That was very, very good. Thank you. There's some images that are going to haunt me, so I can't imagine what it would be like for the poor survivors (and if I can imagine, it's thanks to the quality of your writing). Excellent characterisation, action and descriptions. I'm glad I've finally got round to reading the Silmarillion, if only because of all the Silm fanfic I can read now!

And the whole world narrowed to the edge of his sword
and "Fighting followed. He remembered none of it.
I love the way you've drawn the characters.
Also, the Noldor are not nice people.

Brilliant. Wonderful evocative descriptions , the tiny gemlike frogs and the 'brief scatter of angry tears'. Very powerful writing- I am jealous!

It's a great story, Clodia. I can't say anymore right now.

So, Melinna has a moment of weakness? Surprising, but believable, given the circumstances."And maybe it was gone when the King died and Queen Melian left Middle-earth
You know, one has to wonder about Melian, and why she cared so little for her offspring...

Phew! Fantastic rendition of Galadriel. I feel quite sickened, because when it comes to the fate of children, I'm incredibly thin-skinned, but I shall have to read on now...

"And the whole world narrowed to the edge of his sword, the sharpest of lines between his life and someone else’s death.
Excellent sentence! I copied and pasted this into the review field when I read it, i.e. before I read the rest of the chapter. I'm glad I did, because other than that, I'm speechless.

There's something I don't quite understand, but I have a feeling that will resolve itself later. Dior is wonderfully drawn here. And the last section with Erestor... *shudders*

Now, the attackers are affronted that one of them has been killed? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Excellent detail with the smashed squirrel. And I like the way you handle fighting women; it's very believable.

Oh, this is intense. Very terrible indeed. The most impressive for me was the image of the blood-filled fountain, and this"an Elf from the airy greenwoods slain by an Elf’s hand among stone trees in the bloody dark."

Very good rendition of the tense and slightly chaotic atmosphere before the fighting.

Indeed, they would come, how could anyone have been so naive to doubt it? Good to see that Melinna has no delusions!

Wonderful opening chapter! It is like a rich Renaissance painting, full of entrancing details and at the same time animated by dynamic tensions. I particularly liked the description of Menegroth and how it's not immediately obvious what is alive and what is cleverly crafted.

Oh my gosh! This was just incredible. It is the best version of the final fall of Doriath that I've ever read, and I just had to tell you that I love your interpretation of Dior.
You had me from the first moment, and I was so deeply involved in the story that I had forgotten for the moment that Dior and Nimloth never made it out of the Thousand Caves. I hoped... I hoped that somehow they would be able to escape the blood-crazed Noldor. And I wept when they fell. I wept again when Elured and Elurin were dragged out of the Treasury, knowing that the Noldor would abandon them in the forest to die of starvation. I wept when Melinna said that she was going to stay.
Galadriel's first words to Celeborn and Oropher gave me an "Ah-ha!" moment, because I did think, back in the treasury, when I read "the safest place" that the Silmaril must have been hidden on Elwing-although I was thinking that it might have been hidden in the folds of her diapers!

Most of all, I have to say that I loved how the main viewpoint of this story was from Oropher's POV. I don't think that I could have handled reading it from Dior's or Nimloth's or from the POV of one of the Sindar of Doriath-that would have been too much for me. But Oropher was the perfect observer; with enough ties to Dior to be plausible to be there, and yet distant enough that the tragedy was filtered through his observations to make it a bit more bearable to read about.

I still sometimes hope that the twins did not die in the woods, but were found by some Nandor who took them off to safety and reared them up in anonymity...
This was so well done, that I could babble on for ages more about how good it is. I'll be recc-ing this all over the place. Thank you so very much for sharing it with us.

I knew it Dior did hide the Nauglamir with little Elwing; covered by blankets a rather ingenious strategy; no one would think to look there. Poor kid. One thing I would have liked to know was how old Elwing was; a toddler or a very young child?
And Erestor is so sadly wrong in his conclusion. At least the horror of the loss of Dior's sons will, I believe, help drive Maglor and Maedhros to safeguard Elwing's sons.
Outstanding story!