Elanor closed her book. To know the plants was to know the heart of the land itself.
The sun had not yet climbed over the Misty Mountains when Elanor, a young apprentice to the herbalists of Rivendell, stepped into the dew-heavy gardens. In her hand was a weathered leather journal, its pages dedicated to the . Flora of Middle-Earth : plants of J.R.R. Tolkie...
She stopped first before a cluster of . To the untrained eye, it was a common weed, but Elanor knew its secret. She crushed a leaf between her fingers, and a scent like mountain air and starlight filled the clearing. It was the "Kingsfoil," a plant of fading power that still whispered of the ancient Númenóreans. Elanor closed her book