Episode One

Content Warning

 * Sudden Violence, Blood, Gore
 * Read by Sage Hyden

Characters

 * Young Nothing
 * Spark
 * Fire
 * Sharptongue
 * Powerstrike
 * Starmane
 * Quick
 * Kyoga (mention)
 * Lite (mention)
 * Karabi (mention)
 * Asra (mention)
 * Sunce (mention)
 * Cansu (mention)

Synopsis
Episode One opens with an old lioness telling a story about how a thousand seasons ago, the world had been a very different place. She explains that instead of the small Prides known today, all lions had once belonged to one of three great Kingdoms: Firstly, the Moon Kingdom, blessed by Asra the Guardian who was blind twin sister to Sunce and Goddess of Mercy, Death, and the moon. Secondly, the Sun Kingdom blessed by Sunce the Trickster, Goddess of wrath, life, and the sun. Lastly, the Storm Kingdom favored by the oldest sister Cansu, Goddess of travels, wisdom, and rain.

The lioness explains that back then each great Kingdom had a leader divinely chosen by their Goddess and that this chosen lion ruled the Kingdom until the next chosen came to age. At this point, the story is interrupted by a young lioness cub, Young Nothing (at this point only known as Sister or Daughter), who exclaims that this part of the story is boring and that she wants the storyteller to skip ahead to a part about Kyoga and her one true love.

A lion cub is then revealed, demanding to instead hear about Lite, who kicked Karabi the Terrible's butt and saved the world.

Another lion cub named Fire appears and chides his brother Spark for explaining Lite's story wrong, asking him if he ever really listens.

All cubs are interrupted as the original storyteller says enough, and she says that if the cubs don't settle down she will not tell them the story again at all. They reveal that the storyteller is their Grandmother and grow silent as the old lioness continues.

She says that the great Kingdoms had fallen because of Asra's chosen leader of the Moon Kingdom, Kyoga. Young Nothing squeals with excitement and her Grandmother shushes her, going on to say that due to hostility between their two Kingdoms, Kyoga was planned to be bonded to Sunce's chosen lion of the Sun Kingdom, Lite. The storyteller says that Lite and Kyoga eventually fell deeply in love and that both Kingdoms eagerly awaited their bonding day and the peace that would follow. However, just before their bonding ceremony Kyoga was kidnapped by a monster, an evil jealous lioness known as Karabi, who stole Princess Kyoga away from her love and family.

The storyteller is once again interrupted, but this time by an adult Huntress who calls her Mother and asks if she's filling the cubs heads with nonsense again. The storyteller tells her daughter Powerstrike that it's history, Young Nothing says that it's important, Spark that it's cool, and Fire that it's boring.

Powerstrike says that if the stories don't fill any bellies, they're not doing anyone any good, and she asks if the storyteller Sharptongue is ready for the hunt. Sharptongue supposes that she is and as the cubs protest and complain, they hear a laugh behind them and turn to see their Mane standing behind them, telling them not to be so upset that they have to spend the afternoon with their dad. The cubs perk up and Powerstrike says that her and Sharptongue will be off. She asks the cub's father Starmane if she can trust him to keep the cubs heads out of the clouds and he pulls his cubs close to snuggle them, joking that it's nothing by cold hard reality from now on. Young Nothing sighs and says that reality is the worst.

The cubs call goodbye to Powerstrike and Sharptongue, and as the Huntresses disappear the cubs start to pretend to be Kyoga, Karabi, and Lite. Fire complains that Kyoga doesn't do anything and Spark jokes that it's exactly why his brother has to to play her. When the latter complains to Starmane, the Mane says that he's fuzzy on the story details and Spark tries but gives a poor summary. Young Nothing says that she'll tell it and launches into the story.

She explains that Karabi had kidnapped Kyoga and took her far away from Lite, starting a huge war between the Kingdoms and that Lite had vowed to save her. When he had finally found them Karabi had already killed Kyoga, but Lite had vowed to avenge her. He and Karabi battled for days but as Lite had the power of love on his side, he was ultimately able to defeat her. Young Nothing continues to say that the war ended after that, however the Kingdoms had become too broken to fix, so Lite had created Pride Law so that everyone could be happy again. She ends the story by stating that Lite's Pride Law was why lions live in Prides to this day.

Starmane looks concerned as the cub finishes her story, and says that it sounds quite violent and that he'd need to have a word with Sharptongue about it. Spark and Young Nothing protest and say that Sharptongue's stories are the better, but Fire says that he doesn't like them either. Spark accuses him of not liking anything, but Fire says that he just likes real things and not stories, like Powerstrike says. Young Nothing says that real things are fun too and asks her brothers to play Mane and No-Mane with her. Fire avoids her as she jumps towards him and says that he doesn't want to play the game with her because lionesses are too weak to be manes. Spark says that Young Nothing is just trying to be nice to Fire, and calls him a birdbrain for not bending the rules even when they're just playing.

A roar suddenly erupts out of nowhere and both Starmane and the cubs stiffen. Young Nothing whispers that the roar was from a real No-Mane, and Starmane quickly rises and tells the cubs to stay calm. Before he can say anything Fire flees and Starmane curses and orders Spark and Young Nothing to stay there in the tall grass and not to move. He slips into the undergrowth and disappears, and the Steppe grows silent.

Another roar breaks the silence, and another, startling birds into the air. Suddenly, Starmane leaps out of the bushes and roars for the cubs to run and find their mother just as another lion jumps out after him and fastens his jaws on his shoulder. Young Nothing nudges Spark fearfully, telling him that they have to go, but Spark is fixated upon the Mane and No-Mane fighting ahead of them.

Starmane and the No-Mane circle each other, fighting and exchanging blows for several minutes before the intruder lifts Starmane up by the mane and finally defeats him with a heavy bite to the throat. Starmane falls to the ground, dead.

After dropping Starmane, the No-Mane, Quick, calls out to the cubs and tells them that the Pride isn't his until the old Mane's young are gone. He tells them there's no use in hiding and Young Nothing steps back to hide, but accidentally steps too heavily and Quick hears her. He approaches the cubs, telling Young Nothing that she'd done herself a favor by telling Quick where they had been. Young Nothing demands Quick to get away from Spark and cries out as the No-Mane pulls Spark towards him and kills him with one blow.

Quick tells Young Nothing not to fear, that she'll be with Spark soon, but she falls into a fighting stance and unsheathes her claws, saying: "Asra may take me, but you will never win."

At this, she leaps onto Quick's face and buries her claws into his face. Quick rears back and screams in pain, clawing at Young Nothing's body and face and shouting for her to let go of him. He calls her a Demon and throws her off of him and Young Nothing flies into a tree, hitting hard from the force of Quick's throw and breaking her left foreleg. She falls to the ground bloodied and injured and the world around her fades to black. Just before she falls unconscious, we hear Powerstrike's voice appear exclaiming that she smells blood and hear her cry out Starmane's name as she sees his dead body.

When Young Nothing opens her eyes she appears to be in a dream world, running through a thick jungle forest in the dead of night showing no signs of the injuries she's just taken. She screeches to a halt beside what appears to be the top of a giant waterfall and looks down to see a vast green valley before her. When she turns to look across the river she sees a white lion cub staring intensely across at her.

Young Nothing blinks, confused, and when she opens her eyes she is awake.

Fire calls out to her, calling her Sister, excited to see that she's awake and telling her that the No-Mane didn't find him. When Young Nothing asks about Spark, he shakes his head sadly but says that she's here and that it counts. When he begins to lead the way back to their camp Young Nothing attempts to follow but falls due to the pain in her broken leg. Fire is concerned but she tells him that the leg doesn't hurt if she doesn't put any pressure on it, and she leans on him as they make their way back home.

When the cubs return home, Powerstrike is calling Quick a pathetic, spineless, weak half-blind joke of a Mane, to which he protests and says that he won the battle with Starmane fairly. He accuses Young Nothing of his injuries and says that there's something evil about her, that she's possessed. Powerstrike growls and says that Young Nothing is her cub and that she will not have her referred to as 'it'. Sharptongue says that Pride Law doesn't allow them to outright deny Quick their Pride, as he has defeated Starmane. Powerstrike argues that Quick has been bested by a cub, to which Sharptongue says that the Pride is his nevertheless. When Powerstrike makes to protest, Sharptongue says that her decision as Hunt Chief of the Pride is to have Quick and the cubs co-exist as Quick had bested Starmane in combat and Young Nothing had then bested him in combat. She says that this proves that Young Nothing and Fire have a right to the Pride as much as he does, and to let them co-exist in it together.

Powerstrike says that they won't be able to trust him alone with the cubs, but Sharptongue says that if it were the will of the Sisters for them to die, they would have. However, if Quick harms the cubs he will bring upon him the ire of the Goddesses. When Quick questions her to ask how she knows that the Goddesses are watching, Sharptongue says that she sees things that others cannot and that she knows things. She tells Quick that if he doesn't keep his word, he will have defied the Goddesses and she doesn't believe that he, this half-wit of a Mane, is stupid enough to do that.

Fire interrupts, calling to Powerstrike and telling her that Young Nothing is okay. When the lioness cub makes to run to her mother she falls, and Powerstrike looks concerned. Fire says that she is okay otherwise, that hurt is better than bad, and Powerstrike slowly agrees. She begins to walk with Young Nothing and Fire into the tall grass.

A voice-over by adult Nothing then says that she knows now what her mother couldn't tell her then. Her injury changed everything and from that day forward, her life would never be the same again.