Aand we're back! With the Ainur and the Elves! As always, if you have any questions, feel free to PM either me or CrackinAndProudOfIt, or ask us over at our forum LotR Writing: Help Wanted? And if you get confused with all the names, don't worry, I'll be putting up a short information list for all of them, as soon as...I...actually...write it. :) Enjoy!

So there you are, happily reading through Lord of the Rings. And you're getting so confused, because there are mentions of so many different races, and Tolkien's using kennings for them occasionally (Keep in mind he's the one who popularized Beowulf) and it's simply confusing until you sit down with a list, or figure out the history of Númenor. So, we're going to give you a guide to the races that populate Arda from the top down, listing physical characteristics and the like when appropriate.

To start off, Tolkien was a Christian. So there is a God in the Judeo-Christian sense in his universe, Eru Ilúvatar. But Tolkien also loved the Norse myths, and so Ilúvatar created children of his thought, the Ainur.

The Ainur come in two categories, the Valar, and the Maiar. The Valar are the 'gods' of Arda, in more of a Norse sense. There are fourteen of them: Manwë, Varda (Elbereth), Ulmo, Aulë, Yavanna, Nienna, Námo, Vairë, Irmo, Estë, Oromë, Vána, Tulkas, and Nessa.

There was also one more: Melkor, named in Middle-earth Morgoth Bauglir. The oldest and most powerful of the Valar, he fell to darkness before the world was. He's the main antagonist of the Silmarillion. He's actually mentioned in the Lord of the Rings: When the Balrog shows up in Moria, it's introduced as a Balrog of Morgoth. Yeah. That's him. Actually, in the First Age, Sauron is his lieutenant. Getting a sense of his power? But at the end of the First Age, the other Valar finally went to war against him, and bound him and threw him out to the Void, from which he cannot return until the end of Arda.

Then there are the Maiar. They are lesser in power than the Valar, and serve them. The two that are best known to the general public are Sauron and Olórin. Olórin you probably know better as Gandalf. ;) The Istari, or the Wizards, were Maiar sent to stand quietly against Sauron, who was, after all, one of them. Only Gandalf was able to complete his task. There is actually a reason Aragorn, who is heir to the throne of both Gondor and Arnor, defers to him.

While most of the Maiar followed the Valar, a few did follow Morgoth. Of them, Sauron was easily the most dangerous, and probably the most powerful. Sauron actually came close to taking over the world three times, once under Morgoth, once during the time of the Lord of the Rings, and once at the end of the Second Age, which was his most successful attempt. He got so close that not even the Valar could stop him, and was instead stopped by Eru Ilúvatar himself. There is nothing worse than fanfic that makes Sauron look stupid, because he is easily one of the smartest characters Tolkien ever created.

Speaking of smart characters, Skye, let's talk about elves- yes, I'll admit it- my favourite topic. In the LotR books and movies, Tolkien's elves, otherwise known as the Eldar, Eldalië, or Firstborn, are some of the most memorable characters, for their immortality, their wisdom, their valour, and (Yes, "Leggy-lovers," I'm looking at you.) their beauty. If I were to talk about everything there is to know about the Elves, then you and I both would be here for days, but for now I'll give some basic information on who and what they are.

The Elves are one of two Races specially created and fathered by Ilúvatar. They were created first, hence the title 'Firstborn,' and their first ancestors awoke beside the waters of Cuiviénen in the far East of Middle-earth before even the Sun and Moon were made. Only the stars were above them for light, and this love of stars continued throughout the history of Arda (I'll use that term interchangeably with 'Middle-earth.'). They were created immortal, to endure as long as the world itself, dying in body only from injury or grief, never sickness, to be returned to physical form as soon as they are deemed ready. They are beautiful in body and great artists, each after their own nature. The topic of the arts of the Elves brings us to the main thing that someone who has merely read LotR may not- and certainly should- know about them: their subcultural divisions.

The Elves from the beginning were divided into three distinct people groups: the Vanyar, the Noldor, and the Teleri. The Vanyar are typically golden-haired, the most reverent of the Valar and docile of the three kindreds. Once they journeyed to the Undying Lands, they left but once, content to write songs and poems, worshiping at the feet of the Valar forever. You do not meet a single Vanya in LotR, though some, such as Galadriel, have Vanyarin blood.

The complete opposite of the Vanyar are the Noldor. Their name means the wise, and they are completely absorbed in study and learning. These Elves are typically dark-haired and have a passion for languages. They are also renowned artists and craftsmen: of Rings, Jewels, and other things of beauty. The Noldor, however, were also the swiftest of the Elves to desire change in their environment; in the First Age, their curiosity and intelligence led to great unrest among them in the Undying Lands, which I won't go into the politics of now. At any rate, they were led by the greatest among them, Feanor, out from the land of the Valar to set up realms of their own. They are great warriors, bold and adventurous for the most part, and stubborn as the day is long. You see no pure-blooded Noldor in LotR, though both Elrond and Galadriel have Noldorin ancestors.

The Teleri, the third clan, have a bit more difficult history to follow. See, sometime after they woke at Cuiviénen, Oromë (Remember him? He's a Vala.) found them and invited them all to come to Valinor. All the Vanyar went, all the Noldor went...but some of the Teleri stayed behind, and some got themselves lost in the journey.

There are the Avari: the ones who never left to travel to Valinor. You never hear about them again, really.

Then there are the ones who got lost or turned back while traveling to Valinor. For the sake of simplicity, we'll call most of them Silvan, though...that's an over-simplification.

Then there are the Sindar. They made it all the way to the western coast of Middle-earth, and were all set to travel to Valinor when their king, Elwë, disappears. Some of them take Elwë's brother Olwë as king and continue to Valinor, and are the Teleri. The ones who stay eventually find Elwë, who had met and fallen in love with the Maia Melian, and they form the kingdom of Doriath. They are the Sindar.

Confused yet? Here's the simple version. The Teleri who don't leave Cuiviénen are the Avari. Those who get lost on the journey are the Silvan. Those who go looking for Elwë are the Sindar. Those who make it to Valinor are still the Teleri.

And Legolas is a Sinda.

Now you're going, but you said all the Noldor made it to Valinor? How do elves who are still in Middle-earth have Noldorin blood?

Well, in a nutshell, some of the Noldor come back. It's basically the entire plot line of the Silmarillion: how that came to happen, and what the consequences were. And there were consequences. Big ones.

One of the few happy consequences are the Peredhil. That's a handy little elvish word meaning 'half-elven'. (It's plural, f.y.i. Singular is Peredhel.) Elwë (who's name gets changed to Elu Thingol) and Melian had a daughter, Luthien. For those of you who have read the books, you'll remember her mentioned by Aragorn at Weathertop, and several more times throughout the books. She falls in love with a Man, Beren.

They have a very interesting tale, but what's important for our purposes here is that they have a son, Dior. He has a daughter, Elwing, who happens to be the mother of Elrond. While Elrond is called 'half-elven' quite a bit, that's not actually literal, his closest human ancestor is Tuor, his father's father. Tuor married Idril, a Noldorin princess, and they had a son Eärendil, who married Elwing.

There are only three instances of Mortal/Immortal marriages. (And in Tolkien's world, elves don't have random liaisons, or one night stands. If you have sex, you're married.) Beren and Luthien, Tuor and Idril are the most famous and both happen in the First Age. There is another account that one of the first Lords of Dol Amroth married an elf, but that marriage did not end happily. It's the main reason they don't happen all that often: the Mortal partner dies.

Ok, Theology moment. In Tolkien's universe, when Men die, they leave the circles of Arda. Bye-bye, no one knows where they go. Elves, on the other hand, are bound to Arda. Even when killed they stay. The only, ONLY exception is Luthien, who was granted permission by Ilúvatar himself to do otherwise.

So all you Aragorn/OC:elf writers... Random elves cannot give up their immortality. Arwen is Peredhel!

See, all the half-elven, starting with Eärendil and Elwing, had to choose which kindred to belong to. Eärendil and Elwing chose immortality. Their twin sons, Elros and Elrond, also received the choice. Elrond chose to be an Elf. Elros chose to be a Man and founded Númenor, and is Aragorn's many great-grandfather. (Aragorn and Arwen are first cousins, 63 times removed.)

The choice was also offered to Elrond's children, which is why Arwen had the choice to give up her immortality, and follow Aragorn into death and beyond.

And that little note brings us to the second race counted as children of Ilúvatar: Men.

So, the next chapter will be a brief descriptive list of all the people in this chapter, and Chapter 4 will continue with Men! Updating might be slightly sporadic; both Crackers and I are rather busy at the moment. Still, you should see from us soon!