The Valar entered the world of Arda in the depths of time, intending to make it an ideal habitation for the coming Children of Ilúvatar. Melkor had other intentions, however, and he distorted and corrupted all the works of the Valar, so that the making of the world was a war between the two forces. The result of this was a world far from the Valar's original intentions, Arda Marred, a world touched by the darkness of Melkor.