Great was the stir and wonder now about the waters of Koiviл, and its end was that three of the Eldar came forward daring to go with Nornorл, and these he bore now back to Valinor, and their names as the Elves of Kфr have handed them on were Isil Inwл, and Finwл Nуlemл who was Turondo’s father, and Tinwл Lintц father of Tinъviel—but the Noldoli call them Inwithiel, Golfinweg, and Tinwelint. Afterward they became very great among the Eldar, and the Teleri were those who followed Isil, but his kindred and descendants are that royal folk the Inwir of whose blood I am. Nolemл was lord of the Noldoli, and of his son Turondo (or Turgon as they call1ed him) are great tales told, but Tinwл3 abode not long with his people, and yet ’tis said lives still lord of the scattered Elves of Hisilуmл, dancing in its twilight places with Wendelin his spouse, a sprite come long long ago from the quiet gardens of Lуrien; yet greatest of all the Elves did Isil Inwл become, and folk reverence his mighty name to this day.
Behold now brought by Nornorл the three Elves stood before the Gods, and it was at that time the changing of the lights, and Silpion was waning but Laurelin was awakening to his greatest glory, even as Silmo emptied the urn of silver about the roots of the other Tree. Then those Elves were utterly dazed and astonied by the splendour of the light, whose eyes knew only the dusk and had yet seen no brighter things than Varda’s stars, but the beauty and majestic strength of the Gods in conclave filled them with awe, and the roofs of Valmar blazing afar upon the plain made them tremble, and they bowed in reverence—but Manwл said to them: “Rise, O Children of Ilъvatar, for very glad are the Gods of your coming! Tell us how ye came; how found ye the world; what seemeth it to you who are its first offspring, or with what desires doth it fill you.”
But Nуlemл answering said: “Lo! Most mighty one, whence indeed come we! For meseems I awoke but now from a sleep eternally profound, whose vast dreams already are forgotten.” And Tinwл said thereto that his heart told him that he was new-come from illimitable regions, yet he might not recollect by what dark and strange paths he had been brought; and last spake Inwл, who had been gazing upon Laurelin while the others spake, and he said: “Knowing neither whence I come nor by what ways nor yet whither I go, the world that we are in is but one great wonderment to me, and me-thinks I love it wholly, yet it fills me altogether with a desire for light.”
Then Manwл saw that Ilъvatar had wiped from the minds of the Eldar all knowledge of the manner of their coming, and that the Gods might not discover it; and he was filled with deep astonishment; but Yavanna who hearkened also caught her breath for the stab of the words of Inwл, saying that he desired light. Then she looked upon Laurelin and her heart thought of the fruitful orchards in Valmar, and she whispered to Tuivбna who sat beside her, gazing upon the tender grace of those Eldar; then those twain said to Manwл: “Lo! the Earth and its shadows are no place for creatures so fair, whom only the heart and mind of Ilъvatar have conceived. Fair are the pine-forests and the thickets, but they are full of unelfin spirits and Mandos’ children walk abroad and vassals of Melko lurk in strange places—and we ourselves would not be without the sight of this sweet folk. Their distant laughter has filtered to our ears from Palisor, and we would have it echo always about us in our halls and pleasaunces in Valmar. Let the Eldar dwell among us, and the well of our joy be filled from new springs that may not dry up.”
Then arose a clamour among the Gods and the most spake for Palъrien and Vбna, whereas Makar said that Valinor was builded for the Valar—“and already is it a rose-garden of fair ladies rather than an abode of men. Wherefore do ye desire to fill it with the children of the world?” In this Meбssл backed him, and Mandos and Fui were cold to the Eldar as to all else; yet was Varda vehement in support of Yavanna and Tuivбna, and indeed her love for the Eldar has ever been the greatest of all the folk of Valinor; and Aulл and Lуrien, Oromл and Nessa and Ulmo most mightily proclaimed their desire for the bidding of th1e Eldar to dwell among the Gods. Wherefore, albeit Ossл spake cautiously against it—belike out of that ever-smouldering jealousy and rebellion he felt against Ulmo—it was the voice of the council that the Eldar should be bidden, and the Gods awaited but the judgement of Manwл. Behold even Melko seeing where was the majority insinuated his guileful voice into the pleading, and has nonetheless since those days maligned the Valar, saying they did but summon the Eldar as to a prison out of covetice and jealousy of their beauty. Thus often did he lie to the Noldoli afterwards when he would stir their restlessness, adding beside all truth that he alone had withstood the general voice and spoken for the freedom of the Elves.
Maybe indeed had the Gods decided otherwise the world had been a fairer place now and the Eldar a happier folk, but never would they have achieved such glory, knowledge, and beauty as they did of old, and still less would any of Melko’s redes have benefited them.
Now having hearkened to all that was said Manwл gave judgement and was glad, for indeed his heart leaned of itself to the leading of the Eldar from the dusky world to the light of Valinor. Turning to the three Eldar he said: “Go ye back now to your kindreds and Nornorл shall bring you swiftly there, even to Koiviл-nйni in Palisor. Behold, this is the word of Manwл Sъlimo, and the voice of the Valar’s desire, that the people of the Eldaliл, the Children of Ilъvatar, fare to Valinor, and there dwell in the splendour of Laurelin and the radiance of Silpion and know the happiness of the Gods. An abode of surpassing beauty shall they possess, and the Gods will aid them in its building.”
Thereto answered Inwл: “Fain are we indeed of thy bidding, and who of the Eldaliл that have already longed for the beauty of the stars will stay or rest till his eyes have feasted on the blessed light of Valinor!” Thereafter Nornorл guided those Elves back to the bare margins of Koiviл-nйni, and standing upon a boulder Inwл spake the embassy to all those hosts of the Eldaliл that Ilъvatar waked first upon the Earth, and all such as heard his words were filled with desire to see the faces of the Gods.
When Nornorл returning told the Valar that the Elves were indeed coming and that Ilъvatar had set already a great multitude upon the Earth, the Gods made mighty preparation. Behold Aulл gathers his tools and stuffs and Yavanna and Tuivбna wander about the plain even to the foothills of the mountains and the bare coasts of the Shadowy Seas, seeking them a home and an abiding-place; but Oromл goeth straightway out of Valinor into the forests whose every darkling glade he knew and every dim path had traversed, for he purposed to guide the troops of the Eldar from Palisor over all the wide lands west till they came to the confines of the Great Sea.
To those dark shores fared Ulmo, and strange was the roaring of the unlit sea in those most ancient days upon that rocky coast that bore still the scars of the tumultuous wrath of Melko. Falman-Ossл was little pleased to see Ulmo in the Great Seas, for Ulmo had taken that island whereon Ossл himself had drawn the Gods to Arvalin, saving them from the rising waters when Ringi! and Helkar thawed beneath their blazing lamps. That was many ages past in the days when the Gods were new-come strangers in the world, and during all that time the island had floated darkly in the Shadowy Seas, desolate save when Ossл climbed its beaches on his journeys in the deeps; but now Ulmo had come upon his secret island and harnessed thereto a host of the greatest fish, and amidmost was Uin the mightiest and most ancient of whales; and he bid these put forth their strength, and they drew the island mightily to the very sho1res of the Great Lands, even to the coast of Hisilуmл northward of the Iron Mountains whither all the deepest shades withdrew when the Sun first arose.
Now Ulmo stands there and there comes a glint in the woods that marched even down to the sea-foam in those quiet days, and behold! he hears the footsteps of the Teleri crackle in the forest, and Inwл is at their head beside the stirrup of Oromл. Grievous had been their march, and dark and difficult the way through Hisilуmл the land of shade, despite the skill and power of Oromл. Indeed long after the joy of Valinor had washed its memory faint the Elves sang still sadly of it, and told tales of many of their folk whom they said and say were lost in those old forests and ever wandered there in sorrow. Still were they there long after when Men were shut in Hisilуmл by Melko, and still do they dance there when Men have wandered far over the lighter places of the Earth. Hisilуmл did Men name Aryador, and the Lost Elves did they call the Shadow Folk, and feared them.