Thranduil's Elk

Irish Elk, Flickr "labeled for reuse"

Tolkien, to me, is simply a painter of words. He is the father of epic fantasy, caretaker of the ancient races, and an inspiration to all. If you are not a subscriber to his work (which seems a word too common to describe his masterpieces), may I recommend you visit a different blog (or at least blogpost). Although, this blog is not exclusively about the world of Middle Earth and beyond, know that a fair number of posts will concern it.

I can't put in to words, the pain that pierces me, that never again will I see a work of Tolkien in theatres. I had both the joy and the tragedy of watching The Battle of the Five Armies on December 15th. I will be writing a number of posts about this movie in the future. All I wanted to talk about in this post is Thranduil's elk, who first appeared in The Unexpected Journey. 

As a rider of, horses, seeing the Elvenking ride upon a Irish Elk was fantastic. Needless to say, I now want to ride and elk. I actually did find out, that the Sami people, ride reindeer. So my wish, my not be an impossibility. If I'm not mistaken Irish Elk are extinct, however, are rather similar to the still living elk of today.

Expect more posts about this mystical creature, but for now, I've spent enough of your time, talking about elks.

Wikimedia Commons "labeled for reuse"