Gore

When Gore was born he lived in a pride ruled by a ruthless king who killed his father and chased out the young males before they reached adolesence. The lionesses were too fearful to fight against their king and they made no attempt to keep their male cubs. Off on his own, he was determined to survive somehow, and made a promise to himself that one day when he was strong enough that he'd return to fight the tyrant for all that he'd done. Until then, Gore fed himself on scraps and carcasses left behind by other animals, and taught himself to hunt smaller prey, travelling far distances to learn about the world around him.

One day, still a cub, he came across a nest on the ground of broken eggshells. There was only one that had yet to hatch, and at first, Gore planned on eating it, but before he could get his teeth around it, he heard sounds coming from the egg. It began to shake and crack open. Waiting with curiosity, he watched as the little bird pecked its way through the shell, the small creature poking its head out, chirping and crying for its mother. Gore realized that the two were one and the same: They were alone and had been abandoned by their families. He decided to keep the bird, naming him Upoteaji (meaning 'loss' [pronounced oo-po-TEA-ji]). After his feathers turned from white to black, Gore nicknamed him Black. Black saw Gore as a mother/father figure and grew to call Gore 'Dad'. As they both grew in strength and size, Black helped Gore hunt by soaring high in the sky and finding prey easy-to-spot for the two of them. They made a great pair.

Now in his adolescence, Gore's mane was growing in nicely, and after finally gaining adequate strength from larger meals and learning to hunt with Black, he felt ready to face the tyrant. He returned to the place he once knew as home and challenged the ruthless lion to a battle for the kingdom. It was long, it was rough, but it finally ended as Gore ripped open the tyrant's throat. He allowed himself and the lionesses to gorge on his meat before licking the carcass clean until there were only bones left. Afterwards, Gore squeezed his way into the rib cage that once belonged to the tyrant and wore it as a trophy, a reminder that he overcame his cubhood hardships. The bones of his foe was not the only trophy he obtained that day. He earned three scars from the battle.

After being on his own for so long, he didn't want to rule the land. He let his mother become Queen once again. He left the lionesses in charge of themselves, not caring if they would anoint a king one day or not. Leaving the lionesses alone, he set off one last time, choosing to stay the rogue he had become when he was exiled as a cub. When he grew into an adult, he ventured into The Wildlands, ruled by King Hokoto and Queen Kimili with their daughter, Princess Yuma and her little brother, Umeme.