Edain

1st part of the 'Son of Elves and Men' series.

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Author: Etharei

*Applause for Halo Son, my beta-reader*

Summary:

Something strange is happening in Rivendell, and Estel has to face himself as he takes his first step into manhood and a destiny that would rule the fate of Middle-Earth

Featuring: Elrond, Elladan, Elrohir, Estel (a.k.a. Aragorn), Gilraen, *Ilitha

*OC (Original Character)

Rating: R

Disclaimer: As hard as it is to believe, the beloved characters places and languages featured in this fanfic actually belongs to Tolkien. I am not making any profit out of this, choosing instead to write out of the sheer pleasure of entertaining others with my stories. Anyway, they're Tolkien's, and I'm only borrowing them for a little while, though Aragorn in particular will be a little worn out from all the stuff I put him through.

And please remember, this is fan fiction, written for fun and out of love for the stories and characters of JRR Tolkien's Middle-Earth. Not everyone has the same view on how things could have happened, so please don't flame me if you don't agree with my perspective. I try to keep in canon with the book, but obviously it is still my view of events. If there are any major mistakes, I apologise in advance- please feel free to point out them out, though, and I'll see what I can do about them.

Author's Notes:

Italics indicate thoughts

The languages used in 'real-life' by the characters are stated at the beginning of each section.

Set more or less two years before Aragorn learns of his heritage. This is actually more of a prequel to Estel Broniol than a standalone story; it's also the first story of my series 'Son of Elves and Men'. Though it's not necessary to read this before Estel Broniol, you'll understand some things better if you read them in order.

To AfterEver: Hope you're still out there, my friend! Very much looking forward to your thorough and excellent reviews.

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Introduction to the Series

The Son of Elves and Men covers the years in which Aragorn Elessar learns important aspects of himself and prepares for his heritage and destiny. He is young, inexperienced, and is encountering the many evils of the world for the first time. I like to focus on his relationship with his family, especially Gilraen, who tends to be in the background in many of the stories I've read. I also look at how his upbringing amongst elves would have made him different from other men, though this will be more evident in later stories. And for those who like stories with them together, Legolas will come along eventually.

The very short list of stories in the series at the moment (in reading order):

Edain

Estel Broniol

Introduction to The Game

During one of my many re-readings of ROTK, a muse or five struck me as I finished the part where Gandalf and Pippin are in Minas Tirith and are talking about the upcoming war. I don't own a copy of the book myself, but if I remember correctly, the part I'm talking has Pippin muttering "A pawn, is it? But on the wrong chessboard" at the end. Apologies if I've misquoted, but hopefully you know what I'm referring to.

Anyway, that got me thinking of all those times that Gandalf hinted at "other forces at work in this world" giving them a chance to win what would otherwise have been a lost war to begin with. There's even a mention of this in the FOTR movie, when the Fellowship is in Moria and Gandalf has a word with Frodo. This gave me the idea of writing a fic involving a very complex and intricate Game between members of a race greater than the elves: the Maia. The Game restricts the amount of power the 'Players' can use, and it centers around the element of Choice. The basic idea is that the lead 'pieces' or 'pawns' are very subtly manipulated by the opposing forces, but the Rules limit any interference to a bare minimum. At least, this is how it's supposed to be. When the stakes are high, however, the Players tend to get drastic. Essentially, it's the idea of Balance. When you do something, your opponent gets to do something that takes roughly the same amount of power and the same level of interference. But you can accumulate these 'Moves' as well; for example, your Opponent's many small, weak Moves may earn you a powerful Move if you let it accumulate. With this idea of Balance, try and see Gandalf's moves, because I tend to mention his Opponent's Moves but not his counter-Move.

And at a certain time in the Game, one of the Players may present his opponent's Key Piece with the Choice. This Choice must be made with the Piece's own free will. When this happens, the other side has a limited amount of time to present its own Piece with a Choice. The Game ends when the second Piece makes the Choice, and the Game can only be truly won if the Choice of both Pieces sides with one of the Players. Otherwise, it's a stalemate. So the main objective of both Players is to manipulate all the Pieces (on both sides) into believing in them.

Though it is called the Game, keep in mind that it is actually a real battle for Middle-Earth. I know you are probably confused by now, but perhaps reading the fics will clarify things a little.

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