War for The Sake of the Elves Printable version

The battle of Valar against Melkor was called, The War for Sake of the Elves or the War of the Powers. [1] They fought it during the Year of the Trees, to rescue the Elves and to suppress the power of Melkor.

The Chronicle

The Onset of the War

Melkor wrecked the two sources of light before the Sun's rise. It led to the reshaping of Arda from its original form. After that, the Valar left the wreck to an additionally formed continent Aman, where they erected the Valinor. In the meantime, Melkor continued his reign in the reformed continent of middle-earth. He influenced the beasts that survived among the ruins, turning them evil. The Valar was hesitant to approach Melkor. They didn't know the changes happening in middle-earth, and they feared that their interference would bring another rampage, as the destruction of the two-lights. They aimed to safeguard the actual plan of making, but they doubted how much they can retrieve. After this calamity, they didn't believe that the Elves and the men would come into existence. To their surprise, the Elves arrived at middle-earth, in a place near Cuivienen. The Valar, who was away from the lands of Arda, was not aware of it.

But Melkor was so cunning that he came to know of their arrival through moles. He captured the Elves, who were roaming in the lands far away from theirs. They ushered elves to the citadel of Angband and Utumno. Melkor tortured them with the aid of orcs, the servants he bred especially for the war. He showed his hatred for Eru and also his superior power to form life and vented off his anger on the Elves. After a few years, Valar Orome came across the Elves, who were still free on their hunting journey to middle-earth. On their meet, he realized it was the elves for real. So, he suggested he would take them to Valinor to offer protection to them. Although few of them gave consent, a few didn't' trust him. They were doubting him as a kidnapper. Orome reached back to Valinor taking the elves who agreed to come with him. They, thus, came to know about the orcs. They felt that this creation was an offense that was so outrageous. Manwe and the other Valar could no longer stand it and immediately sought the counsel of each other. They decided it was time they rescued the middle-earth from the crushing hands of Melkor.

Battle for The Elves

Thus, the Valar waged war against Melkor and his gigantic-force of light. The battle between them went on for many years. The Battle of Powers took place in the North-Western Middle-Earth, where the Valar beat the crowds of Melkor with ease. The survivors of the fight returned to Utumno to brace themselves from Valar. The troops of Valar reached the North of Utumno and encircled it. They kept them captivated there for several years. Finally, the forces of Valar broke into Utumno to make the final move. Tulka, an Ainu, vanquished Melkor in the face-to-face fight. Thus, they took custody of Melkor and ushered him to Valinor. There the judgment was made, and they imprisoned him in the Hall of Mandos for millennia.

The War’s Consequences

The Great Battle, which happened between two powers of the middle-earth, had a massive impact on the structure of the middle-earth. The great sea, which separated Middle-earth and the Aman, increased. A series of tiny bays emerged amid the Great Gulf and Helcaraxe. Also, in the south, a Gulf appeared. The change leads to the formation of the Mountains of Hithlum and the uplands of the Dorthonion. A new Bay of Balar emerged, into which the river Siron flew. As the Elves got free from all kinds of Evils, they started roaming around middle-earth. These led to the birth of modified Elven cultures. The western middle-earth, thus become the habitation of the children of Iluvatar.

Bequest

The legacy of the war led to the freedom of elves to travel to Valinor and Aman. Their visits helped them to become the High-Elf, with more skill, cultural intelligence, and enlightenment. After they inhabited middle-earth, the elves got to know the woods better and also the shipbuilding. But the wreck created by Melkor still existed in the minds of few Elves, who feared him. They restrained their living to the eastern part alone. These elves, the Avari, and a few other dark elves, together had a different culture that was very secretive. They avoided contact with the rest of the world. These elves turned into the Wood-elves after the Second Age, who eventually became the sole survivors of ever after. The Elves' language was wide-spread that they also had an impact on other tongues of middle-earth. The Elven languages were known forever. Melkor, after his sentence, came back seeking revenge, as his fall was due to the Elves. It led to the Revolt of the Noldor, the War of the Jewels, [2] and other battles and dramas of the latter years. The legacy of the War for Sake of the Elves was the foundation for the chronicles of the children of Iluvatar.

References

1. ^Battle of the Powers.
2. ^The Great war of the First Age.