Author's Note:
This is a re-creation of the story that was deleted earlier today. The reviews, along with the previously edited versions of Chapters 5–7, are gone. I apologise to all the wonderful reviewers who took the time and effort to share their thoughts; I sincerely appreciate you. Knowing that someone is reading is motivating and fuels the writing process; more than that, quite often a reader's observation will spark a new idea or point out a plot hole that needs filling, making for a stronger story.
These chapters were recreated from the draft copy of the story and edited again into the final form posted here. Beg pardon if they do not match any particular memories you might have of earlier reading. Finishing the story was meant to be my birthday mathom. Actually, I discovered the disappearance of the story when I went to upload the final chapter, along with the absence of several stories on my want-to-read list that I was planning to spend the rest of today enjoying! Thankfully, those who maintain SoA for our benefit jumped in quickly to prevent more stories from being deleted. I feel for the other authors who also lost work and reviews, and I fervently hope that you have backup copies and will be able to restore the lost works. I am looking forward to reading them, as I have mentioned in multiple reviews.
Thanks for coming along on the journey. May all hackers someday come to regret their destructive impulses, and may Stories of Arda live long and prosper (to borrow from a different fandom, where I first cut my fanfic teeth, in a manner of speaking, when I was only in eighth grade, not long after Noah and the animals debarked from the Ark, if memory serves...).