Omar Amillo: The forgotten Ainu and Brigham's roots

Amillo, who was also known as Omar, is an Ainu mentioned in The Book of Lost Tales, but did not make it into what would become the published Silmarillion.  Thus, he is a rather obscure Power.  Even when mentioned in Lost Tales, it is always in connection with his twin brother Salmar.

The time has come to trace Brigham back to the very beginning (of this story, at least, as his story also stretches well before the drama of this Earth), and it is to this little-recognized Omar that I look.  Unlike previous posts where I have jumped around a bit and left loose ends to be tied later, I will continue on with this theme for the next couple posts.  In doing so, I will attempt to demonstrate or at least introduce the following story elements:

• The person we know as Brigham (who we have also identified as Laban and King Noah, so far), is in fact the Ainu known as Omar or Amillo.

• This Omar Amillo would also later be born or come into Middle Earth as the elf loremaster and minstrel Dairon (or Daeron) who lived in Doriath with Thingol and Melian

• Omar's brother Salmar would himself come into this Earth as Thingol, and thus Dairon's connection with Thingol is an echo of the kinship between Omar and Salmar

• Dairon would have played a part in planting the thought of the Silmaril in Thingol's mind, thus putting into motion the events that followed.

• As part of these events, Dairon betrayed Thingol and was involved or influenced in his slaying as well as the attempted theft of the Silmaril (forged with the Nauglamir) by the dwarves.

• Further, he was involved in the sack of Doriath as an inside betrayer, hoping to leverage the oath of the sons of Feanor for his own advantage in gaining the Silmaril for himself.

• During the sack of Doriath, he would perform dark deeds, including a terrible sin against the Holy Ghost (Nimloth, the wife of Dior); these sins and actions are currently (and incorrectly, in my belief) laid against the sons of Feanor.

• Blaming the deeds against Nimloth on the sons of Feanor not only served to deflect blame from Dairon, but also to stir up anger among and between the Elves themselves, furthering his own purposes in this contention.

• Although Dairon would ultimately fail in his attempts to gain the Silmaril, and his story fades out at that point, he would re-emerge at certain, key times and in pivotal roles.

• The next time (known or guessed by me) he would emerge would be as Wormtongue, in the service of another king who he also sought to betray in order to get what he wanted (in this case, another jewel known as the Lady Eowyn).

• As mentioned, he would also later play the roles of Laban, King Noah, and Brigham, and potentially other individuals, also, each time working to change situations to his own advantage and gain.

• In all these efforts, Omar-Dairon wishes to cover his tracks and sins, removing all trace of his treachery, while still pursuing the objects of his desire.

• The behavior goes back to before the creation of this Earth, and I will propose that it is he who was the second Being who wished to be sent but was not chosen in the beginning (as told in Abraham 3).  That role went to another (the Holy Ghost/ Eonwe/ Abinadi/ Faramir/ etc.).

• Much of Dairon's actions as the various incarnations of himself can be understood in that initial desire to be the 'sent' one, and in the subsequent frustration of that desire; this will also drive his future actions and ultimate banishment from our tale.  The name of Omar, and all of his other names, will become even more forgotten than it is now - as in, completely blotted out as both Heaven and Earth learn fully of his deeds.

An ambitious agenda, and I am not sure if anyone reading through that list could make sense of it the way I've listed them, which is why I will take a few posts to lay some things out and then we can see how things look at that point.  It will actually be a helpful thing for me to put it all down in one place and step back and look at it.

So, taking a baby step into that story above, I will first briefly cover and introduce Omar and discuss my belief that he first incarnated as Dairon.  

In the Book of Lost Tales, Omar is mentioned as one of the Ainur.  He was actually a Vala, specifically, but these definitions and grouping shifted so much, particularly early on, that it is hard to say that if had remained in the story drafts longer whether that would have been the case.  In any case, he was the twin brother of Salmar, and was mentioned as the last of the Vala to enter into the world.  It was said that he sang as he came, and would be described as knowing all songs and languages, having the best of all voices. 

We should dismiss this power as being 'merely' songs.  It was songs, words, and language that gave Beings power.  This is illustrated throughout the tales of both the Silmarillion and the LOTR.  Sauron's capture and imprisonment of Beren, Finrod, and company was a result of a duel of song of power between Sauron and Finrod, in which Sauron's song proved stronger.  Later, in LOTR, Tom Bombadil shows his 'mastery' of all around him through the use of song.  So, when we read of Omar's mastery of songs and languages, it should be remembered that this means real power possessed by this Being.

Given these attributes, it shouldn't be a stretch to see Omar's condescension into Middle Earth in the form of Dairon.  Dairon was also a master of songs and languages, becoming known as one of (if not the) greatest of all the minstrels of the Elves.  He would also invent a new alphabet known as Certhas Daeron.  This would not become widely adopted among the Elves (who would use Feanor's Tengwar) , but something that the Dwarves did adopt, finding it more useful for inscribing.

This last detail is one to tuck away for a future discussion on Doriath, what potentially happened there, and how Dairon might have been involved.

In any case, Omar comes bounding into Middle Earth the same way he did in Valinor -full of songs, language, and lore, and considered a master of all of these (not least by himself!).

It is, however, in Doriath as Dairon that we start to see the darker side of this Being (partly because we start to have more of his story to go off of).  Dairon was in love with Luthien, but she did not want to be with him.  She was meant to be with Beren (and I suppose a post is needed on why that is, also).  When Beren finally entered the scene and it was clear that he loved Luthien and Luthien loved him, it was Dairon who betrayed them both by notifying Thingol.

This betrayal led to Beren's quest to regain the Silmaril (something that Dairon specifically helped put into motion) and all of the horrible things that happened afterward.

I think I will start going into that in my next post, however.  Here, I wanted to introduce the broad storyline that I will try to follow as well as give a brief background on Omar and Dairon, which I think we have done.

So, next I will try to cover both the Nauglamir/ Silmaril betrayal as well as the sack of Doriath and place Dairon as being involved in these events.