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Crackle, originally named "Cracked Ice" was the first cub of Soul On Fire and King Hawk. During the reign of his father, all male cubs were abandoned, regardless of whether they were strong or not, but Crackle received a different treatment. His mother was a loyal follower of the king, and she dreamed of being the one to give him his heir. When Crackle was born, Soul began to persuade the king to choose her son as his successor. The king was not particularly convinced, especially since he already had an heir, Oleander. Soul, however, did not give up so easily. She had been undermining Oleander's reputation and self-esteem long before Crackle was born, and now she wasn't going to stop. She also taught Crackle how to exploit Oleander's weaknesses to show his own strength.
Eventually, Hawk allowed Crackle to stay in the pride, but was very reluctant to make him his heir. Crackle, however, was not discouraged by this. The older he got, the fiercer his rivalry with Oleander became. Over time, he even gained an ally, Marble. The rest of the pride seemed to be in love with Oleander, but that wasn't a problem. Crackle didn't need the love of his pride, he wanted their respect.
Unfortunately, King Hawk was soon overthrown, and Oleander, as his chosen successor, took over The Lake Land. Crackle was not even a grown lion at that time, but he was already planning to challenge the new king. He didn't work so hard to accept his defeat now, oh no!
He managed to communicate with Hawk, who at that time was in the pride as a kind of prisoner. The former king had already came to terms with the loss of his crown, but he supported the idea of his son as the next king. Well, it would be nice if he had thought of it earlier!
Unfortunately, another obstacle soon appeared. As a male, Crackle knew that he would soon have to leave the pride. Oleander had no reason to keep him in it, but he had every reasons to throw him out as soon as possible. So Crackle began to prepare for his exile. He planned to stay on the outskirts of The Lake Land where he would wait for a perfect moment to attack again.
But to his surprise, Oleander offered him to stay in the pride. He wanted Crackle to become the nursery guard. The pride needed one, and Crackle seemed right for the role.
Crackle wasn't sure what to think. Did Oleander really see him as not dangerous? Wasn't he at least a little afraid of him? In the end, Crackle agreed to the King's proposal, but he still felt offended.
Crackle wanted to continue the task he was created for - becoming a king. He could always count on his mother's support, but since she gave birth to his younger sister, she seemed uninterested in Crackle's progress... It was quite hurtful, but Crackle did not give up. Now he wanted to prove what he was capable of even more.
A long time passed, but Crackle finally got an opportunity. King Oleander was struggling with keeping his pride calm, because he didn't want to choose a heir. He was getting older and needed to start teaching someone, or the next king would be unprepared. The king's response was that he haven't found the right lion yet, and he didn't want to leave the kingdom for someone that he didn't trust completely. That was when Crackle spoke up. He offered to look for a heir for the king, and then help teaching him. In reality, Crackle planned to create his own little heir. He was getting older just like Oleander, and the chances that he himself would take the throne were getting thinner with every day. Choosing a heir and creating his views and ways would be a perfect way to somehow make a part of himself the next king. And so Crackle started searching for the perfect cub - He searched at The Trading Centre, The Giving Tree and in various adoption dens. Every time he would bring back some cubs back, but Oleander would always reject them and find them a new home or send them back. Crackle was getting frustrated, so he asked his sister,
Marble, to go on one of the trips with him.
In the end, he and Marble chose five males that Oleander accepted as potential candidates. They offered to help test them, and the tired king gladly accepted their offer.
In reality, however, their plan was quite different... They wanted to find a perfect heir for Oleander, and then make him their ally. They wanted to be the closest lions to the next king, in hopes of maybe influencing his choices a little bit...
One of the candidates was Kasumba Iliyogandishwa,
Kasu for short. He was perfect for Marble's and Crackle's plan - confident, bold and proud, yet still a bit insecure, desperate for support and acceptance. He was also too trustful, making it almost too easy to impress and manipulate him.
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Crackle
