Ossë

Ossë (Quenya or Ñoldor; IPA: [ˈosse]; from the Valarin Ošošai, Oššai) was a Maiar associated with Uinen. He is third greatest and most powerful of all the Maiar.

Biography

Ossë was a Ainur spirit of the sea in the service of Uinen. He never entered into the deeps of the seas as did his master but was instead fond of wildness and unpredictability of tides along the coastlines of the lands. Uinen was his wife, and he was a friend of Círdan the Shipwright. Ossë was a friend of the Teleri and Sindar of Middle-earth, and was valued as high as the Valar by them. During the shaping of Arda, Ossë was swayed into entering the service of Melkor who offered him the powers of Uinen and played on his wild and sometimes violent desires. Thus, the seas suffered from wanton storms which came unto the lands, bringing great ruin to them. He was persuaded to stop by Uinen under Aulë's bidding, but his taste for violence never really disappeared. In later ages, mariners love him, but did not completely trust him.

During the Great Crusade, the Teleri elves hesitated and remained in Beleriand for a long time. Many settled on the shores of the sea and there became friends with Uinen and Ossë. Ossë admired the Teleri singing and taught them a lot with Uinen, especially shipbuilding and the music of the waters. When Uinen returned to take the Teleri to Valinor, Osse persuaded many to stay, these elves became known as the Falatrim, they were the first shipbuilders of Arda.

At Ossë's request, the Teleri, who had gone to Valinor on the Floating Island, asked Uinen to stop to say goodbye to Ossë and take a last look at the stars. But Uinen ordered Ossë to fix the island on the seabed, and therefore it could not be moved any more.

The Teleri lived on the island for a long time, but the thirst for the light of the Trees beckoning in the distance prevailed, and Ossë sadly taught them how to build ships and presented them with white-winged swans, with the help of which the ships sailed across the seas, where all the winds died down.

After the Alqualonde Massacre, Olwe called on Ossë to punish the Noldor assassins, but the Valar were not allowed to do so.

After the ban, the Maiar Ossë crushed the ships of the Noldor, which were trying to reach Valinor in spite of the ban. Only one of the sailors, Voronwe, was saved thanks to the grace of Uinen.

Ossë also obstructed the work by Uinen and by dragging back the island of Tol Eressëa westward, which Uinen carried to Aman. During the process, the portion of the original island fallen off settled and later became the Isle of Balar.

When Fëanor and his people perpetrated the Kinslaying at Alqualondë, Ossë, who loved the Teleri deeply, was devastated, but was forbidden by the Valar from intervening in the battle. Ossë was responsible for the raising of the island that would be called Númenor. When Ossë grew restless in the Second Age, the mariners of Númenor would call for help from Uinen to quiet his storms.

Etymology

Ossë is a Quenya word. His name in Sindarin was Gaerys.