2 Of Valinor and the Two Trees

[ArcusCalion]

VT-LQ-04b, VT-LT-06 & VT-LT-11.5: We actually have a definite statement that the gardens of Lorien do border Ezellohar:

It was set in the South by the feet of the Mountains of Valinor upon the confines of the realm, but its gardens wandered marvelously about, winding nigh to the feet of Silpion whose shining lit them strangely.

"nigh to the feet of Silpion" means near Ezellohar. If Lorien is near Ezellohar, then I see no reason that we cannot make the logical leap that Vana's Bower is as well.

As far as the "never disturbed" pieces, maybe we can just change them to "seldom disturbed" and "seldom spilled."

VT-LT-06: I would do the Lorien bit like this:

VT-LT-06 <LT {Lóriën too} [Irmo] dwelt far away, and his hall was great and dimly lit and had wide gardens. The place of his dwelling he called Murmuran, which Aulë made of mists gathered beyond [Avathar] upon the Shadowy Seas. It was set in the South by the feet of the Mountains of Valinor upon the confines of the realm, but its gardens[, which he called Lóriën,] wandered marvelously .....

This way we can keep the sense of it. If we want we can change Lorien -> Irmo for the rest of the chapter when referring to the person, but I think we do not need to. In the Valaquenta it is already said that he is most often referred to by the name of his dwelling, so it is a simple in-universe fact.

VT-LT-13: The line you are looking for is in the chapter: "Of Men:"

Some say that they too go to the halls of Mandos; but their place of waiting there is not that of the Elves; and Mandos under Ilúvatar alone save Manwë knows whether they go after the time of recollection in those silent halls beside the Outer Sea.

All the same, I do agree with the idea that the "bat's wings" is a bit much... But if we are to keep all the descriptions (which I think we should) then we must keep this as well. Imagine he means carved bats, or something else more poetic. The details about them in the Valaquenta are indeed lacking here. We could repeat them again, or simply leave them out. Either way I think is fine. The fact that they widen and are covered with tapestries is already told to the reader in the Valaquenta, so the exclusion of these facts here does not render the previous description invalid, it simply adds the new elements to it.

VT-EX-39 / VT-LT-14: I agree with Aiwendil that we do not need to take this out of the Valaquenta. However, I would like an opinion on the edit I did to the Lost Tales paragraph by melding some wording from the Valaquenta.

VT-EX-30.1: I respectfully see no reason to leave her allegiance unknown when it is stated in the source document. If we are rejecting the story of the light, we are to use AAm and LQ as the sources for this. This would put Arien in the role of Vana's servant. However, this would not preclude the Light of Varda being given to her, as she still steers the Sun. On the subject of her name, I am inclined to go to Arien myself, since it makes more linguistic sense, while Arie / Azie seems more like Tolkien trying to make a new name in the Valarin.