Silmarillion Chapter 2: Of Aulë and Yavanna (Patreon)

Of all the Valar, Aulë and Yavanna are my favorites, the ultimate  husband & wife combo. Aulë is functionally the god of craftsman, and  is said to be most like the villainous Melkor in personality (his  servants Sauron and Saruman both turn evil, plus he trained  troublemaking Fëanor) but Aulë himself remains virtuous and humble.   Even when he created the Dwarves in defiance of Eru, it was meant to be  a tribute to the Elves & Men (Eru’s personal creations).  As such,  the Dwarves were given true life and allowed to be awakened after the  Elves.  Aulë represents the creative ambition of Melkor without the  jealousy or vanity.

Yavanna, creator of the Ents, is great because she’s one of the only  Valar who actively tries to keep Middle-Earth from becoming overrun with  evil, as her interest is with the actual plants and animals of the  world.  She’s also the one who chose Radagast to be one of the Istari  sent to Middle-Earth.  It’s also worth noting that while they got along  very well, Aulë’s and Yavanna’s creations or servants did not.  Dwarves  and Ents have never had good relations, and Saruman despised Radagast to  the end of his days.