Henneth Annûn Story Archive

Hi G.A.!

Wow! I think Gilraen's words held true!...

"You speak with a strange vehemence," ... "You make me afraid you'll do something rash and risk your life."... 

"avenge my grandfather"...?Aragorn?...initiating the sparring?  Quite an interesting turn! This is the total opposite of the original story (if I remember correctly)

Daeron may be "mad" as Aragorn said or a "traitor" as Beleg may think, but I think there's more to this than meets the eye!  Does Daeron have a deathwish or are outside forces trying to take control? 

Your description of the sparring scene gave me the chills. From Daeron's footsteps to his menacing words..Utterly frightening!

Can't wait for the update...and welcome back!

RS

It may have been a long wait, but you've rewarded your loyal readers with another richly crafted chapter.  Although Aragorn takes center stage in Sword of Elendil, your characterizations of the supporting cast add amazing depth to this series. These shine through in this chapter, e.g., the long-married-couple banter between Ivorwen and Dírhael to gangly adolescent Rodner's "foolish grin" to Ríannon who had watched over Aragorn when he was a toddler. 

It's immensely gratifying to read your portrayal of Gilraen. That first scene is really poignant - I got all verklempt reading that!

Hat's off to your nuanced take on Daeron.  It's easy enough to write characters in binary Good Guys vs. Bad Guys mode, but showing Daeron's complexity (Gilraen's insight, Daeron's warmth toward Beleg) adds tremendous emotional impact to that final - and intense - scene of this long-awaited chapter. 

So, Daeron wishes to see Aragorn lose his own self-respect by killing him, and apparently wishes to flee his own anger through death.  Interesting.