Cloud Lion

The Cloud Lion is a mythical creature of seris and Nari myths.

Origins and Myths

The first mention of the Cloud Lion was in the book "Myths and legends of the Kingdom of Nibadapta", a Seris book written in the 2000s BP. The book tells us about the Cloud Lion, whose origin was unknown (Although later Seris sources stated that it was created by Kayr, god of death), and that during the night descended to the mortal realm to eat the souls of the humans, elves and dwarves he encountered, and during the day he returned to heaven to feed on the clouds. his appetite for souls and clouds was insatiable.
One day, according to myth, he decided to hunt some of the celestial Dragon Birds that were guarding Abina's throne. He spotted one drinking in one of the palace's fountains, the monster was about to jump over the poor dragon bird when suddenly Abina appeared right in front of him. For the first time the beast felt true fear of the god, but, as the god was approaching to him, fearless, he tried to defend himself with his claws. But he suddenly was blinded by the light of the god of the sun, and when he recovered his sight, he felt the warm hand of Abina patting his head. In the meantime, while he was blind, the god had just climbed into his neck. Far from being angry, the Cloud Lion seemed to enjoy that feeling. When Abina descended from his neck, he blessed him, purifying him from all his crimes, and allowing the souls he had eaten to remain in his heavenly palace. With this blessing a yellow and red dot appeared in the Lion's forehead symbolizing the sun ant its light. From then onwards, the Lion became the guardian of the gate of the heavenly Palace. He also promised not to eat any soul again and only clouds.
So, according to this myth, when the clouds start to disperse, what is really happening is that the Cloud Lion is eating them!.

The Myth in the Nari world

The Nari world is heavily influenced by the Seris culture, so they adopted many of its customs, stories and myths, including the myth of the Cloud Lion. The main difference between the Nari and the Seris Cloud Lion is that, to the Naris, the Cloud Lion is also the protector of the temples, so you can find one or two Cloud Lions at each side of the gate of a temple, protecting the entrance. They also believe that the Lion learn to speak all the languages of Yeia, and, once a soul reaches the heavenly Palace, the Cloud Lion asks for his or her name. if he founds that the soul is one that is destined to go to the underworld with Kayr, and that he was trying to sneak into the realm of the gods, he eats that soul and then spits it sending it straight to hell. (This is a contradiction with the Seris myth were the Cloud Lion promised not to eat souls again).

Appearance

The Cloud Lion is a big lion, taller than any building or mountain. His body is made of a smoky substance, similar to smoke itself or clouds, thus its name. His body is bright red and her hair is dark red as are her eyebrows, his face is white (as well as his ears) with a red and yellow circle in the forehead symbolizing the sun and the god Abina. The Cloud Lion has a big mouth with big teeth as well as big eyes, his paws are also white as his head and his voice and roar are said to be as powerful and loud as thunder.

Cloud Lion by Callyxtus with Dall-E 2

Related Ethnicities

• Nari peoples
• The seris