Henneth Annûn Story Archive

Very well-written and interesting gap-filler. Evokes a particular time and place well, post-war Minas Tirith.

Oshun

My goodness - this is really excellent - you squeeze so very much into such a short piece.  I was delighted to meet so many of the 'common' soldiers of Gondor. 

Very nice indeed.  I'm bookmarking it and waiting for the next chapter.

I've also loved looking at this situation, although I've looked at it from Frodo's POV and that of observers in the gallery, and not followed Beregond as you've done here.

Love the dynamics between Beregond, Bergil, and Ivorlas, and the byplay as he finds himself needing to deal with his wound and get some of that healing sleep folks keep talking about.

I, for one, get so caught up in the lives of the major characters, that I never give thought to someone like Beregond.  I'm glad you decided to write about him.  This is a delightful tale.  I look forward to more chapters.

Tari

I think you are continuing to do a great job of portraying Beregond's mixed feelings about his pardon and promotion. There's a sense of "all's well that ends well" in the book, but an honorable man like Beregond is going to struggle with the consequences of his actions for a long time. (A side note: Does he ever meet/see any of the family members of the men he had to kill? Brrr - your exploration of Beregond's struggles makes me wonder what they are going through...)

I really liked the interaction between Beregond, Bergil and Pippin in this chapter. I thought you clearly caught Pippin's personality - still irrepressible even with the added maturity that his journeys and the war have forced on him.

I thought the lifestyle and living conditions of the average working class individual was very believable, too. A great chapter, and I'm looking forward to the next one. I hope it's Beregond's meeting with Faramir, as I want to know how it works out between the newest Prince of the realm and his very new, rather nervous and unsure Captain.

Denise

Oh, excellent! 

You've segued into this next phase of the story very well. Beregond's increasing uneasiness is plain, as events continue to weigh on him and he's had additional time to think over all the potential ramifications from the King's judgment. He and Bergil continue to have some wonderful father-son moments; I can really see how much they depend upon one another. The exploration of how others might view Beregond's actions is handled particularly well, as is Beregond's own agonizing and questioning. 

There are lots of details tucked in, not always elaborated on or explained, that give depth and background. (Though we might perhaps meet the enigmatic Balanoth later?) 

And Mistress Almarian – oh ho! *speculates avidly* 

I love your patient Faramir and how you manage his and Beregond's interactions. Their meeting is definitely the highlight of the story for me, so far. And again, small items really enrich it, like the implied closeness between Faramir and Aragorn, and Faramir's quick perception and his easy-going nature with the page, and his bemused reflection on his accumulation of names. And I think you laid out an excellent take on Faramir's reasoning behind Beregond being chosen as Captain, and the "compromise". Very nice!

Okay--caught up at last!

Beregond is one of my favorite lesser characters within Gondor, as ought to be obvious, particularly as I keep writing about the King's justice toward him from different points of view.  I look forward to the story being continued in time.

Wonderful writing, and excellent use of details from several different sources.  And I apparently haven't read all the works from which your challenge was made.  But I have rather shamelesslyn borrowed names from all kinds of sources to add to the population of the Shire and the Breelands, you see.