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canon accepted ! thats really convincing, they almost certainly did have that conversation. 

i like your Annatar too, thinking of twenty different things, and then only one... oooh nooo... Poor old Elrond, poor Gil-galad, and poor old Eregion. it reminds me of that Legolas quote "only the stones now remember them...they are gone..."

did Gil-galad intend a little match-making, sending Elrond off as escort to Celebrian ? 

well written, a rattling good read. thankyou :)

I'm so glad you liked it!

I cannot imagine Imladris suddenly appearing as a safe haven during wartime without  previous planning, and both Gil-Galad and Elrond are smart and careful enough to see the need of such a place. And of course everybody dies (except Elrond); it's the Silmarillion! The Legolas quote is very suitable, I really like that you brought it up.

Gil-Galad did not play matchmaker on purpose, only seeing an opportunity and taking it. However, I can't imagine he'd be displeased with the outcome! Still, everyone is allowed their own interpretation, this is just mine.

Thanks for the review!

Well done. I really enjoyed it. The suspense worked. I like the idea of the weather seeming foreboding as well.

He had missed the warm light under Ost-in-Edhil’s perpetual cover of clouds. The phenomenon was frankly unnatural, Elrond mused, and relayed this to Gil-Galad.''. . .

“And none commented on it during your stay, or thought it otherwise strange?”

. . . “They thought it a lingering storm from the mountains. Annatar himself didn’t even seem to notice it. The light was not entirely eliminated, but dimmed and most colors were stripped away, leaving a brown sky underneath black clouds.” He shuddered slightly. “I am glad I’m back here.”

Creepy and menacing!

I also liked the references to the Feanorians and Elrond's attitude and Gil-galad's response.

Thank you!

Those clouds were just one of those things that crept into the story without real conscious thought on my part, but once they were in there I really liked the atmosphere they bring to the story. Eregion is at the summit of its power, not seeing the plunge waiting for them. All the signs are there, but they are too blinded by their own succes to see it. I'm glad you picked up on it!

As a huge fan and apologist for the House of Fëanor, I find it very hard not to somehow include its members ;) And Elrond, raised as he was as a typical scion of that House, had to pick up some of their habits! Gil-Galad on the other hand thinks more along the lines of the maintaining the peace while preparing for the worst, and refuses the moral boundaries he set himself, perhaps even as a response to the Fëanorians' agression and increasing lack of morality (aka the Kinslayings, Celegorm's and Curufin's actions in Nargothrond, Maedhros and Maglor stealing the Silmarils). In short, he doesn't believe in the saying, "All's fair in love and war".

You convey the atmosphere of latter-day Eregion very strongly, even although you chose to do it indirectly through its effect on Elrond.

It is an interesting suggestion that Elrond didn't end up in Imladris by accident but that there was a plan, and neat that that plan is also a means of Elrond making a closer acquaintance with Celebrian. I like the idea of her as her mother's trusted messenger.

An interesting discussion about Elrond's upbringing. Gil-galad's world, of course, is about to become a good deal less "civilized", perhaps, even than he expects!

 

 

Thank you!

I have this very specific snese/feeling about Eregion in those days, those moments before the fall. At the height of their power and not seeing their inevitable destruction, it is a sense of social and cultural elevation tinged with just the tiniest amounts of despair, like making the most of life while they still have it.

The idea of Imladris suddenly appearing out of nowhere in a time it was most depserately needed seemed always like a deus ex machina to me, and with all those Noldor well-versed in warfare, sieges, fragile peaces, I just cannot believe there wasn't some sort of back-up plan.

Celebrían is an amazing character that doesn't get nearly enough recognition! She is so under-represented; I imagine her as being terrifyingly smart, much more than Elrond, with a knack for politcs (with those parents, how could she not?). It would only make sense for her to act as Lothlórien's liaison, especially since that realm is only newly established. In Gil-Galad's mind it was only a way for Elrond to leave the city again (remember, he just came back!) while simultaneously introducing him to the political powers of the Eldarin society, who might not look upon him too kindly given his upbringing, for when Elrond succeeds him.

Apologies for the rant; I get a little carried away sometimes.  

Ooh! I really like this. The atmosphere of Eregion clouding everything; the sense that those outside of the region knew things were amiss even outside of initial reactions to Annatar. Everything about the story brought me to the edge of my seat; it's the perfect blend of the calm before the storm and a pebble signifying the start of an avalanche.

Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it - "the calm before the storm" is exactly what's going on here - as symbolised by the weather, amongst other things. As for a pebbel signifying the start of an avalanche, well, we all know what happens after! I think that those years just prior to the Fall of Eregion were very tense politically, while everyone kept pretending everything was fine. That coverup can't hold forever, and here the cracks are beginning to show...