Love this. Come on in and discuss with us the fantastic and subtle intricacies of the Hobbit movies!
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Aiyä, friends!
I've noticed that some of us are very into LOTR or anything related with Tolkien's universe, so, I thought it might be interesting having a special place to nerd about it as much as we please.
if you love Tolkien's literature as much as we do, please, feel free of joining here in Arda.
Namárië.
EDIT: We're going to do fun fact of the day in order to give you interesting information about our beloved Tolkien Universe! Stay tuned!
Speak Friend and enter
Love this. Come on in and discuss with us the fantastic and subtle intricacies of the Hobbit movies!
[USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST]
“Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.” - J.R.R. Tolkien
Always upvote Tolkien! Come chat, whether you're a casual movie fan or hardcore lore addict, there's room for all!
Thank you both for your support and engagement! You make that tiny server a nicer place to stay. :D
Hantalë! (Thanks)
Up to 13 members so far!
“Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.” - J.R.R. Tolkien
As todays is the first in the series it will be extra long, giving some background into the Ainur in general, with a larger piece about the Istari/wizards at the bottom. I will do more detailed posts specifically on the Valar, some of the other Maia, and non-Ainur spirits such as Ungoliant and Tom Bombadil in future.
Future posts will be shorter and more specific.
(I won't be using correct accents on letters in names as I have a regular English keyboard, ain't nobody got time fo' windows alt keys)
(The Dark Lord Melkor, now known as Morgoth, accepts the challenge to combat by the High King of the Noldor in Exile, Fingolfin)
The Ainur are angelic beings made by the god/creator of Tolkien's universe, Iluvatar. They were created to assist him in bringing forth and shaping the world, and many descended to it and inhabited it - for good or ill.
Notable Ainur include (in more depth below): The Valar, Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, Sauron, Melian, Arien, Osse, and the balrogs. (That's right, Gandalf is the same species as Sauron!)
The Valar are the greatest of the Ainur, god-like beings that could raise and level mountains, form valleys or flood the lands. They were the most prominent in shaping Arda, creating the continents, including Aman to the west, Middle-Earth...in the middle, and the Lands of the Sun to the east.
The Valar are fourteen strong: ruled by Manwe the ruler of the world and most associated with the winds and skies; his wife Varda known as Elbereth by the elves) who created the stars; Ulmo the lord of seas and waters; Aule and his wife Yavanna the Valar of crafting and nature respectively; Namo (also known as Mandos) the keeper of the dead and doomspeaker of the Valar; Orome the huntsman; Tulkas the jolly warrior; and of course the Dark Lord Melkor - just to name some of the most prominent of the Valar.
The Maiar are all of the Ainur not considered Valar. They are numerous but few take an active part in Middle Earth. Most notable are: Sauron, the second Dark Lord, lieutenant of Melkor; the Istari (see below); Melian, who protected the kingdom of Doriath from Melkor's forces; Arien and Tilion who guide the sun and moon respectively; Osse a Maia of seas and storms who for a while was allied with Melkor but returned to the side of good, and the balrogs which were Maia of fire corrupted by Melkor. Some of these such as Sauron and the Balrogs will have their own lore days in the future.
The Istari! The Wizards! They are an order of Maiar sent to Middle Earth by the Valar to assist the free peoples in their struggle against Sauron. Arriving at different times, with Gandalf, Saruman and Radagast arriving around the year 1000 of the Third Age (roughly 2000 years before the events of the Lord of the Rings), and Alatar and Pallando arriving far earlier around the 2600th year of the Second Age, they came by ship from the west in the form of wise old men.
There were five of them: Saruman the White was head of the order, the most powerful. He was a Maia of Aule, the craftsman of the Valar. This natural draw towards craftsmanship is one of the reasons he became obsessed with the rings of power, and ultimately became corrupted by the desire to own and rule the One Ring.
Gandalf the Grey - A Maia aligned with Manwe and Varda, the king and queen of the Valar, Gandalf is said to be the wisest of all the Maiar, learning wisdom from his peers Manwe and Varda, and patience and pity from the Vala Nienna. When he arrived in Middle Earth, an elf lord named Cirdan gave him one of the three elven rings, Narya the ring of fire, as he sensed a great power and purpose in Gandalf. This would kindle a jealousy in Saruman ultimately leading to his downfall.
Radagast was a Maia of Yavanna, the Valar of nature. He was a kind spirit, but ultimately abandoned his purpose in Middle Earth due to his preference for animals over the free peoples.
Of Alatar and Pallando the two blue wizards, little is known. They arrived in Middle Earth far earlier than the other three, and were predominantly concerned with disrupting the men of the east, preventing Sauron's influence growing too strong. Without their influence Sauron's forces would have been far larger than they were, too large for the free peoples to hope to compete.
Normally all Ainur can freely change their form or even move invisible at will, except for certain circumstances (such as Morgoth being burned by the silmarils, or Sauron having his form destroyed at Numenor). However the Istari were bound into the forms of mortals, which is why even after outwardly abandoning and betraying his purpose, Saruman was still stuck in the form of an old man. This was because the Valar didn't want to send a group of Maiar to Middle Earth only for them to replace Sauron as another Dark Lord, they wanted them merely to rally and guide the free peoples.
When Gandalf died after slaying the balrog, Durin's Bane, Iluvatar himself intervened in the events of Middle Earth to restore him back to his body, but with far increased powers, as he had shown himself loyal and true to the cause. He was still bound to the form of an old man, but very nearly as powerful as he would be as a free Maiar spirit.
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Tomorrow: The Dark Lord Morgoth (Melkor)!
Mandos, thank you very much for dedicating your time and efford on explaining more about this amazing universe! Despite knowing the story alredy, I enjoyed the reading a lot.
I'm sure people will be able to enjoy more the movies and the books with such great explanation.
Posted By Mandos at 8:51 PM - Thu Dec 07 2017
No mention of Eru Iluvatar
Fkin' heathen.