Rings of Gold

Karaz morning

Karaz woke up just before dawn and felt that his legs were sore from yesterday’s hunt. He was used to running, but it had been a rather long hunt and he had expected to find prey earlier than they did. It was not to his advantage that he had competed in one of the runs earlier as well and he hoped that at least some of the members of the pack were feeling the same way. While he was still slightly upset at Shara for having challenged him, it was his father’s reaction when he got home that had been most difficult to deal with. His father had been… calm as he came home and asked a few pointed questions regarding the pack’s doings during the day. At first it seemed that he had taken an interest in his son, but it soon became obvious that he somehow knew that a young lioness had challenged him and that Karaz had failed to put her firmly in her place. At least he did not make a point of telling Karaz what to do, but he did make a point that he considered it a failure and made it clear that he expected better from his son. He also made it clear that he expected Karaz to deal with the situation to avoid another failure, such as with the bunny that Karaz had hired for the pack. His father’s handling of that matter still stung and despite his father never ceasing to point out how much of a disappointment Karaz was, the young lion was desperate for his father’s approval.

Even for a sphinx blooded lion, Arathar was huge and known for both his strength and domineering attitude. His fur was darker than Karaz and his mane was far larger than most other lions. He adorned it with jewelry and his eyes were white against the black that marked him as a sphinx blooded lion. His right ear had gold along the black that marked the edge of his ear and the left ear had its tip sliced off in a fight some years back. He was built almost like a bear, and his muscles were well kept and visible even through his fur. He had small scar over his right eye that matched the huge scar across his chest. He had never told Karaz exactly what had caused the scar, but some of the servants had whispered that it was from a fight with a firefang, a fire breathing serpent from the northern mountains. Few warriors could hope to survive against a firefang as they were both fast and vicious, but his father was known to have killed one. Despite no longer an active warrior, Arathar was heavily muscled, and he usually carried a rather large knife on his left hip as he still enjoyed hunting and the occasional knife throwing competition. He reveled in his Sphinx blood and made sure to show it whenever he could.

Few kin knew exactly what it meant to be a sphinx blooded these days. Most kin had never seen a real sphinx blooded before and even less had seen a living sphinx. While the kin were created by the Star Children to be like them, walking upright on two legs and given the gift of intellect and souls to separate them from the beasts and animals of the land, the Sphinxes were older and far more powerful. According to the most ancient legends, they were created by the Star Children to bring order to a chaotic world long before the kin ever walked the earth. To subdue the ancient urkaos that ruled the world in the age of stars, the Star Children gifted the Sphinxes with more power than any other being in the lands known to the kin.

While it had never been known how many Sphinxes that were created, older Sphinxes could threaten an entire army with its aura and knowledge of the deepest arcane arts. Some Sphinxes could breathe fire, ice or other strange elements were others had stranger and more exotic gifts. In appearance, they looked like exceptionally large feral lions except for the fact that their eyes were always black where others were white. They usually had other stranger features such as horns, wings, legs of different beings but they were always somewhat lion-like and feline. Known for their great s****l appetite, meeting a sphinx usually ended in death or s*x. Over the years, this had resulted in a breed of lions that were known as Asphinxes, short for Anthro-Sphinxes. These were lions (or in rare cases other kin) of great power that shared some of the Sphinx’s abilities. A sphinx had mated with one of Arathar’s ancestors and the Sphinx blood had breed true, making their bloodline both powerful and rich.

Karaz bathed quickly before drying himself and dressing. His father disliked having servants perform basic tasks for his son, so Karaz usually did everything by himself. He was thus surprised when a young female anubites named Neta came into the room and bowed. “Your father wishes to speak with you” she said before standing and waiting for Karaz to pass her before following him. “He is in the courtyard” she added as Karaz passed from his chambers into the common space of the palace that his father owned. Despite being his home, Karaz had never really felt safe there since his mother died. He still missed her, but he made sure to never display those feelings when his father or any servants was around. He had once admitted that he missed her, and he had spent a night in the wilderness just outside town with nothing but a knife and a blanket to make him learn that it was unbecoming of him to miss someone who had failed to produce an adequate heir for his father.

He heard his father’s voice before passing into the courtyard and it was clear that he was discussing something with Aroun, the most trusted servant of Arathar’s estate. They were discussing the number of guards that were to accompany a caravan and tonight’s event. Karaz’s ears perked at the idea of an event as it usually was a boring meeting or some dinner that they had to attend, but the suggestion that guards were to be placed made it obvious that there was something else going on.

“…at which point I will make my entrance. Not the first to arrive, but most certainly the most important. The anubites governor has learned the same lessons as his predecessor and will introduce me as fitting my rank and status” Arathar said just as Karaz, and the female servant passed into sight of the two men. Aroun, despite his size, looked small compared to Arathar. He had been born to a poor family on the outskirts of town and had become his father’s most trusted servant after having been one of the few who had dared to stand firm when Arathar charged at him during a bar fight many years ago. Some even claimed that Aroun had managed to give Arathar a black eye during that bar fight, which had earned him his father’s respect. Once hired, he had proven himself a loyal and worthy commander who had helped the family ever since. He had served both as a bodyguard and a commander while in Arathar’s service, which paid handsomely for someone of his Aroun’s rank.

Despite his apparent loyalty and his willingness to serve, Karaz did not like Aroun much. There was something with his behavior that screamed dishonest to the young lion. Dochi, one of the young male anubites in Karaz’s pack had once suggested that the dislike came from the fact that Arathar preferred Aroun’s company to Karaz’s, but the young lion refused to believe such a thing. What Karaz did appreciate was that he seemed to have realized that Karaz disliked him and had begun to actively try to mend that relationship. Aroun had been the one to suggested that Karaz hire a bunny during the dry spell, and he had even known a bunny who would do it.

“Father…” Karaz begun but stopped when he saw his father’s eyes flare. “Do not speak unless spoken to” his father said and for a moment Karaz feared that his father would lash out at him. He had done so before when displeased by Karaz behavior, but he did not do so today. The discussion that Arathar had with Aroun was apparently too important to interrupt. He turned back to Aroun and finished their conversation regarding soldiers stationed at the palace and outside of the governor’s palace before turning fully to Karaz “There is a feast tonight at the governor’s palace. We are both expected to attend, and you are expected to wear the finest clothing you have”. Karaz eyes widened as he heard his father’s words regarding the clothing. “The finest? That… means someone other than the governor is attending. Someone of higher rank than the governor… but even one of the high priests would only require our normal finery… so it must be someone from the imperial family?” he asked, hoping he was correct as being wrong usually ended with more punishment. “Yes, one of the emperors’ sons are attending…” Arathar said and before Karaz could ask further questions, his father added “…one of the younger sons. So probably not a future emperor, but we must still present ourselves as such”. Karaz nodded and held his breath as his father added “That means you must be here early, before the temple bell strikes midden, so you can be washed, groomed and dressed appropriately”. Karaz nodded and made a stylized bow “Of course father. We must show the prince full honors and make him aware of our rank and might. For we are sphinx blooded”. For the briefest of moment, Karaz saw his father’s mouth almost forming a smile. Arathar let Karaz wait for a moment before saying “Good. I will see you then. Go and lead your pack”. Karaz was careful not to run or to move any faster than a walk as he moved out of sight from his father. Once out of sight, he increased his pace and made sure to not start running until he was sure he was out of sight of any of the servants.

Aroun smiled as the boy disappeared and turned back to Arathar. His master was fickle and could be cruel at times, especially towards the son he once had such high hopes for. When Arathar’s mate became pregnant with his child, Arathar let the world know that he would soon have an heir that would lead the family once he was gone. An heir that would make the world quake in fear and who’s strength would crush those opposing him. When Karaz was born, it was obvious that Arathar had been gifted with a runt rather than a true alpha like himself. This had had displeased him greatly and with the loss of the son’s mother, there was no other suitable females that had any hopes of producing an heir that would share Arathar’s sphinx blood. Arathar had been searching for a new mate since the loss of the love of his life, but he had found no other Sphinx blooded females in the empire. This caused Arathar to be extremely cruel to his son, but despite this, Aroun could see that his old friend had been impressed by the boy’s acute remark regarding the rank of the attending imperial. He had expected his son to complain and try to wrangle himself out of it, but Karaz had charged headfirst into the invite and thus surpassed his father’s expectations. “I hope he has a growth spurt soon” Aroun began, only to be interrupted by Arathar’s scoffing voice “He will not grow… I have already tried both prayer and Sejd. I had one of the shamanesses bless him when it was clear he was a runt, and he remains one. My only hope is to find a suitable female that might produce something more viable”.

Aroun was careful not to let any emotion appear on his face as Arathar spoke of finding another female. It had been such a good idea to suggest that Karaz rent Reya for the pack. The pack members were all young and hardly interested in anything other than hunting were young and was only interested in hunting. It would be many years before Karaz would even consider other uses for a female, so when he learned of the dry spell the pack was having, he had asked Reya if she would be willing to act as prey for a week or so. Reya had been delighted at the idea and Aroun had arranged for it. He could not have known that once Arathar found out that his son had hired a female bunny from a brothel to hunt, it would all come crashing down. Karaz’s father had been furious at his son for failing to find a suitable prey. Once they returned in the evening, he had taken the girl from Karaz and kept her as his plaything for the remainder of the time Karaz had paid for. Arathar didn’t know that Reya was Aroun’s favorite and that they had been discussing the possibility of purchasing her from the brothel she worked at and becoming mates, but it still stung to think of the idea that Arathar had f****d her. Reya had refused to say exactly what Arathar did with her while in his bedchamber, but the bruises and the fact that she withdrew from him the first time he touched her afterwards still made him furious. What was worse, was the fact that he feared that she had enjoyed it as she had asked him to be rougher with her since she had been with the sphinx blooded male. He simply could not shake the feeling that she might view him as a lesser male after several days with the alpha of the city.

The anubite was so deep in thought that Arathar had to put his hand on his shoulder to make him react “Are you listening?” he asked and Aroun shook himself as he returned his focus to Arathar “Sorry, I was thinking of how to best place the soldiers along the street. With an imperial here, we might need to place another dozen guards at the entrance to avoid any trouble”. Arathar laughed “That’s what I like about you… You’re so paranoid that someone will get the better of you that you plan ten steps ahead” He patted his friends’ shoulder before heading to the kitchen “I need to slake my hunger and thirst… then I will slake my appetite for females!”. Aroun joined Arathar and they both laughed, but Aroun felt there was something hollow inside himself as he laughed.