Lords of Essence

The Lords of Essence or K’ta’viir were a kindred of higher beings who had formed and settled the World before the arrival of the Elves, Dwarves, Men, Orcs and Halflings. They were believed by the Easterlings to have once formed the Planet or the world and created the intelligent Races,

Known Lords of Essence
Andraax Kadaena Utha

Rolemaster
In the Rolemaster Universe the Lords of Essence were a race of space-traveling Aliens of great power who had once ruled the Universe by their higher technological knowledge but had vanished because of inner strife.They have created the intelligent Races of the Shadow World in their experiments and their abandoned ruined complexes still can be found on various places around the world.

Speculations
If adapted to an eastern Middle-Earth setting, the Lords of Essence could be interpreted as Ainur, possibly Valar and Maiar having served Eru and Morgoth in the Elder Days,