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 Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 6:22 pm
It had been a long time since Mrost had struck out away from the Pridelands, in a direction that drew him in the same way that the needle of a compass is drawn north. He had been waiting a long time to go back to the place that haunted his memories, the place where the sky was an angry violet bruise that rumbled with discontent overhead and where the mountains bordered a salty land of dust and battle. It echoed within his soul, called him home, to the empty halls that desired their master's return.
He couldn't face them alone, couldn't walk the walls where once the sounds of an army had echoed, lions who knew each other more closely than family, comrades and friends who would fight and die together in a heartbeat. It had been the happiest time of his life there, knowing every name, every individual and trusting them all.
And now he could go back, he had the lions to do so, generals he had thought denied him by the heavens, returned through some miracle in other forms. It elated him.
Looking back over his shoulder, he sought out Kali, having landed for a time to walk, the afternoon sun much more tolerable beneath the shade of the multiple but dry trees that dotted these plains. No pride lion had ever trod here, on the borders of even the southlands, few could survive the long trek without food. Kali would though, he would make sure of it.
"Kali, are you good to walk on further?" he asked.
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Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 6:42 pm
 The young lioness followed a short distance behind, white paws soiled with the dust of the journey. And though the terrain was harsh and the trek long, there was still a pride and dignity in her gait, truly worthy of the general she once had been and would be again.
She had grown since that fateful night she had left her family and the land of her birth behind never to look back, a night that seemed so long ago. She had long since left her cubhood behind, taking the stunning form of the adolescent she was now. She had inherited her father's size, now towering near the height of the average adult, her form built on lean and powerful muscles.
Ears flicked, her head raised to focus red eyes on the god of war as he spoke, answering his question with a nod of her head and a hastening of her gait.
"I will continue as long as necessary."
There was pride in her tone, and an unshakeable determination. She would never stop, never give up. She was a general, and a general would never hesitate or falter, and she would rip out anyone's throat who said otherwise.
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Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 6:53 pm
Mrost looked over Kali, his gaze far from malicious, more concerned than anything else. He would never coddle those he held in high esteem, such things undermined and dishonoured them and him. Still, that did not stop him caring about the welfare of those he considered his responsibility. He no longer saw Tanaka's daughter when he looked at Kali, but instead saw a most valuable ally and a lioness whose steely determination to make the journey he had asked of her then young body surprised even him. She had grown into a powerful and graceful lady befitting of her rank.
She had turned out less like a coddled pridelander and more like a goddess, he considered. All in all he was pleased. And he'd be damned if he'd do her lasting injury by asking her to walk longer than necessary. He had to keep reminding himself that before him stood a lioness of true loyalty. She seemed like she would do as he asked even if he asked her to walk forever, until she could physically walk no more. He would never betray trust like that.
"I know you would." he stated with the faintest flicker of a satisfied smile. "I just hate to ask more of you in one day than what would be much less damaging in two. Better to rest once and travel twice than move twice and have to recoup right after. Either way, we are almost at the mountain path, there's a sight on the other side I want you to see."
He grinned to himself. "It will be the hardest length of the journey when we have to cross it. Few lions ever manage. You will."
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Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 7:23 pm
"The greater accomplishment is much more satisfying."
Her determination was unshaken, her voice made that clear. And though her paws were worn, she knew she could walk on. She was young and strong, and perhaps stubborn, but unshaken.
Perhaps to show her strength, dark talons extended from white paws, a malicious smirk crossing her maw as she sliced into the earth beneath, at the thought of whatever life she had ended with her steps. How satisfying it was to rend life and how she longed to sink her talons into the hide of some hapless beast, to stain the earth with blood.
But she did not have time to dwell on such thoughts, her ears flicking with curiosity at Mrost's words. The mountain path, she wondered what lay beyond, and her gait hastened to find the answer.
"What is it?"
That smirk returned, showing her pride at the faith the blue god had in her, that he truly believe she was strong and worthy of the journey ahead. And suddenly she was more determined than ever.
"I will."
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Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 7:44 pm
He nodded. "True. The more ground we cover the better, I still get the feeling that your father would not give up the hunt, even after all this way, gods have a tendency to find time irrelevant when they want it to be." all the while keeping his pace steady, not hurried, not slow, he wanted to see the fortress again as much as Kali wanted to see what lay over the hill but he would not show it outwardly.
"It's the way that stands guard over my old home. A natural sentinel, filtering out those who would try and attack my fortress in the past." he smiled at the memory. "We would attack the outlying prides, take the spoils and return, only to have the lions of the pride we harmed try and follow us back, by the time they reached us, nature had made meek lambs of them, they could not even resist the servitude we shackled them in in exchange for water."
He laughed aloud. "Only the most strong of them put up a valiant fight."
The ground begun to slope upwards, the dusty ground loose, the trees thinning out, gnarled roots struggling to draw life out of the pale stone and failing. "It's just up this way." He eyed the sky approvingly, it's clear blueness told nothing of it's capriciousness around here. "You should even get a sunny view of it." he said with a skull like grin. "It's beauty is deceiving." Even the birds didn't seem to be around up here, the only sound being the clank of Mrost's armour, their walking and the dusty ground being blown in the breeze.
"It's called a salt flat."
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Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 8:05 pm
The lioness snorted, her tail lashing indignantly at the mention of her father, the life that she had left behind. She had nearly forgotten him amidst the glorious future that awaited her, the ambitious path she now walked.
"He can search to the end of the earth if he wants; I will never return to that weak fool."
How she had grown to hate the white god that fathered her. She hated him for his weakness and his meddling. Idiot, he had nearly killed himself fighting for her that night, his failed attempt to rob her of her destiny.
Ears flicking, she listened intently to Mrost's words, taking in every detail as a picture formed in her mind. It sounded magnificent, enchanting, and she longed to see the helpless creatures in their pitiful fights to survive, to hear them scream in horror as they died. How she longed for the battle, the bloodshed and the cries of the slain.
"It sounds like a glorious place," a smirk cross her maw, "for bloodshed."
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Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 7:49 am
Mrost laughed aloud, revelling in the bitter anger Kali bore towards her father. It wasn't often that he could enjoy the company of another creature bound to Tanaka by ties of blood and almost as full of resentment towards him as Mrost himself was. "That I love to hear. It would not be an army without you to be part of it. He would never understand what you can become, what you are, all you'd ever be is a little girl to him. To me." he smirked "You are Kali of the blood, once part of my army, now even closer, part of my family."
Without dwelling further on praise, he pushed forward, scaling the hills that ringed the valley, following a scraggy path to the top until they reached the lip of the hill itself and the land known as Storm Valley sprawled out below them. Endless white desert covered in hexagonal cracked salt, a natural pattern where the ground had dried. The sky overhead was perfect, brilliant blue, the mountains that rimmed the area simply hazy brown smudges on the horizon. It hadn't changed and never would, stormy or clear it was the same land to him. The only home he had.
"It has been so long." the blue god said in earnest, a brief flicker of sadness in his eyes. Here in this place he had lived a hundred lifetimes, died a hundred times. He could hear the ghostly sounds of battle on the dusty wind, the victorious roars of his army as they slew all who stood in their path.
He could even hear that final thud that ended the last life he spent here and taste the blood on his toungue as the betrayal had set in.
It was time to write a new story in blood on this land, time to begin the cycle anew. Wether he'd still be alive at the end, he didn't care, he'd been all but dead all this time. It was only as he took the first steps over that ridge into storm valley that he truly began to live again.
"Welcome to Storm Valley. Where it all began, ended and will soon begin again."
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Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 9:13 pm
Eyes alight with ambitions blaze, every step reflecting the smirk that bore malevolent fangs, Kali strode at the blue god's side without hesitation. With each step closer, her tail lashed in growing anticipation, a low growling purr barely audible echoing in her throat.
Reaching the edge, the lioness paused, red eyes taking in the vision that lay before her, the magnificent land of battles past. Taking a step forward, eyes closing, she inhaled, breathing in the scents that surrounded her, ears flicking with the echos of ancient battles, white fur ruffling with the dust of the fallen. This place was familiar, enticing, as if she was always meant to be here; and she could not help feeling she had trod this earth before.
"And here it will continue forever."
Yes, this land would once again burn with the fire of battle, rivers of blood flooding the parched earth. Of this she was certain, and her senses reveled in the fate that would soon befall so many at her paws.
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Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 7:12 pm
Mrost nodded, his chilly blue eyes seeming to flash with latent emotions that seeing this place caused to stir in him, it was as though he'd only just started breathing again after a long long sleep. Home was such a wonderful place to be and once again he had a general by his side to see it. He smiled faintly at her as she foretold the endless battle that would be fought here, knowing that she could probably feel it too, the echoes of war that rang in this, his domain. She had hardly changed in appearance since back then, more youthful but even now showing the steely muscle that gave her power and grace.
With so many of the plans he'd laid coming together so well, things were finally looking up.
"This is only the way that guards the fortress. If you feel the echoes of your past here, you will feel them all the more in the Valley Keep." He smiled deviously.
"Lets go." And with that he headed down the hill towards the unforgiving salt. He'd relearn her the path across the desolate land and hope she remembered.
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Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 11:24 pm
Her grin was almost vampyric, red eyes burning with hunger. How she longed for that past life, for all that she had been before and more. And now that it was so close that she could taste it, her blood boiled with the echos of wars past and future, new found energy filling her as if she had drunk from the spring of life that was meant only for her.
"I look forward to it."
She paused only a moment longer, eyes gazing across the foreboding wasteland toward their distant destination. While to others this place may have seemed hellish, desolate, to Mahakali it was a place of beauty and enchantment, it was thrilling.
With a simple nod and a smirk to the god she followed, the young lioness stepped down the hill, following his steps across the land to the fortress beyond. She would remember the way, there was no question of that...perhaps she had never really forgotten.
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