*The Silmarillion* is an account of the Elder Days, of the First Age of Tolkien’s world. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in *The Lord of the Rings* look back, and in whose events some of them such as Elrond and Galadriel took part. The tales of *The Silmarillion* are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-earth, and the High Elves made war upon him for the recovery of the Silmarils, the jewels containing the pure light of Valinor. Included in the book are several shorter works. *The Ainulindalë* is a myth of the Creation and in the Valaquenta the nature and powers of each of the gods is described. *The Akallabêth* recounts the downfall of the great island kingdom of Númenor at the end of the Second Age and *Of the Rings of Power* tells of the great events at the end of the Third Age, as narrated in *The Lord of the Rings*.