Among the mountain range, the highest peak was Taniquetil, the Sacred Mountain.
At its summit stood the Palace of Valimar, the dwelling place of Manwë, King of the Valar, and his queen Varda.
Taniquetil was perpetually wrapped in mist, yet whenever the clouds parted, it radiated a brilliance so pure that even the light of the Two Trees seemed to echo upon its slopes.
The entire continent of Aman was suitable for habitation.
However, Valinor was its sacred heart, the primary dwelling place of the Valar and the Maiar.
The true rulers of Aman were the Valar, fourteen in total: Seven Lords and Seven Queens.
The Seven Lords of the Valar
Manwë - Lord of Air and Winds, King of the Valar
Ulmo - Lord of Waters
Aulë - Lord of Craft and Substance
Oromë - Lord of Forests and the Hunt
Mandos - Judge of Fate (true name Námo)
Irmo - Lord of Dreams and Visions (called Lórien)
Tulkas - Lord of Strength and Valor
The Seven Queens of the Valar
Varda - Queen of Light, spouse of Manwë
Yavanna - Lady of Earth and Growing Things, spouse of Aulë
Nienna - Lady of Pity and Mourning
Estë - Lady of Healing and Repose, spouse of Irmo
Vairë - Lady of Weaving Time, spouse of Mandos
Vána - Lady of Spring and Renewal, spouse of Oromë
Nessa - Lady of Dance and Speed, spouse of Tulkas
Except for Ulmo, who dwelled alone in the deep waters of the world, and Nienna, who lived apart in contemplation, the Valar were bound in divine unions.
Ulmo rarely set foot in Valinor, appearing only during great councils or moments of world-shaking import.
Oromë, meanwhile, often roamed Middle-earth, hunting the remnants of Morgoth's creatures, for he loved the wild lands of Arda and seldom remained long in Valinor.
Beneath the Valar were the Maiar, spirits of Ainur who entered the world to assist in its governance.
They varied greatly in form and power, some appearing as beings of flame, others as beasts, winds, or unseen spirits.
Even Gandalf could not name them all.
Among the Maiar was Thorondor, King of the Eagles, who took the form of a great eagle and served Manwë.
Others existed without physical form, invisible even to Elves, lingering as unseen guardians or watchers.
Among the Maiar, strength was not equal.
The greatest of them was Eönwë, Herald of Manwë and commander of the Host of Valinor.
He wielded power so vast that during the War of Wrath, he personally led the armies that shattered Morgoth's dominion.
It was Eönwë who oversaw the forging of the chains Angainor, which bound Morgoth and cast him into the Void.
Before his fall, Sauron had also been a mighty Maia, a master craftsman who nearly ruled Middle-earth.
Had he not been defeated and stripped of his power after the War of Wrath, no force in Middle-earth could have opposed him.
As for Gandalf, Olórin, he too was once a high Maia.
During his time in Middle-earth, his power was deliberately restrained, making him seem weaker than many great Elves.
But now, freed from those limitations and returned to Valinor, his true strength had emerged, surpassing that of ordinary Maiar.
Because of his deeds and sacrifices in Middle-earth, he was held in high honor by the Valar, his status elevated beyond what it had once been.
However, Sylas clearly understood that his current strength was only equivalent to that of an ordinary Maia, and among them, one of the weaker ones.
In truth, neither Sylas nor any powerful spirit could ever truly become a Valar.
The reason lay not in strength, but in essence.
The Valar were beings who existed from the very beginning of the universe, secondary divine spirits born directly from the will and consciousness of the Creator God, Eru Ilúvatar.
They were innate divine beings, possessing authority over fundamental laws from the moment of their birth.
Sylas, by contrast, as well as the Elves and all other spirits, were beings of flesh, blood, and acquired power.
From origin to essence, they were fundamentally different.
To put it simply: The Valar are primordial gods. Sylas and others are postnatal beings.
Postnatal beings can grow stronger without limit in theory, they can reach heights comparable to a Maia, or even momentarily rival divine authority.
But no matter how powerful they become, they cannot transform into an innate god.
Thus, when Sylas was said to stand on par with a Maia, it only meant he was equal in level, not equal in nature.
There was no true comparison of superiority or inferiority, because the two existed on different ontological tracks.
A Maia, though immensely powerful, was also bound by a predetermined fate.
Their essence, while divine, was fixed. It was nearly impossible for a Maia to ascend and become a Valar.
Even the strongest Maia, those said to rival the Valar in combat and capable of defeating beings like Morgoth, could never truly ascend.
Unless they received direct favor from Eru Ilúvatar, who alone could reshape a being's essence, a Maia's ceiling was absolute.
By contrast, beings like Sylas and the Elves, acquired beings, theoretically possessed limitless potential.
But theory was one thing.
From the dawn of the world until now, the number of beings who had successfully transformed a mortal body into a higher, transcendent existence was vanishingly small.
As for ascending beyond that, to reach a truly supreme state, that was so rare it was almost unheard of.
Turning His Thoughts Inward
After roughly understanding the structure and hierarchy of Valinor, Sylas withdrew his gaze and turned inward.
His thoughts shifted to the Time-Turner.
Crafting a Time-Turner itself was not difficult for him.
What truly fascinated him was the knowledge of time magic embedded within it.
Time, in the world of Arda, was a profoundly mysterious force.
Even the Valar did not directly control time, at most, they slowed its erosion or shielded places from its decay.
If Sylas could genuinely grasp the power of time, even partially, his strength would undergo a qualitative transformation.
In Valinor, where power was measured not by brute force but by authority and understanding, mastery over time would allow him to secure a true foothold.
To comprehend time, one could not merely study it.
One had to touch it.
Thus, the first step was clear:
He had to create a Time-Turner.
The Time-Turner was an accidental miracle of the ancient wizarding world, a device that allowed limited reversal of time, enabling its user to return several hours into the past.
Sylas could not fathom how such a creation had come into existence.
How could mortals, beings who could not even perceive the flow of time, create an artifact that interfered with its laws?
Even now, Sylas's magical attainments vastly surpassed those of Dumbledore, Grindelwald, the four founders of Hogwarts, and even Merlin himself.
Yet without the system's blueprint, even knowing the Time-Turner existed, he would never have been able to recreate it.
This realization filled him with genuine awe.
That a mere mortal wizard had once devised a tool that even gods did not wield, was nothing short of miraculous.
At the heart of the Time-Turner lay its core component: Time-shifting sand.
Grains infused with temporal power. It was these grains that made reversal possible.
Therefore, if Sylas wished to create a Time-Turner, his first task was clear.
He had to create time-shifting sand.
...
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