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Riddles

vexx32

By vexx32
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Noname117

Noname117

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So, the first 4 lines essentially limit it to something that is not human. "a song with no words" suggests some sort of noise, either from nature or from a creature, but not from a human or human-built device. "a meal with no bread" suggests it eats something, but not prepared food at least. This could mean natural plants or animals, or it could mean nothing at all. Having a dwelling made not by hands either suggests that other body parts, such as the mouth, the feet, or paws made the dwelling, or the dwelling was carved from nature. The lack of cloths, again, suggests that the object in mind is an animal or natural.

The second set of lines essentially says that it doesn't appear under the sun, but can instead be heard while children sleep, which suggests something nocturnal.

I do think "owl" fits well, but since you said it wasn't the answer... well, time to go thinking again!

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vexx32

vexx32

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I can just hear the collective groans and cringes as they wait for another session of torture :P

Welp, here goes!

I am a haven from the darkness,

A sentinel in the heart of shadow.

Keep me close till cold grows less,

Hide me from my death below.

My breath is bright, yet my self is dark,

Though I be crowned, with vibrant glory.

I wilt from one small point to closed arc,

And my crown is dust come end of story.

What am I?

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vexx32

vexx32

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Whoop. That took longer than expected. Sorry. I just edited the post to explain it, but now it's on the last page... Ah well, I'll just edit it into this one so people see it.

The meaning is not always obvious, aye, but it wouldn't be much of a riddle otherwise. :P (Also, I am guilty of trying to pack an awful lot into only a few words, which really doesn't help with clarity, I know.)

Right, let's see. This was written so long ago that even I might have forgotten a few things, so bear with me xD

N.B.: I can be excessively verbose, so... well, fair warning, eh?

I am shrouded in darkness and fog,

And forever I await in shadow and smog;

So basically, the whole idea of faith is that it's a kind of trust in something that is entirely uncertain. The whole idea of faith is a little shady and hazy, but it's existed in some form for, conceivably, all of human history (though yes, it does get a bit blurry when you start to ask questions like 'at what point in the evolutionary tree did we become conscious at all?'). People all have slightly varied definitions of what faith is, and although you can apply a general definition to it, as I have here, a lot of people will argue with you on the finer points of it. 'Tis shrouded by the darkness and shadows cast by people's opinions.

I endure unnoticed and o'erlooked at

Beginning and end, but you know all that.

Faith has begun... an awful lot of things. Again, argue all you want. Opinions differ everywhere. Different kinds of faith are responsible for pretty much everything that goes on -- their beginnings. If it weren't for a form of faith, nobody would 'take chances' and do something they aren't sure of being able to finish. Business ventures, wars, building projects, coding projects, etc. The attitude is often "let's just see how this goes." There's always that little bit of faith that pushes people forward, past the doubt and lets them get on with it. As a result, not everything is certain to be completed, thus faith is also the end of some things also; after some failures, people simply aren't willing to try again, or don't see it worthwhile enough. Faith is a double edged sword, in that respect; sometimes it makes us jump the gun, go for things too early, and as a result never end up finishing them at all. It being overlooked is, at least to me, rather self-explanatory -- people restrict faith to things like gods and demons, heaven and hell, and a million variations thereof. It's entirely overlooked in the normal context of life, but still very much present, in my opinion.

When at last the Sun ceases to rise beyond

Tired eyes, you'll find me as a clear cool pond;

Soothing, easing, calming, 'till no voice

Of calm assertion will alter your final choice.

When the sun ceases to rise... it's a metaphor for the end of the end. When the sun's dead, everything's ended. (Naturally, the Earth would be fried by that time, but that's not what I'm focusing on here!) But basically, at the end of the road, faith is a calming thing. A lack of logic, but reassurance nonetheless that the choice was well made. This section is also saying that at the end of the end of your choice, when you've thought it through all you want, faith is what keeps you from being dissuaded. Sometimes that's good, being certain in yourself and your logic without actually going and having to reevaluate it constantly, but sometimes it's also bad, especially when there was absolutely zero logic to begin with... and yeah, in such cases it might be better that the person could be dissuaded... but oftentimes not. I can't count the number of times someone I've spoken to has simply refused to acknowledge simple logic, refused to even think through their (somewhat blind) faith. It's a pain, but it's got its flipside, as all things do...

Choice I may be, but yet not always a free

Decision, as mind's malleable tree

Grows according to the influence of the grove;

The choice of one may infect all but love.

Faith is, in a sense, choice. However, a lot of people aren't really aware of making that choice. Kids are impressionable, and a lot of them are brought up to just believe things, without them being properly explained. And no, before you say I'm just hating on religion here, there are a lot of things that people accept on faith when they're young. For example, has anyone ever actually explained why we give colours definite names, or why this colour has to have this name? Most likely not -- you'll probably be able to follow the logic now, but I doubt anyone's bothered to explain it to you. You were just taught that red is red, and green is green, and you accepted it. And I'm getting somewhat philosophical here, (hey, what's new, right?) but faith is a very hard thing to think through once it's been accepted and integrated. As such, one of the best ways to fight it with something else that tends to defy cold logic in many cases -- emotion. Love is a representative of that, as it is often touted as perhaps the strongest, most complex or versatile emotion that humans are capable of feeling.
My power is no more than an illusory spell;

Those that wield me as power so fell

Do not yet know that I am merely their own

Savage might, living alone in a town

Of empty buildings, reaching for the sky.

This is a bit of a more abstract thing. As I touched on before, faith is not power. It's merely a way to overcome doubt and things that hold one back from doing something which you may very well be capable of doing, even if you're not sure you are. There are people who consider faith to be a form of power. It kind of is, but it's a very hollow power -- because all the power it can hold can only come from you, in the end. The bit about a town of empty buildings reaching for the sky was actually a reference to a particular manga, and I doubt many of you caught that, but I don't think it was too important to the riddle itself. It wouldn't have kept you from getting the answer in the end, though it may have been somewhat confusing.
Within such a home I wait and grow

From small seed of ember and snow

To great inferno and blizzard of fire

And ice, like one sung by bard on lyre.

The home being the mind (some might say the soul or the spirit). The smallest things taken on faith gradually make us more accustomed to using it, and though we oft overlook the fact that we utilise it at all, we never really leave it behind. Properly wielded, it lets us be us, to our fullest potential, a veritable blizzard of fire and ice, as one might hear from a bard in some old half-forgotten legend. (Yeah, I read too many damn medieval fantasy books. Sue me.) One person is hardly an army, but if they know themselves and trust in their own capabilities... they sure as hell can cause as much trouble as one.

(also, it's your turn, Tanuki, in case you're wondering; we're just waiting for you atm)

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