|
Mother of Mist of the Marsh, Dawn of the Darkness, Dusk Flower, Awaken to the New Dawn, and Lost in the Dark.
Grandmother of Night of Fire, Caeoimhin, Tullia, Andraste, Fallon, Flame of Dreams, Gone Before Dusk, Cathal, Made of Stone, and Closer to the Edge
Great Grandmother of Ailidh, Meriel, Lost in Paradise, Mbali, Little Waters, Dark Mists, Gentle River, Darkness Before Dawn, Gavina, Rocky Waters, Calm Waters, Night Waters, Dark Rose, Blood Runs Cold, Kincaid, Fire of the Marsh, Selene, Forgotten Rose, Evening is Coming, Red Tides of War, Astraea, Song for the Stars, If the Sun Never Rises...
Great Great Grandmother of Niamh, Clara, Forgotten Sorrows, Alala, Dayo, Murky Waters, Bright Waters, Flames of Darkness, Light in the Mist, Lost in the Sands, Kadara, Dark Echo, Nova, Kennis II, Arista, Iola, Lost in a Dream, Night of Darkness, Forgotten Time, Hawk of Dawn, Clear Rivers, Moonlily, Lowenek II, Seema, Viatrix, Iceblood,
Adoptive mother to Shadow Night, Sive, and Tanet.
First Healer of the prides.
Known as "Waters" for short.
Of the Fallen Stars family
~Personality~
On the outside, she gives off a tough, harsh appearance, but those who know her know she is a kind and brave lioness who only wants what is best for her family and her pride.
~Role in Pride~
She came to Whitethorn's pride seeking refuge after she had wandered alone for over a year. Waters was surprised that Whitethorn who grew up in a pride that had rejected her kind, had accepted her with a warm welcome. He respected her culture, though he did not believe in it himself, and allowed her to practice her family's sacred craft.
In both Whitethorn's time and Cadan's reign as king, she was an adviser and healer of the pride, helping in whatever ways she could.
~Relationships~
Respects Whitethorn, and in return, he respects her. He often relies on her for advice and she willingly gives it.
Yewflower and Blackriver are her best friends and her hunting partners. Even though she dens apart from them, she spends most of her day with these tough, yet sweet lionesses.
Loves her daughters deeply, especially dotes on Mist of the Marsh, her oldest. Though she first disapproved of Mist and Cadan's relationship, she was proud to see her oldest daughter as queen of the pride.
Sive and Tanet she adopted as her own, and truly treasured them as a son and daughter. Waters always knew she couldn't be a mother to them like Evelyn was, but she tried as hard as she could to be at least second best.
~Bio~
Dark and beautiful. Devious and cunning. A mysterious lioness who came from dark waters of the marsh, possibly even born from the water itself. Rumors said she could predict the future.
She had knowledge of how to use herbs to heal, thus she was the healer of the pride. Her wisdom was sacred and she only shared it with her daughters, who she trained to be healers like herself. However, she excelled at hunting, thus had more than just one job in the pride. Being a Beta of the pride, it sometimes seemed like she was taking on too much, but somehow she managed to do everything and raise cubs in the process.
In giving up her daughter, Dark Waters hoped to keep the peace between her pride and Kavan's stable. She hoped now that Caedmon's brother is in the Dark Marsh Pride, he would never have a reason in the future to perhaps attack them, and she knew Cadan would never want war. She was depressed to see her little Dusk Flower go, but she knew that she could not dwell on it, she had three young lions to train. She and Mist were trying hard to train Sive, Shadow Night, and Tanet their sacred ways, but handling three teenagers is never easy.
~Another Will Come...~
Dark Waters knew her time among the living was nearing it's end, though she also knew that she had a few more good years left too. She knew that she still needed to train her daughters and adopted son and daughters her sacred craft, but part of her felt like it will never be enough. So, one night she left the camp alone and found a place that was open to the sky, and she prayed. At some point during the night, Dark Waters drifted off into sleep.
She suddenly awoke to a strange light. Standing in front of her was a lioness covered in lights, it was her mother. Like Dark Waters, her mother was a healer, but Dark Waters only knew her mother for a few, very short years, before she was killed. Dark Waters didn't even know her name or why only their family could be healers. "Do not fret dearest child, for another will come," her mother spoke, then turned and walked away.
"Wait!" Dark Waters called out. Her mother stopped. "What do you mean 'another will come?' Do you mean one of my daughters, or Sive and Tanet maybe?"
"They will know when they see her," her mother replied. "Now sleep my child."
Dark Waters was again surrounded by darkness and sleep.
When she woke, she returned to the pride, with a feeling of joy and relief she had never felt before, but also a curiosity that she could not satisfy. Dark Waters told no one of what she seen or was told.
~Tanwen's Arrival~
Her final apprentice it seemed, would be her daughter, Lost in the Dark, but when a young lioness named Tanwen showed, that changed.
"Cadan, this lioness does not belong here!" Yewflower growled when it was stated that Tanwen was staying. "We have no idea where she comes from, how can we trust her?"
"Leave her alone Yew, she's my sister, remember," Elestren hissed, protecting her half sister.
The arguing continued for hours it seemed until Dark Waters stood up. "Cadan," she said, "I see in this young lioness a great future and a pure heart, let me train her as a healer and I will unsure her safety."
"If that is what you wish, then it shall be," Cadan stated, looking at young Tanwen. "And if it stops the arguing, then that's even better."
"It is what I want my lord," Tanwen answered.
"Listen up, all of you," Cadan roared. "Tanwen will be staying, end of story, and Dark Waters has decided to train her as a healer. If anyone has a problem with that, take it up with Dark Waters."
Everyone shut their mouths.
~Waters' Past and History~
Dark Waters was born to a rogue lioness with no pride who came from one of the lost sacred families of healers, and her father was unknown. She was an only cub, no brothers or sisters, just her and her mother. Her mother started teaching her from a young age about her craft and her culture, which most lions called the "Forgotten Religion" as most had forsaken it. Her mother taught her about "The Ancestors", the spirits of all the animals who had ever lived. She told Dark Waters that they were the ones who gave their family the power and knowledge to heal others.
Dark Waters' mother once told her a story about the "Old Ones", a species of lion that were like no other, and that their family were the descendants of the "Old Ones".
"The 'Old Ones'," her mother said, "were stronger than any other lions, and were not only kings and queens, but they were great Emperors and Empresses and all species bowed before them."
"What happened to them mama? If they were so great where are they now, and why has no one else heard of them?" the young Dark Waters asked.
"Well, you see, everyone else believes they are a myth, my dear. And as for what happened to them, no one knows," her mother sighed. "You see, all of the great cats once had empires and kingdoms, and they were all jealous of 'Old Ones', of their strength and power. Among them was the Great Leopard Kingdom, who were always jealous of our Ancestors. One day they declared war on the 'Old Ones', and that's where things become a mystery. You see, the 'Old Ones' were strong, but the leopards had numbers and allies in many places.
In one battle, it was said that all of the Old Ones' leaders were killed, but another story says they were turned into other creatures, creatures that could take the form of any animal and could not be killed, not by wound, not by sickness, nor by Time itself. They were casted out and feared by all. No one, not even their own kind would accept them. It is said that they still live among us, watching over the world, intervening when necessary, but staying hidden when not," her mother went on. "As for the rest of their kind, they most likely died out slowly, or mixed with the other lion races, but one family tried to remain as "pure" as possible, and that's where we come from."
Dark Waters as a cub, was entranced by her mother's stories, and eager to learn the art of a healer, which she did slowly learn. Her childhood was filled with happiness and joyous memories, at least until tragedy struck.
Dark Waters was a little older than a year when it happened, and she was not yet ready to start hunting, but her mother brought her anyway. Dark Waters watched as her mother started hunting, but soon became the hunted.
Her mother was shot by humans and she could only watch as it happened. Dark Waters knew there was nothing she could do for her mother and all she could do was run for her own life. When she finally found a place that was safe, she laid down and cried herself to sleep. In her sleep, her mother's spirit visited her and told her this, "Do not cry my dear, for my life is over and yours has only begun. Live it, love, and never look back. If you look back Death and the past will always haunt you, but remember I will always look over you, even when you feel so lost. And keep hope in your heart that one day Death, the same thing that separated us, will unite us forever."
"Rest among the stars, mother," Dark Waters sighed when she woke the next morning.
Dark Waters wandered for about another year until she finally met Whitethorn. She for some reason, was drawn to his territory and pride, like something or someone else had guided her their. She felt right at home in the pride and soon had her own daughter Mist of the Marsh, who looked very much like herself. For once in her life Dark Waters had a real home, but it was never enough to replace her mother who she still missed dearly. She never spoke of this past with anyone and her heart wa hardened from all the hardships she had gone through, but deep inside she still believed that there was a light, no matter how faint it may have seemed.
|
