I am admiring my new Warg and Orc right now. The orc is perched atop the Warg, menacingly glaring down at Frodo in the Mordor corner of the Woodsy Crypt. Treebeard is standing nearby, ready to squish the not-so-little orc if things get out of hand.
Did anyone read Elfquest back in the day? It was one of my favorite comics. I have the whole set of the original (actually they were the Epic/Marvel color reprints of the original) series. That was about a tribe of Elves, the Wolfriders, who were burned out of their home and went across the desert to meet other elves, and then went on a quest to find all the other elves out there in the wide world. Wolfriders. Warg riders. Quite different, actually. One of the Wolfrider chiefs was named Bearclaw, so obviously he was pretty cool, though he only appeared in flashback, being dead and all. (I have refrained from mentioning this to you, gabrielle, despite your elven obsession, because I don't think you would really care as much about these- they are not very Haldiry, really. But if you want to see, just let me know).
One of my other favorite comics back then was a mini-series called Longshot, about a guy who was lucky. As long as he kept his motives pure. That lesson really resonated with me- I always try to keep my motives pure. Not that I necessarily believe in luck. But I was thinking about motive today. Specifically, what motivates you to create? I think some people have the wrong motive- they want money or acclaim. But I don't know if you can produce something beautiful, however you define beauty, with such motives. Beauty, much more than luck, has to stem from pure motives.
I watched a movie that was sort of about that tonight, and also a perfect example of what I'm talking about- Moulin Rouge. (My excuse for not having seen it ere now- I was in Tibet when it came out.) The movie itself is absolutely beautiful, astonishing and thrilling. Seriously. And of course, it is about Truth and Beauty and Freedom and Love.
All the things that a Warg-rider is opposed to, in fact. Kind of funny, that.