Welcome, reader, and thank you for finding your way to this fanfiction. Before starting, I wanted to say a few words that might be necessary and/or which I just wanted to get out. It is a bit long – but please do give it a read. It should be only for your benefit.

Firstly, the fanfiction you are about to read is set in a modern AU, and contains characters from various parts of the franchise, which of course includes its spin-offs. And because it is an AU, there has been a lot of tinkering done. Especially with the ages of the characters. I will post those as the next chapter, before the proper story begins, so that there is a point of reference. It might be a tiny bit spoilery though, so… read only if you don't mind that, or once you have read past a certain point. Though the only spoiler might be which characters are going to appear. It is not going to tell anything about the story itself. As for the rest of the tinkering – simply forget most of the things you know about the characters, and enjoy the ride. n.n You will get surprised for sure.

Secondly, I wanted to write a modern AU story with Aiolos as a modern archer for some time now. And hey – what better chance than the Olympics 2020 in Tokyo? n.n So, sometime in 2019, I got the idea for them as the setting. Thanks to the pandemic, however, they got postponed to next year. However, I will write/finish this story as intended when I first had the idea, where no Corona is around and the Olympics can be performed as scheduled in 2020. Sigh, that stupid virus really did make a humongous mess.

Thirdly, I already beg forgiveness for any mistakes I may do, and if someone has knowledge I don't, please do tell me so I can fix it. I tried my best to write about life in Athens, and I also tried my best to write modern archery as accurately as possible. I should mention that I neither live in Athens nor do modern archery, so, my experience is zero. Same goes for the depiction of Tokyo and probably some more things that slip my mind right now. Like, how life as such a highly successful athlete really is. So, my only options are the internet and the library. And not even they can tell me all the things I need to know. Still, I tried my best, and as I said – if you have any additional info or corrections, please do tell. If necessary, I will even rewrite certain parts of the story.

Also, I am aware that at times, the story might be a bit exposition-dump-heavy. I apologize for that and hope that it doesn't get insufferably bad. "Show, don't tell", I know. Thing is, for some stuff, it was hard to do so. Also, my impatience is a bit to blame too. I simply wanted to get the story done without losing way too much time. But I hope that for most of the time, the story's pacing is okay. Am happy for any constructive criticism in that regard, should I happen to strike a not so great pace in some part of the story. Or, well, I am happy for any constructive criticism, no matter about what.

Lastly, I will try to keep a two-week schedule with new chapters. I have written a handful in advance, but… we shall see. My fantasy gets triggered waaay to easily, dragging my interest to and fro. So, might be that the occasional one-shot might occasionally delay a new chapter. Either that – or a part of the story that proved a bigger struggle than expected. That might delay new uploads too. But will try my hardest to keep a two-week schedule after chapter two.

And that should be it for my preface. This is all I wanted to say before you, dear reader, dive into this story. Please enjoy!