In Dreams

Prologue

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     In the beginning Eru created the heaven and the earth.* He put creatures that He made in His world. There was a man, and a woman. The man's name was Tom Bombadil, and his help-meet's name was Goldberry, who was the River Maiden. These two were placed in a beautiful forest, which seemed to glow blue in daylight.

     In this world He also placed a male and female Dwarf. Shorter than Man they were. The male had a long beard, and the female was fair to look upon. The male Dwarf was named Durin, and his wife was Beldred. These two lived in a lonely mountain. In the mountain were many halls and many places to mine.

     There were also two Elves, male and female. Tall and beautiful creatures they were, with long fine hair and youthful face. They walked with more silence than any cat and were said to be Valar, for they never died. The male was named Galadhon and his wife was Nanedhilwen. They lived in a beautiful castle in a place called Doriath.

     In this world were also skin-changing creatures, capable of taking on any animal form they chose. Both the men and women were very tall. The male had long sideburns, long eyebrows, long hair, and very hairy arms, legs and feet. The woman wasn't hairy, except for the hair on her head, which was very, very long. The male's name was Ulfir, and his wife was named Dae.

       And last but not least, there was another race. Halflings they were, and Hobbits was what they called themselves. They were shorter than any other race and were an unknown folk to the world. They lived in a place called The Shire, a beautiful place where the grass was always green and the river never dried out. That was, of course, how it always was in Middle-Earth, for, as the Dwarves now say, 'The world was fair in Durin's Day'. Not everything was always so peaceful, however. Only a hundred years had passed before a terrible event took place.

     In Erebor there was much gold- so much gold, that no one could count it. Eru had warned the peoples of Middle-Earth to be cautious and not succumb to the desires of their hearts, for there would be a consequence if they did decide to follow their flesh rather then their Creator. Durin's wife, however, did just that. She was tempted by a fallen Ainur named Melkor, which caused Beldred to succumb to a terrible disease which was later known as Dragon Sickness, for she had a terrible lust for gold. Because of this downfall, the female Dwarves and all of creation was cursed. No longer could they live in peace with nature, for some beings became carnivores and cold blooded killers. Now everyone had to deal with temptations, and every female Dwarf was cursed with beards.

     The male Dwarves were given a choice. They could sail into the West and be free from all troubles and live in peace with their Creator, or they could remain with the females, having to endure hard work and all the dangers of Arda. Durin, not wanting to part from him wife, remained.

     Beldred bore two sons to Durin. When they were older, however, the oldest son became very jealous of the younger. The younger brother was a success in weaponsmithing and many other crafts, while the older of the two seemed to be a failure. The younger brother had a long beard like the other Dwarves, while the older had a short beard. So it came to pass that the older brother, in a jealous rage, slew the younger. Fearing what would happen when they found out that he had killed his brother, he fled and was never seen again.

     Another hundred years after that, another terrible thing took place. There was a creature named Melkor, one of the Ainur. He and many other spiritual beings, such as his own kind and the Maiar, lived in the spiritual realm with Eru. Never had anything evil happened before, and it had never crossed anyone's mind; except for Melkor, that is. Melkor wanted to be just like Eru, so one day he tried to overpower Him. Because of his rebellion, Eru cast him from the spiritual realm above, and a third of the beings followed him.

     The Ainur and Maiar that followed him were transformed into terrible beings by Melkor's dark powers. Some became Balrogs and one was even turned into a Dragon, a terrible beast with fiery breath and a lust for gold and precious metals. Melkor even captured many Elves and made them into a horrid race that many called either goblins or orcs. He was known as Morgoth from that day on, and he took on an apprentice, though none knew of him.

     Eventually, the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth became enslaved to this Dark Lord and his followers. Slaves they were for about 200 years before several beings, including five beings with staffs came from above and bound the Dark Lord in chains, and in those chains he forever stayed. The peoples of Middle-Earth were once again freed, but nothing was ever the same. The darkness lingered in many places for many, many years.

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*: Based off of Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
1: Beldred = First Maiden
2: Nanedhilwen = Mother of Elves
3: Ulfir from the Old Norse word ulfr, meaning wolf.
4: Dae from the Old English da, meaning doe (female deer).

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