Chapter Text
Appendix A: The changes to Tolkien's canon
- The presence of Aziraphale as a maia of Estë. Manwë, who here has the personality of Gabriel, sends him to his first mission on Númenor and later sends him as the only agent to Middle-earth.
- The presence of Crowley as a maia of Varda. Melkor/Morgoth corrupts him instead of Aulë's maia Mairon, so Crowley becomes Sauron instead of him.
- The One Ring was created by Morgoth before his defeat in the War of Wrath and given to Crowley/Sauron to enthrall him. After his defeat, it continues being Morgoth’s means of forcing his will even from the Void.
All other changes are a result of these.
Appendix B: Characters whose places Aziraphale and Crowley took in the narrative
Aziraphale : Tar-Míriel (Ar-Zimraphel), Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins. In one place he mirrored Éowyn, but she still slew the Witch King.
Crowley : Sauron, Smaug, Sam Gamgee, Gollum, Gwaihir.
Appendix C: The fates of important Tolkien's characters
Tar-Míriel : wasn't forced to marry her cousin after she abdicated in his favour. She was on one of Elendil's ships that escaped the flood. She settled in Middle-earth and never married.
Gandalf : Aziraphale was sent to Middle-earth instead of all five Wizards, so Gandalf stayed home in Valinor. Aziraphale played both his and Bilbo's role in Thorin's expedition, without Gandalf’s detour to Dol Guldur, because there was no Necromancer there.
Saruman : stayed home in Valinor. This means no army of orcs in Isengard, no battle of Hornburg, and no reason to avoid the Rohan gap on the way to Mordor, eliminating the necessity to go through Moria. By the absence of Saruman, the journey to Mordor got rather uneventful for the Ring-bearer. Also, no Scouring of the Shire.
Bilbo Baggins : missed the quest with Thorin's company, but still went on an adventure with some dwarves who needed the services of a professional burglar and somehow thought he'd be the right one for the job, basing their observation on Aziraphale's participation in the quest and thinking that all hobbits are like that. Bilbo returned rich and adopted his orphaned nephew Frodo. With no Ring involved in his life, he died at the ripe age of 114.
Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin : followed in Bilbo's steps and went on an adventure together, one that wasn't nearly as traumatising for Frodo as the quest with the Ring. It brought them to Gondor where they befriended its new king.
Legolas and Gimli : met as ambassadors of their realms to Gondor and after a harsh beginning became unlikely friends.
Gollum : never learnt who took his Ring, probably died in his cave under the Misty Mountains. Without this knowledge gained from Gollum, the Nazgûl never got to the Shire and never suspected that the Ring is on the move. This is why there was no order from Lugbûrz to catalogue all caught prisoners' possessions and keep the prisoners safe and intact until Sauron sends or comes himself - unfortunately for Aziraphale.
Aragorn : befriended Aziraphale during his journeys. Since Aziraphale learnt about the Ring from Crowley, he didn't need to hunt Gollum. Once it became evident that the Ring needs to be destroyed, he met with Aziraphale in Bree and journeyed with him alone towards Mordor. There was no Elrond's council or Fellowship of the Ring, despite them stopping in Rivendell on their journey. He intended to claim the palantír of Orthanc to challenge Morgoth and make him strike on Minas Tirith before his armies are ready, then bring the army of Rohan to aid Gondor. All of this should have created a distraction for Aziraphale to get through Mordor unnoticed. In the palantír, Aragorn saw the intended attack of the Corsairs on Pelargir and decided to take the Paths of the Dead. The Grey company led by Halbarad and the sons of Elrond caught up with him on the way there.
Théoden : was under the influence of his advisor Gríma Wormtongue, but not Saruman's. Aziraphale in his wizard form managed to reason with Théoden and rouse Rohan to ride for Gondor's aid before he split with Aragorn. Théoden died in the battle of Pelennor fields together with his son Théodred.
Boromir : never went to seek answers to Rivendell. Died in the battle of Pelennor fields by the side of his father Denethor.
Faramir : met Aziraphale in Ithilien and was wounded covering the retreat of his men. During the attack on Minas Tirith, he was lying between life and death in the Houses of Healing until Aragorn arrived. Denethor never tried to burn him, having his other son by his side.
Éowyn : rode secretly with Rohan's army and killed the Witch King Beelzebub. Instead of Merry stabbing the Nazgûl’s leg to provide her with a distraction, it was the dying Théodred who did so.
The rest of the histories remains unchanged.