Valley of Kings-- #150 by ~Soul~

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Valley of Kings-- #150

Postby ~Soul~ » Sun Oct 13, 2019 4:08 am

username; MySpoons
lion name; "Old Blue"
lion gender; Male
pride; Not one yet
pride status; Rouge

Last edited by ~Soul~ on Tue Oct 22, 2019 3:12 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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𝕃 𝕠 𝕤 𝕥 ~ 𝕚 𝕟 ~ ℙ 𝕒 𝕣 𝕒 𝕕 𝕚 𝕤 𝕖
VOK ~ Healani Pride ~

𝔸𝕝𝕨𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕎𝕒𝕧𝕖
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Re: Valley of Kings-- #150

Postby Firedancer77 » Sun Oct 13, 2019 4:10 am

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username; Firedancer77
lion name; Kupanda (Swahili for “rise”)
lion gender; Male
pride; Isle of Roses
pride status; Oracle

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When he was a cub, Gecko’s mother made sure to impart one message on him before her death: you will be a hero. He didn’t understand it at that age, but he clung to it all the same when his mother passed away. What else was he to do? His pride, the Coalition, collectively raised him in her stead.

It wasn’t long after his mother died that Gecko began seeing her. At first, it was just glimpses of her in dreams. Then it was conversations. It finally came to a point where Gecko’s mother would sometimes visit him and affect the waking world. When he asked why, her answer was the same as her message in life: you will be a hero. However, Gecko’s mother insisted that remaining in the Coalition would stop him from achieving his purpose. He was a ruthless fighter, praised by the pride, but he would never be anything more than a fighter. She insisted he was intended for a higher purpose; he believed her.

It was when a new leader, Dune, killed his father to claim his blood right that Gecko's mother finally pushed him to action. As Dune led the Coalition to prepare to launch an attack on a neighboring pride, Gecko's mother pushed him to take his chance to be a hero and warn them of the upcoming attack. With his help, the pride managed to defend themselves, killing off most of the Coalition members, including Dune himself. Gecko was crowned a hero, marked by the scars he had earned himself in his fight against his former pride. The pride he saved braided his mane as a symbol of honor.

He was happy to stay with the pride he had saved and to continue to be regaled for his heroics, but his mother was not satisfied. She continued to whisper to him about how he was meant to lead, till finally she convinced him to move on to the pride that would truly need his help.

After weeks of travel, Gecko was awoken one morning by the sight of a large, gray lion looming over him. A smaller, red and black lioness stood beside him, looking skeptical.

"Who are you?" Gecko asked, warily climbing to his paws.

"I am Haraka. That is Jiwe. We've been sent to fetch you," Haraka shifted back and forth on her paws, looking a little bored, "if the dream our healer received is to be believed. He is skeptical, but this is the location he was given, and you look just as was described. The scars are in the exact places."

"And the braid," Jiwe added.

Haraka nodded, seeming to not really care what her pride mate had said. "Our leader requests you return with us. If the message is to be believed, you can speak with our ancestors, and warn us of the dangers ahead. Can you?"

"Say yes," His mother's voice echoed in his head. "After all, you speak with me, don't you?"

Gecko hesitantly nodded, his paws carrying him forward to follow the pair as Haraka asked, "What's your name, stranger?"

Spurred by another whisper from his mother, Gecko lied, "It's Kupanda."

Upon arriving at the pride's dens, the newly-named Kupanda was greeted by the pride's leader, Nasaba. The entirety of the tribe was far more chaotic than the Coalition or the pride he had saved. It was hard for Kupanda to hold his tongue about his thoughts on the Isle of Roses. It was a relief, at least, to hear his mother agree.

"They need someone to fix this mess their leader has led them into. Someone like you, my dear."

Nasaba welcomed Kupanda with little to no question. Mzatamo, the pride's healer, and Haraka were the only two not to be inviting. Neither were overly hostile, but it was obvious that they were skeptical of his arrival. Odder still was seeing the lioness who had once been destined to be his mate: Fate, now named Tenga. He'd known she'd fled the Coalition, but to encounter her again here was unexpected. Stranger still was seeing her with a new mate and cubs. Kupanda's mother argued that it would just create unnecessary unease if he revealed his identity to Tenga; Kupanda agreed to keep silent.

After coaching from his mother and interpreting several signs the pride found, Nasaba offered Kupanda the position of Oracle in the pride so as to speak with their ancestors and help them decipher what steps their pride was to make. His mother pushed him yet again to agree. It was only days later that Kupanda found out the truth no one else knew; his mother had been orchestrating the signs all along. That was why she helped him decipher them; there were no actual signs from the Isle of Roses' ancestors, but just things left by his mother to manipulate the pride as she wanted.

"And hasn't it gotten you into power?" She argued when her son confronted her. "I've done this all for you, son. You will be a hero. It is your destiny." When he tried to argue that he'd already achieved that, she shook her head. "No, you helped one pride in one battle. This will be different. You've seen the mess that their pride is. With my help, it won't be long before you will be able to take the mantle of power from Nasaba. Then, you will be the hero as you raise this pride to the heights it was meant to be. Don't you want them to remember you as their savior?"

A small, almost cruel smile slipped onto Kupanda's face as, slowly but surely, he nodded alongside his mother. Yes, he would singlehandedly save this pride from their hapless leader and their mistakes. Then he would forever be a hero when he reshaped them to be a proper group.

It was only a matter of time.


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Last edited by Firedancer77 on Sat Oct 19, 2019 11:28 am, edited 9 times in total.
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Re: Valley of Kings-- #150

Postby Raptocidic » Sun Oct 13, 2019 4:13 am

Mark! I may not have time to enter but if I can enter i definitely will :D
[ he/him ] [ My Toyhouse ]

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Re: Valley of Kings-- #150

Postby SlimPaw » Sun Oct 13, 2019 4:15 am

~Username~
SlimPaw


~Lion's Name~
Agustus


~Lion's Gender~ Male

~Pride Link~
Hienrich Pride


~Pride Status~
Heir


~Prompt~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The valley sits still. Quiet, peaceful, harmonious. The sun peaks over the Serengeti, waking the world. All is well. It is currently Autumn amongst the pride. The grass is drying, animals are migrating, all is well.


GASP! "They're coming!" A young lioness alerts the den. The others around her look at her confused, and paranoid.

"Who's coming?" Says a still faced lioness sharing the den--clearly unimpressed with the rude awakening.

"Hyenas." They reply with a quivering voice. "I saw them.."

"It was probably just a figment of your imagination, or a dream." The lioness puffs, then leaves the den.

The others follow, leaving the hasty lioness alone to catch her breath. The rest of the clan awaken and leave their den. The hunting team venture the vast lands while the guards begin go on their patrol, except one, Agustus. The winded lioness eventually leaves her den, slouched over from the embarrassment.

"What's wrong Raega? It's too beautiful of a day to be so down in the dumps" Agustus remarks as she passes him. Agustus is her older brother and they've gotten along well ever since they were cubs.

"I've made a complete buffoon of myself today... I don't want to talk about it." She sighs. Agustus follows her looking concerned.

"Well, the team didn't need me on patrol today, so I'm always here if you need me" Augustus remarks.

Raega doesn't reply, instead she goes to the medic den to check on her cubs. To her dismay, the nursing lion paces around the area, frantically searching everything in distress.

"Tawney, Tawney, What's wrong?" Raega rushes to her aid. As she says this, Tawney bursts into tears.

"They're gone!" She muffles out.

"Who are?" Raega starts to have anxiety.

"THE CUBS!" Tawney shouts, alerting the whole pride. Suddenly, the ground begins to shake. A pack of hyenas come charging through the lands causing mass chaos. Tawney's cry was apparently a signal for the hyenas to attack. The pride is forced into a war against the cackling canines. Agustus, fighting the hyenas catches a glimpse of 5 crowding in a circle in the distance... They had the cubs.

Agustus pushes the hyena off of him and bolts for the hoard of hyenas, the future of the pride rested in his paws. He lunges in front of the canines, hiding the cubs under his stomach. The hyenas leap in unison at Agustus, taking him down, but not for long. He gained control and bashed at the hyenas with all his might. The other hyenas stopped harassing the pride and went after Agustus and the cubs. Agustus was pinned again, which allowed a hyena to take his tail and a few others to scratch at his body. He fight as hard as he could, seriously damaging these mangy mutts to where they all cower away cackling. Agustus huffs and wheezes and guides the cubs home to safety.

Raega rushes towards her precious cubs in tears.

"My sweet, sweet babies.." She sniffles.

"Momma!" The cubs reply in true joy.

Agustus limps to his sister and smiles. He always loves to see her happy. Raega smiles back at him until she realizes that he's severely injured, Raega's smile disappears.

"You need to see Tawney, stat." She guides him to the den and he flops down on the ground, resting for a bit.

"How is he Tawney?" Raega askes in slight distress.

"He's going to be fine, he will have there wounds forever but it'll make one heck of a story, perhaps to his cubs some day. Tawney and Raega both smile at each other in bliss. Raega turns and leaves the den and guides her cubs back to her den to keep a close eye on them for a while when suddenly the pride rushes to the medic den. They're all there to praise Agustus for his heroism. Vaga, the Queen of the pride moves to the front of the crowd and nods to Agustus. Agustus smiles back at Vaga.

"To this day forward..." Vaga announces, "... Agustus will be heir to my throne. Once my sun sets a new sun will rise upon Agustus himself." The crown of lions cheer in glee and Agustus chuckles. Raega smiles and continues on into the den. The sun is setting and the valley falls still and quiet once again. [718/1000]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Art~

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Last edited by SlimPaw on Tue Oct 15, 2019 12:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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| She / They | Demisexual | Gemini | Artist | <3 |
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Re: Valley of Kings-- #150

Postby Alledowaya » Sun Oct 13, 2019 5:02 am

username; Alledowaya
lion name; Boudicca (Boudicca the Courageous)
lion gender; Female
pride; Heron River
pride status; Heir - Pearl Calling
prompt;

Boudicca was found by many to rightfully be call a warrior queen, and while she sought no right to rule, she was given the title of heir by Shanara, the Jungle Queen.

When Shanara and Boudicca were younger, they had encountered one another during the great pride hunt. A tradition upheld by a few lion prides where they all participated in a buffalo or zebra hunt. The festivities before were always such a thrill, and competitions would run rampant right before they all set out.

Boudicca had won one such competition, a wrestling match between Shanara and herself, the two were already friends, and were eager to prove themselves to one another. The hunt was being called once the majority of the competitions were finished, the lead hunting lionesses from each pride had returned, and they had found what looked to be an elderly giraffe cow. The gathering was excited, giraffe was rarely on the list of prey available. Boudicca and Shanara made sure to stick by one another during the hunt, and as the pride collection made it's way to the location of the cow, the two almost blended in together with their similar colors.

They didn't have to go too far to see the magnificently tall animal, she could be seen from a mile away! Boudicca and Shanara with a few other lionesses headed to cut the cow off from any escape route, it looked as if she had wedged herself into a small crevasse in the earth, like mother nature was trying to swallow her whole. The lionesses prowled the top of this area, and made sure to keep their presence hidden while setting the trap. Looking over at Shanara, the two were absolutely ready for such a once in a lifetime hunt.

Awaiting the call of the lion to announce the hunt commencing, the two were hidden under some brush directly in front of the giraffe cow. "God's above this is boring," whispered a yawning Shanara, "When will he let us just go for it?" Sheathing and Unsheathing her claws, she made little lines in the dirt below.

"Shanara, you know better than to charge blindly into a hunt, has your pride taught you nothing of safety? Besides, with the wait we have a chance to catch our breath after that wrestling match eh?" Boudicca ended with a smirk before refocusing on the giraffe. She watched the cow intently, not paying attention to the sneaking lioness by her side. Her mane actually got in the way of her vision, but don't let her hear you say that.

Shanara slinked off, not wanting to wait for an old lion to tell them when to hunt. She brushed the top of the ravine's edge, and followed it along until she was behind a stretch of old rock that was colored as she was. Crouching behind it, she viewed the scene from a fresh angle. The cow was situated in a deep gully and was stuck in the mud at the bottom, some thick brush lined the sides on the ravine and it was impossible to tell if there was any solid ground below.

Shanara landed in the muddy ground below, and Boudicca heard the squelch it made. Finally looking around, she saw that her friend was no longer by her side, and instead was probably headed towards the cow.

The giraffe cow looked over in her direction, and seeing a lioness, started to bellow in panic. Thrashing her hooves around and futiley trying to stand up. Shanara saw this as her chance, the cow was weak and covered in the thick mud. She started crawling towards the massive beast, unaware of herself being watched from behind.

When Shanara was close enough to the cow to leap normally, something happened. Like whipcord, the elderly giraffe finally stood, having freed itself from its muddy prison. Looking down on the lowly lioness by her side, she reared, hoping to crush the interloper with her sharp and heavy hooves. Inches from her face, Shanara thought she would die, her reaction timing was too slow for this prey, and she had made a grave mistake sloughing through the mud, getting herself just as stuck as the cow. She laid her ears flat and growled, it was all she could do.

A heavy thud and being smashed into the mud brought her back to normalcy, and a screaming roar ripped her attention away from a mouth full of dirt. Boudicca was on top of her, and she was obviously in pain, but still alive.

-----

Boudicca struggled to rise from the mud, her mane was always a burden when hunting in any weather, she was unaware of the extent of the wounds the giraffe had caused, but she knew they had little time before the cow struck again. Boudicca turned around, and shoved Shanara deeper into the mud, she did not have time to deal with her. Another blow to the face had her in tears, she could feel the openings in her fur... and.. something was off in general, though she could not tell what it was. Boudicca lifted as much of herself as she could out of the mud, and flung herself at the giraffe cow. Claws outstretched, and covered in mud, Boudicca left deep furrows in the giraffe's chest. Using the leverage found there by collar bone, she raised herself higher and bit into the vulnerable neck. Absolutely crushing the windpipe of the prey, she held on, knowing that if she let go she would have to start all over again. Little by little, the cow became weaker, focusing on the maned lioness, she did not see the sleeker lioness slink around to her flanks.

Shanara leapt onto the back of the giraffe, hoping to add a little weight to the hunt. Another lioness fell next to her, the hunting party had heard the tussle and decided to investigate before charging in. Seeing the damage the giraffe caused to Boudicca caused them to act. The lionesses started to tear at the cow, distracting her and keeping her unsteady on her feet before she fell.

Boudicca had never relinquished her hold on the giraffe's neck, and when she fell, she was thankfully not crushed by the weight. It took a while, but finally the giraffe let go of this life. And gave herself to the lionesses who hunted her.

With a lot of praise and congratulations, Boudicca was examined by the lead medicinal lions and lionesses, and they proclaimed she would live with her scars as a memory to saving another lion's life. Her tail had been sheared off as well, and she found that her balance was what had seemed off before now. Boudicca would learn to live with this, in the end she had no need for a tail, it was just something she never thought about again.

Boudicca the lioness was gone, and Boudicca the Courageous was born.
Last edited by Alledowaya on Sun Oct 20, 2019 12:18 pm, edited 12 times in total.
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Re: Valley of Kings-- #150

Postby stormzien » Sun Oct 13, 2019 7:46 am

username; kiffell
lion name; Hamidi
lion gender; male
pride; https://toyhou.se/kiffell/characters/folder:997186
pride status;
prompt;

res hfdgb
hi feel free to call me storm ! (or kiff if u know me by that name)
they/them
pfp by momewo on artfight

- - - - - -
artfight
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skyclan (omens) | thunderclan (omens) | riverclan (stars) | shadowclan (stars) | windclan (cotn)
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im no longer extremely active on cs, if you want to talk/need to contact me please do so through discord or TH (same user)! im here for warrior cat arpgs and thats it lol
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Re: Valley of Kings-- #150

Postby nymx » Sun Oct 13, 2019 2:38 pm

    username; sky--lines
    lion name; meliodas
    lion gender; male
    pride; link to thread
    pride status; founder / eventual priest
    prompt;
    born under a tyrant king, and an unforgiving mother. his father, izobe, was a cruel and harsh king, he took ultimate rule over the pride. he cursed the gods, claiming if they wanted to stop him, they could come down and he'd kill them himself. lies, all lies. his pride had a highly held tradition, the king's children, at the time of adolescent would be examined and tested. you see, the gods blessed a single royal child with powers, and that child would be named heir, and would be the next king. izobe had no power, but his brother did. he was trusting of izobe, his brother would do nothing to harm him. but when he realized he was wrong it was too late. poisoned along with the rest of his family. then, izobe would be king. originally, it was supposed to be secret, but he grew mad with power and soon it didn't matter if the rest of his pride knew he had killed them. izobe's reign was long already, but it was far from over. so the god's decided they needed a champion, someone who could fight for them. they chose meliodas. he was izobe's favored child, after all. -wip

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Re: Valley of Kings-- #150

Postby MySpoons » Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:10 am

username; MySpoons
lion name; "Old Blue"
lion gender; Male
pride; Not one yet
pride status; Founder or Rouge (waiting on comp #100)


Image

Image


. The earth herself knew what fate was planning. Last night ended with a bloody sky and a large, low-hanging red moon. The morning arrived with the far off stench of burning brush; it has been dry for weeks. The herds had moved on and pickings were scarce. Iatos' pride was suffering more than he⁠— Blue did not want to burden them, but appreciated the lionesses who check in on his health. He would have offered his help if there was anything he could do.

. Blue searched the edge of a dried-out pond for scraps. Even though the smoke turned the sunlight weak and cool, it was not worth the effort of making the trek into the gorge for water and a better meal. Sickly amphibians and sly birds took the edge off Blue's hunger, just enough to satisfy him while he dug into the cracking mud to find some wetter patches to lick.

"Blue, help us!"

. Renia runs full speed at him, her adolescent Obecarus following close at her side. Young Azilika swings from her mother's mouth. The stench of fear is heavy and thick on them⁠— Blue smells iron not a heartbeat later. Obecarus has blood matting the half-grown mane at his throat.

. "Please, I don't know what to do!" As soon as Renia dumps her cub at her feet to speak, Azilika lets out a piercing cry. Obecarus lashes out with a paw and sends her sprawling⁠— "Hush!"

. "They're killing every cub they find⁠— it is a miracle Obie made it away with me. I don't know how I did it! Blue, please!" Renia is unable to focus. Her claws score the dry ground and her head swivels to look for the danger. Blue does not know what exactly it is they're running from; it doesn't matter.

. "Come."

. Blue leads them as fast as he can to his den. It is a simple den except for the thorny brambles surrounding it. One entrance and exit, the mouth that leads into the cool ground. The far wall backs up to the gorge. Renia slows and stares back at him when Blue ushers her family inside.

. "Blue⁠—"

. "Mark something, son."

. Obecarus' mouth opens to show his adult fangs stained with another lion's blood. One of his lips are torn, Blue can see it. Renia, though, understands now.

. "Listen to him, Obie." Renia nudges him to Blue's bed of old hides. It must happen for this to work. Anything for the cubs. Too many have perished already.

. Blue squeezes past them and places a paw on the back wall. "Dig through, it is only a two length's fall to the river bed. Run along the bank for some steps, opposite to your true direction. Act like you will hide your scent with the river. Turn around and travel in the deepest part of the river you can manage⁠— long past until you think it is safe." A mother laden down with her young cub cannot run as far nor as fast as a healthy male; Blue hopes it will be too much effort to find them once he has fallen.

. Renia rubs her head on Blue's shoulder, intertwining their tails. "We won't return— bless you, Blue." Blue licks her forehead before he settles at the entrance of his den. Waiting.

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. Moments after Blue hears the last pained hiss of Renia forcing herself through the thorns, lionesses stinking of death stalk the den. Circling like vultures, like hyenas. Silent. Waiting. Blue keeps his head forward and his ears pricked. The wind carries the smoke and the faint cries from the violence deep in Iatos' territory.

. Two large males replace the hidden lionesses. They walk in step with bloody faces and paws. Powerful brothers in their prime. Blue remains where he is, watching. They are bold; the darker one, grey like ash circles to the left and the storm grey one circles right. There is no way to approach but head-on.

. "Those aren't your cubs, rogue." The Ash smiles through bared teeth. "Let us have at them."

. Blue knows what he looks like. He stretches a leg, unsheathes his claws during the deepest part before sheathing them again to relax. "Gave my word otherwise."

. The Storm lunges, to test. Blue responds— deflects the hit with his own paw. He recoils back into his den. Backing off, the Storm licks his stinging leg. "He fights." His brother sits, realizing this isn't an easy hunt.

. "Apologies. I thought you did, too." Blue's insult draws matching growls from the intruders.

. "He does not." Another lion.

. Blue smells the air— "Kin-Killer."

. The black male blinded in one eye emerges. His coat is littered with scars and he wears fresh blood on his fur. The similarities between the father and his sons are now apparent— Blue keeps his wits and iron heart cold. The brothers stand on either side of their father, emboldened.

. "The Old Fool." The Killer studies Blue, comparing what he remembers of their old pride almost two generations ago to the rogue lying before him. "Out of the way!"

. Blue is not strong enough to prevent the healthy male from dragging him out of his post— the Killer seizes Blue by his shoulder and throws him down before his sons. The pain is not bad, but Blue struggles to right himself. The Ash and the Storm see Blue's bad legs— and laugh, mocking.

. "What was it, a rhino?" The Killer scoffs, referring to the accident that left Blue's back legs almost entirely non-functional in his youth. Blue sits upright, wincing. They do not yet enter his den.

. "A bull elephant." Blue swipes at the brothers edging past him to his den entrance— the Killer bowls him over and pins him with vicious claws.

. "They're gone!"

. "What?!" The Kin-Killer leaves Blue to check himself. It is true, there is nothing but the fading smell of their scared prey, the false source of fear-scent, and the frantically dug hole out the back into the gorge's expanses.

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[1000/1000]
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Re: Valley of Kings-- #150

Postby -Isabella- » Tue Oct 15, 2019 6:29 am

username; Isabella45
lion name; Tendaji (Meaning; makes things happen)
lion gender; Male
pride; link to thread
pride status; Prince/Guard
prompt;
Image

(^Pictured abve are young Sefu & Tendaji^)

Tendaji was a proven warrior from the moment he took his first breath they said, born brave.
Then there was his brother, Sefu. Sefu was from the same litter but younger by just a minute. From the beginning the brothers were different as day and night.
Tendaji embraced the warrior life of his pride early on while Sefu was more likely to sit quietly somewhere pondering over things. Despite this difference the brothers were incredibly close, but the pride and their parents clearly favored Tendaji for his strength and warrior spirit.
As they grew Tendaji was often away fighting for the pride while Sefu stayed home and led a quiet life.
With the generation before them growing older Tendaji and the other younger lions stepped up to take their place. Tendaji was the fiercest of them all, conquering any who opposed them and earning himself a reputation.
To his pride he was a hero, bold, brave like in the stories of old. To those he defeated he was a powerful enemy whose his name could strike fear into their hearts. He embraced this gladly. Before long no one dared settle near their territory for fear of being taken over by the fierce lions who lived there.

With the praise of his pridemates ringing in his ears Tendaji became proud. In all the glory and fame he received he never thought of what might happen to the lions whose prides he destroyed. His only thought was doing what the pride expected of him and following tradition. And whether he would admit it or not he grew to enjoy the attention and glory he received for his exploits.
His brother Sefu watched all of this with growing discontent. He feared what his brother was becoming and what it could do to him if it went too far. But though he expressed his concerns over the years Tendaji usually brushed him off, used to his brother's somewhat strange ideas of peace and not taking him too seriously. At least not until one day after a particularly long battle with a neighboring pride.

Tendaji came back and paws dragging, went to the stream to clean up. That’s where Sefu found him.

"Greetings, brother," the other lion said.

"Sefu," Tendaji said, glancing at his brother a moment, pink tinted drops of water dripping from his mane.

"What happened?"

"We won of course," the larger brother replied, something like a smirk dancing across his features.

"And King Asad?"

"Killed."

"I thought the king was to be spared?"

"He refused to step own. It was necessary."

"Death is never necessary, Tendaji."

Tendaji couldn't help stiffening a little at the disapproval in his brother's tone. "It was the only way. They were pushing our borders."

"Because we refused to give them a small stretch of territory when the prey left their lands."

"That was their problem. They had no excuse for trespassing and taking what was ours."

"They were starving," Sefu said, his tone almost a growl.

"Maybe we did them a favor then," Tendaji said coolly.

"Listen to yourself! Are you really proud of what you've done?" Sefu's eyes flashed with an uncommon fire as he spoke.

"Everyone else sees why I do what I do, everyone else understands. They call me a hero," he snarled.

"A hero? You think all this fighting and killing makes you a hero?"

"Yes! Everything I do I do for the good of the pride!"

"Do you? Or do you do it for you? For the glory? Don't think I don't see how you strut around, your head filled with their praise." Sefu was almost yelling now, despite having never been one to raise his voice.

"How dare you!" His brother roared angrily.

"It's the truth, isn't it?" Sefu demanded. "And what of the families and prides you leave broken, or starving, or homeless? Where is the heroism in the that?"

"It's life Sefu, the strong survive and the weak perish," Tendaji growled.

"Who are you to decide who lives and dies? Who gave you the right? Having power over a life is not something to be abused," Sefu said, a growl rumbling deep in his throat.

"You're just jealous!" His brother spat.

"Jealous? Jealous of what Tendaji? You're no hero, I don't think you even truly know what it means to be a hero!"

"I..." For a moment the big lion was at a loss, not sure how to respond. He'd always been assured he was a hero for all the fights he fought, the battles he won, but his brother's words had planted a seed of doubt in his mind.

A little more calmly Sefu went on, "A true hero doesn't use his strength to dominate others, a true hero knows when to show mercy and compassion. To bring balance."

And leaving him with that Sefu walked away.

For days after the conversation Tendaji thought over what his brother had said. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he wondered if his brother was right.

Then came another fight, his pride attacking a new pride settling not far from their border.
In the heat of the fight Tendaji found himself fighting against a fierce but smaller lion. In the end he got the upper paw, and he knew he could easily take the other lion’s life.
But his brother’s words came to mind, and Tendaji let the other lion up. The frightened lion ran, seeming surprised. And Tendaji called off the attack.
It was an act of mercy that took great courage and earned him the scorn of his pridemates. But it was probably the first truly heroic act he ever performed.
After that he left his pride, knowing he couldn’t fight for them like this any longer. He found another pride where he learned how to protect and use his strength wisely and fairly. And to this day he tries to teach others that true heroism is not always what it appears.

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Re: Valley of Kings-- #150

Postby ~Soul~ » Tue Oct 22, 2019 12:30 pm

This is now closed!!
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