The War of the Jewels

In the beginning of the First Age, long before the events of The Lord of the Rings, the world was lit by two magnificent Trees in Valinor, the land of the angelic beings called the Valar. These Trees, named Telperion which shone with silver light and Laurelin which glowed with golden light, provided illumination for this blessed realm. Valinor was a land of peace and perfection, where the Valar lived with many of the Elves who had journeyed there from Middle-earth, living in a state of unending bliss under the light of the Trees.

Among the Elves in Valinor, one stood out as the most brilliant and skilled of all. His name was Fëanor, a prince of the Noldor Elves, and he possessed an incredible talent for crafting. Fëanor managed to achieve the impossible by capturing the pure light of Telperion and Laurelin. He encased this living light within three great jewels he created, which he called the Silmarils. These gems were not just beautiful; they shone with their own internal light and were considered the greatest works ever made by any Elf.

The Silmarils were more than just beautiful objects; they were considered sacred. The Vala named Varda, the Queen of the Stars, hallowed the jewels. Her blessing made them pure and holy, so that no evil creature or mortal being could touch them without being seared by their light. This sacred quality made them even more desirable and set them apart as unique treasures that could never be duplicated, as the Trees that gave them their light would soon be gone forever.

Morgoth, who was once the most powerful of the Valar before he turned to evil, was the first Dark Lord of Middle-earth. He dwelled in his northern fortress of Angband, nursing his ancient hatred for the Valar and all their works. He especially despised the Two Trees of Valinor because their pure light hurt his eyes and represented the joy and creation he could no longer experience. He plotted to destroy them and plunge the world into darkness, believing it would weaken his enemies.

To accomplish his dark plan, Morgoth sought an ally. He found one in Ungoliant, a horrifying ancient spirit of darkness and insatiable hunger that had taken the form of a monstrous spider. She lived in a dark corner of the world, consuming all light to feed her endless void. Morgoth promised her that if she helped him, she could feast upon the light of the Two Trees, a prize greater than anything she had ever devoured. She agreed, and together they secretly traveled to Valinor, cloaked in a darkness that Ungoliant produced.

Under the cover of this magical darkness, Morgoth and Ungoliant launched their attack during a time of festival. Morgoth struck the Two Trees with his great black spear, wounding them deeply. Then, Ungoliant latched onto the Trees and drank all of their light and sap until they were nothing more than withered husks. She then spewed forth black vapors, and a profound darkness fell over the land of Valinor. This event was a moment of immense tragedy, filling the hearts of the Valar and the Elves with a sorrow that would never fully heal.

While all of Valinor was in darkness and confusion, Morgoth did not stop his destructive rampage. He went to Fëanor's fortress, killed Fëanor's father, King Finwë, and stole the three Silmarils. With the priceless jewels in his possession, Morgoth and Ungoliant fled from Valinor and escaped across the sea to his old fortress of Angband in the north of Middle-earth. There, he set the Silmarils into a great iron crown that he wore upon his head, claiming lordship over the world.

When Fëanor learned of his father's murder and the theft of his beloved Silmarils, his grief turned into a white-hot rage. He renamed the Dark Lord 'Morgoth,' the Black Foe of the World. Standing before his people, Fëanor and his seven sons swore a dreadful and unbreakable oath. They vowed to pursue and reclaim the Silmarils from anyone who held them, be they friend or foe. This oath would bind them and their descendants to a path of violence and sorrow for centuries to come.

Fëanor, in his anger, blamed the Valar for not protecting the Trees or his father. He gave a fiery speech that stirred the hearts of most of his people, the Noldor Elves. He urged them to leave the paradise of Valinor, which he now called a cage, and follow him to Middle-earth to wage war against Morgoth and win back their freedom and the jewels. A great host of the Noldor agreed, and their departure against the will of the Valar marked the beginning of their long and tragic exile.

The Noldor needed ships to transport their massive army across the great sea to Middle-earth. Fëanor demanded that the Teleri Elves, who lived in the coastal city of Alqualondë and were master shipbuilders, give them their fleet. However, the Teleri refused because their ships were their greatest creations, and they would not help the Noldor in an endeavor that the Valar had forbidden. They tried to persuade Fëanor to reconsider his rash and rebellious plan.

Fëanor, however, was consumed by the fire of his oath and would not be delayed. When the Teleri would not give up their ships, he commanded his followers to take them by force. The Noldor tried to board the beautiful white vessels, and the Teleri resisted, pushing them back into the sea. This led to a terrible battle in the Haven of the Swans, where the Noldor, who were armed for war, drew their swords against the lightly armed Teleri.

The fight that followed was a tragedy known as the Kinslaying at Alqualondë. It was the very first time in history that Elves had shed the blood of their own kind. Many Teleri were killed before the Noldor finally captured the ships. This horrific act brought a dark stain upon Fëanor and his people, and it led the Valar to pronounce the Doom of Mandos, a curse that foretold endless sorrow, betrayal, and suffering for the Noldor who continued on their path to Middle-earth.

Once they arrived in Middle-earth, the Noldor led by Fëanor were immediately attacked by Morgoth's armies of Orcs. In a great battle fought by starlight, the Noldor won a decisive victory. However, Fëanor, in his haste for revenge, pressed on too far and was ambushed and mortally wounded by Balrogs, Morgoth's demons of fire. With his dying breath, he made his sons swear to uphold their oath. The Noldor quickly learned that their enemy was far more powerful than they had imagined.

After Fëanor's death, his half-brother Fingolfin became the High King of the Noldor in Middle-earth. The Elven lords and their armies united and managed to push back Morgoth's forces, cornering them in the northern lands. They then established a long military blockade around Morgoth's fortress of Angband. For nearly four hundred years, this Siege of Angband kept the main forces of the Dark Lord contained, preventing them from overrunning the rest of the land.

This long period of relative quiet was known as the Long Peace. During these centuries, the Elven kingdoms in the land of Beleriand, such as Nargothrond and the hidden city of Gondolin, were built and became very powerful. It was also during this time that the first Men arrived in Beleriand, and many became allies with the Elves. Though the shadow of Angband was always present in the north, it was a time of great flourishing for the free peoples of Middle-earth.

Morgoth had been secretly building his power for centuries, and he broke the Siege of Angband with a sudden and devastating attack. From the Iron Mountains where his fortress was built, he sent out massive rivers of fire that poured across the green plains of Ard-galen, burning everything to ash. This fiery onslaught caught the Elven armies completely by surprise, destroying their forward positions and shattering the siege.

The battle that followed this fiery assault was called the Dagor Bragollach, which means the 'Battle of Sudden Flame.' It was a crushing defeat for the Elves and their human allies. The highland of Dorthonion, which had been a key defensive position, was overrun by Orcs. Many Elven heroes were killed in the fighting, including Angrod and Aegnor, two of the sons of Finarfin, who bravely defended their lands to the last.

With the siege completely broken, the tide of the war turned in Morgoth's favor. His armies of Orcs, now led by the great fire-drake Glaurung, poured south into Beleriand. The forces of evil began to conquer the lands that had been protected for centuries. Fear and destruction spread across the Elven realms as Morgoth's power was unleashed upon the world in its full and terrible might.

When High King Fingolfin received news of the disastrous defeat in the Dagor Bragollach, the loss of his people, and the deaths of his kinsmen, he was overcome with a profound sense of despair and anger. Believing that his people were facing total destruction and that all was lost, he decided to perform one last, desperate act of heroism. He resolved to face the source of all their suffering himself.

Fingolfin mounted his great warhorse, Rochallor, and rode alone across the battle-scarred lands, his fury so great that those who saw him thought he was one of the Valar. He did not stop until he reached the very gates of Angband. There, he blew his horn, and its sound echoed like thunder. He shouted a challenge for all to hear, daring Morgoth, the Lord of Angband, to come out and face him in single combat, a king against a king.

Morgoth, though the most powerful being in Middle-earth, was said to have been afraid to face the enraged Elf-king. But he could not refuse the challenge in front of his own captains. He emerged from Angband, clad in black armor and wielding his mighty warhammer, Grond. In the legendary duel that followed, Fingolfin fought with incredible courage and agility, wounding Morgoth seven times with his sword. Though the king was ultimately slain, his act of defiance became a timeless song of valor, a reminder that even in defeat, courage could shine brightly.

Amid the growing darkness of the war, a tale of hope and love began. A mortal Man named Beren, whose family had been destroyed in the recent battles, wandered into the hidden Elven kingdom of Doriath. There, in a forest clearing, he saw Lúthien, the daughter of the Elven King Thingol and Melian the Maia, a divine being. Lúthien was the most beautiful of all the Children of Ilúvatar, and Beren fell in love with her instantly. She, in turn, came to love him as well.

King Thingol was deeply opposed to his immortal daughter marrying a mortal man. To prevent the union and send Beren to his certain death, he set forth a seemingly impossible challenge. He declared that he would only permit the marriage if Beren could accomplish a feat no one else had dared: he must cut a Silmaril from the iron crown of Morgoth himself and bring it back to Thingol.

Despite the hopelessness of the quest, Beren accepted the challenge. He faced countless dangers, including an imprisonment by Sauron, Morgoth's chief lieutenant. But Lúthien, using her powerful enchantments, escaped her father's watch and came to his aid. Together, with the help of the mighty hound Huan, they traveled in disguise to the deepest pits of Angband. There, Lúthien cast a spell of sleep upon Morgoth and his entire court, allowing Beren to pry one of the hallowed jewels from the Dark Lord's crown. This heroic act became the single greatest achievement of the entire War of the Jewels.

The amazing success of Beren and Lúthien in retrieving a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown sent a wave of new hope across Beleriand. Maedhros, the eldest son of Fëanor, believed that this was a sign that Morgoth was not invincible. He began to organize a massive military alliance, known as the Union of Maedhros, with the goal of launching a final, coordinated attack to defeat the Dark Lord once and for all. He successfully gathered nearly all the remaining Elves, Dwarves, and faithful Men into one great army.

The massive battle that followed was named the Nírnaeth Arnoediad, which in the Elven tongue means the 'Battle of Unnumbered Tears.' It was the largest conflict of the First Age, with the combined forces of the free peoples marching on Angband. Initially, the Union of Maedhros made good progress, pushing back Morgoth's forces and giving them hope of victory. However, Morgoth had prepared a trap, and the battle soon turned into a catastrophic disaster.

The primary cause of the devastating defeat was the treachery of Men. A large group of Easterlings, men who had recently sworn loyalty to the Elves, had been secretly working for Morgoth the entire time. At a critical moment in the battle, they switched sides and attacked the Elven armies from the rear. This betrayal sowed chaos and allowed Morgoth's main forces, including dragons and Balrogs, to surround and annihilate their enemies.

The loss at the Nírnaeth Arnoediad was overwhelming and complete. The Elven kingdom of Hithlum was destroyed, and the human hero Húrin was captured. The armies of the Elves and their allies were shattered beyond recovery. This terrible defeat broke the back of the resistance against Morgoth and left almost all of Beleriand vulnerable to his advancing armies, plunging the free peoples into their darkest hour.

With their enemies crushed and scattered after the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, Morgoth's armies began their final conquest of Beleriand. The Dark Lord's forces, filled with countless Orcs and led by his most terrible servants, systematically hunted down and destroyed the last remaining strongholds of the Elves, ensuring that no organized resistance could rise again.

One of the first major targets was the great hidden fortress-city of Nargothrond. The city's location was betrayed to Morgoth through the tragic actions of the human hero Túrin Turambar. Morgoth sent the dragon Glaurung at the head of a large Orc army. The Elves of Nargothrond foolishly chose to fight in the open field, where they were easily defeated by the dragon. Glaurung then entered the city, sacked it, and claimed its immense treasure for himself.

The last great bastion of the Elves was the beautiful and secret city of Gondolin, hidden away within a ring of high mountains. For centuries, its location was unknown to Morgoth. However, the city was eventually betrayed by Maeglin, the king's own nephew. After being captured, Maeglin revealed the city's location to Morgoth in exchange for promises of power. Morgoth then sent a colossal army of Orcs, Balrogs, and dragons to attack. After a desperate and heroic defense, the city was utterly destroyed.

The destruction of Gondolin was the final blow to the Elven realms in Beleriand. It marked the point where Morgoth's victory was nearly absolute. With all the major kingdoms of his enemies in ruins and their armies defeated, the Dark Lord's tyrannical rule now stretched over almost the entire land. Only a few small groups of survivors remained, clinging to hope in hidden refuges by the sea as the age of darkness seemed to settle over the world.

In this time of utter despair, with Morgoth's victory all but complete, a final plea for help was made. Eärendil, a great mariner who was descended from both Elves and Men, took on a desperate final voyage. He wore the Silmaril that Beren and Lúthien had won, and the jewel’s holy light allowed him to pass through the enchanted seas. He sailed to the shores of Valinor to beg the Valar for their forgiveness and for their aid in the war against Morgoth.

The Valar were moved by Eärendil's plea, which he made on behalf of the two kindreds of Elves and Men. They pardoned the exiled Noldor for their rebellion and decided to intervene directly in the war. They assembled a mighty army, called the Host of Valinor, which included the powerful Maiar and the Vanyar Elves who had never left the blessed realm. This magnificent host sailed in a great fleet to Middle-earth to wage a final war against the Dark Lord.

The conflict that followed was known as the War of Wrath, and it was the most destructive war in the entire history of Arda. The Host of Valinor clashed with the entirety of Morgoth's evil forces, which included legions of Orcs, trolls, Balrogs, and a terrifying new weapon: a sky full of winged dragons, led by the greatest of them all, Ancalagon the Black. The war raged for over forty years, and the battles reshaped the very landscape of the world.

In the end, Morgoth's power was broken, and he was completely defeated. Eärendil, flying his ship through the sky like a star, fought and killed Ancalagon the Black, and the dragons were cast down. Morgoth was captured, stripped of his power, and thrown out of the world into the Timeless Void. The last two Silmarils were recovered but were lost forever to the depths of the earth and the sea. The fighting had been so cataclysmic that the land of Beleriand was broken and sank beneath the waves of the sea, bringing a final, dramatic end to the First Age of Middle-earth.