Blue Ape of Zamanga

Back in the savage world of Iridar, this is a creature owned by the nasty enchanter, Sarkond. It's a "Blue Ape of Zamanga" and Sarkond sets it upon our hero Chandar intending to have the animal slay him. Instead, Chandar wounds the ape and Sarkond calls it back. It is a pet of Sarkond's and the Enchanter heals its wounds. Later on, though, Chandar destroys the ape with a mighty blow from his magical axe. 

As described, the Blue Ape is not only blue, a non-mammalian color, but it has the horns of a non-ape species as well as claws which look reptilian. The beast also has green blood, according to the text. The creature has obviously been tampered with, using magical technology. Sarkond must have done many chimeric experiments on the Blue Ape as well as compelling it to do his bidding. The ape, whose name is "Ugor," probably lives a miserable life in captivity, adding to his aggressiveness.

I often sympathize more with the monsters in a tale than with the people. The people, whether good or evil or somewhere in between, often are tasked with slaying some grand or noble beast such as a dragon or a Wyrm or a lake monster like Grendel. Animals are often forced to fight our hero in an arena, where they suffer before the hero vanquishes them. I feel sorry for these beasts who are exploited by mythical humans and most of the time end up dead.

"Blue Ape of Zamanga" is ink on sketchbook page, 3 1/2" x 4", colored in Photoshop, March 2, 2014.