valar and stuff

[Sauron the deciever]

Hey everyone!
Hmmm where to start?...Ok well first of all can anyone give me more information on the begining of middle earth, who created it where everything came from what exactly are the "undying lands"? what was the first thing on middle earth? Tom Bombadil or Treebeard? Who Is the valar? why do the elves keep coming and going from middle earth? Where do the elves go at the end of all the books and can anyone tell me anything about that? Ok well thats a LOT of questions. Maybe someone might know somewhere i could find this information myself and i was to read all these different books and things on the history of middle earth etc, where would i start?

[elven maiden Earwen]

the valar are gods who live in aman or the west they created the earth and are under the rule of iluvatar the father of one
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[elven maiden Earwen]

the undying lands are trhe west were the valar live. the grass and plants never fade and the elves go there when they become waery of middle earth

[Deathwail]

Read the Silmirillion, you would be amazed at how good it is and how it brings all of the back ground lore of LOTR together. smilies/smile.gif

[Inderjit Sanghera]

They are not god, they are the powers or rulers of Arda. Eru is the god of Arda. Read the Sil if you want to know about the creation.

[alkquareiel02]

You should definately read the Sil because it will give you all the answers you need,and it's a lovely book i've started to read it again. smilies/smile.gif

[Legolas]

Sauron, once you've read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the best place to go is The Silmarillion. It is the fullest account how the world began and the happenings in it up to The Hobbit. After that, you can read Unfinished Tales and then The History of Middle-earth.

You see, J.R.R. Tolkien didn't intend for The Hobbit to be part of the world of The Silmarillion. He had started The Silmarillion many years earlier - it was a life-long project. He had to set it aside time and time again because of work/other writings and illness. He didn't plan on a sequel to The Hobbit but so many people asked for a sequel, thus he decided to write The Lord of the Rings which tied itself and The Hobbit to the world of The Silmarillion.

He never finished The Silmarillion. His son, Christopher Tolkien, compiled what he thought to be the most complete version of The Silmarillion from all of the writings his father had left behind a few years after his father's death.

Unfinished Tales and The History of Middle-earth are filled with the writings Christopher Tolkien was left with after his father's death. They include numerous versions and revisions of The Silmarillion/The Lord of the Rings (with commentary/explanations by Christopher) as well as a multitude of essays and notes Tolkien had made about his world. Unfinished Tales, for example, includes a story about Turin that was never finished, an extensive history of Galadriel and Celeborn, an account of the five wizards (who they really were, where they came from, their purposes, etc.), notes about the Palantirs, how Isildur died and the One Ring was lost, etc.

So...

The Hobbit > The Lord of the Rings > The Silmarillion > Unfinished Tales > History of Middle-earth

That's the order I suggest you read them in. It will all make sense best then, I believe.