XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien   
   From: no.spam@no.spam   
      
   I believe I have a Lesser Ring. That is, one made by the Elves   
   as an essay in the ring-making craft before it was full grown.   
   Indeed to the Elven smiths but a trifle, yet still in Gandalf's   
   mind dangerous for mortals.   
      
   It came to me disguised as an Engineer's Iron Ring, presented   
   in a secret Masonic-like ceremony at college graduation.   
   It is plain and unadorned, except for a multifaceted texture   
   engraved by the smith(s) that made it.   
      
   And why would this trifle be hazardous (beyond from the general   
   caution not to meddle in the affairs of wizards)? Mainly because   
   if Sauron were ever to re-acquire the One, then the holders   
   of ALL the rings, even the Lesser ones like mine might come   
   under his sway.   
      
   In fact this may have happened already. Perhaps I am   
   an inadvertent agent of the Dark Lord. I remember coveting   
   an Iron Ring as a symbol of prestige and pride. Alas, as it   
   is written, pride goeth before a fall.   
      
   So beware of my postings. They may well contain hidden traps   
   to snare the unwary. Think you that the Base Master of   
   Treachery would be constrained to gnaw himself in the shadows   
   indefinitely, never again to grow or take shape? Nay; he can   
   still use others as his weapons. So do all great lords,   
   if they are wise.   
      
   Of course all this is mere speculation. Perhaps my trove   
   is merely a toroidal chunk of stainless steel after all.   
   But strangely enough someone yesterday in hooded black robes   
   offered me a pet Pteranadon with a 10 meter wing span   
   complete with riding tack. Of course I thought nothing of it   
   at the time as this sort of thing is strictly routine for me,   
   but then when I came to check for new messages on this forum   
   I began to wonder...   
      
   SQ   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)