The royal couple slowly descended into the old cave networks of the Uasilands. Kopa led the way, followed closely by a rather curious if slightly nervous Karimu. As they strolled further in, the light of day left them behind, leaving the two lions in near-complete darkness.
"Erm...Kopa?" The Uasian queen murmured, trying to stay as close as possible. "Are you sure you know where we're going?" Kopa didn't reply, focusing on the path ahead. The pitter-patter of dripping water echoed throughout the open rockface, causing both lions to slightly shudder every second or so.
The pair continued, shifting through the darkness tightly, softly nudging each other as they walked. Their sharp, feline eyes illuminated the path before them, shifting through the darkness to find the bare minuscule amount of light. They travelled deeper until... Light?
The cave seemed to widen, spreading out into a bright, glistening crystallised opening. Large, pulsating crystals lined the walls, humming with ethereal power as the royal couple approached. Before them, etched into the very walls of the cave, an arch of crystal hummed violently, channelling all the spectral energy across its surface. Kopa looked over at Karimu, admiring her rather shocked, curious look as they stood there.
"I... I can't believe it..." She stood, mouth agape as her eyes glistened in the reflected crystal light. Stepping forward, she reached out to the crystals, gently stroking its surface with her paw. Upon making contact, a reverberating, almighty burst of energy hummed from the walls, spreading throughout the cave in a wave.
Kopa smirked, sitting beside his mate as she examined the ancient crystallised ruins. She knew how she felt, the excitement, the mind-blowing amazement. It's something he had felt all those years ago when he had found these ancient ruins. Returning his attention to the task at hand, he strolled towards the crystallised archway ahead, turning back to a still bewildered Karimu.
"You've seen nothing yet." He turned back to the archway; a knowing grin spread across his muzzle. As his queen watched on, intrigued as to what he was doing, Kopa unleashed an almighty, earth-shattering roar. The very walls of the cave rumbled, consumed in ethereal energy. The lioness froze, a sense of trepidation rushing through her creamy fur. She watched as her king and mate continued to bellow out his roar, forming a shallow, reverberating pool of energy to form in the archway. Once filled, the energy imploded, releasing a blinding, reality tearing pulse that knocked them both back a few inches.
"What was that?!" Karimu arose to her paws, trembling softly as she stared forward. The archway was engulfed in a thin layer of spectral energy, a gateway. Kopa stood tall and firm, smiling at his queen as he approached the reverberating opening. He turned sharply, facing her as he seemed to... bow.
"Ladies first..." He couldn't help but release a little chuckle as his soft, warm brown eyes locked on Karimu's. She smiled back, lost in the moment. To think, all she had heard of the old Uasian ruins, their secrets and power, was true? She approached slowly, cautiously staring forward towards the near blinding gateway ahead.
"I... I can't believe it." The older lioness raised her paw, softly, gently stroking the rippling energy with her paw. She felt the warmth and cold, the life glistening from its surface, but also the inevitable death. Everything and nothing.
"It's okay." Kopa's soft, rather calming voice ruffled Karimu out of thought as he turned to watch him. Her paw softly lay on the ground once more as he approached, nuzzling up to her side. "It's safe, I've used them for years. He looked up into her slightly watering hazel eyes. Those beautiful, sparkling orbs of perfection. Oh how he loved them, loved her. His heart raced at their sight, at the feel of her fur next to his. "Trust me..."
Karimu felt her heart pulse. Nuzzling into Kopa's mane, she turned her body around, facing the gateway once more. A part of her was still nervous. But Kopa wouldn't let her come to harm, never. She meant too much to him, and he meant too much for her to even remotely distrust him. She stared into the gateway, before stepping forward, closing her eyes and inhaling sharply as she walked through. Kopa smiled as he watched his mate dissipate from this reality. Merely seconds later, he pounced in himself, eager to just get this journey over and done with.
Karimu landed on her paws. The short, lush green grass tickled her clean, creamy paws. And yet, a roughness lay beneath it that seemed... familiar. As if the ground was made of crystal. But grass, growing out of crystal? She kept her eyes closed, feeling a bellowing breeze brush against her fur heavily. The thick, near choking stench of smoke bellowed across her body, staining her nostrils as she opened her eyes.
"Kopa?" she froze, her voice trembling as she stared out to the land before them, her eyes followed its surface, high into what should be the sky. Her jaw dropped, but it wasn't necessarily the curvature of the land that shocked her.
Upon landing on his paws, the Uasian king stared out at the land. His heart raced. Before them both, the land of Kituo rested, consumed in flame and smoke. The screams of souls dampened in hellish infernos bellowed across the curved horizon, filled with the manic, bloodthirsty laughter that scarred both Kopa's mind. He felt a burning, almost mocking howl shrink across his skull, emanating from the glowing scar across his left eye. But it couldn't be? Could it?
"Kopa!" Karimu quickly rushed to his aid, softly leaning against a weakened, slightly drowsy Kopa. The pain subsided quickly, allowing him to regain control of his mind, soul and body. Still shaking slightly, Kopa stared upwards, towards the summit of the mountain they stood on.
"Something's not right..." He started to gallop, a little wobbly still as she tried his best to ascend the sharp, rocky incline towards the crystallised summit. Karimu wasn't far behind him. Utterly shocked, confused and bewildered to even know where to begin. "Come on!"
The royal couple, breathless and aching, quickly summited the crystallised mountain. Upon breaching its crowned tip, they found themselves at the Pride's court. The figurehead of all power in the land. Karimu stood in awe, admiring the artistry of the carved crystal entwined with rock and grass.
Her eyes followed down the opening to a series of four thrones, carved out of crystal, each one slightly different than the others. Kopa kept his focus forward, though his eyes flickered to the fourth throne. He couldn't remember seeing that there before. A strange, humming pulse seemed to emanate from it, as if it was calling him, demanding him. He softly approached, curiosity consuming his mind.
"Kopa!" a deep, otherworldly voice bellowed across the way. Kopa turned, facing the darkened corner of the summit as Karimu stood firm, lowering her body into a defensive stance. Ready to pounce on anything that would dare hurt her or her mate.
To both their amazement, a familiar lion rushed out of the shadows. His white, cotton clean fur illuminated in the crystal light. The mark of a Uasian king etched across his forehead hummed in time with the ground, and with Kopa and Karimu's racing heartbeat.
"Dad!" Karimu rushed forward, quickly nuzzling up into the comfort of her dad's well-kept mane. Her cheeks moistened as she brushed through his ethereal, glistening mane. Kopa watched on, sitting calmly, his tail swaying side to side as he watched Karimu and her father reunite in the flesh, for the first time in ages.
"I... can't believe it..." Mfalme trembled, nuzzling his daughter gently as his voice trembled. To feel his real fur caressing hers... moving his head away from her side, the previous Uasian king stared into his daughter's loving hazel eyes. Watching as the light shimmered across the precious, perfect orbs. "You're safe..."
"Karimu?" A softer, feminine voice whimpered from the corner of the summit. Turning her head to its source, Karimu saw the outline of a lioness. Strong, proud, yet also sweet and with a beauty she had never seen before. Her forehead glistened with the mark of the Uasian queen, slightly dimmed out as she stepped into the light.
"Mum!" The two lionesses practically pounced on each other, nuzzling and licking each other's faces as they finally reunited. For the first time in far too many years, Karimu nuzzled into her mother's warm, comfortable fur, the first time since she had been a new-born.
"My little strong girl." Heshima licked behind her daughter's ears, wiping her tears into Karimu's fur. Mfalme watched on, a sense of pride washing through his body as he watched his two beautiful, brave lionesses' comfort each other.
Kopa sat some distance away, shifting his tail side to side, clawing the crystallised ground beneath his heavy paws impatiently as he watched this sweetest of family reunions. The shallow screams of the doomed and damned beneath them echoed across the land, causing the current Uasian king to look out. The holy land beneath him was ablaze, patches of darkness consuming the land and its inhabitants. The very sight sent a nauseating pulse through his body.
Karimu and her parents didn't notice a thing, completely and utterly lost in their embrace. He couldn't blame them. Karimu had been through enough, mostly alone. It had been just over a year since her father had last comforted her. But enough was enough. Animals' souls were being taken, consumed by the hungry horde as they spoke. He wasn't going to allow it. He couldn't.
"Erm, as much as I hate to break up this beautiful family reunion..." The Uasian king arose, slowly approaching the huddled trio. "But the world here is burning!" He stared down Mfalme, concern burning his fur as Karimu's father flickered his eyesight between his daughter and the Ex-Royal Mlinzi before him.
"Indeed..." The previous Uasian king let go of his family, turning to Kopa, standing tall and strong before his successor. Karimu remained close to her mother who still nuzzled her dearly. Mfalme turned to the crystallised thrones before him, sitting proudly in front of them as Kopa sat beside him. "Yeye is leading the defence against Scar's forces." The two kings sat side by side, staring forward at the glistening throne, their minds humming with curiosity. "They're holding their ground, but I don't know for how long." Mfalme turned to Kopa, his eyes curved slightly, concerned and yet still calm.
"He said he needed me to go somewhere." He looked down at his paws, softly scraping the ground as he spoke. "To figure out how to defeat Scar..." he wrinkled his eyes as a wash of uncertainty overcame the current king. "I think."
"He said as much." Mfalme chuckled softly, looking out to the side, towards the land below. 2Kept talking about a Tree of Life or something." The distant sound of the godly roars blasting through the realm reverberated the floor as they both watched the flames in a small patch of land extinguished. As the two males sat there, Karimu arose to all fours, softly approached them as her mother followed closely.
"We'd better get moving, my love." Heshima nuzzled up into Mfalme's lush mane, softly looking up at Kopa and Karimu as she did so. Karimu sat beside Kopa, cuddling up to him softly as she looked up at him, seemingly curious as to the stare he gave her parents.
"Of course, my queen." Licking his mate's neck, Mfalme turned to Kopa and Karimu, a burning, commanding presence burning in his amber-brown eyes. "Mufasa and Askari prepared a passageway for you, through the canyons to the south." He quickly started to stroll to the path down from the summit, leading the way as Karimu, Kopa and Heshima followed. "We need to get you both there." Kopa caught up, trotting alongside him cautiously. "But from the last time I heard from the souls stationed there, Scar's forces were swarming them."
"Well, we can't have that, can we?" Kopa smirked, softly chuckling as Mfalme picked up the pace, leading the small pride into a downward sprint. They rushed down the spiralling path, leaping over cracked gaps as they began a long, potentially life-threatening journey. They would travel for hours, avoiding death and destruction at every turn.
The way to The Tree of Life was close, to uncover Scar's greatest secrets, and his greatest weakness. If only they knew the horrors that lay ahead...
If only they knew...
