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February 21
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At last, in the year when Eärendil was seven years old, Morgoth was ready, and he loosed upon Gondolin his Balrogs, and his Orcs, and his wolves; and with them came dragons of the brood of Glaurung, and they were become now many and terrible. Of the deeds of desperate valour there done, by the chieftains of the noble houses and their warriors, and not least by Tuor, much is told in The Fall of Gondolin: of the battle of Ecthelion of the Fountain with Gothmog Lord of Balrogs in the very square of the King, where each slew the other, and of the defence of the tower of Turgon by the people of his household, until the tower was overthrown; and mighty was its fall and the fall of Turgon in its ruin.
Tuor sought to rescue Idril from the sack of the city, but Maeglin had laid hands on her, and on Eärendil; and Tuor fought with Maeglin on the walls, and cast him far out, and his body as it fell smote the rocky slopes of Amon Gwareth thrice ere it pitched into the flames below. Then Tuor and Idril led such remnants of the people of Gondolin as they could gather in the confusion of the burning down the secret way which Idril had prepared.
There was a dreadful pass, Cirith Thoronath it was named, the Eagles' Cleft, where beneath the shadow of the highest peaks a narrow path wound its way; on the right hand it was walled by a precipice, and on the left a dreadful fall leapt into emptiness. Along that narrow way their march was strung, when they were ambushed by Orcs, for Morgoth had set watchers all about the encircling hills; and a Balrog was with them. Then dreadful was their plight, and hardly would they have been saved by the valour of yellow-haired Glorfindel, chief of the House of the Golden Flower of Gondolin, had not Thorondor come timely to their aid.
Many are the songs that have been sung of the duel of Glorfindel with the Balrog upon a pinnacle of rock in that high place; and both fell to ruin in the abyss. (...) Then Thorondor bore up Glorfindel's body out of the abyss, and they buried him in a mound of stones beside the pass; and a green turf came there, and yellow flowers bloomed upon it amid the barrenness of stone, until the world was changed.
The Silmarillion (chapter 23)


watercolor pencils

Fifth part of my set of illustrations for the story of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin (in the Silmarillion and the Unfinished Tales), which I drew last summer as a commission for certain Tolkien-fans.
This page is solely dedicated to the three crucial duels which took place during the Fall of Gondolin and shortly afterwards. The two scenes of mighty elven lords fighting balrogs mirror each other in the upper and lower panel, while the central scene depicts our main characters again. These are possibly the first serious fight illustrations I've ever made, so I hope they don't look too bad. :-)
As for the heraldic devices, there are again the ones of Tuor and Idril in the upper right and lower left corners respectively. The other two, as you might have guessed belong to Ecthelion and and Glorfindel and cohere with both of their fight scenes. I had to make up these two emblems myself, but it was quite interesting to do (obviously starting from the motifs of fountain and golden flower).

Part 1: Tuor in Hithlum
Part 2: Journey to the Sea
Part 3: Tuor in Vinyamar
Part 4: Coming to Gondolin
Part 6: A New Beginning

I hope you like it and I'll appreciate your comments. :-)

------------

If you like my Tolkien-related art, look at my related journal or gallery folder.
But you can find even more of my pictures on my website Angrenost.cz. It's in Czech, but you can still look at the gallery of illustrations. Enjoy! :-)
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:iconmerdanel:
~merdanel Apr 29, 2013  Hobbyist Traditional Artist
Love this! I like how you managed to work in multiple scenes
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:iconneral85:
~neral85 May 1, 2013  Hobbyist Traditional Artist
Thanks! :thanks: I am particularly happy for how it turned out in this one... :nod:
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:iconrayless-night:
The details are gorgeous. I like the combination of bright blue and orange, and you balanced the images really well across the page. It's somber but also very beautiful.
Reply
:iconneral85:
~neral85 Mar 11, 2013  Hobbyist Traditional Artist
Thanks for your comment! :hug: I'm quite glad with the way it turned out.. :-)
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:iconpalantiriel:
Love it! So dramatic and full of colour and shadow. Wonderful!
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:iconneral85:
~neral85 Mar 11, 2013  Hobbyist Traditional Artist
Thanks a lot! :-)
I just looked at your gallery and was reminded that you recently made a similar picture, and it's a lovely one, you have a great style. :nod:
Reply
:iconwanderlings:
~Wanderlings Mar 4, 2013  Student Writer
love the depiction of the balrogs!
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:iconneral85:
~neral85 Mar 11, 2013  Hobbyist Traditional Artist
Thanks! :dance:
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:iconleevah:
Very impressed with the heraldic devices you created. The lighting in Glorfindel's scene is absolutely lovely. :)
Very cool that you have drawn Maeglin with the black sword.
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:iconneral85:
~neral85 Mar 11, 2013  Hobbyist Traditional Artist
Thanks a lot for your comment! :thanks: You have some nice pictures in your gallery too! ;-)
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