6. The Fur-Lizard
Also referred to as the ‘Royal Lizard’
There is a lizard that wears a crown of long feathers like that of a rooster’s tail and has a soft coat of downy fur. The beast is as tall as any Stag though the head is small and its expression, haughty.
The animals came together for the Hunt at least four times a day. The subordinates had to bestow an offering of food at the Alpha’s feet so that they might be permitted to eat. If they did not, the rest of the pack would turn on them, in order to kill, and then devour them.
The Fur-Lizard has been included in many a Royal Portrait as a symbol of Dominance, Power or Opulence. In some cultures, the feathers of his crest are depicted as multiple horns extending out at all angles from all sides, or, as many reptilian arms, with claws, desperate to reach out and grab hold.
In ancient mythology, it was believed that if you set eyes upon the Fur-Lizard your chest would split open and your heart would fall at your feet.
Yet despite all the pomp and bravado depicted in the official portraits, rare engravings point toward a different history altogether, suggesting these Hunters have also been the Hunted in the past.
One such image shows the unfortunate creature detained by a hefty iron collar, biting into the line of its starved though, still elegant, lizard-neck. Great lengths of chain extend out of the brace onto the floor, and snake perilously in between the men’s feet.
It is impossible not to feel pity at the sight of the once-proud, indomitable lizard with its head bowed low in submission and fear, and his eyes betraying such pain and misery.
It is clear from their expressions and stances that the captors seek to worry and frustrate the creature further, with swords and whips, as if it were not enough that they should rip the beast from its natural surroundings simply to chain it.
They demanded nothing short of yielding docility from the animal also … in polite company, in the presence of honoured guests … - tethered in the courtyard where all might see the Hunters’ hard-won prize that was intended to flatter a King.
As I ran my hands over the parchment I mused, ‘Let them forget at their peril why the Fur-Lizard is the most worthy and sought-after prize of any Hunter, he has the power to instil fear in all living things ... such wildness cannot be tamed, ought not to be attempted ... what right had they, what right? To tamper so with the order of things?’
– Still, the creature had been unlikely to remain an object of prey for long - I like to imagine those men got their just deserts ...
By Robyn Hunt (c) 2020
Illustration by Robyn Hunt
