I've decided to make this note page significantly shorter, although I keep my disclaimer:
Firstly, you can feel free to skip this. It is not anything vital. I merely loathe long author's notes tacked on to chapters - I feel they distract from the story. The only things I will include in the chapters are the titles at the top, and necessary translations at the bottom. Furthermore, I would not ask you to wade through the somewhat lengthy justifications below before reading my work - why don't you read it and then come back if you feel it's worth it? This is here for my own ease, and for those who have an in depth knowledge of what I am talking about.
For those of you who don't have an in depth knowledge of the Silmarillion, hopefully the story ahead stands on it's own merits besides recognizability. I urge you to give it (and if nothing else, the Silmarillion itself) a shot. I will be periodically updating this whenever I feel the need to explain some new twist in the story. Go ahead. Skip it if you'd rather not know my thought process (I don't blame you, it's a scary thing).
The only general things you should know is that this is based on the Silmarillion, utilizing little of the text or characters from Lord of the Rings (with the notable exception of Galadriel). Also, it has elements of m/m and f/f along with het pairings, but while the relationships between characters are essential, the sexual underpinnings are not. They are not the focus. In any case, that was your obligatory slash warning... I provide none for character death. Although, guys, really? They all live happily ever after. That's why there are so many pretty elves prancing around in the LotR trilogy. Anyway, on to the show! (Whichever show you may choose. I suggest reading the story first.)
***
The first thing I feel I must address is this: In the Silmarillion, (p. 166), it is written that "the Eldar wedded not with kin so near, nor ever before had any desired do". This is in reference to first cousins, exactly the relationship between all of Finwe's grandchildren. So in this one regard, I am bending if not breaking canon. However, I have some excuses, one being that you can love a person deeply and/or sexually without wanting to wed them. The other is that the Silmarillion is somewhat of a history book, and in my opinion one can get away with saying, "And how would a historian know that?" How would a historian know what was in the hearts and minds of every set of cousins? So those are my excuses. I believe I am aided in this by another statement which might be somewhat of a spoiler for those who are reading this before my story, so I will ramble on for a line or so while you won't stumble right into it... blah blah blah elfcakes, there. Now, I believe I am aided in this by the statement on page 64 in the Sil where the narrator says that Aredhel's heart's love was not given to any of the sons of Feanor. This rather implies that it might have been, and was a matter of personal affections and not taboo. Although, I feel obliged to point out, Feanor's children are more removed from Fingolfiin's than Finarfin's, for Fingolfin and Finarfin are only half-brothers of Feanor. In any case, that is my reasoning. I do not believe I go so far out of the bounds of canon as to make it AU.
I've also made some assumptions, which may or may not be correct. While Tolkein specifically said that Aredhel was the youngest of her family in the Silmarillion (p.64), he did not specify for Galadriel, so in my writings I've made Galadriel the oldest after Finrod, and therefore a bit older than Aredhel, but not Fingon or Turgon, because they are the sons of the elder brother who would be more likely to wed first. Other than that, I've taken the sons in the order listed in the Sil.
I am going to try to write this story inserting as few of my own characters as possible. For instance, I cannot find the name or any description of Fingolfin's wife, so I hesitate to include her. However, to exclude her completely will be quite impossible, so although she remains nameless, the characters refer to her as a beautiful and kind but rather passive woman who is just the sort of person who gets left out of tales like these. She is conveniently away during most of the story. I've been informed she just *might* have a name. So you can look forward to maybe a mention of her, but little more.
The geography is mostly my own. Using maps I was able to get a rough layout of the Blessed Realm (The story begins is in the East, Formenos is in the North, and the Trees of Light are in the West). Which lands are forest and which are field, I do not know. I guess it's kind of a mix. I don't know what the travel times would be, so I've made that rather vague.
***
Firstly, you can feel free to skip this. It is not anything vital. I merely loathe long author's notes tacked on to chapters - I feel they distract from the story. The only things I will include in the chapters are the titles at the top, and necessary translations at the bottom. Furthermore, I would not ask you to wade through the somewhat lengthy justifications below before reading my work - why don't you read it and then come back if you feel it's worth it? This is here for my own ease, and for those who have an in depth knowledge of what I am talking about.
For those of you who don't have an in depth knowledge of the Silmarillion, hopefully the story ahead stands on it's own merits besides recognizability. I urge you to give it (and if nothing else, the Silmarillion itself) a shot. I will be periodically updating this whenever I feel the need to explain some new twist in the story. Go ahead. Skip it if you'd rather not know my thought process (I don't blame you, it's a scary thing).
The only general things you should know is that this is based on the Silmarillion, utilizing little of the text or characters from Lord of the Rings (with the notable exception of Galadriel). Also, it has elements of m/m and f/f along with het pairings, but while the relationships between characters are essential, the sexual underpinnings are not. They are not the focus. In any case, that was your obligatory slash warning... I provide none for character death. Although, guys, really? They all live happily ever after. That's why there are so many pretty elves prancing around in the LotR trilogy. Anyway, on to the show! (Whichever show you may choose. I suggest reading the story first.)
***
The first thing I feel I must address is this: In the Silmarillion, (p. 166), it is written that "the Eldar wedded not with kin so near, nor ever before had any desired do". This is in reference to first cousins, exactly the relationship between all of Finwe's grandchildren. So in this one regard, I am bending if not breaking canon. However, I have some excuses, one being that you can love a person deeply and/or sexually without wanting to wed them. The other is that the Silmarillion is somewhat of a history book, and in my opinion one can get away with saying, "And how would a historian know that?" How would a historian know what was in the hearts and minds of every set of cousins? So those are my excuses. I believe I am aided in this by another statement which might be somewhat of a spoiler for those who are reading this before my story, so I will ramble on for a line or so while you won't stumble right into it... blah blah blah elfcakes, there. Now, I believe I am aided in this by the statement on page 64 in the Sil where the narrator says that Aredhel's heart's love was not given to any of the sons of Feanor. This rather implies that it might have been, and was a matter of personal affections and not taboo. Although, I feel obliged to point out, Feanor's children are more removed from Fingolfiin's than Finarfin's, for Fingolfin and Finarfin are only half-brothers of Feanor. In any case, that is my reasoning. I do not believe I go so far out of the bounds of canon as to make it AU.
I've also made some assumptions, which may or may not be correct. While Tolkein specifically said that Aredhel was the youngest of her family in the Silmarillion (p.64), he did not specify for Galadriel, so in my writings I've made Galadriel the oldest after Finrod, and therefore a bit older than Aredhel, but not Fingon or Turgon, because they are the sons of the elder brother who would be more likely to wed first. Other than that, I've taken the sons in the order listed in the Sil.
I am going to try to write this story inserting as few of my own characters as possible. For instance, I cannot find the name or any description of Fingolfin's wife, so I hesitate to include her. However, to exclude her completely will be quite impossible, so although she remains nameless, the characters refer to her as a beautiful and kind but rather passive woman who is just the sort of person who gets left out of tales like these. She is conveniently away during most of the story. I've been informed she just *might* have a name. So you can look forward to maybe a mention of her, but little more.
The geography is mostly my own. Using maps I was able to get a rough layout of the Blessed Realm (The story begins is in the East, Formenos is in the North, and the Trees of Light are in the West). Which lands are forest and which are field, I do not know. I guess it's kind of a mix. I don't know what the travel times would be, so I've made that rather vague.
***