Valar

The Valar, or "Powers," are the highest among the Ainur in Ea. Eru conceived fifteen Valar, the mightiest of whom was Melkor (Q. "He Who Arises in Might"). In time, however, Melkor would betray his Creator and fall from grace, and Eru forever removed his name from the rolls of the Exalted. Only fourteen Valar greeted the coming of the Children of Arda. As Morgoth (S. "Black Enemy"), the High Ainu Melkor was doomed to remain apart from his kind. To this day, the Eldar refuse to speak his name. The Valar, like all Ainur, are immortal spirits without need of corporeal conveyance. Their spirits only took form so they could interact with the Children of Iluvatar (i.e., the Elves, Dwarves, Men, etc.). It is their wardship of Arda and the Heavens that dictates their need for shape. Their role compels their occasional adoption of physi- cal bodies. Guardians of a material world require material ties. The Valar are few, but they are the most powerful beings in Ea. They work through (their people) their lesser brethren, the Maiar. Pledging their loyalties to the Vala royalty, these less exalted Ainur serve as the Valar s servants.

Overview

The Valar are the fourteen Guardians on Arda.They are variously described as Angels or Gods (But this Title might only refer to Illuvatar proper).In the Beginning Morgoth was one of the Valar, and mightiest of them, but when he became evil he was expelled from Aman.There are several wondrous and superstitious Ideas about the Valar among the Hildor, many of them spawned by half- or misunderstood Tales that were told to their ancestors by Avari and Eldar in the elder days or the Numenorians in the second Age and often corrupted by Saurons lies.