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Chapter summary: Personalities, traits and thoughts of the seven male Valar.

Of Valar and Valier, Maiar and Enemies

Of Valar

Manwë Súlimo

I am the High King of Arda, and as such, the highest mountain of Arda, Taniquetil, is my home and my throne. Air is my chief love, blue is my signature color, and my eyes are as bright and fearsome as blue lightning. I am the Breath of the Earth and the breath of the peoples of Arda. The turbulence of the air is my mind's workings, and my wrath is the thunderstorm that rocks the earth and breaks even the mountain towers. And all of the birds of the air are mine, with the Great Eagles being the greatest and the most dear to me of them all.

I was the brother of Melkor, the former Vala now known to all but my kind as Morgoth, and we were of the same mind in the beginning. Unlike him, though, I am pure in heart and mind, and have no clear concept of what it is to be of a corrupt and evil heart and mind. As a result, I unwittingly released the traitor from his prison in Mandos, and he caused even greater tumult and horror in Middle-earth than he did the first time. Now, at last, he is finally cast out of Eä until the time of the Dagor Dagorath, but not all the scars and tragedies he created can be fully mended, for countless people are corrupted by him, many of them for all time. I must never again allow my innocence to overlook another's corruption, or Middle-earth will continue to descend into deeper darkness until all would-be evil beings have honeyed tongues like Melkor's. I am Manwë, First King of Arda and Lord of the Air.

Ulmo

My element is Water. All mariners know of my existence and the Dwarves and Orcs fear me. I am most often vast and formless in my watery world, but my arising is like a high tidal wave come to shore. My helmet is wave-crested and my mail is emerald and bright silver. Ulumúri, my great white horns, blow deep and long. My voice, too, is deep as the sounding depth of the sea. Yet my form is not always fearful, for I am water in all forms, from the spring rains and the fountains, to the rush of brooks and streams, to the sinuous current of rivers. And my voice can be gentle and sweet, beautiful and sorrowful. Subtle or fierce, I move all over the world.

I have always loved both Elves and Men, and have never abandoned them, even when they were under the wrath of the other Valar. I speak to those who dwell in Middle-earth with voices that are heard only as the music of water, but they always know what I say to them. And I will always protect as many of them as Manwë and Ilúvatar permit me to, even after the Reshaping of Arda and the removal of the Undying Lands. I am Ulmo, the Ocean Lord.

Aulë

I serve as the Maker of Mountains, the master of all crafts, and the deviser of metals and gemstones. My lordship is over all the substances of which Arda is made. I share the element of Earth with my wife, Yavanna, yet more deeply, for in the earliest Ages, I shaped the forms of the Earth itself. I delight in works of skill; the gems that lie deep in the Earth and the gold that is fair in the hand, no less than the walls of the mountains and the basins of the sea.

I was also the creator, though not the life-giver, of the Dwarves. Because I shaped and fashioned them from earth and stone, they revere me as their maker, and name me Mahal in the language I devised for them, Khuzdul. They were created to be strong and stubborn as the stones themselves, and to resist the domination of others, including all evil enemies; they also love all the things that concern me. The Noldor Elves are also my students, and I their tutor. They first cut out the gemstones and excelled in building towers and cities of bright stone, and have learned many of my skills. Unfortunately, now the Noldor Lord Fëanor, who created the hallowed silmarils, has, in his madness, left Valinor with the vast majority of the other Noldor to make war on Melkor just to get back his favorite obsession, and they are just as responsible for the terrible wars in Beleriand as their foe is. And yet I am glad to a point that Lord Finarfin and a remnant of the Noldor stayed in Valinor and remain faithful to the Valar. Because some, like the Dwarves and Finarfin's people, have remained faithful, while others, like the Noldor majority, have rebelled, I am uncertain whether or not to regret teaching to them how to make the things that I make. I am Aulë the Smith.

Námo Mandos

I am the Keeper of the Dead and the Doomsman of the Valar. With my brother Irmo, I am a master of spirits, and it is my job to gather the spirits of the dead to the Halls of Mandos and judge them and their deeds, before the Elves are either released into Valinor, or the Men move on to whatever fate the Gift of Men provides for them. My mansions are much deeper than those of Aulë and they sit on the western shore of the Undying Lands. And being the Vala who must know how to properly judge, reward and punish the deceased, I am the most aware of the Will of Ilúvatar of any living being.

Because I know all the fates that were declared in the First Great Music, I am unbending to the pleas of others and unmoved by pity for their sorrows. There is no point in a doomsman feeling sorry for any dead person, for he knows that those who are rewarded have nothing more to be sorrowful about, and that those who are punished are too late to repent of their wicked deeds. The only exception in my entire existence was when Lúthien Tinúviel sang of her sorrows with Beren Erchamion to me. I could not resist such enchanting love for another that Lúthien had for Beren, for her power was greater than mine. Yet not only do I have no pity for the Noldorian rebels, but I have the opposite of pity; they were the most foolish of all the Children of Ilúvatar during the First Age of Sun, and all of my kind save, to a certain extent, my sister Nienna, agree that the only thing they deserve is anguish, and everlasting anguish for the House of Fëanor. According to Ilúvatar's Will, only Finrod Felagund and his father Finarfin of the Noldor have fully redeemed themselves, though Galadriel has begun her penance in Middle-earth where she endured. But although I bear no pity myself, I will always respect Nienna's call to weep and show pity for Melkor's marring of the world, and I will always bend to the wills of Manwë and Ilúvatar if they say I am to pardon a repentant Child of Ilúvatar. I am Námo, Mandos, the Speaker of Doom.

Oromë Aldaron

All nations of horsemen love me as well as those who live by hunting and those who are herdsmen and foresters, for I myself am a strong but humble hunter, unmatched in skill by all, including Melkor. All find me fearsome when hunting and my wrath in battle is dreadful. I fight and hunt with spear and bow, I ride my great steed Nahar, a horse white and silver with hooves of gold that shake the Earth, and I blow my great hunting horn Valaróma which causes all evil creatures to flee before me and the mountains and woods to echo with sound.

In my train when I hunt or fight, there come hunting hounds and wolfhounds, and Maiar and Eldar huntsmen on furious horses. Because I dwell in the forest I am also called Tauron in Elvish Sindarin, which means "forest lord." I was one of the most eager of the Valar to see the Firstborn Children, the Elves, awake in Middle-earth, though Varda was (and is) the one they love and revere the most for her wondrous starlight on the night of their awakening. But sadly, Melkor the Enemy encountered many of them first, and took them to his gruesome dungeons in Utumno, where he tortured and corrupted them, turning them into the monstrous and miserable Orc race that was never meant to exist. It relieves me, though, that most of those whom he missed welcomed me almost with open arms whence I finally came, despite Melkor having appeared to them in my likeness earlier, and I hope that no more are turned into something they should not be. I am Oromë, Tamer of Beasts and the Huntsman.

Irmo Lórien

I am the brother of Námo, or Mandos, a master of spirits like him, but I do not watch over the dead like him. I am the keeper of the fairest and most beautiful garden ever created on Arda, Lórien, hence my more common name. And I am the King of Dream and Vision, which means that I control all the dreams and dream spirits that visit the Children of Ilúvatar and am the giver of all visions that they may receive. No bogeyman can trouble the dreams of those who put their trust and faith in me as their Master of Dreams. And as the Master of Dreams, I share all the dreams and hopes of the Children, and am willing to give them faith and strength to overcome their demons and make their dreams of a better and more beautiful future true. It has worked immensely well with the Halfling Samwise Gamgee, who made the Shire even more beautiful than it was before Curumo's selfish ravages of the land, and with my faithful Maia servant Olórin, whom most in Middle-earth know as Gandalf or Mithrandir, the prophet of all that is good with the Fourth Age of Sun. I am Irmo, Lórien, the Dream Master.

Tulkas Astaldo

I am the last, and the least celebrated among the masculine Valar, but I do not mind, for I am no more proud than any other humble Vala, save my old foe, the evil Melkor. My talent lies in strength, strength of body, will, and endurance, for I have the mightiest physical muscle of the Holy Ones who came down to Arda, I am the quickest on foot, and I am tireless. My hair and beard are the color of gold. I carry no weapon, even in war, for my naked strength and great heart overwhelm all enemies. While Lord Oromë is the fiercest of the Valar in a fight, I am the one who laughs in the face of the enemy the most, for I know I can defeat anyone in one-on-one combat, and I intend to preserve the morale of my allies. Though I am slow in anger, however, I am also slow to forget, and sometimes slow to forgive, and while forgiveness is a vital quality in all of the Children of Ilúvatar, my lack of it may have proved justified when Melkor betrayed us a second time and killed the Two Trees of the Valar with his putrid Maia ally Ungoliant. I will never be able to forget getting lost in her Unlight while searching in vain for Melkor. Now, I only look forward to the Dagor Dagorath, when, together with the mighty warrior Túrin, we destroy Melkor for good. I am Tulkas, the Wrestler and the Strong.