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Submitted: August 11, 2005
Image Size: 276 KB
Resolution: 549×985

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Licheby ~Keithwormwood

Traditional Art / Drawings / Fantasy

High priest and prime demagogue of a people displaced and driven into inhospitable salt plains. Disease and famine poised to kill the tribes to a man when the high priest declared that he would go alone into the salt flats, commune with the heavens, and return with the answer to their salvation.
Days later, when his desiccated form reappeared on the horizon, he announced the discovery of a divine solution to their plight. He appealed to the medicine men to conduct a drastic form of trepanation on him. A large hole was cut into the top of his skull as his third eye with which he would commune with the heavens. After a day and night of mantras a holy pillar of light descended from the sky into the priest’s pate and burst forth from his face, removing much of it in the process. This beam of light acted as a guide to lead his people to a land of plenty. Once safe and settled, the priest announced that he was leaving, much to the lamentation of the saved tribes. It was blasphemy for him to dwell amongst them any further, he explained, for he had died on the first night he ventured forth into the flats to find his answer.

Blue colerase pencil and Photoshop.

Prints available here- [link]

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~hughtheindestructibl Aug 17, 2012

it sounds so crazy it might as well be in the Bible

~Seekoutguy Jul 26, 2012

Returning from death with knowledge to save his people, but forever condemned due to it, I assume.

~LaCabezaDelCastor Apr 30, 2012 Hobbyist Artist

Interesting design, as well as the story!

~28dragons Mar 29, 2012

Beautiful art, beautiful story. I must see if you've written any novels XD

~Zarathustras-Crown Aug 13, 2011

This is absolutely gorgeous...I'm curious, did you get the idea for this from the old DnD "lich", or was it based on something else? I was always a big fan of the idea of a priest or wizard/sorcerer giving up their humanity for immortality. There's something philosophically satisfying in the idea of "giving up ones soul" for knowledge or power...

~Keithwormwood Aug 31, 2011 Professional

It's a whole pile of influences, but I'm sure I can't discount D&D. It's really trying to work with the structures found in desert civilisations' mythology.