Ciphër's Den

INTENSE LORE BEGINS HERE. BEWARE.

Current pride leader:
Cipher, the Lone Wanderer.
Cipher is a Strict, but polite lion whom is very outgoing and confident. he can be very cautious when it comes to allying with other prides, but trusts his members and believes in a pride of equality. Cipher has been granted the power to see the future. This power was given to him by Solus and Unus, the twin spirits of the Secret garden, and Cipher had to give an offering to gain his ability.

Pride information.

The pride goes by the name of 'The desert wanderers', they live in a scorching dessert filled with sand. The camp is located in an oasis, the river is very clear, and the members refer to it as 'The Life stream' and have made their burrows right next to the water. The pride get its 'wanderer' name because the members venture far from the camp often times, and at night it is an eerie sight to behold. thin, long-legged lions traversing through the desert somewhat mindlessly for hours on end. The pride members often keep to themselves, but when confronted by separate prides they are proven to not hold back in fighting to the death.
The members have soft paw pads and normally dusky coloured pelts, but the pride leader's favourites usually have lots of colour and look out of place in the desert.


hundreds of years ago the dunes were a flat sand landscape, but the desert wanderers believe that giant snakes existed before then, and they coiled around the desert, creating massive dune hills of sand in their wake. The snakes were told to have fell into a deep sleep, and are now resting under the sands of the desert. The Serpent hills, they called it. It is unknown what happened, but many theories rose amongst the pride. The snakes travelled from the pride of Mother Mountain to the desert, and the two prides formed an ally after meeting, when the old pride leader, Hare'runner, adopted a young cub named Kunwar from the Mountain dweller's guardians, then the cub was named Kunwar'bound by the spirits to welcome him.
The largest snake rests under the dunes, being massive enough to stretch from the mother mountain to the desert. This snake is Mwenye, a large desert cobra that wakes up once every millennia, craving respect from the beings around it. It is said the cobra desires praise, and will demolish anything to receive the respect he deserves. Any who dishonour him are torn to shreds in his jaws. Mwenye's scales are a bright sandy yellow, like the sun, unlike the snake of Mother Mountain, Jyoti, with her pitch-black scales that not even the inky black nights could compete with. Mwenye resembles similarities to a King cobra, having the hood flare on the sides of his neck and very dry, dusky-coloured scales.
Mwenye rests underneath a massive sand dune near the pride camp, he emerges every millennia to shed his skin, and takes moons to properly return to hibernation.

The cobra was said to have been awoken by two young cubs, Sin and Kunwar, now Sinful'wrath and Kunwar'bound. The cubs had visited the dunes, and soon after that Mwenye had awoken. He slithered towards the pride and only left when gifts had been received, then went back under the sand to sleep once more. Kunwar'bound had checked the shed snake skin, and found minerals between the scales that had the rotting scent of flesh beneath. This movement from the surface alerted the snake underneath, and Mwenye trapped the two in his golden coil/s before Kunwar convinced him to let the two adolescents go.

Fancy quotes:

"All of us have the same blood flowing through our veins. We are all underneath the sun. Who are we to force others out of it?"

"Because the death of my pride was Unjust. Cruel. Our killers were worshipped and thanked and we were cast into shadow as monsters. Does that feel right to you?"

"Why would we worry, little bird? The leaves and stars will continue to thrive and live. Like they always do. If whoever is coming can't change that, then we can beat him."



Inhabitants and places.

The garden.
It is a heaven like place where lions believe they go after death, but first the spirits must view their lives to see if they are worthy of rest. The garden is peaceful with lush grass and bountiful prey, and you can meet with old friends there.

The Farther.
A blank, empty dimension that is merely a white void. there is no up or down here. The Farther can be a punishment for lions, or will be where Allseers are taken when they experience visions.

Realm of the Ruined.
This lies below the secret Garden, it is an endless black pit filled with corrupted ghosts that pull you down endlessly, whispering and screeching until you become one of them.

Pack of Famine- patrollers of the desert..
The Pack Of Famine, a group of undead coyote spirits that roam the desert. These spirits are agitable, and much more deadly then the others. They are stronger than average coyotes, and are driven by a constant thirst for flesh. The Pack of Famine take the form of regular coyotes, and they often chase out lions they see as intruders.

This leads into one of the most powerful desert spirits, Sekhmet. Sekhmet is an evil spirit that leads the pack of Famine. She takes the form of a pale-furred, lanky coyote with white eyes, and can faze in and out of sight with ease. She knows everyone, but not everyone knows her.
Sekhmet has the power to move the dunes and shape oasis's.

Mwenye.
Mwenye is a massive desert cobra with two neck flares on the sides of his head. His scales are a bright yellow and he has dark green eyes with thick scales surrounding them. The surface of his back is much more thick and spiked, slowly smoothing out towards his lower belly. Mwenye is the biggest snake that rests under the dunes, he seems to be in contact with Mother mountain's snake, Jyoti. He has much more personality then the other deities/cobras. Which means he's a snarky idiot who gets pissed at anything.

Mētztli.
He is a male spirit who takes the form of a melanistic hare. Mētztli is a good spirit who is said to harness the moon in his eyes. He is adorned with chains and raven feathers, and is constantly followed by a griffin like fluffy creature wearing a skull. He is very fair and probably the most immature of all the spirits, playing childish pranks on the pride lions and expressing his emotions very dramatically. Metzli is very straight forward with omens and warnings, unlike the other deities.

Pachī
This being is not really an entity, more of a powerful ally. Pachī is a large vulture, around 5ft tall at his full height. He speaks in short, choppy sentences and often helps the Desert pride with sending gifts or messages to other prides. He is also known for visiting other prides and.. shaving their lions? Weirdo.
His name isn't actually Pachī, the pride cubs named him a week after he started appearing. Pachī just means "Bird". so creative.
(He can speak properly, just doesnt like to a lot. will randomly talk just to surprise somebody.)

Māṁ ulū:
She is a powerful goddess that takes the form of a white owl. She is one of the most powerful spirits, being more powerful then all of the current ones listed here. She takes care of most of the deities and settles disputes along side Nirīkhaka. Mam Ulu often guides travellers out of the desert to save them from the wrath of the dangers there.

Solus and Unus.
Solus and Unus are two deceased brothers bound together for eternity by their tails. Unus is a black flecked lion with red eyes and freckled white spots, and Solus is a bright yellow lion with sun face paint on the side of his head. They are considered powerful spirits that are to judge your good and bad actions throughout your life. They accompany Sekhmet and help her with decision making.

Nirīkhaka.
Nirīkhaka is a genderless being that takes the form of a sandy coloured falcon that soars above the desert, observing it from above. They are a good spirit that manages the relationships between the otherworldly beings in the desert. They are more powerful than Sekhmet, but never interacts with her unless it is a serious matter.

Fauna and Flora.
Two desert spirits who are unusually set out from the others. Fauna and Flora are twins, and it is said that they used to be living lionesses, the first lionesses that entered the pride. They were what would have been called "chased lionesses". They arrived at the pride after being chased from their former one. Fauna is a dusky-coloured brown lioness with deer antlers and vines over her body, and Flora is a pinkish white lioness whom is adorned with gorgeous lilly flowers and crystals. The two sisters were "lost" in the desert, supposedly having left to hunt, but were killed by starvation and little resistance to the desert heat, taken by the pack of Famine. Sekhmet, however, had wanted to have a bit of enjoyment, granting the two eternal life in return for their membership in the pride.
It is still theorised to this day that the two sisters hadn't left the pride at all. They had been lured out by Sekhmet, and then starved and killed. Nobody knows why or how she would do this, but many think it was because they were from another pride.

Anpu.
A dark hound that communes with the Allseers, passing on messages through the Dead and living realm. Anpu is a black dire wolf spirit whom guides the deceased pride members into the new plane of existence, The secret Garden. Anpu uses the light of the stars to guide the dead, so when a pride member dies the stars that night are brighter.

Apakinti.
A powerful entity whose appearance is unknown, for anybody who looks at it goes blind. Apakinti resides in the Realm of the Ruined, where it waits for new targets. It can be summoned by Allseers or other deities.

Vodyanoi
An evil spirit that lurks in deep, dark ends of lakes and rivers and lunges out at unsuspecting lions whenever it can. It barely ever does them any harm unless it holds a particular grudge against that lion. Vodyanoi takes the form of a black and white horse, or more specifically a "water kelpie". When in water it has a scaled shark-like tail, whilst on land it has all four limbs intact. It seems like a normal horse unless you put its backwards hooves and devilish cries and screeches into thought.

Akhet.
A creature that burns brighter than the sun. It wanders the desert-side of the Outskirts, forever trying to enter the Mountain Dweller's territory. All who look upon Akhet will begin to seize and froth at the mouth, once the process begins, there is no stopping it. Akhet is a surreal being, that has no physical form/shape. Only Foreseers are given the ability to look upon Akhet, as they are blind.
At night, Akhet can be heard singing; ``ᚨᛏ ᛏᚺᚨᛏ ᚺᛁᚷᚺ ᛚᛖᚡᛖᛚ ᛏᚺᛖ ᚨᛁᚱ ᛁᛋ ᛈᚢᚱᛖ. ᛏᚺᛖᚤ ᛏᛟᛚᛞ ᚹᛁᛚᛞ ᛏᚨᛚᛖᛋ ᛏᛟ ᚠᚱᛁᚷᚺᛏᛖᚾ ᛏᚺᛖᛗ. ᛏᚺᛖ ᚨᚾᚲᛁᛖᚾᛏ ᚲᛟᛁᚾ ᚹᚨᛋ ᛩᚢᛁᛏᛖ ᛞᚢᛚᛚ ᚨᚾᛞ ᚹᛟᚱᚾ. ᛏᛟ ᛗᚨᚴᛖ ᛈᚢᚱᛖ ᛁᚲᛖ, ᚤᛟᚢ ᚠᚱᛖᛖᛉᛖ ᚹᚨᛏᛖᚱ. ᚹᛖ ᚨᚱᛖ ᛋᚢᚱᛖ ᛏᚺᚨᛏ ᛟᚾᛖ ᚹᚨᚱ ᛁᛋ ᛖᚾᛟᚢᚷᚺ. ``

Aaru.
Another creature, similar to Akhet but not so similar. The Entity wanders the Mountain side of the Outskirts, and it is theorized that Aaru and Akhet are past lovers or enemies.
Aaru does not have a physical shape or form, only appearing as a bright, white light that can be spotted pacing up and down the Outskirts. Nothing will happen to a lion if they do look upon Aaru, but actually seeing The Entity is a sacred happening, only occurring every millennia or so.
Aaru does have a special role in the Mountain Dweller's faith, being worshipped with many Alter Snakes and Shrines.

Sapa:
Sapa is one of the serpents that rest under the dunes. he resides under the second largest dune in the desert, and is said to be a glossy snake. He is quite timid and prefers to stay out of sight from lions, hating any kind of attention. Has some kind of rivalry with mwenye.


Saṭārasakī:
She is a neutral spirit who works alongside Anpu, lighting up the sky with stars to honor the life of the deceased every night. She takes the form of a light blue dragon, her purple wings speckled with the light of stars. Sometimes these "stars" will fall from her spiritual form and land somewhere near the desert, the stars are then used to foresee death and see ghosts easier. If there is ever a night where there are no stars, the desert pride see it as an omen.


The Moonlit Spirits:
The Moonlit pride existed decades ago in a frosty tundra that has now been reduced to a desert. They were nimble and violent warriors followed by the cold glare of the moon, bringing eternal night into every territory they claimed. At first neighbouring prides had assumed the leader would make a peaceful pride, or at least die out in the cold of the ice desert. But something happened in the few months she was there, her heart froze over and turned her pelt a pale blue. The innocent, warm queen was lost nearly as soon as she had arrived, and in her place was a ruthless tyrant. An Oasis was created, with sweet scents and the gentle rushing of water as it melted from the ice above. It didn't take long for lionesses to be drawn over, either out of curiosity or by enemy pride orders. Those lionesses never came back. It is hard to tell whether they were killed, or joined the pride, since all lions in the Moonlit pride had their furs turned stiff and frostbitten, so they all looked the same. They were all so.. thin, and unnatural. They worshipped the moon and stars, never leaving the shine of the moon all their lives.
But it wasn't meant to be.
After years of fighting and gaining territory, the Moonlit pride's appearances suddenly just.. stopped. Sightings of the lithe, cruel lionesses began to dwindle until there were no sightings at all. Nobody knew what happened, nobody wanted to find out. It was only till years later a young king called Hare'runner ventured into the now grassland territory and found the skeletons of lionesses in a dip in the ground. The sun burned on the fields, whatever used to be here, they weren't here any longer.
Now, the spirits of the Moonlit pride scour the desert, shifting the sands and killing whatever they dont determine as their kin. The desert pride call the spirits the defenders, for they possess lionesses and go out by night to protect their past territory, protecting it even after death.

The story of these ghosts are told to cubs to frighten them into obedience. Sometimes the spirits can be seen near the oasis, peering into the sandy camp and flickering away.



Pride descriptions for stuff:

Sun splinter: when a non-blood gets sunburnt.

Cold splinter: when a lion gets frostbite/cold

Small dune snakes: normal snakes.

Grassy desert: a field

Cold desert: an iceland

Molten mountains: a volcano


Pride sayings/insults and what they mean:

Whiskers of a seal = calling the lion too sensitive.

head full of tumbleweed= calling a lion stupid. light insult.

Finch-brained= stupid, small minded. harsh insult.

Weed= worthless. Harsh insult.

Non-blood= a lion that wasnt born in the desert. Non-bloods are looked down upon.

Sun-blood = Lions born in the desert

skittish as a hare= describing a shy, fearful lion.

friendly as a honey badger= often used sarcastically, saying they are not friendly and that they are irritable and grumpy.

Rat feed= rotten food

Pelt full of bees= used to describe a lion who is easily annoyed.

stiff legs= often used by cubs to refer to an elder lion.

cub prey= used to refer to things that are easy to catch such as tortoises, snakes and slow lions.

limps= used to refer to weak or disadvantages lions. this phrase is hated by most of the pride.

Dingo in a coyote pack= usually said to refer to someone as the "odd one out"

"Cacklers" = Hyenas

"Pickers" = Vultures

"Desert claws" = Thorn bushes/cacti


<[Pride Rules/ceremonies]>
1. Do not steal any of the food. Prey is scarce in the desert, if anything is found missing you will be killed.
2. Do not approach the pride Defenders. They are not themselves at night.
3. Never disrespect the spirits, they will grant you a suitable punishment.
4. If anything strange happens, such as hallucinating, fatigue, or insanity, immediately go to Tigers'blood. She has the herbs to cure it.
5. The dunes may shift places from time to time, do not mention it, it is merely the snakes.
6. Don't disturb Mwenye unless you are willing to run, or have the right herbs to put him back to sleep.
7. Never steal the Spirit Stones. You will be killed on the spot and fed to the serpents.
8. If you see a pack of coyotes wandering in the desert, ignore them. They are incarnates of desert spirits. They are not real.
8.5. If one of these coyotes approach you, run back immediately. They will not hesitate to kill you if they find you do not have desert blood.
9. You may see a large coyote in the Oasis, that is Sekhmet, spirit of the desert. Do not disturb her or attack her, she is merely there to watch.
10. Do not touch the Spirit Stones. Sekhmet will see to you if you do.
11. Do not disobey the spirits
12. Never kill your own pride.
13. Do not disrespect the dead, even if they deserved their fate.
14. Pregnant lionesses and young cubs must eat first, no matter what.
15. If anybody in the pride dies, the allseers must take a vow of silence until the sun sets the next day. The body will be cleaned with water from the life stream, and buried far away from camp with a carved stone snake set over the grave.
16. Any violence towards your own pride members will not go unnoticed.
17. Do not kill for fun, otherwise the animals will strike back. they like fun, too.


Pride roles:
Allseers.
Lionesses or lions trained to work with herbs and the spirits. They have the strongest bond with the spirits, and are often bonded with one particular theme and chosen to protect one thing of the desert. For example, Tigers'blood protects the avians and small critters, and Marble'temple protects the pride youth. Allseers often have visions, and most of them have spiritual abilities granted to them by our ancestors.
The Allseer den is at the end of the Life stream, it is called the Foresight Caves.
Allseers are the 3rd most important role.

Spirit Watchers
Powerful lionesses/lions who are given much more strength than your average lion. They are fed much more food, and are trained to fight. These lionesses purpose is to guard the desert at night, and their bodies are temporarily taken over by spirits to scare off intruders.
The Spirit Watcher den is to the right of the Crystal Coves, and is called the Before.
Spirit watchers are the 4th most important role.

Spies.
Nimble lionesses/lions who are trained specifically to stalk and ambush. They go to other prides or territories to spy and gain information to deliver back to the pride king. Often these spies are directed by the spirits, and the Allseers tell them where the spirits want them to go. The spy den is nearest to the entrance of the oasis, and is called the Trust.
Spies are the 5th most important role.

Messenger.
There are usually around two messengers at once. It is their job to send messages throughout the separate territories, so if one pride was to announce war, it would be the messenger's job to run over to the other pride and announce that to them. Messengers are granted permission from the desert spirits to travel to other territories to bring messages, and if a messenger is killed or attacked by other prides the messenger then has permission to fight back.

Hunters.
Very quiet lionesses/lions who are trained to stalk reptiles and or avian prey. This role is what the pride is mostly made up of, and is the most needed role. The hunter den is on the other side of the Snake stone and is called the Honoured.
Hunters are the 2nd important, for they supply the pride with food.


Mothers.
A role that consists of older lionesses that are either nursing or protecting young cubs, and this role can change to hunters when the lionesses duties are relieved.
The mothers reside in a den called the Future Ones, and it is the most comfortable den in the oasis, located near the centre.
Mothers are the most important role, since they tend to the next generation of pride members.

Pride king/queen.
The pride king or queen is in charge of granting roles and holding meetings upon the Serpent stone. Meetings can either be naming ceremonies, role-granting, or to settle disputes/arrange allies. Pride leaders are trained in all sections, spying, hunting, parenting, spirit watching. This is so a pride leader can lead by example, and the pride leader must always join in when battling. Pride leaders often reside in the Soul Stone cave, unless they choose otherwise. The soul stones are stones that hold the spirits of past leaders and important figures in the pride, and the leaders can speak to them when in a time of need.
Pride leaders are also the most important role, since they manage and control the pride and its territory borders.


Side roles/temporary roles (Less important):

Cavemother/guard.
There can be multiple cave guards at once, and they are there to stand outside caves and.. guard it. Obviously.

Elders.
Elders are retired warriors that are sheltered from the harsh weather by their own cave in the Cave of all Creatures, aligned with fresh moss weekly. Elders are relieved of their duties unless said otherwise by the spirits, and the Elders are a valued part of the pride that the leaders will often come to for advise.

Shout out to my friend Maddy!
Clicky

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