The Complete Tolkien Companion (103 page)

In those days (if ‘days' is the correct word, since the count of Time had not yet begun) the Valar dwelt in the Isle of Almaren, together with their people, the Maiar, to whom they were as Kings and Queens. Almaren was their first home in Middle-earth, and the period of their abiding there under the mingled light of the Lamps is called by tradition The Spring of Arda. All things flourished. Yet evil befell them: the evil of Melkor, who in his origins had been the brother of Manwë Súlimo and the greatest of all the Valar. So mighty was Melkor that he envied even Ilúvatar (The One), and strove with Him even before the Creation. For this he had been rebuked; and from that time onwards he had withheld his aid, and had taken no part in the making of Arda, but had done much to mar it. One war he had fought already – and had lost it. Now he brooded in outer darkness; or so the Valar thought, for in those far-off times they were slow to comprehend the nature of Evil.

The result of their passivity was the secret, unhindered return of Melkor to Middle-earth, and the delving of Utumno, his great fortress in the North. Soon, by various signs, the Valar in Almaren were aware that he was once again at work; but before they could take steps against him he struck first. In a series of mighty blows he overthrew the Lamps, plunging Middle-earth into a Darkness that was to endure for Ages upon Ages, and in the convulsions engendered thereby Almaren was destroyed. The Valar had suffered their first defeat.

For that time they could not avenge themselves upon Melkor, being occupied with saving what they could from the ruin. And when finally the surface of the World had quietened, and the Equilibrium was once again in hand, the Valar decided to abandon Middle-earth to Melkor for a time, until they felt ready to reclaim it from him. For themselves they made a new home: Aman the Blessed in the Far West. At this time the Two Trees first grew and sent forth their Light; yet though Middle-earth remained dark for Ages to come, the Valar remained quiescent in Valinor. A city they built: Valimar. And on the highest peak of Taniquetil Manwë built his high halls, from which he oversaw and heard everything that came to pass, save in the darkened lands to the East.

So the slow Ages wound on. And in due course there came to the Valar news of the event they had awaited since the Dawn: the awakening of the Firstborn Children of Ilúvatar: the Elves. By this time the Valar were again grown powerful, and they, now fearing for the safety of the Quendi in darkened Middle-earth, determined to settle accounts with Melkor (it is worth noting that their motive in launching war upon him at this time was not revenge for Almaren and the Lamps, but pre-emption of any evil he might yet commit against the Erusen).

In the resultant Battle of the Powers (as it is called by the Eldar) Melkor was taken prisoner and Utumno was destroyed; but his lesser stronghold of Angband was only levelled, and by lurking deep underground, many evil creatures survived the wrath of the Powers. Nonetheless, the way was now clear for the Quendi to fulfil their destiny – if they so wished. For at this time the Valar themselves were confused. Evil, they now knew, might awake again in Middle-earth at some future time; for the Great Darkness still endured. So there were two apparent choices: to lighten Middle-earth once again, and so remove the fear of renascent evil and safeguard the Quendi (and the Atani who were still to come); or to summon the Quendi to Valinor, there to dwell with the Valar in bliss and everlasting life, in a land illuminated by the holiest Light that has ever been seen in the World. In making their choice, the Valar were guided by their experience; and this seemed to tell them that to lighten Middle-earth and leave the Quendi to dwell there might, in the end, prove disastrous. For who of the Valar had foreseen that Melkor would prove able to overthrow the Lamps Illuin and Ormal? Yet he had done this very thing. The safest course was to summon the Quendi to Valinor, for no evil could ever enter the Blessed Realm. Or so most of the Valar then believed.

(As was afterwards seen, this decision, though blessed with many fair consequences, also had its darker side; yet the memory of Almaren was strong, and the experience of Melkor's power for destruction had been profound; and unlike The One, the Valar were not infallible in their judgements.)

Of the events which followed the summoning of the Quendi to the Far West much is said in the
Quenta Silmarillion.
For three Ages of Middle-earth Melkor languished, a captive, in the Halls of Mandos; while the Eldar who had completed the Great Journey from the land of their birth throve in Valinor and Eldamar, beloved of the Valar and Maiar. But still Middle-earth endured the Great Darkness, though this had now been enhanced by the stars created by Varda at the time of the awakening of the Quendi. Yet under that starlit Night the evil of Melkor still moved in Middle-earth, though directionless and impotent. And in the end the time came for the release of Melkor; for in this matter the Valar were bound by their word, and three Ages of imprisonment – no more – had been decreed for him, providing he showed repentance. This he did (though falsely), and was released. And before long his will had crossed the Sea and had entered the minds of his creatures in Middle-earth, so that they began to increase in number.

Finally, deeming himself (accurately) already under suspicion of falseness, and having worked what small evil he could in Valinor, Melkor fled. Powerless to repeat his first great blow, he nevertheless had power enough to strike another, equally grievous, before his flight. With the aid of the monster Ungoliant he poisoned the Two Trees and stole the Silmarils, slaying Finwë of the Noldor to do so. In this way the ancient hope of the Valar, that evil could never enter the Blessed Realm, was brought to nothing; and worse was to follow.

For Melkor's last and greatest rebellion led to the seduction into evil of many other creatures – and in time the Seduced themselves became Seducers, so that a mighty consequence of Melkor's treachery was the rebellion of the Noldor and the War of the Great Jewels, with all the evil that entailed. And the process of corruption did not stop there – indeed it had been in process since the beginning of Arda, when many of the Ainur had gone over to Melkor's side. Evil followed evil – and perhaps the greatest evil of all was the rebellion of the Atani (the Númenoreans) and their assault upon the Undying Lands at the end of the Second Age.

But at the time of the rebellion of Morgoth and his flight to Middle-earth the Valar envisaged no such development. Rather than use force to prevent the revengeful Noldor from forsaking the Undying Lands in pursuit of the evil Vala, they merely ratified the High-elves' exile until such time as they should truly repent; yet after a while they could no longer stand aside from the affairs of Middle-earth. The host they sent to Middle-earth at the end of the First Age was the greatest force that has ever been in the world; so irresistible was it that Morgoth – who had hitherto been almost totally victorious – was crushed and his evil realm of Angband destroyed in the cataclysm unleashed upon him. This apocalyptic event also destroyed the Grey-elves' land of Beleriand, and so changed for ever the destiny of Elves in Middle-earth.

Yet the Valar, Guardians of the World, were concerned above all with the innocent. The race of Men, which had appeared in Middle-earth during the later First Age, and which had fought unselfishly against evil with no thought of gain, seemed more deserving of reward than those of the High-elves who had survived the wars; and so the Valar gave to the Atani (Men) a land of their own, far out in the Western Seas and removed from the perils of Middle-earth. And yet this generous gesture, designed to repair in part the evils caused by Morgoth and Fëanor, led in the end to a disaster of even greater proportions: for an Age of the World Númenor grew in power and splendour and pride, and under the evil teaching of Sauron, servant of Morgoth, eventually rebelled, like others before, against the authority of the Guardians. This time the peril was too great for even the Valar to overcome unaided, and they ‘laid down their Guardianship and called upon the One, and the world was changed. Númenor was thrown down and swallowed in the Sea, and the Undying Lands were removed for ever from the circles of the world.'
3

After the Drowning of Númenor the Valar, chastened by their self-evident failure, determined to take no further direct part in the affairs of mortals. Instead, they sent messengers to Middle-earth to work against Evil – but these emissaries were themselves forbidden to use the awesome powers of their race; instead, they were made subject to the same laws which bound mortals (apart from lifespan). These were the beings known in Middle-earth as
Istari
or Wizards, and their individual successes and failures in their appointed tasks are recorded elsewhere.

Yet it may be said that, in this final attempt to maintain the Balance, the Valar achieved a more lasting success than with all previous policies. For although they had not themselves originated Evil, it was one of their race who had done so – and they had failed to win him back to their side, in which cause he might have done mighty service. They had failed to foresee the blows he had struck against them, when the Lamps were cast down and their first realm destroyed (perhaps they were lulled by bliss, and by pride in their achievements). Determined nonetheless to fulfil their Guardianship, they had succeeded in ensuring the survival of the Firstborn – but they had failed to prevent evil from entering their second realm, with all its attendant consequences. Indeed, they had invited it in. And in caring overmuch for the West, they neglected the East, so that evil was not stamped out, nor has it ever been; and the Second People, when they arrived in the World, did so at a time of confusion and fear, which marred them ever after. All this was accountable to the Valar, though not directly, for indeed no evil has ever entered into any of them, save Melkor alone.

Valarauka
‘Demon of Might' (Q.) –
See
BALROG
.

Valaróma
‘Mighty Trumpet' (Q.) – The hunting-horn of the Vala
OROMË THE GREAT
.

Vales of Anduin
– All the lands between the westernmost eaves of Mirkwood and the eastern foothills of the Misty Mountains.

Valier
‘Queens of the Valar' (Q.) – The name given in the lore of the Eldar (
see Valaquenta
) to the seven most royal of the female
VALAR
, or Powers, corresponding to the seven Lords.

The Valier are: Varda (Elbereth);
Yavanna Kementári; Nienna
sister of the Fëanturi;
Estë
the Healer;
Vairë
the Weaver;
Vána
sister of Yavanna, spouse of Oromë; and
Nessa
his sister, the bride of Tulkas. Varda, Yavanna and Nienna are in addition accounted
Aratar,
members of the innermost Council of the Powers.

Valimar
‘Home of the Valar' (Q.) – Also written
Valmar.
This name is applied in a general sense to the Land of the Valar, also called
Valinor,
but more properly to the City in the middle of that land.
See also
following entry.

Valinor
‘[Land]-of-the-Valar' (Q.; from older form
Valinórë
‘[People] of the Valar') – The name in the High-elven tongue for the second abode in Arda of the Valar or Powers; whose capital was
Valimar
or
Valmar.
Valinor was founded after the destruction of Almaren, the first dwelling in Arda of the Powers. Its dimensions are of course not recorded, but it originally embraced the entire Isle of Aman; only later was the easternmost portion of this land set aside as a dwelling for the Eldar – being renamed Eldamar as a consequence – while the Valar and Maiar withdrew into the land west of the Mountains they had raised as a defence against Melkor. (In this connection Valinor is also sometimes known as the Guarded Realm.) Its chief and only city was Valimar (or Valmar) of the Bells; and at the western gate of Valmar stood the chief council-place of the Aratar, the Mahanaxar or Ring of Doom. Before the Mahanaxar stood the green mound Ezellohar; and upon its summit, in ancient times, stood the Two Trees of renown.

Elsewhere there were gardens and enchanted woods, and fields of grain, and orchards, and lakes: each the particular domain of one of the Valar or Valier, peopled by their servants and followers, the Maiar. The westerly boundary was the shore of the Encircling Sea, Ekkaia, where stood the lonely Halls of Mandos. North and south of Valinor the Valar and Maiar did not journey.

Valinorean
– The speech of the Valar. Little or nothing of this ancient language has been recorded, but doubtless it played some part in the enriching of the Quenya tongue far back in the Elder Days, and so a certain resemblance between the two languages may be assumed.

Valley of Dreadful Death
– A translation of the Sindarin name
NAN DUNGORTHEB
.

Valmar
–
See
VALINOR
.

Vána
– A Lady of the Valar, accounted one of the
Valier
(though not among the
Aratar
). She was the sister of Yavanna, and shared many of Kementári's powers and characteristics, being especially attuned to both
olvar
and
kelvar.
Vána the ‘Ever-young' (one of her titles) is the spouse of Oromë.

Vanimeldë (Tar-Vanimeldë)
– From 2526–2637 Second Age, the third Ruling Queen (and sixteenth Ruler) of Númenor. On her passing her husband claimed (and took) the Sceptre of Númenor, reigning as ‘Tar-Anducal', but after his death the legitimacy of his reign was cast into doubt. He was succeeded by his (and Vanimeldë's) son Alcarin.

Vanyar
‘Fair-elves' (Q.) – The First Kindred of the Eldar, the ‘Highest' of all High-elves. Led by Ingwë, their first and only King (Ingwë is also accounted High-king of all Elves), the Vanyar were foremost in the Great Journey from Cuiviénen to Aman, and tarried not at all in mortal lands, for they had been transfixed by the vision of Aman compellingly described for them by Ingwë, and sought only to come to the Uttermost West as speedily as possible. This they did, and never again yearned for Middle-earth – and never returned save on one occasion: as warriors of the Host of Valinor, come to wreak final justice on Melkor. Of all the Quendi the Vanyar were the most beloved of the Valar; and after an Age they forsook the fair and splendid city of Tirion – in whose building they had played a great part – and, seeking ever to come closer to the Light of the Trees and the society of the Valar, migrated through the Calacirya into Valinor and never came back, save as guests of their kinsmen.