Elves versus Melkor

This is held true by the wise of Eressëa, that all those of the Quendi [Elves] who came into the hands of Melkor, ere Utumno was broken, were put there in prison, and by slow arts of cruelty were corrupted and enslaved; and thus did Melkor breed the hideous race of the Orcs in envy and mockery of the Elves, of whom they were afterwards the bitterest foes. For the Orcs had life and multiplied after the manner of the Children of Illúvatar; and naught that had life of its own, nor the semblance of life, could ever Melkor make since his rebellion in the Ainulindalë before the Beginning: so say the wise. And deep in their dark hearts the Orcs loathed the Master whom they served in fear, the maker only of their misery. This it may be was the vilest deed of Melkor, and the most hateful to Ilúvatar.

The perversion of elves into Orcs is such a heinous act that JRR Tolkien wrote several times in letters that he wished he hadn't thought of it. The creation of Dwarves at Aulë's hand and Yavanna's leadership in creating the Ents (the only two thinking races not created by Iluvatar himself) is a beautiful and well-written chapter of the Silmarillion (whence all these quotes). How Orcs came to be only warrants a few sentences, clues and oblique stories of Melkor's typical stratagies of converting his foes to unwilling cohorts.

Now in his heart Melkor most hated the Eldar, both because they were fair and joyful and because in them he saw the reason for the arising of the Valar, and his own downfall. Therefore all the more did he feign love for them and seek their friendship, and he offered them the service of his lore and labour in any great deed that they would do. The Vanyar indeed held him in suspicion, for they dwelt in the light of the Trees and were content; and to the Teleri he gave small heed, thinking them of little worth, tools too weak for his designs.

The elves who remained in Middle Earth were either Teleri who didn't have the gumption to complete the Great March or those Unwilling to start the march at all. Melkor, in this thought, does not even consider them worth a thought.... But

the Noldor took delight in the hidden knowledge that [Melkor] could reveal to them; and some hearkened to words that it would have been better for them never to have heard. Melkor indeed declared afterwards that Fëanor had learned much art from him in secret, and had been instructed by him in the greatest of all his works; but he lied in his lust and his envy, for none of the Eldalië ever hated Melkor more than Fëanor son of Finwë, who first named him Morgoth; and snared though he was in the webs of Melkor's malice against the Valar he held no converse with him and took no counsel from him.

Even so, Melkor's cunning was the downfall of the Noldor, and Fëanor, too.

Ever Melkor found some ears that would heed him, and some tongues that would enlarge what they had heard; and his lies passed from friend to friend, as secrets of which the knowledge proves the teller wise. Bitterly did the Noldor atone for the folly of their open ears in the days that followed after.

The lies told were many and subtle. They had the desired effect on the Noldor Elves

when Melkor saw that these lies were smouldering, and that pride and anger were awake among the Noldor, he spoke to them concerning weapons; and in that time the Noldor began the smithying of swords and axes and spears. Shields also they made displaying the tokens of many houses and kindreds that vied one with another; and these only they wore abroad, and of other weapons they did not speak, for each believed that he alone had received the warning.

Another similarity: Aulë forged dwarves in secret. Noldor forged swords in secret. Do any other Ainu or elves forge in secret, except for the Enemies?

And Fëanor made a secret forge, of which not even Melkor was aware; and there he tempered fell swords for himself and for his sons, and made tall helms with plumes of red. Bitterly did Mahtan rue the day when he taught to the husband of Nerdanel all the lore of metalwork that he had learned of Aulë.

As an Aulë-centric (forgive mixing Quenya and Latin) view, perhaps the Melkor's choice of the Noldor as the people to subvert was influenced by Melkor's deep hatred of Aulë and Aulë's weakness this ploy. The Vanyar, so treated, would have confided in Manwë. The omni-present Ulmo would have heard Melkor himself if he'd had sought the Teleri. It is the favorites of the distracted Vala Aulë that have to see through it for themselves.

The Elves fail at first, but learn. In example, Fëanor, believing Melkor's lies that the Vala were holding the elves as thralls, begins to harangue for sedition and escape, even becoming violent against his own half-brother Fingolfin in front of their father, Finwë.

Then there was great unrest in Tirion, and Finwë was troubled; and he summoned all his lords to council. But Fingolfin hastened to his halls and stood before him, saying: 'King and father, wilt thou not restrain the pride of our brother, CuruFinwë, who is called the Spirit of Fire, all too truly? By what right does he speak for all our people, as if he were King? Thou it was who long ago spoke before the Quendi, bidding them accept the summons of the Valar to Aman. Thou it was that led the Noldor upon the long road through the perils of Middle-earth to the light of Eldamar. If thou dost not now repent of it, two sons at least thou hast to honour thy words.'

But even as Fingolfin spoke, Fëanor strode into the chamber, and he was fully armed: his high helm upon his head, and at his side a mighty sword. 'So it is, even as I guessed,' he said. 'My half-brother would be before me with my father, in this as in all other matters.' Then turning upon Fingolfin he drew his sword, crying: 'Get thee gone, and take thy due place!'

Fingolfin bowed before Finwë, and without word or glance to Fëanor he went from the chamber. But Fëanor followed him, and at the door of the king's house he stayed him; and the point of his bright sword he set against Fingolfin's breast 'See, half-brother!' he said. 'This is sharper than thy tongue. Try but once more to usurp my place and the love of my father, and maybe it will rid the Noldor of one who seeks to be the master of thralls.'

This was the first use of a weapon. Ever. Fingolfin, displaying super-human restraint, was not attacked, but the mere threat was enough to bring Fëanor to trial by the Valar. There, Melkor's subterfuge is uncovered.

Fëanor standing before Mandos in the Ring of Doom was commanded to answer all that was asked of him. Then at last the root was laid bare, and the malice of Melkor revealed; and straightway Tulkas left the council to lay hands upon him and bring him again to judgement. But Fëanor was not held guiltless, for he it was that had broken the peace of Valinor and drawn his sword upon his kinsman; and Mandos said to him: 'Thou speakest of thraldom. If thraldom it be, thou canst not escape it; for Manwë is King of Arda, and not of Aman only. And this deed was unlawful, whether in Aman or not in Aman. Therefore this doom is now made: for twelve years thou shall leave Tirion where this threat was uttered. In that time take counsel with thyself, and remember who and what thou art. But after that time this matter shall be set in peace and held redressed, if others will release thee.'

Then Fingolfin said: 'I will release my brother.' But Fëanor spoke no word in answer, standing silent before the Valar. Then he turned and left the council, and departed from Valmar.

Thus, haughty and proud Fëanor is himself exiled from Tirion for 12 years with his sons. When Melkor appears to offer sympathy, Noldo Fëanor appears to have learned something:

Suddenly he [Melkor] came to Formenos, and spoke with Fëanor before his doors. Friendship he feigned with cunning argument, urging him to his former thought of flight from the trammels of the Valar; and he said: 'Behold the truth of all that I have spoken, and how thou art banished unjustly. But if the heart of Fëanor is yet free and bold as were his words in Tirion, then I will aid him, and bring him far from this narrow land. For am I not Vala also? Yea, and more than those who sit in pride in Valimar; and I have ever been a friend to the Noldor, most skilled and most valiant of the people of Arda.'...

Now Fëanor's heart was still bitter at his humiliation before Mandos, and he looked at Melkor in silence, pondering if indeed he might yet trust him so far as to aid him in his flight. And Melkor, seeing that Fëanor wavered, and knowing that the Silmarils held his heart in thrall, said at the last: 'Here is a strong place, and well guarded; but think not that the Silmarils will lie safe in any treasury within the realm of the Valar!'

But his cunning overreached his aim; his words touched too deep, and awoke a fire more fierce than he designed; and Fëanor looked upon Melkor with eyes that burned through his fair semblance and pierced the cloaks of his mind, perceiving there his fierce lust for the Silmarils. Then hate overcame Fëanor's fear, and he cursed Melkor and bade him be gone, saying: 'Get thee gone from my gate, thou jail-crow of Mandos!' And he shut the doors of his house in the face of the mightiest of all the dwellers in Eä.

Other Noldor immediately report this to Manwë (Not Aulë. Manwë) and Melkor eludes the Vala searching for him.

Verdict: The Noldor cannot unify against Melkor. Melkor effectively splits and removes them from almost all their allies, including Aulë. They they suffer even greater humiliations than the above at their own hands because of Melkor's believable insinuations.

Melkor wins.

Aulë versus Noldor Elves

I've been asked: "Why, when one can role-play an Ainu like yourself, would one chose to play as a Noldor Elf?" The simple answer: even the Valar chose to do so.

As spirits, the Valar have no fixed physical form, although they could assume any form they chose, or cast aside their shape altogether and travel formless and invisible through Arda. By preference, though, they often took the shapes of the Children of Ilúvatar: Elves and then Men.

[The Valar] were filled moreover with the love of the beauty of the Elves and desired their fellowship. At the last, therefore, the Valar summoned the Quendi to Valinor, there to be gathered at the knees of the Powers in the light of the Trees for ever;

The Thought of Iluvatar cares for the Children of Iluvatar. But the Children do not understand this, even fearing the Caretakers.

But the Elves were at first unwilling to hearken to the summons, for they had as yet seen the Valar only in their wrath as they went to war, save Oromë alone; and they were filled with dread. Therefore Oromë was sent again to them, and he chose from among them ambassadors who should go to Valinor and speak for their people; and these were Ingwë, Finwë and Elwë, who afterwards were kings. And coming they were filled with awe by the glory and majesty of the Valar, and desired greatly the light and splendour of the Trees. Then Oromë brought them back to Cuiviénen, and they spoke before their people, and counselled them to heed the summons of the Valar and remove into the West

It is now that the elves divide, first into three tribes of Vanyar, Noldor and Teleri, but further into those from each tribe who are willing to take the Great March, and the Unwilling (Avari, in Quenya).

The smallest host and the first to set forth was ... The Vanyar; they are the Fair Elves, the beloved of Manwë and Varda, and few among Men have spoken with them.

Next came the Noldor, a name of wisdom, the people of Finwë. They are the Deep Elves, the friends of Aulë; and they are renowned in song, for they fought and laboured long and grievously in the northern lands of old.

My prior post lays some background Aulë's kinship with the Noldor.

Aulë it is who is named the Friend of the Noldor, for of him they learned much in after days, and they are the most skilled of the Elves; and in their own fashion, according to the gifts which Illúvatar gave to them, they added much to his teaching, delighting to tongues and in scripts, and in the figures of broidery, of drawing, and of carving. The Noldor also it was who first achieved the making of gems; and the fairest of an gems were the Silmarils, and they are lost.

JRRT elaborates further on their relationship.

the Noldor were beloved of Aulë, and he and his people came often among them. Great became their knowledge and their skill; yet even greater was their thirst for more knowledge, and in many things they soon surpassed their teachers. They were changeful in speech, for they had great love of words, and sought ever to find names more fit for all things that they knew or imagined. And it came to pass that the masons of the house of Finwë, quarrying in the hills after stone (for they delighted in the building of high towers), first discovered the earth-gems, and brought them forth in countless myriads; and they devised tools for the cutting and shaping of gems, and carved them in many forms. They hoarded them not, but gave them freely, and by their labour enriched all Valinor.

Compare to Aulë himself: the delight and pride is in the deed of making, not the owning, the giving not the hoarding. Here is how the Noldor shared when the last group of Elves arriving in the Noldor-built city of Tirion on completing the Great March to Valimar

last and latest [the Teleri Elves] came to Aman and the shores of Eldamar.

There they dwelt, and if they wished they could see the light of the Trees, and could tread the golden streets of Valmar and the crystal stairs of Tirion upon Túna , the green hill; but most of all they sailed in their swift ships on the waters of the Bay of Elvenhome, or walked in the waves upon the shore with their hair gleaming in the light beyond the hill. Many jewels the Noldor gave them, opals and diamonds and pale crystals, which they strewed upon the shores and scattered in the pools; marvellous were the beaches of Elendë in those days.

But the memory of Middle-earth under the stars remained in the hearts of the Noldor, and they abode in the Calacirya, and in the hills and valleys within sound of the western sea; and though many of them went often about the land of the Valar, making far journeys in search of the secrets of land and water and all living things, yet the peoples of Túna and Alqualondë drew together in those days.

Wanderlust is an important part of Elvish character, the Noldor more than any other. While the Vanyar were content to stay near the Valar, and the Teleri as often as not were content to stay where fate had already led them on the Great March, the Noldor were reputed explorers.

Fëanor [High Prince of the Noldor] and his sons abode seldom in one place for long, but travelled far and wide upon the confines of Valinor, going even to the borders of the Dark and the cold shores of the Outer Sea, seeking the unknown. Often they were guests in the halls of Aulë;

This urge is going to lead the Noldor back to Middle-Earth in time. Even there, their kinship with Aulë is manifest:

the Naugrim [Dwarves] gave their friendship more readily to the Noldor in after days than to any others of Elves and Men, because of their love and reverence for Aulë; and the gems of the Noldor they praised above all other wealth.

When many Noldor decided to depart Aman under Fëanor's leadership, not all went. Noldor passions ran high.

And of all the Noldor in Valinor, who were grown now to a great people, but one tithe refused to take the road: some for the love that they bore to the Valar (and to Aulë not least), some for the love of Tirion and the many things that they had made; none for fear of peril by the way.

The parting and how it occurred was a mortal blow to Aulë and the Noldor's relationship. We hear that Aulë never spoke of the Noldor again. The Noldor who left Aman did a similar thing to Aulë's name: the word in their Middle-Earth Sindarin language means not the inventive Ainu nor "invention" as it does in Quenya, but "shaggy."

In JRRT's literature, the Noldor go on to great things, even returning to Aman after the War of the Rings. But, after the chapter describing that first parting, Aulë appears very little: it is the Noldor that define Aulë, not the other way around.

Love, broken, is bitterest. 

Who wins? 

 Nobody.

Aulë versus Melkor

One on one

Here are the descriptions of the contenders.

Of the Enemies

Last of all is set the name of Melkor, He who arises in Might. But that name he has forfeited; and the Noldor, who among the Elves suffered most from his malice, will not utter it, and they name him Morgoth, the Dark Enemy of the World. Great might was given to him by Ilúvatar, and he was coeval with Manwë. In the powers and knowledge of all the other Valar he had part, but he turned them to evil purposes, and squandered his strength in violence and tyranny. For he coveted Arda and all that was in it, desiring the kingship of Manwë and dominion over the realms of his peers.

From splendour he fell through arrogance to contempt for all things save himself, a spirit wasteful and pitiless. Understanding he turned to subtlety in perverting to his own will all that he would use, until he became a liar without shame. He began with the desire of Light, but when he could not possess it for himself alone, he descended through fire and wrath into a great burning, down into Darkness. And darkness he used most in his evil works upon Arda, and filled it with fear for all living things.

On the other side of things

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

Those and later quotes are from The Silmarillion, Ainulindalë, JRRTolkien. The next chapter, called Valaquenta, elaborates:

Aulë has might little less than Ulmo. His lordship is over all the substances of which Arda is made. In the beginning he wrought much in fellowship with Manwë and Ulmo; and the fashioning of all lands was his labour. He is a smith and a master of all crafts, and he delights in works of skill, however small, as much as in the mighty building of old. His are the gems that lie deep in the Earth and the gold that is fair in the hand, no less than the walls of the mountains and the basins of the sea. The Noldor learned most of him, and he was ever their friend.

JJR Tolkien immediately links Aulë and Melkor in powers and desires. This is unique: he does this with no other Vala pair. In character, Melko often feigns good will, good works, good intentions and good advice, but Aulë personifies them (and the other buddhist right paths ).

Melkor was jealous of him, for Aulë was most like himself in thought and in powers; and there was long strife between them, in which Melkor ever marred or undid the works of Aulë, and Aulë grew weary in repairing the tumults and disorders of Melkor. Both, also, desired to make things of their own that should be new and unthought of by others, and delighted in the praise of their skill. But Aulë remained faithful to Eru and submitted all that he did to his will; and he did not envy the works of others, but sought and gave counsel.

Thus, Aulë and his works and allies are a special target of Melko. While Melkor is capable of marring anything made, Aulë is capable of repairing it but wearies with that work. Thus, Melkor can continually escape and wear Aulë down.

One on One: Melkor wins.

Team Versus Team

On Aule's Team:

The spouse of Aulë is Yavanna, the Giver of Fruits. She is the lover of all things that grow in the earth, and all their countless forms she holds in her mind, from the trees like towers in forests long ago to the moss upon stones or the small and secret things in the mould. In reverence Yavanna is next to Varda among the Queens of the Valar. In the form of a woman she is tall, and robed in green; but at times she takes other shapes. Some there are who have seen her standing like a tree under heaven, crowned with the Sun; and from all its branches there spilled a golden dew upon the barren earth, and it grew green with corn; but the roots of the tree were in the waters of Ulmo, and the winds of Manwë spoke in its leaves. Kementàri, Queen of the Earth, she is surnamed in the Eldarin tongue.

The Book of Lost Tales gives Aulë and Yavanna an extended family through two Valar children. Their son is Oromë the Hunter, who found and guided the elves to the Undying Lands. His spouse is Vana the Ever-Young, who is also Yavanna's sister. Their daughter Nessa, the Fleetfooted, and Tulkas the Valiant were the only Valar couple to be wed after arriving in Arda. Each of these Valar have their own numerous, mostly unnamed Maiar friends and followers.

On the Enemies side, though

Yet so great was the power of his [Melko's] uprising that in ages forgotten he contended with Manwë and all the Valar, and through long years in Arda held dominion over most of the lands of the Earth. But he was not alone. For of the Maiar many were drawn to his splendour in the days of his greatness, and remained in that allegiance down into his darkness; and others he corrupted afterwards to his service with lies and treacherous gifts. Dreadful among these spirits were the Valaraukar, the scourges of fire that in Middle-earth were called the Balrogs, demons of terror.

Among those of his servants that have names the greatest was that spirit whom the Eldar called Sauron, or Gorthaur the Cruel. In his beginning he was of the Maiar of Aulë, and he remained mighty in the lore of that people. In all the deeds of Melkor the Morgoth upon Arda, in his vast works and in the deceits of his cunning, Sauron had a part, and was only less evil than his master in that for long he served another and not himself. But in after years he rose like a shadow of Morgoth and a ghost of his malice, and walked behind him on the same ruinous path down into the Void.

Melkor undermines Aulë's team by fomenting treason and defection of alliance among them. Here is an except from The Silmarillion Chapter 1 showing how team versus team worked early on.

Now it came to pass that while the Valar rested from their labours, and watched the growth and unfolding of the things that they had devised and begun, Manwë ordained a great feast; and the Valar and an their host came at his bidding. But Aulë and Tulkas were weary; for the craft of Aulë and the strength of Tulkas had been at the service of an without ceasing fax the days of their labour. And Melkor knew of an that was done, for even then he had secret friends and spies among the Maiar whom he had converted to his cause; and far off in the darkness he was filled with hatred, being jealous of the work of his peers, whom he desired to make subject to himself. Therefore he gathered to himself spirits out of the halls of Eä that he had perverted to his service, and he deemed himself strong. And seeing now his time he drew near again to Arda, and looked down upon it, and the beauty of the Earth in its Spring filled him the more with hate.

Now therefore the Valar were gathered upon Almaren, fearing no evil, and because of the light of Illuin they did not perceive the shadow in the north that was cast from afar by Melkor; for he was grown dark as the Night of the Void. And it is sung that in that feast of the Spring of Arda Tulkas espoused Nessa the sister of Oromë, and she danced before the Valar upon the green grass of Almaren.

Then Tulkas slept, being weary and content, and Melkor deemed that his hour had come. And he passed therefore over the Walls of the Night with his host, and came to Middle-earth far in the north; and the Valar were not aware of him.

Only when Tulkas and Aulë are tired and feasted to somnolence, does Melkor and his team act. Melkor's opinion must be that the Valar Lords of the West are capable of besting him in open battle. Indeed, Melkor suffers a huge loss at this same team.

Manwë said to the Valar: 'This is the counsel of Ilúvatar in my heart: that we should take up again the mastery of Arda, at whatsoever cost, and deliver the Quendi [Elves] from the shadow of Melkor.' Then Tulkas was glad; but Aulë was grieved, foreboding the hurts of the world that must come of that strife. But the Valar made ready and came forth from Aman in strength of war, resolving to assault the fortresses of Melkor and make an end. Never did Melkor forget that this war was made for the sake of the Elves, and that they were the cause of his downfall. Yet they had no part in those deeds, and they know little of the riding of the might of the West against the North in the beginning of their days.

Melkor met the onset of the Valar in the North-west of Middle-earth, and all that region was much broken. But the first victory of the hosts of the West was swift, and the servants of Melkor fled before them to Utumno. Then the Valar passed over Middle-earth, and they set a guard over Cuiviúnen; and thereafter the Quendi [Elves] knew nothing of the great Battle of the Powers, save that the Earth shook and groaned beneath them, and the waters were moved, and in the north there were lights as of mighty fires.

The following battles are not chronicled well, since the historian Elves did not witness them. Indeed, the Vala ensured the Elves suffered no part of it at all. The battle ended thus:

But at the last the gates of Utumno were broken and the halls unroofed, and Melkor took refuge in the uttermost pit. Then Tulkas stood forth as champion of the Valar and wrestled with him, and cast him upon his face; and he was bound with the chain Angainor that Aulë had wrought, and led captive; and the world had peace for a long age.

This is by no means the utter end. Melko commits further destruction through deception and treachery, winning the upper hand from time to time, then losing it. The verdict must be:

Team versus Team: Tie.

It will take another faction to tip the scales. One does.