ѕιχ яυηєѕ / ησ ρσѕтιηg

[kartharon]

A story written in an attempt to win this gorgeous character.

[kartharon]

I was considered a traitor. An outcast. A freak.
And it was all thanks to one jealous god.

Gods
Пекло (Peklenc): meaning 'hell'; Slavic god of the underground and a divine judge; punisher of sinners
картофель (Perun): meaning 'thunder'; head of the Slavic gods; god of war, lightning, and thunder

Goddesses
Зива (Živa): meaning 'living'; also known as Żiwia, Sieba or Razivia; Slavic goddess of love and fertility
Морана (Morana): meaning 'death'; also known as Marzena, Kostroma, Mora; Slavic goddess of death and winter

Other
Симаргл (Simargl): Slavic monster portrayed as either a griffin, or a dragon with a dog's head; guarded by the three Zori (evening, morning, and night) to prevent him from eating the world
Серый Волк (Seryi Volk): shape-shifter of great wisdom
Алконост, Гамаюн, Сирин (Alkonost, Gamayun, Sirin): the three prophetic birds

Mortals
царь Руслан (Czar Ruslan): meaning 'lion-like ruler'; main character
Аглая (Aglaya): meaning 'beautiful'; Czar's foster mother
Афанасий (Afanasiy): meaning 'immortal'; traveling partner for Czar; half-mortal tiger
Карина (Karina): related to the Greek name of αικια, meaning 'torture'; undetermined
main characters bolded

Source One (Gods/Goddesses) | Source Two (Gods/Goddesses) | Source Three (Names)

[kartharon]

Alright, first off, it wasn’t at all my fault that Morana chose me over Peklenc. I didn’t even know I was a demi-god in the first place! For crying out loud, I knew that my mother was a mortal, but who would have known that the head of the Gods was my father. Perun doesn’t just go around and sleep with any women after all.

Back in the beginning, I was born, my mother was killed, and I was on my own. That’s how it was my whole life. I shouldn’t have survived. I was a cub for crying out loud. But something kept me breathing during the harsh winters. And right now, I have no doubt that it was Morana.

I had no idea where I was, but once I eventually found a streak of tigers, one of the females had room to nurse an extra cub. From there I was raised like a normal, well, whatever I was. I wasn’t a tiger and I wasn’t quite a lion. The mother that raised me, Aglaya, told me that I was special. Unique. But I didn’t want to hear that crap. I knew from the look in her eyes that I was something different, something that the tribe had been dreading.

Their “prophecy” was weird. I didn’t understand at all what Aglaya meant when she told it to me. The whole tribe suspected I was the one of the words, but I wasn’t! Or at least, I thought I wasn’t.

A half-breed will come,
Neither lion nor tiger.
Six runes on his neck,
Will prove him a liar.
He will come as a cub,
Grow strong as a steed.
Destruction will come,
By Peklenc’s decree.

Okay, sure I was a half-breed, and I didn't have a set species, but I didn't have six runes on my neck, and I wasn't a liar. My time spent here had been told through truth, I hadn't lied about a single thing. And Peklenc? He was a God. A myth. I mean, the tribe believed in the many Slavic Gods, but I sure as hell didn't. Come on.

But, you know, I guess my disbelief was my first mistake I made. The mistake that soon led to my fate.

[kartharon]

This can't be happening. No, I have to get back to Czar. He's probably out there all alone, while I have to deal with this.

As she turned back around and looked into the night, all she saw was the blank darkness that had been there the last time she looked. And although this should have made her feel so much better, it only made her muscles pump that much faster. Her paws were shredded and bloody, but she kept sprinting forwards through the empty forest, no other sound than that of her own heavy breathing and the frantic beating of her heart.

That's when she heard it. The sound she had been dreading all along.

The beast. He had found her.

This time, her paws pulled her ahead much farther, getting shockingly faster, even though she was about to collapse with exhaustion. She just had to keep running, and she and Czar would be fine. She would find Aglaya, and Czar would be safe. He wouldn't have to suffer her consequences.

Footsteps crunched behind her, their pace much quicker than her's, and advancing at a speed she couldn't measure. The glance behind her shoulder would be her last, and she caught sight of her last image.

The giant head of a wild dog, attatched to the body of that of a large cobra, the small forearms tipped with long claws sharper than briar. It wasn't the oddly misformed creature's body that attracted her eyes, it was the glowing red orbs in the middle of its head.

They seemed to whisper to her, quietly telling her that everything was alright.

Just let go. Stop running.

And she did. And that's when the impact slammed her into the ground, ending her life with one single snap.

[kartharon]

"Царь Михей Руслан, получить ленивого жира прикладом и здесь, прямо сейчас!"

With a groan, I glanced around, stretching out my huge jaws in a yawn. Blue eyes blinking open sleepily, I managed to pull myself out of the grass patch I had fallen asleep on. My huge paws had already left huge imprints on the soft foliage, squishing it into a huge clump of grass.

Walking out of my den, I looked towards the voice that had called my name. I mean, it didn’t take much for me to know my own mother’s voice.

“I’m up, I’m up. Why so early though Aglaya? The sun isn't even in the sky yet.” But even though the sun wasn’t up all the way, my eyes still burned from the light that seared them.

“The sun is always in the sky Czar, even if we can't see it sometimes. Что я буду делать с тобой?”

A small smile crossed my face interrupted by another yawn emerging from my jaws. The late night hunt with Afanasiy last night had me trying to pick up my paws and dragging my tail around behind me. At the time it seemed like such a good idea.

“Is Afanasiy even up yet?”

Aglaya glanced up at me from the torn up herbs. The shredded plants were entrapped in her claws, and she attempted to shake them off, but when they refused to come off, she just shook her head and put her paw down.

“Before you even think about going off with your friends, help me with the herbs first. I’m not letting you run off with that crazy just yet.”

Despite her grumpy reaction, I couldn’t help but smile once again. She wasn’t my real mother, but sometimes, it felt like it. And I respected her as if she was indeed my own parent, but at the same time, I knew she was just another female who had taken me in when I was left alone. I wasn’t abandoned, that’s what I was told. Aglaya told me that my mother was killed, and my father was nowhere to be found. But, I didn’t know that for sure, and sometimes I think that they abandoned me, and that the tribe just didn’t want to tell me the truth in fear it would hurt me.

Either way, I’m glad that my real parents are gone. They were probably just a couple of screw ups who wouldn’t have cared about me anyways. The tribe was the only family I had at this point, even if half of them hated me for what I was. Just because of one stupid prophecy some old guy had made a long time ago, they feared me because I matched the first line of the limerick.

A half-breed.
Neither lion nor tiger.

Alright, that was true, I was half-breed, and I wasn’t a lion or a tiger, but honestly the rest talked about some crazy destruction by a mythical god, as well as some crazy six runes.

Really?

“Czar, are you going to help me or not? Because by just standing there staring off into space, nothing is going to get done.”

Shocked back to reality, I nodded to her absently, leaning over to help her. I couldn’t care less about the herbs at this point, I still was focused on my past and the tribe, trying to link the two of them together.

Was I really the one of the prophecy?

Translations
“Царь Михей Руслан, получить ленивого жира прикладом и здесь, прямо сейчас!!"
"Czar Micah Ruslan, get your lazy fat butt up and out here right now!"

"Что я буду делать с тобой?"
"What will I do with you?"

[kartharon]

Long after I had finished with the herbs and Aglaya, I wandered off on my own, with her warning of, "Be back by dinner time or so help me I will cut off your tail while you sleep." Considering that I actually wanted to keep my tail, I figured I had better show up in time.

It surprisingly didn't take me long at all to find Afanasiy, but as for when I found him passed out asleep, I actually wasn't that surprised. Walking into his den, I shouldered my way through the lichen hanging over the entry, coughing when one of the pieces somehow found its way into my mouth. But even the loud choking-my-lungs out didn't wake him.

Typical Fane.

Walking straight up to him, I pushed him with my head once or twice, giving his orange tabby pelt a hard shove, but all he did was roll over with a groan. Rolling my eyes, I stepped back a bit, took in a deep breath, and let out the biggest roar I could muster, which probably woke up the whole tribe, as well as a few of the loners outside the territory. He practically hit the ceiling, leaping up with claws outstretched, clawing at empty air with his green eyes wild in confusion.

Finally, he actually looked at me and narrowed his pupils, growling something and then plopping back down in the spot he had been before.

"Oh no you don't. You're not going to leave me with Aglaya all day while your lazy butt stays in bed. Nu-uh."

He snarled something incomprehendable, but pushed himself to his paws and yawned.

"Fine. Let's go out to the forest or something, considering that I need time to actually wake up."

As he spoke the last of his sentence, he threw me a glare, but I just laughed and walked outside, used to the sun at that point enough that I couldn't help but chuckle when Fane stepped out and practically snarled, closing his eyes in visible pain.

Figuring that he would catch up, I went ahead and started off in the direction of the normal route we took out in the woods whenever we went to explore.. Or cause trouble. Whichever occured that day. The sound of birds calling in the trees kind of made me pick up my step, a little cheer putting itself into my morning attitude, and as I turned to look back at Afanasiy, I saw that he was feeling the same.

We walked for quite a while without a single word, neither of us wanting to spoil the peace. But as the atmosphere began to seem visibly darker, we both walked a bit closer to one another, slowing down slightly and peering around. This was a lot farther than we had ever been before. On our previous trips, neither of us wanted to get anywhere near the temples, but this time, something had changed.

Spread out before us was the sacred grove where each temple for each god lay. Some of the shrines were small, while others, such as the one for Perun, were larger.

"Umm.. Czar? Are you seeing what I'm seeing? Святой богов."

I gaped at the temple made of Morana, because right then, it shouldn't have been glowing, and the form of a huge white tiger should not be advancing towards them.

I turned and started to run, but the next thing I knew, I was staring into a blank white space, and Afanasiy had disappeared. I let out a desperate roar, sprinting forwards as I tried to escape this.. Whatever it was.

After what seemed like hours, or maybe days, of just running, I realized I wasn't getting anywhere. All that there was was blank white. That was it.

Stopping, I sat down where I was, staring down at my paws and letting out a huge sigh. I attempted to close my eyes and dream away the world, just in case I was asleep, but when I opened, the white was still there. I tried everything. Even praying, but nothing worked.

That wasn't until I heard a voice behind me.

"Привет, царя."

Translations
"Святой богов."
"Holy gods."

"Привет, царя."
"Hello, Czar."

[kartharon]

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