Profile
About the den/pride
Den ~ Name meaning ~ Pride Emblem
{A2} The pride resides in a large cavern with twisting tunnels and rock ledges, the cave is lit up by bioluminescent glow worms, the further you go in. Natural light can reach 50m in the cave, but beyond that, it's all lit by unnatural lighting. The lions have adapted to living in the dark, maneuvering against fallen rock and limestone debris, and sharp jagged stones protruding from the cave floor. There is a small riverlike stream that goes all the way into the depths of the cavern, it even has an underground lake, if you don't get lost in the tunnel systems. There are multiple rock platforms, the only flat surface is at the entrance of the cave however there is still remnants of fallen rocks, there's some rock platforms that go all the way to the top of the cavern and tunnels but can only be reached by jumping from ledge to ledge. Limestone and other rocks cover the top of the caves, as well as the surface. There are multiple mini caves, which don't have tunnels and don't lead anywhere, it makes the perfect sleeping space. To make the cave floor more comfortable, the younger lions are to collect moss and ferns for bedding, starting with the cubs, elders and the rest of the pride.
{A5} Pride of the fallen grotto achieved it's name by the cave system, the founder, Solari, had found the cave but when she first entered, a stalactite had fallen from the roof of the entrance, and the entrance of the cave resembles a grotto. However, it has larger corridors and tunnels winding throughout the rock formation. She named her pride, the fallen grotto as some sections can flood, and rocks can fall from the ceiling.
Pride of the Fallen grotto emblem
{A8} The pride emblem is a selenite crystal with a small dark brown bat wrapped around it, hugging the crystal close to its body. It symbolizes the caves, and the prides greatest strength, the ability to maneuver swiftly in the dark as well as their heightened senses when in the cave system or hunting at night.
Danger, strengths and weaknesses
Greatest strength + weaknesses - Biggest threat - How do they face danger
{A10} The lions of the pride of the fallen grotto both have great strengths and weaknesses. Their greatest strength is the ability to maneuver in the dark and to dodge obstacles in their path. They have a somewhat quick reaction timing due to this ability. They have adapted to living in the caves and the tunnel system, and have changed their abilities over time from regular lions. From living in the caves and tunnels, they have lost some of the greatest strengths from the average lion, such as speed. Since they take time maneuvering in the tunnels and dodging obstacles, they can no longer run as fast as a normal lion and they get tired after a short sprint. They must conserve energy if they are to hunt and get a successful kill, they are trying to adapt their hunting skills by mimicking a leopard to hunt in the jungle, however they are not as successful. Otherwise, they hunt like usual lions, clawing their prey and having strategic positions.
{A9- some info} The biggest threat of the pride of the fallen grotto, isn't regular predators such as crocodiles, hyenas, or neighbouring lions. The greatest threat is storms, rainfall and floods, since the caves and the great lake are connected together. It is very dangerous as it can take a second for the caves to start flooding, precautions are needed to keep the pride safe. All it takes is for a storm or some rain to fall from the sky, that start to flood the cave. Floods have taken lives of many unaware lions from this pride and others before it.
Dangers
{A11} The pride of the fallen Grotto faces a number of dangers, that threaten them or their territory. There are sentries posted outside the den, to watch for dangers from rival prides, storms and other threats. During the instance of a flood, the sentries do a warning roar, notifying the other lions to get to higher ground within the cave or if they can escape the cave before it floods. The first priority is protecting the cubs, the lions who are trapped in the cave and can't get to higher ground. The sentries grab the cubs and carry them to a safe place. There are multiple platforms and tunnels that lead away from the flood waters. However, they are trapped there until the flood waters disperse or if they find a tunnel leading outside of the cave, which has yet to be discovered. They do have stored meat throughout various sections of the cave, on many different platforms in case of emergency and if there is any meat left to spare, the meat storage is also used during difficult hunting seasons. The hunters bring back meat for nursing queens and elders. In the case of a rival lion or pride, the group who finds them first are to challenge them while one of the pride members go back to the den or to other nearby wondering groups for back up and to notify the den of an intruder or an attack. Warrior ranks are mostly desired in these situations, as well as any able lion who is fit to fight. They leave the den, well protected with sentries and other lions, unless they are caught off guard, then it is just sentries and whoever is in the den at the time. This is also similar to hyenas and other predators, depending on their numbers. The lion who is sent out to find back up which is deciding by the group leader, is to proitize finding a nearby group, if they can't find a group fast enough they are required to go back to the den for backup. However this may take longer.
The hunt
Hunting style - Prey, predators and threats - Harmonious species
{A7} The lion pride has a couple of hunting styles, they hunt like leopards in the thick overgrown jungle and like average lions in the savannah grasslands. When hunting in the jungle, the group splits up, similar on how a leopard hunts solitary, but they are in the same area stalking smaller prey such as birds, warthogs, monkeys and even small antelope. They stalk their prey by stalking close to the ground and trying their best to camouflage in the surrounding environment. They even try to attempt to climb trees to get a better advantage of their prey. When they are within a close range, they lunge at their prey, aiming for the neck to swiftly kill it. They prefer to hunt in the jungle during the night as it is better to hide their different colored pelts. It also helps the pride if the day hunt was not successful or if food is scarce. The second style, a more natural style of hunting for the pride, is to go to hunt in the grasslands. They target their prey, often the weak, young, old or even prey that just looks tasty. They fixate on it and move towards the target, and have strategic placements. By keeping close to the ground and staying silent, they can get in range. When they are close enough, the lead hunter initiates the chase. The lead hunter starts by clawing the rump of the prey, while the other lionesses move in and try to aim for the throat, clawing the prey as much as possible until either it escapes or they bring it down.
{A15} The jungle has lots of prey and threats, prey includes various types of birds, monkeys, lizards, impala, warthogs and even fish from the lake. The threats that the jungle has, are crocodiles, baboons and other big cats. Baboons are the biggest threat in the jungle as they love to hunt and kill lions, the pride will not hesitate to either fight or retreat back into the cave. The jungle doesn't offer as much prey as the grasslands, since there are different migrating animals that travel by. The grassland prey includes, wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, impalas, buffalo and warthogs. Their favorite prey to hunt is the larger ones like zebras, wildebeest and buffalo, so they can feed their pride. There are always threats while hunting, mostly include getting injured by hooves or horns while chasing the prey. The other threats, which the lions do not hunt, are elephants, they are both present in the jungle and the grasslands, and pose a danger to the lions as they can be aggressive. The long tusks and the elephants charge, is more than enough to kill or horribly injure a lion. More threats include, other big cats, hyenas and coyotes. Vultures are only a threat to those that are injured or young cubs. Hyenas are the one of the biggest threat to the lions, as they often love to steal their kills and are known to fight them, even if they are outnumbered. After a hunt, if the lions do not lose to the hyenas or other scavengers, they bring back bits and pieces to the pride, as much as they can possibly carry. The food is either consumed, or stored for later by the shaman.
Harmonious species - The treaty
{A33} There is only one species that the lions co-exist with in a peaceful manor, that is the crocodiles who reside in the lake. When first starting up the new pride, the founder, Solari, made a proposition to the crocodiles, since they are the largest threat and the lake also goes into the den. They do not share the same tongue, however they made the treaty through both mutual respect and by speaking broken tongues to help get the gist of things. She has somewhat befriended the crocodile floats leader, by agreeing that all the scraps get fed to them and if food is scarce, the lions would help them so they won't starve, either by becoming food or by bringing them food to survive. During the dry season, the lake starts to dwindle, but the underground lake doesn't suffer as much as the great lake. So she made an agreement that they can use the underground lake during the dry season if they never kill or hurt a lion, the lions will also never harm or hurt a crocodile in the float, the lions are also not allowed to hunt near the lake or to hunt fish, unless they trade some meat for some fish or hunt in the underground river. The lake is owned by the crocodile float but once it reaches the cave, it becomes the lions territory.
Faith and Ancestors
Faith - Ancestors - Symbolic meanings
{A6} The pride of the fallen grotto believes in multiple gods, the God of the sun and the God of the moon. The sun God is said to bring new life to the pride and the world around them, however, to create balance, the Sun God can cause destruction by creating the dry season, which makes life difficult for all living things. It is a powerful force of nature. The Moon God, is believed to create peace, solidarity, and death. When night arrives in the lands, the heat dies down and the ability to speak to spirits is unlocked. The only ones who can commune with the dead, are shamans. The moon god, was believed to be the god who created death, to create balance with the sun and with life. The pride doesn't necessarily pray to any of them, but respect them and the forces of nature by giving thanks for the life they have received and for the life that is around them. They have celebrations, to celebrate life and the Gods.
{A13} When a lion dies, the closest members, shaman, and the king/queen, accompany the deceased to the burial grounds, that is located in the desert. They start their journey in the afternoon, in silence and before sunset, so that the Gods can look upon the spirit, and accept it into the afterlife. The grave is dug by the entire party, and the body is placed into it. The shaman has a wooden carving that symbolizes the deceased lion and places it around a branch, to mark the grave. When the night is at the fullest, when there is nothing but silence and darkness, the ritual is performed. The shaman starts to summon the spirit, and help it ascend into the afterlife so that they can have eternal bliss, and to look after the pride. The spirit rises from the body, and if it is seeking revenge or has unfinished business, does not ascend into the afterlife, instead it turns into a vengeful or incomplete spirit, walking a different plane of existence of the earth, until it's task has been completed. The shaman communes with it and asks, if it is willing to speak, if there is anything that they can do to help it ascend into the afterlife, the shaman or the members who are there, can help the spirit, if they spirit is not cooperative, it disappears and may or may not reappear later when it is ready to speak. Any type of spirit can commune with anyone via dreams but only a shaman can summon it directly. The pride highly respects spirits and the dead, before the journey, everyone says their goodbyes.
The sun
{A36} The sun represents life, destruction and balance, to the pride and is a sacred object. It is seen as a god, as it has the ability to take life away and to give life. When the sun is at it's brightest and it starts to get hotter, signaling the start of the dry season. The shamans have a ritual, they chant to the sun, praying to the sun god, that the dry season won't be too harsh this year. The ritual lasts for a few hours, a yellow glow surrounds them while they are in the ritual. The shamans have the ritual on a sacred rock, outside of the territory, that overlooks the pride and the land below them. The pride has a small celebration at the end of the dry season, to give thanks to life, and every lion has a full meal each.
The moon
{A35} The moon represents peace, solidarity and has a higher connection with death. When a full moon appears, the spirits are more likely to commune with the living. The moon is seen as a god by the pride as they believe that the moon gave the ability to let spirits walk among the earth, and to let them speak with the living. During a full moon, the spirits become more active, the pride holds a celebration when the moon is at it's fullest, to celebrate the dead and the life that they had worked for. The shamans have a stronger connection to spirits at this time and try to commune with the vengeful or restless spirits to bring them peace and to help them get into the afterlife.
Legends and historical heroes
{A24} The pride has legends, the legend of Atari, the first lion who ever walked the earth and their struggles. With Atari's struggles, it gave life to lions and created prides, to help one another with hunting, emotional support and family. Atari, not a king nor a queen, was the first one to walk the savannah grasslands, life had just begun, the sun had created predators while the moon had created prey. Atari was alone, the first and only lion, as it was a trail so the gods can improve upon life. The other animals being, wildebeest, warthogs, and jackals. The wildebeest was the first animals to be in a herd, but it was extremely difficult for Atari to hunt them. The jackals had depleted the warthogs, so not many of them were left in the grasslands. Atari began to starve and when the sun noticed this, it created more lions so they can hunt as a group. Atari and the lions were able to hunt many wildebeest but with enough wildebeast to go around, they started to over hunt due to boredom and for the thrill of it. When the sun and moon saw this, both of them joined forces and created more animals to put lions and jackals in their place. They created a mix of predators, scavengers, and even animals that are to deadly to hunt. This created more balance in life, Hyenas were created to put an end to the lions and jackals overhunting, elephants and rhinos to protect the meeker creatures as well as crocodiles to bring balance to the waterlife. Overtime, the sun and moon had created all of the animals in balance, not one species reign supreme, predators have multiple enemies and competition while prey has plenty of predators and abilities to keep them alive. The gods created a world, survival of the fittest.
Atari's pride was not happy that their overhunting days are over, Atari's deputy challenged them and tried to kill Atari. Atari at first was also angry that they couldn't overhunt but saw the changes that the gods did to the savannah, every species was flourishing and there was plenty of prey to go around. Not only that, but the hyenas created competition with the lions, when the lions kill something, they have to fight to keep it and if they win, even the hyenas get some leftovers, if there's any left. With more predators around, it meant to Atari, that life isn't something you take for granted. You shouldn't over hunt as that destroys the ecosystem. Atari believe this, and fought to survive their deputies onslaught, however Atari wasn't going to give up. In the end, Atari had defeated the deputy, not by killing them, but by banishing them from the pride. A few members left, however this created multiple prides, rivals and allies. Atari was happy that they got a pride, and realized the ways of overhunting can lead to the extinction of a species. Atari and the lions were never really bored anymore since they had competition to keep their kill and to hunt. The pride looks up to Atari for their failures and the recognition that they did wrong, and proceeded to accept it and to create room for change. The pride gives thanks for the life that the prey has given them, after every kill, each lion bows their head in respect, and then proceed to consume the flesh of the fallen prey.
Cubs and Celebration
Cubs - Coming of age - Celebrations
{A14} The pride expects their cubs to be playful and energetic, since when they play, they are practicing their skills for when they become an apprentice. Some members of the pride do expect them to grow up quickly once they have become old enough to be an apprentice, so the cubs can learn how to be more of a valued member to the pride. Pridemates often put up with sneak attacks and pounces from cubs, even when they are an apprentice, but they may get scolded for it. Every pride member of the pride teaches the cubs different things, even before they become an apprentice, ranging from tips on how to stalk properly, to the best way to bite to bring down "prey". They become an apprentice at 12 months and on a full moon, where the queen/king holds a small ceremony, they are upgraded to the apprentice den and given the ability to have proper training with different mentors. When they are an apprentice, they have many duties, such as cleaning the dens, learning how to hunt and fight, as well as learning how to watch out for signs of danger. The pride is lenient on the ranks, meaning that once a apprentice graduates into a fully fledged member, they can choose whether they want to be a warrior, sentry or hunter, when they pick they can switch whenever they would like. They are still considered a cub until they reach 3 years of age.
{A18} Once a cub has reached maturity, a ceremony is held and they are given their ranks and a nice upgraded den within the caverns. However, first, all of the apprentices who are graduating, must complete a successful hunt as a group. They must successfully stalk, pounce, and kill a buffalo, defend their kill and bring it to the training grounds as evidence. A buffalo is a challenging prey animal since they are often protected within the herds and will get defensive when in danger. Some will even charge a lion or lions as a herd. The reason behind this challenge is that they can cooperate and work as a team without any help from the other members of the pride. It also shows that they are a committed member of the pride, by working as a team, it means that they can work with the pride as a valued member, and it shows that they are willing to protect a pridemate from danger. Since buffalos have horns, they can easily injure a lion by kicking or by swinging its horns at a lion. It is a challenging tradition and may even take days to complete, so a couple of sentries are posted at the training grounds and switch every 12 hours, until the lions come back from their hunt. When they come back, one of the sentries goes back to the den and every pride member comes and congratulate them. The apprentices will be given a new space in the den, whether in a small cave in the caverns or shared with the other lions, it's up to the new fledged members to decide.
Celebrations
{A20} The pride of the fallen grotto has a few celebrations; the lunar celebrations, Solar celebration and the celebration of new life. The lunar celebrations happen every full moon, where the lions sit by a campfire and tell stories about legends, historic battles or something that happened during the month, such as expectant cubs, or a successful hunt. Every lion has a full belly on this night even during the harshest dry season. These celebrations are to give thanks to the pride, the moon and everything in between. The solar celebration happens annually, a celebration of the end of the dry season. Every lion celebrates, with the sound of rain, as the end of the harshest time of the year is finally over. Regardless of the food shortage, they will eat to their heart's content. They will tell stories, dance and celebrate the life that they have been given. The last celebration, is the celebration of new life. When a new cub is introduced to the pride, or when cubs are born, the pride will hold a celebration. It's when the cubs receive their name by their parents and the pride celebrates the birth of new cubs or to celebrate adopted cubs within the pride.
