Syrosaur’s take on Melkor/Morgoth and Mairon/Sauron is quite excellent.
I’m always up for a good illustration of Melkor, and this one doesn’t fail. Added bonus that we get Mairon, the future Sauron.
The choices made here did get me thinking.
When exactly did Mairon leave the Valar and other Maiar and join with Melkor?
It isn’t explicitly documented in “The Silmarillion”.
Was it after the Valar fully crafted Arda? I mean, Mairon had to have time to apprentice with Aulë and it makes zero sense that this happened prior to the entry into Eä.
Was it before the fall of Utumno and the imprisonment of Melkor?
Was it sometime in that brief period after he stole the Silmarils but before the great Noldor migration back to Middle-Earth? (As could be interpreted here by Syrosaur’s work?
And no, I’ve yet to read all of the ancillary notes materials that have been published, though they are indeed sitting over there on my shelf.
Tolkien was never one on explicitly clear time frames, especially before the creation of the Sun and the Moon. (Don’t get me started on the First Age’s time frame making any real sense, especially with the arrival of men into Beleriand.)
Anyway, I digress, as I am often want to do.
Excellent job Syrosaur!
Artist: Syrosaur – https://x.com/syrosaur