High Ground (Patreon)

This is the first drawing I started during my final Picarto stream of 2021. The theme of the stream was martial arts. 

    The character here is Abdul from my Andur dreamscape. He's 3ft tall fennec who lives in the fictional Northeast African kingdom of Andur.  Although originally from a poor nomadic tribe he's become a minor noble who's the Master of Dance in the Sultan's palace. He's an amazingly dexterous individual posing excellent flexibility and gymnastic prowess. 

    Recently there's been an influx of immigrants/refugees from a realm that's simply known as the Empire of the East. A great and ancient kingdom located in the far east. These newcomers have brought their traditions and customs to this bustling port city. One of these traditions is their martial arts. 

    Abdul has been fascinated with these arts and has begun learning some of them. Not just for their combative potential, but also incorporating aspects of their drills into his dance routine. In our world the style he's found most interesting is what we'd call Monkey Kung Fu. However there are no primates in the Andur, or Angel & Knight dreamscapes. 

    So this style is instead referred to as being Bounding Sho-Tao. The Sho-Tao is an arboreal mammal that inhabit many regions of the Empire of the East. Visually the Sho-Tao look a cross between a red panda and a lemur. Quick and nimble they're renowned for their agile antics.

    In particular Abdul was fascinated with the bo staff work that practitioners of this school of use. Link So much that the fennec has adapted some of it into his dance routines.