It has led me to all the fantasy in the world, looking for a rival, a match, an equal. And as I gaze upon these hundreds of writers, what are they but men and women on the shoulders of a giant? I do not reproach them, for they offer grand views too. Some gaze behind the Giant, the opposite direction that he does. Some stand atop each other. I have also found some that stand in their own right, lesser giants. Ursula K. le Guin, Tad Williams, Peter S. Beagle, Guy Gavriel Kay.
Tolkien has also led me myself to walk the path of creation: to study legend, lore and language, to dream awake, to hear the call of Faerie. To plant the seeds and paint the leaves of small story-trees.
Vadia eea Vallanais,
valei ta mraneie.
Eleia mara Vallanais,
varei um daleie,
Vallanais.
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Wistful, willful, wingless, fly!
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