WW: LXXXV - The Lost Philosophers of Maiar

[Nogrod]

Eä Herald - Narvinyë 6, 7th age


It is said in the Ainulindalë, that when Ilúvatar made the third theme to finally counter Melkor’s music it was “deep and wide and beautiful, but slow and blended with immeasurable sorrow”. But Melkor’s theme which was “loud, vain and endlessly repeated” , and having little harmony, came louder and louder drowning the other music “by the violence of it’s voice”. And so Ilúvatar had to come forth with the powerful chord “deeper than the Abyss” to end the Music.

Numerous interpretations have been entertained ever since as to what actually happened there in the beginning with the Music of Ainur assembled by Ilúvatar Himself. What did Melkor weave into the Music and how did it affect the fate of Eä and all that is with it?

In the annals of the Middle-Earth it is said that no one but Ilúvatar knew or understood what his exact legacy was, not even Melkor himself. But in the light of the latest research by the honorable scholar Mr. Nogrod from the University of Past Wisdom – and by the sensational tapes that were uncovered by the recent excavations from Utumno’s deepest caverns – it seems quite credible that Melkor actually had quite a clear hunch of what his part in the music was and how he would study the possibilities of exploiting it to his liking.

Here’s professor Nogrod on the issue.

“Contrary to the generally accepted truth, it seems either Ilúvatar did do some really neat spin-doctoring with the Ainulindalë, or then His ways are even more unpredictable we’ve even imagined. For according to my recent studies it looks clear to me what Melkor’s part in the Music was. It was mortality, plain and simple.

Melkor had absolute doubt about it until Aulë’s deeds were revealed to him by his spies. The creation of the mortal dwarves made him confident the secret was there; not only had he influenced Aulë to follow a path not laid out by Ilúvatar, but his theme had also introduced a new element into being: the waning of the created life, the unavoidable death of something that was alive, power that negated being! It was clear to him then why Ilúvatar had been so agitated and why he ended the Music so abruptly, like that. It would be an understatement to say he was thrilled.

And he then knew deep inside that the Eä would be swarming with mortal life! But being immortal himself, Melkor had no idea how it would feel to know you’re going to die one day, and how that would affect the psychology of a being. And how powerless the dwarves were? What would it feel like to have no power? And Melkor was fully aware that in order to be fully able to exploit other creatures you have to master their psychology. So he had to learn about those sorry conditions somehow to start scheming against the new life that he knew was coming forth but whose conditions of being he couldn’t understand.

To his disappointment Ilúvatar and Aulë had hid the dwarves so well that even if he sent his best and most trusted spies to look for them, they couldn’t find them for experimenting. It was then he had the inklings of a master-plan. And that’s what the newly found tapes from Utumno tell a story of, confirming many of my hypotheses.”


So what was Melkor’s master-plan about?

What is the immeasurable sorrow in Ilúvatar’s theme?

What is the vain and endless repetition of violence with no harmony on Melkor’s theme?

Why was the end of it deeper than the abyss?


Follow the Eä Herald (TM) to find out. We’ll be publishing you some incredible footage from ages ago with the kind permission and co-operation by the University of Past Wisdom’s Historico-philosophical department and our good professor Nogrod!



NB. Do not post in this thread yet! The game begins around New year.

Patience... is one of the virtues.