A portrait by Balaa of Simbelmynë, our snow leopard character, then newly-created. It was decided then that she would be Tibetan because we had just played through Uncharted 2 and were itching to draw pretty Tibetan stuffs (and it makes sense geographically, given the snow leopards' range).

She is mostly Balaa's brainchild, and the idea was she's a mountain spirit who sends the souls of the dead to rest. When she cries, her tears become flowers (Simbelmynë, "Evermind") upon the earth.

Very few have seen her, and she is more or less a folktale among the nomads who live in the high plains. Nevertheless, such tales are always worthy of investigation for an ambitious photojournalist such as Jowana. :>

We imagine this to be the first photograph of Simbelmynë ever taken, perhaps when Jowana first came upon her.

Dated January 2011.