Hello everyone here at UM. This is Dark_Ambient, and I would like to share my favorite book with all of you. The book is called The Silmarillion. The Silmarilli were three perfect jewels, fashioned by Feanor,most gifted of the elves. When the first Dark Lord Morgoth, stole the jewels for his own ends, Feanor and his kindred took up arms and waged a long and terrible war to recover them. This is the story of their rebellion against the gods and the history of the heroic first age of Middle-earth.

The Silmarillion is an account of the Elder-Days. or the first age of Tolkiens world. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord Of The Rings look back, and in whose events some of them, such as Elrond and Galadriel, took part. The tales of the Silmarillion are set in an age when Morgoth, the first dark lord, dwelt in Middle-earth, and the high elves made war on him for the recovery of the Silmarils.

The three Silmarils were jewels created by Feanor, most gifted of the elves. Within them were imprisioned the Light of the two Tree's of Valinor before the Tree's themselves were destroyed by Morgoth. Thereafter the unsullied light of Valinor lived on only in the Silmarils;but they were seized by Morgoth and set in his crown, guarded in the fortress of Angband in the north of middle-earth.

The Silmarillion is the history of the rebellion of Feanor and his kindred against the gods, there exile from Valinor and return to Middle-earth and thier war, hopeless despite their heroism, against the great Enemy. Then there is the Ainulindale. The myth of the creation that talks about the beings that existed before the world began. And the Valaquenta were the nature and power of each of the gods is described. The Akallabeth recounts the downfall of the great island kingdom of Numenor at the end of the Second Age and Of The Rings Of Power tells of the great events at the end of the third age, which are narrated in The Lord Of The Rings.


I will post parts of the book starting at the beggining untill The Silmarillion is finished. I ask that you all subscribe to this topic so as to follow along with the story. I would like to see a few comments so i know that it's being read and that i have a few readers. I will post a few times a week and when the book is done you will all have an understanding of the world that existed before the events that took place in the Lord of The Rings. But before i begin i would like to show some pictures from the book. Maybe they will pique your interest enough so that you will want to read The Silmarillion.

Here is Feanor. He was the most intelligent genius that ever lived in the world of the Silmarillion and he created three perfect jewels that were were alive because of the living light that dwelt within them.


Here is Luthien Tinuviel

Farewell sweet earth and northern sky,
For ever blest since here did lie
and here with lissom limbs did run
beneath the moon, beneath the sun,
Luthien Tinuviel
more fair then mortal tongue can tell.
Though all to ruin fell the world
and were dissolved and backward hurled
unmade into the old abyss,
yet were it's making good for this
the dusk,the daw, the earth, the sea
that Luthien for a time should be.



Here is Varda. The Queen of the stars.

With Manwë dwells Varda, Lady of the Stars. She is more beautiful than words can describe, for the light of Ilúvatar is still in her face. She takes joy in the light.

"Of all the Great Ones who dwell in this world the Elves hold Varda most in reverence and love. Elbereth they name her, and they call upon her name out of the shadows of Middle-earth, and uplift it in song at the rising of the stars." 2

She is seldom parted from Manwë, and when they are together, Manwë can see farther that all other eyes, and Varda can hear more clearly than all other ears.

Varda created the stars, and placed them innumerable in the heavens, and before the coming of the Firstborn Children of Ilúvatar, she created new stars, brighter than the rest. This was the greatest labor of Varda, and she created many stars against the coming of the Elves. She made Carnil and Luinil, Nénar and Lumbar, Alcarinquë and Elemmírë. She also created Wilwarin, Telumendil, Soronúmë, and Anarríma as signs in the heavens. Also there was Menelmacar, whose shining belt signifies the Last Battle. As a challenge to Melkor, she created Valacirca, the Sickle of the Valar and a sign of doom, a crown of seven mighty stars set to swing in the heavens. It was said the the Firstborn would be born in the darkness and first look upon the stars, and when they at last awoke and saw the beauty of the night, they forever revered Varda above all the Valar.



Here is Melkor. The Power behind hate and Evil. Sauron, The Lord Of The Rings, was but only a servent to this most powerful being.

Melkor, he who arises in Might, originally belonged to the great of the Ainur, and indeed he was as great or greater in power than even Manwë. He gave up the name he was given by Ilúvatar, and was called instead Morgoth, the Dark Enemy of the World. He turned the purposes of Ilúvatar to evil, and marred much of the good the Valar gave to Arda. He wanted to be a mightly lord and reign over all of Arda, keeping it for himself and turning all who lived there into his slaves.

"From splendour he fell through arrogance to contempt for all things save himself, a spirit wasteful and pitiless. Understanding he turned to subtlety in perverting to his own will all that he would use, until he became a liar without shame. He began with the desire of Light, but when he could not possess it for himself alone, he descended through fire and wrath into a great burning, down into Darkness." 8

He associated with evil creatures, and used them for his evil means. He caused the Darkening of Valinor by killing the Two Trees that Yavanna had created to light Valinor. While the Elves were living in the Blessed Realm, he created strife among them by spreading false rumours, and he kindled a strife that would lay a terrible doom upon the Elves when they returned to Middle-earth. For a long time, Morgoth had the upper-hand in Arda, and he terrorized Elves and Men, warring with them for a long time until the time of Eärendil and the War of Wrath when he was finally overthrown. Before the War of Wrath, Elves and Men contended with him, always fighting the evil he used against them, hoping beyond hope to overthrow him themselves, but Morgoth was far too strong for them. Had Melkor not coveted power in the time before Time, during the Music of the Ainur, many of the hurts Arda and its people suffered would never have been, but his evil thoughts from the beginning caused much pain that could not be assuaged until he was at last overthrown and imprisoned beyond the Walls of the World in the Timeless Void.



Here is Ulmo. The Lord of the waters.

Ulmo was the Lord of Waters, and he lived alone, away from Valinor in the deeps of the waters. He went rarely to Valinor except when matters of great debate were at hand. He did not like to walk on land, and he rarely clothed himself in a body as did the other Valar. If Elf or Man beheld the Sea King, they were filled with dread, for the rising of Ulmo was terrible, "as a mounting wave that strides to the land, with dark helm foam-crested and raiment of mail shimmering from silver down into shadows of green." 5

Though he is a fearsome sight, he always loved Elves and Men, and he kept them ever in his thoughts, even when the Valar held them under their wrath. Sometimes he comes unseen to the shores of Middle-earth and makes music upon his horns, the Ulumúri, and those who hear that music have the sea-longing ever in their hearts. But mostly, Ulmo only speaks to the people of Middle-earth with voices that are heard only as the music of the water. Because he governs all waters, from the greatest Seas to the smallest inlets of streams, the Elves say that the spirit of Ulmo runs through all the veins of the earth, and all news comes to him in this way, even news that would otherwise be unknown to Manwë.



Here is Yavanna.

Yavanna is the wife of Aulë, and she is the Giver of Fruits. She loves all things that grow in the earth, and she mourned most for the marring of Arda by Melkor and worked hardest to heal the hurts he caused. Elves and Men revere Yavanna next to Varda of the Queens of the Valar.

When she takes the form of a woman, she is tall and robed in green, but sometimes she takes other shapes. "Some there are who have seen her standing like a tree under heaven, crowned with the Sun; and from all its branches there spilled a golden dew upon the barren earth, and it grew green with corn, but the roots of the tree were in the waters of Ulmo, and the winds of Manwë spoke with its leaves." 4 She is called Kementári, Queen of the Earth.

The greatest labour of Yavanna is the creation of the Two Trees of Valinor, Telperion and Laurelin. She sang for a long time until two shoots sprang up from the mound of earth before her, Telperion being the Elder and Laurelin the Younger. Telperion had leaves of silver and gave off a silver light, while Laurelin had leaves of gold, and gave off a light of gold and radiant heat. The light of these two trees lit up Valinor and all was beautiful. After the destruction of these trees by Melkor, the light of them is found only in the Silmarils wrought by Fëanor, that are now lost to the world, one being set as a star in the heavens, one in the fires of the earth, and one in the deeps of the Sea. But for a time, the glory of the Two Trees was radiant and all who dwelt in Valinor were glad for their beauty.



Here is Aule.


Aulë is the lord over all the substances of which Arda is made. The land of Arda was fashioned by Aulë, and the gems that lie within it are of his making. He is a master smith and craftsman, and he loves any work of skill, no matter how small. The Noldor learned the most of him, and he was always their friend.

It is also said that Aulë created the race of Dwarves because he was too impatient to wait for the Children of Ilúvatar to awaken. He had much desire to teach his skills, and he had no one to teach. He made them small in stature but strong in might, for the power of Melkor was still over Middle-earth, and he wanted them to be able to withstand that evil. He made them in secret, and he created first the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves in a hall under a mountain in Middle-earth. Try as he might, he could not hide his work from Ilúvatar the All-knowing. When Aulë's work was done, and he was ready to teach the Dwarves all that he knew, Ilúvatar spoke to him: "'Why hast thou done this? Why dost thou attempt a thing which thou knowest is beyond thy power and thy authority? For thou hast from me as a gift thy own being only, and no more; and therefore the creatures of thy hand and mind can live only by that being, moving them when thou thinkest to move them, and if thy thought be elsewhere, standing idle. Is that thy desire?'" 3 Aulë answered that he did not desire such lordship, but only wanted to teach someone his knowledge so they may know the beauty of Eä. Aulë was shamed and he offered his children up to Ilúvatar, and he then offered to destroy them as a mockery of the Children of his father. He picked up a hammer to smite the Dwarves, and he wept in pain, and Ilúvatar took pity on Aulë, and the Dwarves shrank away from the hammer and begged for mercy. Then Ilúvatar told him to lay down his hammer, for he had given life to the Dwarves, for if he had not, the Dwarves would have stood as stone and taken the hammer without thinking otherwise. Aulë thanked Ilúvatar and was glad, but Ilúvatar said that he would not suffer to have the Dwarves existing before the Firstborn children of his design, so Aulë put them to sleep until such a time when the Elves would awaken and take dominion over Arda.

More pictures to come....



The first part of The Silmarillion will begin in the next post a few min from now. The posts will not be too big. It is my intention to only post a little bit of the book at a time. That way a discussion can be had about certain parts of the book if one should arise.

Thank-you.

AINULINDALE

The Music of the Ainur


There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Iluvatar; and he made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the offspring of his thought, and they were with him before aught else was made. And he spoke to them, propounding to them themes of music; and they sang before him, and he was glad. But for a long while they sang only each alone, or but few together, while the rest hearkened; for each comprehended only that part of me mind of Iluvatar from which he came, and in the understanding of their brethren they grew but slowly. Yet ever as they listened they came to deeper understanding, and increased in unison and harmony.
And it came to pass that Iluvatar called together all the Ainur and declared to them a mighty theme, unfolding to them things greater and more wonderful than he had yet revealed; and the glory of its beginning and the splendour of its end amazed the Ainur, so that they bowed before Iluvatar and were silent.
Then Iluvatar said to them: ‘Of the theme that I have declared to you, I will now that ye make in harmony together a Great Music. And since I have kindled you with the Flame Imperishable, ye shall show forth your powers in adorning this theme, each with his own thoughts and devices, if he will. But I win sit and hearken, and be glad that through you great beauty has been wakened into song.’
Then the voices of the Ainur, like unto harps and lutes, and pipes and trumpets, and viols and organs, and like unto countless choirs singing with words, began to fashion the theme of Iluvatar to a great music; and a sound arose of endless interchanging melodies woven in harmony that passed beyond hearing into the depths and into the heights, and the places of the dwelling of Iluvatar were filled to overflowing, and the music and the echo of the music went out into the Void, and it was not void. Never since have the Ainur made any music like to this music, though it has been said that a greater still shall be made before Iluvatar by the choirs of the Ainur and the Children of Iluvatar after the end of days. Then the themes of Iluvatar shall be played aright, and take Being in the moment of their utterance, for all shall then understand fully his intent in their part, and each shall know the comprehension of each, and Iluvatar shall give to their thoughts the secret fire, being well pleased.
But now Iluvatar sat and hearkened, and for a great while it seemed good to him, for in the music there were no flaws. But as the theme progressed, it came into the heart of Melkor to interweave matters of his own imagining that were not in accord with the theme of Iluvatar, for he sought therein to increase the power and glory of the part assigned to himself. To Melkor among the Ainur had been given the greatest gifts of power and knowledge, and he had a share in all the gifts of his brethren. He had gone often alone into the void places seeking the Imperishable Flame; for desire grew hot within him to bring into Being things of his own, and it seemed to him that Iluvatar took no thought for the Void, and he was impatient of its emptiness. Yet he found not the Fire, for it is with Iluvatar. But being alone he had begun to conceive thoughts of his own unlike those of his brethren.
Some of these thoughts he now wove into his music, and straightway discord arose about him, and many that sang nigh him grew despondent, and their thought was disturbed and their music faltered; but some began to attune their music to his rather than to the thought which they had at first. Then the discord of Melkor spread ever wider, and the melodies which had been heard before foundered in a sea of turbulent sound. But Iluvatar sat and hearkened until it seemed that about his throne there was a raging storm, as of dark waters that made war one upon another in an endless wrath that would not be assuaged.
Then Iluvatar arose, and the Ainur perceived that he smiled; and he lifted up his left hand, and a new theme began amid the storm, like and yet unlike to the former theme, and it gathered power and had new beauty. But the discord of Melkor rose in uproar and contended with it, and again there was a war of sound more violent than before, until many of the Ainur were dismayed and sang no longer, and Melkor had the mastery. Then again Iluvatar arose, and the Ainur perceived that his countenance was stern; and he lifted up his right hand, and behold! a third theme grew amid the confusion, and it was unlike the others. For it seemed at first soft and sweet, a mere rippling of gentle sounds in delicate melodies; but it could not be quenched, and it took to itself power and profundity. And it seemed at last that there were two musics progressing at one time before the seat of Iluvatar, and they were utterly at variance. The one was deep and wide and beautiful, but slow and blended with an immeasurable sorrow, from which its beauty chiefly came. The other had now achieved a unity of its own; but it was loud, and vain, and endlessly repeated; and it had little harmony, but rather a clamorous unison as of many trumpets braying upon a few notes. And it essayed to drown the other music by the violence of its voice, but it seemed that its most triumphant notes were taken by the other and woven into its own solemn pattern.
In the midst of this strife, whereat the halls of Iluvatar shook and a tremor ran out into the silences yet unmoved, Iluvatar arose a third time, and his face was terrible to behold. Then he raised up both his hands, and in one chord, deeper than the Abyss, higher than the Firmament, piercing as the light of the eye of Iluvatar, the Music ceased.
Then Iluvatar spoke, and he said: ‘Mighty are the Ainur, and mightiest among them is Melkor; but that he may know, and all the Ainur, that I am Iluvatar, those things that ye have sung, I will show them forth, that ye may see what ye have done. And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite. For he that attempteth this shall prove but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined.’
Then the Ainur were afraid, and they did not yet comprehend the words that were said to them; and Melkor was filled with shame, of which came secret anger. But Iluvatar arose in splendour, and he went forth from the fair regions that he had made for the Ainur; and the Ainur followed him.
But when they were come into the Void, Iluvatar said to them: ‘Behold your Music!’ And he showed to them a vision, giving to them sight where before was only hearing; arid they saw a new World made visible before them, and it was globed amid the Void, and it was sustained therein, but was not of it. And as they looked and wondered this World began to unfold its history, and it seemed to them that it lived and grew. And when the Ainur had gazed for a while and were silent, Iluvatar said again: ‘Behold your Music! This is your minstrelsy; and each of you shall find contained herein, amid the design that I set before you, all those things which it may seem that he himself devised or added. And thou, Melkor, wilt discover all the secret thoughts of thy mind, and wilt perceive that they are but a part of the whole and tributary to its glory.’
And many other things Iluvatar spoke to the Ainur at that time, and because of their memory of his words, and the knowledge that each has of the music that he himself made, the Ainur know much of what was, and is, and is to come, and few things are unseen by them. Yet some things there are that they cannot see, neither alone nor taking counsel together; for to none but himself has Iluvatar revealed all that he has in store, and in every age there come forth things that are new and have no foretelling, for they do not proceed from the past. And so it was that as this vision of the World was played before them, the Ainur saw that it contained things which they had not thought. And they saw with amazement the coming of the Children of Iluvatar, and the habitation that was prepared for them; and they perceived that they themselves in the labour of their music had been busy with the preparation of this dwelling, and yet knew not that it had any purpose beyond its own beauty. For the Children of Iluvatar were conceived by him alone; and they came with the third theme, and were not in the theme which Iluvatar propounded at the beginning, and none of the Ainur had part in their making. Therefore when they beheld them, the more did they love them, being things other than themselves, strange and free, wherein they saw the mind of Iluvatar reflected anew, and learned yet a little more of his wisdom, which otherwise had been hidden even from the Ainur.

To be continued....