Art by #263841
Art by #406941
A long prologue
The Harbinger is a creature of free will. It was created to bring destruction and misfortune to all. During the time of the Harbinger's creation, there was an unexpected shift in reality. During this shift, a massive amount of power was created, and without a vessel, it would have destroyed all of reality. An unknown force moved the power to the Harbinger granting it self-consciousness and intelligence.
The Harbinger was created in The Land of Filth and Deceit where only destruction could happen. The strongest powers of the land were growing tired of their confinements and we were reaching for another place to wreak havoc. The leaders of the disgusting creatures of nightmares came together to reach for The Domain of Life. This place is in the middle of a figurative tier of worlds. The bottom is The Land of Filth and Deceit. The middle is The Domain of Life. And the top, The Plains of Power. Then there is The Region of Existence which surrounds all of those worlds and holds them together. Each has its purpose for existence. The Land of Filth and Deceit houses all things that cause misfortune. The Domain of Life is where the living thrive but do not necessarily live. The Planes of Power is where all good comes from. There also the beings there are responsible for keeping the balance between themselves and the beings in The Land of Filth and Deceit. This kept their influence from spilling into The Domain of Life. If such things happened disaster would meet the world. If The Planes of Power spilled into The Domain of Life it would leave an opening for the creatures of The Land of Filth and Deceit to take and corrupt the good everywhere else. If The Land of Filth and Deceit leaked into The Domain of Life it would destroy the place and The Planes of Power would lose its only defense and would be easily taken but the corruption that would come from those evil creatures.
The Harbinger knew that the latter would happen if it were not stopped. This led him to leave The Land of Filth and Deceit and step into The Domain of Life. When he was there he spent time with a lion and together they warned The Planes of Power. The creatures there used their power to stop evil from taking hold and
The Harbinger was not forced back into The Land of Filth and Deceit and was left to roam the lands. During one of his travels in The Planes of Power, he met a female named Darth. They were unsure about each other at first but in the end, it turned out to be the ultimate opposite-attract relationship. They conceived three children. Gill the younger brother, Kelany the older sister, and Sun Eater, the Mid child. Even though they had a happy life and such Darth grew worried for her children. They were a mixture of two things alike but unlike and she worried the world would see them as abominations. To keep the balance Darth could not leave The Planes of Power and so she demanded the Harbinger keep the children there where she could watch them grow. When an upper of The Planes of Power found out that the children were in existence and president in The Planes of Power he demanded they leave. He said that even though the Harbinger was not mentally tied to The Land of Filth and Deceit the children were. That they threw off the balance and would cause disaster if they stayed. When Darth offered to leave with them the higher up said that the power would then be thrown off too. He said they would have to take the children to The Land of Filth and Deceit and Darth would have to stay where she was.
The Harbinger knew that only death waited for the kids at The Land of Filth and Deceit and brought up the fact that the kids were half good and half bad. That there was no place for them. The upper then stated that there was another way to fix the problem. That the Harbinger could seek out The Keeper of Stars in The Region of Existence. He told them that all of the fate was written in the stars and that the keeper of them could change the way they were written. Essentially the Star Keeper could remove all of the Harbinger's traits from the children and they could continue to live in The Planes of Power. With this knowledge, the Harbinger left in search of The Keeper of Stars. The upper gave him a location in which there was a portal to The Region of Existence. Little was known of the place. All the upper could tell him was that the star Keepers were started when the first misbalance happened.
Before the misbalance, no creature of The Domain of Life knew of the two other worlds. During the time of the misbalance, the first apocalypse happened. The misfortunate lions who had to live through it suffered great tragedies. One in particular was the lion Kairos. But he was different from many others. Kairos was the king of a massive pride of lions and lionesses. He was fair and good to all and loved by many. Then the apocalypse happened and Kairos was forced to watch as his pride member after pride member died. He got to the point where he could no longer live and watch as what happened, happened. So he left in search of the cause and the solution. In his search, he found out about the other worlds. He found that none of the creatures from his world had any say in what happened around them. This made him angry beyond belief. When he tried to consult the other two worlds about his worries about The Domain of Life's creatures and their free will he was laughed at and told that he was not strong enough to have a say by both sides.
This led to Kairos running in the planes and to the top of a rock outcrop. There he roared his devastation and morning and anger for all the world to hear. And it did hear him. His anger was channeled into an unimaginable amount of power. He tore through the fabric of his reality and created The Region of Existence. Its purpose was to even out the power dynamic between the worlds by granting lions the power to change what power a creature held. If creatures from one realm grew too strong their power could be erased from it or changed to match that of their enemies. With a new balance found the tragedies ended and life continued.
The Harbinger goes to the place instructed and finds the portal. Ready to please the upper and continue his happy life in her steps. He's transported to a place where the grounds are black and shapeless and all around him are specks of light. He could feel life and power coming from all of them. The Harbinger begins walking forward. He only took a couple of steps before he heard a voice coming from behind him. The Harbinger whipped around to see a lion. The lion tells the Harbinger that he knows why he's there and that he can help him. Here the Harbinger makes a mistake and believes the lion's words to mean that the lion was omnistic. The lion leads him to a group of four blots of light which the Harbinger feels oddly familiar with. The lion told him that they were the power in the family. He told him that with his consent he would remove the power from their bodies. The Harbinger told him that he could. He watched as another blot of light joined the rest and as three of the lights split into six. Then he watched as one of the other two lights collected one-half of each separated light. Then the now much bigger light blinked out and was gone forever.
The lion led the Harbinger back to the portal and he tried back to his home. When the Harbinger arrived he found that his children and Darth were all gone. He traveled and looked for them in The Planes of Power until someone finally told him that Darth had died an unexplainable death and the children had lost all of the good that was in them. Because of this, they were thrown into The Domain of Life. In sorrow, the Harbinger left in search of his children. When he found them he learned from them that it was true. Their mother had died suddenly and they could no longer feel half of the power.
~Sun Eater's POV~
I was searching again. My last kill meant that there was another out there who needed destroying. The specific family tree for these lions was very extensive. One after another I removed the foul creatures in the hope that once the entire family was removed the Star Keepers would end. I have killed 14 so far. The first one was the hardest. The male named Durin had been the Star Keeper for years before I got to him. I waited for him to not be in The Region of Existence where he could see me coming but his trained power made the fight difficult. When he entered The Domain of Life I attacked. His death was quick. On his last breath, he spoke of family and how another worthy one would step up and take his place. And one did but the new Keeper was a lioness and she was unprepared for my arrival. My best guess was that it took time for the omniscience to set in, for them to see me coming. That had to be why for 5 years now I have had the same pattern going. Kill, find, kill, find, and kill. They were becoming harder to find which must mean that the number of "worthy family" must be dwindling. I was getting closer to my revenge.
The vast savannahs of the lions stretched in all directions, dotted with patches of tall, thick grass and trees. As I stepped onto the plains, the sound of the lions' roars filled my ears, growing louder and more intense with each step I took toward the grounds of the trading center.
The Western Trading Center, a sprawling marketplace that serves as a hub for commerce and communication among the lion's pride, is bustling with activity as always. The scent of exotic spices, fine perfumes, and rich silks fills the air as traders from all corners of the savannahs gather to barter and exchange goods.
As I carefully maneuver through the crowds, I remain alert, for even a misplaced shadow could draw unnecessary attention to something, or I should say, myself and potentially compromise my mission. I'm in my shadow form here to find the new Keeper, supposed to be a wise and spiritually connected lion who possesses a deep understanding of the natural world and the magic it holds, but I know the truth about their wicked ways.
After hours of searching, I finally spotted my target: a lion carrying himself with a regal bearing, deep in conversation with another trader. He seems to possess a quiet strength and a commanding presence, and his natural aura exudes a sense of power and confidence. Even his eyes seem to glow with an inner light, revealing a connection to the magic that runs through the land.
I wait for the lion to wrap up his dealings and begin the journey back to his pride. Then I pounce, striking in the dead of night when he least expects it. I rushed him going from shadow to Harbinger in the blink of an eye. I felt my claws piece his pelt as I roared and dragged him to the ground. He responded by attempting to kick me off but my fighting experience made it easy to pin him to the ground.
Now with any other attacks I did I never spoke to the one I killed but something about him tore my voice from me and I said, "How is it that you all are omniscient yet you all keep failing to stay alive time and again? The title "Star Keeper" suggests to me that you have power."
"What are you going on about? I and no other Keeper was ever omniscient! Now get off me!" the lion replied.
This filled me with a sense of rage, causing the anger within me to fester and spread like wildfire.
"Are you not embarrassed to falsify your omnipotence on top of all the other crimes your race has committed? Have you ever thought about the pain your decisions have caused to others?"
"I haven't done a thing to you! I don't know you or the wrongness you're talking about!" he hissed.
The moment I opened my mouth to voice my mistrust in his words, my tongue alerted me that his deceptions were as obvious as water in the desert. I was at a loss for words, my claws slowly retracting from his pelt and skin. Taking a step back, I studied him again, realizing that I had likely made a mistake. This was not the lion that deserved my wrath. However, upon another inspection with the eyes that revealed the true strength tied to his soul, I was not mistaken. He was indeed the Keeper, but he was not lying about his abilities either.
"This does not make sense!" I exclaimed. "If you are not all-knowing, answer me, how did the lion of my childhood know what to do before he did it?" With these words spoken, the lion rose to his feet and faced me, focusing his attention on me.
"I'm not following? What lion? What did they know?"
"He had murdered my mother! He had the foresight to decimate my family!" The lion was rendered speechless by the words that had just left my lips.
"Someone killed your mother? Who?"
"A Keeper, damn it! One of your kind!"
"I- But I thought that keepers were meant to keep balance? Why would a Keeper kill someone? Isn't their whole purpose to stop death?" I could see in his eyes that he was just getting a good look at me. He was seeing the Harbinger in me.
"I don't know, you tell me. Are you not the one with the power to see souls and such?" This seemed to be something to be thought about.
"I can. We can. We will do it now. We will find out what happened to your mother."
~Time Skip~
Upon our arrival at the portal, we proceeded forth, stepping through its threshold and entering the unknown. We trudged through the dark and desolate land for what seemed an eternity to me, and yet we knew not how much time had passed. Eventually, we stumbled upon specks of light that danced throughout the air, almost as if to beckon me forward. The sight filled me with a sense of awe and wonder, for I knew not what lay ahead.
"What is your name?" I asked. The lion looked over his shoulder at me.
"It's Astra. Yours?"
"Sun Eater." We continued to move forward through the murky darkness, eyes trained upon the specks of light that hovered about us. After what seemed like hours, we eventually found ourselves before a speck of light that did not stand out from the rest. But as I got closer I could feel a radiant aura that was unlike anything I had ever felt before, almost as if it was calling out to me. With bated breath, I took a step closer, eager to see what lay in this strange and wondrous thing.
"This is it. It will only take me a moment." When we arrived at the speck of light, Astra approached it cautiously, reaching out with his paw to touch it. He stood motionless, as if in a trance, and I could not help but wonder how he knew this was the one we were searching for. The air around us grew still as I watched him, waiting for some sign or sign to indicate what lay In It.
After the momentary silence, Astra separated himself from the light, pulling away with purpose. I glanced into his eyes, searching for some sign of the thoughts coursing through his mind, but met only an inscrutable gaze that revealed nothing to me. He held his gaze upon mine as if to challenge me to guess what he was thinking, which was an impossible ask given the lack of information I currently had. In the end, I was forced to accept that I would never truly know what he was feeling right now, which caused me a deep and all-encompassing sense of anxiety and uncertainty.
"I know now." He said. For the next ten or so minutes, he told me the story of my mother's demise for the first time, with words devoid of exaggeration or deceit. He regaled me with a tale of a random creature from the mysterious Planes of Power that had demanded a significant power shift caused by my siblings and me. He explained how my father sought out the aid of the Keeper to combat this threat, yet my father had been under the mistaken impression that the Keeper had played a hand in my mother's death. In reality, the upper had commanded the Keeper to execute my mother's murder, and my father had unwittingly sought after and facilitated this act, believing it to be in the best interest of everyone. The Keeper, believing he was fulfilling his sworn duty to protect those in need, had only done what he thought was right, not knowing the entire truth behind the uppers' actions. When it was revealed the horrific truth about the Upper, it became clear that the Upper were driven by their disdain for our family, leading them to take horrible measures to prevent my father from being happy in his marriage with my mother, resulting in her tragic demise. It broke me to know that such a great injustice had been permitted by the uppermost power, and a deep feeling of dread threatened to overwhelm me with the realization that things may never change if those in power are allowed to continue their reign unchecked. The Star Keeper held his gaze upon me, seemingly waiting for my reaction to his revelations, which left me feeling even more lost than before. I didn't know what to say or how to process this information, and the weight of my anger and grief threatened to consume me whole.
~Time Skip~
When my trip with Astra had concluded in The Domain of Life, I made a beeline for my family, eager to spend time with them and to share with them what I had learned. I spent several weeks with them, taking the time to convey in excruciating detail every detail of my encounter with Astra and his revelations about my mother's death. After an appropriate amount of time had passed, I decided it was time to thank Astra properly for the role he had played in my healing. Despite my initial hesitancy, he somehow managed to convince me to spend more time with him, and we grew closer as the weeks passed. However, it wasn't until a full month and a half had gone by that I realized my feelings for him were no longer strictly that of a companion; I was enamored with him. Yet, it only took me a mere two minutes after the realization to admit that our differences were too great for us to ever be together. I spent many weeks struggling with this reality and, in the end, I concluded that no barrier, whether of space, time, or reality, would keep me from being with him. As a result, I made up a pretense to leave Astra and visit my father, heading straight to his home and making my intentions known without any hesitation or ambiguity.
"Can you change me?"
He looked at me in confusion before saying, "Change what about you?"
"I want to be compatible with lions." It was weird talking to him about this. He was my father.
"He looked away from me and said, "You must make me a promise first though."
"Anything."
"You must promise that whatever happens between you and this lion you will never try to change anyone. Ever."
When I returned to Astra after my fateful conversation with my father, I had undergone a profound transformation that I could not fully understand at the time. My relationship with Astra, which had started with a sharing of trauma and grief, had evolved and grown into something far greater, a relationship built upon love, and respect.
As the years passed, we continued to explore and discover so much about each other and about life itself. We spent countless hours learning and teaching one another, and our love continued to flourish in ways neither of us had ever imagined. Our relationship had reached the highest of all possible highs, and we had never felt happier or more complete.
When the day finally arrived that we were to be married, a sense of sheer joy and contentment filled every corner of my being. As we tied the knot and cemented our eternal bond, I felt a sense of utter wholeness, knowing that I had found my true soulmate in Astra. Our love had truly conquered all obstacles and trials, and we were ready to embark on the next chapter of our lives, together, in happiness and bliss, until the end of time.
"I'm so glad we found each other," I said, gazing into Astra's eyes with a deep sense of contentment. "I feel like our family is finally complete like we were always supposed to be together."
"Me too," Astra grinned, putting his paw on mine. "I can't imagine my life without you, and I don't want to. I want to spend every day, every moment, every second with you, growing and learning together."
"That's all I want too," I replied, leaning in to press my muzzle to his. "Let's never forget how lucky we are to have each other."
Our love was complete and unconditional, a bond that had been forged in the fires of adversity and proven stronger because of it. As we sat there, basking in the warmth of each other's presence, we knew that our happy family was here to stay, a constant in a world full of uncertainty and change.
(Written by not a thing #3831 on Disc AKA Jay #440332 on Lioden)
#794171206740
