Valen is one of the Gods, more specifically one of the New Gods. Valen is the god of the underworld, of death, of darkness and of chaos. He is the quintessential god of luck. He is also the god of Deep Source Magic, the magic which is the source of all other magic.

In the earliest days, Kraylus made the world and Krellin, his firstborn son, sometimes helped. Krellin spent most of his time playing games and having fun for such is the nature of Krellin, the god of merriment and of sheep.

Among the gods, death is a place that is easily visited and from which it is simple to return. Possessions may be created with mere words. What then is murder and robbery to the gods but the slightest inconvenience? Among the gods, good and evil are matters not nearly as weighty as chaos and order, silliness and seriousness, souls and magic.

It is said that Kraylus is the god of good and Valen is the god of evil, but these are the sayings of mortals, not the decrees of the gods themselves.

Kraylus sought out a god known for his knowledge of Deep Source Magic, the magic which is the source of all other magic. Kraylus showed him the world which was then newly made and gave him the spells of Deep Source Magic upon which it was built. This lord of Deep Source Magic was pleased and agreed to help make the world better. They spoke of many things, then this lord of Deep Source Magic noticed that Kraylus had made a pit in the ground into which he planned to place the souls of the dead so that they would remain dead.

The other god said it would be better if there were something for the souls of the dead to do instead of merely being put into a hole in the ground. Kraylus then asked him to make a land in which the dead would dwell and to be the god of it. Then Kraylus asked him by what name he should be called and the new god chose a name for himself. The name he chose was "Valen." Since the dead were being sent to the pit Kraylus had made, Kraylus bade him to expand this pit and make it into a land of the dead underground. Thus did Valen become the god of the underworld and of death.

Valen the man

A human going by the name of Valen was often been seen in Port Town and Worfin Island in the early days of the First Age. He has the same name as the God of the Underworld and claims to be that god. Tronor and others have said he is, indeed, the same person as Valen the god, but there remains some doubt about this.

It is said that on the first day of the First Age, that the first newcomer to come through the Harbor Gate into Port Town was Valen and that at that time he was a mortal man, but was elevated to the godhood. This is contradicted by a passage in the Book of Wisdom which says that Valen was a god dwelling in the land of the gods first and was invited into the world by Kraylus because of his knowledge of Deep Source Magic.

It is said that when Kraylus made the second Staff of the Mage as a gift for Krellin, that he left it on Ogre Vale on Worfin Island and that Valen found it, but was slain by an ogre. It is said that Valen then descended to the underworld to take up his position as the God of the Underworld.