The Silmarillion

The Silmarillion , considered Tolkien's most important work , is the essence of the world he created. Its roots extend before The Hobbit and contain the creation story of a world that began to take shape in The Lord of the Rings, creating a structure on which all Tolkien's works can be placed. This work, which the master writer could not stop working on throughout his life and which grew and developed gradually, could only be published by his son four years after his death. The Silmarillion tells of the Elves' rebellion against the gods and their migration from Valinor to Middle Earth; there, they united with Men and Dwarves and fought a hopeless war against the worst of the gods, Morgoth.

" There was Eru, the One; Ilúvatar they called him in Arda. And he first made the Ainur, the Holy Ones, who were the children of his mind and were with him before anything else was created. "