Hassan's Lesson

This post features another old character of mine (two, even!) brought back, updated, and refreshed -- Prince Hassan and Lusala, his bodyguard from the story The Defiant Prince.

This set takes places shortly after that tale, where King Asad Fatih has given his blessing for Hassan to wrestle. With Sahib attending kingly duties at the time, it falls on Lusala to teach his prince a few new moves... and more.

The Defiant Prince: Part 3 of 3

(Click here to go back to Part 2.)

Hassan Fatih, prince of the kingdom of Al Fatih, left his home having rescinded his princedom to protect Lusala and Sahib, his personal bodyguards, from exile.  The gods blessed the young prince that day as he journeyed into the vast, unending desert; the skies above were smattered with clouds that helped protect him from the sun's harsh rays as he made his way southward.

"Africa," Hassan spoke to Zubair, the solid white stallion that was faithfully carrying him into the arid wilderness.  "That'll be our new home, boy.  Lusala told me all about how everything is green and there are all kinds of beasts like the ones Father's seen!"

Hassan suddenly felt a lump in his throat as he thought of his last moments with his father, Asad Fatih.  Their final words had been born out of years of anger, resentment, and sorrow.  But he couldn't go back to mend those wounds this time.  He refused to even consider the possibility that his father had changed his views and would welcome him back home.  He pushed those thoughts from his head and urged Zubair onward.  That part of his life was over and now he would live his life free from the chains of princedom.

Though the clouds brought him protection, the prince began to feel the effects of a lack of water.  In his haste to leave the kingdom, he neglected to bring provisions in the hope that his quest would be over quickly.  The heat of the day quickly sapped his already tired body.  He leaned on Zubair and draped his arms across the stallion's thick neck.  As though knowing what was happening to his master, the horse sped onward, his eyes looking around for any sign of life among the dry sands.

Hassan drifted in and out of consciousness.  He hid his face in Zubair's white mane as his mouth and lips began to dry out.  Before he finally passed out, the last thought that flowed into his mind were of Lusala and Sahib and if he would ever see them again.

The Defiant Prince: Part 2 of 3

(Click here to go back to Part 1.)

Later that day...

Prince Hassan could barely keep from fidgeting all that morning.  The wrestling spar he'd witnessed between his two personal bodyguards, Lusala and Sahib, kept blissfully replaying in his mind over and over.

At breakfast, he could hardly eat.  During history lesson, he couldn't hope to focus.  And whenever either Sahib or Lusala looked his way, he'd giggle like a fool and turn quickly to hide the growing erection that pushed the fabric of his loincloth aside.

It's Crunch Time!

Whew...  I've been going at a superhero's speed with these renders the past few days.  I have the story component of Part 2 completely done and now I'm going into overdrive with the illustration half.

I'm keeping myself to a deadline of getting this up by 11:59 PM on Sunday, so I'm committed to making that happen.

It's crunch time! *roar!*

The Defiant Prince: Part 1 of 3

The first part of The Defiant Prince is finally finished and ready for posting!  My apologies for taking so long with this one.  Both the graphics and the story caused me to stumble more than a few times and I had to delay the project for way longer than I intended.  Well, the hard part's over and now... comes the hard part!  Get it?  Heheheh...

This first part features Hassan, Lusala, and Sahib, with other characters such as King Fatih not appearing until next time.

Here it is!  I hope that you guys enjoy The Defiant Prince: Part One.

Lusala Animation Test

Hey, guys, how's it going?  I've been working on the Hassan story (which, weirdly, doesn't have a name yet... I'll come up with one soon), and I wanted to break the silence with a fun little animation loop I made on a whim.

I'll let you use your imagination as to what's going on here. *grin*

Also, I wanted to say that I've decided to split the Hassan story into three parts.  The time spent figuring out the lighting and other random, sudden annoyances put me way behind schedule.  There won't be any abrupt cutoffs that interrupt the flow of the story, so each piece can be enjoyed by itself.  I'll have more info on when the first part will be posted soon.

It's almost Friday.  Woo!
-Lucky Stallion

Lusala

Lusala is one of two personal royal bodyguards of Prince Hassan, one of King Fatih's many sons.

Lusala was a young boy when his village was raided by a rival tribe.  Hidden from the raiders, Lusala watched helplessly as all of its people were whisked away into slavery.  Although the rival tribe set fire to the village, Lusala knew to wait until they'd all left before attempting his escape.

Homeless and alone, Lusala wandered north, away from his homeland in search of a new place to live.  The world and the people outside his village were unkind to a stray youth, but Lusala had learned survival techniques from his elders and was able to live in the wild.

One night, Lusala was hunting in the woods when the light of a campfire drew his attention.  His mouth salivated at the scents of smoked, salted meat that drifted on the wind.  He'd seen no men around, which would normally have concerned the young one, yet his growling stomach pushed those thoughts from his head.

Immediately spotted and surrounded, Lusala struggled for his life to escape the strange men with lighter, olive-colored skin.  Hunger soon took its toll on a weary Lusala and he was subdued.

But rather than kill him for his attempted theft, their leader, a man wearing extremely-valuable chains and rings of gold laughed as he approached.  This man was named Fatih, a wealthy Arabian king from a land across the northern sea.  The man took pity on the boy and fed him and offered him shelter from the dangers of the night.  Lusala, overwhelmed by such generosity and charmed by the foreigner's tales of conquest, pledged himself to serving this king.

Fatih's men laughed boisterously as the young boy shouted that he would stay by the king's side for all time and lay down his life for Fatih's kingdom.  But the bearded king merely smiled and handed Lusala a simple linen cloth with which to blanket himself in while he slept.

To this day, Lusala has remained with his king and proudly wears that very linen as his loincloth.