𝚈𝚘𝚐𝚞𝚛𝚝's Den

Pride Lore

Like all terrible things, Yogurt’s rule started with good intentions. A young, talented queen was just what the pride needed after the unexpected death of her predecessor.

The pride mourned, and then they prospered. The strips of muddy land that reached out into the sea brought plentiful opportunities for fishing, and will the wet season came the great herds- who grazed a short walk away from the foothills where the pride lived. From the high ground, you could see them- like a swarm of insects devouring the grass.

Then came the dry season. So close to the ocean, in such a boggy habitat, water wasn’t an issue. But big prey moved on. As they have for many years, the lions moved to a diet of seafood.

You couldn’t say there was a moment where the pride took a turn for the worse. It happened so slowly, those in the pride barely took notice. But slowly, as Yogurt gained power, her grip on the hillside pride became stronger and stronger, and something shifted.

In the past, the coastal pride lands had been a home for all wandering lions looking for a place to rest and a stable supply of food to hunt. Now, there were less visitors, and less new lions joining the pride. Those who did had to have something to offer. Whether it was a necklace forged of gold, or simply a pattern of interesting patches or piebalds.

The culture changed, too. The pride had always followed certain rules- simple things passed from generation to generation by the group’s chosen shaman. Respect, mostly. For the land around them, and the animals they eat.

But quietly, unnoticed- those rules changed. Some lives were suddenly of more value to others. Lions who broke the rules were not sent on there way, but off to the caverns where they would wander. Some would find tunnels to the surface and leave the pride’s foothills forever. But many, if not most, were cursed to stay in the caverns.

Yogurt’s pride is a well oiled machine - efficient and ruthless in its strategy