Journey Bread

Lembas has always had a special place in Tolkien's mythology and in the stories written by fans of his world. Often, lembas is used as a detail to make a story sound more authentic, but looking at Pengolodh's short essay "Of Lembas," from The History of Middle-earth, Volume Twelve: The Peoples of Middle-earth, this item is also worthy of starring in its own story.

This month, we offer a challenge to write a story about how lembas is cultivated, made, or used. "Of Lembas" might be a good start, but the following passages might inspire those without access to the essay:

• "The Eldar say that they first received this food from the Valar in the beginning of their days in the Great Journey. For it was made of a kind of corn which Yavanna brought forth in the fields of Aman, and some she sent to them by the hand of Oromë for their succour upon the long march." Lembas is said to give strength to those making long journeys or those who are injured. For this reason, an early form of the word lembas can be translated as meaning "journey bread." Consider it's use in journeys: How might a journey have succeeded or failed because of this rare food?
• "If it was sown at any season, save in frost, it soon sprouted and grew swiftly, though it did not thrive in the shadow of plants of Middle-earth and would not endure winds that came out of the North while Morgoth dwelt there ... The Eldar grew it in guarded lands and sunlit glades ..." Growing lembas is done carefully and in secret, for this special gift also holds a dark power.
• "For it is said that, if mortals eat often of this bread, they become weary of their mortality, desiring to abide among the Elves, and longing for the fields of Aman, to which they cannot come." Lembas is given to mortals only in special circumstances. Túrin uniquely received such a gift from Melian, and lembas is given by Galadriel to the Fellowship in The Lord of the Rings. How might these characters--the givers and the recipients--have chosen to use lembas, and how might mortal characters have been changed by their taste of it?
• "From the ear to the wafer none were permitted to handle this grain, save those elven-women who were called Yavannildi ... the maidens of Yavanna; and the art of the making of the lembas, which they learned of the Valar, was a secret among them, and so ever has remained." Consider the calling, training, and life of one of the Yavannnildi, how her special trade might have served--or been abused--by the people of Middle-earth.

This challenge opened in June 2007 .