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Called sometimes Gods by Men, they were actually the Holy Spirits or Archangels that created Arda and the continent of Middle Earth.
Forget now about all your meaningless earthly mythologies, they are the real origin of us all, whether Men, Elves, Dwarves, Ents, Orcs or Atlanto-Meds. Which one would you pray to?
(God, He that is Alone):
ERU (ILŚVATAR) 'The One, Father of All'
Eru is the supreme being, transcendent, and completely outside of and beyond the world. He first created a group of angelic beings, called in Elvish the Ainur, and these holy spirits were co-actors in the creation of the universe through a holy music and chanting called the "Music of the Ainur" (Ainulindalė). Eru alone can create independent life or reality by giving it the Flame Imperishable. All beings not created directly by Eru, (e.g. Dwarves, Ents, Eagles), still need to be accepted by Eru to become more than mere puppets of their creator. Melkor desired the Flame Imperishable and long sought for it in vain, but he could only twist that which had already been given life. Eru created alone the Elves and Men. This is why in The Silmarillion both races are called the Children of Ilśvatar.
(The Aratar, the Noble Eight):
MANWĖ (SŚLIMO) 'Blessed One, Lord of Winds'
He lives atop Mount Taniquetil, the highest mountain of the world, in the halls of Ilmarin, in the realm of Valinor. The winds, airs and birds are his servants, and he's lord of air, wind, and clouds in Arda. He's the noblest and greatest in authority of the Valar, and only less powerful than Melkor.
VARDA (ELENTĮRI) 'Sublime One, Queen of the Stars'
Loved by Elves, who call her Elbereth or Gilthoniel (Starkindler), Varda is said to be too beautiful for words; within her face radiates the light of Ilśvatar (God). She resides with her husband Manwė, with whom she shares a complementary power. When they are together, Manwė "sees further than all other eyes, through mist, and through darkness, and over the leagues of the sea" and Varda "hears more clearly than all other ears the sound of voices that cry from east to west". Varda created the stars before the Valar descended into the world, and later with the dews from the vats of Telperion she made the constellations, most significantly the Valacirca, The Sickle of the Valar. The evil Melkor fears and hates Varda the most out of the Valar because he greatly desired to possess light, that which she created. Melkor, however, failed in this task.
ULMO 'Lord of the Seas'
Second in majesty, Ulmo was the best singer and maker of music before the creation of Arda. This translates into the fluidity and versatility of water on Earth, blending with air to form clouds, freezing into ice, running on rivers and mixing in with all aspects of life and landscape. The Elves owe their skill in music to the early teachings of Ulmo and recognize his melodies in the running of streams and rivers as well as the beating of the waves on the sea. Ulmo had always distrusted Melkor, and the Dark Lord feared the Sea almost as much as he feared Varda, because neither could be tamed. Ulmo had no dwelling in Valinor, and went there only rarely, or any permanent dwelling on land as he preferred the deeps of the seas and the rivers. His palace, on the bottom of Vaiya, was called Ulmonan. He was never married.
AULĖ 'The Maker'
Aulė is given lordship over the matter that composes Arda and is a master of all the crafts that shape it. He created the Dwarves, who call him Mahal, the Maker. During the Music of the Ainur, Aulė's themes concerned the physical things of which Arda is made; when Ilśvatar gave being to the themes of the Ainur, his music became the lands of Middle-earth. Other of his works include Angainor (the chain of Melkor), the Two Lamps and the vessels of the Sun and Moon. As a smith, he is the most similar in thought and powers to Melkor, in that they each gloried in the fashioning of artful and original things. Both also came to create beings of their own. But while Aulė strove to be true to the original intent of the Music of the Ainur, and submitted all that he did to the will of Ilśvatar, Melkor wished to control and subvert all things, and was jealous of the creations of others so that he would try to twist or destroy all that they made. There was long strife between Aulė and Melkor both before and after the creation of Arda. Aulė, however, traditionally opposed attempts to fight Melkor, for fear of the damage that would be wrought to Arda.
YAVANNA (KEMENTĮRI) 'The Giver of Fruits, Queen of the Earth'
Spouse of Aulė. She created the Two Trees, and is responsible for the kelvar (animals) and olvar (plants). It was she who requested the creation of the Ents, as she feared for the safety of the trees once her husband had created the Dwarves. The Two Lamps are created by Aulė at Yavanna's request, and their light germinates the seeds that she had planted. Following the destruction of the Two Lamps by Melkor and the withdrawal of the Valar to Aman, Yavanna sang into being the Two Trees of Valinor.
MANDOS (NĮMO) 'Judge of the Dead, Master of Doom'
Originally named Nįmo, but referred to more commonly as Mandos, after the halls of his dwelling. Chief advisor to Manwė and keeper of the souls of elves. Husband of Vairė the Weaver. Mandos is described as being stern and dispassionate and never forgetting a thing. He was the Vala who spoke the Prophecy of the North against the Noldor leaving Aman, and who counselled that they should not be allowed to return. But unlike Morgoth, his Dooms are not cruel or vindictive by his own design. They are simply the will of Eru, and he will not speak them unless he is commanded to do so by Manwė. Only once has he been moved to pity, when Lśthien sang of the grief she and her lover Beren had experienced in Beleriand.
NIENNA 'She Who Weeps'
Sister of Mandos and Irmo, she's the only Vala of female appearance who wasn't married and dwells alone. She is acquainted with grief, and mourns for every wound that Arda has suffered in the marring of Melkor. So great was her sorrow, as the Music unfolded, that her song turned to lamentation long before its end, and the sound of mourning was woven into the themes of the World before it began. But she does not weep for herself; and those who hearken to her learn pity, and endurance in hope. Her halls are west of West, upon the borders of the world; and she comes seldom to the city of Valimar where all is glad. She goes rather to the halls of Mandos, which are near to her own; and all those who wait in Mandos cry to her, for she brings strength to the spirit and turns sorrow to wisdom. The windows of her house look outward from the walls of the world.
OROMĖ 'Lord of the Trees, the Huntsman, the Great Rider'
Brother of Nessa and husband of Vįna. During the Years of the Trees, after most of the Valar had withdrawn completely from Middle-earth and hidden themselves in Aman, Oromė still hunted in the forests of Middle-earth on occasion. Thus, he was responsible for first finding the Elves at Cuiviénen. Being a powerful huntsman, Oromė was active in the struggles against Morgoth, and was renowned for his anger, being the most terrible of the Valar in his wrath. He has a great horn called Valaróma and a great steed called Nahar.
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(The Bad Guy):
MELKOR / MORGOTH 'Black Foe of the World'
Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became Morgoth, the definitive antagonist of Arda from whom all evil in the world of Middle-earth ultimately stems. Sauron, one of the Maiar of Aulė, betrayed his kind and became Morgoth's principal lieutenant. Morgoth was the principal agent of evil in The Silmarillion, and his influence lingered in the world even after he was cast from the world into the outer void. Morgoth's example provided later ages a cautionary tale against pride, wrath, envy, lust for power, and greed and the destruction these visit upon oneself and others.
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