<DIV> <p>The magical history of the Ring Lords, alluded to in J.R.R. Tolkein&rsquo;s Th<I>e Lord of the Rings</I>, has been largely consigned to legend and half-remembered battles between good and evil. Shrouded in supernatural enigma, its legacy lives on in fascinating tales of fairies, elves, witches, and vampires.<BR> <BR> The most popular Grail stories relate to Arthurian tales of Guinevere&rsquo;s golden Ring and the great iron-clad Ring of Camelot&mdash;the Knights of the Round Table. When this Ring was broken, the land fell into chaos and the forces of darkness reigned over the earth, starlight, and forest. <BR> <BR> Why do we sense deeper truths behind the mysteries of the Ring and the Grail? Why have their common enhancements been distorted and hidden? <BR> <BR> The ancient guardians of our culture have never featured positively in academic teachings, for they were the Shining Ones: the real progenitors of our heritage. Instead, their reality was quashed from the earliest days of Inquisitional suppression and the literal diminution of their figures caused a parallel diminishing of their history. In truth, however, the sovereign legacy of our culture comes from a place and time that might just as well be called Middle-earth as by any other name. It lingers beyond the twilight portal in the long distant realm of the Ring Lords.</p> </div>