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The Story of Balask
Balask was not born into the Kiburi Kipenzi pride. She was born in a far away land but her mother was banished due to her trying to take out the old king. The reasons behind this, Balask was never told, but it's rumored that the old king was a tyrant. Balask's mother, known as Madoa, was banished before Balask was born. Now she was not born into the name Balask. Her name before the change was Heshima. Shortly after she was born, Madoa fell ill and perished at the borders of a new pride. The Kiburi Kipenzi pride. A wise king, once known as King Lydan, took in the young cub. But after her mothers death, a darkness began to stir within her soul.
A wise mandrill, known as Werevu, saw this within Heshima and pleaded with King Lydan to not let this cub rule the pride. As it was now known, after months of time being with Lydan, that he wished for her to rule among them. The heir to the throne as he was unable to produce any form of cubs himself. But Lydan went against Werevu's pleads and continued to train Heshima to be the queen once her time came.
And as Heshima grew, so did the darkness within her. But there was one thing stopping this darkness from taking over. And that was Lydan. Lydan treated Heshima like his own daughter, as if she were his own blood. But a fateful night approached.
King Lydan was out on a night stroll, whilst he was aging more with each passing day, this did not stop the king from taking his weekly night walk. As he took this walk, a couple of his pride, hellbent on power, took out the king, but not before Heshima could witness what was going on. By the time she arrived and promptly banished the two rogue pridelanders after a brutal fight, Lydan's time had just about run out. He was only able to get a few words out.
"My little Heshima.. you must know.. you were loved more than words could describe.. please.. never forget that."
And with that, the king took his final breath, leaving Heshima alone, sobbing. It was then and there that the darkness in her soul engulfed her like flames to a dry bush. That last spark of hope and light had vanished, leaving her a cold and relentless lioness.
At first she took no action against her pride, still mourning the death of whom she called father. But as time went on, the first complication arose. A small fight between two of her pridemembers had broken out. Angered by this, she punished the both of them, not hearing the reasoning for their fight. And this punishment you may be wondering? Was abuse. Even though it was not a fight, but a simple spar.. With this brutal punishment upon her pridemates, came the loss of the last shred of human decency that Heshima had left within her. The one final string that kept her from being controlled by the darkness that engulfed her.
A few years would pass and any rogue she accepted into the pride that even went a sliver against her rules, was banished. Any cubs that posed a problem would be abandoned at the borders. And as this time went by, the more she despised her birthname. So she changed it to Balask. A far more fitting and cruel sounding name to fit her nature.
Another year would pass with more of the same and her pride fearing her every word. However a young cub by the name of Giza, would show herself upon Balask's pride. A sad cub, orphaned and left at the border. This sparked a new kind of darkness within herself. This cub reminded her so much of who she used to be. A weak, sad cub, left alone because her parents up and died.
As soon as she had heard the cubs story, she struck down her claws, brutally maiming the cub. It's cries echoed throughout the savannah as thick red blood began to pool. Whatever energy the cub had mustered, only managed to get her a few short feet before Balask sunk her teeth in, choking the young cub on it's own blood. Balask had always been cruel and unforgiving, but she had never intended to murder anyone, especially a young cub.
Now riddled with guilt, she ran. Panic like she'd never experienced before as she went to find a hyena and place it next to the cubs body, covering her scent with the hyenas scent. Next thing she knew, she would awaken in her den, having been carried by two of her guards. She remained shut in for days after the brutal murder. She was cruel, yes. But even she didn't have the heart to murder a cub. And yet there she lay, a cub killer. All this cub had been looking for, was a safe haven to live and she took its life without a second thought.
Another month would pass, and this darkness only got worse. Riddled with guilt from her secret from the pride, she took it out on them in any way shape or form she could find. However.. a young cub was soon born to one of her guards and upon the first look, her heart lurched. It was like she was looking at a direct reflection of herself. This cub resembled her almost exactly. Tears began to spill from her eyes. She wasn't sure how it was possible, but there was the living proof.
She broke down completely, the guilt that had been eating her alive for so long now poured out in the form of wet streaks going down her cheeks. The mother was unsure why her Queen was so emotional all the sudden, but due to how cruel she'd been and how much worse she'd gotten since the incident with the cub, she made no movements. Not until she saw all the guilt and pain that was shining in her once cold and bitter eyes. She understood then and there what had truly happened that day and yet instead of punishing Balask like she'd so bitterly done to them, she decided to embrace the Queen and allow her to cry.
Even the little cub spoke up in the form a few small mews and squeaks. But as soon as Balask felt the tiny paw on her nose, her crying suddenly came to a stop. She looked down at the cub again and she could swear that she saw her own soul reflecting back at her. She slowly moved her paws only to pull the little cub close, taking her into the embrace as well.
"Busara.. what's this cubs name..?" Balask questioned quietly to the mother.
"I've not named her yet... perhaps you would like to?" The young mother offered. Such a kind gesture towards someone who'd killed a cub, just like this one.
"Madoa.." She whispered softly. It took her no time to come up with the name. "After my mother..."
Busara only smiled at this and rejoined the soft embrace. "Then she will be known as Madoa.." She replied softly.
It was then that Balask made a promise to herself that she would make sure that this cub would not turn out how she did. This cub would be raised to love, the welcome and to help everyone in the land and only punish after knowing everything. She made a promise that this cub would not be engulfed in the flames that was darkness..
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