Olórë Mallë

It has been said to me, though the truth I know not, that that lane ran by devious routes to the homes of Men, but that way we never trod when we fared thither ourselves. It was a lane of deep banks and great overhanging hedges, beyond which stood many tall trees wherein a perpetual whisper seemed to live; but not seldom great glow-worms crept about its grassy borders ... These too were the earliest children -- the children of the fathers of the fathers of Men that came there; and for pity the Eldar sought to guide all who came down that lane into the cottage and the garden, lest they strayed into Kôr and became enamoured of the glory of Valinor; for then would they either stay there for ever, and great grief fall ontheir parents, or would they wander back and long for ever vainly, and become strange and wild among the children of Men.

Early in Tolkien's mythology, in The Cottage of Lost Play from The Book of Lost Tales 1, he tells of an extraordinary road that leads from the homes of Men to Tol Eresseä. Along this road, the children of Men travel in their dreams and visit the Elves and a wondrous world beyond their own borders. While the idea of Olórë Mallë--or the Path of Dreams--was quickly abandoned, dreams remained important throughout Tolkien's works. Through dreams, Melian receives word of what transpires in Valinor. Finrod and Turgon are moved to establish their respective hidden kingdoms because of Ulmo's voice in their dreams. Thingol receives hints of Beren's arrival and Beren receives portents of his father's death in the strange world of dreams. Eärendil turns his ship back to Beleriand because of a dark dream.

This challenge asks authors to consider their characters' dreams. What dreams haunted the Noldor, Edain, and Dwarves on the night before the Nirnaeth Arnoediad? What dreams of her child might have caused a mother to name him as she did? What silly, hopeful dreams drove a character in his youth? Any story, poem, or drabble about dreams will do. This month, we invite our members and guests to step upon Olórë Mallë and consider where it leads.

This challenge opened in August 2007 .