In Feanor's Footsteps - Page 6
© Michael Martinez
Ingwe's rebellious departure thus becomes Feanor's rebellion, and the struggle between Osse and Ulmo over Tol Eressea is faintly echoed in the storms that Uinen and Osse inflict upon the Noldor after the Kinslaying at Alqualonde. Uinen takes revenge upon Feanor's fleet as it sails north along the coast of Araman, and Osse ensures that none of Turgon's ships survive their attempts to reach Valinor. It is not all the Eldar who are forbidden to return to the West, and doomed to fade, but simply the rebellious Noldor. And the Noldor do not leave their homes in Tirion to help rescue other Elves in Middle-earth, but rather they do so in hope of taking revenge against Morgoth.
Hence, the folly of Ingwe is removed from the mythology, and when the Vanyar and Noldor of Aman prepare for the War of Wrath, they must do so with the knowledge that the Valar will support them. That support has to mean that Manwe is sending Maiar and perhaps a few Valar with the army. But though there may be multitudes of Maiar, which of the Valar would be most likely to go? Tulkas, the champion of the Valar, would be the logical choice. And Orome, too, probably went as well. But they would not be generals. Rather, their tasks would be specific. Tulkas would be responsible for seizing Morgoth, and Orome would be the slayer of monsters. Not winged dragons, but probably anything else which got in the way.
Command over the armies was given to Eonwe, and he must have called upon Aule for help in equipping those armies. Therefore the divisions of responsibility may have been: Eonwe dealt with Morgoth's armies of Orcs, Men, and Trolls; Tulkas dealt with the more powerful Maiar and Morgoth himself; Orome dealt with Morgoth's beasts, especially the dragons. There would, of course, be many Maiar in Eonwe's army. Each of these Maiar would be powerful beings in their own right, but they would either need to restrain themselves for fear of harming Arda, or else their power was considerably less than the might of the Valar.
The Teleri of Alqualonde agreed to ferry the armies across Belegaer, according to The Silmarillion. However, they refused to participate in the war, and the book says they remained on their ships. But did the ships remain in Middle-earth? What did the Teleri do during all those years? It would seem that, since the Eldar had to build new ships in which to return to Valinor, the Teleri of Alqualonde did not stay in Middle-earth for the duration of the war. There would be little need for them to do so. Hence, it may be that the Teleri brought the armies of Valinor east in stages. That is, rather than land all their forces at one time, the Valar may have elected to establish a beach-head, as it were, and build up their strength in Middle-earth.
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