Levantine

[John_and_Yoko]

:rose:

The man in black appears before your eyes.
"Your fortune's what you seek, but e'en the wise
Could not tell you for certain what doth lie
Ahead within your future, so say I.

"But come, sit down a spell, whilst I essay
To tell aught you would know ere I away.
Three cards, no more, no less, do I lay down
Here at your feet, upon the rocky ground.

"The first is difficult to unconceal,
For April and May both are here revealed.
As winter thus to spring doth start the year,
So does this roaring force deign to appear. THUNDER (Jon)

"The second is the largest thing on earth,
The thing to which we all owe our first birth.
The softest thing it looketh to the eye,
But lo! It tramples mountains standing nigh. OCEAN (Maturins_Daughter)

"The third is last, and last it fitting be,
For it's the final end that you will see.
Ignored by all, yet come to tragedy
Do all as this doth claim its property. DEATH (Jon)

"The final clue I forthwith tell to you:
We three are half of six, and six we do
Make half of twelve, upon this towering height.
Tell, seeker, have you solved it now aright?" OLYMPUS (Gaberax)

[Jon]

The man in black (http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?t=2002) appears before your eyes.
"Your fortune's what you seek, but e'en the wise
Could not tell you for certain what doth lie
Ahead within your future, so say I.

"But come, sit down a spell, whilst I essay
To tell aught you would know ere I away.
Three cards, no more, no less, do I lay down
Here at your feet, upon the rocky ground.

"The first is difficult to unconceal,
For April and May both are here revealed. - Spring?
As winter thus to spring doth start the year,
So does this roaring force deign to appear.

"The second is the largest thing on earth,
The thing to which we all owe our first birth.
The softest thing it looketh to the eye,
But lo! It tramples mountains standing nigh.

"The third is last, and last it fitting be,
For it's the final end that you will see. - Death? - Armageddon?
Ignored by all, yet come to tragedy
Do all as this doth claim its property.

"The final clue I forthwith tell to you:
We three are half of six, and six we do
Make half of twelve, upon this towering height.
Tell, seeker, have you solved it now aright?"

[John_and_Yoko]

"Death" is right.

"Spring" is not, clearly, as the word is actually used in that stanza. Look at the words again and try to think of something associated with the spring.

[Jon]

April showers bring May flowers.

Rain and flora?

[John_and_Yoko]

April showers bring May flowers.

Rain and flora?

Close there, very close....

Neither is the exact answer for that clue, but one of them is VERY close, and can lead you to it.

[Jon]

Showers and flowers?

[John_and_Yoko]

Showers and flowers?

No, I said one of those is close to the right answer. You need to supply me with which one, and determine from that one the correct answer for that clue.

[Jon]

flower?

[BROWNINGS CHILDE]

Cloud?

[John_and_Yoko]

flower?

Nope.


Cloud?

Getting close....

[Jon]

Rain?

[John_and_Yoko]

Rain?

Closer....

[BROWNINGS CHILDE]

storm?

[John_and_Yoko]

storm?

A hair's breadth away....

[Jon]

Tornado?

[John_and_Yoko]

Tornado?

D'oh! :doh: You were going the right direction and veered off somewhere....

Back up a bit.... You were closer with "storm"....

(I'm using the plural "you" here, by the way, I know you're not the one who said "storm".... :P)

[Jon]

Thunderstorm?

[John_and_Yoko]

Thunderstorm?

Since the first part of that is right, I'm going to count it. :P

Now just the second clue (should be easy) and then the final answer (which should also be easy).

[SigTauGimp]

"The second is the largest thing on earth, Wind?Air?Breath?
The thing to which we all owe our first birth.
The softest thing it looketh to the eye,
But lo! It tramples mountains standing nigh.

[John_and_Yoko]

"The second is the largest thing on earth, Wind?Air?Breath?
The thing to which we all owe our first birth.
The softest thing it looketh to the eye,
But lo! It tramples mountains standing nigh.

Good guess, but I'm thinking of something bigger. Look at the last line for a clue....

[SigTauGimp]

The only other thing my mind keeps going back to is Time, from that one riddle from The Hobbit. :pullhair:

[John_and_Yoko]

The only other thing my mind keeps going back to is Time, from that one riddle from The Hobbit. :pullhair:

:wtf:

No, time isn't limited to Earth. I'm thinking of something uniquely Earthian--hence, physical.

[SigTauGimp]

The second is the largest thing on earth, Sand?Dirt?Ground?
The thing to which we all owe our first birth.
The softest thing it looketh to the eye,
But lo! It tramples mountains standing nigh.

[John_and_Yoko]

The second is the largest thing on earth, Sand?Dirt?Ground?
The thing to which we all owe our first birth.
The softest thing it looketh to the eye,
But lo! It tramples mountains standing nigh.

Do any of those things trample mountains?

I'm thinking of something bigger....

Maybe a look at the other two answers will help....

[John_and_Yoko]

Bumping this before I forget it exists.... :blush:

[Maturins_Daughter]

Water for the second?

[John_and_Yoko]

Water for the second?

VERY close, yes.... :D But it's more specific than that....

[John_and_Yoko]

Moving the riddle to this page for convenience's sake.

:rose:

The man in black appears before your eyes.
"Your fortune's what you seek, but e'en the wise
Could not tell you for certain what doth lie
Ahead within your future, so say I.

"But come, sit down a spell, whilst I essay
To tell aught you would know ere I away.
Three cards, no more, no less, do I lay down
Here at your feet, upon the rocky ground.

"The first is difficult to unconceal,
For April and May both are here revealed.
As winter thus to spring doth start the year,
So does this roaring force deign to appear. THUNDER (Jon)

"The second is the largest thing on earth,
The thing to which we all owe our first birth.
The softest thing it looketh to the eye,
But lo! It tramples mountains standing nigh. OCEAN (Maturins_Daughter)

"The third is last, and last it fitting be,
For it's the final end that you will see.
Ignored by all, yet come to tragedy
Do all as this doth claim its property. DEATH (Jon)

"The final clue I forthwith tell to you:
We three are half of six, and six we do
Make half of twelve, upon this towering height.
Tell, seeker, have you solved it now aright?" OLYMPUS (Gaberax)

[Maturins_Daughter]

Largest single thing on earth - Pacific Ocean

[John_and_Yoko]

Largest single thing on earth - Pacific Ocean

Not that specific....

I'll count it though, because you said "ocean." I was going for "sea," but what's the difference? :P Good job!

Now, care to tackle the final answer?

[John_and_Yoko]

Nobody? :orely:

It should be easy....

[John_and_Yoko]

Bumping this--I don't know why so few people are posting--you're SO CLOSE to the answer.... :unsure:

[Gaberax]

Bumping for bumping's sake.

[John_and_Yoko]

Bumping for bumping's sake.

:P

Coward.

[John_and_Yoko]

You bumped--are you going to guess and take this thing out of limbo?

I'm going to be very ashamed of everyone if they can't guess the final answer based on the clues.... :angry:



Thunder, Ocean, Death?

"We three are half of six, and six we do
Make half of twelve, upon this towering height."

What else COULD it be?

[John_and_Yoko]

Okay, this riddle has been up almost a month and no one's even bothered TRYING to guess the final answer?

PLEASE don't make me give it to you--it's too easy based on the other clues for me to cheat you out of it, and I don't want this thing to be a zombie forever....

[Gaberax]

Okay, this riddle has been up almost a month and no one's even bothered TRYING to guess the final answer?

PLEASE don't make me give it to you--it's too easy based on the other clues for me to cheat you out of it, and I don't want this thing to be a zombie forever....

Hold on! I haven't looked at it, honestly, except to bump it....

Is it the Greek Gods? Zeus, Poseidon, Hades? Mount Olympus for the Towering Height?

[Gaberax]

Bumping for an answer check:

Is it the Greek Gods? Zeus, Poseidon, Hades? Mount Olympus for the Towering Height?

[John_and_Yoko]

Bumping for an answer check:

Is it the Greek Gods? Zeus, Poseidon, Hades? Mount Olympus for the Towering Height?

YES, you got it! :D

Finally the zombie can be put out of its misery....

A zombie goose to you, with godlike portions to Jon and Maturins_Daughter!

[Gaberax]

Excellent Riddle. Sorry, I hadn't been in the forum lately and I have been scarce online these days. Thanks again for a wonderful riddle. :clap:

[John_and_Yoko]

Excellent Riddle. Sorry, I hadn't been in the forum lately and I have been scarce online these days. Thanks again for a wonderful riddle. :clap:

You're welcome! Thanks for answering it, and for the compliment--I was starting to wonder if everyone (not you, collectively everyone) was thinking, "That's so dumb I won't even dignify it with a response".... :blush:

Glad you liked it, though! :)

[Gaberax]

What I like most about this riddle (and riddles like it?) It will stand the test of time. It isn't tied to issues, people, clues of the moment but you could post it again in 10 years and a whole new batch of people could puzzle through it.

Keep up the good work. ;)

[John_and_Yoko]

What I like most about this riddle (and riddles like it?) It will stand the test of time. It isn't tied to issues, people, clues of the moment but you could post it again in 10 years and a whole new batch of people could puzzle through it.

Keep up the good work. ;)

Wow.

I don't think I've ever gotten that compliment on...well, ANYTHING. :wtf:

You, sir, have just made my day! :D Just for that you get your choice of sides with that goose!

[Jon]

We were just clueless J&Y.

[John_and_Yoko]

We were just clueless J&Y.

Well, see, I had no way of knowing that since no one posted to SAY they were--especially since I figured it couldn't have been easier based on the clues.... :P

Anyway, you got two of the three initial clues, so congratulations! :)

[Jon]

I'll keep that in mind.