Sigh, I haven't been involved in the SCA for 20 years... But I did enjoy Rowany whenever I went. Originally I'm from Ynys Fawr, but I joined SCA while in Politarchopolis.

And really, Rowan? What would the Princess say.

Regards

Lord Redmark de Creasey

Ah. Slight confusion - was it hobbit-Sam or Christian-Sam who was being transported with the worst of the wounded? (I think on rereading it's probably Christian-Sam, since Suzi-Maria is classifying him as 'one of them', but since Frodo and Sam crop up at the start of the chapter and we don't hear any details about Rowan or Sam getting hurt in the battle, I initially assumed it was hobbit-Sam's canon collapse.)

It's an interesting suggestion that someone in Minas Tirith (probably Mairi!) is worried about a victorious Sauron trying to sneak his troops inside the City under the guise of a returning army, but I'm not sure a victorious Sauron would be bothering with subterfuge after the glory of wiping out the entire host of his enemies! Still, better safe than sorry.

I'm assuming that Denethor is still officially incapable in a corner somewhere? (I'm trying to imagine what the reaction of a surviving Denethor to the successful defeat of Sauron would be, given that his insanity is due to his conviction that Sauron's victory is inevitable and that he cannot be overcome by military means: blank disbelief, pride in his city and countrymen, anger at Aragorn for a risky gambit in quest of a crown, further doom-prophesying? Probably not anything as uncomplicated as simple joy and relief...)

Gondor certainly *had* a Steward under the old Kings, who presumably had a function, though it's possible that his old role has by now been delegated down a further level or two after the Steward took over the entire governance of the realm. If Mairi doesn't watch out, she looks likely to find herself the /de facto/ Steward of Gondor, in the absence of any other candidates :-p

Sharing a dance with hobbits must be an interesting exercise ;-)
(Probably not too much of a problem in the sort of dance where you don't have to join hands too much; fairly disastrous in the sort of dance that involves going *under* people's joined hands...)

I was a bit puzzled about what sort of reaction Boromir was expecting to his proposal (does one 'throw' spectacles?), but I'm guessing the suggestion is that any woman of Gondor would have reacted with squeals of embarrassing ecstacy? Lovely proposal, by the way - and Boromir claims he's not good at speeches! And Mairi manages a beautifully 'period' response.

I'm not sure about the idea of having an each-way epilogue; it always feels like cheating to me for the author to have it *both* ways (and I always end up feeling that the ending I liked least must therefore have been the 'real' one...)

Typos:
it was indescribably to anyone who hadn't experienced it - indescribable
before the were consumed by the eruption - they were
Faramir in Ithilian - Ithilien
the recipiant of such a question - recipient

I've only read the first two sections/paragraphs so far, but I would like to point out that there ARE true, Jesus saved, Bible believing Christians, that participate in, and enjoy, all SCA related activities. My family and I are some of them. And I can assure everyone reading this that the SCA is in no way, shape, or form, a cult. You may leave any time you wish with no consequences, and they don't sacrifice anyone or anything. We just occasionally roast sheep over spits for a feast. Which is no different than having a chicken barbecue. Except for the fact that it is way cooler. :)

cool

OMG...

I really really really love your story I really hope you updated soon I am part of the SCA as well and totally enjoyed reading this. It has inspired me maybe I’ll write a story of my own like this definitely loving it all the way please please update soon!

As an SCA person, I was thrilled to see this story. As a Christian, I was turned off. You do know that JRR Tolkien was a Christian right? And many church libraries have the Lord of the Rings in their collections.

I am sorry your SCA group had a bad experience. Mine has only had drunks.

Insulting a portion of your audience does stop readers from appreciating your talents. Rewrite with Sam as a run of the mill jerk and leave Christianty out and I will come back. I have read others in your great collection of works so I am off to find something else in your stories less offensive.

Well, I just read this entire thing in one go, so that means I need to review it. Here goes...
This is very well done. The use of some of the Mary-Sue powers is a little heavy-handed but I recognize that that is sort of the point. Seeing how you've blended SCA know-how believably into the setting has had me grinning more than once.

Also, I totally had the thought a few chapters back that Mairi's most likely path to the peerage would be as a Pelican. No Pelican I've met has ever known how to STOP helping.

This might just be my opinion, but we haven't seen much lately of the modern character's reactions to things that would have a very big impact, like battle and the aftermath, how slow news travels, and so on.

I'm not sure which potential ending I favor, because I can definitely see advantages and disadvantages either way. I guess I will just have to remain in suspense for now to see how you resolve this conundrum.

I enjoy your story emensively...FABOLOUS...Likes M a lot

Sorry, cat stood on the keyboard and deleted a block out of the first two sentences :-(
That should read:

So they're go[ing in for guerilla warfare - that should give them a better chance than the canon approach! Faramir's Rangers are probably the best-adapted to this particular role...

Though I feel the snarky captain has a point: hiding from the enemy is no]t the best way to attract their attention ;-p

So they're got the best way to attract their attention ;-p

"we have no true knowledge of what forces Sauron still holds within Mordor. The Battle of Pelennor Fields was composed of Haradrim as much as Orcs, and the planned Umbar Corsairs" - a good point. Sauron may well have further allies in store of whom Gondor knows nothing as yet :-(

I've lost track of the Palantir of Minas Tirith; a quick skim through the last dozen chapters suggests that in the absence of Faramir's illness nobody has actually discovered its existence yet, and Denethor's behaviour has been set down to sheer obstinacy/mental confusion. Presumably Mairi knows that it *ought* to exist in theory, but so long as no-one is looking into it Sauron presumably can't get much information out of them...

"Later, when it was all over and they were safe" - well, that's reassuring ;-D

Is there still a romance in the offing between Suzi-Maria and Rowan, or has that ebbed with events? (Yes, I ended up reading a *lot* of back chapters!)

Typos:
Two hobbit can move without detection
outbursts when he shouting despair
important, prominent and bale-bodied

Thank you for continuing the story!
I’ll be checking out your novellas.

I always felt the big flaw in Aragorn's plan was that he actually decided to *fight* Sauron, instead of limiting himself to just banging on the front door trying to draw the enemy's armies out to chase him - the whole thing then requires implausibly split-second timing, when it would have been much safer to have spun the confrontation out as long as humanly possible in the hopes of giving Frodo enough time to get through... Definitely not a welcome part of the story to find yourself part of, anyway.

Where's Denethor in all this? The last I remember of him was Boromir having him locked up before the fight - did he survive the battle? And will Faramir be staying behind with Eowyn as in canon (since he wasn't hurt at Osgiliath and doesn't seem to have been injured in the battle for Minas Tirith?)

It's ironic that Mairi is reluctant to marry Boromir because she is afraid he may lose her if she is pulled back to her own world against her will, whilst Boromir naturally assumes it's because she is afraid that she will lose *him* in the coming fight! (It's an interesting question as to what will happen in our world if she stays behind and the others do go back; will she just appear to have popped out of existence? I suppose it depends on the old question of how fast time has been passing, and whether they have actually been missing for months or return the instant they left...)

typos: Pippen (Pippin), hinderance (hindrance)

I was too lazy to sign in. But if you want to respond to my review its the same as the guest name here. No numbers after it. Anyway. Short but sweet. I liked this chapter a lot and the whole story too. Very funny. Hope you find the time to keep writing. Its a bit hypocritical coming from me, as I have stalled out at almost exactly the same point in my story as you have slowed down in yours. Lol, but I will keep trying to write too. I had better do it within the next 7 months or so because soon I'll have a BABY! so I'll be super busy.

nice