Author’s Notes and General Ramblings
“And
then what?!” I hear you asking. I have deliberately left the story here so that
the reader may choose whatever fate for the two that he desires. I could not bring
myself to commit to an ending either within or against the canon. According to
JRRT, Elrond has to leave for the Havens in about two years, Gil cannot
accompany him and he would not leave her behind, so in order to be true to
canon she would have to die, which is so sad……
Personally,
I like to think that they lived together in happiness for many years, and that
Gil bore Elrond a child. When she finally passed to the Fate of Man, Elrond
made his way over the Sea, accompanied by their son. It is a dream I have……..
This
story has utterly consumed my life for the four months it took to write. I have
been driven to write it. It is the first piece of any length that I have
attempted and on the whole I am quite pleased with how it has turned out. Like
others I am sure, it was largely inspired by the words of the song, ‘Breaking
of the Fellowship’ from the Lord of the Rings movie:
When the cold of winter comes
Starless
night will cover day
In
the veiling of the sun
We
will walk in bitter rain.
But
in dreams
I
can hear your name
And
in dreams
We
will be together.
When
the seas and mountains fall
And
we come to end of days
In
the dark I hear her call
Calling
me there
I
will go there
And
back again.
I wish to thank all my readers for your
comments and encouragement. It has been invaluable. Without a reader a writer
has no use. I would also like to thank JRRT for creating the wonderful of
Middle Earth, and the character of Elrond who has so touched me, and in
addition Hugo Weaving for bringing Elrond to life so well in the film. And a
particular thanks to Anna for the beautiful illustrations, which literally
brought tears to my eyes the first time I saw them.
For
those of you who have not yet let me know what you think of the story, I would
greatly appreciate it if you would do so. In particular, if you feel like
answering any of the questions below, I would be most interested to hear your
view.
What drew you to read the story in the first place?
What did you think of the original characters. Like/not like? Why?
What about my portrayal of existing characters – believable?
Did you read the whole story? If not where did you stop? Why?
Did you skip over any parts? Which?
Did you read any parts more than once?Which? Why?
What was your favourite/least favourite scene/chapter? Why?
Did you see where the story was going or were you surprised?
What would you have changed?
What aspect of the story did you like most/least?
How many hankies did you need?
For anyone interested, various pieces of music became associated with parts of the story as I wrote, rather like a soundtrack:
The Banner Unfurled : The Massacre by Trevor Jones from The Last of the Mohicans.
Enough Talk : Duduk of the North by Hans Zimmer from More Music from the motion picture Gladiator
The Muster : Summon the Heroes by John Williams from Call of Champions
Stay with Me! : Purple Rain by Prince
Harp of Maglor : Largo from Xerxes by Handel
Elrond’s Song : Gloomy Winter’s Now Awa’ by Robert Tannahill, adapted by Dougie MacLean from Celtic Connections
The Dark Gates Close : Hanging and Escape by Craig Armstrong from Plunkett and Macleane.
The Time for Peace Making is Over : Roll Tide by Hans Zimmer from Crimson Tide
Farewell, My Love : Who Wants to Live Forever? By Queen from It’s A Kind of Magic
Faithful to the Last : Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis by Vaughan Williams.