The Tempered Steel by Lyra

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This story has been with me for almost seven years, and I cannot quite believe that I actually finished it. Well, of course the story is far from over: But I wanted to end my retelling in a happy place, and this seemed to be a good choice.

It goes without saying, but for completeness' sake, I am infinitely indebted to the late Professor J.R.R.Tolkien, whose characters and world I borrowed.
Other sources of inspiration have been Nol, Ithilwen and Dawn Felagund. Until I stumbled across their work, fanfiction was for me on the same level as penny dreadfuls: Fun, but not particularly sophisticated – a guilty pleasure. But The Vain Songs, the Maedhros series and Another Man's Cage showed me that fanfiction could in fact be literature, just as worthwhile (sometimes more so) than "proper", published original fiction. Back then, that was quite an eye-opener for me. Aside from eventually pushing me to try my own hand at fanfiction, they also informed my view of the Noldor in general and the Fëanorians in particular forever. I am infinitely indebted to them. I have not re-read Ithilwen's Maedhros series in a decade, but I expect that much of my work will parallel hers, because it was so hugely influential for me at that transformative stage. However, no plagiarism is intended or has (I hope) occured.

My friendly but adamant beta-readers, Elleth and Dawn Felagund have helped me to iron out (most of) the kinks of the first book. I learned a lot about writing because they shared their trade secrets with me, pointed out awkward wordings and pushed me to flesh out initially uninspired descriptions. Their enthusiasm and encouragement finally convinced me to share this story with a larger audience.
SurgicalSteel has informed the deeds of Istimë the healer: It is thanks to her that Maitimo got a chance to recover without additional damage. The second and third part of this story were written without beta-reading, which probably shows; all the errors therein are my own. If you catch one, whether typo or inconsistency, please let me know! I may be annoyed to have overlooked a mistake for so long – the embarrassment! Why did nobody tell me before?! - but I'll be happy when it is no longer there.

A big thank you to all those who wrote reviews. You let me know that my story was being read, and that I must be doing something right, which was invaluable at times when the story didn't want to cooperate or when I just didn't know how to go on. I am especially happy about those that included questions, criticism or additional information. They have helped me (I hope) to get better and to form a clearer image of early First Age Hithlum than I ever thought I would have. Winning first place in the 2010 MEFAs naturally was another huge motivation booster, and I owe it to you, my generous readers and reviewers.

Throughout the writing of Book Three, Himring and Marie (my Russian translator – I have a Russian translator, squeeee!) have provided regular motivational comments and e-mails – I probably owe it to the faithful support of you two that the final eight chapters got written over the course of a single year! Marie has also kept me updated on The Tempered Steel's reception among the Russian contingent of the Tolkien fandom. I can't begin to express how thrilled I am that a story of mine has been translated by somebody who is not me, into a language I don't speak.

When I began writing this story, it was because I was unsatisfied with how I had seen the aftermath of Maitimo's torment and his phase of recovery handled in fanfic so far. By the time I actually got there, there were several fics that dealt with it in a manner I found satisfactory, often better than I think I did. If I had read those stories back in 2007, I might never have written The Tempered Steel, but by the time I came across them, I had already committed to this story – fortunately (I guess)!

Finally, thank YOU. Whether I know you or not, whether we ever talked or not, whether you're a fellow writer or a casual reader: While I started to write this story just for myself, it eventually turned into something that I wanted to be read by others. I've dreamed of being an author ever since I learned to write (no, seriously; I wrote my first fanfic, although of course I didn't know it was called that back in the day, when I was 7), and in this comfortable corner of the internet, I actually am. If you're reading this, you're a part of the crowd who have made my dream a reality, for which I owe you my deepest thanks.

~ Lyra
November 2013