Desperate for pupils onto whom he could pass his knowledge and unwilling to wait for the emergence of the Children of Ilúvatar, Aulë created his own race of beings, the Dwarves. However, he did not have a clear idea of what the Children of Ilúvatar would be like, and because of the presence of the chaos caused by Melkor, Aulë made the Dwarves strong and unyielding, and not willing to endure the domination of others, as well as embodying some of his values and desires for Middle-earth. However Aulë did not have the power to give independent life to his creations, they could act only when his thought was on them. When Aulë had completed his work he began to instruct the Dwarves in the language he had made for them, Khuzdul. Then Ilúvatar spoke to him, asking why he would seek to exceed his power and authority by attempting to make new life. Aulë repented, answering that the drive to create was kindled in him by Ilúvatar, and that he only wished for other beings to love and teach, with whom to share in the beauty of the world. He admitted that his impatience had driven him to folly and submitted his creations to Ilúvatar. Assuming that they should be destroyed, he made to smite the seven Fathers of the Dwarves with a great hammer, weeping as he did so. But as the Dwarves shrank from the blow, Ilúvatar stayed Aulë's hand and showed that he had already accepted his offer by gifting the Dwarves with spirits of their own, else they could not have been afraid. Ilúvatar accepted them as his adopted children, however as it was ordained that the Elves were to be the first-born race, he set the Dwarves to sleep until after the Awakening of the Elves. He told Aulë that while both were his children, their creation was outside the scope of the Music of the Ainur, and often strife would arise between the Dwarven race and the Elven race as the events of the world unfolded. The Dwarves believe that after they die their spirits remove to halls Aulë has set aside for them, and their role will be to rebuild Arda after the Final Battle that is yet to come.