The Beginning of it all..

Tromador is singing... Tromador sings of the world, he sings of creation. He is singing with many others of his kind, his voice is a weak thing, compared to some whose voices soar above the others, but he is content. His voice may be tiny, yet it contributes.

Tromador is singing... He sings of plants and trees. He sings of animals and birds. Eru is watching the singers and Eru is pleased. One singer tries to send the song in new directions but the other singers simply overpower the themes, bringing them into the song and making them part of the whole.

Tromador is singing... He sings of Elves and Men. He sings of speech and magic. He sings of happiness and joy. He is part of the great song and he knows that the song he sings with his fellows is bringing a new world into existance. It is a worthy task.

The song ends. The world is complete.

For a time, the Ainur dwell on the island of Almaren, under the light of Illiun and Ormal, the lamps of the Valar. Peace reigns until Melkor pours forth his army from the northern fortress of Utumno. Tromador is amongst the least of the Ainur, but fights bravely to protect his home. Melkor proves too strong for the Ainur and gains a great victory. Almaren is left in ruins and the lamps are thrown down, casting Middle Earth into darkness. Tulkas persues Melkor, but the dark lord escapes into the dungeons of Utumno. Saddened, the Ainur depart Middle Earth and create a new land, Aman or Valinor, in the uttermost west. For the first time, but not the last, Tromador is wrenched from his old home and travels to a new.

For many ages, Tromador studied with his master, Aule the smith. He learned the use of iron, mithril and all the treasures of the earth. Finally, it was time for the Elves to awaken upon Middle Earth. Aule summoned Tromador and gave him a great task. He was to enter the body of one of the newly awakened elves and watch. His personality would be subsumed by the elf and he would only remember his true nature in times of great need. He was to watch and to report back to the Valar from time to time, to tell of the elves, of his experiences. He would have some influence over the elf he possessed, but the will of the elf would prevail. So Tromador went back to Middle Earth and became the spirit, or soul of an Elf named Umberto. Tromador forgot his maian heritage and lost himself in the personality of Umberto. Perhaps these events were, in part, preparation for a life upon The Way. Tromador had now been forced to move from one home to another and also to lose himself into an unremembering personality.

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