Son of The Flame

Chapter One: It Started With A Spark

As the sun began to rise over the dry savanna the pride took notice of the new scent that mingled in with their feline aroma.Those who weren't present the night before whipped their heads every which way in search of what caused this change in atmosphere that was oddly familiar. News of the little wolf the King had adopted the previous night spread from lion to lion like wildfire. The cubs, all various ages tumbled from female to female, begging to be fed, not caring about the gossip that their mothers spoke of. The mighty King sat upon his warm rock, the newest addition tucked to his side. He kept his eyes downcast upon the pride he led and protected, a smile playing on his huge muzzle as the baby grasped at his thick fur.

"Rian," a gravely rumble came from behind him, causing him to flinch," Genet wants to meet the newcomer."

If there was anything that he loved more than his pride or Zaina, who was his mate in a sense, it was his first son. Genet, while he was a bit younger than the little werewolf, was double his size. The King knew Genet was destined to become a great leader of the pride in the future, the little cub just had so much spunk. Genet pattered over to his father, sniffing at little Adish, who was currently sound asleep. His son hesitantly nudged the child with his paw, causing Adish to stir in his slumber. It would only be a matter of time before he would awake and the entire pride would marvel over him.

As for the pride itself, it was 86 lions strong. Most were females, but the 15 mature males were more than enough to make the pride run smoothly. The territory the pride possessed was prime, and endless for the most part. The game was endless and there was nobody around to threaten them. Normal lions knew that they stood no chance against the cats that were double their size and humans knew better than to mess with a pride of lions anyhow. Of course the King, whom was actually named Rian, and the entire pride we partially human, having the ability to switch to that form at will, which explains the why the cats could speak. However, Rian had been born as a lion and except in rare occasions never left his mane behind for skin. The entire pride behaved this way, some lions shifted only once of twice in their lives, yet they were happy living on the bare necessities.

Rian had taken on the pride after his father, and at this point could handle anything thrown his way. For being 49 years old, the King was in optimal health. Not a single scar marred his body, his teeth were all there and sharper than the blade of a axe, and his ears weren't nicked and missing pieces. Most normal male lions didn't make it past 20 years in the wild. By then their bodies were in shambles from the constant brawls for territory and reign of the pride. Rian rarely had to deal anything like that, plus his advanced healing kept him looking like a lion in his prime.

However the pride wasn't always this tranquil and peaceful.

34 years earlier:

It was a hot, humid day on the savannah, which was why Rian was taking shelter in the shaded brush that covered a corner of his territory.

It was early in the year, mating

season just taking under way and Rian's first year as pride leader. He was a young King being only 18, and it had been a rocky start, but as spring loomed closer, it seemed like everything was beginning to even out.

A snap of a far off twig switched the King's attention level from dozing off to highly alert, all his senses analyzing the intrusion. The oncoming sound of footfalls made Rian's golden-yellow eyes turn into slits as he crouched behind the closest clump of brush. He planned to attack the intruder head-on. As time went on, the scent of smoke wafted into his nose and the footfalls began to sound like a stampede. Clearly this animal had no intention to hide itself, or it was ignorant. A flash of gold flitted through the leaves and Rian pounced faster than the creature could have moved out of the way. Rian pressed his massive paw to the neck of the animal before analyzing what it was exactly.