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 Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 2:44 pm
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[ Tuait'tekem ] -•-[ We Believe ]-•-[ Mythos & Religion ]-•-[ Customs ]-•-[ Landmarks ]-•-[ Rules ]
[ Relations ] -•- [ Members ] -•-[ Ranks ] -•-[ Joining ] -•-[ RP Log ]
.[About the Dawnwalkers].
.[Genisis].
An old sect of humans called the Tuait’tekem were exiled from Egypt or left for their own purposes (it is no longer remembered exactly why). Taking a few captive sacred lions with them, they travelled far past Nubia, south, south, south…until they reached the SoA lands. There they found a desert with a lush flood plane and a river that reminded them of the Nile they’d left behind. They named the river the Chione, the Nile’s Daughter, and settled near its mouth. Against the cliffs of a rocky outcropping they built a large complex, part town, part temple. They built a necropolis for the dead inside some natural caves there and created a large sacred lake stocked with fish and trees and flowers.
Being of a sect that venerated Sekhmet, Bastet, Mihos, Aker, the Lion of Ra and the other cats of Egypt, they made endeavours to befriend the local lion pride. They saw it as an astounding blessing when the great cats became tamer, lounging in the gardens and guarding their temple, joining their own sacred lions. In truth it was because the lions they brought out of Egypt, being strong and well fed and gleaming, were quickly made the kings of the despondent desert lions that the wild lions came freely.
And so the Dawnwalkers were born as the lions took on collars and jewels, took the names of their human counterparts, and tolerated the Egyptian’s pet cheetahs and hunting dogs as their underlings.
The humans died out as the hundreds of years went on. Wars and bandits, harsh years of bad harvest and human plagues, longing to wed into local tribes or to return to their ancestors’ mother Egypt…but lion gods helped hide the temple and the Pride flourished, going wild once more, forgetting the glow of fire though they clung to other things they’d learnt living with the humans. The gods and goddesses that once lived with them slowly wandered off or died one by one but the rest of the Tuait’tekem thrived for many years – until but a generation ago.
.[Downfall].
The uncle of the present king was a lion called Baakir’jua who ruled before the plague came. He was an unjust king who scorned the traditions, who tried to horde the golden treasures of all the pride and hide them for only his use, who sought war and strife with all the creatures of the desert… making enemies where there were once friends. But what did he care? He had his heir and strong right paw, a son named Jua’tatu, an arrogant lion set to become like his father. He had several wives, headed by the wise and beautiful Isis-nusu. And he left all the “stupid” work to the priests Ramses and Jafar.
During this time, the king’s younger sister Kwaheri took as her husband one of the noble-hunters, Malawa'Sahel. Deeply in love, they had their first litter, born one morning as the sun rose - a sign of blessing. A young male named Muroki was the eldest of three and the happy cub played happily in the Temple, learning his first few lessons. Destined to be a priest perhaps, as one of the extended royal family.
A few weeks later a rogue came and brought late to the Tuait’tekem (who’d been mostly secluded for several generations) the Plague, though it had mostly died out in other prides by then. Some say it was the king’s unnatural lust for war that had cursed them however and the poor rogue was one of the first to be laid to rest in the caves of the dead by priest Jafar. Still Baakir fought on, uncaring that a few members were getting ill.
However his wise queen, Isis’nusu, despaired and tried as hard as she could to persuade Baakir to set up a quarantine of those ill and to leave the infected Temple for now. The cheetah scouts at her bidding sought out somewhere to go in secret and thus were lost for a time, while the lion priests tried to heal the sick and the jackals sealed many of the caves of the dead…meaning many became infected themselves.
The vultures of the desert were some of the creatures harassed by Baakir and his warriors, despite once being allies with the Tuait’tekem, and answered treachery with treachery. Immune to the Plague themselves, they became a second plague upon the Tuait’tekem. In great numbers, strong against those so sick, the vultures learnt to kill their own meat. They feasted on the dead they could reach and weakened clan members were attacked. They started to capture weak lions and steal cubs, though no one knew why. It for them was a time to rejoice for there was so much food, to take over the top of the temple that was once the God’s Eyrie, to multiply.
The wake up call for Baakir came when his son, roaming outside the temple on his orders, was killed by the vultures. The sight of his half devoured body that destroyed the mind of the king, leaving him an empty shell of a lion. Now he was mad and feeble in his grief, it was easy for Isis’nusu to take control fully, and three groups set out from their lands fleeing the temple.
Malnourished and sickly, most of the older generations died on the road. Kwaheri survived Malawa'Sahel by a few days and died on the border of the Pridelands, where the young Muroki was found by rogues to be raised by their friends. At least one of the parents of Safiya and Takasika made it as far as the Graveyard, leaving the lioness cub Safiya there. Isis’nusu died carrying a young maned wolf pup named Akinyi as far as the far edge of the Southlands before she died. Where some of the older creatures ended up, like Ramses and Jafar, we don’t know, while Lesedi and others are still out there – somewhere.
.[The First Revival].
As a youngster, Muroki didn’t know if there were anymore Clan members in the world… but as he grew up, he realised that if he survived others must have too. His cubhood sweetheart Hisani - the daughter of the lioness Laini, who helped look after him - encouraged him to try to revive or restart the pride.
To his delight, a few of the old lions led by Lesadi were living a nomadic life and turned up. Athrun the God of Loneliness and a cub called Kiago too, arrived there.
However it was not to be. The lions broke up once more, as the Temple was over run by vultures still and Lesadi grew ill in her old age, so she went back home with her children – an old lady now her homeland was too harsh for her to try to win back in such a state. It was a great blow when she died.
But the greatest blow to Muroki, Hisani vanished not long after she agreed to seek her mother’s approval to a marriage between them.
The first attempt failed and bitter and angry, Muroki wandered the lands as a sarcastic rogue with a sharp tongue. His heart and spirits broken until he found new lands and new friends. Settling for a while in the Unity Walkers, he found his best friend and soon adopted sister Laini and also met Johari, the most intriguing female he’d ever met. The Unity Walker lands had once been ravaged by plague and were now inspirational – beautiful and harmonious, Muroki loved them. Out of the blue Kainda found him. Eventually he was coaxed into giving his Clan another chance, out of duty and love… taking his sweetheart and best friend with him, and the recruiting Kainda to help with the efforts to find those who belong, like he does, in the Temple.
.[War and Peace].
.[The Renewed Lands of Ta-akhet].
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