The hanger bay of the Lion's Gaze hummed with latent power, it's gunmetal frame gleaming under artificial lights. The modified Imperial Starfighter was a symbol of rebellion - stripped of the royal markings that identified it's allegiance. Now it was fitted with outlaw tech, and painted with matte crimson red and obsidian trim. It was no longer a vessel of the Empire. It was his.
Leonidas stood on the boarding ramp, arms crossed, jaw tight. He stared into the far off distance, and there in the sky looming above the great city of Illion was Castle Lionhart. His home. He did not know when he might ever gave upon this majestic palace again, so he took one last look and resolved himself to fate.
Across from him was his mother, Lady Seraphine - Second wife of Duke Aleric Lionhart. As beautiful and glistening as the very star she was named after. Black hair crowned her head, styled with upmost care. Brown caramel skin, and clear blue eyes. She approached with the grace of a diplomat and sorrow of a mother watching her son walk into the unknown.
"Must you go?" She said softly, her echoing in the cavernous bay bay.
"Your father-"
"I will not hear of what he thinks, mother. I have made my choice." Leonidas cuts in.
Seraphine sighed, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "He's proud of you, in his own way. I hope you know this. His pride just gets the better of him."
Leonidas looked away, eyes fixed on the stars beyond the force field. "It's time I crawled out underneath his shadow, carve a path of my own."
She stepped closer, cupped the face of her son. The boy had become a man too fast she reckons. Only Twenty and three, yet so much has already been expected of him. 'I must let him go' she tells herself.
"Then go. But I will not let you go alone."
At her signal, a towering figure emerged from the shadows - a lion beastman clad in worn battle armor, his mane streaked with gray, his golden eyes sharp and steady.
He kneeled, "I greet the Lady Seraphine and ducal heir"
"Titus," Leonidas said, surprised. "I thought you retired."
"I did, but your mother asked. And I owe her my life" the beastman rumbled.
Leonidas smirked, "You are going to hate this."
"I already do."
Titus stood up, to the face the young man, towering over him.
The two clasped forearms and turned to board the ship.
Leonidas turned and bowed his head, "mother".
"Be safe," Seraphine called out. "I will pray the Goddess keeps you in her embrace, and lights your way home."
As the Lion's Gaze roared into life and lifted from the bay, Leonidas felt the weight of legacy fall away replaced by something new. Freedom. Uncertainty. The first step toward becoming more than a name.