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Intaba Umbikezeli Pride

PostPosted: Fri Jun 03, 2016 1:42 pm


General Info


Who are the 'Mountain Seers'?
- The mountain seers are a secluded, but old pride that resides nestled in the valley between two snow peaked mountains. The Mountain Seers are a highly religious and female-dominant (but not exclusive) pride who worship the gods daily and were blessed with the gift of sight because of it.

In recent history their pride was hit by a large avalanche of snow and ice from unseasonably warm winters. As a result much of the pride disbanded, pushed out by the dangerous conditions. The weather in the region has stabilized, refreezing much of the snow and ice melt over the pride and some members have found themselves returning to it.

Are they really Seers?
- No. Obviously the likelihood of starting a pride with a vast amount of women Seers is close to impossible, as they'd all have to be children of Gods, or we'd all have to be extremely lucky in our Seer rolls.

Than how do they 'See'?
- The reality of it is that in this pride, an old disease is rampant amongst the women of the pride that causes them massive hallucinations. It all stemmed from the starting pair of the pride many, many years ago which is explained bellow in the History post, as well as in the Beliefs and Rituals post.

Are the Mountain Seers an open pride, or species exclusive?
- The Mountain Seers are an open pride, anyone can join, but you have limited ability to rise among the ranks. If you're not born into the pride, you do not have a chance of getting the gene that results in "Seers". However, Hyenas and Wild Dogs will not have the ability to become Seers ever. The pride, as stated in the History section, was founded by two Lionesses. So only those capable of breeding with a lioness, or lion will have a chance at being a "Seer". To add to this, there is no particular feeling towards Hybrids. They still have as much chance as a pure-blood lion or lioness to become a "Seer".

What is the pride's symbol and colors?
- The symbol for the pride is higher up on this post. The purple is the two snow covered mountains surrounding the Mountain Seer's homeland, and the large white crevasse between them is supposed to represent their valley. The pride colors were brown and green, but will change with the update in cert I suppose.
PostPosted: Fri Jun 03, 2016 1:43 pm


History of the Intaba'umbikezeli



The Intaba'umbikezeli Pride was started long ago by two rogue lioness sisters by the names of Mwitu'nafsi and Bahari'nafsi. As cubs they lived at the base of one of the two mountains outside of what is now the Intaba'umbikezeli Valley where the Mountain Seers call home. Having been left at their den as their mother had foraged for food and prey in the area, Mwitu'nafsi and Bahari'nafsi, wandered out into the world that was unknown to them as their young lives had mostly been spent in the cave their mother used as their den.

Mwitu'nafsi, the larger of the two sisters, had spotted a small hare and chased after it, wanting to practice her stalking and hunting techniques and impress their mother with her prowess. Bahari'nafsi, the smaller of the two sisters, followed close behind, not wanting to be left alone by her bigger sister to fall prey to another creature during her sister’s and mother’s absence.

One sister followed the other as they traveled deeper and deeper into the valley between the two great mountains they called home. By this time, Mwitu'nafsi had lost the hare, and found herself and her sister, Bahari'nafsi, lost within the great valley full of caves and trees and streams. The two lioness cubs were scared and alone, only having each other for comfort as they cried out their tiny chirps for their mother, only to hear silence in return.

Bahari'nafsi turned to her bigger sister and said, “Mwitu'nafsi what have we done? We’ve gone too far from the den and we cannot find our way back. We are doomed to starve!”

Mwitu'nafsi did not believe her sister’s words, and felt that even though they were young and had never been so far from their den before, that the two could make it back if they tried. Mwitu'nafsi turned to Bahari'nafsi and said to her, “Small sister, you should not fear for our lives. We are lionesses! We are strong and we can find our way back home. You must believe!”

The two cubs wandered and wandered for hours, only resting once night came. They took shelter under a bush and slept throughout the night, rising again in the morning and walking for hours, upon hours, upon hours. The two sisters walked during the day hours and slept during the night hours for four days before their aching bellies and tired frames were too much for them and they both collapsed upon the ground.

The smaller sister struggled to open her eyes, only able to see a sliver of where they were. She struggled to turn to her bigger sister and said, “Mwitu'nafsi, do you see that? Do you smell it? It is meat. There is meat!”

The bigger sister opened her weary eyes and in front of her, as her smaller sister had said, there was meat. A large male zebra, freshly killed lay before the two cubs, the aroma of the meat mouthwatering to the two. The young cubs struggled to drag their weak bodies to the feast before them and took large bites from the savory beast. As the two lioness cubs chewed and swallowed their salvation, a feeling of emptiness came over them. They both looked down, horrified to see that the color of their coats had melted off of them and onto the ground like a puddle.

The cubs panicked, crying out as they splashed their paws in the color desperately trying to get it back on them as a voice cut through their frightened cries, “Silence I say! Quiet your tongues and focus on my voice.”

The two cubs instantly became quiet and huddled together, shaking in their fear. The voice once more spoke to them, its presence demanding but gentle, “I am God of this valley, and here for you I am. The feast you have partaken in is a gift from myself to you. It has stripped you of your color, and taken all that had plagued you and in its place I give onto you a gift; a gift of prophecy, a gift of sight, in which you shall use to restore the presence of the gods onto the creatures of this valley. Eat your fill of this feast, and know what you must do.”

The young cubs, in their desperate state, did as the voice commanded of them; eating their fill of the feast before them. Quickly their strength had return and with it something more. As the god had said, they saw visions, terrible things, and joyous things, things that did not seem real, but were so vivid it seemed them so. As the visions receded the two cubs found them selves in a cave, surrounded by other cubs, and a few lionesses who had been watching over them.

Days and months passed and the cubs grew to learn the pride they had been taken into was that of the valley in between the mountains in which they called home. The cubs had quickly assimilated to their new home, having given up on finding their way back to their mother and embracing the ways of the mountain valley lions. Their lives were happy ones, and the cubs, while still having their god-gifted visions, rarely were plagued by them. They told all who had an ear to hear, and were never met with negative reactions, mostly just comical amusement, and comments of being imaginative.

One day, when Mwitu'nafsi and Bahari'nafsi were juveniles, their surrogate mother took them along with her to visit the pride's shrine. She taught them the rituals in which all the lions, and non-lions practiced daily to appease the gods. As the cubs took in the sights, the leader of the mountain valley came in to offer his prayers and appeasement to the gods.

Mwitu'nafsi and Bahari'nafsi watched on as the leader offered his prayer. Bahari'nafsi felt the hair on her back go on end, and a rush come over her body. She was being sent a vision by God. Mwitu' nafsi looked to her sister and exclaimed, "Small sister! What do you see? What has God shown you?!"

Mwitu'nafsi's exclamation caught the attention of the mountain valley leader, and all the pride nearby. All intently watched the twins as Bahari'nafsi shook and let out a might roar for such a young lioness, "DO NOT TRUST THE SCHEMERS. THEIR INTENT IS NO GOOD, OUR PRIDE IS AT STAKE."

Bahari'nafsi's words shook through the pride, and all eyes locked upon their leader. Slowly the gazes started sweeping around upon each other. What was this child saying? She was implying terrible things on the leader. Whispers began, and the twin's surrogate mother quietly, almost as if she was crawling in shame, approached the two, ushering them from the shrine. She was embarrassed, and the twins did not understand why.

The twin's surrogate mother hid them for several days, not wishing for the world to see her daughters. Abruptly one morning she came to Mwitu and Bahari, her head was hung and she seemed heavily tense. The twins were confused by their surrogate mother's demeanor, was something wrong?

"Come with me, my children...He wishes to speak to you."

The twins exchanged glances and followed their surrogate mother. They were brought before the kind who later revealed to them that because of their visions sent by the Gods that his life had been saved. He had put his best guards on watch that evening and during the dead of night they caught two lions and a lioness who had intended to take his life and his throne.

He was grateful to the twins and praised the gods for their abilities. To show his appreciation, the king adopted the twins and made them his heirs. When the King finally passed the twins ascended to his throne together, taking on the role of the pride's spiritual leaders and sharing one mate between them.

Intaba Umbikezeli Pride


Intaba Umbikezeli Pride

PostPosted: Fri Jun 03, 2016 1:43 pm


Beliefs


History of Pride:
The Intaba'umbikezeli believe that the pride "began" when Mwitu'nafsi, and Bahari'nafsi were given the role of "Heiress" and took over the pride as spiritual and general rulers. Mwitu and Bahari had many litters of cubs, and those cubs than mingled with the existing bloodlines of the pride, and thus their "sight" (the disease in which caused them hallucinations and sometimes madness) spread throughout the pride.

Coat Colors:
The Intaba'umbikezeli believe that the lighter a lion, or lion-hybrid's coat, the higher the chance that they will receive this gift of "sight". Those with lighter, or pure white coats are heavily encouraged to produce as many cubs as they can within their lifetime and are tended to be ridiculed if they consciously decide not to produce cubs. This is all a belief though, the reality is that any lion or lion-hybrid of any color, whether dark or light, male or female can inherit and present themselves with the disease/sight. The belief that the lighter the coat, the higher the chance of you having the "sight" is all based upon the fact that Mwitu and Bahari were both stark white lionesses.

Seers & Males:
With sight comes responsibility. The role of a "Seer" is one that ca only be held by a female. When Mwitu'nafsi and Bahari'nafsi began the reconstruction of the mountain valley pride with their ideals and rules, Mwitu gave birth to a litter of cubs which were all male. In that litter, 3 out of the 5 males cubs ended up having the sight in which Mwitu had. As the cubs grew, their gift caused them great irritation and they became excessively violent towards other members of the pride. A council was called, and the decision was to drive the 3 Seer Males out of the pride. From that point forward if someone "saw" that a particular lioness was going to give birth to a male Seer or a male cub started to show signs of a high aggressive nature, the male cubs would either be discarded out into Rogue Lands, dropped into a nearby pride for them to deal with, or drowned. The decision of what happens to the male cub is solely dependent on the mother.

Instances where someone "sees" a male Seer is going to be born have to be plotted and approved by Nessiaing and Myself. We don't want random females going "SHE'S GOING TO HAVE MALE SEERS" everywhere and pissing off people. This has to be a plotted collaborative effort in order for it to occur.

Also, it is entirely up to the person how they play their "Seer Male". Since the whole "aggression" thing is simply a belief and not actual facts, there can be Seer Males who've managed to keep themselves under wraps rather well within the pride. Just keep in mind that if your male was rolled with a really strong sense of "sight" it'll probably be much harder and less likely for them to remain in the pride without being figured out.

Cub-Napping:
Cub-Napping has opposing views within the pride, mainly because the only cubs that would actually be taken are those who are God-Chosen cubs, all white cubs. Those who are extremist or old in their views find nothing wrong with the practice, they're simply bringing home those indicated by their God. Those of the newer generations believe that directly pulling a God-Chosen cub from their home will cause distain and possibly bring upon them the wrath of the Gods and would much rather approach the cub, explain who they are, and leave the choice up to them.

Hybrids:
Hybrids are not looked down upon, like in many prides. Whether they can breed or not is not of high importance unless the Hybrid is God-Chosen. An infertile God-Chosen hybrid is considered a punishment for crimes committed against the Gods by the parents of the hybrid. If one results the Hybrid and it's parents are brought before council, and the parents are to answer for whatever they have done to anger the Gods into giving them both a blessing and curse.

Non-lion Felines & Canines:
Non-lion felines and canines are as welcomed as any to join the pride and worship the Gods alongside the Intaba'umbikezeli. They will not be turned away, however more times than not they will never rise beyond mid-ranks in the pride. Most ranks of note are held by either Seers, or felines only.

Flings:
Permitted, for desirable colors it's even encouraged. It's a way for the Intaba'umbikezeli to bring in new blood to the brood. Even if you are a mated pair, if you're the right coloring they'll encourage it, even if you're not comfortable with it. There's a lot of pressure in this pride.

Slaves:
Slaves in the Intaba'umbikezeli is not common. Because the pride is not an actively warring pride, you do not see many of them. If someone had a slave prior to their joining, the slave is permitted to join with them and they are given the title of whatever their master had decided they are going to do. Aside from that, it is up to the master of the slave what happens to the slave, and the pride tends to turn a blind eye to the going-on's. Individual opinions vary.

There is no official rank for a Slave within the I'U. Slaves take on whatever rank their master's impose upon them. Most often, Masters place their slaves within ranks where they will be monitored directly by them.

Life-Mating:
Life-Mating is regarded in an odd manner, mostly because not many within the pride are actual life mates. It's a joyous thing, it truly is, it's just many in the pride don't see a reason for it. Monogamy isn't exactly something that's preached about, ya know? If two do want to be Life-Mates it is a pride-wide celebration instead of just a family-wide one. That's how rare life-mating seems to be.

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


Rituals


Presentation to the Gods:
When a female gives birth to cubs or pups, they are kept from view of the pride in a birthing cave until the time of presentation. It is a grand occasion when a female gives birth and is celebrated by a grand offering to the Gods, and a feast for the family of the female and her children. The offering is generally alive, and is slaughtered right on the altar of the Temple of the Gods. From there, the sacrifices blood is drawn onto each of the child's foreheads and the mother gives their names to the Gods.

Finding of Gifts:
It used to be custom that female lions or lion-hybrids of pride blood and adolescent age were cast out into the depths of the forest where they would discover their sight for themselves. They would be monitored by a senior Umbikezeli for validity's sake and the senior Umbikezeli could not be of blood relation.

Because of the changes in pridal terrain and the dangers present in the snow and ice off the beaten and well trodden paths, lioness and female lion-hybrid adolescents are now separated from the rest of the general pride in secluded youth caves. They are monitored by senior Umbikezeli who watch to see if they have developed the sight. When an adolescent is seen to possess the sight, a ceremony is held for their coming-out celebration.

Since there is no longer a juvenile stage for art, the age of development for the sight has been moved to adolescent. If they have not "developed sight" by adulthood they are considered to be without it.

How I will decide who is plagued by the disease and by what magnitude is by a dice roll and a random number generator. Owner's will roll 2 10-sided Dice, if the combined number is higher than 10, they have the sight, if it is lower than 10, they do not. From there the owner will do a random number drawing from 1 - 10 for how severe the hallucinations are; if you get 1 they're extremely mild and your lion/lioness/lion-hybrid may only get a handful in their lifetime, if you get 10 your lion/lioness/lion-hybrid will have very severe hallucinations and can be schizophrenia too, if you so wish it.

How you play them is entirely up to you, I just needed a fair way of deciding who gets to be what and who doesn't.


The Nine Day Watch:
The Nine Day Watch is a revived tradition within the pride. The strongest of the pride's seers come together to focus their abilities to see farther into the future for information that is desperately needed at the time. It is called The Nine Day Watch because these special groupings usually last a nine day span.

If there is a pressing matter at hand, or the sight of the Umbikezeli is clouded, the Kabaila'Umbikezeli will make a call for larger and large numbers of Umbikezeli to attend the watch in hopes of their powers combining into a greater force. In the history of the pride, the record of Umbikezeli present in a Nine Day Watch was 256.

Bestowing The Past:
Another revived tradition within the pride. It used to be that Umbikezeli that could only see the past were considered of great importance. They had the capability to access the knowledge of those from long ago and give explanations as to the actions of others, etc.

When it is found that an Umbikezeli cannot see the future, but the past, they are presented before the Kabaila'Umbikezeli wherein they are bestowed reeded flutes. It is believed that using and mastering the sound of these flutes will help the Umbikezeli see further into the past and with more clarity. Since it is very uncommon for an Umbikezeli to see the past instead of the future, they must sharpen their skills on their own and do not have the assistance of the Nine Day Watch for whatever their task may be.

Into the realm of Gods:
Becoming a member of the pride is no easy task. It requires dedication and proof of one's devotion to the worship of the Gods.

It used to be that joining members would need to seek out a rare flower grows in the Intaba'umbikezeli pride, petals of pink and purple reminiscent of a tulip. A joining member's task was to find one of these rare flowers and bring it back to the temple altar still alive, without having to detached it from its roots. Because of the avalanche of ice and snow that had originally decimated the pride, they have begun a series of conservation efforts for the flower that once symbolized their pride's unity.

Joining members now must seek out these flowers within the snow and ice covered old pride and bring them back, roots still attached, to the entrance of the pride where they will be replanted and hopefully take root to create new groves of this rare pink and purple petaled flower.

The Wagging of War:
War is a big thing for the pride. It does not happen often, but when it does it is regarded with ferocity. Before the pride begins a war, a large celebration is had. A sort of "Party like it's your last day." sort of thing. The Umbikezeli bless those going out to war, the Kabaila'umbikezeli individually bless each and everyone of the the part members. A Feast is had, and entertainment is provided. Umbikezeli and the lesser Shrine Maidens are encouraged to take on lovers that evening, as individual males may not return.

In the morning it is a solemn occasion. A procession occurs as the troops march out, and the pride weeps for them all, both men and women, as they may never be seen again.

Any who return from war are rejoiced for their abilities, and offerings are given to the Gods for their safe return.
PostPosted: Fri Jun 03, 2016 1:43 pm


Ranks

* = Female Only Ranks
* = Male Only Ranks



High Ranks


Kabaila'umbikezeli (High Priestess)*; 2/2 - Position held by the two current leaders of the pride.

Umbikezeli (Seers)*; 1/? - Basically regular priestesses. They "see" things with the High Priestesses when called to council, or report on what they see daily to the scribes.

Ikhansela (Council); 4/6 - Council is comprised of both male and female felines, hyenas or wild dogs. This is the only high position something other than a lion or lion-hybrid can attain. Council is there to make final judgments on issues and to decide on whether or not the pride goes to war, or invades another pride. They also mediate the laws of the land, and hear the cases brought before them.

Impi'jikelele (War General); 1/1 - The head of the armies that defend the lands, and conquer others if decided so. Was traditionally held by only males, and were mated to the High Priestesses. With the restart of the pride, and a new generation of High Priestesses, the position has been opened up to females and males of Lion descent if they prove worthy.


Mid Ranks


Icala'phatha (Offensive Commander); 2/2 - Commands directly underneath the War General for the offensive side of the army. They are responsible for the conquering, or general offensive army tactics and missions. Can be male or female, of either feline or non feline affiliation.

Vikela'phatha (Defensive Commander); 2/2 - Commands directly underneath the War General for defensive side of army. They are always present within the pride, along with the rest of the defenders. Can be male or female, of either feline or non feline affiliation.

Mchunguzi (Scouts); 1/10 - They are responsible for going outside and beyond the pride, and bringing back information about neighboring prides and their plans.

Ulili'intombi (Shrine Maidens)*; 1/? - Either weak sighted lion or lion-hybrid females who are responsible for preparation of rituals, and upkeep of the shrines.

Umlaphi (Healers); 2/? - Responsible for healing the sick or wounded.

Iqili (Crafters); 1/? - Creators of shrine or war items. Also make jewelry and trinkets for the pride.

Umbhali (Scribes)*; 1/15 - They are in-charge of taking down the sights of the seers day by day, and are to present them to the High Priestesses and Council daily.

Mlumbaji (Eloquents); 1/5 - They are the teachers, the story-tellers, who educate the cubs and pups of the background of the pride, and the rituals, laws, and expectancies of the pride. They also create poetry and stories about the gods, and in honor of them.


Low Ranks


Umbelethisi (Midwives); 1/? - Help with taking care of cubs, and guiding new mothers through their pregnancy and deliveries.

Umzingeli (Hunters/Huntresses); 1/? - Their only role in the pride is to bring in the food for the pride daily. This is the default rank for all joining members unless indicated otherwise.

Ibutho (Warriors); 0/? - They follow the War General and Offensive Commander into battle. They train year round.

Mkingaji (Defenders); 0/? - They follow the Defensive Commander and the War General's orders for protecting the pride. They do not leave the pride, they train all year round.

Tarajali (Apprentice); 0/? - This is the time where adolescent cubs and pups choose what they wish to do in life. They'll have the title "apprentice" until they're adults.

Udade'ncane/Ubhuti'ncane (Little Sister/Little Brother); 0/? - Names for cubs or pups who have not reached adolescents.


Unspoken Ranks


These ranks are generally not talked about, but they do exist.

Udade'dinga (Wandering Sister)*; 0/? - Females whose "sight" was so strong it turned them to absolute madness and they can no longer function properly in society. They're treated different than Beggars, because they were still blessed with sight, it was only so strong they could not control it. They are taken care of by their family, and are not generally permitted to breed since they can't take care of their own.

Intaba Umbikezeli Pride

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