Melkor
Melkor began the First War before Arda
even took
shape, having the upper hand until Tulkas the Strongcame from the Far
Heaven to the Little Kingdom, his
wrath and laughter driving Melkor away from Arda into the outer
darkness and earning special hatred. Tulkas remained, becoming
one of the Valar of Arda.
Melkor brooded, learning of the Valar through his
friends and spies among the Maiar whom he had converted to his
cause. He heard that they brought order to seas and lands,
Yavanna planting the first seeds, and the fires of Melkor being
subdued. This caused a need for new,
less violent light to nurture the seeds, so the Valar raised the twin
lamps
of Illuin and Ormal creating a changeless day. Plants grew
mightily,
animals came and dwelt there. No flower nor bird song was yet
present. So with this great victory and work accomplished, Manwe
ordered a feast
of celebration, and allowed rest, and at that time Tulkas espoused
Nessa.
Melkor, jealous of his peers, planned to subjugate
them to himself. So he gathered spirits from the halls of Ea, the
ones
whom he had perverted, and he came in a form dark as the night of the
Void
because of his hatred. But the Valar could not see his shadow
because
of the light of Illuin between them and because they feared no
evil.
Melkor built his underground fortress of Utumno beneath mountains to
which
the light of Illuin barely reached. His hatred flowed out from
there,
darkening, poisoning, and mutating Arda, but also revealing him to the
Valar.
Melkor attacked the lamps, breaking them. The
giant pillars crashing onto Arda were catastrophe enough, breaking
lands
and causing tumultous seas. But the spilling light burned over
the
earth. The first designs for Arda made by the Valar were
destroyed
and never regained.
In this horrible confusion, Melkor escaped, though
fear came over him, the only Vala to truly know fear, as above him he
heard the roaring seas of Ulmo, the mighty wind of the voice of Manwe
and the footsteps of Tulkas. But Melkor hid deep in Utumno, while
the Valar used most of their strength to restrain the disasters
occurring upon the earth. After that, they feared that if they
rent the earth in search of Melkor,
they would destroy the Children of Iluvatar whose sleeping location
none
knew save Eru. Thus Melkor ended the Spring of Arda and destroyed
Almaren, the dwelling place of the Valar in Middle-earth.
The Valar departed Middle-earth, going to the
westernmost land of Aman which looked upon the Outer Sea, called by
elves "Ekkaia", which
encircled Arda. They fortified their dwelling and made great
mansions,
and made their domain in that region, called Valinor, more beautiful
even
than Middle-earth in the Spring of Arda, blessed, and the deathless
dwelt
there. No flower faded, nor was there sickness or corruption, even the
stones
and water being hallowed. Yavanna made the Two Trees of
Valinor:
Telperion and Laurelin, known also by many other names. The trees
gave
cyclical light of gold and silver, causing the beginning of the Count
of
Time. The light falling from them like dew was collected by Varda
into
shining lakes that gave to all the land of the Valar both water and
light.
But Middle-earth had only the twilight from Varda's
early stars wrought in the time of Ea. In that near-darkness,
Melkor
sometimes left the utter darkness and walked abroad in powerful,
frightening
shapes using cold and fire, doing acts of cruelty, violence, and
death.
For the Valar were concerned with giving their care and love mostly to
their
own new land.
Manwe, however, did not forget Middle-earth and
thought on it, watching it and sending his spirits as hawks and eagles
over it to bring news. Their eyes saw to the bottom of the seas
and into the
caverns. Yet neither Manwe nor his servants could see into the
darkness
created by the dark thought of Melkor.
Ulmo too, remembered Middle-earth, his waters taking
his power and spirits even under the darkness of Melkor so that the
earth did not die, and the people of Middle-earth could be heard by him
through the waters. He will never forsake Middle-earth.
Yavanna sometimes went to Middle-earth to mend the
hurts to her beloved works and, on her return, to plead for war.
She set
a sleep on many of her creations, to awaken in some better day.
The
oldest living things had already arisen, which probably includes
Fangorn
and perhaps other beings more enigmatic.
Orome, tamer of beasts, sometimes hunted with spear
and bow the monsters plaguing Middle-earth while riding great, silver
Nahar, first and greatest of horses. Orome sounded his horns, the
Valaroma, made for him by Salmar, causing evil shadows to flee and
Melkor to quail even
deep in Utumno. But they returned after Orome left. So
Melkor, when the Firstborn wakened, gave them fearsome rumors of the
Hunter who
would catch any of them not in large groups, so that they feared Orome
at
first meeting.
Aule made many great and beautiful things, but
thought also of the great mystery of the Children of Iluvatar, and
created dwarves as his best guess at what they would be like.
These were only lifeless robots. Then he feared that he had done
evil in Eru's sight, and started to destroy them in atonement.
Amazingly, the dwarves cowered away
from him as no robot would. Eru spoke, saying that he had
adopted
the dwarves and given them life, but they must be made to sleep until a
more proper time as the elves were to be the Firstborn. To this
Aule
agreed, and the dwarves say that he cares for them even after death and
that those first dwarves, such as Durin, continue to reincarnate in
their
descendents.
Melkor did not sleep, but worked hard. His perverted
spirits walked abroad, as did the monsters he had caused from that
which already
existed. In Utumno, he gathered Maiar balrogs, "the spirits who
first
adhered to him in the days of his splendour, and became like him in his
corruption:
their hearts were of fire, but they were cloaked in darkness, and
terror
went before them; they had whips of flame." Melkor bred
many
other monsters of various shapes that would long trouble the
world.
His realm spread southward.
To resist any attack from Aman, he made a fortress
and armoury near the north-western shores, commanded by his lieutenant,
Sauron, and named it Angband.
The Valar called a Council, in which Yavanna and
Tulkas called for war. At Manwe's bidding, Mandos warned that the
Firstborn would awaken but it would be a while yet. They realized a war
could destroy the tiny unknown place where the elves slept. When they
awoke, they would be in darkness looking first upon the stars, and
therefore calling on Varda at time of need. After hearing this, Varda
took that time to accomplish
the greatest of the works of the Valar since their coming into Arda,
taking
the silver dews from the vat lakes she had collected from Telperion and
made new, brighter stars for the Firstborn. The ancient stars were too
dim
alone, so she gathered them into constellations which held meaning. The
constellation Valacirca was the Sickle of the Valar, sign of Doom, and
challenge to Melkor. Elves later on were known to sing to greet its
rising, defying Melkor in
that fashion.
The elves awakened, and saw these stars, the magic
of the starlight going into their eyes so that they glowed. Melkor was
first of the Valar to locate them, and set a fear of Orome upon them.
He sent
shadows and evil spirits to spy upon and waylay those who left the
group,
and the elves sung of the dark Rider who pursued them to death. Either
Melkor
actually sent out dark riders or but had the tale whispered. This could
have been a bit of old mythology that the Nine Black Riders could draw
upon
to add to their fearsomeness. In either case, the elves feared Orome
the
Hunter when at last they met. For Orome found them from their singing,
and
loved them. The elves who had the courage to remain saw that he was of
light,
and not of evil, drawing the noblest to him. But the elves who were
ensnared
by Melkor, it is said by the wise of Eressea, were imprisoned in
Utumno,
"and by slow arts of cruelty were corrupted and enslaved; and thus did
Melkor
breed the hideous race of Orcs...." The Orcs loathed and feared Melkor,
"maker
only of their misery". This was the deed of Melkor most hateful to Eru.
Then did Manwe call for war, as Eru told him it was
now time, to save the elves from Melkor. This caused grievous
destruction
to Arda, even thought the Valar did the battle swiftly. Melkor hated
the
elves, since he knew the Valar had come against him for love of them.
The gates of Utumno were at last broken and the hall
unroofed. Melkor hid in the deepest pit, but Tulkas stood as the
Valars' champion
and wrestled him, throwing him down on his face, and chained him with
Angainor
which Aule had made, making Melkor captive, brought before Manwe
blindfolded,
bound hand and foot. Peace came for a long time.
But many of his evil creatures escaped, and Sauron
they did not find.
The bound Melkor pleaded before Manwe, but was sent
to the inescapable Halls of Mandos for three ages, before he could
plead
again.
But the worry that his actions put into the minds of
the Valar caused them to make one of their greatest mistakes. In
Council, they debated the fate of the elves. Ulmo led those who wanted
the elves to remain free in Middle-earth and mend its hurts. But those
who prevailed feared harm that could come to them in such a dangerous
world, and desired the company of these beautiful new beings. They
called the elves to come out of Middle-earth to live with them "safely"
in Aman.
Part of the elves, the Avari, the "Unwilling",
preferred to remain under the starlight, causing a sundering of the
kindreds into the Avari and the Eldar. Of the Eldar, many, mostly
relatives of
the Teleri, did not go the full distance and relocated in Arda, and
were called
the Umanyar. All those who did not make it to Aman, whether Avari or
Umanyar,
were called Moriquendi, "Elves of the Darkness" or "dark elves", for
they
did not see the Light that was before the Sun and Moon.
The Caliquendi, "Elves of the Light", passed into
the uttermost West. They were also known as the Eldalie and were of
three groups. The Teleri, "Sea elves", also called Falmari for their
singing, were the
greatest in number and stopped on the shore of Aman itself. The Noldor,
"Deep
Elves", the people of Finwe, loved craftsmanship and were the friends
of
Aule. The smallest host, led by Ingwe, most high lord of the elvish
race,
was first to follow Orome, and never returned to Middle-earth. They
were
the beloved of Manwe and Varda, the Vanyar, "Fair Elves", and were
almost
never seen of men.
But Melkor broke even this supposed safety, for many
of the elves of Aman left it later, following the Noldo Feanor, with a
terrible oath to find the released Morgoth and the silmarils and to
gain vengeance.
For Melkor, after his long imprisonment in the Halls
of Mandos, pleaded with Manwe and gained his freedom, but as Mandos
knew, had not really changed in his heart. In time Melkor once
again began heinous deeds, protected from the Valar by their fear of
destroying the peoples of Arda and by the constraint of Feanor's oath
invoking Eru Iluvatar.
Earendil's arrival in Valinor, bringing back a
silmaril, and pleading the cause of both Man and Elf, ended the Oath's
hold over the Valar.
Morgoth, as an angry Feanor had renamed Melkor, was
captured by the other Valar with the aid of the Maiar, and
cast into the Void. Even then, his influence reached into Arda
and his deeds continued with the aid of his right hand, Sauron.
Melkor will not be completely stopped until the Last
Battle. Only after that will the Song of Eru be
sung
aright with the voices of all peoples, and Arda be made beautiful as it
was
foreplanned.
Reference: Silmarillion
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