The Fall of the Kingdoms

Chapter 1 Destroyed

Audaz, a juvenile cheetah rested under a flat-topped acacia with her two friends, Ramil and Criniera. Ramil was a ticked cheetah, Criniera was a king cheetah, and Audaz was an African cheetah. It was a sunny and warm day, the first day of June, in late spring. The cheetahs enjoyed the hot sun, it was what they were used to in the great desert they called home. It was sunset. Mothers lead their cubs to the temple where they would sleep, and a few of the elderly cheetahs would follow behind. Soon shadows would take over the savanna, as the sunlight left with the blood orange sun.

The time had come so fast, the sun was below the dunes and the land was still light, but tinted blue. The clear sky began darkening. "We hung out pretty late last night, I think I am going to head into the temple and get some rest." Ramil informed.

"Yes, I'm pretty tired as well, I'll come too." Audaz murmured as she groomed her paw.

"Yeah, same, I'll come as well." Criniera yawned, as he got up. The three cheetahs padded into the temple. Before they knew it, they had entered the sleeping room. The ground was covered in various pillows and carpets, candles lit the room, and the only other light visible was from the archway, leading into the temple, that the cheetahs had entered from. Everything seemed perfect, it was at the moment. Audaz stretched and lay down, sinking into the comfortable temple floor.

Hours seemed like minutes, as Audaz was awoken by the yell of the queen, Umuncu. "EVERYONE! AFRICAN WILD DOGS ARE RAIDING CAMP, YOU HAVE TO HIDE YOUR CUBS, GET OUT THERE, AND FIGHT! QUICK! WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!" Everyone shared a few shocked glances, then obeyed. Audaz darted out of the room and pounced on two wild dogs, making them yip in surprise.

The fight was going very well, as some cheetahs were getting injured, most were winning. In minutes, it was all over. The cheetahs won, but some were gravely injured. Umuncu leaped onto the Spirit Stone. "Cheetahs! We have won! Unfortunately, we may have lost a few lives to the wild dogs, but we still stand strong! Everyone injured, please go see the wise-" the queen stopped talking. She looked over at the southern horizon, and saw a cloud of dust, like a sandstorm. But it was caused by hundreds of wild dogs sprinting toward the kingdom, barking and cackling. It hit Audaz like a bullet; the wild dogs hadn't retreated. they left to get more pack members to come join the fight! She sprung into battle, and noticed that her two friends were helping as well. The other cheetahs were fighting different wild dogs nearby. It was going good, Audaz had killed an African wild dog and terribly injured two others. But soon, more came and overpowered her and her friends. She heard an unfamiliar voice at the Spirit Stone.

"Everyone! Gather around! Unless you want me and my pack to finish you off completely!" Audaz was very confused, but she knew she had to obey. She prowled toward the Spirit Stone. A large, scarred African wild dog sat on top of it, glaring down at his pack and his rivals with a smirk on his dark face. Audaz noticed that only about twenty cheetahs gathered around, she was confused and very worried. Too much was happening and too fast, she didn't know what to do. "Good, you all obeyed. Look, me and my pack took over your stupid cheetah coalition, now we rule this kingdom and rightfully own this land. Also, we killed your dim-witted queen. We demand you to leave now, and if you try to attack me or any other wild dog, you're dead." That wild dog was the king, it was obvious to Audaz. Burning anger raged inside her. She saw other cheetahs begin to run to the eastern dunes, the border between cheetah and hyena territory. She and her friends didn't know what to do anyways, so they just decided to follow.

Audaz's paws touched the soft sand of the border's dunes. She began talking to her friends about what had happened. They all supported each other. "I'll just be a second." Criniera murmured as he padded off, then stood a bit further from the coalition. "Hey, everyone, I have a question! Who will lead us?" All cheetahs stopped and began speaking to each other about it.

One female cheetah stepped up. "Hey, Hadataal was the queen's brother! I think he should lead us!" Chirps of agreement filled the air.

"I... I guess I could lead. I'm still very sad about my sister, but I will do this to help the coalition." Hadataal replied. It had been decided.