Diego's Den

|LIOHEART|
A cub abandoned at birth|A forbidden marriage|A king
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Chapter 1: The Stranger-Vatali
Diego walked slowly across the savannah, panting heavily. If only he could find water. He stumbled over to a nearby male, relaxing on a rock. " Excuse me, sire. Do you know where I can find water?" The male grunted. " Go away. I don't want any trouble with your kind." Diego sighed. His kind. He murmured an apology and staggered away. " Hey, kid." Diego looked up. An old male lion suddenly stood before him. " W-where did you come from?" "That is no concern of yours. You need water?" "Yes, sire." The old lion nodded behind Diego, "Head that way. You'll find water there." " Thank you." Diego headed in the direction the lion had said. Sure enough, there was a watering hole there. As he drank, Diego wandered who the old lion was. Where had he come from? As he pondered over The Stranger he heard a voice. " Good morning." it said. The voice was soft and sweet and very feminine. Diego looked up. A beautiful young lioness stood before him, looking at him with the kindest look he could remember anyone ever giving him. He saw how well-groomed and cared for she looked and immediately felt embarrassed of himself. He was scrawny and his fur and mane matted. He lowered his head humbly and backed away slightly from the water. " Morning." She smiled warmly and took a few laps of water. "I'm Vatali." he nodded, not sure if it would be proper for him to give his self-given name. Finally, he answered softly, "I'm Diego." Vatali smiled again and looked away shyly. She drank some more water, looking down at it demurely. Diego cautiously drank, too, surprised that he couldn't take his eyes off her. She glanced up at him occasionally, only to blush and look down again. Diego wondered if she was embarrassed to be seen around him. "I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable, I know I look a sight." Vatali looked up, surprised. "No, not at all! All you need is food and perhaps a grooming. I'm simply.......flattered by you." Diego cocked his head. "Flattered?" "Yes. That can't be so hard to believe." she answered. Diego grunted, and smiled slightly, as he lowered his head to drink. "Believe me, it is.". Vatali smiled. "Come with me." Diego lifted his head and looked at her stunned. "Ok...." Vatali turned and started to walk away. Diego glanced around then followed her. Where was she taking him?
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Chapter 2: All The Stars in The Sky
Vatali brought him to a rock. Diego followed her meekly, weary of traveling at night. He had heard of groups of vicious lions taking down lone males in the dark of night. Vatali guided him around the rock, revealing a small gathering of water. "Do you wish to know your future, Diego?" Diego gazed at her, puzzled. He thought of all the times he thought he would die of hunger and thirst, or exhaustion, and never see the next year. If he could see his future, perhaps he wouldn't ever have to wonder again. "Yes." Vatali laid a delicate paw in the water and closed her eyes. Diego noticed with astonishment, and a bit of horror, that the water was glowing. Suddenly Vatali opened her eyes and, pulling her paw out of the water, smiled. " You have a bright future, Diego. You will be a king." Diego coughed and blinked. "Uh.......you sure you saw me?" Vatali nodded. " My father once said that a great king is humble, he does not think high of himself. A great king is not made of heritage or riches, but his morals, his mind, his heart. He looks at all the stars in the sky with wonder and holds them with the highest respect. For they are all great kings." Diego stared at Vatali. "I've heard that." Vatali smiled. "Have you?" "Yes." "Who were your parents?" Diego shrugged. "I don't know.....I've been on my own as long as I can remember......my only memory is of a lioness, I assume she was my mother, setting me in the shade of a tree and leaving me. She left and walked away with a male, perhaps my father. I remember crying for her. Her name was Nira." Vatali nodded solemnly. "What did your father look like?" I'm not sure....he was far away." Vatali sat for a minute before saying, "My father knows of many prides, let me ask him and see if he knows where your from." Diego shrugged "Couldn't hurt." Vatali nodded and got up. "I'll meet you here tomorrow." " Ok." Vatali smiled, licked his cheek and ran off. Whoa...
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Chapter 3: Half-blood
Diego gave the lioness, who was staring firmly at him, a side glance. He glanced at the cave that Vatali had went into. It had been thirty minutes since she had told him to wait there. Thankfully, she returned, followed by a huge, older, male. "Greetings, I am Threnadin. My daughter tells me you are to be a king." Diego felt his face grow warm. "Um, yes...Sire." Threnadin smiled and Diego noted that Vatali resembled her father greatly. "She also tells me you wish to know what pride you are from. So, tell me, what did your mother look like?" "She was a common. I do know her name was Nira." Diego answered, "And your father," questioned Threnadin,"Vatali says you do not know what he looked like." "No, I can't tell...." Diego mumbled. Threnadin nodded. "Perhaps I could find out for you....may I?" Diego nodded and watched as a grumpy baboon walked up and handed Threnadin a coconut shell filled with a weird, white, cream. Threnadin closed his eyes and hummed something, taking a paw full of cream and wiping it all over Diego's forehead. Diego's face puckered at the pungent smell and the greasiness of whatever he was rubbing all over him. Then Threnadin stopped and said," Your mother was of a pride that no longer exists, and your father was a Savage from the month of the great droughts and fires. It seems it was forbidden for a female of the pride to mate with a Savage, but she did. That must be why she abandoned you. Diego, you are a half-blood." Diego's eyes widened. " Do you know where they are now?" Threnadin placed his paw on Diego's head again and closed his eyes. "Your mother ran off with the Savage, Kadain, but died soon after. It seems she attracted rabies. I cannot trace your father, though I do not feel he is dead." Diego breathed out. "What happened to my mother's pride?" Threnadin sighed with a solemn look. "It was a very evil clan, it eventually consumed itself." Diego said a quick prayer of thanks in his head that he hadn't ended up living in the clan. He glanced over at Vatali, not sure what to say. She smiled and walked over, brushing up against Diego slightly. "Thank you, father, I'm sure Diego is grateful for your help." Diego quickly followed Vatali's example, "Yes, thank you, Sire." Threnadin waved a huge paw dismissively. "The pleasure is all mine, young heir. If you don't mind, I would like to try and search for father further at a more convenient time. It is unusual for me to be unable to locate a lion." Diego nodded. "Of course." As Diego fell asleep that night, he wondered about his future. It had changed so quickly.
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Chapter 4: An Unseen Fate
Threnadin breathed in and out as the fragrance filled his nose and lungs. He felt a soothing sensation as his eyes forced themselves shut and blurred images began flashing through his head. He saw a new king ruling over his pride but couldn't tell who he was. Then he saw Vatali being attacked by a lion and Diego trying to save her. He heard wailing and the sky turning red and all the stars in the sky fading away and being replaced by dark, black ones. Like that, Threnadin opened his eyes, chasing away the horrible visions. "Who was that new king?" he wondered breathlessly. Threnadin had a gut feeling that he had something to do with the other horrors he had seen. Feeling suddenly unwell, he left the house of hidden fates and went to lay down. "I must stop this new king."
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Diego ran through the trees panting. He could hear the rustling in the trees, indicating that the other predator was gaining on him. "MUST. GET. AWAY." Suddenly a shriek rang out and something heavy pounced on him, knocking him to the ground. Diego laughed as he rolled over revealing Vatali, laughing and out of breath. Diego tossed Vatali off of him with ease and laid down flat on his stomach. Vatali hopped back up and said, sort of teasingly, "Let's go again." Diego grunted. "I can't." Vatali grunted. "Oh, come on....." Diego tried to laugh, but it turned out more like a loud wheeze. "No, I really can't. My legs feel like Jello!" Vatali laughed and plopped down next to him. Sighing happily, she rubbed up against his, now fluffy, mane. It had been five months since they had met and the two of them had become very fond of each other. "How's your father doing?" Diego asked suddenly." Not good. He still has nightmares but won't tell us what they are, he still goes into house of hidden fates a lot, and constantly feels ill. Sometimes he acts weird, too. He'll walk around muttering, he's really forgetful, and he gets mad easily. Makes me wonder what he's seeing." answered Vatali glumly. "Has he seen Rita, https://www.lioden.com/lion.php?id=794216210308 , again?" Diego asked. "Once. He wasn't cooperating, though, so she couldn't do anything." Vatali groaned, then added, "I just wish I knew what's wrong so I could help him." Diego licked her cheek and rubbed up against her, attempting to comfort her. "Me too." he said. Vatali leaned against him and closed her eyes, clearly stressed. "Poor girl." He thought. "I have to find out what is wrong with him."
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Chapter 5: I see fire
Diego walked up to the old, smelly, den. Inside lay a skinny, dirty, flea covered, lion. Threnadin. "Sire?" Threnadin lay so still Diego feared he was dead. Then he sat up. His eyes were wide, and his pupils dilated. "I see fire." He whispered. Then he plopped back down. Diego stared. "Sire, I have brought Rita." Rita, the young female, whom he had met many months ago, stepped forward. She stood over Threnadin, her vile eyes wide. She chanted something for a bit, before stopping and coming over to Diego. "He is keeping me from seeing what troubles his mind, but he is weak. He will not live long." Diego nodded sadly. Leaving, he found Vatali laying on a log. She too had grown weak, though from worry rather than insanity. "How is he?" Diego shook his head. "He will likely pass soon." Vatali brushed her eyes with her paw. "There is nothing even she can do?" Diego shook his head. Vatali got up and walked away, a look of lifelessness on her face. Diego sighed.
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Diego walked up the rock. He was heading to visit Vatali. Suddenly he heard screaming and shouting coming from a cave. As Diego ran toward it, he stopped in his tracks and stared at the sky. The stars were melting away and dusty black ones were replacing them. The sky turned blood red, and the sun turned black. Running into the cave, Diego saw Threnadin attacking Vatali. Diego ran up and tackled Threnadin as Vatali, limping and bleeding, backed into a corner. Threnadin howled and swiped a claw across Diego's side. Diego fought fiercely as Threnadin flailed, a new strength possessing him. Diego finally got Threnadin on the ground long enough for he and Vatali to flee. When they got as far away as possible, they both collapsed. Looking up at the red sky, Diego asked Vatali what had happened. " I came across him, he was chanting a spell, and I asked what he was doing. He said you were going to take over the kingdom and even though he was trying to stop you with spells, they weren't working. He said the Great kings of the past were helping you, and so he was killing them. But now the evil kings have taken their place. Evil things are going to happen, things we may not be able to stop. I tried to stop the spell, and he attacked. Diego, he misunderstood. You are going to take over because he can no longer rule. He can't rule like this! He thinks you are going to kill us all and take over. Because all our kings have always been of the same blood, and you are not, he says you are an outsider, a traitor. He also said he knows where you came from. When father was a cub, his sister ran away. No one heard from her again. What he didn't know was that she joined another pride. A very evil and unstable pride. She had a cub. That cub was your mother. Your mother fell in love with Kaidain and had you. Threnadin is your great uncle." Diego breathed out eyes wide. Suddenly, they heard a rustle. Standing in front of them was the Stranger. " The heavens have been cursed." he said. It sounded more like a warning than a statement. Diego nodded. Vatali stared. "Excuse me, but you look-Diego- um, you look....alike." she stuttered. Diego realized that Vatali was right. He looked just like the male. "Do you know a lioness named Nira?" he asked. The Stranger smiled slightly. "Once. She was your mother......and I your father." Diego felt like fainting. "Why did you abandon me?" he asked. Kaidan sighed. " Korvkeni, the king of your other's pride, was going to kill your mother because she had been with me. So, we fled. In order to escape him we would have to go on a very long, dangerous journey. One a cub would never survive. So, we left you in the most plentiful area we could find. Your mother did not make the journey." Diego looked down. He did not find this a justified reason to abandon your cub. Still, perhaps his father would be of some assistance. "Her father caused this." He said, motioning toward Vatali and then the sky. "Because he saw that I would become king. Now I must fix it." Kaidan nodded. Turning to Vatali, Diego said," Your father told me he 'Saw fire.' What does that mean?" Vatali shrugged. "He's been saying that a lot. I have no idea." "Well keep it in mind." Vatali nodded.
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Chapter 6: You can't change a broken past
Diego stared suspiciously at his father. The old lion licked his paws and sharpened his claws on a nearby tree. Kaidan noticed Diego's stares. "You know," He started, walking over and laying down next to Diego, "You accepted me pretty well.....and quickly, considering." Diego scowled at his father. " I didn't ' Accept' you. I'm desperate, and I could use your help. As soon as this is over, I'd have no problem killing you." " Look, we did what we thought was best." " Abandoning a cub and leaving him to be a wandering outcast his entire life is not best!" "Well, your not dead, are you? If we'd kept you, you'd be dead! Your life may not have been a pretty one, but at least you HAVE one. Have some empathy, will you? You have this little cub, just big enough to eat a bug, and you love it to death. But, you have some evil lunatic on your tail, and theonly way to escapehim is to travel some big desert. An adult could die there, so what do you thinks gonna happen to a cub? If we could have stayed, we would have, but he would've killed us, and probably you. Even if he didn't, you'd be just as parentless as you've been your entire life. So, we took you to the most bountiful place we could find, had Korvenki spared you, he would have left you in that empty wasteland. Did we want to? No, but we had to. It killed your mother to hear you crying for her. She never stopped worrying. Her last words were pleads for me to find you. I searched for years; you moved around so much I couldn't seem to ever catch up. And now I've found my son, I've found my baby. I have completed the mission my love gave me. And you hate the both of us." Diego brushed a tear from his eye. " Maybe what you did was right, but you can't change a broken past." Kaiden nodded and walked away.
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Diego panted, the sun beating down on him. Vatali was inside the cave, searching for one of her father's scrolls while he was gone. Diego and Kaiden were standing guard. " I can't find it." Vatali said, coming out of the cave. " Since the magic on it could reverse whatever he did to the sky, would he have destroyed it? I mean, you're his daughter so he probably knows you pretty well and would know you'd come looking for it, right?" suggested Kaiden. " It's not magic, and I hope not." She answered. "Spells, sorcery, whatever." Vatali sighed. She layed down, clearly in deep thought. " Diego, I need you to get Rita. Maybe she can see where he is." She said. " Who's Rita?" asked Kaiden. " A lioness who took me in a few years back. That's why I came back to this area. She's like a psychic therapist." Diego explained. Kaiden nodded, looking sort of concerned. " Well, then. Let's go talk to a magic therapist." he said. " Not magic." Vatali corrected. " Right."
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Chapter 7: The Dark Woods of Lokmenior
"So, assuming he destroyed it, what are we supposed to do?" Diego asked. " This is why I'm for spares." Kaiden added. "He would just destroy it too." Diego said with an annoyed sigh. He was REALLY tired and had a REALLY bad headache AND was REALLY hungry. In fact, everyone seemed
worn out. No wonder, they had been brainstorming for hours. Rita had ended up not being home and since they all had nowhere to go.......Diego was in desperate need of a break. He still hadn't even had time to really process meeting his father! Vatali had gone from helpful and composed to tired, frustrated, stressed, and upset. And Kaiden, unfortunately, was a very practical lion. Thus, he knew just about nothing that would help them, since he had never "wasted time on magic". Vatali groaned. "I am going to pray." she said glumly. Slowly, she got up and sat on a hill, murmuring prayers in a language Diego did not understand. "Are you going to go check on Rita again?" Kaiden asked. "Yes. I just don't know where she'd be. She rarely leaves her cave, and definitely not for long periods of time." answered Diego. "Well, considering that she's a psychic, or whatever, she's probably out performing rituals to stop all this or something." Kaiden suggested. "Well, that's precisely why I need her." Diego said. He was partly worried that he was becoming whiney, but he really couldn't help it. Kaiden turned his attention to Vatali. "You sure you're girlfriend is gonna be alright? She's not used to this, she's used to being pampered. Before, she didn't have to set a foot out of bed if she didn't want to. This is our lifestyle." asked Kaiden, with a concerned tone in his gruff voice. "I don't know. Probably. She's pretty strong." answered Diego. "Doesn't look very strong to me." Diego grunted. "Can you ever just not give your opinion?" he snapped. "Well, you asked for my help. And you guys aren't really saying anything, so what am I supposed to do, just be a silent monk? I hate silence." Kaiden retorted. Diego bit his tongue. "Give me the strength not to kill him 'till this is over. "He prayed in his head. Really, he had been thinking a lot about Vatali. He was very worried about her. It only irritated him that Kaiden was also concerned, which was weird and sort of messed up, Diego knew. Getting up and stretching, he headed in the direction of Rita's cave. "Please be there." he whispered.
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Diego walked up to the den and peered in. To his relief, Rita sat inside. "Rita! We've been looking everywhere for you!" he exclaimed. "I am sorry, Diego. I've been out praying. The Great Kings told me you were in need of my aid." she said apologetically. "The Great Kings? But I thought they were all gone." said Diego, puzzled. "So, you know about it too. No, they are not gone, more of locked away. Their abilities are greatly weakened; therefore, they are unable to do anything to help you. Perhaps great prayer would give them strength, although still they would have to all morph into one in order to bestow the powers to help you defeat this great evil." she answered. "Do you know what Threnadin did? Vatali can't seem to recall the name of it. She also cannot find a certain spell. She is sure it would help, but we think her father may have destroyed it to prevent that." Diego asked eagerly. "The curse he placed upon the Great Kings is one greatly feared. Only the strongest in magic may use it, and it has never before been used. For even the evilest of creatures would be cursed by it. It is called the Chai'id Madai. Vatali's father has truly lost his mind if he dares use this. In time, it will destroy all good. As for the scroll Vatali is looking for, I will try to see." with that Rita closed her eyes and murmured something. Suddenly her eyes shot open wide, and Diego saw blurred red images flashing by in the reflection of her eyes. "I see....the scroll. Threnadin did destroy it, before he cast the spell. But the moon saw, it sent a wind that blew away a small piece. That piece has a word, the most important word. You cannot cast the whole spell without the rest, but perhaps it could help. It is being guarded deep within the Dark Woods of Lokmenior, by the forest itself." she said. Then her eyes snapped back to their normal size and the reflections went away. "That is all I can see." she added. "Lokmenior? Are you insane? No one dares go in there! It is cursed by dark beings!" Diego gasped. "You wished to know. Now you do." Rita said, annoyed. Diego sighed. "I am sorry. I am very tired. Thank you." he apologized. "You should get some rest before this journey. You know well that rest is important when deprived of other necessities." Rita advised. Diego nodded. "You have helped us more than you know. Thank you." Diego praised. Rita tipped her head acceptingly as Diego stepped backwards out of her cave, careful not to knock over one of her millions of candles.
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