Arësri the Founder

"And Arësri spoke the word, and it was thus. Trees grew, plants flowered, fruit ripened, and wild animals calmed. It was thus when the world was young."

Long ago, when the world was young, Arësri walked the earth. He was the Father of the Elven Race, elfborn and blessed. He made the world flourish with his magic, using it for only pure and good purposes. It was thus when the world was young.
But not all in the world was good. In the East of Irëduin, there lurked a nameless horror. And it grew jealous of what Arësri had achieved with his power, and its hate festered for many a year. And then, it sent its servants down to kill the Firstborn. But Arësri defeated them, and continued working good. And the nameless evil was furious. It sent a host against Arësri.

"And the evil took all its power, and it sent its wrath rushing down from out of the East. It sent its fell host against the Firstborn, and they were successful. They drove Arësri out of the Gardens of the South, over the Mountains, and into the land that would become Tílunur."

But even there Arësri flourished. He wrought the land into a work of wonder, and many good things grew there. And again the nameless evil grew jealous. It sent its most feared servants to kill the Firstborn, and they forced him away from his gardens. And Arësri was grievouly wounded, and so hid underground, and the fearsome creatures passed away to the East, where they told their master that they had killed the Firstborn.

"And Arësri gave them a name and he called them Rath'shak, or creature of horror. And there in the bowels of the earth, he found a tree, and when he poured his love and gentleness into it, it grew larger than any tree before. And he saw it was good, and he called it a tälesr. And there, in the branches of the tälesr, he founded the elven civilization."