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Old 12-21-2022, 08:35 PM   #602
Galadriel55
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Location: The realm of forgotten words
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Galadriel55 is lost in the dark paths of Moria.Galadriel55 is lost in the dark paths of Moria.Galadriel55 is lost in the dark paths of Moria.Galadriel55 is lost in the dark paths of Moria.
Still no news on the Zong front - the last while I've been pushing hard on Dawn to try and meet my self-imposed deadline of finishing before New Year's. I really want to have 2022 written on the cover. And I only have a couple chapters left to edit, I am almost there! Now, I've already nagged a small handful of people into promising to read it at some point, but it would make me really really happy if you gave it a read sometime - you are the only one who would appreciate this the most, with the occasional Zong cross-references and Script parallels... and the whole thing started on this thread. It's a book with its pros and cons, it's certainly not perfect (and least of all the translation... I like to think that I found my rhythm by Ch4 though), but I am of the firm opinion that even if you don't like it you will at least find it interesting - there is enough in there of canon and unpredictable fan-creation, adventure and philosophy, tragedy and humour and snark to have at least a piece for everyone's liking. Every wonder why songs rhyme? Or why swear words exist? Well, wonder no more, for you have a Middle-earthian explanation waiting in store for you. What impressed me the most was how well the book integrates all of its altfic plots back into canonical streams; most of the threads are woven in very well, and there are barely any loose ends, every alt addition gets its closure. I was thinking very much about this book when I posted the thread on fanfics, and I think this one qualifies a pass by your definition. But the reason I am writing all this is - what format would you prefer to read it in? As the first potential reader, it's your call. Do you want to leave comments / edits / suggestions? Do you want it to be a pageless read-only thing? I will not say no to any beta-reading but strictly on a voluntary basis. I did look into the site you posted earlier, but I'm not sure this is ready for full publicity yet - it's still rough around the edges, and I technically don't have the author's permission for any official publication. (Asking for forgiveness rather than permission is sort of our thing now, innit? ) So, if you think that you might give this a read, let me know how you would prefer to see it, and once I bang out the last two chapters I will convert it to that format... which itself will probably take a few days of copy-pasting from the tables I have now, but it would need to happen eventually, so...

But in the meantime, since all you've known of Dawn so far were the two most boring chapters in the entire work written with the poorest translation skill you'll see in the whole thing - literally the worst sample to use as a selling point - here is a "teaser-trailer" snippet, slightly abridged for spoilers:



Quote:
– …Then there arose some among us who said openly in their despair: “Now we know at last who lied, and who desired to devour us. Not the first Voice. It is the Master that we have taken who is the Darkness; and he did not come forth from it, as he said, but he dwells in it. We will serve him no longer! He is our Enemy.” Then in fear lest he should hear them and punish us all, we slew them, if we could; and those that fled we hunted; and if any were caught, our masters, his friends, commanded that they should be taken to the House and there done to death by fire. That pleased him greatly, his friends said; and indeed for a while it seemed that our afflictions were lightened. But it is told that there were a few that escaped us, and went away into far countries, fleeing from the shadow. Yet they did not escape from the anger of the Voice; for they had built the House and bowed down in it. And they came at last to the land's end and the shores of the impassable water and behold! the Enemy was there before them…

An owl hoot sounded, long and loud. Beren fell silent, then threw off his cloak, knelt beside the fire, blew at the flames, and tossed more wood on top. Placing the small pot on the coals again, Beren bundled up in his cloak once more and sat down, leaning against a saddle.

– So this is what Andreth concealed from you, – he whispered. – What do you say, Nom?

Finrod gazed at the play of flame over coals through half-lidded eyes.

– It is all the usual. First – “learn”, then – “obey”. I expected something of this sort. With us he started off the same way, but proceeded more cautiously and did not quite make it to “obey”.

– Will you write it down?

– Of course.

– Do not mention me. Write – Andreth, from the words of Adanel of the People of Marach.

– Alright. It is strange that she did not tell this to me herself… How old were you?

– Fifteen or sixteen… I, the son of a younger son, was destined to be Wise, an axanir. She wanted to tell much more, but never could… The war… So I did not become Beren the Wise – only Beren the Wizened.

His teeth flashed in the gleam of the fire as he grinned, and he suddenly resembled the One from the Dark. After a moment the illusion dissipated.

– Maybe it was for the best…

– You did not want to be Wise? – asked Finrod.

– Our time did not want me to become Wise, King. This time demands that we be strong.

– Does wisdom therefore make men weak?

Beren was puzzled by the question, but not stumped.

– Wisdom, – he said at last, choosing his words with care, – either makes men very weak, or very strong. The wise differs from the merely clever in that his cunning is not cold, he measures his decisions with his heart and his conscience. And in deciding, the wise sees that nothing can be done without harming anyone and thus wounding his conscience. Therefore, to be wise and yet to take action means to suffer ceaselessly, and choose to do so with open eyes – and only a strong man can walk that path.

– You believe that strength decides everything?

– Depends on what you call strength. One sort of strength is needed to raise a sword, another – to meet it unflinchingly. Do I have the latter?... Now, perhaps yes. Because I have hope. Estel, – he clarified in Elvish. – And desperation…

– Men continue to amaze me. Beren, are “hope” and “desperation” not opposites of each other?

– On one hand, aye, but on the other… In the depths of the blackest despair, when there is no ground for amdir, a Man suddenly finds estel within himself. In our speech, “desperation” and “resolve” are one word. But for that, one must find himself in such a tight spot that there isn’t the tiniest way out to be seen… When I was young and stupid, I struck a wager with Cregan-Halftroll that I would climb up the Lone Fang, which you alone have scaled. As I came back down, I slipped into an ice crevice. I fell for some number of fathoms and landed like a wedge in a groove – I was stuck good and tight. The cold was bitter, but beads of sweat covered my brow and froze in my hair. I realized that this here will be my end, and no one would even know anything about it. Below me – a blue haze, above me – stars, large and indifferent. And I felt so sorry for myself, King Nom, that I am ashamed of it to this day. I was all filled with dread. I knew that I was going to die, that for all purposes I was dead already – and I suddenly became calm, because dead men have nothing to worry about. I listened, and made out the sound of a creek beneath me, and the noise of stones that melted out of the ice and rolled down the slope; I looked up, and saw that the sky above the crevice became pink. I recalled that there was a knife in my boot, and not all was lost yet… But I would have tried even without the knife. I would have carved my way up to the light with my own teeth if need be. And if I could not – I would die… peacefully, without fear. This is how we find hope in despair. Is it different for Elves?

– Not very, but different. Hope, estel, is immanent in us from the very start. In each of us, from birth. Amid the ice floes of Helcaraxe I too thought many times – it would be easier to die. But the stars never appeared indifferent. For Elves, the effort is required not to awaken estel, but to crush it. And we both know who is doing that. We look forward, and do not see grounds for amdir, we depend only on estel. Therefore we say that our shadow is in front, and yours is behind you.

– Perhaps, – Beren said hesitantly, – this is why we met in this world, so that we would find you amdir, and you would give us estel?

– That is what I believe...


~Beyond The Dawn





Hope you have a fantastic holiday time, and that you're all feeling well after the last wave of colds!
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You passed from under darkened dome, you enter now the secret land. - Take me to Finrod's fabled home!... ~ Finrod: The Rock Opera
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