Wonderful! I take my cap off to you!

"Surely, our acts of restraint show our quality as much as our acts of war."
Faramir would know...

I have loved this story for a long time, and now, rereading it, I find I love it still.

Faramir and Eowyn have always been amongst my favourite characters in LOTR, and this fic captures Faramir perfectly. I hope you return to this particular 'ship someday! :)

A gentler chapter, that shows, Faramir being Faramir, his rebuilding his strength even as he and everyone else waits for the ultimate stroke of doom. I love it that you, like Tolkien, show his becoming Eowyn's friend before even thinking of speaking to her of love.

Oh my; poor Faramir - to learn all the heartbreaking news in one day - no wonder he welcomes the dream of the wave that drowned his ancestors' home as the least of many evils.

Of course, you tell it all beautifully. Faramir's gradual knowledge of his father's fate, from his sadly diffident asking, of Imrahil, to hear his father's opinion of his exploits, to his sorrow at having suddenly lost father as well as brother, and then to learn that Daddy Dearest tried to burn him alive before immolating himself...Whoa. It's no wonder that Faramir finally has a moment of real anger against his father, after struggling against the overwhelming hordes of Sauron's forces for two or three days, to find that Denethor finally expressed 'love' by trying to complete the annhiliation that the Enemy had not finished. I thought it very appropriate that Gandalf was the one to tell Faramir of his father's actual fate.

I'm not so sure I agree that Faramir would have known about Denethor's palantir habit. I think that he would have done something about it, or told Boromir or Imrahil, earlier.

I liked the interlude where Faramir learns more of his brother's death from Boromir's Fellowship comrades, and their gentle acceptance of Faramir, and desire to tell him of his brother's valor. But sheesh, Faramir has had an emotionally devastating day!

A quietly dramatic chapter!

What, I haven't reviewed this gem before? Shame on me!

Wonderful Prologue; Faramir lost in the otherworld, trying to fight and being overwhelmed - again, is scary-good. And the imagery of him being caught between fire and water is outstanding. I liked the bit about the frail voice calling his name before he hears Aragorn's insistent call - that frail voice had to be Denethor's.

Well, I just love your Far(amir)fics... :) Magnificient as usally... :) Eowyn and Faramir are my favourities characters and I really enjoy your stories about them. Why Tolkien hasn't written more about them?! :P

Yet another exquisite piece of writing, strong on the characterisation and use of symbolism.

Really great to talk to you (if briefly) at Redemption. I've saved A Game of Chess to read over the weekend and I'm much looking forward to it. Just read The Fire Sermon though, and wanted to say how very impressed I am at the quality of this work. Character tone is pitch-perfect, with some beautiful interior detail and delicacy. Thank you. Gloria.

"Even in the dead of winter, something remains alive, embedded deep below the frost, waiting for the first sun of spring, however faint, to call it forth. Slowly, it puts out tendrils, delicate at first, then more eager, pursuing the sunlight which, although still weak itself, is still warmer than the hiding place below, and holds more promise."

Yay!

*sings songs of glorious joy at the thought of Faramir and Eowyn, happy together* :)

"She leaned towards me, and brushed her lips against my cheek. I reached in to sustain the kiss, but she drew back very gently. 'Dearest of friends,' she said, and held my hand tightly, 'if I thought that you could help me, I would ask. But I cannot yet see a path ahead.'"

Oh, this is agonizing...

"'It would be better, I think,' she said softly, 'if you did not come again. I have no wish to cause you pain, and yet that seems to be inevitable.'"

Still agonizing...

"But still, I am afraid of the fire."

And even though I know there must be a happy ending, I agonize once more... ;)

"As if in gentle mockery of our mood, the sun shone and the sky was bright, and we sat side by side and leagues apart in the shade of an ancient tree."

Ah...such gorgeous writing. I have a weakness for F/E stories, but after a while, most of them seem to blur together. Yours definitely stands out. :)

Wow, what an excellent characterization of Faramir. All his thoughts and reactions ring true. I'm sure his feelings regarding Denethor's death must have been very complex, and you're certainly doing them justice. Onward to the next chapter! :)

Seems strangely fitting that T.S. Eliot is the "appositive" for Tolkien. Yet, for these two, it seems appropriate, that poet of Love would sing their wedding hymn. Thank you for this lovely, insightful, angst-only-when necessary fiction. :)

That's a truly lovely story. I'm looking forward to my travels through the Faramir pages if there's more like that to come.