Arda Marred {1 Firith 3018}

Chronicled in Duillond of Ered Luin in Eriador,
On this the 1^st day of Firith in the Year 3018 of the Third Age.

Thirty-three leagues have I travelled along the Great East Road these past days, and though I thought to meet Edhil moving West toward the Grey Havens, none did I see until I came to the settlement of Celondim in the foothills of Ered Luin. There I lingered briefly, then followed the river Lhûn northwards to the village of Duillond where now I rest in the soft silence of the ancient Scholar's Enclave, reading the many books collected here and pondering ancient lore. For walking the long and lonely road from Lindon into Eriador gave me much time for contemplation, and the beauty of the lands through which I travelled brought to my mind the words of Mandos:

"For even if we under Eru have the power to return to Middle-earth and cast out Morgoth from the Kingdom of Arda, we cannot destroy all the evil that he has sown, nor seek out all his servants—unless we ravaged the whole of the Kingdom and made an end of all life therein; and that we may not do." ¹

For difficult it is, when surrounded by such abundant and sublime life, to recall Arda Hastaina, the corruption of the World long ago by that fallen Vala who was once called Melkor, "he who arises in might", first and most powerful of the Ainur created by Ilúvatar; he whom Fëanor cursed and named Morgoth Bauglir, the Black Foe of the World.

But the marring of the World began in the ancient past, for even amidst the Ainulindalë from which Eä was created, did Melkor sow discord into the great Theme of Eru Ilúvatar; not once but thrice did Melkor's thought oppose the Music of the Ainar, and each time did Eru unfold a new Theme amid the turmoil. And the Ainar made real the Vision of Eru shown unto them in the Void, despite the taint of evil brought into it by Melkor's rebellion, for he desired to bring into being creatures of his own with the Flame Imperishable, and so increase his dominion.

"When... Earth was yet young and full of flame Melkor coveted it, and he said to the other Valar: "This shall be my own kingdom; and I name it unto myself."... Then Melkor saw... that the Valar walked on Earth as powers visible, clad in the raiment of the World, and were lovely and glorious to see... His envy grew then... and he also took visible form, but because of his mood and the malice that burned in him that form was dark and terrible. And he descended upon Arda in power and majesty greater than any other of the Valar, as a mountain that wades in the sea and has its head above the clouds and is clad in ice and crowned with smoke and fire; and the light of the eyes of Melkor was like a flame that withers with heat and pierces with a deadly cold." ²

And so it was that in his malice Melkor did endeavour to undo all of the labours of the Valar in building Arda for the Children of Ilúvatar, filling the valleys and levelling the mountains of their creation. And in the Years of the Lamps he built his stronghold in the North: Udûn (called Utumno in the Quenya tongue), under Ered Engrin where the light of Illuin and Ormal was dim and cold (and also the fortress Angband beneath the three ash and slag towers of Thangorodrim, commanded by the fallen Maia, Sauron.) Here was home to hosts of demons - fallen Ainur - and monsters of corruption made in mockery of the creatures of Ennor, and from it an evil blight issued forth to poison many Olvar and Kelvar and created choking weeds and fens in which bred foul swarms of flies, and caused animals to prey cruelly upon one another. Thus ended the Spring of Arda.

From Udûn did Melkor assault the green Isle of Almaren, dwelling place of the Valar, and he cast down the Two Lamps that lighted the World, and the symmetry of Arda was forever unmade. Thereafter the Valar departed Ennor for the hallowed realm of Valinor in Aman, and there Yavanna sang into existence the Two Trees, silver Telperion and golden Laurelin, and Nienna watered them with her tears. So began the Years of the Trees.

But, alas, the withdrawal of the Valar to the Undying Lands brought about their neglect of Ennor, and thus allowed Melkor to reign unchecked in the new continent. Unaware of the true designs of Melkor, the Valar would not approach him for fear that to contest him would bring destruction equal to the casting down of the Two Lamps. But when Varda, Queen of the Valier, ended her labours in creating the Stars, the Quendi were awakened under starlight beside the bay of Cuiviénen, and Melkor did commit the most heinous of his evil deeds:

"For by after-knowledge the wise declare that Melkor, ever watchful, was first aware of the awakening of the Quendi, and sent shadows and evil spirits to spy upon them and waylay them. So it came to pass, some years ere the coming of Oromë, that if any of the Elves strayed far abroad, alone or few together, they would often vanish, and never return; and the Quendi said that the Hunter had caught them, and they were afraid. And indeed the most ancient songs of the Elves, of which echoes are remembered still in the West, tell of the shadow-shapes that walked in the hills above Cuiviénen, or would pass suddenly over the stars; and of the dark Rider upon his wild horse that pursued those that wandered to take them and devour them. Now Melkor greatly hated and feared the riding of Oromë, and either he sent indeed his dark servants as riders, or he set lying whispers abroad, for the purpose that the Quendi should shun Oromë, if ever they should meet.

"Thus it was that when Nahar neighed and Oromë indeed came among them, some of the Quendi hid themselves, and some fled and were lost.
[...]
"But of those unhappy ones who were ensnared by Melkor little is known of a certainty. For who of the living has descended into the pits of Utumno, or has explored the darkness of the counsels of Melkor? Yet this is held true by the wise of Eressëa, that all those of the Quendi who came into the hands of Melkor, ere Utumno was broken, were put there in prison, and by slow arts of cruelty were corrupted and enslaved; and thus did Melkor breed the hideous race of the Orcs in envy and mockery of the Elves, of whom they were afterwards the bitterest foes. For the Orcs had life and multiplied after the manner of the Children of Ilúvatar; and naught that had life of its own, nor the semblance of life, could ever Melkor make since his rebellion in the Ainulindalë before the Beginning: so say the wise. And deep in their dark hearts the Orcs loathed the Master whom they served in fear, the maker only of their misery. This it may be was the vilest deed of Melkor, and the most hateful to Ilúvatar." ³

*At this point the manuscript is stained with what are clearly tear-drops*

At the counsel of Ilúvatar, Manwë, King of the Valar, resolved that they should go to war against Melkor and deliver the Quendi from his tyranny. Long and grievous was the Battle of the Powers and the Siege of Utumno, but at last the Valar were triumphant and Melkor's ancient stronghold was laid in ruins. Melkor himself was defeated by Tulkas the Strong and bound by the great chain Angainor, and judgement was passed upon him. But never did Melkor forget that war had been made against him for the sake of the Elves and that they were the cause of his downfall, and thus Melkor desired above all things to corrupt them.

For three ages Melkor remained imprisoned in Valinor, plotting his vengeance, and when the time came he feigned repentance before the throne of Manwë, begging for pardon. Thus granted, he turned his influence upon the Eldar who had taken the Great Journey and dwelt then in Aman, in particular the Noldor. Long did he subvert their minds with his malice, spreading lies about the intentions of the Valar and tales of the coming of the Edain, and after a time a shadow fell upon the Noldor and they began to openly rebel against the Valar. Then, coveting the Silmarils, Melkor slew Finwë, father of Fëanor, and stole the jewels of the Noldor; and aided by the monstrous Ungoliant, destroyed the Two Trees and their hallowed light was forever lost. Fëanor cursed him, naming him Morgoth, and by that name he was known ever after to the Eldar. So began the Doom of the Noldor.

"So the great darkness fell upon Valinor. Of the deeds of that day much is told in the Aldudénië, that Elemmírë of the Vanyar made and is known to all the Eldar. Yet no song or tale could contain all the grief and terror that then befell. The Light failed; but the Darkness that followed was more than loss of light. In that hour was made a Darkness that seemed not lack but a thing with being of its own: for it was indeed made by malice out of Light, and it had power to pierce the eye, and to enter heart and mind, and strangle the very will." ⁴

And so Morgoth returned to Angband, and thereafter followed the Wars of Beleriand for many long years, and after The War of Wrath he was recaptured by the Valar and banished forever into the Void. But though he had been vanquished, Arda was forever marred, and there was one who escaped to carry on his evil legacy: his greatest servant, the fallen Maia Sauron. For in their haste, the Valar did not discover all the vaults hidden with cunning far under the fortresses of Angband and Utumno, and many evil things still lingered there.

"But Morgoth himself the Valar thrust through the Door of Night beyond the Walls of the World, into the Timeless Void; and a guard is set for ever on those walls, and Eärendil keeps watch upon the ramparts of the sky. Yet the lies that Melkor, the mighty and accursed, Morgoth Bauglir, the Power of Terror and of Hate, sowed in the hearts of Elves and Men are a seed that does not die and cannot be destroyed; and ever and anon it sprouts anew, and will bear dark fruit even unto the latest days." ⁵

And so it is even now. Whereas it was the purpose of the Valar to form the World according to an ideal, and to create an abode for the Children of Ilúvatar without flaw, Arda's very structure is tainted with Morgoth's evil fëa, making it instead a place of decay and misfortune. Thus ever shall his will affect the hearts of those who dwell in Arda, even since his removal, for it is from this tainted world that are formed the hröar of all living things, and no creature that depends on the world of nature for its survival could escape this corruption of Morgoth; it affected their perception of the World and their subsequent actions. Thus, it was the Marring of Arda that allowed the Shadow to fall upon the Children of Ilúvatar, causing misunderstandings and conflicts among them.

Arda Hastaina broke also the design of edhellen immortality, for now our hröa slowly fades, until at last we are naught but wraiths. Only in Valinor is this delayed, which is why all Edhil have no choice but to leave the lands we love and sail to the Blessed Realm in the end.

And lest we in the Third Age forget,

“Among those of his servants that have names the greatest was that spirit whom the Eldar called Sauron, or Gorthaur the Cruel. In his beginning he was of the Maiar of Aulë, and he remained mighty in the lore of that people. In all the deeds of Melkor the Morgoth upon Arda, in his vast works and in the deceits of his cunning, Sauron had a part, and was only less evil than his master in that for long he served another and not himself. But in after years he rose like a shadow of Morgoth and a ghost of his malice, and walked behind him on the same ruinous path down into the Void.” ⁶

Alas, the recounting of this history has indeed been grievous for me, and recalls to me my oath made before Oromë to hunt down and slay every foul offspring of Morgoth Bauglir that I discover. To this I would append that now, in these the Fading Years of the Edhil while the Edain inherit the mastery of the Hither Lands, I also swear that I shall, as best I can, work towards Arda Envinyanta. For I lament the spiritual and physical corruption of Arda, and hope that one day this damage will be undone and the World purged of all ill. And yet I pity it also.

For as it is written of the Aratar Nienna:

"She is acquainted with grief, and mourns for every wound that Arda has suffered in the marring of Melkor [...]  But she does not weep for herself; and those who hearken to her learn pity, and endurance in hope." ⁷

1 The Peoples of Middle-earth
2 The Silmarillion, Ainulindale
3 The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, "Of The Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor"
4 Ibid, "Of The Darkening of Valinor"
5 Ibid, "Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath"
6 The Silmarillion, Valaquenta
7 Ibid