A REALLY Long Author's Note: Questions that need answering.

It has been a long, long time since I finally wrapped up "The Summoners", and ever since then I have received a lot of questions that have asked (thankfully in a very polite manner) for answers. Although this little appendix goes against all the rules that I have set for myself when it comes to writing fanfiction, I have decided that it is necessary, what with all the questions that are brought up on the review page on a regular basis.

To those who have asked questions, I hope that this will satisfy your curiosity and clear up anything that may have seemed foggy in my writing.

1. Is there really a "Prophecy of the Summoners?"

~ No, there isn't. The first two stanzas of the Prophecy were taken from the original poem written by Tolkien concerning the Rings of Power. Everything else that follows right after is my creation. Why was it so? Well, in the process of conceptualizing the story I had to give a good reason as to why these girls suddenly showed up in Middle-Earth, and the best way to introduce that was through a prophecy that declared they were going to show up soon. The "Lore of the Rings", as it has come to be known to some people, was well known to almost every major Elven leader in Middle-Earth, King Thranduil included. Which was why I thought it quite plausible that King Thranduil would have his own suspicions concerning the identity of Camille when Legolas first brought her in (check out the first few chapters of this fic to see what I mean).

2. Is your name Camille Selvitar/Elisabeth Carnahan?

~ My answer is "no" on both counts. While Elisabeth Carnahan and Camille Selvitar are interesting names, neither of them are my real names (what my real name is I will not tell ^_~). The name "Camille" is my second name, but Selvitar is a name I made up on my own. Whether a real "Camille Selvitar" exists out there is something that has not come to my knowledge as of the moment.

As for Elisabeth, well…her nickname, "Eli", is the nickname of one of my best high school friends in real life. I wrote her nickname in first, but midway while writing I realized that "Eli" as is isn't a very good given name, so I added a few more letters and came up with the name "Elisabeth". Carnahan was a name I picked out at random out of a newspaper (which just goes to show you that the process of name choosing isn't as glamorous as it seems to be ^^;).

3. Isn't Frodo supposed to be Bilbo's cousin and not his nephew?

~ Actually, Frodo is both Bilbo's cousin AND his nephew. The reason why is too confusing for me to explain by myself, but if any of you have doubts, I suggest you read the first few chapters of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, paying close attention to the chapters that deal with the relationship of Bilbo and Frodo and how Frodo came under Bilbo's protection. Tolkien explained it better than I ever could, and putting it in a Hobbit's mouth makes it a whole lot easier to understand. If I tried to explain it myself I'd just botch it up. For the fic, I decided that it would be nicer if Frodo referred to Bilbo as his uncle, and not his cousin. After all, the age differences are big enough to allow for it.

4. Didn't the Fellowship start out ONE MONTH after the Council, and not TWO?

~ No, the Fellowship left Rivendell EXACTLY (down to the day, in fact) two months after the Council of Elrond. If you will check out the timeline written in the Appendix of "The Return of the King" you will see that Frodo woke up on October 24, and that the Council started THE NEXT DAY – October 25. Directly below that entry (if you're looking at the timeline written in the book), you will see that the date of the Fellowship's departure is December 25 – exactly TWO MONTHS after the Council of Elrond. Which was why I inserted the "Christmas on the Road" chapter: because December 25 is, after all, Christmas here in our world.

5. Elrond didn't choose the Nine Walkers – they just happened to be nine.

~ Actually, Elrond DID intend that there be Nine Walkers. Some fics have actually explained this detail, and Tolkien does the same too, though in which book I cannot quite remember. Overall, both fics and Tolkien seem to agree that the reason Elrond wanted Nine Walkers was because they needed to compete against the Nine Nazgul (Ringwraiths) of Sauron. Something like a Law of Symmetry in literature – if one side has this number of people, the other side must have the same number too.

Nevertheless, there is sufficient evidence in The Fellowship of the Rings to point out that Elrond wanted Nine Walkers. Merry and Pippin didn't actually hop out the way they did in the movie – they weren't even hiding at the Council to begin with (only Sam did that in the books). The last two Walkers were supposed to be Elves that Elrond and/or Gandalf would choose themselves – in the books, there was much talk of letting Glorfindel go with them. But somehow, Merry and Pippin got wind of Frodo leaving, and when they did, they insisted that they should go. Elrond was hesitant at first, but Gandalf managed to convince him to let the two Hobbits stay on. Thus was produced the Fellowship of the Ring with nine members.

And as for this fic, well…obviously they went over nine ^^;. However, I'd like to think that Eli and Camille weren't REALLY members of the Fellowship. After all, they were going along only because they wanted to get home – but that was initially, of course. Later on they were considered to be TRUE members of the Fellowship.

6. In the scene wherein the Fellowship was walking along Caradhras, how come Aragorn didn't get buried, but Camille and Eli did?

~ This is more of a question of points-of-view, I think, than anything else. Since this part of the story was told in Eli's POV, of course everything would be told from the way she viewed the entire scenario. And since in her scenario she got buried under a ton of snow and then blacked out right after, she wouldn't really know what happened to the others now, would she? This part was based on the movie, though, so I kind of thought that everyone would get my drift even if I didn't put down what happened to Aragorn and the others explicitly ^^;.

7. How come Arwen only carries a bow and arrow? Isn't she supposed to be carrying a sword?

~ Actually, Arwen isn't supposed to carry either one. The way Tolkien described her, she is more of the "stay-at-home" type of woman than anything else. She never went on any adventuring by herself, since it seems that the culture of Middle-Earth (at least the way it was presented in the books) was more patriarchal than anything else. Thus, Tolkien's Arwen couldn't actually have held a bow or a sword in her lifetime. In fact, in the Trilogy the ONLY tough girl is Eowyn (read The Two Towers and The Return of the King for more details).

However, in the making of the movie, it was a decision on the part of the producers and the director to make Arwen more of a tough-chick than the way Tolkien portrayed her. Thus, we got Peter Jackson's Arwen: cool under pressure, still beautiful while being tough at the same time.

In this fic, however, I wanted to make a cross of the tough-chick of the movie and the traditional maiden of the book. In my opinion, the best way to do it was to let Arwen use a bow and arrow instead of a sword. The bow is not as masculine a weapon as a sword, but it's better than not knowing how to defend oneself.

8. What about the "Lost Chapters?"

~ That is still not sure. While I am still open to people writing for it (see Chapter 46 for more details on the fic challenge), I don't know when, or more precisely WHERE I'm going to post them. I'm still waiting for my friend to finish making that website for me, and when it's done, I will happily inform all of you on the URL to tell you where the Lost Chapters can be found ^_^.

9. What was the purpose of the circlets that Camille and Eli wore during that feast at the Field of Cormallen?

~ The circlets were supposed to be symbols of high honor for them, especially after what they did at Barad-dur. As Elrohir said, the circlets were gifts from Aragorn and the people of Gondor, as a way of thanking them for their deeds during the War of the Ring (see Chapter 47 for the complete details on what they did).

10. How come the name of Mirkwood changed to Greenwood during the Epilogue?

~ Because it DID change – at least in the books. Mirkwood's name was originally Greenwood the Great, but when all the evil things started creeping into Greenwood, everyone started calling it "Mirkwood". But at the end of the War, when all the evil things were cleared out, Mirkwood was once more renamed Greenwood. If I am not mistaken, Treebeard calls Mirkwood "Greenwood the Great" somewhere in the Trilogy, as does Celeborn. I just don't remember where.

11. Where are Camille and Eli from?

~ Actually, that's a secret ^_~. Judging from the names, I'd say that they were from Europe or possibly America, but given their sword fighting styles, I'd say that they were brought up in Japan or China. It all depends on what you think, though. However, take a look at the description of their clothes when they first came into Middle-Earth (hint: it's in Chapter 4 or 5). That is the same exact uniform I used to wear when I was in high school. Think you know where they're from? Send your guesses over to my email address with the subject heading "The Original Characters' Nationalities and I'll tell you if you're right or wrong.