Disclaimer (which covers all chapters in this tale):

The background of the events described herein is owned by the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien and New Line Cinema.  However, I have no idea why New Line would bother me about copyright infringement, since, among other things, my Frodo has brown eyes (gasp!).  Not of course, that Frodo is a character in this fic; he has passed on by then, but he is remembered and has written a smashingly depressing poem which is featured in the second chapter.  Said poem is a direct quotation from The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, which is not wholly attributed to him in the canonical source but is ambiguous enough for me to get away with saying it’s his.  Anyhow, I mean no offence to the Estate, and would like to thank Christopher Tolkien for his mostly excellent stewardship of the texts.

So, what in this fic belongs to the Professor and his progeny?  Pretty much the whole Third Age, the races and families of hobbits, any descendents of the Travellers that can be found in any canonical source, and the entire realm of Middle-Earth.  Kira and all of her friends and acquaintances are generally mine, and if you’re terribly confused you can always ask me where I got x or y, though you’ll probably get a very, very, very long explanation.

The last name “Grimwig” comes from Dickens, and whoever can figure out which book (without search engines!!!) gets a cookie from me.

This story is not written for profit; the only profit I can gain is the joy in the writing and any constructive, specific feedback I receive (Hint, hint). 

Author’s Note:  The Glories of Sequelhood

This fic is a sequel to my first LotR fic, Keep Alive the Memory.  If you are a newcomer to this particular interpretation of LotR canon, you are at a crossroads.  You may either go back and read KatM, or plunge right into A White Shell.  However, if you plunge right into AWS, expect to learn as background spoilers to the other fic.  These spoilers are very important not only to the characters in AWS, but also to LotR fans in general.  If you do not wish to learn them, do not read beyond this paragraph.  If you do, continue.

Ready?

The Red Book of Westmarch has been lost, despite being only 120 years old.  Lost as in destroyed.  No complete copies exist in the Shire.  You may angst now.

Now that you have learned this horrifying fact, please do not go back and read KatM to find out how it happened.  You had that chance before you read the spoiler.  You will learn how in this fic as well—just as you can learn the history of Númenor by reading LotR.  Just be patient and glean things here and there, and the experience will be far more gratifying.  You won’t be left in the dark, and this is a much more fascinating way to learn about the protagonist’s character than by starting out with KatM.

Now, to those who followed KatM, don’t feel left out!  Since this takes place approximately eleven years after the conclusion of KatM, a lot of stuff has happened between “then” and “now,” the discovery of which makes up a great deal of the fun of the sequel.  So whether you’ve read KatM or not, you get to do a little bit of piecing when reading this fic.

Enjoy.

~C