Just earlier, in the nearby cat-kin settlement...
Nareen lounges gracelessly in his throne, his chin propped up on his palm as he stares listlessly down at the man in the audience chamber before him. His fingers play absentmindedly with the soft hair of his mane – a tic he's picked up since it started slowly growing in a couple years ago.
'Gods...is it possible to die of boredom? I really hope so...'
In cat-kin society, there's a very clear governmental hierarchy. At the top, there's King Mufaza Pride and Queen Lyra Pride – the ruling family of lion-kin, and Nareen's parents. Below them, there are the three great families of the tiger-kin, panther-kin, and leopard-kin, collectively managing the facets of the cat-kin's civilization – army, agriculture, and civilian affairs.
The man standing before him is a leopard-kin involved with the cat-kin's civilian management, and he's at the tail end of giving Nareen an update on Mane City's ongoings. That being the cat-kin's capital city they're currently in.
To Nareen's great dismay, these 'updates' never seem to involve new information, yet he inevitably has to sit through them every week. The cat-kin are well-fed, they're safe...prosperous, and Nareen is happy to hear that, truly. It's just...does he really have to hear it over and over again in excruciating detail for an hour? Every week?
Truthfully, his parents should be the ones enduring this, but they've passed the responsibility off to him, and him alone, allegedly to help 'nurture him as a future king'. However, he doesn't buy that for a second...he thinks they just hate these meetings as much as he does, and would rather pawn it off on him and get the abridged version. That, and he suspects this 'responsibility' is their way of trying to make him feel less useless...
"Prince...?"
Nareen's thoughts are interrupted by the nervous voice of the leopard-kin man below him. At some point recently, he obviously finished with his long-winded update. Nareen clears his throat, straightening his back in the throne.
"Ehem...yes, all excellent news, thank you. Good work, you are dismissed." (Nareen)
The leopard-kin man's back straightens proudly, then he crosses his arms over his chest and bows.
"Long live the Pride family..." (leopard-kin man)
The man spins on his heel and departs from the throne room. The second the doors close behind him, Nareen slumps against his throne and groans loudly.
"Gaahhhh...nurturing me as a future king, my ass. What a fucking scam..." (Nareen)
A lightly reproachful voice echoes from Nareen's side.
"On the contrary, I think you need this. You barely convinced him that you were even paying attention to the update. Though, you didn't fall asleep this time, so I suppose that's progress."
Nareen cuts his eyes to the source of the voice – a mature lion-kin man, donned in steel plate armor with a sword at his hip. The man exudes an aura of strength, grace, and vitality, his long golden mane practically shimmering with majesty. Nareen frowns.
"What update, Uncle Skara? I feel like I listen to the same information every week. Actually, Father and you are the strange ones. How do you not fall asleep during these meetings?" (Nareen)
Skara sighs, his voice a low, dejected rumble.
"Ah...well, not being able to sit during my duties as royal guard commander helps. As for your father, I'm pretty sure he actually does sleep through these meetings. He's just mastered the art of doing it with his eyes open and his back straight. Perhaps you can ask him to teach you?" (Skara)
Nareen's lip twitches. His father managing something like that sounds exactly like him. He responds, his voice mildly sarcastic.
"Teach me? I'm pretty sure he'd just deny that he sleeps during the meetings, and say he only seems quiet because he's respecting the weight of his position as King, or something like that." (Nareen)
The quip elicits a chuckle from Skara.
"Fufufu...yes, that sounds about right." (Skara)
Nareen nods absentmindedly, then cuts his eyes at his uncle. He speaks, his tone forcefully casual.
"Speaking of kingly duties, how about you take me out on patrol? Shouldn't I be learning firsthand about the warriors as well?" (Nareen)
Skara gives him a deadpan look, sighing as though he's already exhausted from the question.
"For the millionth time, Nareen...do you think I want Lyra skinning my mane? You know your parents have expressly forbidden you from venturing into the Great Forest." (Skara)
Nareen scowls bitterly, his voice raising despite his earlier attempt at levity.
"Why!? You and father were joining patrols even younger than me!" (Nareen)
Skara purses his lips, his voice softening slightly.
"Your situation is different, Nareen, and you know it..." (Skara)
Nareen slams his fist on the edge of his throne in frustration, his jaw clenching as his voice drips with anger.
"Because I don't have a damn combat spell!? Who cares! I'm a lion-kin, I'm strong, and I've worked myself to the bone training! I'm already better with a sword than ninety percent of our warriors, and it's not like cat-kin are physical enhancers! Even at my age, without a combat spell, I'm an above-average warrior!" (Nareen)
Skara sighs regretfully, falling into conflicted silence for a few moments.
"You are right, but...it is not my decision, Nareen. The King and Queen have spoken. I know how you feel about their restrictions, how you hate being treated like you're weak or helpless. But this fear of being perceived as a fragile cub – that's not how the people see you. Not how I see you, Little Nephew. Your abilities...you save countless cat-kin lives every year. In some ways, you are even more revered than your father. Is it so wrong for others to not want you in danger unnecessarily?" (Skara)
Some of Nareen's temper is assuaged by his uncle's genuine and empathetic intent, but he still can't help but clench his fists as he stares off into the emptiness of the throne room. His thoughts swirl, struggling with Skara's words. More than anything, he's frustrated by the truth in his uncle's statement.
As much as there's protection offered by the Great Forest they live in the recesses of, it also poses great dangers. Powerful beasts capable of single-handedly wreaking havoc on their cities lurk within its depths. Beasts that require his father to lead a large force of warriors just to take down or redirect away from the city.
Dire wolf packs, ogre hordes, armored mammoths, and even dragons – when such threats have been encountered by the cat-kin, they've always been able to prevail. However, not always without collateral damage within their cities. Even with traditional scouting, sometimes there's just not enough notice to prepare for the threats and address them before a city breach.
That is, until Nareen came of age and discovered his spell affinities. Unlike the other Pride family members, and most of the cat-kin warriors, he couldn't learn any spells that improved his combat power. However, among others, he did discover his affinity for an especially esoteric spell. One nearly forgotten by the lion-kin after countless years of disuse.
It's this spell that's the reason why he can't refute his uncle's argument about his value to the people. Normally, a lion-kin without any combat-oriented skills, especially one with the expectations of royalty, would be looked down on. But he's not – he's beloved by the other cat-kin – and it's primarily because he's prevented any major beast attack from reaching the city in the past five years.
His melancholy reflection is interrupted by the sound of Skara clearing his throat.
"Ehem...so, I'd hate to interrupt when you seem to be taking my words to heart, but I believe it's about time for that responsibility of yours." (Skara)
Nareen raises his eyebrows, temporarily confused, then realization dawns on his face.
'Right...about time for that damn spell of mine. No matter what Uncle may say, it's hard to stomach that all I'm worth is casting this thing a half dozen times a day and letting others put their lives on the line to protect the city.'
He sighs and nods, rising from his throne. He takes a deep breath, closing his eyes. Then, he speaks his incantation.
"Bare the truth before my eyes, for the night is dark and full of terrors." (Nareen)
His eyes suddenly snap open, his previously dull, yellow irises now emitting an eerie golden glow. As his gaze sweeps across the room, he no longer sees the world around him. Instead, his vision is filled with a black abyss, littered with shining stars of various colors, sizes, and intensities. This is his spell, the reason he's so valued by his people – what he calls Aura Vision.
In this state, he can see complex lifeforms over vast distances, through walls and other impediments, depicted as shining stars. Over time, he's learned that certain qualities of these stars correspond to certain features of the lifeforms in question. The size of the star corresponds to distance, intensity corresponds to magic power, and color seems to correspond to magic class.
There's one other property as well, one that Nareen has only really mastered in the last couple years. Each aura star...pulses, with a certain rhythm. A rhythm that seems to correspond to the various lifeforms on Azura, and which helps him distinguish cat-kin from humans from monsters.
Nareen slowly turns his head as he surveys the surrounding city and beyond with his Aura Vision, taking in the dense clusters of familiar, blue stars pulsing with the rhythm of cat-kin. Beyond that, he can see stars that are sparser yet overall far more abundant, a mix of blues, reds, greens, and whites, pulsing with various rhythms – monsters of the Great Forest.
Fortunately, none of them seem powerful enough to pose a threat. Nareen has no confidence in determining explicit magic power level through his aura vision. However, he only needs to be wary of monsters with aura stars as bright or brighter than his Uncle's, and he's confident in making relative assessments with his point of reference right beside him.
Nareen continues his search, looking over his shoulder to the south. Suddenly, his body jerks violently as he lets out a pained cry, his breath catching as he falls to a knee. He dismisses his spell while his hands instinctively grope at his eyes. Skara's voice echoes in the room, laced with concern.
"Nareen!? Nareen, what's wrong?" (Skara)
Nareen blinks rapidly, trying to clear the afterimage from his bloodshot eyes. The lingering sight of a small, white star of terrifying luminosity slowly fades, his body still trembling in tune with its overwhelming, alien rhythm.
'What...what the hell was that? That power. How can something like that even exist? Its rhythm, too...I've never seen anything like it. Not cat-kin, not human, and not any of the typical monsters. And why was it white? Normally only weak creatures with no magical abilities have white stars...'
However, despite those uncertainties, he knows two things. The first is that, whatever it is, it was moving at an unfathomable speed directly towards them. The second is...
A sense of urgency washes over him as he's pulled from his stupor, and he snaps his head towards Skara, who's kneeling beside him with a concerned, studying expression. Nareen reaches out and grabs his Uncle's chest plate with his shaking hand, pulling himself to his feet unsteadily. Then, he locks eyes with Skara and speaks, his voice as hoarse as it is resolute.
"Uncle...there's a powerful monster approaching from the south, and we don't have much time. I need to speak to Father immediately." (Nareen)
Skara's expression immediately turns grim, his voice clipped.
"How bad?" (Skara)
Nareen frowns, his brows furrowing in concern.
"The worst I've ever seen." (Nareen)
Skara's face pales, no doubt remembering some of their especially dangerous beast encounters in the past few years. Fights that were nearly lethal, even for him. If Nareen is saying this is even worse...
Skara nods seriously, already turning to leave.
"I'll sound the alarm and call every available guard. You stay here...I'll let King Mufaza know of the situation." (Skara)
When those words register, Nareen's pupils constrict to pinholes. On instinct, he yanks on his Uncle's armor, nearly yelling at him.
"No! No alarm! No guards!" (Nareen)
Skara's eyes widen, bewildered.
"What?" (Skara)
Nareen realizes his mistake, and he loosens his grip on his uncle, trying to calm himself. When he speaks, his voice is calmer, though only relatively.
"Sorry...I just mean, you don't understand, Uncle. We can't alert that thing to our presence, and we can't pick a fight with it. We won't win. It's best if you and Father just covertly observe it, and give it the chance to ignore us and move on." (Nareen)
Skara directs an incredulous look at Nareen. After all, his nephew is many things, but a coward is certainly not one of them.
"You said it was headed here, Nareen, and we can't just allow something so dangerous to arrive in the city. Even if the odds are slim, we have to put up a fight. Perhaps the beast will divert course if we challenge it." (Skara)
Nareen shakes his head emphatically, his voice becoming more insistent.
"No, Uncle...whatever this thing is, its power is beyond what you can imagine. I'm not saying our chances of fighting it off are slim, I'm saying they're nonexistent. I think...I think if this thing decides to attack in earnest, if we risk inciting it to violence..." (Nareen)
He trails off, remembering the daunting pulse of that star, still seared into the back of his eyes, and he trembles involuntarily before getting himself under control.
"If it really attacks...every single cat-kin here will die." (Nareen)