Valinor

Eärendil, son of Tuor and Idril of Gondolin and husband of Elwing, was the mariner who, bearing a Silmaril on his brow, crossed the Shadowy Seas that no ship had passed, stood before the Valar in Valinor, and won the aid of the West against Morgoth. He never came back to mortal shores: his ship Vingilot was raised into the sky, and the light of the jewel he carries is the Evening Star.

Elwë Singollo, called Thingol, led the Teleri on the Great Journey, met the Maia Melian in Nan Elmoth and never left Middle-earth again. As King of Doriath he ruled the Sindar for the whole of the First Age, set Beren the impossible price of a Silmaril for his daughter Lúthien, and was slain in his own treasury by Dwarves over the jewel he had once demanded.

Manwë is the King of the Valar and the Elder King of Arda, lord of the winds and the airs, who of all the Ainur understands the mind of Eru most deeply. Brother in thought to Melkor, he is the appointed ruler of the World, dwelling with Varda on Taniquetil and served by the Eagles.

Varda, called Elbereth by the Elves of Middle-earth, is the Queen of the Valar and the maker of the stars. Spouse of Manwë, she kindled the constellations under which the Elves awoke, hallowed the Silmarils, and is the Vala whom the Elves love and invoke above all others.

Ingwë is the king of the Vanyar and, by right of being first of the three ambassadors to see the light of the Trees, the High King of all the Elves. He led the first host of the Great Journey to Aman and never returned to Middle-earth.

Saruman the White, Curunír to the Elves, was the chief of the Istari and head of the White Council, a Maia of Aulë whose great knowledge of craft and Ring-lore turned to pride. He seized Isengard, fell under Sauron's sway through the palantír, bred the Uruk-hai and made war on Rohan, was overthrown by the Ents and cast out of the order by Gandalf, and died a beggar's death in the Shire at the hand of his own servant.

Aulë is the smith of the Valar, master of all crafts and lord of the substances of the earth, who shaped the mountains and made the vessels of the Sun and Moon. Impatient for the Children of Ilúvatar, he made the Dwarves in secret, and his people, including Sauron and Saruman, were the most gifted and the most prone to fall.

Oromë is the huntsman of the Valar, lord of forests and hunter of monsters, who alone of the Powers loved to ride in Middle-earth during the darkness. He discovered the newly awakened Elves at Cuiviénen, led them on the Great Journey, and his horn Valaróma and his horse Nahar became legends among Elves and Men.

Radagast the Brown, Aiwendil in Valinor, was the Istar of Yavanna's people, a master of birds and beasts and of the changing of shapes and hues, who settled at Rhosgobel by Mirkwood. Gentle and unworldly, he was used by Saruman as an unwitting messenger to trap Gandalf, but his birds also carried the news that brought Gwaihir to Orthanc. His later fate is unrecorded.

Tulkas is the strongest of the Valar and the last to come into Arda, arriving from the Timeless Halls when the others were hard pressed by Melkor. Laughing in battle and tireless, he drove Melkor from the World in the first war, wrestled him down in the Battle of the Powers, and alone of the Valar never trusted him.

Yavanna is the Vala of all growing things, from the great trees to the moss on stones, and the spouse of Aulë. She sang the Two Trees of Valinor into being, obtained the Ents as guardians of the forests, and coaxed from the dying Trees the fruit and flower that became the Sun and Moon.

Arien is a Maia of fire, once a servant of Vána among the golden flowers of Valinor, who was chosen to guide the vessel of the Sun made from the last fruit of Laurelin. Too bright to be looked upon, she has driven the Sun across the sky since the first sunrise and was feared even by Morgoth.

Eönwë is the herald and banner-bearer of Manwë, counted with Ilmarë as the chief of the Maiar and unmatched in Arda in feats of arms. He led the host of the Valar into Middle-earth in the War of Wrath, took the Silmarils from Morgoth's crown, refused to judge the surrendered Sauron, and taught the Edain before they sailed to Númenor.

Nienna is the Vala of grief, pity and endurance, sister of Mandos and Irmo, who dwells alone and weeps for every hurt in Arda. Her tears watered the mound of the Two Trees, and Olórin, who became Gandalf, learned from her the compassion that shaped his whole mission.

Alatar and Pallando, the Ithryn Luin or Blue Wizards, were the two Istari chosen by Oromë who passed into the East of Middle-earth with Saruman and never returned to the West. Nothing certain is known of their work, and it was feared that they failed in their mission.

Tilion is a Maia of Oromë's hunting company, a lover of silver light, who was chosen to steer the vessel of the Moon made from the last flower of Telperion. Wayward in his course and drawn to Arien's fire, he was attacked by Morgoth's spirits of shadow and bears the scars on the Moon's face; he raised the first moonrise seven days before the Sun.

Ilmarë is the handmaid of Varda and, with Eönwë, one of the two Maiar whom the Valaquenta names as chief of their order. Nothing more of her deeds is recorded in the published histories.

The great horse of Oromë the Hunter, white in daylight and silver by night, whose hooves the Elves heard at Cuiviénen before they saw the Vala who found them. The Rohirrim believed their Mearas descended from horses brought out of the West by Oromë.

Vána the Ever-young is the younger sister of Yavanna and the spouse of Oromë, a Vala of spring and youth at whose passing flowers open and birds sing. Melian was of her people before she went to Middle-earth.

The great hound of Valinor, given by Oromë to Celegorm and brought to Middle-earth in the exile of the Noldor. Fated to speak three times and to die only by the greatest wolf ever born, he forsook his master for Lúthien, overthrew Sauron on Tol Sirion, and died slaying Carcharoth in Doriath.