Dissent

It came to pass when the full strength of Melkor had arisen, out of the depths of the burning Flame, so was the darkening of the lands about Almaren. And as the shadow of Melkor drawn close to the stony stairway that leads to halls of the Valar, Melkor proclaimed:

"From stone to ash and ash to stone, i had risen once again, and i shall be put into shame no longer. Am i not of the Valar also, that i had no part of the share of my brother's kingdom? Nay! Hither i will be the rightful king! And i shall call upon my summons, my own servants and maids, with unquestionable authority therein to rule and to overrule against; and none shall step over my crown. Woe to thee to ignore my pleas! Verily i said unto thee; grant me the kingship of Arda and perhaps my anger shall abate."

To this there were no answer echoed within the halls, and Melkor's voice grew louder:

"Is my brother sleeping that he will not heed my calls, or doth not he welcome me from his halls anymore?"

At this the voice of Manwë echoed from within the halls:

"O Brother, has thou forgotten the time we last spoke of these matters? Thy request or pleas shall be heard only from the prayers of Eru. Yet whither thou hast gone whence i beg ye to stay and seek the counsel of the One?"

For Melkor both feared and hated the name of the One, and dared utter not His Name, said:

"Of Him abode His own domain and His Rule is in the Timeless Space; yet of Arda we dwelt this domain and thus is Ours to lord it and rule by will. Doth not His laws that binded His domain shall come also and thus be bounded with Arda? Nay, the Hither Lands shall be Ours for the taking, and Ours to rule; and shall not be binded by any laws nor counsels save us!"

And of Manwë he spoke:

"Yet the creation of Eä comes from Eru alone. Through the voice of Eru alone, comes forth the Ainur, thus He alone is the Master, from the beginning of Creation till the End of Days. Thus doth not as we pleased but unto His purpose as sung from the beginning of time. Is my Brother not part of the Music also and had he not understood the ways of Illúvatar? For to each He gave different Gifts so that each may present their works of their gifts to achieve His ultimate purpose. Yet the mind of Illúvatar is mysterious, for we only a part of His mind were revealed and yet some part were still hidden, but we question not His mind, until the time when it shall be made known to all."

Thus Manwë had spoken enough, yet Melkor not fully understood them, but grew hot in his heart and in hatred towards his brother and all the Valar, and pledged that war will come to the Hither Lands in nigh a time.

Thereafter a time, it seem to Manwë beheld from afar strange clouds of grey hovering the sky, drawing ever nigh to his halls, and the air filled with dread. Somehow Yavanna felt the tremors from the depths of the earth crawling up to the roots of her gardens and were dismayed, and from the dreams of Irmo, he saw many tall and dark brooding shapes took form.

For in his secrecy, Melkor pondered and devise his vile schemes to usurp the kingdom of his brother, and he knew that in order to achieve his goal, he not only had to contend with one but many amongst the Valar, and his strength alone would not suffice. Hence he would need some that would join him to form his own circle of dark forces, and the easiest and foremost targets would be those whom are seemingly 'weaker' than himself, if not better. His target would most likely be of the Maiar, the 'lesser' Ainur. And he would sought whatever ways to draw the Maiar to swear in his allegiance, at first not by force, but by his most effective methods; his words. For Melkor has acute skill in devising his lies, disguising its hidden purposes and making the sound of his words seemingly sweet and colourful to the ear of the listener.

It was said that he had first approached Sauron who himself were wandering in places alone in the pursuit of great knowledge and hidden treasures in uncharted lands, though at first his skills was only set to works in offering to Aulë. But it seems Sauron has of mind like Melkor, ever searching for greater knowledge and power, and wishes upon that power only for his own gain. Thus with great ease Melkor succeeded to entice Sauron to join him; by promising great gifts and power unimaginable. Of Sauron, he was not only wise in the skills of crafts, but also in his tongue, like Melkor (though he was unwise in his part to serve another master), and he was appointed as Melkor's second-in-command, an offspring of Darkness. And in due time, his work was slowly perverted by Melkor's malice, driven by lust for the riches and share of the spoil.

Hence befell the first fall of the Maiar, wise and great in the lore of that people. But Sauron was not the only evil fruit that Melkor had come to harvest upon. As were told earlier, in the dreams of Irmo, there were many.