The Lion Man
Stories about humanoid animals have always been common in the Gamma Age. Given that many humanoid animals, like arks, really do exist, they are often easily believable tales. However, stories of the Lion Man are a little different. These usually tell of a unique individual with the head of a lion and body of a man. Rarer stories make the Lion Man part of an entire species of lion-headed humanoids, but even these focus on the single heroic figure the other tales speak of.
There are countless variations of the Lion Man's story. However, there are some commonalities. First, the Lion Man lived in the world before the Final Wars. Exactly when he lived is a matter of debate. Some stories place him during a specific time, such as during the Gene Age, living a life comparable in length to the people of the time. Others say he lived for hundreds of years, maybe even thousands. A few even say he still lives today, although most say he died before or during the Final Wars.
Second, in all the stories, the Lion Man is always a heroic figure, often arriving in a community or region in need of help against some oppressive force. The Lion Man fights against the oppressor, eventually winning freedom for the oppressed peoples. The way in which the Lion Man conducts these fights varies from story to story. If the oppressor is an individual, he might engage in physical combat with the villain. If the oppressor is a larger organization, he might use diplomacy or gather allies to join in the fight. Sometimes, he leads the people themselves in open rebellion.
Third, the Lion Man is always a figure of physical perfection. He always stands more than 6 feet tall, with some stories having him much taller, even as tall as 10 feet at times. He is always the strongest person in the land, usually by a considerable margin, though a few tales have him only slightly stronger than the next strongest individual (usually the villain in this case).
Beyond these three things, the stories can vary drastically, from where they take place, to the kinds of powers (if any) the Lion Man possesses, to the weapons he does or doesn't carry, to the kinds of people or organizations he faces off against.
Historical Basis
Until recently, scholars agreed that the Lion Man stories were apocryphal at best. It was unlikely that the Lion Man ever existed, and he certainly didn't exist in the way that the stories spoke of him. If there was any historical basis at all to the Lion Man, then he was likely no more than a figure constructed to stand in for numerous Old World figures, governments, or organizations.
Ten years ago, however, a group of archaeologists working in the desert far to the north (several months journey by foot from the City of Cartoons) unearthed what they expected to be an ancient building. Instead, it turned out to be an immense statue of a lion-headed man. Then, a couple years later, a group of explorers uncovered a text from the late Precursor Age which talked of about the discovery of an ivory sculpture of the Lion Man.
Although there is still some disagreement amongst scholars (with some pointing out that the shape of the sand around the desert statue suggests that the still buried body of the statues is not man-shaped), most now agree that there is indisputable proof that the people of the Old World knew about the Lion Man as well. The desert statue is at least a thousand years old, probably much older. The text from the Precursor Age claims that the ivory sculpture was at least 35,000 years old at the time. Dissenters point out that neither of these things is necessarily the same Lion Man from the stories, but conceded that, at the very least, the concept of a lion-headed man existed in the Precursor Age.
The ages of these artefacts do suggest that the either the Lion Man stories set in the Gene and Noetic ages are false, or that the Lion Man lived for many thousands of years. Scholars and explorers continue to search for more clues to the answer to this question.
Variations & Mutation
The following is just one of the many, many tales of the Lion Man:
At the beginning of the Noetic Age, the City of Cartoons lay in ruins, a battleground between three great warlords: Gin, Rust, and Rope. These generals led the most powerful armies in the world, and they fought in the streets and alleys of the City of Cartoons, showing no care for the people who had lived there for generations. Their endless fighting demolished buildings, tore up parks and wildlands, and poisoned the great rivers, all in an attempt to gain control of the once-vibrant lands of Taebur's rich resources. Each of these great armies would sometimes gain an edge in the fighting and claim a little more territory than the others had, but any time this happened, it would never last for long. One of the other two armies, sometimes both working temporarily together, would reclaim the territory, and re-establish the balance between them. Meanwhile, the residents of the city cowered in what remained of their homes or in underground bunkers, waiting for what they felt was their imminent deaths.
Then one day, after many years of this tenuous stalemate, a figure walked out of the northwestern desert. The figure towered eight feet tall with the torso and legs of a man and the head of a mighty lion. The Lion Man walked into the City of Cartoons, unafraid the armies all around him. He walked straight to the confluence of the great rivers, where he demanded to speak to Gin, Rust, and Rope. The generals laughed at the Lion Man's impertinence, and ordered their armies to kill him.
The Lion Man stood his ground as the three armies approached him, one from each of the three sections of the city. He was unarmed, but he showed no fear.
Gin's army attacked first, firing their guns and tanks at the Lion Man. But he moved in a flash. Every bullet and missile missed him as he darted between the soldiers and their vehicles of war. He snatched the guns out of the soldiers hands, and snapped the tanks' cannons in two. With huge leaps, he pulled aircraft out of the sky and tore off their wings. Within mere minutes of their attack, Gin's army was retreating.
Seeing what the Lion Man was capable of, the other two armies hesitated. Rust and Rope deliberated between themselves and decided to work together. They sent their armies against the Lion Man from opposite sides, attacking simultaneously and hoping to outflank him. But the Lion Man was still too fast for them. The armies were unable to successfully target him with their weapons. Instead, they ended up disabling each other's war vehicles with their attacks. Amazingly, not one of the soldiers was hurt, since any time one of them came into the line of fire, the Lion Man swept the individual out of harm's way--while also disarming them if he had not done so already. With their tanks and missile launchers destroyed, Rust's and Rope's armies retreated as well.
Once more, the Lion Man stood at the confluence of the rivers and demanded to speak to the three generals.
Gin, Rust, and Rope spoke amongst themselves and agreed that they would make another attempt to kill the Lion Man. They agreed to meet him, but placed snipers--one from each of their armies--in three different locations near the Lion Man. As the three generals approached the Lion Man, the snipers attacked, taking the Lion Man by surprise. One managed to graze the Lion Man's shoulder before he rounded all three up with his great speed. He took their weapons away from them and threw all three into the water, where they swam away. Then he turned to face the generals.
The generals were surprised to see him still standing, for the bullet that had hit him had been infused with destructive nanites that should have been tearing the insides of the Lion Man's body apart. What the generals didn't know, however, was that the Lion Man had nanites of his own. Inside his body, the Lion Man's nanites were waging a battle of their own against the invading nanites. It did not take long, however, for the Lion Man's nanites to win. With the invading nanites gone, they repaired the wound in the Lion Man's shoulder as he spoke to the generals.
"The fighting stops today," the Lion Man decreed. "No more people shall die in this pointless war. Instead, the three of you will join together and begin the work to repair this land. Your armies and your industries destroyed it, so you will make it whole again. I will guide and help you in this endeavour, but if you ever stray from the task, then you will know the true extent of my wrath."
Gin, Rust, and Rope knew they could not stand against the Lion Man and that they were defeated, so they reluctantly agreed to his terms, and began the work of cleaning up the land.
The people of the City of Cartoon returned to the streets and praised the Lion Man, promising to spread his word far and wide.
Over the coming years, the land of Taebur gradually returned to the utopia it had once been many long years before.
Cultural Reception
It would be virtually impossible to find anyone in Taebur who hasn't heard of the Lion Man. Parents tell the stories as bedtime tales for their children, entertainers put on dramatic readings of them, and theatre troupes have turned many of the stories into plays. Someone would have to have lived their entire life alone in the desert to have not heard at least one story about the Lion Man.
Date of First Recording
People have told stories of the Lion Man for at least the last few generations, but recent evidence suggests people have been telling stories of him for thousands of years.
Date of Setting
Most tales take place during the Gene or Noetic Ages, though there are many set in the Precursor Age or the Shadow Years leading up to the Final Wars as well.
