Greetings and salutations. This is not my first fanfic, nor my second, or even my fifth, but it is my first foray into A Certain Magical Index/Scientific Railgun. I've relatively recently come to the fandom, mostly through the anime series, which I've watched in the last year or so, but I've found it quite intriguing, albeit more on the Science side of things than the Magic side, perhaps because of being in a fairly Sciency profession in my real life. Which is not to say I don't like the Magic side, simply that its the Science side, and specifically Mikoto Misaka, that have captured my interest the most in the canon story. Obviously enough to prompt me to write a fanfic for it. I hope that it will serve to help me get back into writing more, so that I can finish my other fanfics, specifically my Golden Age trilogy over in Gundam Seed, while also continuing to make progress here, on the Aeon of Conflict.

A little about me as a writer. I am an avaricious and very fast reader, so I tend to favor longer works, both in terms of chapter length and story length. A quick glance at my profile will show anyone who cares to investigate just what I consider a good "finished" story to be like in terms of length. So you'd better settle in for a good long ride, 7 digit total word count, even if it takes me a while to get there. I tend to favor epic, world expanding stories, involving many characters, both Canon and OC, centered around a few, but not necessarily ABOUT them in particular, or not always about them either. I tend to include a fairly large mix of OC's into my stories, but I'm quite well practised at creating and writing them, so most of my readers don't seem to mind. Indeed, in my Gundam stories, many of my OC's are more popular than the canon cast to most reviewers. My stories tend to be somewhat of more serious mien, but I can and will do humor, especially in a setting like Index/Railgun, where its a common part of the show. My stories also tend to be more towards the mature end of the scale, especially when it comes to swearing and violence and gore. The story as a whole is rated T, as I consider Teens in this day in age to be able to handle some blood and swearing and gore, but there may be moments that push to M... I'll try to give warning before any such scenes, so they can be skipped over by the more squeamish readers.

I'm an English primary speaker and writer, and I have little talent for other languages. So I'll be writing using the english methods of names and other things, while staying as closely to the intonation and verbal habits of the various characters as I can, without the benefit of Japanese language nuances. My writing is good, but not 100 percent grammatically correct. I do make spelling errors, so feel free to point them out if that's your thing, though its generally not more than a dozen or so every 10,000 words, so I'd say I do fairly well. Though I have no talent for other languages, where appropriate for various characters, I may use them all the same, through the use of Google Translate, with appropriate translations at the end of the chapter for the curious. I apologize to any native speakers of any language I might butcher in this way, feel free to comment in a review and offer any ways for me to better say what I'm trying to say.

I cannot promise regular updates. Sometimes I'll get 2-3 out in a week, and sometimes months will pass without an update. Certainly its a flaw and one I constantly fight to correct, but I don't have it beaten yet. I ask only for your patience, and remind you, that as always, good reviews that detail what you liked and what you didn't like, and why, help an author feel inspired and appreciated and more likely to produce further work. That said, I'm not the sort to hold chapters or updates hostage to reviews. I'm writing this as much for me as for you, perhaps moreso since right now I don't even know if I'll gain an audience here. Review if you want, and I'll certainly appreciate it, and reply via Author Notes or PMs in most cases. And if you don't care to review, that's obviously fine too, as there's nothing I can do about it. I will point out that I am very open to suggestions, ideas, questions and concerns relayed by Review, and am more than happy to borrow/incorporate good ideas from fans into the story itself, with their permission, and assuming those ideas fit within my story universe. I consider it a key to my success in some ways... as this is FAN fiction after all, and it should cater to fans, even those who have trouble writing their own stories but still have plenty of good ideas to pursue.

Bold Text is used for scene headers.

Italics is for character thoughts.

CAPS is used for raised voices, particular emphasis or the like.

There's no need for a disclaimer. This is obviously a fan work, and while some of my fans wish my work was canon in other genres, as yet that happy milestone has yet to be reached by me.

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Before I start the story itself, I'd like to fill prospective readers in a little more on my premise and universal assumptions, as the story summary tagline obviously doesn't have the room to really explain much. I'm starting the story right after the end of the Daihasei festival, during the time when Touma wins the trip to Italy for him and Index, and they have the encounter with the Queen of the Adriatic Sea and its fleet. So just before episode 17 (Penalty Game) of the second Index Anime season. September 26th on the universal Timeline for the Index/Railgun canon. I am discarding pretty much everything of what occurs after that point, as I've not really seen or read much of that stuff, though I may include events that are similar to what happens in canon at times. Such incidents will be mostly coincindental. I apologize to anyone who prefers stories that occur during or after the Academy City Invasion Arc. Characters from various points may continue to show up as I become more and more familiar with the wider setting, but the events depicted will either be changed drastically or ignored.

I am also most likely breaking some of the rules and accepted canon conventions related to the world of Index/Railgun as a whole. In particular with the introduction of ACME and EKG, I'm expanding the use of Espers beyond just Academy City, as I find it unlikely the USA and Russia would not have some sort of Esper development programs, even if they are not as successful as Academy City. I guess I simply see Academy City as just "part" of the wider world, a Superpower alongside the others, whereas the show and manga and novels tend to portray Academy City as the "focus" of the world, and perhaps the lone Superpower. I'm also somewhat expanding the Magic Side, to include groups and individuals that use magic but are not religiously motivated or affiliated. There's a very small amount of that shown in canon, at least so far as I've seen, but for the most part, Magic = Religion in Index/Railgun, and I want to buck that trend a little, by exploring the actual darker side of Magic, through the Hollow Ones. After all, even though they act as villains in the canon story, the Roman Catholic Church is still supposed to be "Good Guys" in the overall moral scale of things. They're just a bit extreme and fanatical and careless of the feelings and beliefs of others.

I'm also somewhat expanding the number of Gemstones in the world, as only 50 is quite a small number. I'm saying its more like only 50 known, and there may well be others who have been snapped up by various oragnizations that aren't included in that overall count, or who are unknowing of their state as Gemstones. I'm playing with the identity of the 6th ranked Level 5 in Academy City, who it turns out to be will of course be a surprise the story will have to reveal. I'll be doing my best not to flood the story with powerful OCs, though in the interest of overall fairness, there are a couple level 5 OC Espers, and similarly powerful Magic users. After all, its no fun if the protagonists don't face serious challenges along the way. And with the way Level 5's vary in relative power anyway, just being Level 5 alone is not in and of itself game breaking. I guess what I mean to say is that I don't create Mary Sue/Gary Stu OCs, and if you think I'm veering towards that with a character, I'd appreciate you letting me know, all the moreso if you can explain why you think that, and ways I can change them to not be, while keeping them as a character.

I'm primarily shipping Mikoto and Touma, though of course it wouldn't be Index/Railgun without Touma being pursued and exposed to a horde of different females. But their relationship is the one I like the most, in romantic terms, while Touma and Index feels more familial than romantic, despite Index's feelings at times. Other characters may pair up via canon lines or with OC's as the story progresses, I prefer to let that sort of thing evolve naturally over time, especially as relatively few of the canon characters have definite preferences listed, besides the normal vast number of females who have a thing for Touma. And while I'm not averse to the idea of polygamous relationships I tend to avoid outright harem stuff unless I can find a way to make it seem workable within the more serious mein of the story.

As the story advances, I will most likely create a dedicated forum for it, listing the various OC factions and characters, and any other information I feel relevant. As I plan for this to be a million word story, and perhaps just the first story of several in a series, this should help readers keep track of who is who, and what is what.

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As for the actual plot of the story, well, its called the Aeon of Conflict. I imagine there will be plenty of conflicts and drama and action to come, as well as as many lessons of morality and human nature as I can subtly slip into things, like any good Anime should. I don't know how it will end, I'll let that evolve as I write. All I know is that if I have anything at all to say about it, this will be the most epic and amazing Index/Railgun fanfic you will ever read!

Thank you for Reading, and I hope you enjoy as much as I do!