Of the Darkening of Valinor
When Manwл heard of the ways that Melkor had taken, it seemed plain to him that he purposed to escape to his old strongholds in the north of Middle-earth; and Oromл and Tulkas went with all speed northward1, seeking to overtake him if they might, but they found no trace or rumour2 of him beyond the shores of the Teleri, in the unpeopled wastes that drew near to the Ice. Thereafter the watch was redoubled along the northern fences of Aman; but to no purpose, for ere ever the pursuit set out Melkor had turned back, and in secrecy3 passed away far to the south. For he was yet as one of the Valar, and could change his form, or walk unclad, as could his brethren; though that power he was soon to lose for ever.
Thus unseen he came at last to the dark region of Avathar. That narrow land lay south of the Bay of Eldamar, beneath the eastern feet of the Pelуri, and its long and mournful shores stretched away into the south, lightless and unexplored. There, beneath the sheer walls of the mountains and the cold dark sea, the shadows were deepest and thickest in the world; and there in Avathar, secret and unknown, Ungoliant had made her abode4. The Eldar knew not whence she came; but some have said that in ages long before she descended5 from the darkness that lies about Arda, when Melkor first looked down in envy upon the Kingdom of Manwл, and that in the beginning she was one of those that he corrupted6 to his service. But she had disowned her Master, desiring to be mistress of her own lust7, taking all things to herself to feed her emptiness; and she fled to the south, escaping the assaults of the Valar and the hunters of Oromл, for their vigilance had ever been to the north, and the south was long unheeded. Thence she had crept towards the light of the Blessed Realm; for she hungered for light and hated it.
In a ravine she lived, and took shape as a spider of monstrous8 form, weaving her black webs in a cleft9 of the mountains. There she sucked up all light that she could find, and spun10 it forth11 again in dark nets of strangling gloom, until no light more could come to her abode; and she was famished12.
Now Melkor came to Avathar and sought her out; and he put on again the form that he had worn as the tyrant13 of Utumno: a dark Lord, tall and terrible. In that form he remained ever after. There in the black shadows, beyond the sight even of Manwл in his highest halls, Melkor with Ungoliant plotted his revenge. But when Ungoliant understood the purpose of Melkor, she was torn between lust and great fear; for she was loath14 to dare the perils15 of Aman and the power of the dreadful Lords, and she would not stir from her hiding. Therefore Melkor said to her: 'Do as I bid; and if thou hunger still when all is done, then I will give thee whatsoever16 thy lust may demand. Yea, with both hands.' Lightly he made this vow17, as he ever did; and he laughed in his heart. Thus did the great thief set his lure18 for the lesser19.
A cloak of darkness she wove about them when Melkor and Ungoliant set forth; an Unlight, in which things seemed to be no more, and which eyes could not pierce, for it was void. Then slowly she wrought20 her webs: rope by rope from cleft to cleft, from jutting21 rock to pinnacle22 of stone, ever climbing upwards23, crawling and clinging, until at last she reached the very summit of Hyarmentir, the highest mountain in that region of the world, far south of great Taniquetil. There the Valar were not vigilant24; for west of the Pelуri was an empty land in twilight25, and eastward26 the mountains looked out, save for forgotten Avathar, only upon the dim waters of the pathless sea. But now upon the mountain-top dark Ungoliant lay; and she made a ladder of woven ropes and cast it down, and Melkor climbed upon it and came to that high place, and stood beside her, looking down upon the Guarded Realm. Below them lay the woods of Oromл, and westward27 shimmered28 the fields and pastures of Yavanna, gold beneath the tall wheat of the gods. Bat Melkor looked north, and saw afar the shining plain, and the silver domes29 of Valmar gleaming in the mingling30 of the lights of Telperion and Laurelin. Then Melkor laughed aloud, and leapt swiftly down the long western slopes; and Ungoliant was at his side, and her darkness covered them.
Now it was a time of festival, as Melkor knew well. Though all tides and seasons were at the will of the Valar, and in Valinor there was no winter of death, nonetheless they dwelt then in the Kingdom of Arda, and that was but a small realm in the halls of Eд, whose life is Time, which flows ever from the first note to the last chord of Eru. And even as it was then the delight of the Valar (as is told in the Ainulindalл) to clothe themselves as in a vesture in the forms of the Children of Ilъvatar, so also did they eat and drink, and gather the fruits of Yavanna from the Earth, which under Eru they had made.
Therefore Yavanna set times for the flowering and the ripening31 of all things mat grew in Valinor; and at each first gathering32 of fruits Manwл made a high feast for the praising of Eru, when all the peoples of Valinor poured forth their joy in music and song upon Taniquetil. This now was the hour, and Manwл decreed a feast more glorious than any that had been held since the coming of the Eldar to Aman. For though the escape of Melkor portended33 toils34 and sorrows to come, and indeed none could tell what further hurts would be done to Arda ere he could be subdued35 again, at this time Manwл designed to heal the evil that had arisen among the Noldor; and all were bidden to come to his halls upon Taniquetil, there to put aside the griefs that lay between their princes, and forget utterly36 the lies of their Enemy. There came the Vanyar, and there came the Noldor of Tirion, and the Maiar were gathered together, and the Valar were arrayed in their beauty and majesty37; and they sang before Manwл and Varda in their lofty halls, or danced upon the green slopes of the Mountain that looked west towards the Trees. In that day the streets of Valmar were empty, and the stairs of Tirion were silent; and all the land lay sleeping in peace. Only the Teleri beyond the mountains still sang upon the shores of the sea; for they recked little of seasons or times, and gave no thought to the cares of the Rulers of Arda, or the shadow that had fallen on Valinor, for it had not touched them, as yet.
One thing only marred38 the design of Manwл. Fлanor came indeed, for him alone Manwл had commanded to come; but Finwл came not, nor any others of the Noldor of Formenos. For said Finwл: 'While the ban lasts upon Fлanor my son, that he may not go to Tirion, I hold myself unkinged, and I will not meet my people.' And Fлanor came not in raiment of festival, and he wore no ornament39, neither silver nor gold nor any gem40; and he denied the sight of the Silmarils to the Valar and the Eldar, and left them locked in Formenos in their chamber41 of iron. Nevertheless he met Fingolfin before the throne of Manwл, and was reconciled, in word; and Fingolfin set at naught42 the unsheathing of the sword. For Fingolfin held forth his hand, saying: 'As I promised, I do now. I release thee, and remember no grievance43.'
Then Fлanor took his hand in silence; but Fingolfin said: 'Half-brother in blood, full brother in heart will I be. Thou shalt lead and I will follow. May no new grief divide as.'
'I hear thee,' said Fлanor. 'So be it.' But they did not know the meaning that their words would bear.
It is told that even as Fлanor and Fingolfin stood before Manwл there came the mingling of the lights, when both Trees were shining, and the silent city of Valmar was filled with a radiance of silver and gold. And in that very hour Melkor and Ungoliant came hastening over the fields of Valinor, as the shadow of a black cloud upon the wind fleets over the sunlit earth; and they came before the green mound44 Ezellohar. Then the Unlight of Ungoliant rose up even to the roots of the Trees, and Melkor sprang upon the mound; and with his black spear he smote45 each Tree to its core, wounded them deep, and their sap poured forth as it were their blood, and was spilled upon the ground. But Ungoliant sucked it up, and going then from Tree to Tree she set her black beak46 to their wounds, till they were drained; and the poison of Death that was in her went into their tissues and withered47 them, root, branch, and leaf; and they died. And still she thirsted, and going to the Wells of Varda she drank them dry; but Ungoliant belched48 forth black vapours as she drank, and swelled49 to a shape so vast and hideous50 that Melkor was afraid.
So the great darkness fell upon Valinor. Of the deeds of that day much is told in the Aldudйniл, that Elemmнrл of the Vanyar made and is known to all the Eldar. Yet no song or tale could contain all the grief and terror that then befell. The Light failed; but the Darkness that followed was more than loss of light. In that hour was made a Darkness that seemed not lack but a thing with being of its own: for it was indeed made by malice51 out of Light, and it had power to pierce the eye, and to enter heart and mind, and strangle the very will.
Varda looked down from Taniquetil, and beheld52 the Shadow soaring up in sudden towers of gloom; Valmar had foundered53 in a deep sea of night. Soon the Holy Mountain stood alone, a last island in a world that was drowned. All song ceased. There was silence in Valinor, and no sound could be heard, save only from afar there came on the wind through the pass of the mountains the wailing54 of the Teleri like the cold cry of gulls55. For it blew chill from the East in that hour, and the vast shadows of the sea were rolled against the walls of the shore.
But Manwл from his high seat looked out, and his eyes alone pierced through the night, until they saw a Darkness beyond dark which they could not penetrate56, huge but far away, moving now northward with great speed; and he knew that Melkor had come and gone.
Then the pursuit was begun; and the earth shook beneath the horses of the host of Oromл, and the fire that was stricken from the hooves of Nahar was the first light that returned to Valinor. But so soon as any came up with the Cloud of Ungoliant the riders of the Valar were blinded and dismayed, and they were scattered57, and went they knew not whither; and the sound of the Valarуma faltered58 and failed. And Tulkas was as one caught in a black net at night, and he stood powerless and beat the air in vain. But when the Darkness had passed, it was too late: Melkor had gone whither he would, and his vengeance59 was achieved.
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1
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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corrupted
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| （使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
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lust
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| n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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cleft
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| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
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spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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famished
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| adj.饥饿的 | |
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tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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loath
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| adj.不愿意的；勉强的 | |
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perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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jutting
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| v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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pinnacle
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| n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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vigilant
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| adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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shimmered
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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domes
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| n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场 | |
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mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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ripening
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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portended
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| v.预示( portend的过去式和过去分词 )；预兆；给…以警告；预告 | |
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toils
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| 网 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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marred
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| adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
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ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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gem
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| n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel | |
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41
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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43
grievance
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| n.怨愤，气恼，委屈 | |
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44
mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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45
smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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47
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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48
belched
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| v.打嗝( belch的过去式和过去分词 )；喷出，吐出；打（嗝）；嗳（气） | |
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49
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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50
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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51
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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52
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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53
foundered
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| v.创始人( founder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54
wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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gulls
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| n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 ) | |
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56
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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57
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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58
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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59
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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