The First Abode of the Valar: The Chronicle of Almaren

In the elder days, before the shaping of the sun and moon, when the world was yet young and the light of the Two Trees of Valinor had not yet been kindled, the Valar descended into the deeps of Eä to prepare the dwelling-place of the Children of Ilúvatar. Upon the foundations of the earth, they set the pillars of the world, and in the midst of the great continent of Middle-earth, they raised up the Isle of Almaren. It was set within a vast and crystal lake, surrounded by mountains of immense height that guarded the serenity of that first kingdom. Here, the Powers established their first home, and for a season, the world enjoyed the Spring of Arda, a time of unmarred peace and burgeoning life, where the Valar walked abroad and nurtured the seeds of all things that were to be.

The lineage of this realm was divine, for it was the handiwork of Aulë the Smith, who wrought the lands, and Yavanna the Giver of Fruits, who caused the earth to bloom with unprecedented vitality. It was upon Almaren that the Valar held their first great council, and there it was that Melkor, the Great Enemy, sought to sow the seeds of discord even as he feigned submission. The significance of Almaren lies in its role as the cradle of the world’s beauty; it was the place where the Valar first sought to order the chaos of the void and bring light to the darkness. Yet, the tranquility of the isle was but a prelude to the sorrow that would define the history of Arda, for the malice of Melkor was not truly quenched, but merely biding in the shadows of the outer wastes.

The ultimate fate of Almaren was sealed by the treachery of the Dark Lord. Having gathered his strength in the dark places of the North, Melkor returned to strike at the heart of the Valar’s work. He overthrew the two great Lamps, Illuin and Ormal, which stood upon their lofty pillars at the northern and southern reaches of the world. As the pillars fell, the fires within them spilled forth, and the resulting cataclysm rent the earth asunder. The seas rose, the mountains crumbled, and the Isle of Almaren was consumed in the ruin, sinking beneath the churning waters of the newly formed inland seas. Thus ended the Spring of Arda, and the Valar, finding their first home laid waste, departed from Middle-earth to the distant shores of Aman, leaving the lands of the East to the encroaching shadows of the enemy.