Who is Aulë?

In the Arda continent of Second Life:

Character formal name:
Aulë ("Inventor" in Quenya Elvish) Talka (Smith) Marda (of the World)

Name of player:
Arth Karas

Additional character names and titles:

Aulë "the Smith", Patriarch of House Aulë in Valimar. Curumo (the Smith), Aratar (Exalted) Lord of the Valar (Powers), of the race of the immortal Ainur (Holy Ones), offspring of the thought of Eru Illúvatar (The One Father of All). Mâlon ni Noldor (Elf-Friend of the Noldor), Mahal Khazâd (Dwarvish: Dwarf-Maker), Aĥûlêz(Ancient Valarin: Invention). Regional variants of the above include: Oli, Ola, Ola Mar, Aulë Mar, Maltagros, Tagros, Taglos, Mbartano, Martamo, or (subtle pun) Barthan (Sindarin Elvish).

Short character description:

Older than time, the fifth most powerful being in all Eä (Creation), Lord over all substances of which Arda (Earth) is made. Gifted in & delighting in workers & works of skill & invention, arts & crafts, magic & science, stone & mineral. While Arda exists, Aulë will inhabit & sustain it with other Valar.

Typical character appearance:
He is natively invisible and undetectable to mortals and elves. As an Aratar Ainur, Aulë is a shape shifter of skill, and might be found in any shape or size at all. In the presence of elves and men, he appears a tall, noble & muscular elf, to show his respect and friendship for them. He is fond of wearing stones (diamonds, amethysts), metals (mithril), and rich fabrics.

Where the character lives, plays, & works

In the Timeless Realm, Aulë dwelt with other Ainur & Eru Illúvatar, singing his part of The Song of Creation. He was near & saw clearly the first Vision of the World, of what was, is, & is to come. Aulë willingly left the Timleless Realm to aid in the building of Arda (Earth) in preparation of the Coming of the Children of Illúvatar (Elves and Men).

In the First Ages, Aulë made & fashioned all lands & habitats of Arda, in fellowship with the host of Valar & Maiar & despite the meddling of Melkor. He is comfortable & is found ANYWHERE: day, night, air, mountains, underground, earth, water, ice or fire.
In later ages, he is usually in & around his Forge in Valimar (City of Valar) in company of his family, peers, protégés, students & friends. His palatial home, crafted of webs of light, is very near the city. While easily found in their chosen domain, the remote & oft hidden continent of Aman (the Undying Lands), he & the other Valar might travel to Middle-Earth as invisible spirit or may take some other unassuming living form there. In the final ages, Aulë's role is undetermined.



Character relationships: (spouse, children & how they get on with other races, individuals or groups of characters)

Aulë works & plays well with others: The other Valar, Ainu and Elves assist, admire & rely on his work & willingness. Openly & genuinely friendly & admiring of creativity & skill wherever he finds it, & often found learning & teaching, Aulë has little love for incompetence, but will patiently assist the willing.
He wearies of repairing the mischief of the hated Melkor (Mighty) & his misguided Balrogs (terrors), Orcs (monsters) and minions, who seek to mar & destroy, imprison & subjugate. He is not a willing battler, but the tools, builds, weapons & defenses he makes are legendary.
Particularly fond of the crafty Noldor Elves & Dwarves (his secret creation, ultimately approved & adopted by Illuvatar), & of his many proteges, vassals & aides among the Maiar (Makers) of the Ainur (Holy Ones), Aulë loves (even though he often neglects them for his work) his family: his spouse & Valier (Valar Queen) Yavanna (Giver of Fruits) Kementári (Earth Mother), their son Oromë, (Trumpeter), their daughter Nessa (Youth), & their houses.

Key vision and values

"Of the fabric of Earth has Aulë thought, to whom Ilúvatar had given skill & knowledge scarce less than to Melkor; but the delight & pride of Aulë is in the deed of making & in the thing made, & neither in possession nor in his own mastery; wherefore he gives & hoards not, & is free from care, passing ever on to some new work."
~~ The Silmarillion, Ainulindalë, by JRR Tolkien

Key motivators

Enabling of creation, creativity, craft, skill & education thereof, & sharing works of all types, whether of beauty, of utility, of protection or offense, or of any cleverness & cunning.

Typical behaviours:

Making stuff. Helping others make stuff. Fixing stuff. Help others fix stuff. Giving stuff. Helping others give stuff. Delighting in well-done stuff. He is carefree (rarely insisting on ceremony or protocol or formality), moving from interest to interest rapidly, quick with words (he invented at least two languages in wide usage), a fastt friend (even if he chooses his friends & protégés poorly), and he seeks & gives good counsel & aid, especially in the arts & crafts, magics & sciences.

References:

JRR Tolkien: The Ainulindalë, The Valaquenta, The Silmarillion, The Book of Lost Tales.

Encyclopedia of Arda Online

Quenya & Valarin wordlists at Ardalambion

(This is a reprinted article from http://secondherald.blogspot.com/2007/09/herald-in-valimar.html)

Music for "Lay of the Last"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jump to a recording of this short version

We have seen many friendships, as we crossed over oceans, as we crossed over mountains to be

Here forever undying, in the land ever living, where our homes, and the stars, meet the sea.

We are here, where we’re destined, where we live, we are loving. We know others who travel will be

Welcome here in the ages that will come, when they come here, to this land under stars o’er the sea.

E’er we each in our fashion live the life that we fashion. E’er to last, where we live, we will be

Called the last, ever lasting, home at last, we “tell airy” loving songs, for the stars, and the sea.

Called the last, ever lasting, home at last, we “ Teleri ”, loving songs, for the stars, and the sea.

Closing verses of “Telerilindalë”,

translated to the common tongue

as “The Lay of the Last”

by Aulë (Arth) the Finesmith.

~~~~~~~~~~

My dearest Lord Olwë, King of the Teleri:

Today, in response for your request for personal tales of the Teleri Elves of Alqualondë, I offer this translation of"Telerilindalë", the teaching song that young Teleri elves learn as introduction to their languages and history. I have not repeated the original lyric here, in its multiple languages, since every Teleri knows it since childhood, and there are many sources for an eager student.

In the attached short sample of preserved music, the melody and musical structure are simplified from the original, although the key change after each verse remains, signaling progress in the Great March and the change of characters in the song. I placed annotations and internal references to the languages, characters, and locations as notes in the common lyric. Thus, students and singers unfamiliar with the Teleri ballad might find some glimmer of the original significance.

In the full version, some formal aspects of the original lyric survived in this translation. Each verse:

• comprises two lines of metric anapestic heptameter,
• includes the words "be", "stars" and "sea" (for linguistic comparison),
• includes a repeated idiom,
• includes a phrase of each category: subject, predicate, vocative, subjunctive and preposition, and
• every word is sung in common tongue,

to echo the teaching value and purity of each language sample in the original.

A great deal of the cleverness and charm of the original relies on the play of words across the varying languages in the verses. I attempted the sweetly sad lyrical style that the Teleri master so well, but I am no master. If this work pleases, I am pleased.

The making, like the travel or the singing, is its own reward.

In love and respect, Aulë (Arth) the Finesmith

References:

Overview of the Teleri History

"The Lay of The Last", in entire

Another link to this recorded version

THE LAY OF THE LAST

~~~In ancient Sindarin

Elwe, King of the Teleri

Will ye go to the places where the light is much sweeter, where the homes of the powers will be?

We will ford mighty rivers; we will climb giant mountains, to the West, where the stars meet the sea.

Enel of Cuiveinen

You may go to seek power; you may go to seek glory. By this lake I will forever be.

It’s enough to be joyful in the place I was wakened, under stars of the East, by the sea.

Enel’s companions, the Avari (Unwilling)

We will stay with our father; we will stay with the others, where our hearts and our spirits will be

Ever singing the wonder of the place where we wakened, by this land, by these stars, by this sea.

~~~In Old Telerin

Orome, the Valar Guide

I will lead you in safety, you who go, who are willing. You who stay, we allow peace to be.

You, who go, follow closely, for the land is still wild, lit by stars on the way to the sea.

Wanderer in the Eastern forest

I cannot travel onward, for this land is too lovely. Maybe more wondrous sights there will be.

But I love the small singing of the forest and meadow under stars. I could not go to sea.

His companions in Middle Earth, the Úmanyar

All the grass is still green here; all the stars still are shining. Go and bless if you will blessed be.

All we wish for great beauty, all we wish for great comfort is right here. We will not cross the sea.

~~~In Nandorin

Inwë, High Vanyar King of Elves at the Anduin River Shores..

We all camp by this river while our guide forges pathways thru the mountains that on our path be.

While we wait, greet companions you so love and admire, then we go beneath stars to the sea.

Lenwë, who walks slowly, at Misty Mountains.

I cannot cross those mountains. All my will has gone misty. I cannot live while travel will be

All my life and my living. I cannot go so quickly by the stars to the far western sea.

His companions, the Nandor

We will not ford that river, we will not cross that mountain. For our feet are too weary to be

Marching on in this hurry. We will wait, and then someday make our way by the stars to the sea.

~~~In Sindarin

Melian, a beautiful Maia in Nan Elmoth in Doriath

I have seen you by tree-light, I have seen you in beauty, and I see that we ever may be

Pledged together in marriage, pledged in love, pledged in honor by the stars, by our hearts, by the sea.

Elwe, King of the Teleri.

You are beauty in living; you are beauty in breathing. I forsake all my travels and be

Here with you in our beauty. Here is magic, enchanting. I forsake even stars and the sea.

His companions, the Eglath (Forsaken) Sindar

We cannot travel onward, for our lord has goen missing, and our lord, yes, he ever will be.

We will seek him in friendship. We cannot travel onward to that land the where stars meet the sea

~~~In Telerin of Tol Eressëa

Ulmo, the Valar of the sea

You are here by my waters. You are here on my island. I will carry you over to be

In the land where the others that you follow are living, where the light blesses stars and the sea

Cúrdan the Shipwright, on Tol Eressea.

I would stay by these waters, for they chime with such beauty that my heart ever peaceful will be.

While my friends travel onward, I would stay on this island, so alone, under stars in the sea

His companions, the Falmari (Sea-elves)

We can see in the distance all the light we were promised. Here and now, we’re contented to be

Here and now, on this island, with the songs of the water and the waves and the stars and the sea.

~~~In Lindalambë (Aman Telerin)

Ossë, the Maia of the Middle Earth seas

I must teach you to travel by the wind over water, but I grieve, for I’d teach you to be

Here with me to delight with, but I’ll teach you to leave me, with my swans, under stars, o’er the sea.

Olwë in Alqualonde

We are glad of your teaching, we are glad of your friendship, but we must travel on til we be

Safe at home in swan harbor where we have the great blessing of the land where the stars reach the sea.

**His Companions, the Foam Riders

We have seen many friendships, as we crossed over oceans, as we crossed over mountains to be

Here forever undying, in the land ever living, where our homes, and the stars, meet the sea.

~~~In Quenya:

Finwë, the Noldor King in Tirion

Lord, my friends and you singers, we rejoin our sweet kinfolk in this land, and we always will be

With our hands and our talents, ever pledged to your service in the light of the stars and the sea.

Eärwen, Olwë’s daughter, in Tirion

Lord, we thank you for making such a fond and sweet welcome, we are glad and delighted to be

In the places you fashioned as we followed your footsteps to this land where the stars meet the sea.

The Noldor & Vanyar Elves

Be at last made ye merry, for at last you have joined us by the light of the trees that will be

Ever shining while friendship binds our hearts to each other, and at last, to the stars and the sea.

~~in Valarin:

Manwë, The Valar High King in Valinor

You are here, as we wished you. You are here, as we led you. Know that others who tarry will be

Welcome here in the ages that will come, when they come here, to our land where the stars meet the sea.

~~~in Common

**All Lead Singers

We are here, where we’re destined, where we live, we are loving. We know others who travel will be ->

Welcome here in the ages that will come, when they come here, to this land under stars o’er the sea.

**All Teleri, everywhere

E’er we each in our fashion live the life that we fashion. E’er to last, where we live, we will be

Called the last, ever lasting, home at last, we “tell airy” loving songs, for the stars, and the sea.

Called the last, ever lasting, home at last, we “ Teleri ”, loving songs, for the stars, and the sea.

~~~~~~~Here ends Telerilindalë, a Teleri elven teaching-song,

translated to the common tongue as “The Lay of the Last” by Aulë (Arth) the Finesmith.

Teleri Elves

All the first Elves awoke to starlight and water in ancient times by the shores of Cuiviénen, a lake on a bay on the ocean far to the east of Middle Earth. By their own whims and by the invitation of the Valar, they scattered thru Arda (the world) in tribes.

According to "The Lost Tales" legends, the Teleri (singular ‘Teler’) were descended from Enel, the third Elf to awake in Cuiviénen, his spouse Enelyë and their 72 companions. The Teleri were the third and largest group of elves to awaken by Cuivínen. The Vala Oromë discovered the elves and escorted the Teler Elwë and two other tribal leaders to Valinor and back to urge their people to make their way to Valinor. Many, including Enel did not attempt the Great March.

Aman is 1) the Blessed Realm, comprising (Valinor (the central valley) and Eldamar (coastal montains and plains) together; or 2) the great western continent, including all the above and more.

The Teleri were the last (tella means "last" in Elvish, whence “Teleri”) tribe to set out toward Aman. So great were their numbers, they had two lords: Elwë Singollo (which signifies Greymantle) and his brother Olwë. The History of Middle-earth, states: '…Olwë beget many children', suggesting other unnamed children apart from Eärwen. While traveling West to Aman, groups of Teleri (notably the Sindar and the Nandor) stopped and settled along the way, including Elwë. Each sundered group took its own name and language over time.

When Olwë and his followers were ready to leave Middle Earth over the sea, the Valar Ulmo (who had already escorted other, faster Elves to Aman) uprooted The Lonely Isle called Tol Eressëa from the Bay of Balfalas. Once on the island, Ulmo transported the Teleri to the bay of Eldamar in the Blessed Realm but stopped short and rooted the island in the sea within sight of Aman at their request, long ages before the rising of the Sun and Moon.

The elves of Aman and Tol Eressëa are usually known simply as "Teleri", but they are properly just the branch of the Teleri people that travelled farthest west across the ocean. The Teleri tongue is Telerin or Lindalambë (tongue of the Lindar (singers)), a dialect of Quenya similar to Common Telerin (whence Sindarin and Nandorin were also derived) and Common Eldarin. From their love of the ocean, these sea-crossing Elves were given the particular, rarely used name Falmari, (from the Quenya word falma, meaning [crested] wave, loosely translated as 'Sea-elves' ), for they had became enamored with the sea and made music beside the breaking waves.

After many years on the island of Tol Eressëa, at the request of the other Vala, the great Maia Ossë taught the Teleri the art of ship-building, and many Teleri finally sailed to the shores of Aman itself.

There, they dwelt on the starlit beaches of the Undying Lands and built their chief city of Alqualondë, (Swan Harbour) walled and built in a natural harbour under a natural rock arch. It features the great harbours where the Teleri swan-ships were moored, and it housed the tower of King Olwë, The city was covered with pearls which the Teleri found in the seas and jewels given by the Noldor. From the skimming of their ships over the starlit waves, these Terleri also acquired the name of “the Foam-riders, folk of waters, Elves of the endless echoing beaches".

Aulë (Arth) the (Fine) Smith

I have the alt Aule Finesmith now. This solved three problems for me:

Problem one: when one account gets so busy and in demand that Second Life becomes more like a second job, it's time to make a new account just for having fun. I'd spent so much time that I wasn't even posting to this blog for months.

Problem two: in the Builders of Arda sims, where I role play the J.R.R.Tolkien character Aulë the Smith, there are many sims where I need land rights or group rights to play my role effectively. The owners and organizers are more than happy to grant me those right, but I need open groups because of
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Limits

Groups:
* Max. # of groups you can belong to - 25
o Roles within groups are sort of like sub-groups. In many cases, you can use them instead of creating new groups.
* Min. # of members in a group - 2
o A group with only 1 person for 48 hours will be disbanded (cancelled). Unless the group owns land.
* Max. # of roles allowed in a group - 10 (including "Owners" and "Everyone", which can't be deleted)

Problem three: when your name is "Arth Karas", but the other players are supposed to remember to call you "Aulë" regularly and with some respect, you want to make it easy for them. Notecards, IM and floating text over the avatars heads are fine, but matching the role to the avatar name is even better.

Opportunity: When I saw new players using the last name "Finesmith", I located where I could register it using the SL name search website, and made Aulë right away. The name was too perfect to overlook.

Since I make most of my own clothes, skins and attachments now, it's been easy to make Aule a mirror of Arth as Aulë. Many players hardly notice the change right away, except as Aule befriends them.


I'll gradually wean Arth out of Arda, so he can continue operating in the rest of Second Life while Aulë has fun being a Tolkien fan in the Arda sims and forums.

I"ll use this blog for Tolkien specific postings and save "The Second Herald" for ethics, legal and general Second Life postings.