I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew:
Of wind I sang, a wind there came and in the branches blew.
Beyond the sun, beyond the moon, the foam was on the Sea,
And by the strand of Ilmarin there grew a golden Tree.
Beneath the stars of Ever-eve in Eldamar it shone,
In Eldamar beside the walls of Elven Tirion.
There long the golden leaves have grown upon the branching years,
While here beyond the Sundering Seas now fall the Elven-tears.
O Lórien! The Winter comes, the bare and leafless Day;
The leaves are falling in the stream, the River flows away.
O Lórien! Too long I have dwelt upon this Hither Shore
And in a fading crown have twined the golden elanor.
But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me,
What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?

--The Lament of Galadriel

(If you knows the history of Galadriel, you'll understand her song a lot better. If you know what her name means, bonus points. :-)

Finished Composition: Dragons

“Rising from the near side of the rocky floor there is a great glow – the glow of Smaug! There he lay, a vast red-golden dragon…” Thus J.R.R. Tolkien introduces his readers to the villainous Smaug, a dragon living inside an old dwarf-castle. For a long time, dragons have interested readers, but they are dangerous.

How do you recognize a dragon? They are reptilian creatures, with dinosaur-like bodies and enormous batwings. Many shoot fire from their mouths, and some have the unusual ability to breathe ice as well. Dragons are often warm, fiery colors such as red, gold or orange. Some have a cooler color like silver on their stomach and underneath their wings. They are, as a general rule, very large.

They are very powerful creatures. They can see and hear and smell exceptionally well, and are usually smart. Some can read minds, or trick a victim into telling their secrets aloud. They are also, of course, very strong and can fly. They have amazing memories: they can remember every last piece of treasure in a hoard, and if they once hear something they never forget it. Some can also armor themselves with gems.

However, they are conquerable. When they armor themselves with jewels, dragons will sometimes miss a spot and create an “Achilles’ heel”. They have strong immune systems, but can still catch diseases. They are extremely fierce when angry, but they can never resist riddles! Bilbo Baggins was able to stop Smaug from attacking him and his friends by keeping the dragon guessing with his mysterious descriptions of his adventures.

Îrënwhyft Snowflame is a dragon. He is red-gold on top and silver on the bottom. He is very protective of his reputation, as well as his treasure-heap, and he guards both carefully from the Miner-folk that live in the same mountain. He is very suspicious and cautious, but like most dragons has a great love for beautiful things. He is rather lazy, and spends a lot of time asleep. His red eyes can draw a person towards him, or find their true identity no matter how they disguise it.

Some people find dragons too fascinating to avoid, but, as I said before, dragons are dangerous. For these imaginative readers, I would suggest creating a dragon of your own. Îrënwhyft is my own creation, and if he grows too powerful I can remove a few of his abilities and reconquer him once more. Malice, fire-breath, and scaly wings are a good place to begin!