Ashake - The initiate

Avatar image for ithinkitwasyou
ithinkitwasyou

749

Forum Posts

9769

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 3

User Lists: 3

#1  Edited By ithinkitwasyou

((Disclaimer -Ashake and all character in this story are the owned by Marvel comics)
 

 
She is young, but to confuse her youth with inexperience would be a mistake.
She stalks her prey, low in the grass. The herd completely unaware of her presence. Her pride, the sacred spears, all move with the grace and stealth of a leopard, swift and silent. Ashake lowers her staff placing it gently on the ground. Signaling her pride to stop. They are close enough. She takes her bow and a single arrow, and like a snake coiling, ready to strike, she raises the bow. She takes in a deep breath, and with a slow exhale, she releases the arrow. Before the arrow strikes, her sacred spears have leapt from the grass, spears in hand, giving chase to the herd as they spring to flee all at once. Zebra, gazelle, wildebeest all charging in fear as one is taken down after another with but single strikes. Ashake follows her pride, catching up to them with a cheetahs speed, roaring like a lioness as she catches up to the edge of the charging herd, brandishing a dagger. She leaps after the largest beast, and with one well placed strike, he is down. The ordeal was quick, as painless as one could hope for, the hunt is over.
“You did well princess. I dare say you may have even surpassed your fathers prowess for the hunt. You have certainly lived up to the name of the lioness.” Enkil speaks with pride as he and the other royal guardians gather the bodies of the herd they hunted.

“Thank you Enkil.” Ashake says as she approaches him, and they touch one anothers shoulders, in honor. (regarding like a handshake)

“The sun is setting. It will take us till well into night fall to bring all this food back to the village. We’d best get to it then.” Enkil says before he looks out in the distance and see’s something.

Ashake looks behind her and see it as well. A white Lion with the fangs of a saber-toothed, and black strips. He is huge in size, perhaps bigger than any lion she has ever scene. He is perhaps the only one of his kind. He shoes his teeth now as he Approaches them.

“It must have smelled the blood.” Enkil says, drawing his bow, and an arrow, when the Lion seems to make eye contact with them.
“It is as if it knew.” He says lowering his weapon.
“He did know.” Ashake says, crouching down low, placing her fingers to the earth. The green eyes of the lion are met with the blue eyes of Ashake when it looks away from her and to the rest of her hunting part and charges.

The men fearless all take to there weapons, raising them waitidnng for the blood thirsty beast when Ashake leaps in the lion’s path
“PRINCESS NO!” Enkil cries out to her, but he has little chance of catching up to her and it would be foolish to try.
 Holding her spear making eye contact with the beast again, holding it in her gaze. He stopped charging. Now closer, Ashake can see how much larger the beast is than that of a normal lion, like a horse in it’s size.

Crouched down low, with he free hand on the ground, she keeps her eyes up, and her gaze intense. The lion crouches low to the ground and bares it’s teeth growling. When it finally stands upright. Ashake slowly kneels before it, then stands upright as well.

“It is alright. The beast is simply hungry, and we interrupted it’s hunt with our own. Leave it one of our prey.” Ashake says to her guards.

Moments later the sacred spears and Ashake journey back to there village.

“That was very foolish princess.” Enkil says to Ashake as they walk.
“How so?”
“The beast was greater than any lion I had ever seen before it. Throwing the only heir to the royal family in the path of a hungry beast and a it’s food was not the actions of a responsible leader. You could have been killed. Imagine what your father would have done to me had I brought his only daughter home in pieces, or perhaps what your mother would have done with my soul.”

“I was in no danger Enkil. I could feel the beasts motives. He didn’t wish harm upon us. He was simply doing the only thing he knew how to get what he needed which was food. I showed him another way.”
“You can speak to beasts now?”
“No, but…I don’t know how to explain it.”
“by the goddess you grow more and more like your mother every day.”
“I am a warrior first Enkil.”
“Uh, weather you want to admit it or not, the gift grows stronger and stronger in you princess. Your mother bloodline is that of the high priestess. Your hair is white, your eyes, like that of a cat. Your luck with the hunt.”
“It’s not luck.”
“Excuse me. I meant no disrespect majesty but you are as skillful as your father, the greatest warrior of our people, yet you are still so young. Such skill is unheard of. It is no stretch of the imagination that your as favored by the goddess as…”
“Wait…” Ashake pauses, looking out at the setting sun. The sky is red…far more red than what it should be. In the distance she see the body of the great lion in the horizon has followed them. She looks into it’s eyes from afar as if to read in it some warning.
“Enkil, danger.” Ashake drops the beast she held in toe, taking flight like speed and hurrying to her village.

Ashake races to the village, the great lion running along her side.

Her lungs are burning, her muscles are aching, and her heart is pounding when she finally reaches the border of her kingdom. It’s under attack. Ashake takes her spear and charges into battle, taking down soldier after soldier. They are dress in the garments of Egyptian soldiers, and they are brandishing machetes .
She takes one down then another, then another, cutting through them with her spear, then a dozen, but the more she cuts them down the faster they seem to come. There numbers mean nothing to her, as she charges through them, making her way to the palace, to her parents.

When she reaches the steps leading to the palace.
“Mother father…” She races inside to see a giant of a man fighting her father. The man all had known as the lion of the hunt. She sees her mother conjuring, but there combines powers aren’t enough, as the giant of man stabs her father. Ashake is paralyzed with heartbreak. Her eyes double in size as a single tear escapes, burning a trail down her face.

Ashake’s mother looks upon the monstrosity that just slew her lover. Ashake’s mother closes her eyes. “By the goddess, protect my child.” She whispers as tears run down her face.

Ashake leaps to her feet when a bright light blinds her, and she passes out.

When she awakes, she is on the outskirts of the village, unsure of what happened. Her head is rested on the belly of the great white lion.

Ashake stands up rubbing her eyes. The night before felt like a dream. She stands a top a hill and looks over her village everything is fine. It was just a bad dream…or was it. She looks behind her to see the giant lion has disappeared.

“Was it all just a dream?”

Ashake goes to the palace, slightly confused. She passes familiar faces and friends before she reaches the palace. Her mother is waiting for her.

“Ashake where were you? I was looking for you all morning.”
“I was…hunting.” I think I was hunting. Was the lion even real?
“I wish you would focus less on hunting, and more on your studies.” Ashake’s mother is a tall exotic looking woman, with narrow slanted eyes and dark skin. Her long dark hair coiled into an ornate headdress, framing her sharp features and cascading over her shoulder. She is the High priestess of there village and a mystic healer. Regarded widely as the ambassador to the gods. All to often she hassle her daughter to focus on her studies in the mystic arts for she was born to take on the mantel as the high priestess.

Ashake smiles at her mother
“Mother, you would have me mixing potions and praying to the goddess all day if you had your way.” Ashake says with a laugh.
“Do not mock the gods Ashake. You are a living breathing example of there love.” her mother says, taking up a lock of her white hair showing it to her as if to say “See.”
“Yes mother.” Ashake says bowing her head.
“You’re father is waiting for you in the courtyard. Go to him.”

Ashake heads towards the palace courtyard where she see’s her fathers royal guard, training with him. 12 warriors known as the sacred spears surround her father each holding a different weapon, her father holding a sword and  shield. Ashake ties her hair back and takes out her staff.

“Ah the princess joins us at last.” Her father says when she sets foot in the courtyard though he has not looked in her direction. The warriors stop, each of them taking a bow.
“Ashake.”
“Father.” She bows.
“Perhaps you would like to engage in a sparring session with the sacred spears.”
“I’d be delighted.” Ashake says taking up her spear. Her father steps off the court yard and sits aside. The warriors advance on her and ashake begins to spar with them.

She handles the bow with a dancers grace, skill, and timing, it is as thought the staff is an extension of her arm as she sends off all the sacred spears at once. Blocking advances, and attacks before delivering her own. She takes on off his feet and leaps over him to knock down another, leaping onto his shoulders, and rolling down his back with catlike agility before catching him by his legs and pinning him to the ground. One after another they fell before her, until they are all down, and she is the last one standing.

“Impressive show daughter.” Her father says applauding her. “how would you feel about taking on bigger game.” He says taking up his sword.

Ashake smirks to herself before taking a defensive stance preparing to duel with her father.

Ashake boldly opens making the first attack but her father deflects it easily enough but when he tries to strike her, she blocks it. This goes on for a long while before they manage to disarm one another. Thinking the battle is over the sacred spears begin to applaud but shake and her father than engage in hand to hand combat. Her father bigger and physically stronger, ashake quicker, and much more limber, all the while her father giving her lesson after lesson. Ashake is backed into a corner, but still dodging and blocking her fathers punches and kicks.

“You’re relying completely on your body to defend yourself against me. In a true battle the best you could hope for based on that tactic is to survive.”
“But I am without a weapon.”
“I see dozens of weapons around us.”
Ashake ducks, avoiding another hit from her father, taking up a handful of sand and thrusting it upwards at her fathers face. He backs up enough so that she might have room to escape. She looks up and climbs up the pillar and hides before her father regains his vision.
“That was good Ashake. Very good.” He says with a laugh, wiping the dust from his eyes.
“You’re learning fast.” One of the warriors comes and hands him a bow and arrows.

He fires them in all directions to force her out of hiding. Ashake remembers from her hunting training her first lesson was to find her own stillness. She looks down at her feet and notices a stone. As the arrows fly she picks it up toss it down the hall of the platform she is standing on. And her father fires an arrow in that direction, now distracted, ashake leaps out of her hiding place, kneeing her father in the back and disarming his once more, before rolling on the sand, and taking up her spear once more. Her father is given his Machete and charges at her again she spins gracefully to dodge him and aims the spear at his chest.

The both freeze, Her father looking at the tip of the spear. Ashake still as a statue. Ashake is the winner.

“You are certainly the true lioness my daughter.” Her father says finally putting down the blade. 
The Lioness like in my dream. Ashake thinks to herself before meeting her fathers gaze.
"Ashake, it is time for your lessons." Her mother's voice breaks her momentary trance.
"Go to your mother. She no doubt want to teach some new way to pray." her father says with a laugh.

Avatar image for ithinkitwasyou
ithinkitwasyou

749

Forum Posts

9769

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 3

User Lists: 3

#2  Edited By ithinkitwasyou

currently working on some panel artwork for this.

Avatar image for typingkira
TypingKira

3555

Forum Posts

570

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 2

User Lists: 3

#3  Edited By TypingKira

Awesome work! Keep it up :}

Avatar image for ithinkitwasyou
ithinkitwasyou

749

Forum Posts

9769

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 3

User Lists: 3

#4  Edited By ithinkitwasyou

thanks I am writing the second part of it now, which is going to focus more on Ashake's tutelage in magic, which she is less receptive too.

Avatar image for ithinkitwasyou
ithinkitwasyou

749

Forum Posts

9769

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 3

User Lists: 3

#5  Edited By ithinkitwasyou
ashake  Couldn't helpmyself. I had to post the progress on this collaborative effort I made with a friend of mine
ashake  Couldn't helpmyself. I had to post the progress on this collaborative effort I made with a friend of mine