Hello, hello, lovelies~

Well, here we are, at the beginning of a new journey. I hope you're all enjoying Stringing a bow, my Hobbit fanfiction, and that you'll enjoy this ride just as much as that one. I know I said that I wouldn't start uploading this story until I was done with Stringing a bow, but I just couldn't have any more patience.

Now, before I let you read the beginning of this story, I will ask you to read this entire note, as I have pointed out some important things that you all need to be aware of before you delve into my story. I know this will be tedious and that you're all eager to just sink your teeth into this fanfic, but it is very important, darlings; I wouldn't have bothered to write this Author's Note if it wasn't important, trust me.

So with that being said, here's what you need to know:

1. This story – like Stringing a bow and Timeless – will be an OC insertion. For those who are still unclear on the meaning of that, it means that the main storyline will follow the canon Lord of the Rings story and an original character will be inserted into that story. Of course, I will not resume myself to just the canon story, as those who have read the two fics I mentioned above already know; I will also have quite some chunks of original story which will "complete" the canon storyline for my fic.

2. The pairing I have chosen for this story will be Aragorn/OC. I know it's been done over and over before, but I'm hoping that I can still bring something new with my story, that the readers can still enjoy. Which brings me to my next point...

3. This story will be an AU (Alternate Universe) where Arwen does not exist; I am sorry for those who were hoping to catch a glimpse of her. The problem is that I love the canon pairing Aragorn/Arwen too much and I just feel it would be much too cruel to have them both in the same story, and not have them together. So the only way I feel it would be possible for Aragorn to even think of loving another woman would be for him to not meet Arwen at all. And I had literally no way of doing that, other than removing her completely from the storyline. So I apologize to everyone who was hoping to see how I would portray Arwen in my story, but I simply could not have her in the story without eventually having her and Aragorn being a couple.

4. While some may dislike it, I will try to keep a balance between the books and the movies – as I did with Stringing a bow – which means, for example, that some characters which in the movies had to be sacrificed for lack of time, will show up in this story; I'm referring here mainly to Halbarad, Aragorn's cousin, although Imrahil might also make an appearance like in the books. The reason for this is that if I would follow the books and rule out the movies completely, the story would be far too long to be enjoyable. And having watched the movies as many times as I have until now, I know that Peter Jackson did an outstanding job of capturing the essence of the books. It is such a rare case where I enjoy a movie based on a book, but the Lord of the Rings movies were indeed exceptional and I thoroughly enjoy them each time I watch them.

5. Unlike Stringing a bow, where I pointed out Elvish simply by writing the speech in both italics and bolded letters, in this story I will have actual Elvish phrases. Thus, at the end of each chapter where Elvish is used – right before I post the replies to my reviewers – you will find a small glossary with the English translations of all phrases. So don't fret about not understanding what the characters are saying in a scene or another, I will provide you with all you need to know. And this leads me to the next point...

6. Even if it may not seem so, I have spent quite some time over the years studying Elvish before actually deciding to use it in my story. I have read some studies which people have made based on the information Tolkien provided regarding Elvish as an actual language with grammar and syntax rules; I have sought out the most accurate dictionaries and translators I could find. So trust that every phrase I use in this story – other than the ones used in the movies, which are by default considered to be correct – has been carefully worded and carefully studied to be as correct as possible. Now, I am human (do keep that in mind as well) so I am not infallible; there may be some errors here and there... I trust that anyone who spots an error will let me know in a civilized and constructive manner. And on this note, we get to the last point in my little list...

7. I have been a Tolkien fan and a fan of his masterpiece, which is The Lord of the Rings, for twelve years now. I have read the books I think at least twenty times until now, and I have watched the movies at least twice that number of times. Why am I telling you this? Because I need you to know that I know what I'm writing and I know Middle Earth well enough to know what I'm doing with this story. So if anything seems different from the canon universe, it's most likely deliberate; I will take artistic license in some regards. I encourage you all to point out what might seem like an error on my part, because if it is deliberate in my reply to you I will say that it is so and I will also explain why I chose to do it like that, so that everyone can understand the inner workings of the story. And I encourage you to point them out, because as I said I am human... some of those supposed errors might be actual errors which I will gladly correct via an explanation in my reply to your review.

Soo I think that's about everything I wanted to let you guys know before you set out on this journey with me. I apologize if this read was tedious, but I do hope you all have heeded my request and have actually read it, because it is important. This is a story I have dreamt of writing for years, but only now do I feel I have reached a good enough level in my writing skills to actually attempt it... the reason for this is that I want to pay proper homage to the genius that was J.R.R. Tolkien and I want to try capturing as much of his story's "vibe" as possible. So if any of the above points are a pet peeve for someone... ye be warned, read this story at your own risk.

But without further ado let's get started, shall we, darlings? ;)