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Surabi, A lioness of greatness was not always the legend she is today. One eerily silent night, a wretched dog-like species who called themselves ‘hyenas’ enroached on the prides territory in hopes of finding new land for themselves that could support their dwindling population in the badlands. The prides best lionesses were out on a hunt, while back at home, Xerxanna’s exhausted body lay limp in rest on his bed of feathers and leaves. As the moon hovers behind dim clouds, Surabi and Sphynx wrestle near the cave mouth; unaware of the terrors that slowly lurked into their pride like a shadow in the night. The Hyenas moved in swiftly, leaving little time for the adolescents to react. Awakened by the commotion, Xerxanna lunged from his nest. The old king fought valiantly to protect his family, while his unassuming lionesses continued the hunt. But old age makes one weak, and despite expanding his efforts he was slain in battle alongside sphynx, who was mauled and feasted on by the desperately hungry hyenas who fled after the huntresses returned. Surabi lost her beloved brother that night. She did not get much time to mourn, as the position of leader among the pride was thrust apon her as her adoptive father took his last breaths. Surabi’s anger and thirst for the death of hyenas grew like a cancer, infesting her mind until she began to make changes to the land. In an act of vengeance, Surabi drained what little water was left in the badlands, only leaving behind a single oasis to give a false hope that would be taken away from them every few days, just as her family was taken from her. She weeded out the scarce greenery and wildlife, killing the animals in mass. Back home, Surabi’s newly acquired pride quickly became a haven of lush emerald green, water bluer than the sky itself, giving her the opportunity to train her lionesses mercilessly, so that the pride would never suffer such a humiliating defeat and loss of life again. She’d have her lionesses push the hyenas so far from the thriving territory that they were left scavenging for scraps and bones. in a last act of spite, she kidnapped the hyena queen’s beloved son who had not yet learned who or what to fear. She raised him like a son of her own, naming him Nuka and filling him with a deep hatred for his own kind; a way to taunt and mock the hyenas. Surabi had become the hyenas true fear, haunting their dreams. One thing was for sure, Surabi’s hatred for hyenas ran as deep as her loyalty for her pride. She will protect and honor her pride with Nuka by her side, who was just as feared as the queen herself.
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