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 Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 11:01 pm
 She moved at a relaxed trot, large paws seeming to glide over the terrain with little effort, as if she had always been meant to take this journey. There was a bounce of anticipation just barely visible in her steps, a trace of excitement in her posture.
"I would welcome the challenges, if mortals wish to throw away their lives so be it."
Kali was no small lion herself, a larger than average size inherited from her father, powerful muscles bound to a warrior's build. She had trained vigilantly under the god of war, then continued on her own when he was absent, she had grown strong, determined to regain the greatness she had once had in a previous life, a life she only saw in vague visions and felt in a sense of familiarity.
But despite her strength, Mahakali was no fool. As a warrior must, she knew better than to underestimate an opponent or to race into a battle against a stronger lion. Still, she had not seen the challenges that Hakan had spoken of, only a few foolish creatures had dared challenge her, most had simply been foolish enough to wander into her trap. But surely those challenges would come in the future, foolish souls who's lives would be cut short, their last vision of blood red eyes blazing from beneath deep sockets, terrifying black horns curved from a demonic skull.
Her tail flicked at his question, eyes drifting to look toward the sun, judging it's position in the sky and hopefully the remaining light for the day.
"Family? None that I care for."
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 11:48 pm
Hakan shook out his mane as he walked, each stride long and sure. He was eager to be on his way and wishing that the lands were not so far away. The feather flapped gently from where it was hooked behind his ear, reminding him of his duty.
He cast a gaze at the lioness walking beside him and smiled. She followed Mrost because of what had gone on in the past. She had been a general worthy of fighting and dying alongside their master.
If she were to die again would she be reborn? Would he?
Then he caught her answer of his question and wondered what it would be like to have no love for your family. Possibly no love at all. It was a sad thought to be sure and Hakan was glad that he had the love for his family. It was what had driven him on to his goal. Without them he would have had nothing.
"I'm sorry to hear that Mahakali." He replied briskly. "But remember, if it were not for them you would not be here right now." He didn't want to lecture her. All he wanted to do was show her the way he thought, though he doubted she'd care very much.
"Were you never close to them?" He wondered if it was a girl thing...
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 11:33 am
"Perhaps, or perhaps I would have simply been reincarnated through another."
Mahakali neither cared for nor respected her family, always knowing that she was somehow meant for greater things than they could ever dream of. Never had she respected her mother, a foolishly stubborn mortal with a skull thicker than Kali's own skull helm, proof that even royal blood did not make a creature strong. No doubt the red lioness thought she could take on Mrost himself. Kali hoped she'd try, then she could have the pleasure of watching the great god destroy her, leaving her body broken in a pool of its own blood.
But despite Kali's hatred of her mother, it paled next to the hatred of her father. A massive and powerful lion, the god of conflict could have been so much more than he was, but he had allowed himself to grow weak, and for that the lioness' hated him. The white lion, a great enemy to Mrost, had attempted to keep her from her destiny, something she would never forgive him for.
"My parents, are enemies of Mrost, my father could be called his greatest foe. Surely he is following after us now in his vain attempt to 'rescue' me."
She snorted in contempt at her last words. Let him try, he would find his final rest at Storm Valley.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 11:54 pm
"Enemies of Mrost?" He wondered briefly how his own mother would have reacted if he had told her what he was doing. He didn't think she'd be angry, anger was not an emotion that he considered her to even have. He thought that she'd more likely be devastated and hurt by his actions. "They just worry for your safety. A parent's love for a child is unbreakable." He spoke with the knowledge of what he felt for his dear cubs back home in his other life.
"Others will never understand, Mahakali." He whispered. "Not friends nor family. They will never understand what drives us, what compels us to do what we do. To them we are dangerous and evil, but is that true? Is it really?" He cast a look towards the armoured female and gave a sad smile that lingered on his face even after his next words.
"If you don't mind me asking...why did you choose this path? Was it only because of whom you were in the past? And if so, why did you decide to become a general back then?" He was curious as to what drove others to what he did, for most of them seemed drawn to power for a different cause to himself.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:04 pm
"My father and Mrost have been fighting since long before either of us ever existed, and it is doubtful they will ever stop."
Her tail flicked, gaze shifting to watch the dark lion from the corner of her eye. Why was this male so interested in family and why was he so curious about hers? Why was it so important? It hadn't been so to her, she had risen to her rank before without them, and had done so again. Truth be told, there was a member of her family she respected, Mrost himself, but though he was her uncle she rarely thought of him as such.
"I choose this path because it is the path I was meant to take, to bring down death and destruction and drown the land in rivers of blood in the fury of war. I see the general I was before in fleeting visions that haunt my sleep, and I wish to find that glory again."
She paused for a moment in her words, paws flexing, dark talons sinking into the earth as if she could feel the coming battle, the exhilaration of the war that would soon range in the valley to the north.
"I cannot speak for my past life, I do not remember more than I see in my dreams."
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 7:16 am
Then her father was a God too, or atleast that is what he could decipher from her phrase. Did that mean her mother was mortal or was she simply keeping herself under an illusion. Somehow he had the feeling that she was not a true Goddess, but he dared not say.
"Can you blame them for fighting? Mrost's element involves such conflict and I am assuming that your father's is too, though correct me if I am wrong. It's in their blood as much as it is in yours...and mine." He turned to gaze ahead, to the sky that seemed to be deepening in colour. Sunset was almost due and even now the sky was tinged with pink that would deepen with the passing of time.
A bloodied sky.
How appropriate.
He was dissapointed, slightly, in her answer to why she followed Mrost. Was that all war was good for? Was becoming a warrior really just about glory? He had never, ever thought about the glory, not really. He had thought about being strong, putting fear into the hearts of others. Yet he had become a warrior only to protect his loved ones. He was, in a way, the traditional view of a knight, honourable and dedicated to protecting those that he cared for.
"Perhaps it is best you do not remember. Looking to the past is not always a good thing. Look to the future now for there lies your so-called glory. There is no glory in death. But tell me, why was it that you were reborn? Was it because you were a...follower? Or was it you were simply one of the lucky ones? Though I don't think that can be. If I remember rightly what Mrost spoke of. He said there were more of you. It cannot just be coincidence."
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 8:18 pm
"You have no idea."
If only he had know just how right he was. Her father the god of conflict, Mrost god of war, brothers and enemies for as long as either of them could remember, probably from the moment their first lives began. Why they fought when together they could have accomplished so much more was perhaps something that even they did not know. Would there ever come a time when they would put aside their differences and fight together? She wondered for a moment and then snorted at the thought, surely hell would freeze over first.
Perhaps glory had been the wrong word, for truly she did not wish for praise, fame, or possessions, she could not have cared less for them. What she wished was to be great, to be the very image of terror, to strike fear into the hearts of all who dared look upon her demonic appearance. But more than that she wanted to regain that which she had lost with her death, that past life that lingered in her dreams, taunting her, reminding her of what she had lost. Only when she again became the true general of her past life would she truly be complete.
"I do not know, but I am certain it was not luck, nor can it be mere coincidence that other generals have been reborn as well."
She looked ahead to the sky and the deepening hues of the wanning sunlight. The day was fading and would soon be replaced by the chill of night. The darkness she welcomed, but the chill she did not.
"It will be dark soon."
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 4:50 am
He laughed. "So you have a complicated family? Well I'd expect your father to turn up sooner or later. You're his daughter after all and if he thinks your in danger he won't let anything get in his way. I'd be exactly the same." He smirked. "And I'm sure you'd be the same if your own cubs were in danger."
He pondered now and wondered what it would be like to be reborn. What would happen when he was killed in battle? Would he die and join the stars like his mother and siblings would? Or...or would he have to face life for a second time? He wasn't sure whether he'd like that. To reply his life over and over, fated to serve a God again and again until the end of time.
He turned his eyes skyward and nodded thoughtfully. "Darkness is good. It will make our passage safer. We'll have to stop at some point though, is there any good shelter up ahead or will we have to rough it?"
"Mahakali...do you ever wish that you were...not reborn?" His words sounded somewhat sad, and in a way, that was how he felt. Would he never be able to join his family up there in the sky? Would he forever be held from them?
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 12:02 pm
She paused in her steps for a brief moment, long enough to raise a brow at the dark lion, shooting him an odd glance. Mahakali, the bloody general, with cubs? He could not be serious. She was far from the motherly type, nor did she care for the idea of losing her warrior's build for the sake of small creatures that may or may not be worthy of life. Still, it could be beneficial to produce her own minions willing to obey her every command. No, she shook her head to dismiss the idea. She liked the pleasure of the act, but cubs was not something she needed or wanted.
"There is little but perhaps a few scattered trees and bushes, but we can always dig out a resting spot if needed."
Not that she particularly liked the idea of stopping to find shelter. While Kali was highly tolerate of the hot desert days and barren terrain, reveling in the harsh conditions, she was far less adapted to the colder temperatures that fell in the dark hours without the sun to heat the earth. So long as they remained moving she would stay warm, perhaps she should have taken a pelt from one of the unfortunate creatures she'd crossed paths with in her wandering.
"Why should I regret it? I was given a chance to live again, to return to the life I had before, a life that was taken by the act of a traitor. I relish the chance to live and battle again."
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Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 12:05 am
Hakan was troubled again, perhaps he was finding excuses for not being content with finding one of his own. It just seemed wrong, so, so wrong not to love, not to want to have a family or a mate or someone you could open up to.
When he was younger and he had been followoing Mrost, sometimes he felt as if he had been falling apart. He couldn't open up to anyone, forced to keeping his warrior appearance. It almost killed him. Then he found Kizuka, the white female he had slowly learned to love. With her help he had slowly come to terms with things and had risen again, yet now she was forever gone he was beginning to dread the future.
He had Kimondo, yes, but he would not put his worries on his daughter.
In his heart he knew that Kizuka was dead and somehow he had the feeling it was partly to do with him. His rejection of her. Kizuka had never understood why he could not take her as a mate. In her eyes nothing should get in the way of love, but when one followed Mrost, life got in te way of love. His mating with Mbaya had been done from lust and the spur of the moment. He had loved her strong, stubborn streak, her rejection of him and her attraction of him. They had been enemies since childhood and yet he had always wanted to be her master.
And he had, eventually, though that union had brought about his cubs. The cubs he had not been ready for, not wanted with Mbaya.
"Let's just keep walking then, if we find something suitable we'll stop till the sun rises, otherwise we'll keep going. It might be better than stopping anyway."
At her last question he wondered truly whether he was right of mind. Any other lion would relish in this...immortality of sorts. So why was he shying away from it? He shook his head as if to straighten out his mind and worried now that he was going insane.
"But to never die...to never have the chance to rest eternal. To be born again and again to repeat your life is...well...it's slavery. The first life there is a choice but after that, you are entered into a pact that last many, many lifetimes." He blinked. "To be reborn again, to know that your past family members are dead. To have all those different memories swamping your mind..."
Then he growled and flexed his claws.
"I'm sorry. Ignore me Mahakali. I have been without company for too long, I think."
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Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 10:06 pm
"Through the night then."
The idea suited Kali fine, but even so she knew they would eventually need to stop and rest. For if they were tired from traveling through the night it would make travel through the day that much more difficult. And with such harsh terrain ahead, they would need to pace themselves least they exhaust themselves before they reach the valley. They were strong, but even warriors such as themselves had their limits.
"Eternity with my family? I'd rather burn. The other generals and Mrost, they are my comrades, if I had family it would be them. I would die and be reborn many times over if it meant spending eternity with them, filling the earth with the rages of war, watering the land with the blood of the fallen."
Her tail flicked, firery eyes drinking in the darkening hues of the bloody sky, a spectacular sight.
"Kali is fine, it is much more appealing than my full name."
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Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 11:58 pm
He shrugged, he had always called others he respected by their full name, just as he had done with Nix'Annada, the lightning Goddess. He had never, ever been called by his full name, sometimes he ever forgot that his name wasn't just Hakan. Either way he didn't really care so he supposed others must not either.
"Very well, if that's what you would prefer to be called."
However, Kali's view on her true family lightened him a little and the black warrior smiled. "You're right. Family is not always the lions and lionesses we are born with. They are friends too...allies." He knew deep down that he considered Mrost a father, he always would. "I never knew my father and Mrost has seemed to fill that role, unintentially, since I wa sa cub."
He smiled. "I expect our God is like that to many of the youngsters he has raised as his army. It only makes sense. I am closer to him now than to any of my family, as much as I love them."
He was concerned about the journey ahead but at the moment he was fine and as he turned back his head he could see they had already gone a long way. Their strong, muscled legs were obviously proving worthy of the journey, yet they would indeed need rest soon. He wondered why she was so reluctant to rest but decided not to question it. Kali was a female and he had decided long ago that they were strange creatures.
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 7:52 pm
The white lioness had rarely used her full name, for while it was a strong name, a name to be proud of, it was also a redundant name. Mahakali, the great Kali, like the bloody goddess who's name she bore, Kali found the simpler name was far more effective at striking terror into the hearts of those she hunted. After all, beasts were much more likely to spread the fear of a name they remembered than one they did not.
"Perhaps they do, though I suspect he is the nitemare of far more."
A smirk crossed her maw at her words, she was far more like her uncle than her father. As a juvenile she had left the pridelands, traveling at the side of the blue god through her adolescence, training under his guidance as he led her to the magnificent land called storm valley, the harsh salt flats and hellish lighting, the sounds of battle that echoed in her ears, reminding her of the past that once had been, and the future that would be again.
As their powerful strides carried them over the rugged terrain, Kali kept her eyes on the sky and her ears to the wind, her senses alert even as day fell to night. If they were to shelter for the night, she would look for a rocky spot, for the stones would keep the heat of the sun and make for a comfortable resting spot. Or better yet, perhaps the sound of some lost prey beast would find her ears, and they would fill the night with blood.
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 12:02 am
"Indeed." He replied and it was a long time before he spoke again.
The land around them seemed barren here as if life had all but forgotten it. There was a harsh reality about it, cruel and unforgiving in it's grasp. Hakan did not worry though, he preferred it here to the hot Firekin desert where he had been as a juvenile. It had been too hot there for his black coat, much too hot.
However, soon even Hakan had to admit defeat. The long trekking throughout the past couple of days and this long hike through the rugged terrain was beginning to wear hard on him. His steps no longer moved as fluid and his head hung low. His tail all but dragged on the ground behind him and suddenly he knew that he had to rest soon.
He cast a gaze to the female who seemed to be looking to the sky and smiled. "Trying to catch a glimpse of the stars?" Despite having grown up to hate the Pridelanders he had unkknowingly taken on some of their beliefs from Kinja, his prideland mother in the disguise of a firekin.
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 10:23 pm
Her ears twitched in the silence, finding the distant howls of predators, their cries carried over the hard arid land from whatever far off land they inhabited. Or perhaps they were echoes of her past, haunting her again, holding that vision just beyond her reach. And then Hakan spoke again, and the howls vanished as if they had never been there at all, residents of some dream she never quite awoke from.
"No, simply watching the setting sun, it is a glorious sight. I wonder what creature dared to strike the sky to cause it to bleed so."
From the corner of one eye, Kali watched the male, but chose not to insult the dark warrior by commenting on his fallen posture and his wavering gait. He must have traveled through much of the day for he did not show the edurance she knew he had. They would have to stop then, and soon, she could not allow Mrost's high priest to perish on the way to the valley, Mrost would be furious.
"There appears to be an outcrop of rocks up ahead, perhaps we should stop there."
She indicated toward the horizon a fair distance away to what appeared to be a small rock formation. It was not the most appealing shelter, but it would serve for the night. However though they would take shelter for this night, she would not be so willing to do so over the rest of the journey. It was a warrior's path, a struggle that only the strongest could survive, and she intended to ensure it remained that way; she would not insult a fellow warrior by trying to make it easy for him.
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