Pride Lore

The first Drought hit the pride hard-- what were the Pride of the River without their full, flowing river? When the Fires began sweeping the land, many animals began encroaching on Caleit's territory. Though he wanted to fight for his land, he knew it was better to share the little water that was left in the riverbed with others. In the moons following, they found themselves scarce for prey and land.

When the Locust Plague began, the Pride of the River was left weak, with only half the territory they had claimed in the month before. It wasn't long until Omens began appearing, sending sickening chills down Caleite's spine. With no shaman yet in the pride, Caleit was left to decipher the omens himself. The omens lingered over Caleit's head for days, a lingering feeling of dread swarming like the locusts throughout the pride.

Desperate to free his mind, Caleit left camp on his own. In a blink of an eye, he was back in camp, his mane clinging to his pelt, his entire body drenched in his own blood. It was as though he'd been stripped of all life and placed back into camp by an ethereal being-- a sweet floral scent lingered in his nose. It was the last thought he had before succumbing to darkness.

The pride did not bury Caleit right away. He didn't have the foul stench of death, and his body burned as though he was lit by a bushfire from the inside. They stayed close to him for many moons, fearful that if he was left unattended, the locusts would take to his body, and the fire inside him would die out.

As fast as they'd swarmed, they'd left. The dark cloud of locusts lifted from the camp, and in their place rose Aleit. In his new body, the reborn king Caeliet embraced his new name from the heavens and took back control of his clan.

Not much longer after his rebirth, he and Kaya ended their partnership. Menhit and Apollyon's devotion to each other was seared in Aleit's mind as a reminder that love could not grow out of competition and disdain.

Driven by anger, Kaya abandoned her pride and took residence in a new territory...

Pride Structure

Caleite learned that his father's way of sending the young off to fend for themselves was barbaric, but he never knew how to properly train them alone. As his pride grew, he found himself learning his neighboring pride's processes to train their young. This is reflected in the staggered naming-- the youngest cubs being the ones following the name system, and the oldest still holding their true names since birth.

At birth, each cub is given the suffix 'kit'. At adolescence, they gain the suffix 'cub', and once they've reached full growth, they earn their true name.

A lion's name may change should they choose to follow in the footsteps of a shaman or medic. In that instance, they would recieve the suffix 'awi', for Shamans, and 'jani' for medics.

Milestones

June 21st, 2020: First cub was born!
July, 2020: Second cub was born!
July 15th, 2020: Reached Dreamboat impression!
January 2022: Reborn as Aleit. Still the same lion he was, but now with better joints.
May 3rd, 2022: Aleit's relationship ended with Kaya, now partnered to Protea.