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Description
His prayer was answered swiftly. For Manwë to whom all birds are dear, and to whom they bring news upon Taniquetil from Middle-earth, had sent forth the race of Eagles, commanding them to dwell in the crags of the North, and to keep watch upon Morgoth; for Manwë still had pity for the exiled Elves. And the Eagles brought news of much that passed in those days to the sad ears of Manwë. Now, even as Fingon bent his bow, there flew down from the high airs Thorondor, King of Eagles, mightiest of all birds that have ever been, whose outstretched wings spanned thirty fathoms; and staying Fingon's hand he took him up, and bore him to the face of the rock where Maedhros hung. But Fingon could not release the hell-wrought bond upon his wrist, nor sever it, nor draw it from the stone. Again therefore in his pain Maedhros begged that he would slay him; but Fingon cut off his hand above the wrist, and Thorondor bore them back to Mithrim.
(J.R.R. Tolkien - The Silmarillion, Ch. 13, "Of the Return of the Noldor")

Fingon & Maedhros - Detail: [link]

I have always imagined that after Fingon cut Maedhros' hand and released him, before Thorondor bore them back to Mithrim, the King of Eagles took them quickly to a safe place, perhaps an eyrie, where Fingon could tend his cousin's hand and wounds, and so prevent Maedhros' death from loss of blood. That's the very moment I have tried to illustrate, Fingon has dressed the stump, used one of his leathers as tourniquet, gave him water to drink, and is wrapping Maedhros up in his woolly mantle in order to keep him warm. (Why does this sound so slashy all of a sudden? )
Meanwhile, Thorondor is keeping watch, and shielding them from the strong winds with one of his great pinions, under which the cousins take shelter

I know Maedhros looks almost dead and covered in grime... but he's spent long years (1498-5 FA) suffering torment, hung from a mountain, no food, no water, no nothing. His beautiful auburn hair is very long and his famished body is covered with wounds - surely he's been attacked again and again those carrion birds from Angband (according to Tolkien). I wanted this scene to be realistic, hence all the grime, the wounds, the blood... hopefully I've managed to do some justice to the book.

Thorondor is a mixture of a Golden Eagle (the species Tolkien used as reference for his painting in The Hobbit) and an Imperial Eagle, an native species of Spain, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful of birds in the world. I thought the colour of the Golden Eagle fitted better the idea of "King of Eagles", while the head of th Imperial Eagle is the most beautiful. Eru knows it has taken me long hours to finish Thorondor, but I'm very proud of the result

Original sketch in pencil.
Photoshop CS2 & Wacom Tablet.
Along with previous Tolkien deviations, this is too part of a project I'm involved in.

Note to Tolkien fans out there: please, take your time when commenting on Tolkien "fanart".
Consider - even if it does not fit your mental picture - whether it does or does not justice to the original as the author devised it. Make comments and suggestions as you see fit. Tolkien "illustrators" (so to speak) will surely benefit from this kind of feedback and thank you for it

Description
His prayer was answered swiftly. For Manwë to whom all birds are dear, and to whom they bring news upon Taniquetil from Middle-earth, had sent forth the race of Eagles, commanding them to dwell in the crags of the North, and to keep watch upon Morgoth; for Manwë still had pity for the exiled Elves. And the Eagles brought news of much that passed in those days to the sad ears of Manwë. Now, even as Fingon bent his bow, there flew down from the high airs Thorondor, King of Eagles, mightiest of all birds that have ever been, whose outstretched wings spanned thirty fathoms; and staying Fingon's hand he took him up, and bore him to the face of the rock where Maedhros hung. But Fingon could not release the hell-wrought bond upon his wrist, nor sever it, nor draw it from the stone. Again therefore in his pain Maedhros begged that he would slay him; but Fingon cut off his hand above the wrist, and Thorondor bore them back to Mithrim.
(J.R.R. Tolkien - The Silmarillion, Ch. 13, "Of the Return of the Noldor")

Fingon & Maedhros - Detail: [link]

I have always imagined that after Fingon cut Maedhros' hand and released him, before Thorondor bore them back to Mithrim, the King of Eagles took them quickly to a safe place, perhaps an eyrie, where Fingon could tend his cousin's hand and wounds, and so prevent Maedhros' death from loss of blood. That's the very moment I have tried to illustrate, Fingon has dressed the stump, used one of his leathers as tourniquet, gave him water to drink, and is wrapping Maedhros up in his woolly mantle in order to keep him warm. (Why does this sound so slashy all of a sudden? )
Meanwhile, Thorondor is keeping watch, and shielding them from the strong winds with one of his great pinions, under which the cousins take shelter

I know Maedhros looks almost dead and covered in grime... but he's spent long years (1498-5 FA) suffering torment, hung from a mountain, no food, no water, no nothing. His beautiful auburn hair is very long and his famished body is covered with wounds - surely he's been attacked again and again those carrion birds from Angband (according to Tolkien). I wanted this scene to be realistic, hence all the grime, the wounds, the blood... hopefully I've managed to do some justice to the book.

Thorondor is a mixture of a Golden Eagle (the species Tolkien used as reference for his painting in The Hobbit) and an Imperial Eagle, an native species of Spain, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful of birds in the world. I thought the colour of the Golden Eagle fitted better the idea of "King of Eagles", while the head of th Imperial Eagle is the most beautiful. Eru knows it has taken me long hours to finish Thorondor, but I'm very proud of the result

Original sketch in pencil.
Photoshop CS2 & Wacom Tablet.
Along with previous Tolkien deviations, this is too part of a project I'm involved in.

Note to Tolkien fans out there: please, take your time when commenting on Tolkien "fanart".
Consider - even if it does not fit your mental picture - whether it does or does not justice to the original as the author devised it. Make comments and suggestions as you see fit. Tolkien "illustrators" (so to speak) will surely benefit from this kind of feedback and thank you for it