This print features in the Highland Knights 2024 calendar available here.
 
The Stag Knight III
 
In the heart of the Scottish Highlands, where the rugged mountains met the vast, untamed wilderness, there lived a magnificent stag named Lachlan. His antlers reached for the sky, and his fur bore the markings of countless battles for dominance. Lachlan was not an ordinary stag; he was the guardian of the ancient Tartan Forest, where the trees whispered tales of old and the wind carried the echoes of forgotten legends.
One winter's eve, as a storm brewed over the mountains, a mysterious figure appeared at the edge of the Tartan Forest. This figure was no ordinary traveler but a sorceress with the power to shape-shift and manipulate the forces of nature. Drawn by the ethereal beauty of the forest and the majestic presence of Lachlan, she decided to test her magic.
In a burst of otherworldly energy, the sorceress transformed Lachlan into a creature half-stag, half-human. His once powerful legs now bore the weight of a human form, and his eyes sparkled with a newfound intelligence. Though the transformation was unexpected, Lachlan felt a sense of duty awaken within him.
The sorceress spoke to Lachlan in the language of the ancient woods, "You are now the Guardian of the Tartan, tasked with protecting this sacred land. Wear this tartan with pride, for it carries the strength of the mountains and the wisdom of the trees."
Lachlan looked down and saw a woven tartan draped across his newfound humanoid form. It was a symbol of his connection to the land, a reminder of the duty he now carried. With a nod to the sorceress, he set out into the snowy mountains, his hooves crunching in the freshly fallen snow.
Word spread quickly of the half-human, half-stag guardian who wore tartan into battle. Those who sought to harm the Tartan Forest and its secrets trembled at the sight of this mystical being. Lachlan's presence alone was enough to deter many, but when conflict arose, he fought with a strength and grace that could only come from the merging of the natural and the supernatural.
One fateful day, as a clan of invaders approached the Tartan Forest with ill intentions, Lachlan stood at the forefront. The snowy mountains echoed with the clash of steel and the howls of the wind. Lachlan, with his antlers adorned in tartan, charged into the fray, a force of nature in human and stag form.
The invaders, unprepared for the guardian's mystical prowess, were driven back. Lachlan's presence became a legend whispered around the Highland firesides. The Tartan Forest thrived under his watchful eye, and the people of the Highlands spoke of the half-stag guardian who wore the sacred tartan into battle, a symbol of the enduring connection between the land and those who protected it.