Character Backgrounds

[Mercy]

Here is where you can post your character's history for The Pride Premier role-play. Please check with me in pm before posting it here! Thank you.

Roque - Eliora
          (Member of the Pride Premier)

Rank: Imperial Heir/Praetor

Personality:
A born leader, Roque is proud and honorable. He likes training for battles and studying tactics. He also enjoys soaring to great heights and practicing his aerial maneuvers. Roque is thoughtful, sensitive, and intelligent. He studies the body language of others and is very observant. He has a temper though and has been known to claw those who anger him. He is used to winning fights and having his way. He is rather introverted and stubborn.

History:
Born into the Pride Premier, Roque is accustomed to life as a prince on the jungle mountain Rukor. He was raised by his mother, Empress Solongo, and grew up with his siblings, Princess Eliora, Princess Anima, and Prince Messala. His father, the Emperor Exalted has only appeared to him once, when he was very young. He was spoiled as a cub but was unusually kind for a prince. As he grew however, he began to feel contempt for the slaves under him as he was educated in the ways of his pride. His first concern right now is to continue the Pride Premier's legacy and strengthen the empire more by expanding it. Many believe Roque will become the next Emperor Exalted and ascend the throne of Rukor after his father has passed. He is currently working with Ruby as a praetor aside from his imperial studies.

Eliora - Eliora
         (Member of the Pride Premier)

Rank: Imperial Heiress/Commander of Flocks

Personality:
Eliora could best be described as cold, reserved and fiercely independent. To those who don't know her.

She is nocturnal and comes out of her cave at twilight to monitor the slave prides at night. She is the Commander of Flocks on Mt. Haides, and was appointed to this position by her father, the Emperor Exalted. She can be rather cruel and insensitive at times but does have a soft side. She particularly enjoys catching run away slaves who usually attempt to flee at night, and punishing them. Eliora is a skilled strategist and master of manipulation and propaganda. She is very intelligent and proud, but is also considerate. However, slaves rarely see this empathy as her strict upbringing has taught her that all slaves are beneath her. She is prone to fits of rage and silence. Lately she has been rather irritated due to the disappearance of members of the slave flock. She is kind only to members of the Pride Premier and is rather on the popular side although she prefers to be left alone. She is a competitive fighter and very skilled in aerial combat. She is an introvert and has only a few close friends. She is uncomfortable in crowds and is rather insecure with herself.

However when she is among friends Eliora can be rather cheerful and very kind, but she is almost always aloof in one way or another. She hardly ever lets anyone see her upset and usually vents her anger by flying, hunting, erupting in fury (in private of course), or simply fuming darkly in silence. Her fuse varies. She can be a ticking time bomb or a matchstick. She is strong willed, indecisive, and sensitive to others' opinions. A perfectionist, she is defined by a set of ideals. These ideals are currently, leadership, strength, efficiency, honor, and subtlety.

Eliora greatly fears death after losing her mother. She sometimes summons the courage to fly over Mt. Du'an and circle her mother's grave, or spend the night at the Life Spring. She has a complex relationship with this area, because while she fears death, she also longs for her mother and hopes/fears she will see her mother's spirit.

History:
Born and raised on Mount Rukor in the Pride Premier, Eliora is the rather entitled daughter of Empress Solongo and the Emperor Exalted. She grew up alongside Prince Roque, Princess Anima, and Prince Messala but was closest to Roque. She is one of the Imperial Heiress's, and in an attempt to keep his children from fighting over the throne, was given a high-ranking position on Mt. Haides by her father. She has only seen her father once. She leads the spy flocks on Mt. Haides and helps monitor the slave prides. She also helps organize and lead attacks alongside her siblings, generals, and advisors. As an adolescent Eliora was secretly friends with a slave lioness but their friendship was found out and Eliora was forced to murder her friend. Since then she treats all slaves with the highest contempt. She was very close to her mother, and the death of her mother has left her a little broken inside. Eliora is expected to take a mate soon. She is the master of two High Wings, Anaryan and Ankalest.

[Leto]

Na'hina - Leto
              (Premier Pride slave)

Rank: Upper Slave
Master/Owner: Nafsi (c) Zorayda

Personality:

Despite the sufferings in her past she’s a surprisingly cheerful and optimistic young girl, almost to the point of naivety. She counters the horrors of the world with a bright smile and happy-go-lucky attitude that’s almost infectious, not saying she’s not capable of sorrow or grief she just prefers to not bring up negative emotions if she can help it; that being said she does have her scars and troubles, depressing thoughts often linger behind the smiles and cheerful attitude.

She’s for one very conscious of her appearance and the horrendous scar that mars her face; though this grotesque visage is concealed beneath a stained grey cloth tied over her once beautiful eyes is a cause of deep shame for her, and the source behind a relatively low self-esteem.

Due to this she’s a very sensitive young girl, and takes things to heart easily; though instead of being outright angry when offended or mistreated she’s more likely to break down in tears. Despite being a sensitive soul she’s remarkably tough and resilient given what she’s had to go through even displaying uncharacteristic bravery and resourcefulness when faced with danger, and despite how cruel the world has been to her she retains an exceptional kindness and compassion towards others.

Premier Pride, History:

Na’hina’s earliest memories consist of dark and cold stone floors, and equally cold stone walls, and a crowd of legs, with felines always milling about, and with this lots of intelligible noise. These first, vague memories entail of her days as an infant living in the slave cub dens near the foothills of Mt. Kotori. However her first solid memory consists of accidentally running into one of the soldier's stationed to watch them and receiving a lot of pain, and with it an injury which lasted for weeks. Na’hina’s life was hardly unique in terms of various fates found within the slave pride, nor was it pleasant the only thing it provided was safety from the outside world from what she had been taught was even worse, but the discipline received at the paws of the supervisors for disobedience was sever, however sometimes the beating she got from her fellow slaves in the competition for food, or out of spite and malice was even worse.

An orphaned cub had few prospects and hopes of survival, especially one as conspicuous as her. She spent her childhood mostly alone, or in solitude as none of the other slave cubs wanted much of anything to do with her the adults too made a habit of avoiding her, due to her ‘weirdness’ as they called it. The other cubs would often deliberately try to snuff out the fire on her tail by stepping on it causing considerable discomfort and agony for the poor girl, however the supervisors would always intervene in their cruel games, not out of a sense of pity for Na’hina, but merely practicality as after all slaves were forbidden from outright killing other slaves.

Na’hina’s cubhood might’ve seem lonely or sad, but in truth she had all the friends she could ever wish for unfortunately only she could directly see them though the spirits themselves could impact the material world, to others it would often seem like she was talking to herself, playing and laughing as she was chasing invisible forms through fields, as if playing tag with her own shadow. These friends are real to her as the trees and the grass, they are spirits; wisps curious and playful would lead her on adventures other cubs could only dream of, angels and demons of virtue and vice would comfort her in grief, listen to her pain, and share in her small moments of joy, the ancient ghosts of the departed would offer knowledge, council and insights of times long since forgotten. She never feared the sprits and as such the Mt. Kotori graveyard quickly became her favorite place, visiting it as often as she could, though slaves barred from access meant she could only make fleeting visits.

This behavior unfortunately only increased her alienation from the rest of slaves in the pride, conjuring fearful murmurs among some of them that she was dangerous, malevolent, and evil, although they had no solid evidence or proof that she even had any powers what so ever, even if the flame on her tail was a suspicious sign.

This all culminated in a vicious attack, one night while sneaking back from a visit to the summit graveyard they stalked her, she was cornered and alone when they surrounded her; slaves of her pride a group of teenagers, far older than her. They gave her no chance to defend herself fearing for what unspeakable evils she could unleash on them they struck fast and hard, as she lay on the cold ground beaten and bloody, her throat hoarse from the screams for help, the cries of agony, in a short window of respite as her attackers debated amongst themselves how to finished her off, she tried to crawl away; but her back leg had been badly twisted leaving her unable to walk.

One of the attackers noticed her attempted escape and pounced to stop her, in was in that moment a large shadow came out of nowhere knocking the assailant away. Na’hina was borderline delirious with pain, glanced over her shoulder, fearing she had accidentally called forth a demon during her subconscious flight response, however it was no demon that was defending her. The young, handsome lion was a sight, indeed as far as Na’hina was concerned he could’ve been an angel, even though he didn’t look the part. As the assailants fell one by one, Na’hina tried to push herself to her feet only to find her legs failing to support her, the large lion approached her humbly and respectfully she lowered and diverted her gaze in deference she knew a Premier lion when she saw one, and this was one of her betters; she felt shame welling up in her core, that he had to see her in such a state it was not becoming of a slave of the Empire.

To her surprise the lion helped her up and of all things took her to see a healer, with much explanation the healer eventually agreed to treat Na’hina but considered it a waste of resources putting his skills to use on a slave, a suspiciously unusual slave at that. This male, whom she later learned was named Nafsi didn’t even seem to care about her tail-tuff, on the contrary he seemed almost intrigued; for the first time in her life, Na’hina was facing someone who was interested in /her/, not only that but this lion had saved her life; her, the life of mere slave.

In that moment she threw herself onto the ground by his paws, muttering how she had not deserved his salvation, the male seemed pleased and promised that from this day forward she’d no longer have to fear her fellow slaves as he would her master, and any attack on her would be an attack on him. The little girl almost started crying, but caught herself she had to be on her best behavior, she was a Premier Pride slave, the best of the best. And so began Na’hina’s life of servitude to Nafsi, it was pleasant at first he treated her nicely and better than any slave could dream of; but slowly but surely darker sides to his personality was starting to reveal itself; he did not tolerate failures nor any misdemeanors of any kind, would often become angry and aggressive over minor and petty transgressions. However if she broke his rules, the punishment would be sever often even brutal, yet Na’hina felt she deserved it, there was a reason behind the beatings she had shamed or embarrassed her master, the master to whom she owed her life, literally.

But the worst was yet to come, during a celebration Na’hina walks in on Nafsi having his way with what was clearly not another servant girl, startled and frozen in place she quickly diverts her gaze but Nafsi is immediately onto her, starting berating her, yelling and roaring at her to get out but the little girl can’t take eyes off the other, thoroughly ravaged lioness in the room, which causes Nafsi to question her on just how much of it she saw; Na’hina is too startled if not scared to give a credible answer, this only vexes Nafsi who in the end pins her to the ground and claws her eyes out in a fit of anger and his own desperation at getting caught. Na’hina is left lying there in the darkness, shaking, bleeding she even vomited on the floor due the extreme pain Nafsi’s torture inflicted on her.

The white cub hears the lions voice who has calmed down considerably, but his tone is still harsh telling her that if she ever breaths a word of this event to anyone, her life… the life he commands is forfeit. Though as a small act of mercy and perhaps the first surface of a tinge of regret he ties a brown stained blindfold over her mutilated eyes to hide the gruesome disfiguration he caused to her, mostly for his own sake as seeing the state of her eyes is turing his stomach. Now blind, Na’hina is now more than ever dependent on her master’s protection, despite having lost her physical sight, she can still see and beckond the spirits, her friends and constant companions but now with even greater clarity due to the lack of obstructing visual stimuli. The act of blinding her, has strangely slightly enhanced her powers.

[Kirsui]

Mwezi - Kirsui
          (Member of the Pride Premier)

Rank: lesser spymaster


Behaviour:

If there’s something Mwezi hates, it is being called a half-breed. She is very proud of her mixed parentage, especially the cheetah blood that distinctively separates her from the normal lionesses. Being called a half-breed, or half-blood, sounds like an insult to her, and she much prefers to be called either a cheetah, chion or cheelion.

Otherwise Mwezi is rather friendly, though she is known to display certain arrogance towards those she does not count as her friends or family. Her favourite time of day is night, and the things she most likes are hunting and scouting. Mwezi is also often seen cleaning her fur or sharpening her claws if she doesn’t happen to have anything else to do, and though she doesn't outright state being vain, she does like to maintain an elegant and beautiful appearance.


History:

Born and raised as a member of the Pride Premier, Mwezi has never experienced any hardship. Mwezi has always been proud of her mixed heritage and unnatural outlook, for in a pride where everyone has special abilities, looking different made her stand out. Mwezi's father was lost under unknown circumstances when she was just a young cub, and her mother passed away when she reached adolescence. Though she mourned her mother's passing, she was persistent to make her proud of her daughter and trained her abilities relentlessly until they became a second nature to her.

As a creature capable of flight, and one that can seriously hamper the flight of others, she has been given a small flock of birds to command, and she has become rather proficient in forcing them to gather information for her. This has earned her the title of a lesser spymaster, and she is eager to show her worth and climb higher in rank if such an opportunity arises.

Though she sometimes appears proud and arrogant, Mwezi has never been outright cruel to the slaves she has been in contact with. Most of the time she likes to fade to the background and avoid being in direct contact with the slaves, excluding the birds under her command, of course.


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Lumiar - Kirsui
          (Pride Premier slave)

Rank: domestic slave, Haides slave pride


Behaviour:

Lumiar is a solitary creature, often distancing herself from others. She isn’t opposed to having company, but having lived for so long without the ability to speak normally has made her enjoy solitude. Despite her ability to telepathically communicate with others, she most often chooses not to unless she absolutely has to, or until she has learned to trust whoever it is she wishes to speak with. Also, due to her low body temperature, she is afraid of fire and anyone who wields it.


History:

Lumiar was just an adolescent when she stumbled upon a small pride of lions. She was lost and hungry, but had no way to communicate with them due to the lack of her tongue. Though some of the pride was slightly frightened of her wings, one of the pride elders took pity on the frightened adolescent and convinced the pride to take her in. With time, as Lumiar began to understand her abilities better, she got accustomed to hiding her wings in the presence of others. When she did this, the pride slowly began to treat her as if she had no special abilities at all. No one ever spoke of how special she was, and the younger members of the pride didn't even know she had any abilities.

Shortly after reaching adulthood, her pride was attacked by the Pride Premier. They were an ideal target, for aside from Lumiar who hid her abilities from everyone, the rest of the pride had only minor skills like heightened senses or reflexes, or no abilities at all. Most of the pride died when they refused to submit to the felines that had killed their royal family. When the pride finally surrendered, the Pride Premier troops were quick to round up everyone who had shown remarkable skills in the battle and killed them. Lumiar, afraid of what would happen to her if she revealed her true self, continued to hide her abilities. Her inability to speak, combined with the fact that nearly everyone who remembered she has wings was dead, she thought it unlikely that they'd ever squeeze said information out of her.

She continues to hold up her disguise, even though she could possibly attempt escaping by flight. Her conscience won't allow her to leave what little is left of her own pride behind, and though she has no idea how to aid them in their misery, she helps them any way she can while also doing the bidding of the Pride Premier.

[Ruby_Fehu]

Ruby - Ruby_Fehu
            (Member of Pride Premier)

Rank: Praetor

Personality:

A temperamental hybrid, Ruby portrays a mixture of belief strengths and emotions to those who don't know her well. The one thing that always remains the same no matter who or where she is; is how cocky and sly she is. She's also incredibly sarcastic, stubborn and argumentative which used to get her in trouble when she was younger but it is now praised. She does have her low points including, anguish and how she is frequently questioning herself. But only those who she is truly close to see this. She is very proud, loyal and dedicated to her pride, her job and her companions. She's also known to be a good listener, passing no judgemental remarks, even if she doesn't agree with what is being told. 
She is sometimes quick to anger and when she is annoyed she is quite a fierce fighter, especially consider she directs all negative emotions into the situation. Ruby tends to stand by those she cares for most and if someone angers them, they'll feel the wrath of Ruby as well. She's very determined and driven and she'll rarely stop until she gets her own way. 



History: 

When she was a cub, Ruby grew up in a rather relaxed pride, the only death occurring amongst her pride being that of the elders and of natural causes. Because of this seemingly perfect lifestyle she was always rather naïve, curious and unsure of the real world. When it came to decision making she was always very neutral. During her adolescent years, her pride was attacked by rogues which left the entire pride massacred. And a history Ruby would never want to remember. She managed to escape by feigning dead, lying over her daughter to protect from seeing what was going on and any harm coming to her.


When it seemed clear, she was forced to flee with her young daughter, Iris. She was devastated that she wasn’t able to give her family a proper goodbye. The mother and daughter, however managed to get by, living on scraps left by vultures and various other greedy creatures. When Iris was old enough to understand “stay in the cave and don’t move” Ruby resumed her hunting and once again managed to give her daughter enough food so that she was no longer weak and feeble but so she was able to become a stronger young creature, not a ‘runt’.


One night Ruby had scouted the area where they were currently residing temporarily until they could move on. After a thorough search, Ruby decided it was safe and so one the evening she had left Iris alone asleep, safely concealed and took it upon herself to go and hunt once more. Upon returning she found a trail of scratches, mood and blood. All signs of a grisly fight. Fearing the worst Ruby abandoned her prey and hurried into the cave, searching desperately for her daughter. Eventually she came across her worst nightmare, turned reality, for Iris had been murdered. The fur under her eyes wet from recently shed tears. Ruby’s whole positive morale changed and instead she became bitter, determined to find those who had taken her daughter from her.


The more annoyed Ruby became the more noticeable the powers she had managed to conceal since she could walk and talk, her families own little secret, began to unfurl and tell-tale signs of her rage became more frequent in the area. It was during one of her rampages that she came across a pride filled with felines with abilities like her, they seemed to pride themselves on it. So cold, bitter and positively murderous Ruby joined the Premier Pride as a loyal and quite ruthless member. She has now managed to resume control over her skills but if she ever sees a mother and child, her aggression becomes uncontrollable and she has a tendency to sometimes slaughter them herself, not caring that she as a once firm believer of a live and let live. Instead she vows to make others feel as much pain as she feels and no longer being a mother.



The only people who see the more relaxed and easy going side of Ruby is those of the Premier Pride who she has settled into as if she was there all her life. So woe-betide any slaves, rebels or enemies that cross her path.

[Leto]

Leto - Leto
            (Premier Pride slave)

Rank: Caitiff Scarred/Terminal Slave
Master/Owner: Deceased

Personality:

Despite being raised on strict military doctrines Leto remains a relatively free-spirited, maverick, and fiercely independent character, he gets restless if stuck in one place for too long. Leto on the surface comes off as a generally carefree person with an overlying aura of casual indifference but coupled with an uncharacteristically stoic demeanour, despite his hard shell he does have a soft indeed even caring side; this is especially visible when it comes to the protection of those few he cares about, a potential loved one is someone he'd fiercely protect. However it's rare he lets anyone see these softer sides of him on top of it all he isn’t really a social butterfly, the soldier’s also a philosophical individual, but with a noticeable feral streak to him. He places great personal empathize on the act of hunting; the chase, capture and kill.

But overall he’s a cynical, blunt and more than often sarcastic individual who’s not afraid to state his opinions even it comes off as potentially hurtful or even downright offensive to an opposing party he has little regard for any authority, no matter the form it takes. With the exception of his Seeker commander and other Ti'wenkai that outrank him, he doesn't pay much heed to the yunkai and their rules of law he's particularly lenient on respecting yunkai prides territorial borders and hunting grounds, but much less to follow their orders even if he can on very rare occasions act respectful enough to those he deem has deserved it, or at least, those that demand it at claw point.

He is deep down beyond his shield of disregard; a highly social and generally quite friendly person at least to those that have earned his trust or those he ends up liking for some reason or another, though he’s extremely wary in the presence of strangers and gaining his trust takes a lot of work, given his upbringing it’s no surprise that his social nature sufferers, not used to behind around non-military personnel makes him come off as socially awkward a majority of the times, which can perhaps explain his over-hanging sarcasm but that may also just be a trait of character. Leto is a bit of a harmless flirt and a tease though only to other males, he knows that he is handsome in the eyes of some and he can, and will use this to his advantage. The rare time he throws flirtatious remarks at a female it is just a jest, perhaps even sarcasm never anything more.

He’s morally ambiguous at best not a trait one would expect from someone of his background though this ambiguity only extent to everyone not of Ti'wenkai affiliation towards his homeland and people however he retains an almost unflinching loyalty. On the other hand he can keep loyalty towards others as long as it’s personally beneficial for him; like if he's under mercenary contract with someone. This fleeting loyalty also shows when it comes to forming friendships; Leto finds making friends among peoples from outside Ti'wenkai whom he refers to as 'yunkai' to be difficult, mostly due to cultural differences, so it’s very rare he’d actually go to the lengths of calling much of anyone a friend preferring to keep mere acquaintances if nothing else.

The young lion favours and values the virtues of the self: self-awareness, self-reliance and self-confidence, often tying philosophical contemplation into his personal ideas about his role through the dusty road of life, specifically what it means to be a hunter. He oppose traditional pridal society, finding it a weak contrast to the societal structure that raised him thus he preferrs to rely on his own skills and expertise to provide him food, shelter, and anything else a lion would need to thrive; even if this means stealing, or killing for it. Leto follows the brutal and savage rules of Nature, she is his mistress, his only queen and liege... nothing is ever free.

Premier Pride, History:

Leto wandered into the Pride Premier Territory almost over two years ago, as a Seeker of the Ti'wenkai Federation dropping out of contact for extended periods of time was not an uncommon occurrence for those like him, and the Seeker Command had come to expect it, but even after two years Leto had all but lost hope that his own people would take action in regards to his disappearance. Though his entrance into this strange realm which would come to turn what knew about his world on its head, it was not accidental: far from it.

The whole thing began with him trekking the outskirts of Pride Premier Lands Leto was served similarly consisting stories regarding a specific valley were you went into it, but you never came back out. Curious the young soldier decided to see for himself what was so ominous about his valley; called the Velius Valley in the local tongue. Though the place seemed pretty ordinary as far the geography went it was only when approached the rear end of the valley which opened into a land which frankly reminded him a lot of his native Xaxios'h river valley grasslands stretching for miles and far in the distance almost hidden into the haze of the horizon were a majestic mountain range, which almost rivaled that of the Nedran Mountains back home.

In truth the eerie likeness of this place to his own native lands, had almost stunned the soldier, so much so that he didn't notice the ambush before he was surrounded. The lions barked at him in a tongue that was although not entirely alien still difficult to understand due its differences with his native language; but he understood from the tone of their voice that he was not welcomed. The large male, the leader of the unit of what he could only assume had to be soldiers that surrounded him, kept repeating a specific stanza almost like a question; 'Identify yourself!' Leto was about to answer when one of the soldiers began muttering and gently shoved the lion next to him and pointed at Leto's eyes, causing the young seeker's brows to narrow.

They turned to their Commander as if expecting orders, and he too took a closer look at Leto, suddenly a vicious growl left his maw and the rest of the soldiers assumed attack positions. A few seconds later they struck, but much to the Commander's complete surprise this stranger was not taken unawares and he fought back with ferocity and if not combat aptitude he had not seen the likes of in even some of his best trained soldier. One of the soldier's ended up with its paw broken near clean off leaving an extremely nasty open fracture, the second soldier was bleeding out in a pool of its own blood, this stranger had ripped his throat out, leaving the two remaining soldiers visibly hesitant about engaging this enemy.

Four more soldiers arrived and they eventually managed to subdue their eerie-eyed prisoner and escorted him to the closest military outpost. There waited several hours of gruelling and if not brutal interrogation at the paws of the outpost centurion. But Leto refused to submit, yet the story of his difficult capture caught the centurion's interest and took him on a personal pet slave, considered something of a price, a slave that could actually fight, and the eerie eyes made him unique among slaves.

Thus began Leto's enslavement, his albeit short year with his master was brutal, though he spent his time less as typical domestic slave and became a bodyguard for the Centurion, to parade around and show off to various dignitaries who would stare in revulsion at it Leto's uncanny apperance. However centurion was a harsh lion, typical of Pride Premier slave owners, yet Leto kept defiant… though the beatings were not the worst, he had grown up with such punishments; no what eventually sealed his master’s fate were the less than handsome lion’s more carnal interests regarding Leto, not to say the young seeker did not draw attention of a few the other soldiers in the outpost, a few of them, of the males at least were as far Leto was concerned pleasing to look at.

His master on the other hand was not, and what he expected of Leto was both demeaning and if not degrading, this persisted for almost one and half years until Leto himself had enough of the unwelcomed advances. Though the murder of his master was something Leto would confess upon being captured, most of the Pride Premier could not believe that one of their own had been killed by a mere slave. This earned the young seeker the Caitiff marks and forced him into exile into Vartan Desert, to join the other slaves awaiting their deaths. Due to his crimes he was sentenced to death almost immediately the Centurions hoping to make an example of what happens to slaves who murders their liege, unfortunately the Arena proved to be almost a little too easy for Leto, he defeated practically everything the centurions threw at him, even trained soldier’s fell to his claws and despite how severe injuries the slave sustained he kept on fighting and surviving against seemingly every odds.

A victory streak in the Arena as given by Leto, proved to solidify his notority among the Centurions and military officials, fearing his unshakable will to submit to their laws, and his uncanny aptitude for killing would leave them all dead in their sleep. He was simply too dangerous to have walk amongst them in the greater slave pride so they kept him interred at the military outpost, posting at least two guards to watch him at all times. And the more Leto seemingly proved his invincibility against their attempts to kill him, the more convinced the Centurions became of the fact the must’ve had powers of some sort, there was no way any mundane lion, a simple slave at that could achieve something like this. They were tempted to make an example of him on numerous occasions but Leto kept thwarting their attempts, and on the other he had gained a bit of a following among some of the soldiers in the local garrison whose few moments of levity came from watching these often cruel and barbaric games between the doomed slaves.

But the young seeker was abiding his time, he knew in his heart and of experience that he would not remained shackled for long; a rebellion was brewing, and that would be his ticket to freedom, and he would finally be able to return home.

[Lyonize]

Maji
(Pride Premier Slave)

Rank: Domestic Slave, Haides Slave Pride

Behavior:

Maji is skittish, extremely shy and fearful. He tries to minimize contact with others as much as he possibly can. He can be easily manipulated through fear or physical harm, something he is very familiar with. Maji keeps to the shadows, always staying out of sight and only sleeping where he knows he will be alone. While his special memory helps him to navigate and recognize danger, it does not much help him in his search for food. He cannot easily hunt for himself. Even taking down a warthog is tough for him.

History:

When Maji was very young, his parents were killed by the centurions of the Pride Premier. They were a small nomadic family, consisting of only Maji and his mother and father. They did not belong to a pride. They were suspicious of them all. They tried to shield Maji from their influences, claiming they were all slaves to their alpha males who they called "kings". One day, they were found in the North Savanna, speaking to the Haides pride, trying to convince them to leave the Premier Pride or revolt. Accused of heresy and blaspheming the pride and its leaders, Majis parents were captured and put into slave labor in the Vertan Desert. In their defiance, they attacked their captors but were overpowered. Maji, seen as no more than an impressionable cub, was allowed to live as an orphan in the Haides pride. Still seen as an outsider to even the slave prides, he was not given much attention and only allowed enough food to stay alive. He grew up weak and unable to fend for himself. The only skill he was able to develop was his ability to lie. Maji knew the other slave pride members wouldn't do anything that might interfere with a masters plans so he pretended to be on special assignments from centurions or spymasters just to keep other slave pride members from harming him.

[Deleted]

Kulaani
Rank: Wanderer

Behavior: Generally quiet and distrusts others. He will try to act friendly once he gets to know you and be helpful whenever he can, even though he has a very short temper that he sometimes has difficulty keeping under control.

History: When Kulaani was a cub, he was forced to watch his parents die to the paws of their once close friend, Msaliti, then he was cursed by a dark furred lion named Giza. Now he changes form whenever he is enraged, though he has learned to control it so he can practically change at will. Feeling distrustful of others, he wandered alone in the search for his parents killers until he met a hyena named Kaimu. Kaimu befriended Kulaani (after much annoyance) and the two now travel as their journey now leads them into the territory of the Pride Premier Empire.

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Kaimu

Rank: Wanderer

Behavior: Despite his appearance, Kaimu is rather friendly and is always eager to help. Knowing full well how others view his species, he is always trying to prove himself to others, to show them that not all hyenas are as bad as they seem. He is very desperate to try and prove this to the hyenas most hated enemy, the lions, in an effort that they could eventually live in peace, even if it costs him his life.

History: Kaimu was raised in a clan that practiced the dark arts of necromancy. He was taught to use his powers against their enemies, the lions, but after having been saved by one when he was a pup, he didn't want to fight them. Leaving the clan, Kaimu traveled from pride to pride in an effort to mend the relations between the two species. Along his travels, he came across one curious lion names Kulaani who he has since befriended and now travels with as they enter the territory of the Pride Premier Empire.

[Zorayda]

Nafsi

Rank: Consul, owner of Na'hina

Powers: Basically, he uses shadows cast by anything (himself, even) to make himself stronger. It can give him an edge in any one trait he desires at a time--speed, strength, agility, even an intensely louder roar or heightened vision. However... this only works to heighten the traits he already has (hearing, vision, touch, speed, etc.), and he may only direct the power to one trait at a time. The power can be switched to different traits swiftly, however, but if one can figure out his reaction time, they could take advantage of a trait he has not put his Shadow power into. Also, if he is in complete darkness, this power does not work--only if there is a shadow cast by something on the ground where there is also light placing it (in other words, there must be light for there to be a true 'shadow'. A completely darkened room would leave him vulnerable).

Behavior: This lion has several mental illnesses wrapped in a lack of empathy. Nafsi is narcissistic and egocentric, thinking nothing of the needs of others and only of the wants of his own mind and body. He believes he is a god among lions and wishes to be feared and respected by all who surround him. He thrives on attention and having inferiors that fawn over him, though he gives little to nothing in return. This probably stems from his secretive inferiority complex and a deep need for love and affection, twisted though it may have become. He was a victim of his mother's intense abuse, making him the target of most of her attacks and insults. From this, he has also gained an intense fear of lionesses, and has the urge to hurt and control them so they do not do it to him first. Nafsi has turned this into a game from which he gains pleasure, and terrorizes females regularly.

His mind has warped itself to lack empathy for others, meaning that he feels no true remorse when hurting someone else. This makes him extremely dangerous. Another layer of added danger is his ability to charm others, using a silver tongue and handsome good looks to get what he wants and lull others into a false sense of security. He's an excellent and sadistic fighter, feral in battles and a skilled hunter. Others would never guess his twisted tendencies when speaking to Nafsi, however; he is attractive, funny, and quite classy. He is the image of what every lion wants to be and what every lioness wants, until they find out about his true personality and horrible murderous tendencies.

History:He was born into his position, high above many in the Pride Premier, but not so high that his family could get away with whatever they wanted. Nafsi's family life was riddled with strife. His father abused his mother ferociously behind closed doors, where Nafsi would see and then be threatened by his father if he ever told anyone. The cub grew up, used to death threats and violence. When his father left for duty, his mother would turn on him, venting her anger and frustration at her awful situation on the little lion cub. And yet, there were moments when Nafsi's father would take the cub under his wing and teach him to be a man, that pride and power were essential to their family. He taught Nafsi that males were strong, and they should establish dominance over women as well as protect them--from others or themselves.

One day, Nafsi's father mysteriously died right after taking a bite of zebra meat his mother had brought home after it had been processed from the domestic slaves and distributed. The lioness laughed as the large male withered and coughed, muzzle foaming, eyes glazed as he drew his last breath. Nafsi, an adolescent at the time, was horrified. His mother had killed his one and only role model, and as soon as the deed was done, she demanded he help her hide the body. Their slaves were sworn to secrecy and the whole thing was covered up.

After that, his mother pretended to grieve, all the while courting higher-ups and demeaning Nafsi, tossing him aside as unimportant. Nafsi's uncle was his only sanctuary, as the older male seemed to know what the teen was going through, and hated Nafsi's mother. Through him, Nafsi learned his trade, and the two of them badmouthed Nafsi's mother behind her back.

Years later, when Nafsi had grown into his body a bit, his mother was seeing yet another male. Emboldened by his own physical strength and by his uncle's reassurance that his mother was an awful lioness, Nafsi snarked off to her and the male. The male sneered and went away, leaving Nafsi's mother in a rage. In a fit of anger, she began to claw at her son and screech obscenities, but having had enough, the male swiftly opened his maw and clamped down on her throat to silence her. She kept trying to speak and scream through her restricted windpipe, feebly swiping at her son. Nafsi, fed up with her words, kept tightening his grip.

He hadn't meant to kill her. He really hadn't. But when she lie there, lifeless and limp, a trembling excitement overcame him. The b**** was dead and gone, and he was finally free.

Now he does his job faithfully, occasionally visiting his uncle. He has violent tendencies, thanks to his upbringing, and takes joy in tormenting females whenever he can, thinking that dominating them makes him more powerful somehow. Na'hina (Leto's character), a subservient lioness slave to him, is somewhat of an exception, as he goes easy on her compared to others. This is because he knows that she is his inferior and that he has no need to be dominant over her, unless she disobeys or if he is in a particularly foul mood.

Haraka

Rank: Domestic slave

Behavior: Mistrustful, harsh, and brutally honest with others and himself. The only real comfort he finds while working are in his imagined conversations with long dead friends and relatives of his past pride. When he is at his most relaxed, sometimes he can tell stories to the other slaves, bringing about some laughs and smiles. He still holds a deeply hidden spark of hope that he will someday be freed from slavery.

Powers: Unknown to Haraka yet.

History: Haraka was not born to his role as a slave. He was once a prince of another pride, a proud, peaceful group of lions led by a shrewd king. Their pride was a bit of a utopia, with wrongdoings being punished quickly, but that relative peace came to an end when the Pride Premier conquered them. Only a teen at the time, Haraka's father was killed, as well as many loved ones who happened to have any powers. Gone was the weight behind Prince Haraka's title, and he was trained brutally to hunt and become a Domestic slave. This has resulted in his utter hatred of the Pride Premier.

The lion has grown to be strong, enduring years of pain and hardship. He thinks of his mother and father near daily, and often will mutter to himself or speak to them as if they were still there. One of his childhood friends, a female lioness a year older than him, also died in the attack. Ashamed of his current situation, he never 'speaks' to her, afraid of what she would think of him. He has noted of late that he seems to have a knack for digging and is 'one' with the ground beneath him, being able to be more silent and speedy than his peers. The lion wishes to rebel against his oppressors, but sees no opportunity for it... but perhaps that may change.