The Valar (]; singular Vala) are characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are angelic powers or gods subordinate to the one God (Eru Ilúvatar). The Ainulindalë describes how those of the Ainur who chose to enter the World (Arda) to complete its material development after its form was determined by the Music of the Ainur are called the Valar, or the Powers of the World. The Valaquenta indicates that the Elves generally reserved the term Valar for the mightiest of these, calling the others the Maiar. The Valar are mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings, but were developed earlier in material published posthumously in The Silmarillion and The History of Middle-earth.