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Born in the heart of The Delagati Highlands, Echo's fate was sealed to be one full of hardships and despair the moment he opened his mouth to let out his first cry. He was screaming for his mother's warmth and comfort, and her delicious milk, just like all his siblings. The almost invisible nubs on his head and the strange white spots covering his tiny body set him aside from all his litter mates. Yet, he never felt unloved, not even for moment. His mother always embraced him the same way she did with all his siblings; soft, gentle and full of love.
There was no father figure in their life. At least, none that the cubs were aware of. For the first few weeks of their life, their mother had never left their side. She would stay in the cave keeping them warm and the food would always appear in the opening of the cave. Echo never questioned it. After all, he was too small to think about anything other than his mother and his siblings. A lion wasn't supposed to question how the gods worked.
When Echo and his siblings were finally old enough to run around and play in their den, their mother would leave them to go hunting and would always return with her mouth full of meat for them. Echo loved the taste of meat, just like how he loved to play fight with his sister. The two would always cause the most trouble hence why they would get little nips from their mother all the time.
When they were grown enough to leave the cave with their mom, their little world expanded in a dizzying speed. Their cave was small, dark and damp. It was all they knew for all their life. Now, they could see the gigantic mountains that rose all around them, the luscious green forest under their feet and the cascading waterfalls that surrounded them all. Everything was so big, so loud, so... alive. Yet so white. "Snuh", their mother had whispered to them softly.
"This is snuh."
They spent most of their time following their mother around; observing, learning the ways of a lion that lived on the snowy mountains. Everything was good, everything was well.
Until the night of a natural disaster.
No lion, or any other animal really, could have guessed or prepared for what had happened. Wild fires were not unknown to those who lived long, yet they were rare. Echo had woken up to the sounds of the dying forest.
Red. There was so much red everywhere. It was hot and it was loud. The trees were cracking as they burned, like they were screaming for help. Animals were running and hiding. It smelled like death. Echo couldn't spot his siblings or his mother in the middle of the chaos. All he knew was that he had to leave and he had to do it fast. So he ran as fast as his legs could take him.
He managed to get himself out of the burning forest into an open field where other animals had gathered together to watch the ember flames take their home away. He looked around for his siblings, even called out their names one by one, multiple times. Yet, there was no answer. All he could do was sit down and join the animals watching the red take over more land.
He thought about running into the forest, to find his family and save them from their fate. He hesitated just for a moment or two, before he slowly rose from his place and started walking back to the forest. He managed to get a few steps in before he froze.
Just at the edge of the forest, he saw another lion. The lion was escorting the frightened animals out of the forest, then going back in to lead more out of the blazing death. Something about the lion sent chills down Echo's spine. The lion had large white spots covering his body and two large horns that sat boldly on top of his head. The same horns that adorned Echo's head. It was him. He was looking at himself. Yet, it wasn't him. He was standing here, wasn't he? So that couldn't have been him.
"A god", whispered a mysterious voice in his head.
"That has to be a god."
Then, Echo remembered. He remembered the first days of his cub life. He had seen him before many times. He was the one that brought the meat to their cave. The one that would sit in front of their cave when their mother would leave to hunt. The one who would always watch them from afar. Yet, his cub brain had never registered him. Because he was just a cub. He wasn't supposed to question anything, especially not gods.
"...Dad. He's our dad.", another voice chimed in Echo's brain.
"The God is our dad."
The lion was now looking directly at Echo. They stood there, staring at each other. It was like they were afraid to move, to break the moment. Echo blinked once, then twice. He took another step towards the forest. Towards the God. Towards his dad...
The lion stopped him. He looked Echo straight in the eye and shook his head. "Don't come any closer.", his eyes said. "The forest only brings death now. Stay."
And that's exactly what Echo did. He sat in his place as he watched the lion go back into the forest and disappear before his eyes. He sat there and waited, until the moon said its goodnight and the flames left their glory to the morning sun. He sat there as the forest burned down to leave behind nothing but ashes. By the time another animal came to check if Echo was okay, the fires were already gone.
After a while, Echo did go back into the forest, at least what remained of it. He spent hours searching for his mother, his siblings and the mysterious lion. He searched for them relentlessly, yet it was like they disappeared along with the flames. It was then when Echo realised what had happened. He had lost everyone he held dear to himself in a single night.
So he sat on the forest floor and wept. He wept for hours without a single break and his broken sobs echoed through the land.
Drip... drip... drip...
A few drops of water that gently landed on his head was enough for Echo to raise his head and look up into the sky. Rain clouds were rapidly gathering; it would rain soon. How ironic it was, for it to rain right after a devastating fire. The fire had taken away life and now rain was here to grant it. As he was watching the storm clouds gather, Echo noticed something hanging from the dead branches of a burned tree. It was a large piece of ivy, adorned in flowers.
He knew where this ivy had come from. He had seen it before, the previous night, worn by the mysterious lion that ran back into the forest. The ivy looked untouched, like the fire had completely missed it. Echo slowly reached for it and took it down to stare at it.
"The fire has taken away the God.", said the same voice in his head.
"Yet the rain is here to grant us another.", said the second one.
"The Gods have chosen us to raise to Godhood. This is their sign. You must follow in father's steps."
So Echo did exactly that. He wrapped the ivy around his tired body, just the way the God had done before. And he stood in front of a large puddle of water to look at himself. His reflection was smiling at him. He was smiling at himself. No, the God was smiling at him through his reflection.
So Echo, who had been chosen by the God himself to take his place, accepted his duty as the new guardian of The Delagati Highlands.
After all, a lion wasn't supposed to question how gods worked.
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