I love your Nazgu?l pov.

Just two problems:

You used "ought" when it should have been "aught", and you have a comma skip.

A comma skip is my word for this phenomenon:

My friend, Willy

, goes to church.

Still, good portayal, fine writing - and this is a very short list of errors. One fic had thirty or so, it was unbelievable.

A perfect end to an excellent nail-biter of a story. Thranduil's relationship with his sons is nicely delineated here, and the way you demonstrate his fatherly love while explaining the need for distance is well executed. I really did enjoy the story, so I hope you don't mind the nitpicking.

Niggles:

/Of the injured treated thus far, none possessed wounds/

I wouldn't use the word "possessed" here. Perhaps "had" would be better. If you are trying to avoid "had," what about "none of their wounds were so grievous..."

/"I haveseen to my duties, sire./

/I have not seen all the horrors that Mirkwood possesses/

Again, I wouldn't have used the word "possesses," because Mirkwood was an Elven realm that had been invaded by the forces of Sauron. How about "contains"? Or "...the horrors that stalk Mirkwood"?

My goodness, what a battle scene! This story is being honoured in two threads on my forum, Can We Talk: The Great Angst Writers and The Best Combat Scenes We've Seen.

Khamul is a believable and, glory hallelujah, COMPLEX baddie. I hate the pantomine "muahahahahaha-ing" types that the fangirls plague us with; your baddie is the kind that haunts your nightmares for ages afterwards, and that's the kind I like. I haven't read a horrorfic with as much rampant glee in months! Thank you for writing this gem of a story.

Niggles:

/learned military instincts.

I know what you're aiming for, but could you use another phrase?

The other niggle is stylistic: I've been pulled up for the over-use of words that end with -ing, and to be fair, the critic was right. I used them all the time. I use them sparingly now, and it does work well, so I thought I'd pass it on. Since it's just a matter of opinion, I'll leave it there. I just thought you might want some concrit as well as the lavish praise that you've deservedly received.

Excellent, atmospheric and very scary. Your writing is so vivid I can almost see, hear, smell, touch and taste this. The nerve-jangling descriptions of the creepy Nazgul and the terror of the besieged Elves grabbed my imagination and kept me reading as I wondered what you were going to do to the poor unfortunates next. I admit I baulked a bit at the reference to the Bruinen, but then I realised that it was meant as a metaphor and not a geographical feature. It works well enough, to be honest. Great stuff!

I've added you to my author alerts. :D

I’ve never yet been disappointed by anything of yours that I read, but I think this is my favourite so far. For a start, the concept of this story is amazingly unique and chilling. I was drawn into the tense atmosphere from the first paragraphs, wondering what strange terror it could be Thranduil was preparing for. The very idea that no more than three creatures could put a whole realm of elves into a state of terror is breathtaking. I wondered briefly whether this wasn’t at odds with the events at Weathertop, where the Nazgul were defeated so easily (ridiculously easy, really), but you have explained that well with the winter solstice giving them exceptional powers. The three-part structure of preparation, attack and aftermath worked very well, and then we’re left knowing that – as is always the case with the events of the year’s cycle – in a year’s time they’ll have to face the same horror again.

The characters are wonderfully drawn. I enjoyed all of Thranduil’s sons in this piece, but Celebas most of all. The relationships between them are very credible. And you did a fine job giving the view point of the Nazgul – I would imagine that was the most difficult aspect in the crafting of this story. An excellent story altogether. I am most impressed!

I really think you should do a Khamul original story, complete with the mysterious lady. Soon. I first read this fic over three years ago, and you finally try my patience.

Of all your stories, this has become one of my favorites, ranked right behind LLS. I absolutely love your portrayal of Legolas and Thranduil, the interactions among the whole royal family, in fact, were incredibly done. The plot as well is very original and as always, written so brilliantly, one reading feels like a dehydrated person soaking up a refreshing drink of water. Very satisfying!

Thank you so much for sharing your talent. Any hope of an update soon? Please?

NiRi

Interestng story! I enjoyed how you wrote the charecters. Nice job and very well written!

Yuck! What a way to spend the night. A holiday night too. Hm, I think the Mirkwood elves need flamethrowers in a bad way *starts to hand out flamethrowers* This should help keep those Nazgul away *evil snicker* Speaking of Nazgul, I liked the parts from his point of view. Hardly anybody does that. I also have a thing for Nazgul. They're cool! I've even named Ringwraith #5 Fred. He's really very sweet.

Fred: Thanks. Can I get you some more Dr. Pepper?

Sure, that'd be great! See, he's sweet.lol

Oh my gosh I love this! Thank you so much for writing it!

frodofreak88

I'm not sure how I missed this story of yours in the past but I just took a work break to read it. I was floored by the description and flow of the story, so typical of your work, so well done! I thouroughly enjoyed the Nazgul POV as it is rarely done and gives a new look to things. I am now going to go check to see if there are any other wonderful stories of yours that I might have missed.

You do a great job with characterization. Knowing that this young elf who remains largly untainted by the shadows will grow to later become one of the Fellowship gives us so much more back story. I'd never really thought of how proud Thranduil must have been that his youngest son helped to destroy the ring, and it gives a whole new perspective to the problems between them in Fear No Darkness, as well as Legolas' stoicness in LoLaS. I love how all your stories are connected; you get insights to each character through all the stories as a whole, not just case-by-case. It's like each fic is only a chapter in a bigger book. I love that. xD

Although, referring to stories like LoLaS as "only a chapter" is a somewhat frightening thought..

Let it never be said that the King of Mirkwood is cold and cruel with his children. I must say, Thundera Tiger, that in all the stories I've ever read by you that has King Thranduil in them has always shown him to be a hard compassionate survivor that has learned to balance his responsibilities as a father with his demanding duties as a King in a threatened land. Yes, he may have a terrible temper compared to the other Elven Kings, and yes he may make rash decisions and doesn't quite think out a situation completely before acting (ex. dwarf & elf disputes) but he does try his best to be understanding in a world that's against him. I think that I've gained an entire new look about the King of Mirkwood through reading your works and I've got to thank you for that.

Onto the plot of the story, though - wow, where do I begin? I spent a quiet day at work reading over this nice 3-part fic expecting it to be nothing of what it actually was. You have a habit of surprising me - in a good way, don't worry! The battle scene was incredible, and I love reading the tactical stances you write out in detail giving me an entire mental image of Mirkwood's capital surrounded by a cold, dark forest and where each of the troops are located. I know this fic was short, but sometimes I think the short stories are the best - no fooling around, no long drawn out descriptions or innane dialogue - just the plot, plain and simple. Maybe that's why I like your ficlets so much.

Not to say that I don't like your long works as well - While the Ring Went South is perhaps my absolute favorite LotR fanfics, but you simply can't deny the nice quality of a short fic like this. I also enjoyed how you didn't make Legolas the center of attention - really the battle was. I love Legolas from the Lord of the Rings, but sometimes a character can be better defined not only by his actions/opinions, but by the viewpoints of those around him.

*Glances over insanely long review* 0.0 OOps, sorry about filling up your reviews page. Can you just combine all my other frightening long reviews and put 'em on my tab? :) I promise I'll pay up later for them!

Thanks as always Thundera,

-Sylvia-

Oh my gawd! What can I say? Words are not enough to tell you how incredible this story was! Wow! I am truly and deeply impressed! Never before have I read a story told from a Nazgul's point of view. You did it wonderfully. You also captured the feeling of helplessness that the Elves of Mirkwood must have felt remarkably well! Wow! I don't know what to say! Your battle scenes were described so perfectly that I could envision them clearly! Every detail of events was portrayed realistically and I felt like I was actually there, witnessing these events from just a few feet away! I'm running out of big words to use to describe your story, but here's a last one, stupendous! :) Great job!

Another awesome story, Thundera! I can’t believe I just now found this! I am going to have to make it a habit to go to your homepage and check for new stories. I don’t want to miss a thing!

It is my opinion that most authors have a specific area when it comes to writing in which they do extremely well. Some are really good at descriptions while others show amazing talent at depicting emotions. Some are talented in creating interesting plots that capture the attention of readers. Still others do well with angst or action filled scenes. You excel at all these things, Thundera, but what continues to amaze and delight me in your stories is your incredible characterization. I am not just talking about keeping the characters canon, either. I am talking about you ability to make each character, whether significant or insignificant, canon or original, good or evil, come so alive they are almost leaping off the page and into the readers lap! My theatre teacher once told me that when reading a book or watching a movie, you must be able to ‘feel for the characters.’ If you can’t do that, it doesn’t matter how good the story line is or what special effect they use, the movie or book will still suck. I believe this is true. The characters are what make the story, not the plot, and when it comes to writing characters, there is NO ONE as talented as you! I am not sure exactly how you do this so well, though I know it is a combination of several of the talents listed above, such as descriptions and depicting emotions. All of your characters are well rounded, real, and…deep. There is always more to them than first meets the eye, and it is a joy to journey through the chapters of the story and find out exactly what it is.

For example, I loved each and every character in this story. Well, I didn’t exactly love Khamul, but that wasn’t for lack of talent in portraying him. I think you did an awesome job with him! Many authors would have stopped at depicting him as a cold and ruthless servant of Sauron, hungry for blood and destruction. You, however, go into deeper detail. I loved how you explained his hatred for everything living, and then went on to add that even he did not completely understand this hatred. I loved how you gave him flashes of memory that made him seem, however briefly, more human and more real. You show that even the ‘bad guys’ have a past, and I loved the little hints you dropped about this particular past. A women, ehh? Intriguing. I also enjoyed your depiction of Thranduil and his sons. They are all proud and fierce, but each one has their own distinct personality. It is what makes them so interesting to read about.

As for the plot of this story, it is nothing short of incredible. Where do you come up with these stories? Can I borrow your plot bunny sometime? _ This story was just the right length, but I still wish for more. Call me greedy, but I don’t think I’ll ever have enough of your stories and your characters. I wish you the best of luck getting back up and running, and if you need anything, please let me know and I will help you in whatever way that I am able! AWESOME STORY!