how exactly did.....

[Tulkas]

the vala go about storming Utumno and Angband in the first battle of powers?

[jammi567]

probally the same way as the war of wrath.......exept they don't have to worry about elves.

[Tulkas]

i know but in the first battle of powers....like was it just the vala or did they have some sort of army....if so what kind of army?

[jammi567]

From the sounds of it, it was just the valar.

[Tulkas]

ok but i dont understand how the physically overthrew Utumno(sp). Did they use swords and bows? Or did they somehow use there powers, if they used their powers, can anyone give me an example?

[Alcuin]

ok but i dont understand how the physically overthrew Utumno(sp). Did they use swords and bows? Or did they somehow use there powers, if they used their powers, can anyone give me an example?Storms? Flood? Lightning? Volcanoes? Earthquakes? Tsumani? Meteors? Fission? Fusion? Transdimensional weapons?

Magic?

There’s no information about this as far as I know: there is no “real” Middle-earth, only what Tolkien wrote. I think what he said about it is in synoptic form in The Silmarillion, “Of the Coming of the Elves”:…the Quendi knew nothing of the Battle of the Powers save that the Earth shook and groaned beneath them, and the waters were moved, and in the north there were lights as of mighty fires. Long and grievous was the siege of Utumno, and many battles were fought before its gates of which naught but rumor is known to the Elves. In that time the shape of Middle-earth was changed, and the Great Sea that sundered it from Aman grew wide and deep; and broke in upon the coasts and made a deep gulf to the southward.It goes on to say that the Bay of Balar was made in this war Dorthonion and the mountains of Hithlum were raised then, and the North “was made desolate…; for there Utumno was delved exceeding deep, and its pits were filled with fires…”

The Ered Engrin, the Iron Mountains in the north of Middle-earth, were originally the “fence” of Utumno. In the northwest of Middle-earth, near the shores and in and behind the Iron Mountains, “Morgoth also made a fortress and armory … to resist any assault that might come from Aman. That stronghold was commanded by Sauron, lieutenant of Morgoth, and it was named Angband.” Angband and its “gatehouse” (my term), Thangorodrim, were rebuilt by Sauron, the Balrogs, and the orcs that Morgoth and Sauron had corrupted in Middle-earth.

[Landroval]

In the BoLT version of the story, they seem to be moving hills around and what not:
Then the chain is smithied to each of these and Melko borne thus helpless away, while Tulkas and Ulmo break the gates of Utumna and pile hills of stone upon them

[jammi567]

But how oftern do you want to trust the very earliest writtings of Tolkin

[Landroval]

But how oftern do you want to trust the very earliest writtings of Tolkin
Sure, some things did change later (the valar won't have children, nor is Orome the son of Aule, etc), or became much contracted (such as the fall of Gondolin). But the valar definitely maintain a powerful hold over the matter of Arda - Ulmo, for example, single-handedly can uproot or "downroot" the island that became the ship of the elves to Valinor; moreover, the wars of the valar with Melkor all result in terrible damage. I personally have no problem with the given explanation.

[jammi567]

I guess when you say it like that.....

[Valtir]

Melkor had the power to raise mountains and sunder the land. Taking him down ain't easy.

[NelyafinweMaitimo]

Storms? Flood? Lightning? Volcanoes? Earthquakes? Tsumani? Meteors? Fission? Fusion? Transdimensional weapons?

I would agree. In my opinion, this war would have looked a lot like the tumultuous weather conditions that shaped planet Earth in its younger days. Since the Silmarillion is essentially the religious text of Middle-earth, this battle could well be a religious explanation for that scientific fact.

[Anglorfin]

probally the same way as the war of wrath.......exept they don't have to worry about elves.

LoL yes for some reason I'd imagine it to be a lot more violent when the Vala don't have to worry about stepping on Elves and the like.

Anyways when I imagine the Valar shaping the earth I imagine it as a very physical process. Hence why most of the heavy work is done by Aule and Tulkas and Ulmo. Yavanna labors quitely and to me it seems uses more of a "sorcerous" approach to shaping the world. However when it comes down to how I imagine the Valar going forth to war, the Wrath of the Valar is a phrase that to me signifies that they're doing a lot of physical fighting and therefor the geography would be altered quite a bit.

Much in the same way that ancient peoples must have looked at earthquakes or thunder or other harsh natural calamities as the gods physical presence on earth. I can easily imagine that in the Elvish folklore that comprises the Silmarillion the first earthquake they experienced they'd attribute it to the Valar at war or something similar.