Lay of Ingwë: The War of Wrath

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LAY OF INGWË: THE WAR OF WRATH

Ingwë, High King of the Vanyar and of all Elves, dwells beside the thrones of the supreme King and Queen of Arda, and he and his fair people please the two ruling Valar with poems and songs, so that joy and the memory of old deeds may spread throughout the hallowed halls of the Holy Mountain, said to be made of pure diamond of an unknown kind.

Henceforth, at the apex of Arda, the fair High King recalls the events of the War of Wrath of the First Age, the last direct conflict against Melkor which had ended the era itself and shaped again the surfaces of the World, as it agonised in pain and sorrow for the terrible battles that then occured. Manwë and Varda were not there, although the council of the Archangels had called for that ultimate war to be waged; but Ingwë was, at the head of the Vanyar. Great commander of the Host of Valinor and second in authority only after Eönwë himself, the Chief of the Maiar and the herald of the King of Arda. Therefore, he starts telling the story of such a mythical deed and sings the many sorrows that the Good and the World as a whole had to withstand. Words and melodies of a splendid kind, that could never reach mortal ears on the other shore. And so the colours, pains, joys, deaths and new hopes of the final confrontation of all will be thus told, in order to rekindle remembrances of the ancestral past and glorify the holy rule of the Lords of the West, to whom the fate of every soul is entrusted.

The tale is divided in 10 chapters, each comprised of 11 stanzas. Apart from the first chapter, which is to serve as the prologue/foreword of the whole composition, every chapter will deal with a specific phase of the War of Wrath. Speaking about the very style, given that these are lyrics of one of the noblest and most authoritative Elves of Arda, the language will get the most archaic, old-fashioned and antique connotation; I'm going to mirror Tolkien's own wording and endow words with a sacred characterisation. Lastly, my main inspiration were classical epic poetry (Homer, in particular), the epic poetry cycles of Ancient Greece's literature in general and the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, the greatest poet who has ever trodden the paths of this world. The latter, especially, will help me give this fatigue of mine that holy aspect that Homer lacks, and that is instead required for a composition dedicated to the Valar.

As a source, I will base everything on this summary of mine regarding the very facts of the War of Wrath. A collection of precise data from the books, insightful speculations and lore-related additions, which I made usage of to provide the narration with the needed consistency. The War of Wrath.

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CHAPTER I

Foreword

1. Of toil, struggle and strife I shall hereafter sing, the ultimate clash between Light and Darkness which in the end of the Elder Days befell, the gruesome legions of the Night against the holy host from Valinórë in grand number fought, being the blessed ranks by me and the noble Eönwë led, who of Manwë is herald gallant and bright.
2. I pray, in honesty and pious composure, that my words the task shall not fail, at the behest of Thy Majesty of Arda the supreme King, and of Varda Snow-White his wife and Queen, and at the behest of the Western Guardians as a whole, sat on their mighty thrones at the outskirts of the Prime City, heart of their realm merry and eternally lit.
3. Across these halls of diamond these lyrics are to resound and many ears reach, in hopes that they might move hearts and the old flame of valour liven, by narrating the truth of those deeds which actually occurred, for the gentle Elda much wanteth the tale to hear, and with a thought thither to go, where one's mind loose and free wandereth.
4. Thou, bright and mighty Vala, what desirest thou to know? Thou, who all rulest with thy kind, thou dost just and proper fashion to the World by thee was given, thou now the result of thy decree shalt be told, when the mortal continent for the sake of the Children of Ilúvatar again with thy powers was saved, in times dim and much obscure, prior to the awakening of Elves and Men, in eras forgotten and to all forbidden, if not for the radiant spirits who from halls without time and matter decided to descend, where the melody of the original Music they sang and hearkened to.
5. And the gentle Maia, who the Powers in loyal boundary and kind servitude serveth? What longeth he to hearken to? Indeed, many of his kind with us in honour have marched, and his just chief was of the host the imperative commander, for the command of Manwë himself was to inform the mission and last contest of elder tales, and only with the divine consent could the flaw be mended and filth washed away, along with sad sedition being pardoned and condoned.
6. And the fair Vanyar, my People, the proud Noldor and the Teleri by the sea shall recall that fatigue and at my labour rejoice, for much was necessary to end the Evil's dominance and much blood Middle-earth stained, unto suffered victory and of the Tyrant the definitive demise, which was shared effort and fruit of renewed communion, once an ambassador had advocated the cause of both kinds, bringing the testimony of the grave plight of whom in the Hither-Lands amidst grievous events had dwelt.
7. I shall fain tell thee, patient and wise listener, what was to be the aftermath of such a war, from which very few fled and solace had found, as the shires of the sunny Aman lie now far from the paths of the outer routes, in which death still reclaimeth its toll and the life of all somber maketh.
8. Yet sorrow too of the One's grand Plan is nonetheless part, as we shall rest with our fate and within the indestructible Pelóri we shall wait, until even the holy Vala weary by time will have been made, and the whole Arda for the final clash shall eventually prepare, in that the defences of the firmament the Prisoner of the Void in perpetuity cannot contain, and the gaol's bars to bend and be rendered weakened are destined.
9. But only our highest Monarchs, here ever-vigilant and eternally established, something of the far future precisely may know, while I certainly apt for singing the past am, and the Elf's memory shall never grow feeble nor pale, recollecting vivid images of centuries, millennia and eras before, while I portray them through my words, in the epic manner of old, images of antiquity life shall be given anew, lest the annals of history speak not of these grandiose deeds, worthy of remembrance, praise, glory and endless worship in equal terms.
10. Aye, in glory and religious contemplation we shall endure, nay, trust we shall not lose, knowing clear and plain that Light anytime triumpheth, and their over-nature wisdom the Archangels always in success hath guided, when they for the sake of the Elven kind against Melkor in the Years of the Trees war waged, when for the sake of Men they in grief the vindication for the loss of Valinórë's Eternal Day renounced, and when for both kinds they at last elected the way of force to vanquish the Enemy and the Hither-Lands to liberate.
11. This in mind and in thy pure heart thou needest bear, as melody thee in the past bringeth, in all its hues and traits and of eternity the ever-still and immutable course.

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CHAPTER II

A ruined legacy

12. Indeed the Hither-Lands had for long suffered the conflict which never seemed to cease, thread of several faults and appalling blunders, which were mistakes, envy and hatred that had been previously spread among those who were meant to fight back side by side, for the fell seed of discord was sown within the good ranks, originating from atavistic crimes; this was to worsen the heat of the strife and the people of Beleriand just relief saw not, until the Vessel sailed and through spells and enchantments its way made.
13. Albeit the magnificent bravery and chivalry, any effort in the very end useless was rendered, to barrage the foul and save the good, and to cage the will of domination of the Enemy inside his gates of iron and desperation, as one by one the kingdoms of the exiled ones had failed to survive the flood, at the point of all sort of marred minions roaming loose along the paths of those lands, wild and free, so much different from the ways of Aman, for any mortal untrodden and unknown.
14. Hither and thither the adamant spirit of whom fought hath wandered, and very little the cause it availed, for in all cases the thread of deeds by the snares of the Enemy was hindered; such is the nature of darkness and always shall it creep among the encroaching shadows of our world, and in defeat to recover it is hidden, while sudden foray it maketh, so that its opponent is caught and, chained, to the realm of misery he's finally brought.
15. Thou wilt hearken now to some of their names, in hopes to remember the heroes of tales and whom we recall in legends today, splendid names of valiant servants and loyal to the cause as none before, while time naught of their memory is to make vanish, if there are skilful minstrels who such acts are to narrate, should heart be in dire need of being rekindled to the valour of courage and braveness.
16. It all befell and beginning hath had, when the Royal Family the sea in wrath passed after the horrible slaughter of our own kin, or as the other two Houses the path of the Craftsman trod not, heading north of these undying shires and the impossible making real, while passing the Hyper-North which only the mighty Vala unspoiled may journey through, and often the angelic kind those passages of peril elected to voyage and visit, for mortal territories complete absence of light deserved not.
17. There, on the other shore, they settled and the revenant rule of Morgoth decided to besiege, and a collection of vigilant realms was then given life, in order to watch over those mortal lands and the ruthless Tyrant in his very Iron Fortress to gaol, in a 400-year siege that strenuously the fatigues of the Noldor demanded.
18. But even Men, feeble and mortal, their part in the saga have eventually played, and fain I shall thus tell the story of Beren and Lúthien, eternal love and of the Eldar she is said to be the fairest and grandest; story recalled by all remembering how things under the sky used to fare, and ill they would fare in fact, except for notable quests of extraordinary value for that age of wailing, at the hour perhaps grimmest and naughtiest.
19. The Two Lovers were authors of the greatest of the tales beyond the Sea, for their tough present they dared challenge and their true fate they much longed to embrace, and Lúthien then hath sung the grace of her love and of her holy kind the prowess, the stone being undone and the ghoulish illusions of Sauron being bound to wane, and Beren of courageous spirit the boundaries of his human race to the limit pushed, when he a Jewel from the dreadful Iron Crown picked, the Enemy being conquered by the Elf-maiden's chanting and unstoppable might.
20. The blood of the Angels in her veins she had, being beloved daughter of Melyanna the Maia, and also of Elwë who over the silver-haired Teleri supreme used to reign, and he as ancestral ambassador on behalf of the Elven kind to Valinórë in my company had been sent, if thou rememberest, Lord of the Air and of Arda the sole legitimate king.
21. The Silver Lord was of a millennium-old kingdom the stout monarch, of Doriath of many woods and streams under the leaves, which the Maia with an enchanted girdle protected, so that the woodland domain for centuries the passing of time could bear, because foes were not to enter thither, and neither would the prideful Noldor from another continent have come, if not for the kin of Arafinwë the Fair and Wise, who now the fate of Kôr ruleth; part of such old wisdom from the halls of mortality departed not, for it is now kept in large woodland realms that the advance of modernity still resist, having a foremost heritage to do justice to and always in high note regard.
22. Yet all was doomed to fall and very ill to bode, in that the vigilant realms destruction faced and their wealth was then raided, alongside the splendid and secretive City among the peaks, whose High King yearned to defend his people and to the assault of the Flames of Morgoth eventually had to succumb, together with all noble allies that for the sake of Middle-earth very much struggled, as they saw the Evil breaking loose from control and close to victory being, thus leaving for the whole Arda a sorrowful legacy in ruins for which the pious one might with elegy mourn.

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CHAPTER III

The Mariner's plea

23. The honest people of Beleriand were about to face another vicious threat in the midst of that spiral of violence, when all tragedies to gather came and the portrait even more horrible was then made; thou knowest well, listener, how a misadventure lone cometh not, followed by others of akin kind, which is foul type of happenings and utter poison in the pages of written lore.
24. Across the sea the Moon rose and great concern us all took, for the spirits of Aman their rebellious family had not forgotten, with piety moving our hand and the Powers to act for the common sake compelling, for no trace of vendetta in their immense thoughts is to be found, as grudge is all within the reign of the fell ones, with justice being what the Government of Arda necessary deemeth, and should violence and mayhem be one of the outcomes of such an imperial deliberation, with that one must be content, as never was the Empire of the Night by tender means vanquished, and justice its very ruthless visage might show, for whom to deal harm and disorder is about, in a world of law and justness which is not to falter.
25. Yet the hour was not proper, alas, and often our wise Rulers that the request of aid had to come from whom resided beyond the blue would remind, while the grim tale of the Hither-Lands were slowly turning in a nightmare so hard to experience; night-mares, by horrid guises populated, haunting the forlorn refugees of war as implacable vultures flying over a lifeless corpse, and this was desolate custom for those who saw and lived through, our beloved friends and skilled companions, whom the fate of exile so far hath led, furthest from joy and well-being, next to the snares of that awful monarch of evil, bound to captivity once inside the prison of Mandos, and still bound to proceed to the destiny of non-being.
26. Beside the Evil that naught pardoneth and its relentless action for the destruction of all that is beauty in this world, the wrath and longing for the lost Jewels for the kin of Fëanáro to resist too much strong proved, and they were thus thirsty of akin blood and dreadful revenge, and so another slaying among the Elven kind thus befell, being it an additional stain and foremost crime that the Craftsman's kin shall have to expiate.
27. The scattered people of the ruined Doriath found themselves in a deadly trap, hunted down by other Eldar and still bound from the goblet of grief the last fatal drop to drink.
28. Eärendil, son of the two kinds of the Children, managed to take the way of the loose sea, and with him was Elwing his wife and noble descent of the Two Lovers worthy of legends and perpetual praise, who via the spell of the waters the fashion of a fine swan assumed, as Ulmo, Ruler of the Blue, was not numb nor alien to the tragedy of the Elven lineage in the lands lying yon, which his prowess any time reached, whether it were vast sea, broad lake, long river or secretive stream, he was ever-present to hearken to pleas and those in hazard to aid, via whispers of witty advices or the sending of astral dreams, full of the will of their maker to help and support.
29. And it was immense sorrow for both, that destiny made it so that their two twins in the hands of the slaughtering Noldor fell, although with love they were treated and the thread of events shall make all Arda hear again about the Twins, boasting sensational ancestry of Angel, Elf and Man, whom fate grand shall render among both human and Elves.
30. The Mariner thus at the head of his ship was and with his beloved half staunch remained to pass the indomitable waves that none could thitherto resist, and stout he was in the most important journey of his torn life, for one of the mythical Jewels he would wield, the one which Beren and Lúthien in the impossible quest from the Iron Crown had collected, and the ever-radiant artefact dispelled the fog of doubts around the shores of Aman and the defensive spell ultimately lifted.
31. The way was then open and Eärendil put foot on the immortal shores of Eldamar, followed by Elwing Swan-maiden, in violation of the ban that wanteth any mortal or half-mortal to be away from the westernmost continent, and the Mariner proceeded ahead and in Kôr arrived, when all silent was for a merry festivity within the Pelóri, our adamant wall and shield.
32. Yet the holy wisdom knew of his coming and Eönwë to greet the voyager was sent, and the Mariner was summoned by the Powers at the sight of their sidereal thrones of gold, in front of which the high Valar his case judged, and Eärendil begged for pardon and aid on behalf of Elves and Men, for any attempt to win the contest with the Enemy had utterly failed in disastrous result, now Middle-earth risking the unceasing menace of tyranny and total control by the arts of the Evil that never resteth.
33. Manwë decreed that time was up for the purging of the plague, and that Morgoth to the definitive and worst of the punishments would then be condemned, in order to seal him far from reality unto the end of all ages of Arda, and the Powers the Mariner and the fair Swan-maiden welcomed with open arms, as the two had elected the fate of the immortal kind, and Vingilótë was enchanted by spells and raised in the wide sky, on which Eärendil ever-vigilant shall stay and the forbidden ways of the stars shall patrol, with the Jewel bright and never-ceasing as a star which guideth and hope in strife giveth.

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CHAPTER IV

The catalogue of heroes

34. I deem it now a proper hour to honour the names of the brave warriors of this tale, whom we worship indeed for undaunted sacrifice and infinite loyalty to the imperative cause, which is to drive the fell off and make the circle of the lands once again secure.
35. The pious spirits and people of the West were gathered in grand number and quick resolve, for time is never wasteful in the divine intelligence, of which we follow the great design of general peace and serenity for all living kinds but the marred ones.
36. The King of Arda hath decided in inexorable will, that the Evil must be far and sealed from the ways of reality, because on this beloved World of ours too many wounds have hitherto been inflicted, yonder where paths are obscure and the grief of battle the people hard and cold hath rendered, needless is the necessity to narrate the pain and gloomy sorrow.
37. On their thrones of diamond the Archangels further for the sake of the mainland have ruled in might and inevitable authority, and the paramount order is to pass beyond the barriers of stone and water, reaching even the furthest corner and the deepest pit, for none is given liberty to disown the decree of the West and flout what for good need be done.
38. Thou now askest the names to be revealed in glorious manner and that the tale be enriched by remembrances thou art to expect, and thou shalt therefore have the catalogue of thy heroes disclosed, for the common knowledge shall fain make wise usage of and remember the deeds of antiquity and of the holy kind, for one might rejoice at the force which dwelleth beyond the sundering waves, even if banned or forbidden to go where his possibilities may not.
39. Another contest for the Powers with firm resolution to withstand, yet other strife and mournful events to bear on their mighty shoulders, after the ancestral dwelling of the Archangels by the snares of Melkor in dreadful mayhem had been devastated, along with the symmetry of the Dawn of Arda, followed by the retreat of the Powers and their People on the westernmost ends that had from the dark waters of the old ocean arisen, and those ends became then a fortified paradise, in which splendour was crafted and stored, home to wonderful lands and creatures whose kind might not be found on the mortal shores, until war was again waged, to end the Evil's cruel rule and from it to rescue the Elven race, and I still reminisce those far moments in the darkness of the past, when all Arda by the clash was shattered and from the distance across the peaks bolts and gleams of power I would in fear behold.
40. The Noldor who faith elected, the wise guidance of Arafinwë they obey, lone of the Three Lords that repented in time and these blessed shires forsook not, yet his ardent spirit never the appetite for justice hath lost and he would fain greet his exiled kin again and the banners of Aman in the Hither-Lands wave, at the head of ranks of skilful and proud Noldor who the salvation of the West never disowned.
41. The Teleri on the coast shall not have active part in the quest, for still they recall carnage and the immense tragedy that the Noldo kind to their fate hath brought, although they wailed the pitiful state of their akin people beyond the sea, and so their mastery in sailing they offered, to govern the ships unto the shores that die, so that the Host of Valinórë its task may in success achieve.
42. And I led my House to battle the fell spirits of cruelty in the last major war of that time, complying with of His Majesty the will and sincere desire, as I once again to the continent journeyed, since millennia spent within the Eternal Day of Valinórë which now we have no more, and the Vanyar the highest toll in the fight would certainly pay, to free the captive from his chains and a terrible dominion to eventually end.
43. Yet lone we were not in the endeavour, for the Angels were sent too to confront such relentless malice that profound roots in the World had sown, and the decree of their Kings and Queens they shall always make true; the People of the Valar in eternity the path of their High Lords are to make theirs, for their will is the will of those assembled in the Ring of Doom and this ancient bond allegiance, my gentle listener, naught will ever sever, and it's allegiance of the most ancient sort, prior to water, air and stone, and even prior to time itself and space of this universe we name Eä, halls of Manwë, for the Angels were before the shaping of our earth and refused not in the fatigue of their mightier kind to partake, as the lordship of their kings shall fulfil in sure conviction, that the Monarchs of Valinórë may judge what ought to be done for the continuity of their right and law.
44. Eönwë, the highest chief of all Maiar of Aman, of the sacred expedition was crowned the head, and all his saint-like deeds are in truth of Manwë the very will that in both adversity and fortune shall never falter, and then the Host of Valinórë went yonder and thither the valiant ranks much misery found, yet the adamant goal could not be abandoned even in the most obscure of the days, and so hope landed where only grief until that moment had been, to vanquish the Enemy of many ages and a beacon of relief for the suffering ones of Beleriand to provide in the hour of utmost contingency.

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CHAPTER V

The catalogue of foes

45. Light now ought to be cast on the ones we have fought with unceasing will and indomitable spirit, and with the imperative duty to cleanse and purify the wounds of venom that the Evil always across the paths we all trod hath spread in malignant ambition, for this goeth true and crystalline since the dawn of time, that the fell forces only destruction and marring yearn, due to the lack of life-giving power and of the breath of existence which only Ilúvatar the Almighty is to gift.
46. Corruption thus a prime spot in the evil intelligence retaineth, when the meaning and essence of a good deed is eventually twisted and the opposite is therefore the ending outcome of the spell, indeed a true insult and crime of the worst sort, in that the skilful crafter in appalling horror shall wail and mourn, when he is to behold what of his art hath been done, in malice and via obscure magic from which any decent one must in absolute way stay afar.
47. Ghoulish magic is easy to recognise, as eerie and mysterious the places in which akin power the Evil in its secrecy hideth, hideous and dreadful like little in the World, and certainly the very World findeth itself modified in apparent fashion, for foul prowess pervasive effect boasteth as common quality, and thou in fact earth, sea and fire and the clear sky marred and spinning in pain shalt see, being this what magic of this kind to all giveth.
48. Tyrannical rule is too the objective and one of great note without doubts at all, being the forces we oppose ever-dependent on servitude and the chains which liberty can only strangle, and sheer domain of all that standeth free is the obsession behind plans and designs that much grave sorrow have hitherto brought.
49. And the other vicious pattern of this ever-burning war is the sudden return of horrible and unwanted nightmares from the past, haunting the peace and for the most terrible vendetta with hatred longing, since the Evil the manners of the vilest serpent mirroreth, hiding and awaiting the proper hour to turn up again to ignite fire and flames, and thou knowest the consequences well, and I would fain all address, that guard in no case must be lowered, as shadows are always creeping in the forests of the broad mortal world, ready to assault and give to another era of night the unfortunate beginning.
50. The narration with the most common of the minions I shall commence, to tell the generalities of the Orcs whom vehemently we battle, of whom, however, very little is usually known by general knowledge, but the people of the Blessed Continent this wisdom have at disposal, that Orcs were the result of abomination and of an untold and the gravest sin, which of the flawless fashion of the Firstborns was the utter ruining, in times that precede a good deal our coming to these undying shores, that I vividly reminisce, when the Enemy himself the sham shape of a black rider had taken, who used to patrol the ends of our ancestral birthplace along the waves of the Ancient Lake and capture the unfortunate ones of our kind that too much far had dared go, and so the fell incantation on the sad captives hath been cast, and via torture and endless agony a new race was then bred, deemed worthless by its master and to serve the Evil's command solely meant, and enormous legions of these foul monsters were once in the Hither-Lands which now rest in the depth of the sea, at an extent that none now may again repeat.
51. Several other beasts had birth in the abyss of Utumno with no light nor hope, being created through arcane arts and thorough malice, and these the appearance of wolves, giants or fire-breathing serpents took in line with the dark design, for war and desolation only conceived.
52. But also spirits of uncanny and alien nature, which after the great confrontation at large death and total slaughter had found, which we recall in the ghoulish fashion of vampires seeking for blood and ghosts that night, twilight and gloomy routes populate.
53. The Tyrant's mightiest auxiliaries were the Angels who the One's Plan decided to betray, and the treason gave to these seditious Maiar clothes of fire and thick obscurity, rendering them Flames that the order of the Dark Vala blindly obey, and of the worst type of grief for the royal House of the Noldor the main cause they were, yet another name ought to be added to this recapitulation of disgraceful figures, who is Sauron the Abhorred and feared, for he is master in deception and in intricate schemes, but also of magic he is a lord, a mighty sorcerer versed in the control of phantoms and in the subjugation of the mind, and he is now loose in Middle-earth, coward and faithless, the people of the mainland of him absolutely must be aware.
54. Before the apex we reach, there is another spirit of memory worthy, which unlike the Flames the rule of the Enemy hath never served, and she was a Maia whose story is wrapped in mystery and sheer oblivion, who lone arrived in Aman along with the Powers and the eerie shores and pits of Avathar beyond vigilance as residence elected, feeding from the gleams that managed to surpass the Walls of the Blessed Realm, in the guise of a spider of gargantuan size, and doom had made it so that an alliance between her and the liberated Captive was signed, and then the sacred borders of the Powers' domain she violated, and she poisoned the grand Two Trees that our legends had filled with pride, ending the Noon and their immense energy absorbing, and so she had grown titanic and her power the most gruesome and deadliest of the horrors did seem to all, when her webs tied the Guard of the Valar and the attempts of Tulkas the Valiant useless rendered, because no darkness was within that might, but a living dark light that of light the very nemesis was, but she later knew the treacherous intentions of her bogus ally, and she was bound to escape and in the vastness of the continent to hide in never-ending hunger.
55. We have thus come hither, to the Enemy of Arda and of those cherishing light, good deeds and grace in this World, because he is Melkor, the source of the Evil in all tales and fell mastermind of every ruin and disaster which unto the War of Wrath had befallen, from the breaking of the initial symmetry and the destruction of the Two Lamps, to all the erstwhile and successive conflicts that Arda had in truth upset, to the ending of the Eternal Day of the Holy Shire and to the murder of Finwë my friend and companion since the origin of the Elven kind, and to the ultimate war which was in violence fought, because he is the prime foe, who mightier than the other Valar combined was born, yet ever-ignorant of the Imperishable Flame hath been, and, as the words of Ilúvatar once foretold, the Enemy the holistic concept of Eä shall always mistake, doomed to fail and the outcome of the original rebellion to make vain.

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CHAPTER VI

The landing of hope

56. The old lay now to the supreme and ultimate clash eventually hath come, which is for most a forgotten event which fain out of their thoughts they would leave, yet naught in words or in speech without this chapter could go forth, should one not recall what of the Elder Days was last and dreadful war.
57. Aye, this conflict much annihilated and asunder hath torn, superseding the surfaces of both water and earth, for in grand fashion our opponents we have fought and fate made it so that all yonder was to be determined, as who governeth the thread of time hath sewn and commanded, and in no manner do fine beings ever wander amok without just cause or reason, for the fair Children in any case to the order of things ought to conform.
58. Preparations throughout the blessed shires were thus made, for the mighty Host of Valinórë to assemble and with extraordinary armoury to be armed, relying on the Noldor remained and on the Smith who once again to produce blades and iron was bidden, of the greatest quality and deadliest as well, for the sole task they had was the end of the Enemy's yoke which all Arda choked.
59. Other beasts and creatures were summoned to avail the gravest of the missions, for naught from the general effort could be spared, and our ranks were therefore reinforced and anew strengthened, coming from the marvellous fantasy of Aman of which no mortal experience may have, gallant the spirit and hallowed the nature, and I, High King of the Eldar, the most honourable privilege I had been granted, to ride a winged steed, white as the dawn's arrival and equally fierce as storms tormenting the sundering seas.
60. Arafinwë the Wise elected obedience and in the imperative quest partook, albeit grievous deeds and murder which by the other Houses were committed, yet much he craved the sight of his radiant daughter, whom I count among my relatives in the same term, and who last lady of the ancient court to survive had been, while many Maiar along the plains of the Holy Domain were being called, to have council in Valimar of gold and diamond made, where all loyalty pledged to Eönwë who his valiant sword had been thitherto wielding.
61. With the Ruling Angel at the head, of the Powers herald and harbinger of justness, the grand army left the ways of Valinórë for the green Eldamar over the shore, but they needed pass the separating waters and Manwë the passing of the Grinding Ice too perilous had deemed, and so the buoyant Teleri, masters of ship-crafting and versed into the lore of the vast sea, offered their precious aid in such necessity, labouring in unceasing fatigue and large numbers of ships building in their crystallised harbours along Aman's coast, and Sea-elves pardoned the past crime of those who had chosen the exile and decided to carry the ranks of the Valar beyond the blue, although ever-rekindled their remembrance was of the tragedy, unto the choice of setting no foot on the lands of grief.
62. The fleet was then ready to part from the westernmost continent which no decay knoweth, guided and accompanied by the breezes of the broad air, and such colourful vessels resembled a fortress in motion dreading naught nor none, meandering over the impetuous waves of Arda and the very meander of the ocean was journeyed through and cut, in the guise of a sword tearing wicked flesh apart.
63. Hope landed in the darkest moment on the shores of the Hither-Lands, at the hour of nightmares and ghouls, to break the chain of misery on behalf of whom servitude no more wanted, to safeguard the paths of Middle-earth for which the Powers long had battled in fury and majesty, and after five centuries of troubles the World still the intervention of its guardians required and sought for, being them sole heirs and heiresses of the One's Plan, and stringent reason for the divine intelligence to act for the sake of both kinds, be the captive of the Evil mortal or immortal.
64. Morgoth could not foretell the arrival of his contestants and very little had he predicted that the love of Valinórë salvation to sinners still would offer, for the ones alien to kindness and piety the value of mercy shall never fathom, and maximum specimen is the Fallen Vala who affectionate warmth never hath known, yet the Enemy wary of the future nonetheless was, as his sight by the appearance of the Northern Star indeed by utter surprise had been conquered, signifying such blessed brightness the doom of his ruthless domain over the ways which to mortality are sadly used.
65. Nay, the fell hand was not to be given any doubt or chance more, vainglorious his conceited pride and a heart frozen by malice, which pardon would never have pierced, but only wrath and widespread mayhem, coming from the remote West and by the Immortals of Arda led, besieging a regime of terror, whose monarch by the foreboding stillness of the seas was greatly alarmed, envisaging what would later be of him in the tale.
66. Jubilation burst along the somber coasts of Beleriand and relief stirred within all who cherished liberty and justice above anything in Eä existing, for the host landed swift as the quickest wind, and a storm it furthermore mirrored, raging and infuriating as hurricanes, whereas the trumpets of Valinórë resounded across all spaces and the rumble of thunder could thus be heard, for the Powers pious and holy generally remained, albeit turning into pure destruction and colossal fury, whenever one their government of Arda dare contest, like others of cursed sort who to the Good way gave not; large crowds at the seashore gathered, to wish well-boding fortune to the last shield of the gentle and common, when Eönwë announced his heraldry and the never-turning will of the King whom he served, for the fact that Manwë's order fulfilled should be, and patrolling I the heavens on my snow-like flying horse, to commence the last tenson of the First Age the grand Maia was resolute, stout and staunch.

[Walküre]

CHAPTER VII

Grand contest at the Iron Gates

67. The last clash of the elder age is about to begin in magnified style, destined to resound throughout the halls of Eä, no matter whether the songs of this past via tongue, water or air shall be passed on unto a further future, or even by means of the ether above the firmament of anything of matter made, which is deadly path for most of all who breathe and live, where the primeval Lights of Varda Star-kindler were placed, for the world they would forever enlighten, despite terror or havoc of any sort, untainted by the Evil and eternally still, as eternal is the clout of whom reality governeth, sat on his throne of adamant stone, in the Ring of Doom at the gates of Valimar, magnificent seat of the Powers' just dominance of our fate; aye, this is the final war closing the chapter of the atrocious conflict for the reclaiming of the Jewels, and five centuries of lore by toil and strife, success and failure, victory or demise and the creeping doom were thus dominated.
68. The Fell Lord the arrival of salvation foresaw not, made fool by his very vainglory and implacable pride, for naught of mercy a merciless tyrant would ever grasp, as the dwellers of Beleriand far from the favour of the Archangels he deemed with certainty, although that was not to be, being the Lamps of Varda in the hazardous ways of heavens a vivid omen of inexorable end for the Evil, immortal seer of triumph over our relentless adversaries, born in ignorance and in darkness awfully bred.
69. Melkor, one-time spirit of light, woes to thee and those of thy ilk, for of miserable decay thou art guilty and disgraceful author, since the dawn of time and our history as a whole, until the twilight of our time as inevitable event eventually cometh; knowest thou whither thy deeds are to lead? Thy hell, which to spread over lands thou wantest, cause of the most terrible punishment shall be, beyond the broadest imagination and all those sham, phoney and bogus lies of thine, and beyond anything thou mayest conceive, thou shouldst see and wouldst do.
70. Our radiant commander, Eönwë loyal and weapon-master of blades and shield, led the host to the chill of the hyperborean North, which was hostile vastness of death, home of the Dark Lord and his iron throne; the Herald to fulfil his mission from the Lit Earldom had parted, to bring the decree of Arda's sole Regent over the vast sea, signifying that his Regency by none was to be contested, if not via the violence of war, and the army of Valinórë was mighty as never prior to that battle, ordered in ever-new and dreadful guises, for the trumpets of Manwë the wicked ear had to upset, so that the bell for such an evil empire could finally toll.
71. Before we could make to the source of that malice, grown unstoppable and enormous as none in erstwhile eras had beheld, all obstacles and barriers of any sort in our incessant pace were broken, consumed as hay into great flames, and in equal terms it hath been remembered, that many of the Second Children of Ilúvatar with the Enemy had opted to side, bound by the chains of fear and much terror, alongside little or no knowledge of the bliss existing on the other shore of the blue.
72. These were lesser tribes that at the edge of common science had prospered, at the eastern ends of the very world, and, bewildered by tales regarding rich western shires at hand, much they had marched unto the Hither-Lands and thither they definitely went, gathering clans and families of diverse nature, yet ever-bellicose and unstable, for mere pawns they were of a greater design and appalled themselves they had found, crushed and torn between two mighty opponents, the Eldar on one side and their oath of retribution for the perpetrator, and the Dark Vala on the other, fuming in anger and by doubt devoured; grave information we had later been given, as Morgoth in secrecy his demonic lair had left during the war with the Houses, disguised as an eerie wanderer, and many lies were told, unfortunate fate, which for long the strong lineage of Men shall haunt, for the Fallen Angel told stories of blasphemy and deception, claiming that Death was no gift, but sad plague for mortals that by never-ending darkness is followed, because in his words the timeless Void was ultimate destination for all, denying the Flame which naught may make perish or wane, and negating the One who of this universe is above time and space the sole Demiurge.
73. A few of humankind to serfdom had thus fallen prey, caged, trapped and with little other choices but be in thrall of such a nightmare, although wise is also to recall how many of those servants through no coercion had been forced, and the Elven kind how Men could be turned to evil schemes by willing conviction shall in perpetuity in mind bear; fortunately, others to the hailing of the Good had gallantly responded, met by the Elven minstrel of the House of Arafinwë the Wise, at the dawn of their time, and about the wonders of the West taught, and these trustworthy friends of ours the Edain were, endowed with a kindred soul of that of a noble Elf, despite time and fatigue bending their spirit, yet ardent for the just cause they always stood, defiant in the worst and fierce warriors who for their people's liberty much fought.
74. These Men of honour won their place in our tales, and their grandiosity later would shine even brighter, blessing the kin that is to be and bequeathing a world to rule in future times, when life for the Eldar of Middle-earth very burdened will have got; henceforth, the wicked tribes of human minions had no chance in rivalling with the ranks of Valinórë, yet no slaughter of the Children the divine intelligence had envisaged, and those enemies were therefore disarmed and from treading the valleys of the Hither-Lands banned, finding shelter in fleeing towards the vast remote wastes, past the Blue Mountains chain, from whence in search of wealth they had departed and whither they would be obliged to go back.
75. Gentle listener, to the fiercest contest thou hast now come and in dynamic manner the raw battling to thee shall be presented, for unwise of me it would be, when violence at the turn of the tide of history properly were not narrated, as equally terrible is the wrath of the Powers against their many foes since the origin of Eä and necessary it was to wipe out filth with a vehement hand, lest the Evil be granted the privilege of doubt or even pardon that once it was exactly given, and that now anymore it deserveth not.
76. The gauntlet in front of the Iron Gates was cast, at the slopes of the Iron Mountains that the eternal ice used to touch, as Morgoth all his magnitude and foul prowess in the surrounding dead plain gathered, which a desolate desert of ashes and death indeed resembled, and in this enormous wasteland were all his hosts of darkness, generated by deceiving means or arcane arts in the dungeons of Angband, Prison of Tyranny, under the three menacing volcanoes that were its cruel peaks, so that the vastness of the plain could be swarming with any kind of horrors, be it countless legions of fell Orcs, corruption of the Firstborns and the most impious crime, trolls, beasts dwelling in the caverns of Arda, bloody wolves yearning flesh, vampires of a sort that is no more in the world, ghouls and other demons of uncanny nature which not easily thou mightst fathom, together with fire-breathing serpents, crept out from the northernmost territories and at the behest of the Enemy bred and conceived; these were the slaves and horrid night-mares we had the bounden duty to face and withstand with the firmest will, for the Elves and mankind had to be saved from peril and spared the grandest war of those long years of tragedy, and thus the armies of Valinórë broke out and their foes flooded as the most impetuous waves of the oceans, and even though the light of the Sun and the Moon by the devices of the Dark Lord had been covered, via smoke and choking ash, his design that was not to avail, for the ranks of the Blessed Realm by the bliss of the ever-green shires of Aman were enlightened and of the very majesty of the Archangels they shone, making the whole battlefield with their armour lit and radiant, and destiny was eventually determined, because all Orcs as withered leaves in the most powerful storm were vanquished, the other monsters at the service of Morgoth were annihilated with merciless endeavour, none now tormenting those ways once more, the gruesome Flames, the Balrogs, were smitten by our forces and Eönwë most of them in legendary tensons ultimately hath slain, with the remaining others being forced into precipitous hiding in the deepest pits of Arda, whose location many are to bandy words with each other about, and the fire of those vile serpents by the armoury of the Smith-Vala worthless were rendered, and I, with my winged steed, flew through that fiery hazard and my enchanted sword their armour pierced.
77. Victory was near, we sensed, yet the Dark Lord up in his sleeve an ultimate weapon he disposed of, crafted in secrecy and in the most secretive chambers of the Iron Fortress kept concealed, unto the hour of the apocalyptic clash of all times, in which his very reign of terror would be at stake.

[Walküre]

CHAPTER VIII

The enchanted vessel

78. Hardly it is known by means of which skill that horror was in secret conceived in the hopeless ravines of the Iron Fortress, nourished by sheer hatred and cruelty of no akin sort in the world, at the time of the grand contest beneath the heavens of Arda; heavens which never the exiled kin had thitherto forsaken, for the labours of Varda shone even brighter, eternal fountain of hope, and her sight, keenest among all the other immortal beings on earth, reflected her very visage on those lands of misery and tragedy, and her eyes are said to be wonder to behold, mirror of forever and of the infinite love dwelling past skies and ethereal spaces in this universe of ours.
79. Justness doth thus to the tale the remembering of such terrible of a bane, that the mission of the mighteous host of the West to catastrophe may have led, for its coming was beginning of general mayhem and chaos all over the broad battlefield of this determining war, signalled by woeful storms, lightning and thunder, and fell fire came forth in equal manner, animated and conjured by evilness which in no case hath rest or peace, being infernal flame and might of hell, whose extreme malice we knew not, nor had we ever been tested against that reckless evil.
80. Indeed, my beloved listener, thou hast and hadst heard of this calamity before, which entombed in our memory always hath lain, comprised of mournful legends and sorrow that any measure is to exceed, as very little were the Eldar prepared, at the dawn of our story along the shores of ancestral waters, in order to stand up bold and tall in front of the worst foes of the Elder Days, although we have eventually succeeded in holding back the flood that was on us and that our world could have made sink in the most horrendous of the ways, deep into the chasm of terror and oblivion.
81. In eternity shall the Elven temper suffer and withstand such menaces and ruthless desire of tyranny of whoever his dominion on free shires seeketh to impose, since the obscure time of our awakening under the ether of the ancient eras of the Years of the Trees, when the innocence of our immortal lineage both to hazard and grief had been subjected, due to the Enemy being aware of our doing alongside the lake and due to him assuming the fashion of a black knight of ghoulish soul, who as atavistic nightmare in our antique lore liveth and in perpetuity shall, because some of us fell in his treacherous snare and to the deathly dungeons of Utumno in chains were brought, where anything of light is made to wither and die, when the Fallen Archangel to the brood of Orcs gave birth, in mockery of the beauty of our kin and as horrible crime against the envisaged splendour of the Plan.
82. The Winged Dragons of Morgoth were unleashed to bring to us all desolation, chaos and a last desperate contest, amidst the fire of such dreadful fleet of gruesome beasts, deemed invincible and without any weakness that could have altered the grim course of our expedition for the salvation of the entire Middle-earth, and none hath hitherto been granted the privilege of knowledge of how it was possible to shape the deadliest kind of creatures that Arda hath ever beheld, for each of them was death with wings, tearing the air asunder as they flew throughout the ways of the firmament, roaring as the rumbling of the very thunder, armoured with scales that were hard as the hardest sort of stone, disposing of claws that were lances and the most atrocious spear and breathing the flames of the Evil itself, which naught spare or leave unspoilt, for all burneth unto consumption and grievous demise, and only ashes are left, in the guise of the most sinister and ominous of the traces of such blazing rage.
83. The Host of Valinórë sought to bear the brunt of the calamities that were thrown in the battle which we were about to win, yet the foray of the mighty Dragons was accompanied by other devices of the Enemy that took the form of hurricanes and destructive typhoons which even rocks undid, while the whole field was rendered ardent and wasted as inside a much wrathful volcano which life forbade and doomed; a world of ashes and flames, similar to the primordial fashion of our earth, vexed and tortured by fire and poisonous smoke, in which the Powers fought their rebellious brother in the age preceding all others, when the Regents of Arda had not yet abandoned their godly appearance, resembling thus the very choleric nature of nature itself, in primeval millennia comprising deeds that the bright Ainur only may tell or recall.
84. Just for a moment, a sole moment, the miraculous ranks of the Valar faltered whilst getting to terms with a prospect that not even the wisest intelligence could have divined, foreseen or foretold, risking therefore the mission we had solemnly been bidden to stick to, as bounden duty of imperative note, lest definitive farewell to the realm of mortality we bade.
85. All on the eastern shore of the sundering waves under the rule of an endless tyranny would have fallen, without mercy and chance to free oneself from the bindings of nasty captivity, being unfortunate subjects of a reign of terror, destined to last for many eras ahead of the ancient centuries of our old lore, handing over the fertile continent to the most impious master whom we have knowledge of, caged in a prison of inexorable agony.
86. Our vile foe dared not head out from his vicious lair within the frozen Iron Mountains, lying in the northernmost ends of the world, for much he feared the wrath of the Lords of Aman, aware of every defeat and punishment he had to undergo, dreading the chain of conviction into the Gaol of Mandos, from whence no Vala, Maia, Elf or Man might verily hope to escape, and deeply terrified he was by the trumpets of Eönwë, challenging the Dark Lord to show up whither just satisfaction would be made, yet the Herald of the Ancient King of Arda was not to joust in truth with his wicked adversary, as the latter clung to cowardice and hid himself in the deepest cavern of his ill-famed stronghold, chamber of foulness and sorrowful departing; too much power the one-time Archangel had lost, due to the sharing of his own force as nourishment for every disgraceful brood of his, bound and chained to the very physical world he longed to dominate, reducing him to a lesser state of potency, burdened by his same malice and decay, forced not to leave the secrecy of his halls and to make usage of his last resource in the war, brought up and fed for years in the ignorance of common knowledge, in order to make for the most lethal of the minions.
87. Amidst the tumultuous arson of the known world, we were there, holding the ground and in the vigorous attempt to achieve the ultimate goal of our grand mission, yet the many means and schemes of our adversary proved very tough to vanquish, for the coming of those fiery devils was grave hour of uncertain destiny, in the guise of a cataclysm we could not have divined, and the Host of Valinórë seemed to tremble for a moment, faltering before an immense peril, suffering below the hurricanes of flames that by the enormity of the Dragons' wings were generated and being startled by that death-bringing breath, from whose thick ashes the blessed armours of Aman the ranks of the Archangels could not shield completely, but most dreadful of all was the emerging of Ancalagon the Black from the caverns of the underworld, who was leader of those fell beasts and mightiest of the Winged Dragons as a whole, colossal as no akin creature of his kind and broad almost as the very sky, casting a night of grief on us with his immense shadow which any gleam of clear light was to make go out.
88. Had the end come, then, for the shires lying yonder? Rendered the foul servants of Morgoth the craft of the Powers vain? Forswore we the task which hath been appointed to us for the common sake? The courage of our bright army was incredible force which naught managed to oppose to, yet the unleashed devilry was foe to be reckoned with even for the Angels of Arda whom we in glory honour and the advancing of justice had thus been stunned in front of the Iron Gates, testimony of woe and much tribulation for the decent one, symbol of tyrannical domination which seeketh ever-lasting existence along the halls of the grieving Middle-earth, meaning to embody the terrible eventuality of the grimmest future for all, since the entire mainland at the mercy of the Dark Sire would have withered and rotten in tragic manner, with him being crowned king of the fortunes of those dwelling among the mortal ways, and Men the never-ending plight of serfdom would have been bound to, for the choice betwixt merry life and captivity would not have been within the realm of their free will; thou, Ruler of Clouds and Monarch of the Ether, who all canst and good dost, thou wast not to suffer such doom of utter defeat, handing over thy kingdom under the stars to the potency of thy one-time brother and thus betraying thyself and the imperative command of Arda, entrusted to thee by the all-powerful Demiurge as treasure to keep sound and safe, and not as marred heirloom to jettison, and the grandest assembly of birds was therefore gathered all over the heavens of the Immaculate Reign beyond the seas, comprised of thy mighty and ever-loyal Eagles, of whom Thorondor was the glorious king and led they were in equal terms by Eärendil the Blessed, aboard Vingilótë, his enchanted vessel and lone voyager throughout empyrean spaces, with his Jewel on his head, so that this otherworldly host could be sent to the Hither-Lands where the ultimate clash had reached its ominous apex, and so they went whither they were needed and commanded to, causing a furious aerial battle between the two fleets of creatures in the sky, during whose heat the Dragons were for the most part annihilated and the radiance of the Jewel itself, sole memory of the Eternal Day of the Blessed Realm, dispelled the hell of the dragon-lord and became an inviolable defence that none might have pierced, all culminating with the Mariner slaying that foul tyrant with wings, making his huge ruin fall on the peaks of Thangorodrim, undoing and tearing down those menacing towers of tyranny, embodiment of the dominion of Morgoth that was to be ceased, and this is passage of legendary note in all sagas of the Elder Days, be it passed on via vague murmurs, blue surfaces in the government of the Emperor of the Oceans or via sung tale which I sing glad and fain.

[Walküre]

CHAPTER IX

Epilogue

89. Thus came to a fair end the ignominy of Morgoth, fell Angel and vilest of the foes, from whose lugubrious gaols a poor multitude of captives fled and were freed anew, gazing and recoiling before a world which in the meanwhile of the grievous war had much changed, welcoming light again and foregoing their dreary prison.
90. That was known to be the ultimate fate of the sombre shores of the exile, for the high ranks of Valinórë fought and gave not quarter to any fiend slain or vanquished for good, letting loose the wrath and ancient power of the stainless Valar, who ever faced and dared fire with fire, might with might, until the task was done and the earth liberated from evil; alas, the famed resolve of the Archangels brought about a ruinous course for the old Beleriand, undergoing the continent the sudden agony after the tempest, watching its one-time jolly green and coasts be swallowed by the loud waves of the sea, alongside its famed peaks and ramparts crumbling away.
91. Our western Lords were no cruel saviours, however, giving consent to suffer the return of the exiled race and being desirous to pardon the antique fault, and all the shores of the ill-fated mortal world were then a whole incessant labour of ship-crafting, having the herald of the Blessed Realm counselled to part with Middle-earth as soon as time was proper, through the advice of the rulers of Aman, who wisely wanted the immortal kin to dwell well in immortal lands.
92. Prior to the imminent breaking of the Hither-Lands, a vast fleet of pearl-white vessels took the way of the sundering seas, carried and guided by a godly gale sent from the circles of heaven, which never could a worthy mariner lead astray or stray from the imperative route to paradise; wherefore, the jubilant host of the Archangels was hailed victorious along all towers and palaces of Valmar by any Maia or Vanya there residing, while the pardoned Eldar landed in the secure harbours of Eressëa, lingering on the isle and pondering about their sorrowful ordeal, until tidings were spread and all could come back to their joyful homes within the Sunny Country, amidst the love and marvel of its Kings and Queens.
93. Some elected to stay, despite being advised to do otherwise, because, as the Elven saying ever goeth, the love of the Elda for death-ridden shires is as deep as the forbidden depths of the grand ocean, and many wished not to leave the world to its sad destiny of decay, longing to heal and mend the wounds of Arda, inflicted by a reckless malice which ever is to desire but to mar and spoil the goods of this our life.
94. Among those who stayed were counted the old Círdan, finest shipwright, whom I gladly recall since the beginning of my tale, the valiant Gil-galad, last gallant High King of the Noldorin kind, the fair Galadriel, daughter of the wise king of the Noldor in Aman, noble princess related to my very own golden kin, hence her well-fabled gold-silver locks, lone survivor of the unfortunate royal family that chose to depart from bliss, and, lastly, Celeborn of Doriath, former prince at the court of the late Elwë; the two twins of the Mariner had outlived ruin as well, withstanding the most perilous adversity and ruthless captors, whom their love nonetheless melt and conquered, in truth, and if Elrond Half-Elf decreed that he would join the fate of our immortal brethren, serving his king and any pious soul as the most loyal guardian in the annals, his beloved brother Elros preferred glory over an ever-lasting existence under the stars of Varda, destined to rule the future of mankind through triumph and eternal honour, sharing both twins the noblest of the blood ever told or remembered, belonging to proud princes, a silver king, fearless men and one of the spirits who prior time and space lived.
95. Now shalt thou hearken to what befell to Maedhros and Maglor, last remnants of the Smith's prideful brood, who never had relinquished nor forsworn the known infamous oath, to which they were bound with no hope to escape, lest nothingness were upon them as horrible doom for any living, given whom such terrible a vow was sworn to, who was the Omnipotent itself, with Manwë and Varda as witnesses, that never this chain undone could have; both disgraceful princes were not to seek forgiveness and a just trial before the thrones of the Powers, and so they used betrayal and treason to seize possession of the two remaining Jewels, kept by the messenger of light at the behest of the air-dominating Ancient King.
96. Out of venomous spite slew they the keepers of their much-yearned treasure, though a sudden as well as atrocious demise they would have met, had not the magnanimous Herald of Valinor ordered not to lay hand on them, allowing the thief to disappear with his heist, but one should verily never doubt the thought of the Angels, for the two thieves had by then lost right to their father's masterpiece, due to every vice and unspeakable sin which their madness had thitherto evoked, causing their hands to burn and pain of miserable agony; driven to folly and forsaken by all, one cast himself in the fire of the earth, whereas the other threw his Jewel in the wavering fury of the merciless sea, whilst singing the woes of his history at the sight of the blue, and thus the three diadems of this legend eventually found their proper place, away from greed and malicious longing, buried in the flaming ground of the deep soil, lost in the immeasurable width of the seas and well-secured across the skies of the sidereal space.
97. Morgoth had his legs hewn, his very crown became his choking collar and then was he smitten by divine will out of the Door of the Night, trapped in the timeless Void which in earlier eras had been his past lair, and always shall the Mariner patrol those forbidden ways aboard his blessed ship, guarding the bastions of wuthering heavens, lest Eä weep upon its ruins and the end of the world be finally commenced.
98. Sauron, the abhorred lieutenant of the Evil, knelt in front of Eönwë and asked for the pardon of the West, but the envoy of the Valar had no such authority as to grant the demon the benevolence of the western rulers and thence the order to follow the chief Maia unto the realm of light, in order to be judged by the council of the Highest; dreading punishment, to the uncanny East he shamefully fled, going on in the footsteps of his defeated master, doomed to be the new night-mare of our tale and the foul besieging enemy of our beleaguered fortress.
99. Sadly had the forces of the Hallowed Kingdom managed not to retrieve the token of the quest, in which still the lost radiance of the Noon is stored, albeit the primeval guilt having been lifted once and for all from the valorous hearts of the Noldor, leading to the definitive fall of darkness and the restoration of law, regardless of the endeavour's tragic toll and of the mournful end of the Elder Days; if initial beauty and splendour gave way to later desperation, this was the mere unfolding of Arda's fate of decay, of which none might know the very final outcome, except for the magnificent Manwë and Varda, who sole among all creatures may behold with their sight the infinite forever of things.

[Walküre]

CHAPTER X

Hymn to the Valar

100. Fond listener of mine, soon shall we approach the end of this story and henceforth would I be much glad to please thy courtesy with a very last song, which is an old ode to the Powers ruling and commanding our whole fate; it must import me a good deal that this be a just conclusion for a long narration of either glory or desolation, hoping that ancient valour may one day rekindle any tired heart, bent by time and despoiled of honour, for never is it truly late to take up the blade of justice and tread onto the Good's way.

HYMN TO THE VALAR

101. I tell thee first of the swift Nessa, running with her fast deer across the immortal green,
Into our Holy Shire, where aught better never hast thou seen,
Then, the ever-young Vána, bearer of fruits and merry spring,
Lady of wellness, before whom birds soar and sing.

102. In miraculous gardens dwelleth Irmo, soothing any soul with Estë, his beloved wife,
Thence they send joy and to many dreams he giveth life,
Visions of love, peace and bewildering sight,
Renewing the weary and sheltering those in plight.

103. Vairë is apart from pleasures, it may beseem,
Never-ending labour guideth her firm limb,
Ever any deed hitherto befallen will she sew,
Past, present and future during all time's infinite row.

104. Betimes I speak of the buoyant Tulkas, the Gods' finest sword,
Most gallant champion and valiant hero of whom ever we sang a word,
Of the Blessed Realm he hath kept secure the door,
By divine command, seeking in all ages raw battle and just war.

105. 'Tis the proper moment, to talk about the Aratar in lengthy art,
The Mightiest of Arda, whose ranks Oromë is a noble part,
Godly hunter, ruler of greenwood, by thy wonderful steed all continents were trodden,
Through deadly frozen wastes and dark wilderness, blowing the horn of Valinórë, as thou wast bidden.

106. Ere we reach the apex of might, there is Aulë, grandest among smiths,
Often recalled by mortal folks and their heathen myths,
Craftsman, thou madest wonders within the walls of the Sunny Country,
Moulder of ore, iron, stone and pearl, for the betterment of our immortal gentry.

107. Yavanna is his gentle spouse, and of lively nature the very mother,
Her touch woke the ancient lifeless earth, sowing seeds which nought may make wither,
Aman is thankful and gleeful, for abundant groweth thy golden wheat,
And joyous abundance will always render the Evergreen Fields lit.

108. Nienna took dwelling in the westernmost ends of the West, before the forbidden ocean lying yonder,
Lone and far from the jubilation of the Lit Earldom, on the sad shore she is to weep Arda's wounds and forever wander,
Veiled in grey and grief, mourning in sorrow,
Her tears gift wisdom and hope for a brighter morrow.

109. It were ill not to tell of Námo, the solemn judge,
Mandos is his funereal domain, whither head souls, regret and grudge,
Death is but the beginning, though, and pious ones may eventually part from his halls,
Should the spirit overcome resentment, welcomed anew within the Eternal Kingdom and its walls.

110. If thou be'st to ponder about the indomitable seas,
Loud waves, dreadful storms and sweet marine breeze,
Bethink of Ulmo, emperor of the vast blue, worshipped in prayers by all rapid riders of foam,
The depth of the oceans is to him palace, kingdom and secret home.

111. Atop the highest peaks and perpetual whiteness, here lieth of Manwë and Varda the holy seat,
Diamond thrones under the wheeling stars, whence your Angels descend and across all heavens mighty birds gather in the largest fleet,
Snow-white Queen, indeed art thou the sole testimony of the Empyrean and thou, Ancient King of Arda, with mercy beside the Children ever hast lain,
May my fair kind live through the eras of Eä in your company, bathing in the light of your Immaculate Reign.

THE END