[ORP] Enter the Priest of Death

[Kimaria]

Yuma the little Jackal paused and raised his head to scent the air. What was this smell? Lion? Well, the road ahead could prove more dangerous than he had first thought. Deserts should be void of life! It was a little dissapointing to think that he could bump into strife pretty soon. He thought he had left all that behind him, back in the Pridelands with his family. Family. He had never been one of them, not really.

He gave a gruff, rumbling sound and padded onwards, enjoying the warm ground beneath his paws. It was good to lie on the sand under the morning sun. Very nice. In fact, though there wasn't much water and the trees were sparse, Yuma thought he liked his place. Hear in the forgotten lands he could sit alone and sing to the sky without anyone around to be alerted.

Except maybe for thsoe pesky lions.

But he was determined not to let the scents put him off. They were probably dead by now anyway. He had somewhere to be, somewhere to go, he just wasn't sure what or where. All he knew was that instinct led him here, maybe what he searched for was beyond this place. He didn't care. All he knew was that someday he wanted to reach it.

To think, maybe this journey would bring him to something greater, better. Yes, Yuma was determined to make something of himself and that time had begun. He had come of age, was young and strong and he was brave.

Yuma, filled with new determination, raised his head and howled.  

[Successful Edit]

Maned wolves are not native to Africa. Once, a large band escaped from a zoo, and so there were now wild wolves. Others had been introduced by concerned conservations to prevent too much inbreeding since it proved impossible to recapture them all when they'd spread out and started having pups. While this was many generations back - the fact remained.

Kainda and her kin should never have been in Africa.
They hadn't been in the ancient days.

Which was why they could never be found anywhere in the remaining murals and glyph at the Temple. Or in ruins like the one Kainda was in now. Only a chunk of one wall remained while the outline of the others just discoloured the sand. Who knew what it had been? It was far from the Temple. But it had a small mural, sandworn, in one corner and was of the same oddly smooth vertical stone. So she knew it was of the Clan.

Here too, there were no wolves. A jackal yes, which was what the wolves were treated like in Dawnwalker tradition. Cousins of jackals who came one dawn, seeking water in the harsh place and who never left. After all, they'd found one blood line of lions had an affiny with the wolves and vice versa. If all of them had been as close as Kainda and Muroki...and they got on so well with their 'cousins'...no wonder they never left. Still, Kainda was young enough to wish that the murals showed them at least once, not knowing about the zoo escape generations ago.

When she heard a jackal howl, Kainda naturally called back.
A cousin? She hadn't met one since she was a puppy!  

[Kimaria]

A howl. Another howl. Well Yuma didn't know that much about lions but he did know one thing. They couldn't howl. No, lions grunted and roared. Only a jackal or a wolf could sing so beautifully.

He relaxed a little at the sound, taking note that it certainly wasn't a jackal. The depth and tone was all wrong! So it had to be a wolf. Wolves were bigger than jackals, but Yuma hadn't met one who had turned on him. Besides, meeting a wolf was far better than anything else he could have met...except possibly another jackal of course.

So he gave a small barking sound and trotted across the ground, cresting an incline to gaze around him. There just ahead of him...a dark figure? Well perhaps he should introduce himself? It seemed pointless to turn around now and though he was keen to keep going he was also tired and secretly...lonely.

He raised his head and called in song. "Yuma here. Who is there?"  

[Successful Edit]

Kainda gave an excited yip and started to move closer to where the howl had come from, loping along on her stilt like legs. She paused when she came across the smaller dog-like creature. They were a few lengths away, so it was a little far to simply talk...

Besides, how long had it been since she'd had a good sing? Lions can't howl, as Yuma had noted. And Muroki adored her, but even though he understood why she liked to call and howl, he couldn't honestly say he loved the sound. Appreciate it sometimes. But it meant less to a cat.

"They call me Kainda." She sang back.  

[Kimaria]

Like Kainda, Yuma began to move forwards. Howling was one thing he loved to do. Even his name meant howl. He was born to sing and now, finally he as singing for a reason. How long had it been since he had spoken to his kin like this?

Okay, so Kainda wasn't kin but she was close enough. Perhaps many thousands of years ago, they had once been the same, seperated due to some strange magic.

"Nice to meet youuuu!" And then the distance between them began to close and he lowered his head to speak to her. She was a strangely marked female, of brown white and black with eyes that reminded Yuma of the summer skies he had loved to sit and watch.

He snuffled the air a few yards from her nose and wagged his tail. "What are you doing out here in this barren land, Kainda?"  

[Successful Edit]

She bowed to the jackal, remembering they were the greater of the cousins despite the wolves height advantage. The jackals were the ones truly in tune with sunset and the mysteries of the afterlife. They deserved greater respect, even those not-Clan.

"The Dawnwalker Clan of long ago is reborn, and everyone knows that the lions just can't do it without us." To be honest, this was true. If she had never completed her mission and found Muroki - if she hadn't coaxed him and supported him - if she had just sat around on her tail all day, nothing would be happening!

"I'm the only canine they've got. No other wolves or jackals. " She lowered her voice, as if sharing something important.  

[Kimaria]

She was bowing? Maybe it was some strange wolf cutsom? He wrinkled his nose thoughtfully and then did his best to mimic the action. Bowing didn't come easily to one who wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to be doing.

"Dawnwalker Clan?" He had never heard of it. How could he? He had been born far from here, to a family who were probably just as ignorant of it.

"Us? Since when have lions relied on us?" He continued to listen with his mouth slightly gaping. Was he supposed to know this? Kainda made it sound like he should know. As if all her words were facts one retained from birth.

"You'll have to start from the beginning." He laughed. "Is this Clan near here?" He looked around. To think, lions living out here in the middle of nowhere, lions who leaned on others for help. He never thought he'd see this!  

[Successful Edit]

"Oh, sorry, I thought you might have been one of us. Lots of the jackals who used to live with the pride survived and scattered, so I thought you might be one." Kainda apologised, tilting her head at being bowed to.

"These are the Clan's lands. It was a pride-pack-flock. Cheetahs ran, birds watched, lions hunted and ruled, while we wolves sang and the jackals were powerful priests. It was like that for years until the plague came."  

[Kimaria]

"Powerful priests?" He whispered. He liked the sound of that. The sound of importance, of being someone looked up to. He wanted that, well, actually he just wanted a chance to do something useful. It was what he had been searching for. Something to do, something that could make a difference. However, he wasn't sure about being so lcose to lions.

He had been born in the Pridelands and had constantly been towered over by them. He didn't like to be crowded and he didn't like to seem small.

But...maybe this was what his instincts had been leading him to. Maybe his new start was here.

He raised his nose to his taller cousin and wagged his tail once. "I heard about the plague. It destroyed so much. I was born after it so I know nothing of the pain it caused. But if it was enough to destroy prides I am glad I wasn't here to witness it's wrath." He paused. "Kainda, I followed my instincts here from lands far away. I was searching for something more than what already was. Maybe that place is here. Tell me more. What did the jackals do? Were they caretakers of Gods? Were they actually important or did they simply babble useless poems and songs of faith. Can any jackal become a priest?"  

[Successful Edit]

"I know only the very basic rites, as does one or two of the lions. But the secrets are in the jackal caves. Even I'm too big to get in there and discover the power once again."

She inclined her head as well, sniffing, even as she explained. Another thing the lions did less than Kainda was use their sense of smell. Oh they weren't too bad but they didn't care so much about following interesting scents and couldn't detect some of the more intricate or delicate fragrances like she could.

"Cousin, the jackals held the secrets of death and the afterlife. Without them, our dead might not make it to the next life. We wolves could learn but jackals are the ones sacred to the god of death. They knew the spells, knew the rituals, and gave counsel to the king. If your instincts told you to come here, maybe you're destined for this place..."

 

[Kimaria]

"A priest of death?" He parroted slowly. It sounded scary, powerful and full of mystery. Was this what his instincts had been trying to tell him? Was this his future and purpose? He practically tingled with anticipation.

"Please Kainga. I wish to help." Why was he saying this so quickly? This wasn't like him! He hadn't thought about the big pride, about the lions and the responsibility.

But he wanted this. He wanted to do something he would be remembered for.

"I wish to learn. Everything." He turned his nose in the direction Kainda had come and snuffled noisily.  

[Successful Edit]

"It'll be hard work, Yuma." Kainda sighed. Happy to have found a cousin - a much needed cousin, and one who wanted the job. But she'd forgotton the struggle in her excitement.

"We have to fight for it all. The vultures have multiplied and betrayed the ancient codes. They control the Temple and so the caves."  

[Kimaria]

He puffed out his chest and held his tail high. "Vultures don't scare me." That was a lie. They were ugly, frightful birds with huge beaks and talons. He never went anywhere near them when he could help it. But this time was different. The vultures were standing in the way of the future. His future.

"Please Kainda, take me to the ruler. I wish to join. I wish to learn and I want to help. I don't know why and I'm not sure I ever will, but now I'm here standing at the doors of hope, I want to walk through them."

He bowed his head again, a smoother motion this time. "Please."  

[Successful Edit]

"As you wish, cousin. Come with me." She bowed again, smiling at the formality, and started to trot away. They would be friends, hopefully, and definitly 'partners in crime'', since their goals matched up. They both wished to see a jackal be the priest of death once more, as Kainda was quite content as bonded to the king, and wanted no other power. A jackal was needed, and the gods had delivered Yuma!

"Oh, and we jackals and wolves are considered cousins in the Clan. The wild dogs too, but more distantly."  

[Kimaria]

He moved after her, walking at her flank. He lifted his head as he moved and his large, triangular ears swept around like satelites. He wasn't sure what he was in store for, all he knew was that it sounded wonderfully important.

Somehow he knew this was the beginning of his life. Today Yuma was to be reborn.

"Cousins." He agreed, glancing up at Kainda. "I would think nothing less of you, not for what you have done. I will forever be in your debt, Kainda, for showing me the way." He smiled.

"And maybe singing together we can encourage others of our kind to join us." His tail wagged fiercely. "I would love to see another jackal someday."