William's Chronicles. Brothers in arms - Shaman

"What do you mean it was your last arrow?" :)

Continuation and another part of the story from the 'Brothers in arms' series. Stories about William, a young hospital knight who lost his faith, disappointed with the crusades, and at the end of the 13th century, with a merchant caravan set off to Asia. After years of travel and extraordinary adventures, ended up in Japan, where he became a friend of a Samurai named Sukesada.Together they faced the Mongol invasion and had many extraordinary adventures. William wrote down his adventures in his personal journal. It is hard to say what of the stories he describes is true and what is just colored fiction. The reason for that is the fact that William had a tendency to exaggerate and very fanciful descriptions of his adventures.

"The young girl who begged us for help came from a nearby village tormented by a sadistic Shaman. She told us stories about some dark rituals and demons. Without thinking we set out to help these poor people. The road to the village was marked by a line of trees, on which massacred people hung. There was a strange smell of sulfur in the air, it was quiet, unnaturally quiet. I saw focus and tension on my companion's face, but no fear. And then, I saw him, screaming, hitting the drum, in a mad dance, like he was casting some dark spell. Suddenly, the tree behind him turned into a huge, demonic monster. The monster appeared to be some sort of a demonic servant and guardian of this Shaman. This task turned out to be much more difficult than I initially assumed.

Digital painting. Created in 2021. (5906 x 8363 pix)