[Open] Rites of Blood (Advanced RP.)

[Katura]

Do you all remember at the beginning of the Lion King movie when Scar told his dear elder brother that he shouldn't turn his back on him? And that in response a furious Mufasa asks Scar if that statement was a challenge? I mulled on this idea, and then mulled a bit more until eureka, an idea was born. I wondered what it would be like if Scar, in his youth, had challenged his older brother to a sacred fight for the throne, and won. Then the villain would become king and mighty Mufasa the one trailing in his brother's shadow.

Note that this story is pretty detailed (ie an advanced rp), so please, if you intend to join, give me the same courtesy of thought and effort (and spell and grammar check) that I put in to making the setting possible. And of course, have fun. =) That's what RPs are all about.

Characters taken/open:

Scar/Taka (Played by me.)
Mufasa - DGFone
Ahadi - Nitro
Uru - Jiirani
Sarabi - Songo
Sarafina - Songo
Zira - Nitro
Mohatu - Jiirani
Rafiki - (Temporarily played by me, unless someone wants his character.)
Shenzi
Banzai
Ed
Zazu

When the rp progresses into the future other characters will become available:

Simba - Simba3
Nala
Kovu
Vitani
Kiara
Kopa - cheetahstar546
(And all members of the outlander pride.)

Notes: I am only playing Ahadi, Uru and Mufasa for the sake of setting the stage. The characters are still open.

RP Setting: The timeline is set during the rule of King Ahadi and Queen Uru. In a sacred battling ground the two brothers are embroiled in a fight for power, and their lives.

Beginning RP:

The King and Queen of the Pridelands sat upon the promontory of Pride Rock as they looked down below at a large arena drawn in wildebeest blood. In the middle of the circle, two young lions, one painted in blue and one in orange, were embroiled in combat, dust flying around them as they fought desperately with one another. The larger of the two was at a clear advantage, able to knock the other down with one sweep of his mighty paw, but the other was nimble and clever, ducking around most of his larger opponent's attempts to hit him.

Ahadi furrowed his brows as the wind whistled through his dark mane, an unsettling feeling weighing in his stomach. The spirits of the land were anxious, warning him of something...

"Dear... We should make them stop, Mufasa might kill him!" Uru pleaded, shaking the King's shoulder with a paw as he looked down at the scene below him with a grim expression on his face.

"Taka called it upon himself when he invoked the sacred ritual. There is nothing we can do." He grunted, his voice as noncommittal as someone talking of the weather.

"Dammit Ahadi! He's your son too!!" Uru shrieked watching in horror as Mufasa struck his brother across the face, throwing the smaller lion to the ground with a bone-cracking thud.

---------------


Blood clouded his vision. It flooded his every senses, and he was able to taste the sharp tang of coppery metal on his tongue. The shriek of animals shrilly cried out, expressing their approval of the scene. The throng of bestial onlookers either stood around them in excitement or looked on in silence. There were loud whinnys, the trumpet of elephants, the cries of monkeys and even the whispers of crying children with cooing mothers behind them they continued staring at the bloody mess in the arena.

His heart was thundering loudly in his ears, his head was still swimming with the force of Mufasa's last blow but inwardly he was screaming for his body to move. He didn't care that he was surrounded by a mass of onlookers, caring would mean that he was ashamed, and the last thing he was going to do was let his idiot of a brother have the satisfaction of humiliating him.

'Never... You'll never break me...'

Pain wracked Taka's body as he tried to move. Agony dug into his flesh like daggers, his back and sides flayed open by his brother's claws and soaked in macabre crimson. He was aware of Mufasa circling around him, his head held high as he gloated in his victory. The older lion could take his time now, since there was no longer any immediate threat from his fallen opponent.

"Taka, Taka, Taka..." Mufasa drawled, reaching out a paw and grabbing his brother's chin. "We could have worked this out you know... I mean, have I not been anything but good to you?"

Taka fought to keep his vision focused on his elder brother, growling low in his throat. "Screw you Mufasa..." He spat, emerald eyes flashing with disdain for the golden furred beast.

At that Mufasa sighed, looking at his younger brother with an amused smile. "You're my little brother Taka... I don't want to kill you... Just say you give up and we'll both walk away from this like nothing happened."

Taka growled, feeling adrenaline surging in his veins at the offer. No. He had trained far too long, far too hard to give up this fight. He would rather die than continue living in 'the better son's' shadow. He would not be defeated this way. Not by him.

From the promontory, Ahadi stilled as he watched Taka, suddenly feeling like his guts were caught in a cold vice.

"MUFASA! FINISH HIM! DO IT NOW!" Ahadi roared as Uru's eyes widened and she started to scream in protest.

But it was too late for the gloating young prince. The burning agony had driven Taka to the brink, and yet the younger lion felt deep, radiating anger flash inside him, overtaking the pain. With a roar Taka lunged forward, striking Mufasa across the face as his claws raked across his left eye.

With a cry of pain Mufasa fell back, clutching his bloodied eye. With the larger lion temporarily stunned Taka rolled fully to his feet and descended upon his opponent like the wrath of god. His claws dug into Mufasa's immaculate golden fur and his teeth sank into his russet mane, drawing blood as he threw his opponent to the ground by his neck.

"No... It can't be..." Ahadi whispered, his face pale and sickly as the dust swirled and settled around the two combatants.

Taka stood over his brother, Mufasa's neck clutched in his maw. A dark smirk drew up the lines of Taka's face as he tasted his brother's blood on his tongue... Finally... He had taken the great Mufasa down to the ground like the rest of earth's mortals. This pathetic beast below him was just as any other, and not anything like the god-like figure that everyone had thought he was. And now he only had to finish the ritual.

"Taka... Brother... Please..." Mufasa gasped out, bloody spittle trailing down his chin. "Not like this..."

A deep rumbling chuckle emanated from Taka's chest. No, this lion didn't deserve his mercy... Since birth he had been treated like filth because of Mufasa, always made to know who was the better of the two. Because of Mufasa, the only person who had dared to treat him like any other sentient being on the planet was his own mother. And through it, Mufasa had just ignored his suffering, that is, until he had issued the challenge to his brother's throne.

To which Mufasa scoffed at.

'Well who's laughing now 'brother'?'

Just as his teeth began to enclose around his brother's windpipe he heard a scream from pride rock.

"TAKA! MY LOVE, MY LIFE PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!" Uru screamed, tears streaming down her face. "THE THRONE IS ALREADY YOURS! PLEASE DON'T TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME!" The queen couldn't stand the thought of losing either of her cubs and had felt herself die a little bit inside as she watched them do battle.

Without another thought, Taka opened his mouth, Mufasa's body crumpling to the ground before him. For Uru, he would do anything. She had been the only one to show him even a shred of kindness or love. If it weren't for her, the loneliness and sadness would have driven him insane.

'I only wanted to make you proud, mother...'

He then glared up at Ahadi, eyes flashing as he stepped over his brother, who was gasping and coughing behind him.

"My King... Father." He spat out the word 'father' like it was poison. "I have bested your 'better son' in the Ritual of Blood... Now do as the rite commands... AND NAME ME HEIR TO YOUR THRONE!"

Ahadi looked down on the scene in disbelief, his mouth opening, then closing as words fled him.

Raising his head up high, Taka roared in triumph, his fangs glinting in the sun.

[DGFone]

Mufasa coughed weakly, mind numb. Pressing a paw hard over his bleeding eye, he tried to get up, but didn't find the strength to. Taka. His brother. His entire life, he tried making Taka feel better, like he meant something. Now he was repaid for his efforts with blood and agony, as Taka gloated to their father of his victory.

What made even less sense was the fight itself. The entire time, Mufasa was on the defensive, wanting to show Taka that he didn't want to hurt him. When Taka insisted on fighting, Mufasa had no choice left but to attack. And when he brought Taka to the ground, he offered Taka a chance to walk away clean. Taka took Mufasa's mercy as a chance to strike back, and used the surprise to defeat Mufasa.

Lying on the ground, Mufasa felt only pain, both physical and emotional. But even despite the intense burning of his bleeding eye and neck, it felt like nothing compared to the gaping hole now created in Mufasa's soul. Taka had betrayed me. Inside, Mufasa felt sadness, pity, and anger. Anger at his brother for the betrayal of what Mufasa thought before was their friendship.

Lying, bleeding, on the ground, there was nothing left. Deep inside, Mufasa knew that Taka had crossed the point of no return.

[Katura]

Dust choked the air, swirling around the two brothers as a solemn figure emerged from the fog of war. The wind picked up the mandrill's graying fur as he strode tiredly to Mufasa's side, his eyes darkened by some unfathomable emotion. The throng of bestial spectators immediately bowed low in reverence to the shaman as he nodded cordially in return.

"You..." Taka breathed, bowing his head in respect as his stomach turned.

Rafiki's eyes didn't even flit to the younger prince's direction as he bent on one knee, grabbing a gourd from his walking stick and slowly coaxing Mufasa's paw away from his eye.

The wizened old shaman winced a bit at the sight. Mufasa's face was soaked in blood and the skin around the prince's left eye was flayed open. The wound would surely scar and become an ugly reminder of today's events for the rest of his life. Sighing deeply and saying nothing, he reached into the gourd and smeared a strong smelling medicinal salve over the fallen crown prince's injuries.

As he continued his painstaking work, taking care not to cause Mufasa any more pain than was necessary, he finally spoke.

"You would have made a fine king Mufasa... But even in light of today's defeat, you have to continue taking care of your brother... Taka needs your wisdom now more than ever, for all of our sakes."

For the first time that day, guilt clutched at Taka's heart as he saw Mufasa's body on the ground. It was almost disconcerting how... Utterly broken the usually unflappable young prince was. But as he overheard the shaman's words, his eyes darkened in anger and he roughly shook off the guilt.

"Shaman, it has taken me a great deal of work to get to where I am standing today... and now, I need you to finish the ritual by formally announcing me crown prince."

Rafiki's eyes flashed toward Taka and he gritted his teeth in anger.

"Mind your place Prince Taka. You may have defeated your brother in the Ritual but you have yet to be made crown prince. That responsibility rests at my convenience. Do you not feel even a shred of compassion for the lion whom you have known since you were in the womb?"

He glared at Rafiki as the mandrill grunted and finished his work on Mufasa, stroking the great lion's side as he stood to his feet.

"Tomorrow. When the sun is at it's highest point, we will begin the ceremony."

[DGFone]

Mufasa whimpered as Rafiki tended to his wounds. The salve that Rafiki used stung, not to mention that Mufasa was forced to expose his wounded eye to the elements. Even the wind proved to be a source of pain as it blew by.

When Rafiki finished applying the salve to Mufasa's wounds, the shaman explained that Mufasa was needed by Taka now more than ever. "Taka needs your wisdom now more than ever" Mufasa's heart clenched tightly. How could he help Taka now? For his entire life, Mufasa tried ignoring the fact that he was to become king, and Taka not. All those days that Mufasa and Taka had been friends. Now, Mufasa wasn't so sure. Despite this, Mufasa nodded feebly. He trusted the shaman. Even if Mufasa didn't get what the shaman meant now, he would understand when it would matter.

As Rafiki got up to leave, Mufasa looked up. "Rafiki," he said weakly, "Thank you." Rafiki nodded and smiled slightly.

Using all his strength, Mufasa got up and walked away slowly. He didn't even look at Taka. Maybe he will try to talk to him later. Maybe. But now, if Taka wants to talk to Mufasa, Taka will have to do it on his own.

The wind bowing through his growing mane, Mufasa hung his head as he limped away from his brother. He didn't even look where he went. Just... away. Inside, Mufasa felt the anger towards his brother turn to an immense grief, lamenting over their lost friendship.

"Why did you have to do this, Taka?" Mufasa asked quietly. "What did I do to wrong you?"

[Jiirani]

The dark pelted lioness rushed down from Ahadi's side, her heart beating a mile a minute, as worry swelled in the pit of her stomach. Her sons, she had never wanted them to fight in such a manor, and now it had come to this. She Queen dashed to her fallen son, and gasped at the state of Mufasa. She wanted to hold him, tell him that everything would be fine, but he looked so fragile, unlike anything she had seen before, like if she even touched him he would shatter into a million pieces.

"Oh Mufasa, my baby..."

She sobbed, scanning Mufasa, who's wounds were covered, but still looked painful, the crimson liquid that stained his pelt was enough to make Uru woozy. The Queen knew herself that Taka would be hurt from all of this, but she was frozen to the spot, watching the golden lion take shaky breaths. The lioness's cheeks were soaked with tears from long before she had reached Mufasa's side, and her head was throbbing from crying so much, but she wasn't important, her son was. As Mufasa rose to his paws, Uru followed him, taking deep breaths, trying to calm down.

At that precise moment, a dark pelted lion rose from his viewing point, one of the high areas of Pride Rock, with a decent view. Mohatu looked down at his daughter and grandsons. Although he would deny taking sides, Mohatu had believed that Mufasa would win, and Taka's victory was more than shocking. The old lion padded up to stand next to Ahadi, gazing down at the pitiful sight below him. Now that Taka had defeated his brother, he would likely become King, if he had the right mindset, but there was some hope for Mufasa, depending on Taka's behavior.

"Odd turn of events, eh? Didn't know Taka had it in him."

[DGFone]

Mufasa noticed his mother following him. At first, he wanted to shout to her to go away, but then he noticed her face, tears streaming down her cheeks. As fast as he could move, he hobbled over to her. "Everything's going to be okay, mom." he told her gently. Ignoring his pain, he reached out and hugger her.

Uru's body shook as she sobbed into Mufasa's fur, and he tried to comfort her. "It's going to be okay, mom. Don't worry." No matter what he said, Mufasa felt like he couldn't actually help his mother. "Mom, please," Mufasa begged of her, "don't worry. Be strong. For both of us."

Mufasa broke up the embrace, and smiled at his mother, trying to show her that everything will be fine. "Nothing will change, mom. There's nothing to worry about."

[Jiirani]

Uru cried softly into her sons fur, but was trying to calm down. Mufasa was right, she couldn't act like this. She hugged him back, and when the embrace ended, managed a small smiled at her eldest, the steady flow of tears letting up.

"I know it will be... It's just such a shock, I never wanted you to be pited against eachother like that..."

She sighed, shaking her head, and trying to regain her composture. She was their mother, both Taka and Mufasa looked up to her, she had to control herself. The dark pelted lioness then turned to Taka from Mufasa's side, he had been hurt on the battlefield too, and deserved as much attention as Mufasa was getting.

"What about you honey, are you OK? You took a few blows down there too, Taka. I thought I was going to lose you... I thought I would lose both of you."

She said quietly, tears welling up in her eyes again, but she managed to control them somewhat, and she only sniffled slightly, and hoping that nothing of this nature would ever happen to the family again.

[Nitro]

Ahadi's mind was numb in disbelief. His jaw was agape, highly unfitting for the King he was, not to mention his solemn and collected character. His thoughts waged war inside his head. On one side, he was proud that the runt of the litter had finally proven himself, but he was horrified it was at the cost of his golden son. He had thought Mufasa was unbeatabe, the perfect Lion King to succeed him, as well as kind, wise, and considerate to all around him. What Ahadi could not fathom was to why Taka had taken advantage of is brother's compassion, after he had spared his life, and cheated him out of his birthright.

The ebony-maned lion wearily looked around, as if in a trance or a nightmare, as would be most fitting for his situation. As his eyes came to rest upon the gloating face of Taka and the broken form of Mufasa, he snapped. "TAKA!" he roared, claws unsheathing instinctively. "What have you done, cub?!" He glowered down at his youngest son, and in his rage he ignored his concerned mate. His fangs were bared in a snarl as the rage consumed his mind and all rational thought.

Behind the Royal Family, the other cubs of the pride were gathered. In front of them sat Zira with a giddy smile on her face. She had a crush on Taka, and had always believed that he could one day win the throne, and now that he had done it she was ecstatic. Her claws kneaded the ground as she anxiously waited for the moment she could speak to the new Crown Prince.

[DGFone]

Mufasa felt guilty as his mother walked towards Taka. AS much as he cared for her, at the current moment, he couldn't find any reason to try and comfort Taka. Turning around, he again wandered off.

As Mufasa wandered off, he heard Ahadi's shout a Taka. Not a few moments before, he would have rushed over to help his brother. Now he didn't even blink, limping off with an indifference to whatever will happen to Taka now.

As he was wandering, Mufasa spotted a small cave just slightly larger than himself. Walking inside, Mufasa dropped down on the cool floor with a sigh. Right now, he just wanted to forget about the events that just took place. "Taka, if only you told me about how you felt," he spoke softly. "I'm sure we could have figured something out without having to fight for it."

Closing his eyes, Mufasa tried to ignore the pain, both physical and mental, wanting some time to pass after the event, and let him think with a clearer mind.

[Songo]

Sarafina sat near Zira and the other lionesses, her green eyes blinked in disbelief. She sat near her mother and watched the royal family fall apart, anger and tension filled the air. They stood together as a pride, watching and waiting on Ahadi's next move.

Sarabi watched Mufasa limp away and she shook her head to her mother. She wanted to run down to his side, but her mother kept her grip tight. She watched Taka make his demands to Ahadi, a sick feeling arose in her stomach."You should be ashamed!" she growled at Taka.

Her mother grabbed for her tail as she pushed through the crowd of lionesses, "Ashamed! He protected You!" she yelled. Watching Mufasa disappear Sarabi ran down to the cave he nestled into, her brown eyes saddened at the sight of him. "Mufasa, i'm sorry." she muttered stepping towards him. She nuzzled his neck slightly and stepped back, the scar on his left eye made her heart sink.