I'll try my hand at it, if that's okay!

I am the offspring of high folk,
Who left a haven long ago.
My father was quite wise, yet he
Chose a perilous strategy
That ended bitterly for me.
Oh, where a mighty foe was slain
I too was killed and lost remain.
Though ages since have passed, I swear it -
My name brings doom to all who bear it.

This should be easy...

I would say Turin, but neither of his parents sailed anywhere. But I guess Turin all the same.

Iarwain

Is it Maeglin?

Nope, it's neither. 'the name brings doom' thing - is not from any book, it's a realization of mine (and of yours, too, after you solve it) [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

It was Fëanor wasn't it?

No, although all these are very good guesses. They match almost perfectly and you're all very close.
Hint 1: it's a woman
Hint 2: the mighty foe is indeed Glaurung.

Nienor is the obvious assumption, then.

No.
HINT: the name was shared by another woman in the Third Age who had a sad fate as well, hence the 'my name brings doom'.

Every answer I get seems to only work for half the riddle..humph.

How about Morwen, then? The mother of Theoden was named after her.

Or perhaps Finduilas, who perished by Glaurung's trickery of Turin...was also the short-lived mother of Boromir and Faramir...

Yes - Lyta has got it! Congrats! and btw, I love your avatar!

Wow! I finally answered a riddle correctly! I am new at this riddle making art, so this one may be too easy, or incomprehensible! But I'll be glad to give hints...and, by the way, thanks for the complement on my sleeping Frodo avatar, Evisse! I always enjoy your Lady of Shallot avatar as well! Nice to see the great artworks represented here! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] Now on to my riddle:

Life is but a crucible in my hands,
I dwell in the stone of old that stands;
For my sake the slow are moved to haste,
My dreams by small stones are now outpaced;
Through stone from afar my will is wrest,
I can no longer return to the West.

Who am I?

Cheers,
Lyta

P.S. I'll be out for several hours, but I'll try to check for answers when I return! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

[ September 13, 2003: Message edited by: Lyta_Underhill ]

I must say that it is a very clever riddle, and to me it seems to match Saruman's personality very well.

Iarwain

Got it in one, Iarwain! Not clever enough, I suppose, but thanks for the compliment! The floor is yours! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Cheers,
Lyta

The calimasts of Triahod,
they hidden lie, to make me sob.
The trothellshells that crackle so,
when killing I defeat my foes.
Oh faugath treal, the purshed tooth,
with poison bites but not forsooth.
And lying groth upon the throsh,
my darled body becoming slosh.
The plunging knife that scinds my blood.
Hidden about the garlish mud.

Beware the Jabberwock my boy! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

A pathetic copy of a classic, I hope Carroll would forgive me. The object is to discover the subject of the poem. There is only one real clue I can give, and that may or may not be necessary. We shall see.

Iarwain

A most disturbing clue.
Could it be Saruman? Or, more specifically, his death?

I can very much see how you came to that conclusion, and perhaps the riddle does point that way more than to its intended answer, so here's the clue. The only proper noun in the riddle is an approximate location for the subject.

Iarwain

Iarwain, I love your riddles!
Is mud the proper noun? If so, could Smaug be your Jabberwock?

Triahod is a propper noun, but I have no idea where that leads us.

Aha! (triumphant)
Triahad = Doriath.
I hope that's helpful to someone.

Edit: Oh! Is it the host of the Naugrim in 'of the ruin of Doriath'?

[ September 17, 2003: Message edited by: Arestevana ]

Carcharoth?

You are quite right about Triahod. It is not, however the naugrim or the Red Maw. Thanks for the compliment, though, I like them too, (even though this one wasn't completely original).

Iarwain

Is it Glaurung?

'Tisn't. The approximate setting is Doriath. This means that it is not necessarily in Doriath, but it is nearby The key to the riddle is to remove the nonsense and find the truth. Certain words point the way, if you have the sense to see them.

Iarwain

Clue number three:

The calimasts of Triahod,
they hidden lie, to make me sob.
The trothellshells that crackle so,
when killing I defeat my foes.
Oh faugath treal, the purshed tooth,
with poison bites but not forsooth.
And lying groth upon the throsh,
my darled body becoming slosh.
The plunging knife that scinds my blood.
Hidden about the garlish mud.

If no one can decrypt that, I'll just have to provide the answer. That, however, would be a most dissapointing turn of events.

Iarwain

Beren?

Nope. The answer is not the "I", but the "foes" that the narrator is speaking of. I imagine there were probably many people that could recount the subject, were they living. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Spiders

I need a more specific answer, but you're on the right track. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Iarwain

Is it Shelob?

Too specific and no. I'm looking for a place, and a group.

Iarwain

Ah, I see.

Would it be Nan Dungortheb and the Spawn of Ungoliant who lived there?

Precisely! I'm glad you got it. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Your go,
Iarwain

Wow! Once I got spiders and Doriath, I just put two and two together.


Those mighty towers standing high,
Their sharp points piercing the sky,
Those numerous entries,
With guards and sentries,
And living eyes on the surround,
Shrouded in shadow around,
a dark-man and the inverse came,
Followed by the bane of the inverse's hame.
Who am I, a person,
Who lived in a city,
Who am I, a person,
Who lived with trees,
Who am I, a person,
A cursed lying thief,
Who am I, a person,
Of a union of grief.


All right, this one is a bit complicated, but go ahead and try it.

It has wonderful verse to it. I believe you are talking about the Mouth of Sauron coming forth to Gandalf with Frodo's artifacts near the towers of the teeth, and in front of the black gates. He was a Black Numenorian, who were seafaring folk that lived in the midst of the original white tree. As Gandalf took the artifacts, he was truly grave, and Pippin cried out. Those two were a union of grief.

The solution is the Mouth of Sauron.

Iarwain

[ September 23, 2003: Message edited by: Iarwain ]

Nope, sorry.

Pippen then?

Iarwain

Nope. I'll give you a hint, you're in the wrong time period. The towers that I'm referring to are not Minas Tirith or Barad-dur. They're other towers.

The tragic battle of Finglofin and Morgoth, before Thangorodrim.

Iarwain

Is the city Gondolin?