Of Fire and Blood and Golden Things: The Tale of Smaug the Great and Terrible

Like a shadow

In the night,

Through the mountains

Towards the hold,

Shouts of men and dwarves alike,

Terror, fire, blood, and fright.

The town, it fell

In flames and wails,

The river red and thick and warm.

The screams, they rang

All day and night

Till Durin’s Door I reached at last.

They stood and fought,

The pitiful folk.

Like leaves I swept them to and fro.

A shadow of fear,

Of terror and power.

Slashing claws and searing fire.

The hold, it fell

To my great might.

Those foolish dwarves all ran in fright.

The caverns deep and vast and great.

The gold, the gold!

Oh, what a sight!

A home, a bed, the perfect prize!

And so I slept both day and night

While all the world looked on in fright.

A strange new scent.

I awoke with a start.

Who dare disturb my sacred rest!

“Well thief!

I smell you and I feel your air.

I hear your breath.

Come along!

Help yourself again,

There is plenty and to spare!"

The lying rascal,

A flatterer for sure,

Yet a thief he was and a thief, no more.

“Clue-finder,

Web-cutter,

The stinging fly,

Ringwinner,

Luckwearer."

I scoffed and laughed.

The little fool.

He’ll die, he’ll die

Like all the rest!

But no!

He’s gone, he’s gone!

The sneaky, lying little beast!

Friend of dwarves of Kings deceased.

I’ll show him. I’ll show them all.

No more thieves will come to call.

Like a shadow

In the night,

Through the mountains

Towards the town.

The screams the cries,

Oh what delight!

Fear me! Fear the night!

But, wait! What’s that?

A man alone.

A bow he draws with arrow black.

“The fool,” I laugh.

“My armor is strong.

No craft of man can

Pierce me through.”

Low I dive.

He’ll die, the dolt.

My teeth and claws shall tear him through.

Pain! The Pain!

Like fire it burns!

Straight through the heart,

It burns, it burns!

A shriek so great

Rang through the night.

It deafened man,

Felled trees, split stone .

I fell and fell,

Crashed to the ground.

The pain, the pain! Oh, curse the man!

A gushing whirl,

And then the end.

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Works Cited

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit. New York: The Random House Publishing Group, 1982. Print.

The Mouse in the Cage

Wow...I wrote this a long time ago
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  The small mouse was resting in his metal, gray cage when he perked up, suddenly alert. He sniffed the air and could distinguish the mouthwatering aroma of cheese. The excited mouse followed the scent and lo and behold, near one of the far ends of this twisting maze of a cage, he saw a delectable piece of cheese. Excited, the mouse rushed towards the cheese just as it disappeared as if it were all a dream. The mouse stood there dazed and confused, not sure of what had just transpired. 
 
Just then, the equally pleasing aroma of peanut butter assaulted his senses and the cheese was all but forgotten as the again excited mouse rushed through the maze toward the pleasant aroma. However, when he reached the peanut butter, it again disappeared leaving no indication that it had ever been there. The mouse, confused as ever tried to understand what was happening, but as another pleasant scent flowed through the cage, he could not help but rush after it.

It had been quite some time that the mouse had been rushing after the mouth-watering scents, but each time had been met with disappointment after disappointment. Just as he thought he had reached the source of the pleasant aromas, they disappeared without a trace as if they had never existed. The mouse’s chases had become less and less enthusiastic until he finally plopped down in the center of the cage, tired and fed up with it all and hungrier than ever. The poor mouse wanted out.

Just as these thoughts were spiraling through his tired mind, the mouse perked up again. This time he had heard a small, squeaky noise as that of unoiled metal rubbing against itself. The mouse crept toward the noise warily. As he rounded a bend, to his great surprise, he saw an open door. The mouse could scarcely believe his eyes. Was this it? Was he free? The mouse’s wariness was forgotten as he rushed toward the open door with renewed exuberance and hope. He was free! Free from this world of pain and confusion! Free at last!

Just as the mouse reached the door, it slammed shut right in his nose and he crashed into the metal wall of the cage. The small mouse now felt even more confused than ever and extremely frustrated. The door had been opened wide, but it had shut right in his face. Out of the corner of his eye, the mouse saw another door creak open ad his hope was renewed. He rushed at the door, but just as before, it slammed shut right in his nose. 
 
The mouse continued hurling himself frustratedly at all these open doors, but all of them slammed shut just as he was reaching them. The mouse was so fed up, he could have cried. He began to run against the metal walls of the cage, hoping that maybe he could break through and would be free, but the metal would not give. Battered and bruised, with all hope lost, the mouse wearily crawled to the center of the cage and curled up into a tight, exhausted ball. All around him he could hear the sound of doors opening and slamming shut and many mouth-watering scents wafted his way, but they no longer held the hope and excitement they had before. He was sick of having everything taken away from him before he could reach it, sick of running into walls and sick of having his hopes and dreams dashed again and again. He ran as fast as he could, drove as hard as he could, but it was all to no avail.

The little mouse, exhausted and depressed, curled up even tighter. A small wet tear escaped his eye. It was just too much.

Suddenly the cage fell quiet. The mouse took very little notice. After a bit, he heard one single door creak open. A ray of light entered through the door and landed on him. The little mouse looked up. He saw the shining door at the end of the cage open wide for him. Was this a trick? Perhaps a figment of his imagination? Was he dead and that was heaven calling? But he was too hurt to be dead and he was sure he wasn’t imagining things. The sweet smell of nature wafted through the door. Was this freedom at last?

The small mouse got to his feet, faced the door and set his jaw. He was going to give this one last try. He would give it all he had. Maybe he would make it…he hoped he would make it. He had hope and determination, two things that had been missing when he had been curled up in a little ball. At the count of three, the mouse shot towards the door. This time he knew he couldn’t loose. The cage could not hold him forever.

Once Upon a Time...

Here's a poem to kick off the posting. Enjoy.
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Once upon a time...

There once was a fine, young prince

Who lived in a fine stone castle

And rode a fine white horse.
His robes were stitched with gold,

And his face was the picture of beauty.

There once was a lovely, young princess

Whose voice was sweet as birdsong,

Whose hair was soft as silk,

And whose dance was graceful as the swan.

There once was a great, fierce dragon

Whose scales were rough as the mountain,

Whose coat was the color of blood,

Whose breath was fiery death.

There once was a lone, tall mountain

Where the red dragon hid from sight,

Where the smoke was thick and dark,

Where no other creature dared wander.

There once was a battle of ages

Where man slew man and beast slew beast,

Where the world turned dark for a day and night,

And the clash of metal rang through the valley.

There once was an old oak tree

Where lived a wise man and bard,

Who wove the world into song,

And the legends into reality.

There once was a warm spring day

When the birds were singing their songs,

And the trees were waving their branches,

And the world was merry as could be.

Then the dragon took the princess.

The prince went on a quest.

The horse bore his fine prince.

The wise man showed the way.

A battle sprung on the mountain

Where the beasts of the earth fought;

Tooth to tooth, claw to claw,

Swords clashing, cries ringing.

The dragon was in his cave

And the prince came to rescue his love;

But the fierce dragon rose up

And would not let her be taken.

A fierce battle arose

Where the prince fought bravely and the dragon merc’lessly.

The dragon spewed fire from his hideous mouth

And took the prince by surprise.

The princess tried to rescue him

But all was lost.

And she cried over the body of her fallen hero.

And in one heartbroken thrust,

Slew the beast that had killed her love.

The kingdom was filled with mourning

All praised the prince’s great deeds.

The towns rejoiced at the defeat of the dragon

And the bard sang of this glorious venture…

…once upon a time.

A Writer's Blog

Hello everyone. My name is Sarah, also known as Phoenix Call, and I have decided that it's about time I made a place where I could post my stories and poems and just what's on my mind. I hope to update this as regularly as possible but will likely only update when I have a writing piece to post. I hope you guys enjoy my writer's blog and please leave comments. I really love feedback.

Cheers,
Phoenix Call