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This is fantastic. You have written Nerdanel wonderfully before, but this story pinpoints her character extremely well - it's all there, her strength and wisdom and patience, even though Feanor's claim of the Amanyar Noldor becoming "a shadow-folk" has become very true in a way (and I daresay he if anyone could have imagined this very consequence of his rebellion). Help, my ankles!

It looks like the remaining Noldor were reduced to mere shadows of themselves in their desire to not fan any flame that could be ignited in their hearts.  So it seems that a certain lie of Melkor (the one corcerning some thralls) became fact. They are reduced now to merely exist instead of living and to wait, more and more weary of the world, for the Ages to pass and for Arda to be finally broken. Shadow folk, left to drop vain tears into the thankless sea, indeed.”grin”  But you cannot have tasted the fire without missing it when it's finally extinguished, as your Nerdanel does now.

 

A nice and well-written ficlet. I’m a fan of Fëanor to boot and I enjoy very much stories about his family, particulary when it’s revealed that he wasn’t that much in the wrong, after all. At least, that’s what I think. Congrats, again!

Thank you very much! I quite share the Fëanor love (as is probably apparent ^^), and I'm convinced that there was a lot of truth in what he said. As for Melkor, he probably was a better analyst of the human/Noldorin mind than most of the Valar... unfortunately!
Perhaps Nerdanel will manage to light that fire again. Someone has to before the poor Noldor fade away even in Aman ;)

You've just managed to write down one of the few reasons for (in hindsight) I think that Fëanor shouldn't have taken his Oath after all. Maedhros' suffering frightens me every time I read through the Silmarillion and I don't believe there was anyone to suffer more than him (maybe Maglor, with the passing of the time). Well, what's to say, this only fueled my fury with the Valar and led me to some revolutionary conclusions (as, for instance, that, in all earnestness, Dior and Elwing killed their own people as surely as the Fëanorionnath did) but that's a different story altogether. "grin"

Very powerful imagery for this ficlet. And I'm glad that his end finally came, I'm glad for him to have this impossible course of life finished. He may begin another cycle of suffering but at least this one is finished. And the Valar still didn't get the fates of Arda, encased within three shiny baubles. "grin" Sorry for rambling, dear author, but the House of Fëanor (and well-written stories about it) do have this unfortunate effect on me.

Kind regards and Eru may help Japan,

Sitara

Heh! Actually I don't think the Oath was the problem - just the things it incited, particularly the first Kinslaying. I mean, if the Noldor hadn't so thoroughly messed up in Alqualondë (if those bloody Teleri had cooperated! *growls*), there would've been no Prophecy of the North... and depending on how much power you assign to that prophecy, that might have made the whole story less miserable.
As for the revolutionary conclusions, as you see I have them as well. And yeah, the more I read the Silmarillion, the angrier I get with the Valar. So much mismanagement. As for the "but the Fëanorians must not have the Silmaril!!!" argument... I never got it. Why not? Because they did evil things to get them? So maybe we can stop bad things from happening by just... giving the Silmarils back? NOVEL THOUGHT! Yeah, yeah, I know, Prophecy of the North, they mustn't succeed. Which takes us back, I guess...

There you go, you don't have to apologise for rambling - I did the same! Besides, I love long thoughtful reviews. They're like an invitation to toss my weird thoughts at the reviewer. :) Besides, I like me some flattery. So I don't think there's anything unfortunate about this effect. Quite the contrary! So, thank you!

Well, by now they are traditional, of course - over 200 years since the design first appeared and almost 200 years since the tartan patterns were fixed, that's already quite a long time. For us mortals, anyway. They're just not as old as certain Mel Gibson movies would have us think. ;) The name MacLaurey forced itself on me. It existed long before I even planned to write this story, stored in my brain just in case I should ever write Maglor-in-Scotland fic *g* Glad you like it!

Thank you so much!
The Silmarillion clearly states that the Teleri started the kinslaying, and while I do see why they wanted to defend their ships, that doesn't make it exactly right to kill the Noldor - and that is what'll happen if you push armoured people off piers into deep water, or shoot them, no matter how "slender" the bow, right? If the Noldor hadn't won, it'd probably have been the Teleri who'd received the Curse of Mandos. So I'm already annoyed when ALL the blame is laid at Fëanor's door - but when I came across the idea that awwww, innocent children had been playing on the docks and those bloodthirsty Noldor came and cut them down, I was actually really rather annoyed. There is SO much wrong with that idea! I am willing to believe that the Noldor would've killed any Teler who crossed their way - able-bodied or no, male or no - once the actual fighting had started. But even if I were willing to believe that the Noldor were just inherently evil and bloodthirsty (which I am not), I couldn't imagine that a group who's trying to secretly load and commandeer ships would bother to cut down playing children first. That's just... GRAH.
My apologies - now I've started to rant again. Goes to show just how much the concept annoys me. But that's not your fault. On the contrary! Thank you for letting me know I'm not alone in this :)

Copy of my MEFA review:

Lyra can be relied on to come up with interesting ideas. Some of her shorter pieces are almost like thought experiments. This piece is about the development of Noldorin society in Valinor after the departure of Feanor and Fingolfin--not the initial chaos and struggle to re-establish order, which is only implied, but a general change of attitudes once Finarfin had settled into his rule and before Earendil (or Idril) arrived to bring news from Beleriand. The piece centers on Nerdanel. Nerdanel is also the protagonist of Lyra's "Golden Days"; she has drawn a convincing portrait of her a true artist, beside her roles as wife of Feanor and mother of his children. Here she discovers the connection between introspection and art and meditates on the cost of the emotional risk-taking that art involves--and on the other hand, on the price that has to be paid for not taking such emotional risks. At first glance, that sounds very theoretical (Lyra says in the notes that she had been reading an influential work by Walter J. Ong) and, to begin with, the tone of the discussion may seem almost too calm--I think some readers might feel that the piece engages in telling rather than showing. In my opinion, they would be mistaken. The style of writing reflects the theme of the piece. There are currents of deep emotion running underneath--and it breaks out in the last sentence.

Hi Lyra, thought I'd repost my MEFA review here.

In this ficlet Lyra envisions an Aman in which the Noldor respond to the disaster of the Silmarils by fearing anyone who chooses to create in isolation. [“For is it not agreed that it was the self-absorbed focus on work, the locked doors and unsocial isolation in the forge, that allowed the unthinkable to grow in the mind of Fëanáro?”] The lack of introspection results in a stultifying of creation, so that there are no more works of genius, only passionless rehashing of old works. The story is told from Nerdanel’s point of view, who is accepted by the others, but apparently watched to make sure she conforms to the strictures of the Remnant, the remaining Noldor. I can well imagine that she misses her husband’s passion, even though such emotion is, as she says, [“unreliable, shifting, dangerous”] and that her life is now grey. I had not imagined such a scenario before, but Lyra made me believe in her version and I’m impressed by the power of her rendition.

Congrats on first dwarf-fic! :)

I love it. I love the idea that they were all connected in the beginning, and that later separated. Also, your idea that the dwarves start talking/thinking in words that they were not taught by Aule is great. ;)

I would like to see what happened next. How did Durin feel and what did he after the awakening? Do you plan the sequel?

Hi Lyra, I'm glad to have the opportunity to review this ficlet.   The B2MeM prompts create opportunities for interesting fiction, don't they? 

What ifs are always interesting.  As your story suggests, when things go badly, we always try to second guess ourselves. If only we had done such and such, perhaps disaster would have been averted.  I really like the idea of Maitimo and Macalaurë visiting Olwë and persuading him of a way around the disaster that occurs at Alqualondë.  Manipulative diplomacy, as you so aptly characterize it, as a way around stubborn, intransigent personalities,  is always a better choice if one wants to avoid the inevitable bloodshed.  So how is it so often in our history that we opt for the murder and mayhem solution? Which usually only leads to more murder and mayhem.  I enjoyed your characterizations here.  The brief description of Maitimo as having "red hair and a finely cut, serious face"  and this line:  "Macalaurë perhaps can play any musical instrument that he chooses, but Maitimo plays people, and Macalaurë isn’t certain that he does not find that ability uncanny." 
Here's another marvelous line that well characterizes Fëanor: "Fëanáro, resplendent in armour and anger and certainty."  Love that.

I also like the idea of the tapestries, Maitimo noticing that it doesn't look like his memory, and Vairë getting Maitimo to realize that agonizing over what ifs is futile.   

Your picture is lovely.  I wish I could draw.  Love the sense of movement, the wind in the banners and the torch, the hussle and bustle, the movement of the sea.  Thanks for pointing me this direction. *g*

I can't believe I only discovered your lovely review now (March 28, 2013 - a whole year later! O.ó). You should see me blush, both with embarrassment and with joy!

So happy that this what-if works for you. Yes, diplomacy (even the somewhat uncanny manipulative kind) is usually the better road... and the one less travelled by. I'm also delighted that you enjoyed the descriptions and characterisations; I find it hard to paint a character in a few words without distracting from the actual (short) story, so I'm thrilled if I've done it right! Also thrilled you like the picture.

In conclusion, thank you so much for your kind and enthusiastic review! :)

Interesting idea! I've never thought of it, but now that you wrote it, it seems logical - indeed, why wouldn't some Feanor's son be afraid of his mother's fading in some moment?

Well done! :)

P.s. There's one sentence that's confusing. "And your grandmother Míriel was a seamstress, while you are a sculptress," Atarincë said, sounding more thoughtfuol than miserable now. "A thread is much easier cut than rock."

Uhm, who says that? Words sound mature, but then the first part is wrong - shouldn't it be "...while I am a sculptress"? If so, the middle part should also be changed. ;)

Thank you, glad you like it!
Good catch also - Atarincë is the speaker (and the words are supposed to be indicative of his clever young mind, while the wonky logic shows his still semi-magical thinking, i.e. his tender age), but how the "your" snuck in there, I have no idea. *edits* Thank you again!

Yes, I'm glad I had a chance to do that - I was feeling rather unfair towards Daeron, having painted him as the backwards fool all the time. I guess it's no secret that I like Noldor over Sindar...

I have to admit that it's been a decade since I last read Werther! Haven't gotten over that frustration yet, so I haven't tried again. I can't rightly recall how I felt about Lotte - I think she didn't stick out particularly negatively at the time. Of course, Werther's emo blog entries sort of drowned out everything else!

I don't think Nerdanel would have a good idea of the concept of fading, certainly (sort of lacking the personal experience, even as an observer) - so yeah, I think she would be confused. And the bits she does understand aren't exactly the right subject matter for a kid at bedtime, either...

*facepalm* Thank you. Time for a proofreader, I suspect...

I don't think I see him as quite so pragmatic normally, either. The most diplomatic of the bunch, sure, but not in that way. As a thought experiment, however, it was tempting - and certainly works nicely against Maglor's fanonic image as that wimpy bard who won't get his hands dirty! ;)

I'm glad of this glimpse into Istime's background!

Healing would certainly have been quite a dangerous business even when she knew what she was doing, with the limited resources she had at Cuivienen and during the March.

(Nitpicks: "strenghtening" for "strengthening", missing opening quotation marks before I could not heal her)

Yep. Unless you ascribe to the "Elves don't get sick, injured or otherwise indisposed as easily as humans" school of thought, which I (or you! :)) obviously don't!

(*facepalms* I've proofread this so often and those still slipped my attention? Disgraceful. Thank you for catching them! That's what I get for posting without a beta. >_>)