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Quenta Silmarillion

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The one to rule them all

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Submitted: February 18
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Aule's Shrineby *RivkaZ

Digital Art / Drawings & Paintings / Fantasy

Here have an elaborate sketch to go with my otherwise irrelevant headcanon babbling. XD

“Worship” isn’t a really predominating theme in Tolkien as far as I can tell; it seems to happen mostly amongst humans, who have had less contact with the Valar/maiar (it would be kind of redundant if the elves worshiped the Valar since they sort of know them personally and everything). The only time it makes a big appearance is in Numenor with the whole “hello do you have a moment to learn about the word of Morgoth?” debacle.

But on Beleriand/Middle Earth proper I imagine that there might be household shrines to relevant deities and ancestors, at least amongst the humans, dwarves, and Sindar.

The idea stuck with me because I wondered if any of the races of Arda remember when Mairon was still Aulë’s maiar. In my own headcanon (which I know for a fact does not line up with the finished Silmarillion timeline but wth) I like to think that there was at least a brief period in which Mairon was involved in the instruction of the Eldar or the Dwarves, and in some shrines he might be remembered in that capacity, regardless of what he becomes later.

So here is a shrine to Aulë, with three of seven dwarf lords that might denote a family’s ancestry (I imagine that Ëol might have a shrine like this in his forge too), an ornamental copper hammer with a verdigris patina, and a Mairon figure still pictured by the side of his maker.
(I imagine too that Sauron still holds some slight partiality for Dwarves, the children of Aulë, even if that bias was simply a preference to win them over rather than extinguish them entirely from Arda.)

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*Zlukaka Mar 24, 2013

This is extremely heart-warming. Also I absolutely adore the design of these figurines. I had a book of Eskimo tales as a kid and it had slightly similar geometrical stylization in the illustrations, so it really associates in a very positive way.

I love this whole homely, unique, tribal aspect you give to your Tolkien designs, it's very cool and fresh among the loads of copy-pasta that spawned from the movies.

*FlyingCarpets Feb 19, 2013

Your pictures, gosh, we may be writing between the lines but you are drawing between the lines, in such a way that it just makes me want to cry from awesome ;u; The concepts you illustrate, they make me feel this depth, this sense of happiness and rightness, as if you've just restored some missing piece that should have been there from the start but everyone forgot about it... I don't know how to even begin to describe it properly ;u;

But at the same time this picture makes me really sad too, and evokes this heart-wrenching feeling of longing, because we know that Mairon is already missing, that only his figurine is beside Aule's side and that he no longer is who he had been :< I have so many feels in me right now that I don't know what to do, I could probably go and cry just because of this picture. Every detail adds this mood, this... i don't even know, I'll better just talk some solid facts instead: I love how the Ainur are so characterized, made tribal, ancient, and yet they are so close to the Dwarves, right beside them, taking care of them. The colors, so wonderful, the candles, the hammer, this really is a place of warmth and warship, we feel this is not some distant gods but quite close to the dwarven hearts :3

Now I am so freaking making that shrine on my wall. And this shrine will be right in the middle, *turns printer on * But really look what you've done, rendering me completely incapable of writing anything silly D: This goes to clubs please, world needs to see it!

*RivkaZ Feb 19, 2013

Now you have put all the feels you have into me as well! I can't thank you enough for your beautiful comments! They really do keep me afloat and wanting to draw more instead of curling into a ball of ridiculous envy. I can sometimes get caught up in how talented and prolific everyone else is, and I start to wonder if I have anything worthwhile to contribute to a fandom populated by geniuses. But I DO feel those empty and broken places in the lore, and I DO want to fill them in and bridge the gaps and flesh out these character that I love and identify with (especially when they are given a bad treatment in the original...), and it means so much to me to know that you feel the same. It's like you can see past what I draw and into the origin of the art itself, the feeling and the image that was there before I even picked up a pencil. Mnnnngh... I just.... *HUG* You are a very special person. <3
(I can picture a gauntleted hand reaching down amongst the wreckage, picking up the carved totem, and from under a black helm, a whisper; "Was I once so?" )

*FlyingCarpets Feb 21, 2013

Omg I am really so amazed we found each other on dA, I mean, I think we're totally on the same wavelength <33 But you're so evil to me, first this shrine almost had me in tears and then after I read the stuff from the bracket at the end of your reply I almost cried again yesterday and then walked half a day thinking about how sad this is. But then I had to start thinking about scary job interviews so it saved me XDDDD But gosh, if you guys ever decided to not only illustrate this but also write some fic/drabble/whatever and especially one with this scene, this Sauron, discovering and disbelieving who he once had been... I so wanna read it ;u;

Omg YOU're talented and prolific so shut up *curls into a ball of ridiculous envy just looking at your art lol* XDDDDDDD To be honest from the artists I know, only Zlu doesn't have problems with that whole 'getting down because there exist better artists your age or younger' thing, she's like 'nope, no time to wallow in self pity. Lets practice drawing instead', that's a really healthy attitude XD So lets uncurl from our balls of envy and just face the world head-on okay? X3 Does Ash get envious or is he like Zlu? From the 'ok, that's good enough, lets put it online' thing I'd assume he's more like Zlu really XDDDD

And more broken places in the lore await your beautiful imagination to fill them! And I can't wait to see it all and feel it all ;u; <33333

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