your honor, they were feeling silly

In that time the Valar brought order to the seas and the lands and the mountains, and Yavanna planted at last the seeds that she had long devised. And since, when the fires were subdued or buried beneath the primeval hills, there was need of light, Aulë at the prayer of Yavanna wrought two mighty lamps for the lighting of the Middle-earth which he had built amid the encircling seas. Then Varda filled the lamps and Manwë hallowed them, and the Valar set them upon high pillars, more lofty far than are any mountains of the later days. One lamp they raised near to the north of Middle-earth, and it was named Illuin; and the other was raised in the south, and it was named Ormal; and the light of the Lamps of the Valar flowed out over the Earth, so that all was lit as it were in a changeless day. - Of plants and Lamps

Then the seeds that Yavanna had sown began swiftly to sprout and to burgeon, and there arose a multitude of growing things great and small, mosses and grasses and great ferns, and trees whose tops were crowned with cloud as they were living mountains, but whose feet were wrapped in a green twilight... And there upon the Isle of Almaren in the Great Lake was the first dwelling of the Valar when all things were young, and new-made green was yet a marvel in the eyes of the makers; and they were long content. - Of plants and Almaren

Now it came to pass that while the Valar rested from their labours, and watched the growth and unfolding of the things that they had devised and begun, Manwë ordained a great feast; and the Valar and all their host came at his bidding... And Melkor knew of all that was done, for even then he had secret friends and spies among the Maiar whom he had converted to his cause; and far off in the darkness he was filled with hatred, being jealous of the work of his peers, whom he desired to make subject to himself. - of the Feast and Melkor

And it is sung that in that feast of the Spring of Arda Tulkas espoused Nessa the sister of Oromë, and she danced before the Valar upon the green grass of Almaren. - Tulkas weds Nessa

Now Melkor began the delving and building of a vast fortress, deep under Earth, beneath dark mountains where the beams of Illuin were cold and dim. - Melkor starts building Utumno

Green things fell sick and rotted, and rivers were choked with weeds and slime, and fens were made, rank and poisonous, the breeding place of flies; and forests grew dark and perilous, the haunts of fear; and beasts became monsters of horn and ivory and dyed the earth with blood. Then the Valar knew indeed that Melkor was at work again, and they sought for his hiding place. But Melkor, trusting in the strength of Utumno and the might of his servants, came forth suddenly to war, and struck the first blow, ere the Valar were prepared; and he assailed the lights of Illuin and Ormal, and cast down their pillars and broke their lamps. In the overthrow of the mighty pillars lands were broken and seas arose in tumult; and when the lamps were spilled destroying flame was poured out over the Earth. And the shape of Arda and the symmetry of its waters and its lands was marred in that time, so that the first designs of the Valar were never after restored... Thus ended the Spring of Arda. The dwelling of the Valar upon Almaren was utterly destroyed, and they had no abiding place upon the face of the Earth. - Melkor strikes again

Therefore they departed from Middle-earth and went to the Land of Aman, the westernmost of all lands upon the borders of the world... and since Melkor was returned to Middleearth and they could not yet overcome him, the Valar fortified their dwelling, and upon the shores of the sea they raised the Pelóri, the Mountains of Aman, highest upon Earth... Behind the walls of the Pelóri the Valar established their domain in that region which is called Valinor; and there were their houses, their gardens, and their towers... And when Valinor was full-wrought and the mansions of the Valar were established, in the midst of the plain beyond the mountains they built their city, Valmar of many bells. - of Aman, Valinor, and Valmar

Before its western gate there was a green mound, Ezellohar, that is named also Corollairë; and Yavanna hallowed it, and she sat there long upon the green grass and sang a song of power, in which was set all her thought of things that grow in the earth. But Nienna thought in silence, and watered the mould with tears... And as they watched, upon the mound there came forth two slender shoots; and silence was over all the world in that hour, nor was there any other sound save the chanting of Yavanna. Under her song the saplings grew and became fair and tall, and came to flower; and thus there awoke in the world the Two Trees of Valinor... Telperion the one was called in Valinor, and Silpion, and Ninquelótë, and many other names; but Laurelin the other was, and Malinalda, and Culúrien, and many names in song beside. - the creation of Two Trees

In seven hours the glory of each tree waxed to full and waned again to naught; and each awoke once more to life an hour before the other ceased to shine. Thus in Valinor twice every day there came a gentle hour of softer light when both trees were faint and their gold and silver beams were mingled... And each day of the Valar in Aman contained twelve hours, and ended with the second mingling of the lights, in which Laurelin was waning but Telperion was waxing. - the days in Valinor

And in the midst of the Blessed Realm were the mansions of Aulë, and there he laboured long... But Manwë Súlimo, highest and holiest of the Valar, sat upon the borders of Aman, forsaking not in his thought the Outer Lands. For his throne was set in majesty upon the pinnacle of Taniquetil, the highest of the mountains of the world, standing upon the margin of the sea. Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world... But Ulmo was alone, and he abode not in Valinor, nor ever came thither unless there were need for a great council; he dwelt from the beginning of Arda in the Outer Ocean, and still he dwells there... And in that time of dark Yavanna also was unwilling utterly to forsake the Outer Lands; for all things that grow are dear to her, and she mourned for the works that she had begun in Middle-earth but Melkor had marred. Therefore leaving the house of Aulë and the flowering meads of Valinor she would come at times and heal the hurts of Melkor; and returning she would ever urge the Valar to that war with his evil dominion that they must surely wage ere the coming of the Firstborn. And Oromë tamer of beasts would ride too at whiles in the darkness of the unlit forests; as a mighty hunter he came with spear and bow, pursuing to the death the monsters and fell creatures of the kingdom of Melkor, and his white horse Nahar shone like silver in the shadows. - of Aulë, Manwë, Ulmo, Yavanna, and Oromë

Now all is said concerning the manner of the Earth and its rulers in the beginning of days, and ere the world became such as the Children of Ilúvatar have known it. For Elves and Men are the Children of Ilúvatar; and since they understood not fully that theme by which the Children entered into the Music, none of the Ainur dared to add anything to their fashion... For it is said that after the departure of the Valar there was silence, and for an age Ilúvatar sat alone in thought. Then he spoke and said: ‘Behold I love the Earth, which shall be a mansion for the Quendi and the Atani! But the Quendi shall be the fairest of all earthly creatures, and they shall have and shall conceive and bring forth more beauty than all my Children; and they shall have the greater bliss in this world. But to the Atani I will give a new gift.’... Death is their fate, the gift of Ilúvatar, which as Time wears even the Powers shall envy. But Melkor has cast his shadow upon it, and confounded it with darkness, and brought forth evil out of good, and fear out of hope. - Of Elves and Men, and their gift (Quendi = Elves, Atani = Men)

The chapter starts with what we already learned: that Melkor and Valar were at war, and that the Valar were losing drastically. Melkor was dominating Arda, and most of its land were under his power; of course, the Valar couldn't shape the world as intended in those anti-creative circumstances and were slowly starting to despair. However...

In a small hole in the wast fabric in the Universe, just under Eru's throne, lived Tulkas. And Tulkas looked down at the Little Kingdom of Arda, and saw Melkor, and said: "Nice little dominion of darkness you have over there. Would be a shame if something... happened to it"

(Quenta Silmarillion, Tulkas, sometime before the Age of Lamps, probably)

Tulkas spared a glance towards Arda, saw that things were not looking great for his buddy Manwë, and decided to single-handedly turn the tide of the war. What a fella. What a pal. What a chad. Seriously, get yourself a friend like Tulkas, you won't regret it.

Anyways, the second Tulkas stepped into Arda, Melkor had no choice but to turn and run. Tulkas' laughter was like a wind that cleared everything dark from its way, and his face didn't promise nothing but a good old ass-whooping. Melkor was so scared of Tulkas he didn't just run away - he abandoned Arda completely. All hail Tulkas. All hail my man.

So, Tulkas was busy searching for Melkor (I expected a good fight, man, come on), Melkor was busy sulking in the Outer Darkness (space?) and being number one Tulkas hater, and Valar were just happy that they finally, finally were able to create, unbothered by any abomination of anger, hate and envy. They happily accepted Tulkas into their ranks and got right to work.

Of course, they had to deal with the hell of a mess left after Melkor. They fixed lands and oceans, moved mountains, stabilized volcanoes and so on. Then, Yavanna could finally bring to life her most sacred project: plants. Well, not then exactly - plants need light to grow, after all; so the Valar came together and created two lights, two magnificent Lamps - Illuin and Ormal. They placed Illuin in the North of Middle-Earth, and Ormal - on the South; they were the work of Aulë and Varda, blessed by Manwë, and loved by all. And when the light of the two Lamps filled Arda, seeds that Yavanna planted started sprouting. Multiple mosses, grasses, bushes, trees - it all came to life, and the most beautiful they were in the middle of Arda, where the light of two Lamps mingled - and the Valar decided to live there. That time is called the Spring of Arda.

Those were happy times, and the Valar finally thought they could rest. Their home was an isle in the middle of a Great Lake, named Almaren; and Manwë called all the Valar and all of their servants to a grand feast, to celebrate their work and their victory. Tulkas wedded Nessa, Oromë's sister; and she danced before the Valar, and they were merry, and they all lived happily ever after...

... is what would I say if it wasn't for our good old friend, Melkor, Moringotto, the Dark Foe of the World. Who was sulking in the Outer Darkness. Or so we thought.

In reality, Melkor was busy recruiting spies and gathering intel, because Melkor can't simply let people be happy - he's just silly like that. It came to his knowledge that Ainur were planning a grand feast, and that Tulkas and Aulë would be tired as hell (because they, unlike someone, were busy helping others) - and he decided that there would be no better day to attack and to destroy the Valar once and for all.

So he started preparing for a new war - and his first step was to build an indestructible underground fortress, Utumno. His presence was so vile that Arda started marring - the plants started vaning, swamps - appearing, animals in the forests became ugly dangerous abominations who were out for blood. And the Valar, looking at this, knew that Melkor was back, and that they should brace for an attack.

Melkor striked faster than they could manage to do so. He destroyed the Lamps, and the places where they stood turned into oceans, and underground fire came forward, devouring Arda - that great was their fall.

Melkor fled - he achieved a victory, but was still too much of a coward to face Tulkas or Manwë; so he ran away and hid deep in Utumno, confident in its durability.

Valar were too busy preventing multiple major apocalypses to chase him or to vage a full-scale war; the balance of lands and waters was ruined, plants were dead, and the Lights - gone. Their home in Almaren was destroyed; everything they worked so hard on was wiped away by Melkor's sick whim, and they, yet again, had to start over.

They traveled to Aman, the most western land of Middle-Earth. Since Melkor was back to Arda, and they couldn't defeat him, they decided to fortify their positions; they surrounded Aman with Pelóri, Mountains of Aman, the greatest mountains in all world. Its highest peak, Taniquetil, is where Manwë and Varda reside. Behind Pelori, the Valar founded Valinor - their secure kingdom. It was a collection of most fair and beautiful things in Arda, its most wonderful place; so they built their palaces there, and founded a first city - Valimar, the City of Thousands Bells.

Near Valimar, there was a hill called Ezellogar; and one day, Yavanna came there, and sang. She was sitting there for a long time, singing and singing about plants, about her creations; and Nienna was crying, silently watering the ground with her tears, and the other Valar were listening.

Then, two sprouts came to being.

It is told that no sound was heard during that time - only Yavanna's song. Those two sprouts, fuelled by her voice and will, started growing - higher and higher, mightier and mightier; until they became two Trees, the greatest Trees ever created - Laurelin and Telperion.

Telperion's leaves were dark green, and they were glowing with silver, and from them the silver dew was ever falling; Laurelin's were bright, glimmering with gold, and her branches ended with golden flowers, glowing with yellow flame and spilling yellow rain, and they produced light and warmth. Those were the great Trees of Valinor, Yavanna's most magnificent creation, catalysts of Arda's history - in life and death.

Each Tree would glow for seven hours, and each would start glowing an hour before the other would start fading; so twice a day the Lights would mingle. A day in Valinor was twelve hours long.

Alright! Back to Earth. Let me remind you, Melkor is still roaming Arda, and Valar aren't fans of Melkor roaming Arda, though they can't do much about it.

Aulë's palaces were in the middle of Valinor, and he started creating metals, minerals, etc. He is called the friend of Noldor, for he was the one who taught them crafts.

Manwë, however, dwells on Taniquetil, and his thoughts are always with Middle-Earth. He established the first news agency - he gets his own newspaper in form of spirits who look like birds and travel back and forth, from Valinor to Middle-Earth. His favourites are Vanyar: he loves their poems.

Ulmo ditched Valinor and lives in the ocean, where he governs the waters. He thinks of his own music, great and terrible, and it echoes theough the whole world. His faves are Teleri, though he's also the only one to regularly check on those who live in Middle-Earth, as we learned already.

Wait.

Is it just me, or...

... AS I WAS SAYING, the next one is Yavanna, who left most of her work in Middle-Earth, and who would visit it sometimes to heal the wounds Melkor did; every time she would return, she would claim they needed to finally defeat him, until the Children of Ilùvatar come. With her, Middle-Earth was often visited by Oromë; he would hunt the dark servants of Melkor, and they would scatter from him, but come together once he would leave.

This was the state of Arda as it awaited Elves and Men. None of the Ainur knew when will they arrive, for Eru kept it secret. Similarly, only he knew the difference between them.

Elves were to be fair and wise, skilled in all arts and crafts, immortal and untouched by age or illness; their fates, however, would be forever bound to Arda, similar to Ainur, and if they die, they would heal in the Halls of Mandos and live again. Sorry, elves. No escaping the narrative for you.

Men, however, had the opposite gift - Death. Their days in Arda were limited, and their souls would long to go away from the Circles of the World. They were short-lived, but it was them who would finish the world the Ainur started, and it was them who would sing in the Second Song of the Ainur.

The tragedy of it all was, death was meant as blessing; as libertation, as a way to new possibilities; Melkor, however, in his hatred made humans fear it, and made it associated with him instead of Eru. This is why some claim Men are Melkor's servants, though he hated humans greatly.

However, let's leave the Children of Ilùvatar for another occasion. Let's relax in the Bliss of Days, and lets not think of all the upcoming tragedies.

With Manwë dwells Varda, Lady of the Stars, who knows all the regions of Eä. Too great is her beauty to be declared in the words of Men or of Elves; for the light of Ilúvatar lives still in her face... Taniquetil, tallest of all the mountains upon Earth. When Manwë there ascends his throne and looks forth, if Varda is beside him, he sees further than all other eyes, through mist, and through darkness, and over the leagues of the sea. And if Manwë is with her, Varda hears more clearly than all other ears the sound of voices that cry from east to west, from the hills and the valleys, and from the dark places that Melkor has made upon Earth. - Of Manwë and Varda

Ulmo is the Lord of Waters... He is next in might to Manwë, and before Valinor was made he was closest to him in friendship; but thereafter he went seldom to the councils of the Valar, unless great matters were in debate. For he kept all Arda in thought, and he has no need of any resting-place. - of Ulmo

Aulë has might little less than Ulmo. His lordship is over all the substances of which Arda is made... He is a smith and a master of all crafts, and he delights in works of skill, however small, as much as in the mighty building of old... Melkor was jealous of him, for Aulë was most like himself in thought and in powers; and there was long strife between them, in which Melkor ever marred or undid the works of Aulë, and Aulë grew weary in repairing the tumults and disorders of Melkor. - of Aulë

The spouse of Aulë is Yavanna, the Giver of Fruits. She is the lover of all things that grow in the earth, and all their countless forms she holds in her mind, from the trees like towers in forests long ago to the moss upon stones or the small and secret things in the mould. - of Yavanna

Námo the elder dwells in Mandos, which is westward in Valinor. He is the keeper of the Houses of the Dead, and the summoner of the spirits of the slain. He forgets nothing; and he knows all things that shall be, save only those that lie still in the freedom of Ilúvatar. Vairë the Weaver is his spouse, who weaves all things that have ever been in Time into her storied webs, and the halls of Mandos that ever widen as the ages pass are clothed with them. - of Námo and Vairë

Irmo the younger is the master of visions and dreams... Estë the gentle, healer of hurts and of weariness, is his spouse... From the fountains of Irmo and Estë all those who dwell in Valinor draw refreshment; and often the Valar come themselves to Lórien and there find repose and easing of the burden of Arda. - of Irmo and Estë

Mightier than Estë is Nienna, sister of the Fëanturi; she dwells alone. She is acquainted with grief, and mourns for every wound that Arda has suffered in the marring of Melkor. - of Nienna

Greatest in strength and deeds of prowess is Tulkas, who is surnamed Astaldo, the Valiant. He came last to Arda, to aid the Valar in the first battles with Melkor. He delights in wrestling and in contests of strength; and he rides no steed, for he can outrun all things that go on feet, and he is tireless... His spouse is Nessa, the sister of Oromë, and she also is lithe and fleetfooted. - of Tulkas and Nessa

Oromë is a mighty lord. If he is less strong than Tulkas, he is more dreadful in anger; whereas Tulkas laughs ever, in sport or in war, and even in the face of Melkor he laughed in battles before the Elves were born. Oromë loved the lands of Middle-earth, and he left them unwillingly and came last to Valinor; and often of old he passed back east over the mountains and returned with his host to the hills and the plains... The spouse of Oromë is Vána, the Ever-young; she is the younger sister of Yavanna. All flowers spring as she passes and open if she glances upon them; and all birds sing at her coming. - of Oromë and Vána

Among them Nine were of chief power and reverence; but one is removed from their number, and Eight remain, the Aratar, the High Ones of Arda: Manwë and Varda, Ulmo, Yavanna and Aulë, Mandos, Nienna, and Oromë. - of Aratar

With the Valar came other spirits whose being also began before the World, of the same order as the Valar but of less degree. These are the Maiar, the people of the Valar, and their servants and helpers. - of Maiar

Chief among the Maiar of Valinor whose names are remembered in the histories of the Elder Days are Ilmarë, the handmaid of Varda, and Eönwë, the bannerbearer and herald of Manwë, whose might in arms is surpassed by none in Arda. - of Eönwe and Ilmarë

Ossë is a vassal of Ulmo, and he is master of the seas that wash the shores of Middle-earth. He does not go in the deeps, but loves the coasts and the isles, and rejoices in the winds of Manwë; for in storm he delights, and laughs amid the roaring of the waves. His spouse is Uinen, the Lady of the Seas, whose hair lies spread through all waters under sky. - of Ossë and Uinen

it. It is said that in the making of Arda he endeavoured to draw Ossë to his allegiance, promising to him all the realm and power of Ulmo, if he would serve him. So it was that long ago there arose great tumults in the sea that wrought ruin to the lands. But Uinen, at the prayer of Aulë, restrained Ossë and brought him before Ulmo; and he was pardoned and returned to his allegiance, to which he has remained faithful. - Ossë, Melkor and Uinen

Of Melian much is told in the Quenta Silmarillion. But of Olórin that tale does not speak; for though he loved the Elves, he walked among them unseen, or in form as one of them, and they did not know whence came the fair visions or the promptings of wisdom that he put into their hearts. - of Melian and Olórin

Great might was given to him by Ilúvatar, and he was coëval with Manwë. In the powers and knowledge of all the other Valar he had part, but he turned them to evil purposes, and squandered his strength in violence and tyranny. - of Melkor

Yet so great was the power of his uprising that in ages forgotten he contended with Manwë and all the Valar, and through long years in Arda held dominion over most of the lands of the Earth... Dreadful among these spirits were the Valaraukar, the scourges of fire that in Middle-earth were called the Balrogs, demons of terror. - of Melkor and Balrogs