[SRP] The Storyteller (Vida x Tanith)

[Epine de Rose]

 

[Epine de Rose]

"Once upon a time, in a land filled with mist and magic, there were seven Kingdoms," the lioness had settled in to her life as a new 'mother' quite well, and while initially confused, the cubs had also come to accept that for now this was their new home. Their mother was still a source of confusion to them, no one had been able to provide them with an explanation of where she had gone, but beyond that, they were happy. Vida had done well in this, ensuring that both Tanith and his sister had settled in, but it hadn't been without its trials.

While Tanith's sister had been growing like a bean sprout, he had been much weaker and vulnerable to the point that he had taken a considerable amount of the lioness's time. This was not his fault and nor would she blame him, but the majority of his time had been spent in doors, and had severely impacted on his opportunity to make friends. It was disheartening for him and he had become more and more meek as he had aged to the point that Vida had now taken it upon herself to inspire him.

...Somehow.

On this occasion the lioness had chosen to tell him the story of the seven kingdoms and how they had all been drawn in to one mighty empire. He'd been intrigued by the history of his home from a very young age, but she had other intentions in telling this tale. While Tanith might not have been aware of it, the founding Emperor of the Al-Siq hadn't been big and strong, he had been a smaller lion with diplomacy in spades but very little combat prowess. This was what she anticipated would become Tanith's future, she had little confidence that he would be as big as his father, but that didn't mean she couldn't acknowledge he was smart.

"These seven kingdoms weren't very close, they simply shared borders," she continued and smiled as the green cub settled down beside her and gazed up towards her with his usual muted stare. "These kingdoms are those you should be very well versed in now," she added and raised a brow as she motioned to the cub. "Can you remember what these are from your lessons?" she asked.

There was a pause as Tanith considered her question; he was the child who thoroughly enjoyed school. He found the scholars fascinating and if they could be idolised, he was probably the type to do just that. He was a teacher's pet at the moment, though Vida wouldn't discourage anything that ensured he talked to other lions and got him to socialise. The opportunities might be sporadic but he did need to learn how to function in society; eventually he would be healthy enough to play with his sister and when he was, Vida was confident that he would be able to slot himself into these circles of friends... Though he might always be the quieter sort.

"Blue, Green, Red, Purple, Yellow..." He began and shook his head. "Brown and um...Black," he replied. He sounded uncertain but these were simply his usual mannerisms, he was actually confident in his answer, knowing full well that these Provinces were some of the first things he had been taught. Admittedly the small cub had no idea what each of the provinces represented or what they did, this was a lesson for when he was older and his class could understand the complexity of economics and diplomacy. There were just a few things he was very aware of - the first was that they lived in the Blue Province, and the second was that the Black Province had 'bad lions'.

This was what the cubs in his class often said, parroting the remarks of their own parents and what they might have been taught, but Vida had always been much more neutral in how she identified each of the regions.

"Very good," she offered her praise with another warm smile and adjusted her position so that she was sitting more comfortably. "During that time of mist and magic these Provinces all lived very separate lives, they even fought among themselves sometimes. Each believed they were better than the other, stronger, mightier..." she lifted a paw to tap the cubs nose. "The bigger the lion, the more pwoerful and respected they believed they should be," she lifted both brows. "Not the best way to determine who should be in charge and this showed -"

She took a breath.

"They fought so much among themselves that in time they began to harm not just their neighbours, but also their own. The kingdoms became smaller and smaller as less and less lions survived, to the point that there would be none left if they continued!"

Tanith tilted his head to the side and furrowed his brow; they hadn't been taught this yet. So far they had only been taught a very topline view of the dragon wars and the rise of the Emperors; they hadn't even reached the point where anyone actually told him why the Black Province was full of bad lions.

"Well, it turned out that the very first Emperor of our Kingdom realised this and he understood that in order to prevent the end of our world, he would need to step forward and find a way to convince these Kingdoms that peace was the best option. Consequently this is what he set out to do," she gave her chest fur a brush down and released a quiet sigh. "He was a smaller lion, a quieter one with the most beautiful white fur. He was 'delicate' for want of a better words and preferred knowledge over war; it was for that reason that in the beginning he didn't really have a great deal of respect. None of these Seven Kingdoms were prepared to listen to him and the battles continued, led by these angry lions who wanted nothing except glory."

"Until the Dragons came..." Tanith interjected and tilted his head to the side. Vida regarded him in surprise and he offered a very rare smile; if this was the first emperor then that meant that the dragons would show up. Tanith knew this for one simple reason, they had all been told that the first emperor had been picked by the dragons, so that obviously meant they would feature.

"You are...exactly right," she confirmed. "They descended from the Heavens in the midst of these battles, each the same colour as the very Kingdom that bowed to them. In the midst of battle the leaders of these Provinces cried out for their power and their aid, but this fell upon deaf ears. The Divine Ones paid little heed to the blood thirsty masses and instead, they placed their claws upon the ground and closed the distance between themselves and the Emperor. You see, he had come to the battlefield with a select few dedicated followers, each one from a separate Kingdom."

"The Justicars!" Tanith gasped.

Vida chuckled at the sudden enthusiasm.

"Yes, he wanted to make one last attempt at peace; he had convinced some of the strongest in these Kingdoms to stand with him and he hoped that in doing so, they might persuade their own people. Alas, they didn't need to make that effort as the mighty dragons had cast their divine gazes upon him and recognised his efforts - thus, it was on that very battlefield that they gave their blessings to him and by extension, to the brave seven lions who had bent their knee before any of their own kin."

Tanith had now fully settled, his hind legs splayed out as he stared up at his storyteller.

"It was with this blessing that for the first time in the seven Kingdom's history, the wars ended. It had been Divine Providence that determined that no Kingdom was stronger than the other, instead, the strongest of all their kind had been the courageous white lion who had stepped forth in the midst of blood and fury to preach peace. The smaller and the more knowledgeable had opened his eyes to what was important and it had been him who had been prepared to sacrifice everything to achieve it... And by extension, his trusted companions had been prepared to do so as well. Such was the love of their homelands that they had desired nothing more to preserve it, their friends, and their family..."

"But we didn't live happily ever after because we've got bad people," Tanith argued.

"That we do, you see... While the Emperor was able to open his eyes to what he needed to change to save his home, he was not yet wise enough to do it," the lioness pointed out. "But take comfort in the fact that while he didn't succeed at first, he did succeed in the end," she waggled her eyebrows. "Perseverence, loyalty and the capacity to listen all played a part in bringing the Al-Siq into the light; but this is a story that is probably best suited until after lunch," she remarked, to which the smaller cub's face fell.

"But after lunch..." he pushed.

"I'll tell you a little more about the first emperor," she confirmed, knowing full well that the cubs would be educated on more recent history than on that of the Founding Fathers. After all, the Founding Fathers and their trials were something that scholars delved in to in order to advance their understanding of their relevant disciplines...many in the Al-Siq argued that a cub would gain little from such lessons; but unsurprisingly, Vida tended to disagree with that assumption. She'd ensure both children knew everything about the history of their pride and perhaps in time it would help them understand a few more nuanced aspects of society that many seemed lost on.

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