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Lay of Ingwë: The War of Wrath

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Walküre:
LAY OF INGWË: THE WAR OF WRATH

--- Zitat ---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.


--- Ende Zitat ---

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.

Walküre:
CHAPTER IForeword

--- Zitat ---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.
--- Ende Zitat ---

Walküre:
CHAPTER IIA ruined legacy

--- Zitat ---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.
--- Ende Zitat ---

Walküre:
CHAPTER IIIThe Mariner's plea

--- Zitat ---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.
--- Ende Zitat ---

Walküre:
CHAPTER IVThe catalogue of heroes

--- Zitat ---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.
--- Ende Zitat ---

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