Five Fires by Elleth

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Fanwork Notes

Many thanks to Tarlwen, Dawn and Oloriel for the continued support, beta and listening to my nattering. The story would have turned out differently without your help.

Allusions to character death, but far less graphic than anything you will find in the Silmarillion. Also, angst, but knowing my stories, that is not a surprise.

Set in what I like to call 'Shibboleth!Verse' concerning the story of Amrod and Amras at Losgar.

Fanwork Information

Summary:

Ambarussa is afraid of fire to this day. There were four instances in life that made him fear.

Major Characters: Amras, Amrod, Fëanor, Maedhros, Maglor, Nerdanel

Major Relationships:

Genre: Drama, Experimental

Challenges:

Rating: Teens

Warnings:

Chapters: 1 Word Count: 658
Posted on 15 June 2008 Updated on 15 June 2008

This fanwork is complete.

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Comments on Five Fires

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I have shivers and goosebumps on my arms. This is a brilliant piece of writing, I find it hard to exactly say which bit is just the best: from the wee toddlers standing there afraid, the see burial or the last lines regarding Maglor. Such saddness and suffering, yet brought with elegance. This is beautifully written!

I am speechless.  I have been trying to review this since it was posted, and I just do not know how.  It had such a unique feel to it – Ambarussa’s character was so well defined – it was heartbreaking without being entirely hopeless.  And the writing style was excellent.  So thank you, Elleth, for the most moving story I’ve read in a long time.

This is a beautiful, compelling, and very poignant story. I love the idea of showing one's life -- the important, life-changing moments -- in a series of glimpses, effective and brilliantly written. Thank you very much for sharing. Great job!

All the best,

Binka 

This is priceless!  A tragic take on my favorite Silmarillion family.  I blame myself for not reading this sooner, it's a good thing you did that post on LJ.  It all took clever weaving on your part for the elements to seem to "united."  I liked every bit of this and will add it to my favorites.

I'm pretty sure I read this before, but I still like it and might look differently upon it now. Feanor and Nerdanel's arguments are always scary because we don't know what happened and why they argued. I know a lot of time it's stress and the children just don't understand, but I wonder about the stressor between them. Morgoth released? The twins holding on to each other at such a time is such a vivid image. A lot said in a little. The kind of thing that reminds anyone (certainly me) who has ever seen/heard parental arguments as a child. And that's exactly what we (sisters) did.

Feanor not going to Ambarussa's funeral--don't know how to describe the emotions that evokes in the reader. It's ironic that they send him out to sea. It's powerful just saying Feanor didn't come. Did this part change from a previous version I read? Maybe it's just my imagination.

The idea of siblings all wanting to be together even in death is very moving. I don't know if it makes me feel like Maglor should join them or what. At least from this story, it seems ok as long as he's as far away from fire (and thus Feanorian ideas) as possible. But, just as it is in the Silmarillion, it's a great contrast to Maedhros and his fiery pit. Even to the end, fire makes him blanche. It's the essence of the House of Feanor, but we see that he doesn't reject his family, just what his family has stood for and done over time.