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Very interesting and appealing character development. Findis as you write her thinks for herself and makes her own decisions.

The storyline you set up makes me wonder what will happen when Finarfin returns. Why would be people who stayed in Valinor under such strong and certain leadership want to yield the authority of kingship to a returning Finarfin? It's an interesting concept to pursue.

Question: What does this mean: "Nerdanel had the thousand rangar stare of one who has lost everything, a look previously unknown in these lands."

I found rangar in the texts as a unit of Numenorean measurement of height. I am not sure if that is how it is used in this sentence?

Or perhaps rangar in an obscure word in English or from another language? So curious.

All that aside, it's a wonderfully written story and compelling!

Thank you. I'm still mulling over what happens when Finarfin returns - he ended up king at some point, but I think that happened on Findis' terms and in a time and manner of her choosing. I've got a couple different ideas on how it might have happened, but I haven't settled on which one I prefer yet.

I appropriated rangar from the Numenorians to substitute for yard(s). I thought that as a natural measure of length, a pace, ranga could also have been a measure for the elves long before Elros became the first king of Numenor. (I doubt that it was their only measure of length, I'm sure they must have also had a more precise one for use in architecture and craft, but many older units of measure were based on physical things that people could see - foot, hand, ell, etc- or experience in daily life - rod, furlong, acre. So I suspect the elves would also have had such 'natural' units before developing more scientific ones.) I generally use Parf Edhellen to check my elvish vocab, and they list it as Quenya, so I don't think I'm stretching ridiculously using it in an elven context. Though now that I think on it more, maybe for elves, a 'thousand yard stare' wouldn't really be long enough...

Oh, this was fantastic! Findis is so easy to overlook, but if it was bravery that made Finarfin turn back, it must have taken equal bravery for her not to go off with her brothers. And it makes perfect sense that, as Finwe's only descendant left in Valinor (at this time), she would become queen. A good thing that she is prepared for her inheritance, having done administrative duties all these times... and in a way, she does get to work as a healer, too! In conclusion, I loved this story. What a brilliant response to this challenge.

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it. It seemed to me that the children in Finwë were on the whole pretty strong-willed, so it seemed odd that Findis wouldn't be. And standing up to all her siblings took as much strength or bravery as Finarfin turning back or Fingolfin choosing to cross the Ice.  (I think there will be more at some point, but I am not sure yet when that will be.)

I'm slow! I like 'a thousand yard stare' and I, for one, allow no weird impossible feats of vision in my stories. It does not work for me as a physical trait. Magic and telepathy is fine, but weird telescopic vision isn't.

I do not think you are stretching at all to use it in an Elivish context. I just did "get" it. Like I said, I'm slow. I did like the sound of it, however, even when I was not sure of the meaning.

You're not slow! We don't necessarily all get the same thing out of what we read, and that has nothing to do with being quick or slow.

(As far as the vision thing, I just shrug and go with the elvish distance vision - else Legolas is a dirty liar claiming he was counting the Rohirrim when they were still way off where Aragorn and Gimli could barely see them.)

I can't get over a certain Elf running on top of snow either! There were huge discussions in fandom back in the early days right after the LotR movies came out trying to explain that! Someone suggested that maybe the Quendi had hollow bones like birds! I'd might find it easier to accept if they were not the same species as Mortal Men. I know. I know. With fantasy fiction people have different things they are willing to accept or alternatively cannot swallow. That is why I am very accepting of other people's interpretations of canon!

I love the burning eyes (flame-eyes, or lachenn eyes) of the Elves from Aman, however, and love writing about the reaction of the Sindarin to those astonishing eyes. To each his own improbable fantasy elements!