This is an outright breathtakingly beautiful commission drawn by the very talented  AlaiCinereo.

I will add some backstory about Snarl to give some perspective on this picture and some more infos on him as a character.



Snarl has always been an outsider, never truly belonging somewhere but still committed to certain duties.
Raised in a tribe of equine people, he always stuck out like a sore thumb. His foster father, the tribe's elder of hunt, years before his birth had lost his wife and only son to an attack of the usually vicious and savage raptors roaming the deserter wastelands, as well as costing him one of his eyes. This caused him to hunt and slay these beasts whenever he found the opportunity.
But then one day he found a destroyed raptor camp, brutally slaughtered by one of the countless marauding gang of lunatics that also were abound.
Initially actually pleased by the dead raptors, he then found a single surviving egg, hidden underneath the body of a dead female. Seeing how she seemingly shielded it with her own body, willing to sacrifice herself for her offspring's survival, he harshly came to the realization that even such savage creatures could feel love and the urge of protection for their offspring.
Out of some odd impulse that he could not explain himself, he took the egg and decided to raise the child as his own. When the egg hatched, and he found the newborn raptor to be a boy, he named him after his own deceased son... Joshua.
Normally an unthinkable and unacceptable act, the fact that Tal'Set - Joshua's foster father - was the clan's very respected elder of the hunt, he was allowed to raise the child and it gained a tiny sliver of acceptance. Still an outsider and met with suspicion and negativity, he was at least grudgingly accepted as a full member of the tribe.

As he grew up, he was introduced into the tribe's biggest secret and at the same time their greatest commitment and duty.
In a cavern system, the entrance of which was hidden by the tribe's settlement, there was actually surviving flora and fauna, not destroyed like the rest of the world. Plants, fungi, insects and water that could actually be drunk without having to be cleansed first... an isolated little ecosystem that was truly a miracle within the barren, dead wastelands of the planet.

And while the caverns were quite expansive, the tribe knew that if people found out, it would be quickly plundered and destroyed. Instead, they vowed to keep it a secret and protect it at all costs, for maybe one day research could help make it the foundation of bringing life back to the barren lands.

Every tribesmember pledges to keep these caverns a secret that they guard with their lives - and Joshua did not hesitate to do the same when his father let him in on the secret.

Years later, his father passed away, making things much harder for Joshua. While still a tribe member, he found that the lack of his father's presence drastically reduced his acceptance from a good deal of the other equines.
This caused him to venture out on his own and stay away from his tribe for extended periods of time - yet he is still utterly committed to the promise he made and holds it in great value, just like the memory of his deceased father. This is what ultimately hinders him from truly dedicating himself to another, more accepting community.

So even now as he spends a lot of time with the Rusted Rose clan, who have come to accept him, even giving him the affectionate nickname "Snarl" due to his facial scar, he still feels an unbreakable connection to the tribe in which he was raised and the promise he made all these years ago...





So far to the background info. Obviously, this picture shows him spending time contemplating in the cavern system that his tribe guards. I just love how the artist did the unusual vegetation, with all the bioluminescence and whatnot.

Truly one of the most beautiful sceneries I have uploaded to my gallery by now, and an absolutely amazing commission.


Snarl belongs to me
Art by  AlaiCinereo

The original can be found here!