| all righty. The coming of the Elves brought the first defeat of Melkor. Melkor had pretty much had free reign over Middle earth and had made it a place of terror. Into this evil land emerged the Firstborn; the Elves. When the Vala Orome accidentally discovered them, he was in awe at these beings, for their like had never been seen before. Realizing they were the long awaited for Children of Iluvitar, Orome raced back to Valinor to tell his brethren. when all had heard his news, they quickly decided to end Melkor's reign over that land, and so made war with him. Unfortunatley for some of the elves, the war came to late, for they were captured by Melkor, and twisted and mutated into the creatures known as orcs, and they hated their master whom they served through fear.
The Elves knew little of the War that was made, save for that the earth shook, and fires sprang up. In the end Melkor was caught, and thrown into the Halls of Mandos from which none can escape; yet not all the vaults of his fortress were laid bare, and Sauron (melkor's greatest servant) the Valar did not find. In the Halls of Mandos Melkor was sentenced to wait for 3 ages before he could earn the chance to become free. The elves knew none of this, and were very afraid of the Valar. Now the Valar had decided to bring the Elves (who had named themselves the Quendi which means People who Speak) to Valinor. But the Elves were terrified and unwilling to go. to solve this, Orome offered to take 3 of the elves as ambassadors to Valinor. after they had seen it, they would come back to their people and tell them what they saw. the 3 who were chosen were Ingwe, Finwe, and Elwe. when they had gone to Valinor and returned back to their people, many of the Elves were swayed to leave. they were known ever after as the Eldar, people of starlight. yet many refused the summons as well, and they became known as the Avari; the unwilling.
The eldar then began a great march across Middle Earth. along the way many turned back, for the Elves longed to explore this land as they went through it. The elves were divided into 3 camps, each led by one of the Ambassadors to Valinor.
Ingwe, the high lord of all the elvish race, led the smallest host. He entered into Valinor, and all elves revere his name, yet never again did he set foot on Middle Earth. The Vanyar are his people; the Fair elves, the beloved of Manwe and Varda.
the next host was the Noldor or the Deep Elves, led by Finwe. they were ever friends of Aule; and are renouned in song, for they fought long and hard against an undefeatable foe , as we shall later discover.
Many elves came to love the water, and would stay by rivers and streams, and so fell behind the others. they were known as the Teleri, the sea elves. they were led by Elwe and his brother Olwe both, for their host was the largest of the 3. of Elwe and his love Melian the Maia many tales are told in later times, but we shall not discuss them yet. Elwe longed the greatest to see the Light of Valinor again, yet he tarried on the road, and never again did his feet touch its shores. so Olwe it was who lead their people on.
and there were elves who set out on the march, but became lost, or wandered away. they are known as the Umanyar, for they never saw the Light of Valinor, though they ever longed to set foot on its shores. the elves who reached Valinor are known as the Calaquendi, Elves of the Light. those elves that remained on Middle earth, the Umanyar and Avari both, are known as Moriquendi, Elves of the Darkness, for their eyes never beheld the Light of Valinor. Only Elwe, who never came to Valinor in waking life, is counted among the Calaquendi. | |
