This story is really well written and I can't wait for another chapter. The premise is really intersting although admittedly difficult to imagine. I think the whole orcs-from-elves idea is the closest we have to canon on their creation and part of the whole ideas in LOTR is that nothing is wholly nor originally evil and its nice to see some idea of redemption for the orcs. I've always taking the opinion that orcs do have their own personalties but as a race they are unconsciously following their master's will and couldn't deliberately go against. Without Sauron (or Morgoth)'s will behind them I see no reason why they couldn't improve as a race except for cultural reasons which you show nicely. As for the names as the elves are speaking elivish to each other normally their names would sound a bit like your idea for orc names as well, People addressing for example glorfindel would address golden-hair and feanor spirit-of-fire. The elvish mother-names in particuler are similar. I'd like to maybe hear a bit more about the appearance of Kills-without-Rest, are you going with the orc appearances shown in the films? Although I can understand some people would fine it harder to imagine.
An issue you may need to considor is the mortality of orcs against elves, I'm not sure if Tolkien made this clear (I can't remember anywhere he did) but he did said they bred fast which indicates a shorter lifespan. Also as you've already mentioned in the story orcs dislike and avoid sunlight (for physical as well as cultural reasons) which could cause problems.
I think it is the fact its a romance that causes people to dislike this and if it was just a friendship fic I would be ok and I hope that you don't get put off finishing this.

I had no idea at all that you'd updated this. *bangs head against doorway repeatedly* My apologies.

I like the odd sort of interaction between Glorfindel and Kills-Without-Rest. In a very weird way, it sort of works. I never thought that Elves and Orcs would ever even talk to each other, but you've managed to do it well.

"She had never imagined meeting one who would speak to her this way instead of attacking her, and he was obviously just as surprised by her own lack of violence towards him. She could not explain even to herself why she had not killed him yet."

Neither can I! I still can't see a romance developing but with your writing skills you'll be able to pull it off. But the premise for this story is interesting and I intend to stick with it and see where it will go. :)

Araloth

Well, this is an interesting story. I see a number of people batting the business of Native-American-sounding names about in your reviews. I'll be honest, it really turned me off, but seeing your explanation that this was unintentional and that they are merely translations helped. There is some humor at work in this story, and I like the give and take between Glorfindel and Kills-Without-Rest, though I think she's a bit quick to entrust herself to him as a guest. Still, she is *very* young, as Glorfindel himself realizes, and clearly impetuous.

This has to be my favorite part so far:

'"I would like to give you a name in my own speech. I know what your own name means, the strength in war that it signifies, but to me it also signals another kind of strength. In my own language, I believe your name would be Fëathalië, which is 'Enduring'."
"Why should I accept such a name? You wouldn't allow me to give you a name in the Black Speech!"
Glorfindel's eyes suddenly went rounder than she had ever seen anyone's before. He looked almost frightened for a second.'

For a moment there he is so vulnerable, and then he opens himself up and lets her give him a name. Nice.


-.-.-.-
I am a massive fan of Orcs. It's true that my preference is for the traditional "evil" sort of Orc, as Tolkien wrote them. However, I still like to see what other people do. There is a lot of room to play with Orcs. Tolkien even argued with himself about them: on the one hand he was a Catholic and believed very strongly in free will, on the other hand he had created a race of people who were seemingly evil and damned without any real choice in the matter. This bothered Tolkien a lot - later, he even tried to say that Orcs weren't really people but essentially robots animated with little bits of Morgoth's will, though this doesn't work with the Orc characters in his books: they clearly have their on personalities, hopes, fears, likes and hatreds on an individual basis. (Tolkien also managed to land his Orcs with some definite racial baggage, but that's a whole other topic.)

Anyhow, as someone who likes Orcs, I would like to recommend a few resources in case you yourself are interested in them. Write your Orcs the way you want to! I just think these are cool. One is an essay: "The Unnatural History of Tolkien's Orcs" by Tyellas. Another is a Black Speech" course at The Land of Shadow website. Many people have been frustrated by the tiny corpus Tolkien gives in the books - Tolkien himself did not like Orcs and so he did not focus on their language as he did on the languages of Elves and Men - so there have been many groups that tried to expand it. There is even Orkish music! But of course, if you are a purist and don't want to make stuff up, or use stuff that other people have made up, there is "Base Language for Base Purposes" at the Ardalambion web site, which only lists words that Tolkien himself used.

And here are the links, spaced out so that does not delete them (though even if it does, I have given you their names):
ansereg .com /TheUnnaturalHistoryofTolkiensOrcs .pdf
thelandofshadow .com /mordorgate /darkdownloads /blackspeech /speech3 .htm
folk .uib .no /hnohf /orkish .htm

Oh no! The story's ended DX

You need to write more!

O.O This is super-ly awesome.

Yes! Finally an update! It's very unique. I've never read any LOTR fic like this. Keep it up :)

From reading the previous reviews, I understand that you have already received an overdose of personal opinions, so I won't add mine to them. However, I will say this:

J.R.R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis wrote their two great fantasies, Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia, at roughly the same time, a time when stories about elves, dragons, and magic was extremely frowned upon. People thought books should be about "real life", things they could directly relate to without using much imagination. LOTR and Narnia received a tremendous mix of enthusiasm and disgust. Both authors received a good deal of critisism saying that they were poisoning peoples' minds by writing nonsense about magic and other worlds. However both authors ignored these critisisms and continued to write and aren't we glad? Now both stories are considered great works, but they started out just like this story. If Tolkien had caved in to the critisism, we wouldn't have LOTR.

Okay, that aside, I am going to review your story from a stylistic POV, since you don't seem to be getting much of that. Again, as was true of The Last Note, this is very well written and I enjoyed seeing the different characters take on very different personalities. The mind of Kill-without-rest is very different from Glorfindel which was beautifully shown in the first chapter. I love contrast and you used it to great effect. Kill-without-rest's mind is harsh and has trouble expressing thoughts (such as Sun, Moon), but Glorfindel's mind is so beautifully poetic. You are obviously skilled at character development from what I have seen with this story and The Last Note. I applaude you loudly.

"It was beautiful, but it had never called to Glorfindel the way he knew it did to many of his kinsmen." After reading Legolas's obsession with the sea in ROTK, it was interesting to see the other view, of being drawn to Middle-Earth. I have always had a rather elven love for the sea and other worlds, but I liked the way you described Glorfindel's contentment with his own world. I could learn a lesson or two from him here, for oftentimes I do find myself longing for other worlds. Perhaps there is enchantment in my own. I think there is a deep lesson here. Thanks for teaching me.

I like Tough-hide. Again, way to go with bringing out the different personalities. I like the orc-bantering here. And orcs do have a sense of humor even in LOTR. One of my favorite orc passages in LOTR is in TT when Ugluk is teasing Grishnak (not sure if I spelled those right?) about the Nazgul. "Where's your precious Nazgul? Has he had another mount shot from under him?" I got the same sense of harsh teasing here with Tough-hide and Kill-without-rest.

"...hushed,terffied tales that her parents had told her of the Lidless Eye..." Hm, this just gave me an idea. Is this why the orcs (and Gollum) are afraid of the "Eyes", the Sun and the Moon? Because they remind them of the Eye? I had never made that connection until I read that sentence. Interesting.

I think you have a well written story here, one I would be proud of if I were you. Keep writing,mellon!

-Sauron Gorthaur

I almost said in my PM that of course it would be impossible for Glorfindel to fall in love with an entwife or orc, but I didn't because I thought I'd sound stupid. (I mean, an entwife?) I couldn't think of any other races, though.

I'm curious how this is going to be possible. I haven't read your 'racist' reviews, but I hope you don't consider "orcs are ugly" to be racist. They are. And not overly talented or intelligent, either. That's how they were bred.

So I really can't understand Glorfindel's kindness. Yet.

You might want to read "Mordor". It also shows orcs as people with thoughts and emotions.
/s/5352305/1/

Okay, thought I read and review this chapter already-guess I might've read it but forgot to send a review back, sorry. Great chapter. Kills-without-rest is not one I would like to make angry, especially after coming awake. A great job my friend.

You have brought up a lot of controversial issues here! This might be a long review, so please bear with me. No, I'm not about to rip this to shreds, don't worry! :)

As some of the other reviewers have pointed out, the idea is strange. I agree - it is strange. The idea of an Elf and an Orc-maiden is definitely not one that one comes across often in fanfiction. I find myself wondering how Kills-without-rest has the light of Valinor in her eyes (but I know you'll probably explain that one in later chapters, I'm just curious!) Moreover, you have outlined the wide differences between the Orcs and Elves through writing the different points of view. But here's the thing - Tolkien had so many ideas of where the Orcs descended from any one of those could be taken and used. The idea of Orcs being created from captured Elves thousands of years ago is briefly mentioned in the Silmarillion, and there is in fact no established canon on the origin of Orcs. So you are well within your rights to pursue this. As well as showing the differences between them, you have also in a way joined them together. The fact that Elves and Orcs are traditionally enemies also constitutes as an interesting premise for an Elf/Orc couple.

Tolkien as is well known was a conservative Catholic. No evil lies unforgiven to those who are repentant. It's nice to see you reflecting this belief through your story!

There is nothing, absolutely nothing wrong with using the Native American name references. I found it fascinating, not at all racist or whatever.

This is definitely an unconventional pairing, and I must confess I was very surprised to see it. Personally, I can't really see Glorfindel with an Orc-maiden but I find myself wanting to read more. It's well-written and incredibly interesting! I love how you're willing to try something different to everyone else, as is reflected in some of your other stories. Please do continue! I really like this! :)

Araloth

I am going to be completely honest with you. I found this story's theme and plot somewhat disturbing. I understand what you are trying to do, make people see that not all things are dark and evil. In your author's note for chapter 4, you wrote this:

"Come on, people. This is the year 2009. No race, culture, or society in OUR world is inherently evil. Why not give the same benefit of the doubt to the Orcs? They were corrupted by Morgoth and then enslaved by Sauron. They didn't ask to be evil, and it happens to be my interpretation that after Sauron's power was broken, they would be free to choose."

You are correct. No race, culture, or society in our world IS inherently evil. HOWEVER - this is NOT *our* world.

In "The Complete Tolkien Companion by J.E.A. Tyler" - it reads:

"Orcs were first bred by Melkor (Morgoth), far back in the Elder Days. They appeared in Middle-earth some time after the awakening of the Quendi in Cuivienen, and were afterwards believed to be themselves descended from the Quendi, for their sires, it was said, had been abducted by Melkor and twisted and corrupted into this new race: evil, filled with his dark will, cannibalistic and cruel."

Melkor (Morgoth) could NOT create life. He tried, but he failed. He resulted only in twisting and corrupting beings of light and good. Let me explain it this way...

Is a golden ring evil? No. It is not. It is beautiful, made from the purest gold, and is good. But Sauron corrupted it. He poured his 'malice and will to dominate all life' into it. Thus, it became evil. It was no longer good or beautiful.

Think of the orcs as the golden ring. They were once elves - beautiful, pure, and good. Melkor(Morgoth) corrupted them. They were no longer good nor beautiful. They were evil.

Tolkien describes them as being filled with hate, for themselves and for everything else. They had no love for any creature. It is said that orcs hate elves because of everything they are: they are happy, beautiful, kind, and they are filled with light. Orcs are darkness. They FEAR the light and they hate it with a passion. Elves hate orcs, but in a differant way.

Orcs remind them of what had happened to their ancient kindred, so long ago. It shows how they were tortured, mutilated, and corrupted.

But you are a good writer. Everybody interperts things DIFFERANTLY. So what might seem evil to me may not seem evil to you. Ignore all the flames people send you. Their opinion doesn't matter. Keep writing - your story is well written, although I don't agree with what it says.

-Lilly-

It's well written, whatever people say about it.
I do find the idea a little odd, but don't take it down just because of what some people are saying.
This is YOUR idea, and YOUR story and you've actually written it really well.

I guess in the end it's a bigger version of a cross cultures marriage. Keep writing =]

Okay, another wonderful story ... screw what some people are saying. I like, so therefore I shall read. It interest me and I'm not worried about what others think. And to "The Battling Bard," according to your own words, Tolkien should've scraped his story as a Hobbit would've never set out to destory the ring for adventure sake or to help the other races! That's not in their nature. Carry on my friend as when Tolkien released his story it was considered a total failure (at first)--now, it's one of history's greatest masterpieces.

So intense! Update soon :)

Hi -- I'm Lysana's RL sister and, as such, we don't typically review each other's stories. However, I wanted especially to review this one and respond to some of the reviews.

Why is supporting inter-racial marriage innapropriate and to be scrapped? Did your grandparents say the same thing when blacks and whites started marrying in their hometown? Why are Native American names less appropriate for fictional characters than British names? Or French, Modern-American, Japanese, made up syllables, etc...

This is not to say that constructive criticism isn't welcomed by me and Lysana both, but I find some of these reviews honestly confusing and poorly thought out. There's an age-old saying on fanfiction dot net, one that Lysana has been civilized enough to refrain from herself: "Don't like -- don't read!"