The Silmarillion-Book 2

Valaquenta

The Account of the Valar and Maiar
according to the lore of the Eldar

The VALAR is the name that the Elves have given to the Great Spirits, the Powers of Arda. Men often call them Gods. There are seven Valar Lords and seven Valier Queens.

MANWË is closest to Ilúvatar and was appointed to the first among the Valar. His realm is the air, wind and the clouds; His full name is Manwë Súlimo, Súlimo means Lord of the Breath. Manwë loves all swift birds especially the giant eagles; they come and go at his bidding.

His spouse is VARDA, the Lady of the Stars, who knows all the regions of Eä. She knew Melkor before the making of the Music and rejected him, and now he hates her more than all the others.

With Varda at his side, Manwë can see farther than any others, through mist and darkness and over the leagues of the sea. With Manwë at her side, Varda can hear more clearly than any others; voices from hills and valleys and dark places. The Elves hold Varda in great reverence; they call her name in the shadows of Middle-earth and uplift it in song under the stars.

ULMO is the Lord of the Waters and dwells alone. He moves under the seas at will with no single dwelling place. He is second to Manwë and was his friend during the time before they came to Valinor. Ulmo doesn't like to walk on land, but he loves both Elves and Men and never abandons them even when they are under the wrath of the other Valar. Sometimes he will go up the great firths to make music on his Ulumúri which are horns made from white shell. Those who hear his music acquire a longing for the sea that never goes away. Ulmo rules all waters, lakes, streams, rivers, seas, fountains and springs.

AULË is the third in line and rules over all the substances of the Earth. He is the master of the walls of the mountains and the basins of the sea, as well as the gold and gems found there. Melkor was jealous of Aulë for they were the most alike in thought and power. Both Aulë and Melkor desired to make creations of their own design. And Aulë did create things on his own, even as Melkor did. The difference was that in the end, Aulë remained faithful and submitted all to the will of Ilúvatar. Beyond that, he did not envy others, but sought and gave them counsel. Melkor spent his energy on malice and hate until he could not create anything except in mockery of that which was already made; he wanted to destroy the works of the others if he could.

YAVANNA, the Giver of Fruits, is the spouse of Aulë. In the Eldaran tongue, she is called KEMENTÁRI, Queen of the Earth. She loves all green and growing things, and knows every plant in the world. She is second to Varda in reverence. She is tall, and sometimes takes other shapes. She has been seen standing like tall tree, crowned with the Sun, roots deep in the waters of Ulmo with the winds of Manwë blowing through her leaves; dripping golden dew upon barren ground until corn and other plants grew there.

NÁMO also called MANDOS, after the name of his settlement, and Irmo often called Lórien, after the name of his lands. Together, they are the FËANTURI, the masters of spirits, and are brothers. The Halls of Mandos are in the western part of Valinor. He is the keeper of the Houses of the Dead and he summons the spirits of the slain. He knows all things that were and that will be, except the things that lie in freedom with Ilúvatar. He is the Doomsayer of the Valar, but he pronounces his judgements only at the bidding of Manwë. The Halls of Mandos grow as the ages pass.

VAIRË the Weaver is his spouse. She weaves her cloth with the stories of everything that has ever happened, and the Halls of Mandos are covered with them.

LÓRIEN or IRMO is the younger spirit of the Fëanturi. He is the master of visions and dreams. His made his gardens in Valinor and called the place Lórien. It is the fairest place on earth and is filled with many spirits.

ESTË is his spouse and is usually clothed in grey. She is the healer of hurts and of weariness; rest is her gift. By day she sleeps on an island in the Lake of Lórien. From the fountains of Irmo and Estë, all those who dwell in Valinor find refreshment; often the Valar themselves come to Lórien to find rest and ease from the burden of Arda.

NIENNA is the sister of the Fëanturi. She is greater than Estë and she dwells alone. During the Great Music, her song turned to lamentation long before its end, because of the wounds of Arda. The sound of her mourning was woven into the themes of the world long before it began. Those who listen to her song learn pity and endurance and hope. Her Halls are west of the West, on the borders of the world. The windows of her house look outward from the walls of the world. She seldom comes to Valimar, the main city of the Valar, where all is glad. Instead, she usually visits the Halls of Mandos which are near to her own. For the spirits that dwell in the Halls of Mandos, she brings strength to their spirit and turns their sorrow to wisdom.

TULKAS Astaldo, the Valiant, was the last of the Ainur to come to Arda to aid the Valar in their first battles with Melkor. He delights in contests of strength and rides no steed, for he can outrun all things that are on feet and he is tireless. His hair and beard are golden. He has no thought of past or present; he is not a counsellor but a friend.

NESSA, the sister of Oromë, is his spouse; she is also lithe and fleetfooted. She loves deer and they follow her, but she can outrun them. She takes great delight in dancing and dances in Valimar on lawns of never fading green.

OROMË is a mighty lord almost as strong as Tulkas. He loves the lands of Middle Earth and left those lands for the blessed realm of Valinor reluctantly. He is a hunter of monsters and beasts; he delighted in horses and hounds. He is a lover of trees, and so is called "Aldaron" by the Eldar, and "Tauron", the "Lord of the Forests" by the Sindar. His horse is called Nahar, white as the sun by day and silver by night. Valaróma is the name of his great horn.

VÁNA, the Ever-Young is the younger sister of Yavanna and is the spouse of Oromë. All flowers spring as she passes and open if she glances at them; all birds sing at her coming.

The ARATAR are the high ones of Arda, originally Nine, but now are eight and consist of Manwë and Varda, Ulmo, Yavanna and Aulë, Mandos, Nienna and Oromë. Though Manwë is their King, these eight are peers surpassing all others of the Valar, Maiar or any other order that Ilúvatar has sent to Eä.

With the Valar came other spirits who began before the world; they are of the same order as the Valar but of a lesser degree. These are called the Maiar, the servants and helpers. Their number is not known and few have names in the language of the Elves. They seldom appear in a form visible to the Elves and Men.

Chief among the ones that are known is ILMARË, the handmaiden to Varda, and EÖNWË, the herald of Manwë. The best known is OSSË, the vassal of Ulmo and master of the seas that wash the shores. He loves coastlines and islands and the winds of Manwë upon the waters; he seldom goes to the depths of the sea. In storms he delights and laughs amid the roaring of the waves. His spouse is UINUN, the Lady of the Seas who loves all creatures that live in salt streams, including the weeds that grow there. She is the protector of the Númenóreans for she can restrain the wildness of Ossë.

Melkor hated the sea for he could not subdue it; in the beginning he attempted to win over Ossë, promising him the power of Ulmo, if he would serve Melkor. Ossë caused great damage to the lands, but Uinen, at the request of Aulë, restrained him and brought him before Ulmo where he was pardoned. Since then he has remained faithful with a few exceptions. He still delights in violence and at times will rage without any command from his Lord Ulmo. Those who dwell by the sea and sail in boats may love him, but they do not trust him.

MELIAN served Vána and Estë; she dwelt long in Lórien tending to the trees that flower in the gardens of Irmo before she came to Middle Earth.

OLÓRIN was the wisest of the Maiar. He dwelt in Lórien but his travels took him to the Halls of Nienna where he learned pity and patience. He often walked among the Elves unseen, or he made himself look like one of them. He gave them fair visions and promptings of wisdom. In later days, he was a friend to all the Children of Ilúvatar and took pity on them; those who listened to him awoke from despair and put away their fear of darkness.

MELKOR (he who arises in might) was a name that was forfeited; the Elves of the Noldor (Fëanor) named him MORGOTH, the Dark Enemy of the World. The Noldor suffered the most at the hands of Melkor.

In the ages before the coming of the Children, Melkor held dominion over a large part of the world, and many of the Maiar were attracted to his greatness. They remained allied with him after his fall, and others came to his service through lies and treacherous gifts. The most dreadful spirits were the VALARAUKAR, the scourges of fire, called Balrogs.

Among his servants that have names, the greatest of these was SAURON, also known as Gorthaur the Cruel. In the beginning, Sauron was a servant of Aulë, and retained the learning of lore from that service. When he became a servant of Morgoth, he became like a shadow behind him; walking down the same ruinous path into the Void.