Melkor
Quenya: He who arises in might
Also called Morgoth, the 'Black Foe', and Bauglir, 'the Constrainer.'
Ainu, with greater power and knowledge than any other Ainu, soon caused a discord in the Music of the Ainur because he wanted to bring things into being himself.
Melkor entered Eä with the Valar, but was soon excluded from them as he desired to dominate Arda and claimed it as his own, and corrupted Maiar and later Children of Ilúvatar and made them his servants.
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.
He was overthrown in the Battle of the Powers and imprisoned, but freed later on he persuaded Ungoliant to aid him in stealing the Silmarils and destroy the the Two Trees.
tbc...
At the end of the First Age, the Valar thrust Morgoth through the Door of Night into the Timeless Void, where it is said he will remain until the LastBattle. Yet the lies that Melkor, the mighty and accursed, Morgoth Bauglir, the Power of Terror and of Hate, sowed in the hears 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 -- The Silmarillion
From the very beginnings Melkor sought power and mastery over others. Melkor had the greatest gifts of skill, power, and, knowledge. He also shared in all the gifts that his fellow Ainur possessed. Melkor coveted the Imperishable Flame, for he desired to create beings in his own image. In his search for the Flame, he separated himself from his peers and so began to think differently from them. So when Ilúvatar proclaimed his themes to the Ainur, Melkor was of a very different mind than his peers.
Melkor led a great discord in the Music of the Ainur, and Melkor learned that there were others of a like mind to him or were at least willing to follow his lead. -- DtC
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 Ilúvatar, 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 Ilúvatar took no thought for the Void, and he was impatient of its emptiness. Yet he found not the Fire, for it is with Ilúvatar. But being alone he had begun to conceive thoughts of his own unlike those of his brethren. | The Silmarillion, Ainulindalë |
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The Deeds of Melkor'
This little conflict possibly changed the fate of Middle-Earth?. Let us begin by summarizing what happened: Morgoth and Ungoliant destroyed the Two Trees of Valinor shortly before the First Age. Let us examine Morgoth.
Morgoth was known as the First Dark Lord and he was one of the Ainur. The Ainur were spirits created by Illúvatar in the beginning. They were divided into two different categories: the Valar and the Maiar. The Valar were the more powerful and only fifteen of them existed. The fifteenth Valar was Morgoth and he turned astray and became the Dark Lord.
Melkor (original name for Morgoth) was said to be one of the most powerful beings in Arda, equaling Manwë in power. Manwë was the most powerful of the Valar and was the King of Arda. In the mind of Illúvatar, Melkor and Manwë were siblings. While the other Valar were descending to Arda with the thought of helping others and guiding the development of Arda, Melkor wanted power for himself and wished everything to revolve around him.
Melkor desired to destroy everything that the Valar made to help Arda. The first thing he did was destroy the Lamps of Valinor. The Lamps were named Illuin and Ormal and were designed to give light to the Ancient World. At this time the Valar dwelt in Almaren so Valinor was not created yet. Melkor had established a fortress in the north of Almaren called Utumno. He unleashed his forces and eventually threw down the two lamps. When Melkor destroyed Illuin he literally tipped it over, the lamp fell and created the inland Sea of Helcar.
The result of this war left Almaren in ruins. Tulkas was one of the Ainur and decided to give chase to Melkor. Melkor was faster and fled to his dungeon beneath Utumno. This forced the Valar to leave Middle-Earth? and they hardly ever returned. They created a new land further away in the west in Aman which they named Valinor. After relocating to Valinor, the Valar began to fear for the coming of the Elves. So they made war on Melkor and imprisoned him for three ages.
When he was released the Elves had already made it to Valinor so he, being a recidivist, began to start trouble. He set his eyes on the Silmarils and the Elf Finwë stood between him and his goal. Melkor slaughtered Finwë and stole the Jewels of Fëanor. With the death of Finwë the throne was left to Fëanor and that led to the Beleriand Wars.
The other most infamous thing Melkor did was destroy the Two Trees of Valinor. He did not do this alone though, he had an accomplice named Ungoliant. Ungoliant, Shelobs ancestor, was a Maia shaped as a gigantic spider. Not much is known about Ungoliant except after the Darkening of Valinor she retreated and infested Ered Gorgoroth.
The Two Trees of Valinor were Telperion the Silver Tree and Laurelin the Gold Tree. They brought light to Aman in the ancient times. These trees were located on the mound of Ezellohar in the land of Aman. Melkor struck each tree which caused a giant gaping hole. Sap ran from these holes like blood and Ungoliant lapped up whatever sap was left, thus sucking the life out of the trees. The Trees last bit of light which was corrupted by Ungoliant was forged into the Moon and the Sun by the Valar. It is said the only true light that was uncorrupted by Ungoliant is locked away in the Silmarils.
[ElwëofDorthonion]
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