In the beginning, there was the god Eru lluvitar. He created a host of spirits called the Ainur. He then created Eä or the universe itself. Then the Ainur entered the universe and found that it was shapeless and black for they had entered at the beginning of time. The Ainur then created Arda, the world and set about shaping it. Of all the Ainur, the strongest were called the Valor. They dwelt in the center of Arda and built it from a flat world to a round one. Of the Valar, Manwe was the leaderbut not the most powerful. The most powerful was named Melkor, he craved destruction and death and loved to see things perish. He started destroying the world and for a while the Valar were unable to restrain him. Then the Valar Tulkas, entered Eá, for he had not entered at first. With his help, the Valar put Melkor under control. Then, the Valar created two lamps to light the world and the many peaceful years afterwards were known as the years of the lamps. But one day, Melkor went on a rampage and destroyed the two lamps. Stricken with fear, the rest of the Valar fled to the extreme western regions of Arda. They named the land Aman and created the two trees, Telperion and Laurelin to light it. This left the rest of the land, which became known as Middle Earth, lit only by the stars.
