As he entered into the massive room, he had expected that the end of the dungeon would be a simple walk in the park; a long-awaited award for all the struggle he had to put up with. He never expected for the sealed room to be so empty, or for it to feel so ventilated. Most importantly, he did not expect the doors to seal behind him, blocking any chance of an exit.

As he tried a bomb or some other weapon to test the door's strength, he heard a low growl. That growl quickly became a roar, which was soon followed by the sound of flapping wings. He only had enough time to turn around and grab his shield before a massive form dropped to the floor in front of him, its scales glistening an emerald green.

The monster reared its ugly head, fins and frills dancing back in forth in an almost eerie pattern of movement, and lunged forward, clamping its jaws shut. The hero danced backwards, narrowly missing being impaled by the massive horn atop the creature's head. With an angry roar, the creature began to chase the intruder, who had quickly dropped his shield in a vain attempt to lessen his load as he ran for his life. There would be no escape though, not unless he wanted out in the gullet of a hungry dragon.

---

Aquamentus was the very first boss you would encounter in the original Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo Entertainment System. While the boss himself was pretty straightforward, it's that first encounter that often leaves behind the greatest impression, and whether he gets the spotlight in future games or not Aquamentus can arguably be one of the more iconic monsters in the Legend of Zelda series.

For the sake of my own imagining of the Legend of Zelda world, I decided to draw him with a more primitive look to represent just how old he really is. The idea of drawing him as a Wyvern came to mind, and I decided to draw him with a similar look I give to my dinosaurs; all beast-like and raring to leap out at whatever is standing in front of it. Frills on his body and spines running down his back were an obvious must. Lastly, I made sure the horn was done justice; while it doesn't look like much, I made sure that the swirls were more than just diagonal lines drawn to represent vague direction of movement.

I'm hoping that I can write about this guy in the future, in a fan-art story or similar design. Until then, let us just gaze upon his majesty.

-Kerian

Artwork was done with Crayola Colored Pencils

Aquamentus (c) Nintendo
Artwork done by KerianH