting now), but I think I was clinging to that line in the LaCE about how technically there's nothing any Elf can do that can't be done by either man or woman [aside from the biologically obvious, I assume ;)], although local and cultural customs may nonetheless consider some professions 'typically male' and others 'typically female'. Healing is listed as an example of 'more likely female', so naturally I had to put a few accomplished male healers in! (There will also be male weavers and female carpenters and warriors, later on.) Of course, this might well backfire; as the 'accomplished' Fëanorian healers are nowhere near as skilled as Istimë, they might make all male healers look vaguely foolish. Actually they just don't know how to deal with things they've never encountered. After the Helcaraxë, Istimë and her team have probably faced a variety of nasty injuries, so now all they have to do is wrap their minds around the fact that this time it wasn't an accident, but done on purpose. Herenyo, on the other hand, likely hasn't dealt with anything worse than the occasional snake bite or broken arm, so he doesn't even know where to start...
Eh well.

Your soccer-induced distraction is completely forgiveable, too. Özil is rather adorable. Thank you for taking the time to review anyway! :)

If it helps any, the story probably is going to end in a cheerful place. The road there won't always be so cheerful though... >_>

Heh heh! That bit rather snuck up on me, and I loved it immediately; while in the real world (TM) the author just changed his mind, I liked playing with the idea that both versions got told by the characters themselves. I'm weird like that! I do agree, the real story will be rather hard on the brothers...

Even short reviews are appreciated - and look how long it took me to respond! *shame*

Yes, they're still all very much in the habit of following Nelyo ;) I don't think Cáno was incapable of "taming" his brothers exactly - he just figured that as long as they did what was necessary, he didn't have to further push them. Nelyo, I suppose, is a little more dominant!
I hope I am not going to make any of the brothers actively 'evil', though; they're meant to be a bit (or more than a bit) difficult at times, but never (as yet) outright evil. Curufinwë's absences are quite justified - he does have a lot of work to do, they're at war after all and at the best metal-worker around (or so we assume ;) - he certainly thinks so!) he's probably swamped. As for his disagreements with Tyelpo - well, we don't really know how Elves are supposed to behave throughout their own or their children's puberty and post-puberty, but it'd be boring if there was no friction at all! Besides, the way I'm having the Fëanorians live - all in one house, albeit a large one - is bound to produce difficulties. If we believe the LaCE, marriage - at a young age - is "natural", and the Eldar appear to be neolocal (that is, the new couple don't live with the parents or other relatives of either bride or groom, but make their own home). So all these "old" (even Ambarussa has probably passed his first century) bachelors still living together out of habit or familial piety is a bit of an oddity, and while Curvo may cling to his son (whose mother appears to be absent), it isn't surprising that Tyelpo wants to move out. None of that is 'evil', though - it's just the normal dynamics of a heap of strong wills clashing. ;)

As for the female wariors, the LaCE state that "in dire straits or desperate defence, the nissi fought valiantly" (the "until the last need", i.e. last resort, line refers to healers - of either sex), so one might read into it that there weren't commonly female warriors. The LaCE in the same line refer to women not hunting (since "the dealing of death [...] diminished the power of healing") - but we're told that Aredhel was a formidable huntress, and though I'm no longer certain where I read this, I think I recall that something along the same lines was said of Galadriel. (That makes 100% of the female grandchildren of Finwë...) Personally, I like to read the line about the nissi fighting valiantly to imply that even if they weren't expected to need it, they did get some formal training in the arts of war that went beyond "Grab by the handle, not by the blade". After all, most people don't know how to fight efficiently purely by intuition ;). Particularly among the war-like Noldor in Middle-earth, I suspect self-defence lessons may have been obligatory (my Nelyo, at any rate, will make it so).
Anyway, since swordplay appears to have been theoretically open to women, although it was predominantly done by men (but then, so was sculpting and smithying; hello, Nerdanel!), I think it's fair to assume that one or two of them enjoyed it so much that they decided to make it their profession. That would, of course, bar them from being healers - but not every woman wants to be a doctor, anyway ;)