Big thank you to Bronwynn for doing a beta read for this!

Prologue Part 1: History of New Thundera

In the beginning, there was Thundera – a beautiful world light years away. What had once been a peaceful and prosperous world was soon made to suffer a planetary-wide war when mutants attacked the feline Thunderians. These cruel invaders sought to conquer the cats and plunder their rich resources.

War ravaged the planet, making it unable to further sustain life. There were survivors on both sides of the conflict who managed to escape the dying planet before it perished. Both Thunderians and mutants alike traveled through the stars, eventually discovering the distant planet of Third Earth.

King Lion-O, son of Claudus and leader of the ThunderCats, resettled his people on Third Earth. Wielding the mystical Sword of Omens, the king led the surviving Thunderians to reform the mighty kingdom on their newly adopted home world.

But the Thunderians were met with opposition from an eternal servant of ancient evil…

Once again the Thunderians fought to protect their kingdom and ultimately the ThunderCats prevailed. After this Great War, peace finally settled upon Third Earth. To all the inhabitants of the planet the ThunderCats became a symbol of Truth, Loyalty, Honor, and Justice.

The Kings of Thundera and Lord of the ThunderCats have a long lineage. King Claudus of Thundera wed Lady Leona and begot Lion-O, first King of New Thundera. Under Lion-O's decree, a great palace was erected from the remains of the ship that had brought the Thunderians to Third Earth. King Lion-O ruled his kingdom from New Thundera, the capital city that had evolved around his palace – Cat's Lair.

King Lion-O married Lady Cheetara the Swift, Founder of the Clergy of the Code of Thundara, who bore him a daughter, Mira. Lion-O served Third Earth as New Thundera's King for eighty years before he died peacefully in his sleep with his wife by his side.

Queen Mira married Leonidas, born of a surviving governor from a province of Old Thundara and he ruled by her side as King. Together they had two children – Prince Lionel and Princess Cheetora.

Upon their father's death, Prince Lionel became Lord of the ThunderCats while Princess Cheetora married a cleric named Duma. Lionel's firstborn cub was named Leonidas after his grandfather.

Due to a differing opinion of leadership for New Thundera, Duma and Cheetora left New Thundera City and the Clerical Order to create a new settlement to the south for those citizens, consisting mostly of Cheetahs, who disagreed with the current ruler of Thundera.

Upon his father's death, Lord Lionel attempted to retake the Cheetah settlement by force. His heavily armored forces outnumbered the Cheetahs but their advantage of speed enabled them to render the armor and weapons of Lionel's men all but useless. The conflict became known as the Two Day War. Sacrifices were high amongst the defeated Lions. While the Cheetahs were victorious, they too suffered great loss. Amongst their casualties was Lady Cheetora's husband Duma, who had led their cause. Despite the loss of their leader, the outcome of the Two Day War was the birth of the Kingdom of Chee. Cheetora was named their first Queen.

Lionel ruled New Thundera for many years and eventually agreed to an unstable truce with the Kingdom of Chee in order to create a successful trade agreement. Upon his death, his son Leonidas was named King of New Thundera.

King Leonidas II, known to all as Leo, fought for his dream of uniting all peoples of Third Earth in peace – including the descendants of the Mutants who had followed Lion-O and the original ThunderCats to Third Earth. While many agreed with the idea of lasting peace and prosperity throughout the land, others were greatly opposed causing. Tensions rose and opinions became heated and eventually civil war broke out in New Thundera. The Tigers, under the command of General Tygus, were the first group to openly oppose the King. Soon General Pantheon, the father of King Leo's wife Panthera, led the Panthers in opposition of King Leo. The battle was fierce and resulted in the destruction of New Thundera City.

The Panthers and Tigers formed an alliance that proved to be too powerful for the Lion Army. When the majority of his forces fell, King Leo held the line against the generals of the Separatists and their armies himself. He fought bravely, buying time for the Lion citizens and their allies to escape. Leo perished that day and the Sword of Omens was lost along with his title of Lord of the ThunderCats.

The Tigers moved to the far north mountain range where they built their new capital, Caspian, and named Tygus their first Khan.

The Panthers moved southeast, allying with the Robear Berbils to build their grand city-state of Panthropolis where they enacted corporate governance.

Some Wildcats split off as well to become nomads who traversed the lands before they eventually formed a loose government of their own. The Wily Nomads divided into clans, each ruled by a chief or chieftess who insured that peace was maintained between their clans.

The remaining Lions and their allies built a great city northeast of the ruins of New Thundera, naming the new metropolis Leonidas City after their beloved late King. After Leo's death and Panthera's absence, no king was named to rule. Instead the people created a Senate to govern Leonidas City.

Meanwhile the Clergy maintained neutrality toward each of the five nations. Clerics were comprised of members from each nation and therefore retained support from all Thunderians. With the passing of time to heal old wounds, the Clergy influenced the creation of a truce between the five Thunderian Nations.

Two Thousand Years have since passed and though a few skirmishes have occurred, none proved to be substantial. Still, unrest continues to grow. Even the Clerics have grown apart from their old ways and the Code of Thundera has long since been forgotten. Animosity and intolerance now mar the relationships between the Five Nations, keeping the cats divided.

Some years ago, a gifted young Cleric by the name of Jaga had a vision that foretold the continuation of the Royal Line of Lion-O. Jaga saw that Panthera and her cub had survived. From this lineage a once and future King shall rise – Lord Lion-O will be reborn to become the Lord of the ThunderCats once again. He will regain the Sword of Omens and bring forth a new generation of ThunderCats. Together they will unite not only the Thunderians but all peoples of Third Earth, making King Leo's dream become a reality.

Jaga was dismissed from the clerisy, his predictions mocked like the rantings of a madman. The jaguar was exiled from the Order under the command of High Cleric Wahankh. This act did not silence the rumors however. Some even suspected that Claudus, the Chair of the Senate of New Thundera, could be the descendant of Leo when his own son was born bearing the distinctive mark of the royal line. Claudus chose to name him Lion-O when he saw that his infant son possessed blue eyes – a trait exclusive to the bloodline of Lord Lion-O. Though many still doubt if he truly is of royal descent, whispers can be heard from many who believe in the continuation of the bloodline.

One thing remains without question – that every being of Third Earth senses an ominous presence growing, a dark evil unknown since the days of King Lion-O and the birth of New Thundera.

It's always darkest before the dawn.

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