#being rebuilt and twisted in the name of progress or a new goal and being forced to adapt against your will

[sunset-synthetica]

i have so many thoughts on the depiction of humanity in Turbo. how am i meant to voice them all

[cad-faoi-maeglin]

Head Canon Time! The Seduction of Mairon.

I have a couple of somewhat contradictory head canons about this one. I just love thinking about how he ended up where he ended up. For what is such an important event in the history of Arda, we have no information abut his switching sides, so I like to think about how it could have come about.

- He made the decision on his own: In this version, Mairon became fed up with the how the creation of the world was progressing. He was a being designed to bring order to the world, yet that was far from what was actually happening. This war with Melkor was slowing progress, introducing inefficiency and chaos to the world. And worst of all, the Valar were doing nothing about it. They just rebuilt things. They were weak. He hated weakness. While Melkor may have been the one causing the chaos, at least he was decisive, he had power. Not only that, but surely one ruler of all of Arda would be a neater system than this whole council of Valar who never could seem to come to a unanimous decision. With Melkor, he made a choice and carried it out. One Will ruling, no squabbling over whether or not a course of action was the right and just course of action, just action. That was what Mairon wanted to see. So one day, Mairon packed up his things and presented himself before the outlawed Vala and pledged his skills to the furtherance of Melkor’s goals. 

- Melkor talked him into joining him: In this version, Mairon was initially quite happy serving the Valar. He was Aule’s right-hand Maia, just like how Eonwe was Manwe’s. Though he served his Vala, he was given enough authority to order things mostly as he wished. Aule knew where Mairon’s skills lay and he took full advantage of this. Mairon was in a position of power and he loved it. Though, trusted and admired as he was, Mairon was never particularly liked. He had a cruel streak. His was impatient with imperfection (and his standards for perfection were high, so really he just came across as impatient). When he gave an order, and they were orders not requests, it was to be followed to the letter, immediately, no questions asked. He never held back his anger when one of the other Maiar had roused it. Aule kept a close eye on him and often had to reign him in. His name may have meant Admirable One, but really it only referred to his skills. No one was under any impression that it meant his personality too. He made people uneasy.

Initially, he hated Melkor for his chaotic and destructive behaviour, so at odds with his own. However, as time wore on, he became more and more frustrated by Aule’s infringing on his authority. Of course, Aule would at times remind him which one of them was the Vala and which was the Maia, something Mairon never liked being pointed out. Melkor timed his approach well. By the time he sought Mairon out, Mairon was already prepared to jump at any promise of unimpeded power. Yes, he would be serving a Vala, but this Vala promised to let Mairon do as he wished. Melkor would value Mairon’s uncompromising pursuit of perfection, whatever methods he chose to employ. If those methods included cruelty and anger and violence, then so be it.

- Melkor forcibly corrupted Mairon: Mairon is quite different in this version. In this version, Mairon was genuinely The Admirable One. Once again, he served Aule as his most senior and trusted Maia. His skills in the forge were highly praised, but so was his patience and kindness. He loved to teach the newest students. He felt it was most important that he train them sooner rather than later so that they didn’t pick up any bad habits that would need untraining down the road. He was cheerful and friendly and quick to laugh. Those who worked under him regarded it a pleasure to do so. His love of order and dislike of friction meant that any disputes between his workers were solved quickly and they generally had quite a pleasant working environment.

Mairon was powerful. Sometimes the other Maiar would joke that he was practically a Vala. Which he would of course do his best to ignore. He was happy where he was. However, this combination of skill and power brought him to the attention of Melkor. This Mairon would never betray his Lord and fellow Maiar. Melkor knew this. But Melkor gets what Melkor wants. So Mairon was stolen. He was hidden away in the dark. The very core of his being was taken and twisted by the Dark Vala himself. Melkor poured some of his own spirit into Mairon, caging in the real Mairon and infusing him with Melkor’s own malice and hatred. Melkor made Mairon what he needed him to be. Melkor made Sauron.

From then on, Mairon could only watch from the recesses of his mind as this new hybrid monster carried out atrocities in his name. On rare occasions he could gain the upper hand on Melkor’s spirit but only when the Vala was weakened. One such time would be after the War of Wrath when Melkor was chained and imprisoned. Mairon tried to approach Eonwe for help, but he couldn’t maintain control of his spirit for long enough. Melkor’s spirit made him watch as his fellow Maiar packed up camp and went back to Valinor. He tried so hard after that not to go back to evil ways, but he eventually lost that struggle.

By the time Melkor was permanently out of the picture it was too late for Mairon. The part of Melkor’s spirit that lived within him was irrevocably fused to his own. Those instances where he could regain control became more and more infrequent until he could do nothing but watch the events of the Second and Third Ages unfold. This Mairon was relieved when the ring was destroyed. This Mairon cursed his immortality daily for millennia. This Mairon just wanted to go home.