Laurië Lassi – Golden Leaves by Esteliel

Peace

Write a story or create a piece of art centred on freedom of religion (or lack thereof), heresy, and/or religious rites.

Peace

As a child, Laurefindil always spent a part of the summer with his grandparents near Taniquetil. It is a memory he cherishes: a place filled with the brilliant gleam of Laurelin while he seems to forever run down green hills with other children, or helps care for the sheep with wool softer and whiter than can be found anywhere else.

It is a place that breathes peace, and where the mingling of the lights seems to last forever while all the household comes together for quiet contemplation. No words are said; no songs are sung. From the pastures higher up the slopes of Taniquetil, he can hear the soft baa of the sheep. Birds sing as they try to lure their almost-grown children from the nests. The wind breathes a promise of herbs and blossoms and all the joys of the coming day against his face. His heart expands with love for the beauty of this world that has been given to them. And though later, he will run and shout with the other children again, and much later, his nature will lead him to seek adventure far from the peace of Taniquetil, it is a memory he never forgets.

Sometimes, on a warm summer's eve in Imladris, he will stand silently and watch the sun sink beneath the horizon. He breathes in the scent of summer flowers, listens for the faint sounds of the sheep high up on the slopes of the Hithaeglir. His heart aches with overflowing love.