The world changed after that first meeting.
At first, it was subtle: the forests grew quieter, as if they were listening; the skies held their breath; the earth itself seemed to hum with a faint, watchful tension.
The Powers of the World the Valar had taken notice of me.
I felt their attention like distant storms brewing beyond the horizon: ancient, powerful presences shifting their gaze toward the mountains where I lay half-buried. Their thoughts brushed against the fabric of the world, too vast and complex for me to fully understand, but heavy with emotion: curiosity, wariness… and something darker.
For a time, I remained still, allowing the land to settle around me, like a volcano choosing to slumber rather than erupt. I did not wish to provoke them. I had already changed the song of Arda merely by existing; any rash move might be perceived as a challenge.
But it was not long before they came.
This time, it was not only Aulë.
From the West, across the endless seas where the Blessed Realm shone in undying light, a procession of power moved unseen by mortal eyes. They came not as armies, nor with banners of war, but as forces of nature themselves, walking the young earth.
I first felt their approach in the trembling of the ground and the singing of the winds. The rivers swelled, the trees bowed low, and even the stones seemed to shiver in anticipation.
They gathered before me beings of majesty beyond anything my mortal mind could ever imagine.
Manwë, lord of the airs, stood tall and regal, his form wrapped in robes of cloud and sky. His eyes were twin blue stars, clear and terrible in their calm judgment.
Varda, Queen of the Stars, stood beside him, her presence veiled in a radiance so pure that I dared not look directly at her. Even the stars overhead seemed to bow in her presence.
Ulmo, the Lord of Waters, manifested not as a figure of flesh, but as a living tide, a great surge of mist and ocean, his voice the roar of distant waves.
Yavanna, the Giver of Fruits, clothed in green and gold, regarded me with deep, thoughtful eyes that mirrored the forests she had sown across the world.
Oromë, the Hunter, stood like a spear driven into the earth, his presence sharp and wild, the scent of the hunt clinging to him.
And others, too: Nienna, sorrowful and wise; Irmo and Estë, gentle shapers of dreams and healing; and many lesser Maiar, their forms shining like lesser stars.
Only one was absent.
Melkor.
Even before he fell into evil openly, his absence was conspicuous like a hollow in the heart of a great song.
I lowered my head once more, careful and respectful. The ground trembled at the motion, and several trees far behind me splintered and fell from the force.
The Valar did not speak immediately. They stood in a loose circle, each studying me in their own way: some with curiosity, some with wonder, and some with suspicion.
At last, it was Manwë who spoke.
His voice was like the wind over high mountains, cold and clear.
"You are not of our making," he said. "You are not of the Discordant One's hand. Yet you exist within the bounds of Arda, shaping it merely by your breath."
He paused, studying me with ancient, ageless eyes.
"Who are you, great one of stone and flame?"
I could not answer in words, and even if I could, what explanation could bridge the chasm between our worlds?
Instead, as I had done with Aulë, I opened my mind and let the images flow: the death by lightning, the darkness beyond life, the rebirth in this vast, strange world, the confusion, the awe, and the cautious yearning not to destroy, but to belong.
The Valar absorbed the memories in silence, their expressions unreadable. When the vision faded, a murmur rippled through the gathered Powers.
Ulmo's tide surged and withdrew thoughtfully. Oromë's hand tightened around the shaft of his mighty horn.
But it was Yavanna who stepped forward, her voice gentle and rich as deep earth.
"He is of the earth," she said. "Born of stone and fire, yet his heart is not set to ruin. He feels the pulse of the world as we do. I say he is a child of Arda, strange though his birth may be."
Aulë nodded in agreement. "If there is no malice in him, then let him be. He could be a great warden of the mountains, a keeper of deep places."
But not all agreed.
Oromë, fierce and stern, frowned. "He is vast beyond measure. Even by accident, he could shatter the young world. If he were to turn to darkness, who among us could stop him?"
The worry in his voice was not unfounded.
I could feel it myself: the sheer potential for destruction that slumbered within my massive frame. If I were to rage unchecked, I could tear valleys asunder, boil seas dry, and turn mountains to rubble.
The power was there, undeniable.
Manwë raised his hand, silencing the growing murmur.
"We shall judge hastily," he said. "The Music made room for many unexpected things. The One Himself may have permitted this being to enter Arda, though it was not sung by our voices."
He turned his gaze back to me.
"We will watch. We will wait. And if you seek to dwell in peace, you shall be given that chance."
A breath I hadn't realized I was holding rumbled out of me like a mountain exhaling.
The meeting dissolved slowly, the Valar speaking among themselves in voices too vast for me to follow. In time, they departed, one by one, leaving only Yavanna behind for a moment longer.
She approached, laying a hand the size of a falling leaf against the rocky shell of my leg.
"Grow slowly," she whispered. "Shape the land, but do not destroy it. There is beauty yet to come, and you may have a part in guarding it."
Then she too was gone, leaving me alone once more beneath the wheeling stars, but not entirely alone.
Far to the north, in the shadowed lands beyond the reach of the Valar's light, another had felt my presence. A mind dark and restless stirred, filled with anger and envy.
Melkor.
He had seen me had felt the tremor of my awakening and where the others saw potential for good or balance, he saw only a weapon. A force he might twist to his own ends.
In the deep places of the world, Melkor smiled. The world had changed, and so had the war for its future.