The idea for this painting started off as a homage to my recently deceased cat named Dina.
I wanted to show the bond between an animal and a human being.
My first compositions were very static and tame in nature. Then, I saw some Frezzetta illustrations and was inspired by their raw emotional impact. What's a better way to show a bond between species than to depict them fighting side to side?
The composition here feels like a moment in time, a single frame in a movie with as much impact and emotions as possible, that was my goal.

"The legends are true. The beast exists, and as the village elder, it is up to me to slay it. No warrior in our tribe is ready to fight it, but I am afraid that neither am I. It was always rumored to appear one day and in my heart... I knew that since the day I took up the crown, and Prjijasial joined me, it would be me to fight it. Every day, I dreamt of this fight. Out of fear, out of preparation, maybe out of fate? I am happy that Prjijasial will accompany me. The tiger-like animal, but it is so much more than that. It is my dearest friend, a part of my soul... Every elder has had their own. I remember as a boy, that then the village elder always went around the village with a giant wolf, and its eyes were as green as emeralds... It was... Well, no matter.
It is now, just a warm memory. I, too, will one day pass, and another elder will take my place with their own Prjijasial. That is if I win and slay the foul creature... Gods... Grant me, and my friend, the strength to fight! For the future of our people, I must stop it."

Lore written specifically for this illustration by my dear friend Franek Grabarczyk