*stunned silence*

Wow. I cannot write poems- 'lays'- like this, not to save my life. You, my friend, have captured a tone sounding very much like Tolkien's, and this is brilliant. Wow.

Wow. (blinks) This is quite impressive, DK! For one thing, I noticed a familiar face in the form of Peter d'Iago, of The Redemption of Sulva. Secondly, while I'm not thinking quite clearly at the moment (late lunch=moderate headache), I very much liked both cantos, though I think the second was my favorite. When I figure out the reason for that, I'll let you know, though in part I think it has to do with clarifying Elrond's role in the first War of the Ring. Unfortunately, I'm not nearly familiar enough with medieval history to have grasp on the role of heralds in a battle. (As to why I find it easier to review LOTR, rather than Narnia. . .well, I'm not familiar enough with Narnia to review in depth. I'm working on that).

I really enjoyed this.

The introduction was well-written, although for my taste, it could have been a little shorter. But that is merely my preference and no fault or flaw in your writing.

I enjoyed the cantos more - Poetry is an area of writing where my talents are minimal (Okay, they're non-existant), but I enjoy reading when it is well done. Your cantos were descriptive and engagine, while also being easy to understand. I tent to have little patience for poetry that is really obscure, and you definitely do NOT have that issue in your work.

Very nice.