𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐬's Den

•°. *࿐
Fog misted gently over the land. For miles, there was only burnt, now damp wood, and sickly, poor-looking lioness. Their emaciated bodies barely turned to look at you, pulling their cubs closer to protect them from the unfamiliar face-- you. You had been summoned here by Narcissus, the prince of terror. Or atleast, that's what people knew him as around here. Every year, locust hit this pride the hardest.. and there was a legend recounting why.

Many years ago, there was a king named Ithai, and his queen Mnemosyne, who ruled this very kingdom. They ruled together for many years, The pride happy and thriving. Ithai was a generous king, though he had a bad reputation and terrible karma, he was fiercely loyal to his people and welcomed any lion who approached him, looking for food or shelter. This attitude persisted, even during the most desastating of locust plagues. Legend has it, a lion going by the name Ganymede approached him, his once muscular form now skinny and weak. He pleaded for a place to stay, his pride having been destoryed by the plague. Ithai welcomed him, and the pride accepted him with open arms. Ganymede played nice, for a short while. As soon as he was back to his usual strength, he challanged Ithai to a brawl for his territory. Mnemosyne begged Ithai not to fight Ganymede, but not even she could change his mind now-- Ganymede had disrespected Ithai by threatening him, after all the hospitality he had shown. It was a bloody, awful fight-- fur and chunks of skin everywhere. Ganymede walked out victorious, proclaiming the lands as his own. Ithai was dead and Mnemosyne was stripped of her title, replaced with a lion called Caius, Ganymede's mate. Pestilence and famine followed the tyrant, and lioness began turning up with empty paws after hunts more and more often. He became known as Ganymede, the devastator.

Ganymede was long dead, but Caius seemed to have survived generations upon generations. They had a son, narcissus, but the cub belonged to an also dead lioness, not the male. His name was Narcissus, and he rules the land now, in his great-grand-paw's place. He strives to emulate the boundless cruelty of his ancestor one day, brutally murdering anyone who dares question his rule.

In some versions of the legend, Ganymede had two twin cubs, brothers, instead of just one. The other mysterious cub has many tales surrounding him-- some more fantastical and unbelievable than others-- but one thing persists. Narcissus' brother is a winged lion, adorned with angelic silvers and grows delicate, silky fur. He's supposedly very kind, despite annihilating his enemies and destroying things like it's his day job.

It took a while for you to find Narcissus. When you finally did, he told you that he had been watching many kings nearby his territory, and you stuck out to him in particular. He praised your strength, rubbing up against you and nuzzling against your neck to try and flatter you into doing what he wanted. By the end of it all, the instructions were clear: Kill Evander or let your pride face the consequences as Ithai's had.

..Take a journey to visit Evander?

[Yes.] - [No.]