Origin of the Species

Many years ago, around the dawn of humankind, the humans multiplied and spread like rabbits, engulfing every continent until it swelled to epic proportions. The environments of this time were harder to live in and, naturally, they produced harder people; just like the places where the lions and the bears began.

In Africa, the fight for survival was down to bones and teeth. The tribes that were formed had nothing but their own faith, and they directed it all toward the king of the savanna: The lion. They worshipped the creatures, naming dances after them, creating legends in their honor, and, most of all, hunting them down and releasing the gods that live inside of them. To preserve the strength in lion flesh, they consumed the bodies.

It happened all over Africa, and the population shrank. As the world developed, the customs of the old tribes fell from grace, and it was taboo to practice anything involving the olden gods. But slowly, very slowly, the race of transformers rose. For thousands of years, they'd been interbreeding with the others on the continent, perfecting the incredible 'flexible' cells that allow their transformation. The first to change was a tribal chief; he was a great white lion, and he declared that they were chosen by the gods to avenge the destruction of their ways by the white men.

As time went on, the tribe became the very first pride, consisting of many male and female warriors. They were craftsman during the day, honing the skills of their human hands, and hunters at night, stalking the shadows. But they were not hunting for animals, as their wild brethren were. Instead, they killed people. White people. Natives. Church members. Small governements. They created more like themselves: half-breeds and half-wild creatures that were almost untamable. They swept across the continent like a plague.

The white men fought back and killed many, but it wasn't until a night about six hundred years ago that they set fire to the great land. It killed hundreds of thousands of the Lions, wiping the population almost off the face of the Earth. The remaining went into hiding, breeding in secret to keep themselves from dying like their fathers and grandfathers. Many moved to distant places. Around the same time, a male lion and his mate moved from the Americas to an Italian home, and the male was killed almost upon setting his foot down. Not by a gun. Not by a human or any other expected natural force.

In this way, the lions were introduced to the powerful polar bears. The polar bears evolved on a parallel timeline, though they were too scattered to record any of their history. The bears reproduced sluggishly in these times, and there weren't many of them. At the first sight of such a daunting and intelligent enemy, the two males attacked each other. They were appalled by the other to a point of hatred; the scent burned the others nose. The bear killed the lion in this battle, and the female killed the wounded bear in retaliation. She retreated to report the murder to her king; the lion king Zulo. It sparked a war between the two species; the war that has been going on ever since.

Originally, it was a stalemate; a dislike, rather than an all-out bloodbath. The first King Alwin was not a cruel man, and didn't care much for the taking of innocent lives. Like many bears of his time, Alwin believed in the sanctity of a person's spirit. But when Alwin died and left his kingdom to his most trusted ally, Wrecker Trolts (King Trolts), his only son didn't respect his decision. The other Alwin broke off from the king with a group of followers, which multiplied as time went on. He believed that all lions should be destroyed, and that humans were nothing more than obstacles, which put him at odds with the peace-loving King Trolts. Trolts withdrew his small remainder of bears to the deep, deep arctic to wait out the war while King Alwin II proceeded to wage it. The newest lion king, King Bedouin, reacted violently the Alwin's attacks, and so began the bloody section of the war.

The king is currently trying to take over the Americas with his army, sending out teams of Elite bears to destroy any lions they come across. For now, it seems like the bears will win the war... and the world.