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Nuu. I was trying to guess who it would be- because I am that determined to think myself clever- and the fact that there were no sun and moon confused me. Then I thought- OH, of course.

I love your characterizations so much. Maybe when I'm not freaking out about college applications I'll get around to taking you up on your (repeated!) offers of that discussion...  Yes. It's a pla-oh, wait... then come IB exams...

Sometime during this lifetime?

Relevance! The order our dear Seven took the Oath in has always been of mild interest to me- more so when Feanaro's brood capitalized my every waking moment- what happened to those times? Did Arafinwe and his children steal the spotlight? Hmm... So, the idea that Carnistir took the oath last- and, furthermore, '[slunk] like a beaten animal' to do so- intrigues me. And Macalaure the messenger- I can see that

Something I've been wondering, though- your version of the Noldorin... flight(? Is that how Tolkien named it?) is much further spread out over a period of time (or seems to be) than that in the Silmarillion, which makes sense when considered logically- purely out of idle curiosity, how long is that period, roughly? *this is the problem with history-book narrators...*

Oh. I didn't mean to write that much. College resume time...

I wonder if there\'s a Feanatic alive who hasn\'t thought in ridiculous detail about the Feanorian oath-order and who went first/last/fourth and why. I think I\'ve written it a few times by now. And I don\'t think I\'ve been consistent every time! :D Actually, I like to imagine different possibilities; it\'s a fun characterization exercise for me to put one of the brothers in a specific place and then try to justify why he would have been there based on his personality.

Arafinwe and his children are definitely attention hogs. You notice that I\'ve written them quite a bit lately too ... ;)

As for the Noldorin flight, we once had a fairly detailed discussion about this on the SWG Yahoo list, trying to come up with some \"canon\" about how long it actually took. In my mind, it took at least a week to get underway and probably a few years to make it up the coast to Araman. I\'m pretty sure that this was JRRT\'s earliest idea as well; I think I recall that the earliest annals allotted ten years. Considering that I think it also took 200 years to walk from Cuivienen to the sea, maybe my gripes about how Peter Jackson\'s Elves are always moving so damned slow really aren\'t justified. ;)

Anyway, you\'re right that The Silmarillion makes the timeline clear as mud. I found passages that justified my more drawn-out vision. I recall that Rhapsody found passages that justified that the Noldor left in greater haste. And I seem to recall that the Annals of Aman shortened the time to one (!) year from ten. (Please don\'t quote me on any of this; I\'m working without my books, and it\'s been a long time since I researched this question.) But, in short, I think the texts are ambiguous at best, and you can really do what you want and justify it. :) I once meant to write an essay on this subject. Maybe I will. I still have half a month before grad school starts! :D

As for the character conversation, I\'m here when you\'re ready. No hurries, no worries. :) And best of luck to you on the college applications and IB exams! *sends you a Pengolodh muse for extra-good luck*

What a cheery story! Fabulous characterization as usual and two of the characters you forever imprinted on my mind with ANC. Just thinking of you tonight and then checked my email and here was this! Thank you so much. I just made an ANC birthday card for you before logging onto the internet to post it and found this!

Thanks, Oshun! You know me ... I leave the upbeat stories to you. ;) As I was writing this one, I was thinking, \"This isn\'t a very good birthday mathom story.\" But, then, when you consider some of the stories I\'ve given as Christmas gifts ...

An AMC birthday card! Eep! And I\'m at work where I can\'t get LJ. *scowl* And I have a swordfighting class after work. *scowlscowl* I\'ll have to try to grab a minute of Internet time when I get home tonight!

Happy birthday, Dawn! You remind me of Hobbits, giving birthday presents at your birthday.

There are too few fics out there that explore the situation and the feeling of the Elves of Valinor after the Exile, especially Finarfin. I love your Finarfin, how he perceived the change, how everything was so frightening. You described his emotion very well, you captured him as he was. His memory of Carnistir was very vivid. Love your descriptions very much, of very haunting it all was. Also like the idea of Arafinwe's ability to mind-speak. Now we know where Galadriel got her gift from.

This fic style and atmosphere is very similar to your original fic you sent me, but I feel this one is more intense. Perhaps because I'm more familiar with the fandom and character. 

Anyway, great fic!

 

Thank you, Naltariel! It is rather Hobbitish, but I was a Hobbit fan before I discovered the Silm, and everyone is always so generous to me on my birthday (despite the fact that I\'m usually days/weeks late greeting my friends) that it seemed the right thing to do. :)

I\'ve always thought that there is a dearth of stories about the Darkening ... even about the Flight of the Noldor, save the Kinslaying and crossing of the Helcaraxe. I see so much potential here; I mean, it really is one of the singular events in the history of the Eldar. And one can use just about any PoV character. I wish more were done on it. Ah well. I\'ll keep plugging away in the meantime! :)

I was definitely going for that intensity, so I\'m glad that worked for you! :) Thank you again for the review! *hugs*

Your stories about the Darkening of Valinor are truly unique with all the details of what darkness meant for people who had always lived in light, down to the view into rooms from a dark street or the Valar-enforced artificial distinction between night and day or the messangers who scratch their legs running in the dark. And of course, it was good to read again your troubled Arafinwe or your gifted Carnistir. The flow of the story moving between sleep and waking adds to the dream/nightmare atmosphere. Great story.

Thank you, Angelica! :) It\'s definitely one of the time periods that fascinates me the most. I just finished writing to Naltariel that I\'m surprised more people don\'t write about it. There\'s so much potential for angst and drama, to say nothing of the fact that any living character in Valinor could be a PoV character, and that it is a moment of singular importance in the history of the Eldar.

I\'m excited that you noted those particular details! The \"briar-bitten\" legs was added after the fact; it just sprang into my mind, I think while I was driving to pick Bobby up from work. And the image of the lighted room from the street was one of my favorites in the story.

Thanks again for reading and commenting! *hugs*

This is wonderful, Dawn.  You do a great job showing Arafinwe's progression from total confusion to reluctant understanding, and I enjoyed the idea that he shared a connection with a nephew he didn't particually like which was stronger than the one he had with his own children - one of Life's cruel ironies, that would be.

Thanks, Ithilwen! I first came up with the idea of Caranthir having stronger-than-normal abilities in mind-speak as a way to explain the antipathy between him and Finarfin\'s family, since we know at least two of Finarfin\'s kids have extrasensory abilities. Since then, I\'ve been somewhat obsessed with the relationship between them but (since I write mostly stories set in Aman) especially the relationship between Caranthir and Finarfin. This story was my chance to indulge that a bit. :)