Sometime in the winter of 2012 when I was home for the holidays, I picked up the Silmarillion again and fell down the rabbit hole. I ended up having a very vivid dream about the origins of Sauron/Mairon the Maiar, and his time spent in the service of Aulë the Smith. The first six pages were completed over the course of 2013; my goal was to preserve some of that original dream-material into a comic, but I also wanted to explore some of the empty margins in the history of these characters, simply because there was a lot about Middle Earth theology that frustrated me a great deal; and I felt like the motivations of a lot of the \'dark\' characters were not explored in the books to my satisfaction.

I realize now that \"Re-exploring\" the dark side of Tolkien\'s mythos is a fairly common pursuit of Silm fans, and Sauron and Melkor have both been re-imagined, justified, explained, deconstructed, and reconstructed by many more capable brains than mine long before I ever cracked open the first pages.

But it\'s too late for me now-- the dark lords have firmly rooted themselves in my brain and demand that I keep exploring their motivations and their relationships, and I\'ve become addicted to drawing their stupid faces (and other parts). 

That said: here are the much-edited first six pages of my first Silmarillion-related project, that first got my foot in the door of the fandom. 

A series of drabbles based on prompts for a meme on my Silmarillion blog. 

The first drafts were posted in 2013, and I\'ve polished and fluffed them up a bit since then, because I have chronic editing syndrome.  

I try not to inflict my poetry on strangers but sometimes it gets off the leash anyway.

Celebrimbor, Lord of Eregion recieves an emissary from the West claiming to be a Vanya smith. The teachings he comes bearing are controversial; how to imprint thoughts and wills into matter using Song, and words of power. As the emissary gains support with king and court, their relationship becomes entangled with secrets and the weight of the past. 

Melkor is brought to trial before the Máhanaxar and found guilty, sentenced to three ages of imprisonment and four ages of servitude. When he is unchained in Aman, the Vala finds the world full of strange new inventions...  

One of the newly awakened Vanyar at Cuivienen makes a dangerous journey to gather a precious resource. 

An academic essay composed by an unnamed Numenorian naturalist; (an open-minded lady of the court of Ar-Adûnakhôr) concerning the biology and habits of Orcs. (Illustrated) 

In the age before the sun, new creatures grow and hunt and are hunted in turn. A Maia who chose his own master now chooses a new, more suitable name. (Pictures Included!)

"I multiply. I diversify. I evade. I grow. And if you would subdue me, Gorthaur, you must catch me first."  

Yavanna has a nightmare about her sister, Vana, confronting Sauron and the (allegorical) rise of industry.

A short poem and a portrait of Melkor. 

A study in sentiments over time; a collection of moments surrounding Melkor and Sauron, from the Spring of Arda to the fall of the Third Age. 

The First Music goes off without a hitch; Arda is unmarred, and the Theme goes on and on without one dissonant voice in the choir.  

Melkor reflects upon his past dwelling places, and the lessons learned in failure. 

Mairon, maia of Aulë, is given a body, a purpose, his tools, and a warning.