#circlesofpower

[morgulscribe]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 20/35 Fandom: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Original Character/Original Character Characters: Original Characters, Rohirrim Characters (Tolkien), Haradrim Characters (Tolkien), Easterling(s), Slaves of Nurn (Tolkien), Nazgûl, Witch-King of Angmar (Tolkien), Sauron (Tolkien), Original Animal Character(s) Additional Tags: alternative universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Middle Earth Setting, Alternative Universe - Dark, Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Drama, Travelogue, Mordor (Tolkien), nurn, Worldbuilding, Original Character-centric, Talking Animals, Cats, Rats, Horses, Ferrets, Minor Character Death, Slavery, Blood and Violence, fell beasts, Ensemble Cast, POV Multiple Series: Part 8 of The Circles of Power Summary:

A collection of tales set in Mordor, many of which feature various creatures that dwell within that dreadful land.

Forced to flee Mordor so they can be together, a pair of young lovers take sanctuary in the Mountains of Shadow, where they find a mysterious valley inhabited by giant cats and fell beasts.

The commander of the Fortress of the Setting Sun is an eccentric man with a streak of cruelty, a twisted sense of humor, and a deep and abiding love for ferrets.

Imprisoned in the Houses of Lamentation, the Witch-king of Angmar befriends a lowly rat named Murg, inspiring him to lead a revolution against the cats of Barad-dûr.

Descended from the Mearas, the black horses of Mordor are famous for many things - intelligence, loyalty, an intuitive knowledge of what their riders expect of them, and speed which surpasses that of most other horses in Middle-earth. They can also speak, although there are few who understand what they say.

CHAPTER 20: Armed with a plan which might bring ruin to the cats of Barad-dûr, Murg seeks an audience with the Rat King.

[morgulscribe]

I recently received a comment from a reader who complained that the story kept veering away from the main characters. "The Circles" features an ensemble cast and each book is told from multiple perspectives, so there are actually multiple main characters who take turns in the spotlight.

This reader also complained about deviations from the main plot. While a long and often interrupted journey from from Rohan to Nurn is one of the main themes of the first eight books, there isn't exactly a main plot as such. Each book has one or more plotlines, which are often episodic as opposed to rigidly following a three act structure.

I don't know why people read stories that are not to their liking and then complain about it, when there are over 17,200,000 fan works on AO3 from which they could choose.